Chapter 52: Stimulating Abilities
The clear weather just felt too good.
After finishing tidying up the house, Huai Yu basked in the warm sunlight filtering through the gaps in the mottled tree leaves, warming her back.
She looked up and saw that the thick layers of paulownia leaves on the roof—grown with the help of her ability—had already dried and curled up slightly.
A few more warm days, and they’d probably crumble into dust.
Thinking about it, she decided to leave the leaves up for now.
Though waterproof tarps were good, they weren’t thick enough. The temperature difference between day and night in early spring was still large, and nights were cold—especially when she’d initially only had a sleeping bag.
And because burning firewood produced smoke, Huai Yu hadn’t dared to keep a fire going all night. The sleeping bag and the leaves had helped her avoid catching a cold those first few days.
She thought, tomorrow.
Tonight she’d rebind the woven grass mats made during rainy days, and tomorrow she’d take down all the leaves. After letting the house sun-dry for a day, she could lay down the mats and the tarp again. That setup should last a long while.
Once everything was sorted, she pulled out her multi-tool shovel and started trimming the leftover branches from when she’d built the clothes rack.
Thicker ones had to be sawed short, while the thinner ones she snapped over her knee with both hands, stacking them as neatly as possible next to the firewood pile under the shelter.
But…
After placing another bundle of branches with various shapes, she looked at the neatly stacked, perfectly aligned firewood and couldn’t help but open her hand and mutter:
“Why couldn’t I have gotten the water-type ability?”
If she had been like Lin Xuefeng—unbothered by rain or damp, never needing tools like knives or saws, and not worried about malicious people…
How amazing would that be?!
But as things were, her own power was just a weak form of purification and stimulation. Useless, really, except for painting a target on her back.
She sighed. Feeling a rare sense of ease today, she simply lay down, sprawling out on the sun-warmed pile of dry grass she called a bed.
Not long after, she actually dozed off in the sunlight.
…
Maybe it was the long-term tension finally releasing, but by the time Huai Yu woke again, the sky was already painted orange and red with sunset.
She sat up immediately and checked her watch—5:00 PM!
Panicked, she started rushing to clean everything up.
She pulled the tarp back onto the roof bit by bit, carried the solar lamp into the house, and gathered up the thoroughly sun-dried grass.
Also the blankets and clothes—they couldn’t be left outside to reabsorb moisture.
By the time she finished the last of her tasks, the sky outside had turned a deep purple twilight.
The solar lamp had charged all day. Huai Yu turned it on with anticipation—
Click.
Instantly, the whole room lit up brilliantly.
The white glow was different from the flickering orange of firelight, making the entire treehouse feel more spacious.
The brand-new folding bed sat in the corner, ready to lie down on with a blanket and sleep.
But Huai Yu still felt a twinge of regret.
First, the bed was quite small, so the blanket easily hung off and could touch the floor.
Second, the bottom was just a thin layer of fabric. Even if the top was warm, the cold might creep in from beneath, especially around the shoulders and back. She’d have to fill underneath with more dry grass and spread some around to keep the blanket clean.
Realizing what she was thinking, she couldn’t help but laugh:
Human desires really are endless!
Her first sleeping bag had been a gift from Captain Zhou out of pity. And now she was picky about beds?
No matter how nice the bed, could she have bought it without help? Hauled it back by herself?
Amused by her own thoughts, Huai Yu laughed as she pulled out the new duvet cover to put on.
Once her sleeping area was set up, she lit a fire and placed the pot on the rack.
What to eat tonight?
That was a question she pondered carefully every day. The seven remaining packs of nutrition paste in the corner constantly reminded her to treasure her current meals.
After thinking it over, she decided such a lovely day deserved a proper dish to celebrate!
After days of easing into solid food and oil, her stomach should be able to handle a real meal now!
So—
She used the last of her purified rice and made a big bowl of fluffy white rice.
On the side, she grabbed a whole bowl of mung bean sprouts—grown entirely with purified water—and stir-fried them with lard and crispy bits of pork fat!
The sprouts were crisp, the lard fragrant, and the soybean bits had a unique texture…
Each bite of glossy stir-fried sprouts with pork bits under the bright light, paired with a scoop of fragrant, glistening rice…
Mmm…
So hot it almost brought tears to her eyes.
But it was just so delicious!
Cradling the bowl in the lamplight, Huai Yu smiled with satisfaction.
Above her, the pinecone cleverly disguised as a light bulb looked especially real, as if this truly was the perfect home and life.
…
After the meal, Huai Yu sat for a while in a daze before remembering the 8 small ginsengs she hadn’t dealt with yet.
These ginsengs really were mutated—they looked… well, she couldn’t even recognize them as ginseng.
In her mind, ginseng should have a slender body with a tall stalk, some leaves, or maybe a cluster of red berries.
Sometimes yellow berries.
But the leaves shouldn’t look like these weird tendrils.
And Flower City didn’t produce this stuff. Even in Sanqing Mountain, she hadn’t seen anything like this. She had no idea where Uncle Jujube got them from.
Still, Uncle Jujube didn’t seem like the type to scam her—he was way too capable for that.
Now that these “mini carrots” were a bit dried out from being out of the soil, Huai Yu picked one up and studied it, then cautiously tried purifying it.
Her power flowed bit by bit. She could sense the ginseng becoming more pure, but… it still looked shriveled and ugly, with lifeless leaves.
Huh?
She frowned, withdrawing her hand and staring at it again.
Well, she wasn’t planning to sell or eat them yet, and besides… they were cheap.
Okay fine, mostly because they were cheap!
So Huai Yu fetched a basin of purified water and decided to go bold. This time, she used her much weaker growth-stimulating ability instead of purification—
And unlike before, she could actually feel her power flowing clearly!
Under the bright lamplight, tiny green specks of light floated around her like fireflies.
Outside the treehouse, the unscathed wisteria vines suddenly swayed violently. Not far away, the shadow of the rose corridor trembled in the night, its vines stretching out like claws—
[ALERT! Mutation value in Rose Corridor Zone 37 rising rapidly!]
[ALERT! Mutation value in Rose Corridor Zone 37 rising rapidly!]
[ALERT! Mutation value in Rose Corridor Zone 37 rising rapidly!]
