Qi Xiao quickly walked to the planting carriage and carefully planted the pan tao sapling.
Qi Xiao recalled Journey to the West from his childhood, where the Earth God introduced the pan tao tree to Monkey King like this:
"There are three thousand six hundred pan tao trees in the garden."
"The first one thousand two hundred trees bear small flowers and tiny fruits, ripening once every three thousand years. Those who eat them will become immortals, their bodies healthy and light."
"The middle one thousand two hundred trees bear lush flowers and sweet fruits, ripening once every six thousand years. Those who eat them will ascend to heaven and live forever."
"The last one thousand two hundred trees bear purple-veined, yellow-cored fruits, ripening once every nine thousand years. Those who eat them will live as long as heaven and earth, and share the same age as the sun and moon."
He wondered which type of pan tao tree Monkey King pulled out.
No, no matter which type it was, it was just a tender sapling now.
Just growing into a tree would take an unknown amount of time.
Qi Xiao's face immediately fell. "I won't be able to eat this peach before I die, will I?"
The next second, the pan tao tree suddenly emitted a green light visible to the naked eye. It absorbed all the magical multi-purpose fertilizer Qi Xiao had previously scattered.
And it grew taller by a section at a speed visible to the naked eye.
It grew from three centimeters to about ten centimeters.
The magical multi-purpose fertilizer could actually promote its growth!
As expected of a pan tao tree. The mushrooms and plants had grown several batches without consuming much fertilizer, yet it absorbed all of it at once and only grew this much.
Qi Xiao was overjoyed and quickly retrieved the small handful of fertilizer produced by the automatic composting bin, scattering it around the sapling.
As soon as the fertilizer touched the soil, the sapling emitted a green light, absorbing it completely.
Good, as long as there's enough magical multi-purpose fertilizer, there's still hope within his lifetime!
Qi Xiao took out the ganoderma he had obtained from the Mushroom Garden earlier. He had studied this item for a while, found it useless, and left it to gather dust in his jie bracelet.
Now it was useful. He could turn it into fertilizer to help the pan tao tree grow.
Qi Xiao chopped it into small pieces and threw them into the automatic composting bin.
He looked at the subtly glowing sapling with immense affection.
The Black Wind Monster squatted there, sniffing wildly, its expression utterly intoxicated.
"You little rascal, pay attention! I'm appointing you as the Peach Protector. Make sure you protect it well!"
"Woof woof woof!"
Leaving the planting carriage, Qi Xiao returned to his bedroom, took out the Level 8 treasure chest, and examined it repeatedly.
Tsk tsk tsk.
Monkey King knocked on it for so long, and didn't even leave a mark.
Where am I supposed to get a key for this?
Ding dong ding dong ding dong.
"No, it's already one o'clock, why isn't lunch served yet?"
"Where are the people? I'm starving, starving, starving!"
"If you don't serve food soon, I'm taking back my train coins."
"I'm really taking them back."
"Forget it, there's still half a loaf of bread left from this morning. I'll just tide myself over for now."
"Coming, coming! Crying and wailing just because you miss one meal."
Qi Xiao collected the train coins and went to make lunch.
He turned on the faucet, but no water came out.
Looking up at the water meter, it showed the water storage was zero.
???
No, where's my six hundred-plus liters of water?
Did my external water tank leak, damn it?
No way...
Qi Xiao went to the refrigerated carriage, drew a bucket of water from the water tank, and poured it around the pan tao sapling.
In an instant, all the water was absorbed.
The sapling's leaves became even greener.
Hiss... As expected.
The planting carriage could automatically adjust humidity because it was connected to the external water tank.
Are you a bottomless pit, buddy? That was six hundred liters of water!
Although this sapling absorbed nutrients and water, it wasn't an endless absorption like stealing from other life forms.
This could be seen from the fact that the mushrooms and potted plants in the carriage were still growing normally.
It seemed to be able to automatically identify the excess water and nutrients in the environment and only absorb those.
Qi Xiao held his forehead, feeling a headache coming on.
How many resources would it take to raise this pan tao tree?
...
Lunch was instant noodles.
In the afternoon, Qi Xiao continued to roast pumpkins for sale.
Tomorrow was the last day of winter. He needed to sell some at a high price while he still could.
He still hadn't gathered enough materials to upgrade to Level 12.
Just in time to check the station where the Train would stop tomorrow.
"This stop: Sanfu City (Single-person Station)"
"There are a small number of infected dogs in this station. Being attacked will result in infection. Danger Level: 2."
"There is a Level 2 treasure chest in the Sanfu Police Station, third-floor office, which can yield 6 train coins and a pair of running shoes."
...
Caw!
Caw!
Caw!
Qi Xiao, fully armed, walked down the Train. It was very quiet; only the sound of crows could be heard.
On the street, cars with shattered windows were scattered everywhere like toys carelessly discarded by naughty children.
Various guardrails and utility poles were also strewn across the ground.
The wind carried only a desolate scent of rust.
The shops on both sides of the street had also been looted, leaving only broken glass everywhere.
Qi Xiao casually walked into a shop. Sure enough, there was no water or electricity.
First, he would go to the police station to open the treasure chest.
Ten minutes later, Qi Xiao successfully found the police station.
Qi Xiao got off the vehicle and put away his motorcycle.
The main door was locked with an iron chain. Qi Xiao placed his hand on it, and with a thought, the entire chain was absorbed into his jie bracelet.
He pushed the door open.
A dark shadow suddenly darted out, pouncing directly at Qi Xiao.
Qi Xiao dodged with a sidestep, pulled out his shotgun with a backhand, and fired a shot at the shadow's head.
It was an infected dog with only half its face remaining.
He fired another shot, and the infected dog kicked its legs a few times, then breathed its last.
Looking at the black, sticky liquid flowing from its body, Qi Xiao frowned.
This didn't seem to be a zombie; was it an infected creature? He should still be careful.
As if hearing the gunshots, two more infected dogs rushed out, which Qi Xiao also easily dealt with.
Good, the hardship in the gravity carriage wasn't for nothing. My speed is much faster now than before.
I wonder if I can run a hundred meters in under ten seconds. I'll test it when I have time later.
Arriving on the third floor, Qi Xiao found the office and opened the treasure chest.
running shoes?
Qi Xiao took out this pair of pink sneakers.
"running shoes: Increases movement speed by 10%. Automatically adapts to foot size, comfortable, breathable, and prevents foot odor."
Increases movement speed by ten percent! Wearing these, I can definitely run a hundred meters in under ten seconds!
Qi Xiao eagerly put them on. They indeed automatically conformed to his feet and were very comfortable to wear.
Aside from the somewhat pink color, there were no other flaws.
Is this what increased movement speed feels like?
His body felt much lighter and became much more agile.
Climbing stairs was incredibly fast.
After a quick search yielded no useful supplies, Qi Xiao quickly returned the way he came.
Because on the way there, Qi Xiao had seen a water tanker.
He rushed back to the water tanker.
Qi Xiao pulled open the water pipe and opened the valve to release water.
The water was clear; it should be tap water.
There was a transparent water level gauge at the front of the water tanker's tank, showing eight tons of water remaining.
Qi Xiao pulled open the driver's side door; the car key was still in the ignition.
Excellent.
He started the water tanker. Qi Xiao, who only had a C1 driver's license, studied it for a long time before finally getting the vehicle to move.
This was Qi Xiao's first time driving a large vehicle.
Accompanied by the familiar water tanker music, Qi Xiao drove the vehicle back with great flourish.
The fourth carriage opened a door. Qi Xiao pulled the water tanker's hose inside and inserted it into the water inlet.
The ability to move things in and out was so convenient, otherwise the hose wouldn't be long enough.
Qi Xiao opened the valve to release water. "Hmph, pan tao tree, right? I don't believe these eight tons won't fill you up."
Watching the numbers on the water meter gradually rise, Qi Xiao put his hands on his hips and nodded.
After emptying the useless items in his jie bracelet, he went to the street to collect car wreckage.
Unfortunately, the jie bracelet only had a four-hundred-kilogram weight limit, so it couldn't hold an entire car.
Otherwise, imagine hauling all those broken cars on the street back to throw into the feeding area—it would be exhilarating.
These were all upgrade materials.
Qi Xiao worked for half a day, his back nearly breaking, and when he returned to check the water meter, he felt like the sky had fallen.