152: Test field

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, another five days passed. Xu Jingzhe had consumed thousands of bacteria that were over a thousand years old.

The Golden Contamination Core showed signs of healing, and the fragmented golden rings were beginning to 'regrow'.

"Ugh..." Xu Jingzhe rubbed his chest, suppressing the churning in his stomach.

"Can you find Zhang Manyue?"

System: "Ding, that's a bit difficult."

Xu Jingzhe fell silent, leaped to the top of an ancient tree, and looked into the distance.

The New Realm could not be measured by conventional logic. Even if you felt that a mountain was right in front of you, it might actually be separated by multiple eerie spaces, spanning an unknown distance.

After scanning the surroundings, his gaze rested on several black mountains. That range was very conspicuous; he had noticed it the moment he leaped onto the branches.

He intentionally tried to ignore them, but his mind was involuntarily drawn to them. They were like the 'center' of this region, giving one the feeling that to leave, one must climb those mountains.

"Zhang Manyue!" Xu Jingzhe focused his energy into his dantian and shouted.

The voice echoed through the empty valley, lingering for a long time and startling a flock of birds.

"Shall we go take a look at those black mountains over there?" Xu Jingzhe asked.

System: "Ding, your legs are attached to your own body."

Xu Jingzhe curled his lip. This damn system was reliable most of the time, but unreliable just as often.

He always felt like it was... doing it on purpose.

System: "Ding, you're scolding me."

"I'm not."

System: "Ding, you were."

"I wasn't."

Jumping off the branch, Xu Jingzhe headed toward the black mountains. Along the way, birds sang and flowers smelled sweet; the fragrance of fruit permeated the air. It was hard to imagine such a clean place existing within a Pollution Zone.

After walking for about half an hour, Xu Jingzhe's eyes lit up. Amidst the lush, exotic flowers and grasses, there was a reflective sheen of metal.

His heart leaped with joy. He stepped forward quickly and pushed aside the grass.

"Damn it!"

His joy vanished instantly. It was a broken mechanical dog, about the size of a calf, with its jaw hanging wide open. Most of its metal teeth had fallen out, and it was mottled with rust.

The body, made of some unknown metal, was reduced to just four legs and a spine, all rusted. The 'flesh' was gone.

Xu Jingzhe crouched down to examine the mechanical dog's spine closely. At the joint connections, there were no fewer than five or six types of tightly interlocking gears.

The legs were even more complex, with hundreds of gears, axles, clips, and other components of various sizes. The craftsmanship was quite complex and intricate.

This meant that the mechanical dog's body could run in various postures just like a real dog. It could even perform movements more complex and precise than a real dog.

This made him marvel at the technology in the New Realm. He estimated that the current level of civilization on Blue Star would find it difficult to replicate this completely.

Standing up and continuing forward, Xu Jingzhe discovered a dozen more metal animals: mechanical cows, mechanical tigers, mechanical cats, and so on. Unfortunately, eroded by the passage of time, they had become an unsightly mess.

"Huh, is this... an orchard?" Xu Jingzhe asked, puzzled.

To his front right, a neatly planned field appeared. The entire plot was divided into eight equal sections.

Each small section was planted with eight fruit trees. The trees were not tall, but their branches were as vigorous as coiled dragons. The bark bore the marks of time, and the leaves on the trees were half the size of a person, their color a more vibrant and unbridled green than other trees.

It was so vibrant it seemed to seep into one's bones, a baptism for the eyes.

When he walked closer, he realized that the colors of the eight plots of land also had subtle differences that one wouldn't notice unless paying close attention.

Through the gaps in the dense leaves, Xu Jingzhe spotted several fruits. The fruit on each tree was actually different; some were the size of a baby's fist, shaped like cherries with pink skin.

Some were the size of an adult's fist, shaped like strawberries, their vivid red color very striking.

Some were as big as a saucer, shaped like avocados.

"Big Boss, want to try one?"

System: "Ding, your mouth is on your face."

Xu Jingzhe: "..."

Entering the orchard, he felt a jolt of energy. The fruity fragrance in the air was so rich it was almost tangible. Taking a breath could be described as feeling like floating in ecstasy.

The fatigue in his body and the worries in his mind dissipated.

These fruity fragrance molecules were 'locked' within this field, which explained why he hadn't smelled them even when he was so close.

Without hesitation, Xu Jingzhe picked a fruit shaped like a strawberry and took an impatient bite.

Sweet juice exploded in his mouth, the flesh dancing on the tip of his tongue. A variety of complex flavors surged into his heart, each one intoxicating.

System: "Ding, this fruit is extraordinary!"

Xu Jingzhe didn't reply. Like Zhu Bajie eating the ginseng fruit, he didn't bother to savor it slowly, finishing one in a few bites. He picked another 'strawberry' fruit and popped it into his mouth.

Little happy Stars appeared in his eyes, and he forgot all his troubles.

There weren't many fruits on each tree—five or six at most, three or four at least. Xu Jingzhe quickly finished the fruits in one small plot of land.

He rubbed his full belly and suddenly realized a problem.

He... actually felt full?

"Big Boss, what did you just say?" Xu Jingzhe wiped his mouth, still unsatisfied. He looked at the fruits in the remaining seven plots, his eyes glowing.

System: "Ding, this fruit contains a large amount of trace elements and energy. More than half of these trace elements come from other planets."

"If I'm not mistaken, this should be a fruit experimental field. The soil you are standing on also comes from different planets; it contains nutrients and bacterial strains not found on Blue Star, used to grow fruit trees."

Before the system finished speaking, Xu Jingzhe felt something strange in his body. A burning, fiery sensation came from his abdomen. He looked down and saw his abdomen had become transparent; his intestines and bones were clearly visible.

The edges of the cracked Golden Contamination Core showed signs of melting, just like gold being burned by a great fire, fusing together perfectly.

However, the burning energy wasn't enough. Only one-third of it had fused together perfectly, while the remaining two-thirds were still cracked.

Half an hour later, Xu Jingzhe looked like he had just come out of the water; he was soaked through. Many turbid, viscous substances were expelled from his pores, sticking to his body and making him feel very uncomfortable.

These fruits brought about huge changes to his body, with the same effect as consuming bacteria.

Xu Jingzhe looked at the fruits in the next plot with the eyes of a hungry wolf, craving them immensely. Just as he was about to lift his foot, the system's voice sounded.

System: "Ding, although the elements and energy contained in these fruits—which have grown for who knows how many generations—are less than one-tenth of what they used to be, given your current body, you should stop while you're ahead."

"Eat more tomorrow."

"Once you finish this orchard, your body should be mostly recovered. After consuming another two thousand bacteria that have survived for a thousand years, you will be completely restored."

Xu Jingzhe was overjoyed. Being forced into the New Realm by Gai's artillery shells hadn't just left him unharmed; it had turned into a blessing in disguise.

Truly, fortune depends upon misfortune, and misfortune lurks within fortune.