2: Evolution value +0.01
Just as dawn was breaking, Li Qing opened his eyes.
He felt the thirty copper coins hidden under the straw mat; the cold touch gave him a sense of security.
He hadn't dared to take out the entire money bag he buried underground last night, only taking the loose change.
Three taels of silver were too conspicuous; for a Slum orphan to suddenly produce so much money was no different from seeking death.
"Xiao Jia, let's see if our theory from last night is true today."
Li Qing lifted the Turtle out of the clay basin; Xiao Jia's black eyes sparkled in the morning light.
There was a grocery store at the east end of the Slum. The owner was surnamed Ma, a one-eyed old man.
Li Qing hid the copper coins close to his body and walked over with a weak gait.
The wound on the back of his head still throbbed slightly, but it had already scabbed over.
"Kid of the Li family? Not dead yet?"
Boss Ma had a pipe in his mouth, his one eye glinting with shrewdness.
Behind him, the shelves were stocked with brown rice, coarse salt, and low-quality cloth—all the daily necessities of the Slum.
Li Qing lowered his head. "Uncle Ma, I want to buy some rice."
"Got money?" Boss Ma sneered.
"Your grandmother is dead. Who's giving you money?"
"Grandmother left twenty copper coins when she passed away."
Having said that, Li Qing pulled twenty copper coins from his robe.
The copper coins gleamed in his palm, soaked with sweat.
"That's all."
Boss Ma squinted his one eye and counted the coins. "Only enough for two catties of brown rice, mixed with chaff."
"Fine."
Li Qing knew he was being ripped off, but this was the only shop in the Slum.
Normally, brown rice was five coins per catty, so his twenty coins should have bought four catties.
Weakness was the original sin.
In this world, if Boss Ma simply refused to give him the rice, there was nothing he could do.
Boss Ma turned and scooped out some dusty rice from a sack; it was clearly mixed with a lot of rice husks.
He wrapped it in old newspaper and handed it to Li Qing.
"Eat sparingly; it won't be this cheap next time."
Skinflint Ma, you think you sold it cheap this time?
Li Qing cursed him in his head but kept a smile on his face.
"Thank you, Uncle Ma."
He walked back clutching the bag of rice, encountering a few children in rags along the way.
Li Qing quickened his pace, cold sweat breaking out on his back.
In this hellhole, killing someone for a bite of food was not uncommon.
Returning home, Li Qing immediately bolted the door.
He found the only intact clay pot in the house, filled it with fresh water, and carefully poured in a handful of rice.
He hid the rest of the rice in a secret compartment under the stove.
That was where his grandmother used to hide the deed to the house.
The stove fire crackled, and the aroma of rice gradually filled the dilapidated earthen house.
Li Qing stayed by the fire, his stomach growling.
The last time he had eaten a proper meal of rice was... the last time.
The porridge was ready; he had used relatively little water, so it was somewhere between congee and steamed rice.
Ignoring the heat, Li Qing took a large gulp from the clay pot.
The hot porridge slid down his esophagus, and his stomach instantly warmed up.
After a few large bowls, his belly was full.
"Xiao Jia, your turn."
Li Qing poured out some rice porridge into the clay basin to cool.
The Turtle paddled its limbs over, sniffed the porridge, and began to eat unhurriedly.
Li Qing stared tensely at the System interface.
[Devoured coarse grains, evolution value +0.01]
"It really increased!"
Li Qing stood up excitedly.
Although it only increased by 0.01, it proved his guess was correct.
The Clone could gain evolution value through eating!
But he immediately calmed down.
Just now, he had used a small portion of the two catties of brown rice to cook the porridge.
He ate half, and the remainder gave the Clone 0.01 evolution value.
To fill up 10 points would require a massive amount of rice.
At current prices, it would cost at least ten taels of silver.
The money he stole was far from enough, and besides, buying a large amount of grain all at once would definitely arouse suspicion.
Li Qing sat on the threshold, staring blankly at the narrow patch of sky over the Slum.
With a thin 1.4-meter frame, he couldn't even lift a bucket of water; where could he get so much food?
Gao Qiang's gang was still watching him like hawks, and Zhao Si would definitely be investigating the missing money.
Suddenly, the sound of water came from the distance.
It was the fish Grandpa Li next door had caught from the river.
Li Qing's eyes lit up; Jinling City was next to a river.
At the lowermost end of the Slum, there was a branch of a small river; the murky water meandered toward the grain fields outside Jinling City.
Grandpa Li often relied on his good swimming skills to catch fish there for a living.
"That's right! There must be fish and shrimp in the river!"
Li Qing stood up abruptly.
Turtles are amphibious.
Foraging in water wouldn't be an issue.
If he let it find food in the river itself, wouldn't that save the money for buying grain?
At dusk, Li Qing carried the clay basin to the riverbank.
This place was some distance from the center of the Slum, overgrown with weeds and infested with mosquitoes.
The fishermen had already gone home, and the riverbank was quiet, save for the sound of flowing water.
"Xiao Jia, it's up to you." Li Qing placed the Turtle into the shallow water.
Through the shared vision, he saw floating algae and tiny aquatic organisms in the water.
It became active as soon as it entered the water, its limbs paddling as it quickly dove next to a rock.
A few small shrimp were swimming there.
Li Qing shot the head out like lightning and bit a small shrimp.
[evolution value: 0.02/10]
Li Qing's eyes brightened.
One small shrimp was worth half a catty of brown rice!
It seemed living creatures provided higher evolution value.
He let Xiao Jia continue foraging while he sat on the bank on guard.
Although the branch river in the Slum wasn't deep, large fish occasionally appeared.
The Clone was still just an ordinary Reeve's turtle; it would be in danger if it encountered natural enemies like snakes, crocodiles, or large fish.
As the sun set, the river water was dyed with a layer of gold.
Li Qing had already captured three small shrimp and one small fish; the evolution value rose to 0.06.
Each shrimp added +0.01 evolution value, while the small fish added 0.02.
It seemed both the size and quality of the food had an impact.
Li Qing was rejoicing when he suddenly saw a dark shadow swimming from the deep water through the Turtle's eyes.
It was a catfish over a foot long!
"A catfish!" Li Qing was startled in his heart.
He quickly retracted into the shell.
In the distance, the catfish had already spotted him and opened its mouth full of fine teeth to bite.
At the critical moment, Li Qing instinctively activated the "Armor Defense" talent.
A faint shimmer, visible to the naked eye, covered the Turtle shell.
The catfish bit down as if it had struck a rock.
With a "crack," several teeth broke off, and it fled in pain.
Li Qing breathed a sigh of relief; the Armor Defense talent truly lived up to its name.
It was late, and the water was too dangerous.
It was even more dangerous for him to be out alone.
He withdrew his consciousness.
Li Qing issued an order for the Clone to stay in the shallow water area to eat fish and shrimp.
If it encountered a large fish, it should immediately use the Armor Defense talent.
Then, crouching low, he made his way back.
He felt at ease leaving the Clone here.
The Armor Defense talent provided very strong defensive power.
If it met snakes or large fish, it could activate Armor Defense and retreat into its shell.
Once the large fish and snakes realized their efforts were in vain, they would naturally leave.
The Clone didn't even need to rest all night; Li Qing looked forward to its harvest.