Chapter 135: The Harvest [First Installment]

The water rat nodded.

“Alright, I’ll let you go, but if you dare to bite back, I’ll kill you anyway. I can blow this place up and leave you nowhere to hide. Do you understand?”

The water rat’s eyes spun rapidly, glistening as if filled with tears. It clasped its two front paws together and waved them toward Zhou Yi repeatedly, like a begging puppy.

Zhou Yi knew this creature was just putting on a pitiful act. It might not have lived many years, but nourished by spirit stones, its lifespan had been extended, and it had gained some intelligence. Right now, it was solely focused on escaping.

Zhou Yi glanced at Sophia.

“Take off the sealing talisman!”

Sophia looked awkward, hesitating for a moment before saying, “I don’t know how. These talismans are mixed in with spellbooks. I see some incantations for removal later on, but I can’t do it.”

“...”

Zhou Yi was momentarily stunned, unsure how to proceed since he hadn’t planned for this.

He looked at the water rat, which was already baring its teeth and waving its paws angrily. But when the rat saw Zhou Yi’s gaze, apparently recalling the ice spike lodged inside its rear, it immediately calmed down.

Zhou Yi beckoned to the water rat.

“Come here, I’ll give it a try.”

The water rat shuffled over shyly, a bit worried but still lifting its rear high, its tail thoughtfully raised to reveal the icy spike.

Zhou Yi flipped his wrist and pulled out a pair of latex gloves. Creatures like the water rat were rare, and it was unclear how long it had been here or if it carried any exotic viruses, so he took precautions.

With gloves on, Zhou Yi interlaced his fingers and leaned close. As soon as his fingers touched the ice spike, the water rat squeaked twice and shrank away.

Frowning, Zhou Yi grabbed the rat’s tail, then tossed it into the arms of the fat man, who nearly dropped it.

“Hold it tight, grip its neck!”

The fat man complied, gripping the nape of the rat’s neck and muttering prayers.

“Listen, you better stay still. This will hurt a bit, but if you keep struggling, the more times it’ll hurt. Even if the ice spike comes out, there’s no guarantee your backside will still work. And if you move recklessly and puncture your intestines or your balls, who knows if you’ll ever be able to reproduce…”

Zhou Yi ignored the fat man’s ramblings, focusing on the ice spike. The previous talisman was embedded inside it. Zhou Yi silently recited the incantation, pinched the spike, and pulled hard.

One try, two tries... The water rat’s shrieks grew louder, its whole body trembling violently, as if it might die at any moment.

The fat man rubbed his nose, clicking his tongue.

“Geez, a male, and already bent like this. Poor thing. Stop screaming; the more noise you make, the less it sounds like pain. Are you enjoying this?”

Zhou Yi kicked the fat man’s rear sharply. The fat man shut up instantly, realizing he might have gone too far, and grinned sheepishly at Zhou Yi.

“I was just trying to distract it. If it only thinks about the pain, it’ll hurt even more.”

Zhou Yi paid no mind and stared at the protruding ice spike. Suddenly, inspiration struck. Since it wouldn’t come out by pulling, fine—then it wouldn’t come out. He’d just turn it into water and melt it.

His fingers trembled slightly as a light enveloped the ice spike. It began to dissolve, thinning and melting away. The rat’s whimpering grew quieter and quieter.

When the last bit of spike, as thin as a finger, melted completely, the water rat sprang up and darted straight into the newly excavated mine vein.

The fat man’s hands were empty, stunned. The creature’s reaction was too quick—had it been playing him all along?

“Boss, you’re really letting a tiger back into the mountain?”

Zhou Yi waved a hand.

“Don’t worry about it. Seal the mine entrance tightly. If Cheng Zhi can move, have him come and sense the energy with us. Separate the high-energy stones for storage; take as much as we can carry. Anything we can’t carry, we’ll absorb right here. No stone left behind.”

This time, Cheng Zhi smiled. Back in the 2000 Worlds, he had already realized this gentleman was like a mythical beast that only took and never left anything behind.

Anything he saw had to be taken, without exception.

But he was generous to them—whether spirit stones or spellbooks, he gave freely. He protected them fiercely when they were injured. With such devotion, how could they not work hard?

Cheng Zhi was the first to approach, despite his wounds—which were only superficial and not life-threatening—and quickly began gathering stones, doing a preliminary selection.

After a while, Cheng Zhi discovered the trick: the lighter the blue, the weaker the warmth and comfort the stone provided.

Deep blue or stones tinged with other colors emitted a stronger sense of comfort. He picked up a green stone and involuntarily hummed in appreciation.

Seeing Zhou Yi watching him, Cheng Zhi’s face flushed red, like someone caught in an embarrassing moment by a sudden intrusion, all pleasure and shame tangled together. He quickly averted his gaze and said:

“Sir, you can distinguish them by color without sensing. Light blue stones are ordinary spirit stones with less energy and no special properties. But deep blue, pale yellow, grass green, and orange-red stones contain quite a lot of energy—not inferior to the spirit stones from the Five Elements Tomb!”

This caught everyone’s attention. They crowded closer. Sophia picked up an orange-red stone and sensed it—sure enough, it brimmed with energy.

A smile spread uncontrollably across Zhou Yi’s face as he waved to everyone.

“A big haul! Prioritize the good ones. Clear out any space in Sophia’s and my storage boxes. As for the light blue stones, pack them up too.

“It’s said this stuff is like wealth—you can even use it for contributions at the base or trade it for something else. Just don’t leave anything behind. If you can’t take it, we absorb it here.”

Sophia had no objections. Even if the energy wasn’t much, they were still spirit stones, not worthless ones without attributes. She hurried to sort quickly.

Cheng Zhi and the fat man busied themselves as well. Zhou Yi focused on the deep blue stones.

Some were hard to categorize—many mixed together, half light blue, half deep blue, or light blue encasing yellow. Soon, they picked out over thirty quality stones. Zhou Yi handed the red and orange ones to Sophia to store.

The rest went into one box, which they placed into the storage chest. Then they pulled out pots, pans, and other essentials from the tent, besides weapons, and Zhou Yi cleared out a large pile of stuff.

They began packing. The pile of light blue stones on the ground, after Zhou Yi and Sophia’s collection, was reduced to about thirty with impurities and lower quality. The storage chest was full, so they stopped.

Wiping sweat from his brow, Zhou Yi looked at the others.

“Fat man, check if the water rat’s escape route is sealed tight. The four of us shouldn’t stray too far. Let’s start absorbing here. With someone watching, we won’t leave anything for that rat.”

The fat man wanted to say something, but Cheng Zhi pulled him away. He quickly gathered a few stones, turned his back to the three, and began absorbing along the mine’s sidewall.

The fat man fell silent and copied Cheng Zhi, grabbing some stones and running off.

Zhou Yi and Sophia sat by the stone pile, each holding a piece and absorbing the spirit energy. Although these stones couldn’t compare to those with obvious elemental attributes, their absorption rate was astonishingly fast.

This time, Zhou Yi avoided touching the hexagram seal. After having enraged the stone golem before, it was better to stay quiet and absorb peacefully to keep the two in harmony.

One stone, then two... After more than an hour, the pile before Zhou Yi and Sophia was gone.

Having experienced the intense floodgate release from pure elemental spirit stones earlier, these stones were mere appetizers—utterly uneventful.

Zhou Yi stood, stomping his feet to ease the numbness in his legs. Looking down, he noticed the injury on his ankle had completely vanished.

An unexpected blessing—he hadn’t anticipated his wounds could heal like this.

At that moment, Sophia finished absorbing as well. Zhou Yi was used to long, high-volume energy intake, but she was a Level Three talent, exceptional in her own right. She dusted off the remaining stone fragments in her hand and glanced toward the fat man and Cheng Zhi.

They seemed finished too, leaning against the mine tunnel walls, eyes half-closed, savoring the lingering comfort. The afterglow of pleasure was even more satisfying than the high itself.

Sophia lowered her voice and asked, “Where do we go next?”