Chapter 532: Chapter 532
Jing Shu’s mouth opened slightly. She certainly remembered seeing such a contraption when she first boarded the bus. At the time, she had wondered why someone with so much free time would install a pedal bicycle on the bus. Were they planning to exercise? Now she realized it was a pedal mechanism for paddling on water. As for the principle, she quickly guessed it. It was just like the pedal boats from her childhood at the park’s lake, where two people would pedal, and a propeller underneath would move the boat. But the power... Heh, indescribable. So, could a single bicycle pedal mechanism really pull a bus this big?
Of course, the current problem they faced was a vast expanse of mud bog they couldn’t cross.
"Shall we look for another route first? And think of other methods?"
Everyone started to ponder deeply. The bus’s transformation was a one-time thing. If it changed into water mode, it would destroy the land configuration, which was quite distressing. After all, who knew how much more road there was ahead? Therefore, unless absolutely necessary, they tried to avoid using that mode. Even if the bus was slow, it still had four wheels. If it were to lose power, they, with only two legs each, would certainly be exhausted to death.
Yang Yang took a plank from the bus and tied it under his feet, attempting to test the mud bog. He humorously asked Jing Shu, "How about going skiing?"
Jing Shu responded, "You go first, and I’ll watch from behind." In her heart, she also harbored some anticipation; she had quite a talent for playing, too.
Since the mud bog was like a swamp, rich in viscosity and elasticity, Yang Yang struggled to move across the mud, shifting only one plank at a time.
It definitely wasn’t like the skiing he had imagined. How boring. Jing Shu shook her head.
Hong Bin then went around to look for other possibilities; even if there was no path, perhaps they could climb and bypass the bog. Lu Liu deployed a drone to assess the size of the mud bog and to survey the nearby terrain.
Even though Jing Shu was dressed warmly, enveloping every part of her, the cold, seeping feeling from the muddy water at her feet was still uncomfortable. She feared that her feet might develop sores under the icy conditions. She felt envious of Jun Bao, who got to soak and wash his feet every day; she also longed for a hot footbath.
No, I must add a pair of thick woolen socks when I get back; my feet are really cold, Jing Shu decided.
Fat Chicken, wearing its shoes, danced wildly in the bog. It was very careful not to splash even a bit of mud and occasionally would swoop down quickly to nip at some mud and swallow it with relish.
"CLUCK! CLUCK! CLUCK!"
The muddy water here tastes great! It’s just how I like it! Fat Chicken was even more jubilant.
Jun Bao then took out a bucket and went to dig up more mud. His digging wasn’t aimless; he was always selective. Unfortunately, his mud-proof boots only reached his knees, and he wanted to go deeper. He felt a bit regretful. He always believed the mud from the deeper parts of the bog held more research value.
"Perhaps we can stop when we pass by the center later." As the person in charge, he could whimsically decide to stop whenever he wanted.
Fat Chicken flapped its wings, performing ’dragonfly touching water’ maneuvers above the mud, incessantly munching on the mud from the quagmire. On closer inspection, it seemed that Fat Chicken was not eating randomly.
Could it be that this chicken has also discovered something? Jun Bao watched the chicken thoughtfully. They say animals have the most sensitive instincts...
"Your chicken has also found the unusual mud, just like the unusual mud I discovered," Jun Bao said to Jing Shu, as if to imply, ’Even your chicken discovered it, how have you not?’
Jing Shu raised an eyebrow. Muddy water? What’s so special about muddy water? From her past life to her current one, she had never encountered any unusual muddy water. When the mudslides erupted in the fourth year, there was mud everywhere. Wasn’t it all the same?
She didn’t want to bother with this idle person, but Jing Shu casually replied, "What’s different about it? My chicken eats muddy water every day; that’s pretty normal." However, looking back over the past few days, Fat Chicken did seem particularly joyful.
Jun Bao handed over the bucket, not concealing his thoughts. "This muddy water contains genes from the red liquid you brought back from the United States last year. Although there are only one or two similar genes, I think they hold significant research value. Look, your chicken likes them. Perhaps this confirms my hypothesis that this could be a key to a breakthrough in researching dark food."
The red liquid. Jun Bao knew Jing Shu also had some; she was the one who discovered it. If his research made a breakthrough, he would need to find Jing Shu. So, sharing the news generously now was also a way to establish a good relationship.
Jing Shu’s brows twitched. The red liquid! She understood all too well what the red liquid represented—it was the only thing she had seen to date that could contend with the Spiritual Spring.
It was with the red liquid that the Dinosaur Chicken was cultivated, providing her family with an additional livelihood and an extra layer of security in the apocalypse. At the very least, without any other food, the Dinosaur Chicken could survive on dark matter alone and still lay eggs. No one understood what this meant in the apocalypse better than Jing Shu.
Unfortunately, the downside was that breeding was exceedingly difficult.
During last year’s trip to the United States, 99% of the red liquid had been preciously stored in her Magic Cube Space. Only a tiny amount was left behind, which Zhen Nantian and Yang Yang had managed to scavenge. That portion would surely be reported and researched. But she had not anticipated that this relatively unknown nephew of Jin Tianci would have such inside information.
Jing Shu turned her gaze to the bucket. Her Magic Cube Space was extremely calm, without even the slightest ripple. She couldn’t help feeling puzzled. Back then, she had felt a strong sensation from the red liquid.
Jing Shu took off her gloves and immersed her hand in the bucket, using the Magic Cube Space to feel carefully, trying to induce even the faintest resonance, but there was no reaction. Updates are released by 𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹⟡𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮⟡𝙣𝙚𝙩
"Are you sure? How can you distinguish that they’re different? This mud bog is so big..."
Jun Bao then took out a metal spoon and said, "It’s quite simple. If it reacts with iron, then it contains a trace of the liquid we’re looking for. Dip the spoon in; if it looks like flowing starlight, that’s it. Look, this is what I’ve painstakingly refined over the last few days."
As he spoke, Jun Bao took out a thumb-sized bottle. Inside were only about a dozen drops of black liquid, not even amounting to one milliliter.
At first glance, there didn’t seem to be anything special. But when Jing Shu touched the bottle and truly made contact with the black liquid inside, her mind exploded! Large beads of sweat ran down her forehead, and she had an overwhelming urge to claim it as her own. She almost instantly tried to absorb all the liquid into her Magic Cube Space.
Jing Shu suppressed the jubilant urge in her mind, her head throbbing as if to split. She had been on the verge of instantly absorbing all the liquid into her Magic Cube Space. She forcibly restrained herself. This impulse, these thoughts—even the notion of having to return the bottle had she taken it—retreated like flowing water, as if nothing had happened at all.