Chapter 471 - 22: The 85th Mysterious Reward (Part 2)
Bear paw, lobster, king crab, prime beef, camel hump...
Just as the guests were drooling over the delicious ingredients, they were told that there were no tools to start a fire, nor were there any seasonings. If they wanted to eat, they could only gnaw raw, and who could tolerate that?
Fortunately, Chen Zhou had never played much of any games since he was a child. His understanding of computer hosts was limited to watching graphics card discussions and battle rants on forums.
If it were anyone else, having a great graphics card but unable to play games would surely be intolerable. For him, it wasn't as hard to accept.
...
After a few lessons from previous mysterious rewards, Chen Zhou felt somewhat disappointed by another mysterious reward.
Heading to the beach in the rain, he found his mentality becoming anxious and uncertain, just like when he first landed on the island.
He thought, maybe this was the effect the Space-Time Administration Bureau wanted.
After receiving those generous anniversary rewards, he could no longer adapt to these strange rewards and began yearning for items with higher practical value.
...
Walking down the mountain trail, observing Lai Fu wagging its tail not far in front and the native pushing a handcart nearby with no trace of worry on his face, Chen Zhou couldn't help but chuckle.
"During the hardest days before, I never felt so unsettled like now. Life is better now, yet greed has grown.
The natives and Lai Fu have never had such troubles, living happily, unbothered by those elusive things. Isn't that great?"
Adjusting his straw hat, Chen Zhou comforted himself.
"Life is like this, with more disappointments than successes, with both laughter and tears.
No matter how glorious the past was, one can't say the future won't be harsh. As long as the sun shines again tomorrow, we should live positively.
Compared to life-and-death battles with natives and the risk of Spaniards invading the island, what importance can a mere reward hold?
Could it take me from the Iron Age to the Electrical Age?
Why worry and stress over this reward? Would life be impossible without it?
Would we starve to death without it?"
...
Adjusting his mindset, although he was somewhat still expectant of this reward, Chen Zhou could at least show indifference outwardly.
That was enough — he thought.
As a challenger, he didn't want the Space-Time Administration Bureau to always grasp his psychology; he hated the feeling of being manipulated and pushed forward.
If possible, he even wanted to replace all his actions with madness.
Unfortunately, should he become "mentally ill", it might play right into the Bureau's intentions; a normal person involved in the challenge isn't as interesting as a madman.
...
Before reaching the wooden stone wall, the natives helped Chen Zhou move a path first—
After the third-anniversary reward, the range of super-space cutting shrank back to its original form, forcing the natives to tear down the painstakingly built wooden stone wall.
Although this made the natives work in vain, it made Chen Zhou realize—
The volume of mysterious rewards wasn't constant.
The range of super-space cutting was based on the reward size; previously, he thought the mysterious reward could at most deliver a medium-sized excavator.
After the change in cutting range, measuring the area occupied by those building materials, Chen Zhou dared not imagine how large the mysterious reward could potentially be.
A carrier was unimaginable, but a heavy truck or yacht could still fit.
However, whether it's a heavy truck or yacht, it's an unrealistic dream.
Now, the natives are busy organizing the cut timber and stone; all Chen Zhou needed to do was take the reward away.
...
Enjoying the attentive service of the natives, Chen Zhou glanced at the size of this reward.
Placed in the center of the wooden stone wall were four uniformly sized plastic boxes, with no labels on the surface, at first glance resembling military-industrial product packaging previously delivered to the island.
But careful observation showed that the plastic used for their outer packaging differed from military plastics, indicating they were civilian products.
However, the size of these boxes was not small; looking at the indent in the sand, they were quite heavy, reigniting Chen Zhou's expectations that had died down.
...
The cart pushed by the natives was parked in the forest section above the beach, where the soil was firmer, suitable for cart travel.
If convenient, pushing the cart into the soggy beach would make movement impossible.
Chen Zhou stepped forward alone, pulled out the plastic box's side handles, and tried to lift it.
The weight of the items inside was heavier than Chen Zhou expected, estimated to be more than 50 pounds.
This weight meant nothing to Chen Zhou; he was no longer the unhealthy big guy from years back; three years on the island had strengthened his physique enough, not to mention fifty pounds, even over a hundred pounds could be easily lifted single-handedly.
But while Chen Zhou was strong, the poor-quality handles of the plastic box couldn't bear the weight of the contents.
Exerting force, the box's right handle suddenly snapped, dropping the half-lifted box onto the sandy ground.
The handle quality was poor, and the box's quality was naturally not strong either, cracking upon impact.
Several thin plastic shards flew out, with an irregular hole appearing at the handle on the box's side.
With light rain falling, landing on Chen Zhou's straw hat, he was holding half a handle, looking at the plastic box slanted on the beach, feeling helpless.
...
"Great, previous rewards were bad, but at least they made an effort with packaging. This time, even the packaging is sloppy."
Cynically speaking, Chen Zhou tossed the plastic handle, squatted down, and peeked through the hole on the box's side.
Since the 'blind box' had already given him an observation hole, he wouldn't take it home to open.
And he was curious about what was inside the box, why it was so heavy.
...
Though it was raining, the island wasn't dark.
Over the beach, clouds were like a thicker layer of gauze, blocking the sun yet unable to completely keep out its rays.
Chen Zhou, awkwardly poking his bottom out, peering into the box, saw a rectangular object inside, with many big and small buttons neatly arranged on it, and seemingly a small screen on the side.
"Damn, it looks like an energy storage battery!"
Using intuition, Chen Zhou quickly made a logical guess about the reward inside the box.
...
"Hurry, call some people to move some big wooden planks, cover these boxes from above, don't let any water in!"
Guessing the box contained energy storage batteries, thinking of the flashlight, electric razor, even beauty devices at home needing a charge, plus the auto repair tools that required electricity, and the blacksmith gift pack's electrical items, Chen Zhou could no longer stay calm.
"From Iron Age to Electrical Age."
This was originally just a casual remark, not expecting it to actually come true.
At that moment, Chen Zhou had already abandoned his previous psychological construction, caring no longer about hiding his thoughts under the Bureau's observation, only having one thought—
Smoothly transport these energy storage batteries to the cave, ensuring they aren't damaged in the slightest.
Then, take off!
Truly take off!
...
The natives were busily moving and organizing planks and stone bricks, not paying attention to their leader here.
Suddenly hearing Chen Zhou shout, they were a bit flustered.
Occasionally chatting while moving planks, coupled with the constant noise of rain, waves, and wind, made it a bit noisy here.
They didn't initially hear clearly what Chen Zhou said, just dumbly standing in place.
Until Chen Zhou repeated it, two quick-witted natives rushed over, holding a relatively wide plank over the top of the plastic boxes.
The rest reacted slower, only grasping the command after seeing their companions complete it, clumsily picking wider planks, raising Chen Zhou's blood pressure.
Although he disliked zebras, he had to admit, sometimes having a few more natives as quick as zebras would truly be helpful.
Coincidentally, today the zebra was mixing syrup and operating the mixer.
If the zebra were here, such a thing wouldn't happen.