CHAPTER 113: CHAPTER 113: EXCHANGE

Next, he began practicing other Sword Forms.

He moved swiftly, the sword light poured like a waterfall, smoke and dust rose around him.

His physical prowess now far exceeds that of ordinary Barbarians, only slightly weaker than the Barbarian Clan Leader back then.

However, coupled with the terrifying attack speed brought by the powerful explosiveness of the Martial Arts Power System, even if that Barbarian Clan Leader were still alive, he would only last for one exchange in close combat.

After two hours, he finally stopped, exhausted.

His muscles twitched uncontrollably, his whole body enveloped in thick steam, as if he had just come out of a steam-filled oven.

With trembling hands, he picked up a large bottle of mineral water, unscrewed it, and drank half of it in one go.

"Giant, Giant, I found lots and lots of golden sand." At this moment, Shell Lady saw he had stopped and quickly flew over, eagerly boasting from afar.

Chen Shouyi nodded slightly, calmly indicating he knew.

No reminder is needed; upon returning to this small island, Shell Lady actively helped him collect golden sand, and over the past four days, she had collected about one and a half pounds.

At this point, Chen Shouyi suddenly remembered he hadn’t asked Shell Lady about something, so he beckoned to her: "Come here, come here!"

Shell Lady obediently flew down to his shoulder.

"Do you remember where the Yaqiao Flower is?"

"Yaqiao Flower? Is that the flower I was born from?" Shell Lady asked in surprise.

Chen Shouyi nodded: "Yes, that’s the one!"

"Giant, do you want to eat it too? But it’s gone, there was only one and I ate it all, roots and leaves included," Shell Lady said with a hint of pride.

"I’m not looking for the Yaqiao Flower to eat; I’m asking where it was growing?" Chen Shouyi said.

"I already told you, it’s on this island where I was born."

Chen Shouyi felt a bit tired: "I’m asking for the exact location?"

"That was many, many sunrises and sunsets ago, I can’t remember at all, and I don’t want to think about it!" Shell Lady replied impatiently, showing little interest.

"Think about it again, there’s a reward!" Chen Shouyi coaxed.

"Is it a big big gem?" Shell Lady suddenly perked up, asking.

"It’s a small gem; the big and big big gems are all gone!" Chen Shouyi snapped.

Shell Lady’s appetite was growing. Answering a question now demands a crystal ball, why don’t you just outright steal?

Shell Lady turned her head, showing disbelief, last time he said there were no big big gems, but there were, she’s long suspected the Giant hid a big treasure.

But something is better than nothing, she reluctantly tried to recall, considering this is childhood memory, she muttered to herself: "Where could it be, where could it be?"

Then she kicked and flew upwards:

"Maybe here, maybe there, or maybe over there!"

She flew around the island once and returned out of breath within ten minutes, loudly declaring: "Giant, I remembered, right there, come quick!"

Chen Shouyi’s heart raced with excitement, immediately following Shell Lady.

Soon, they arrived before a pit on the mountainside that sloped inward.

The pit had a diameter of about two meters and was one meter deep, appearing circular and radiating outward, resembling a meteorite impact crater on the mountainside.

After a quick look, Chen Shouyi confirmed: "Is this the place?"

Shell Lady nodded vigorously: "I was born here!"

Truly an astonishingly strange creature.

The pit had already accumulated a layer of soil, and Chen Shouyi set his sword aside, starting to dig the sand soil with his hands.

"Giant, what are you doing? Are you trying to find my ’brother’s’ toe?" Shell Lady asked, noticing Chen Shouyi’s odd behavior.

Perhaps from watching too many cartoons, she occasionally threw in a few Chinese phrases while speaking, often leaving him utterly confused.

"Brother’s toe?"

"I am Pig Prepared, snort snort, and these are my brother’s toes, snort snort!" Shell Lady suddenly mimicked, even making pig-like snorting sounds.

What a bizarre mix.

Seeing Shell Lady looking adorably dumb, Chen Shouyi resolved in his heart to definitely introduce a more normal cartoon next time.

"Nope!" Chen Shouyi confirmed.

"Oh!" Shell Lady showed a hint of disappointment.

Chen Shouyi turned and ignored her, the island consisted mostly of coarse granular sand soil formed from weathered rock, relatively soft and easy to dig through. Within minutes, Chen Shouyi reached hard rock, carefully cleaning away the sand inside.

Upon seeing the bottom presenting a perfect bowl shape, Chen Shouyi instantly realized this was surely a meteorite crater.

"If there’s anything, it must be at the center of the crater!" he thought and began reaching around.

The next moment, he felt a smooth substance.

Chen Shouyi’s spirit soared, carefully brushing off the soil on the surface, instantly a subtle, lustrous gleam caught his eyes.

But before Chen Shouyi could excavate the object, Shell Lady’s eyes lit up, and she anxiously shouted, "It’s mine, it’s mine, it’s mine."

"Stop yelling, we’ll talk when I get it out," Chen Shouyi said as he grasped the mysterious substance and pulled hard, quickly extracting it from the rock crevice.

It was a cylindrical object about ten centimeters in length, not a standard cylinder, thinner in the middle and thicker at the ends, with an elliptic upper end, three to four centimeters in diameter, and a flat five-centimeter base with a slight depression.

After brushing off the sand, its glossy surface was revealed.

What is this thing?

He thought it looked somewhat familiar, though he was certain such a complex structure could not have formed naturally.

Chen Shouyi instinctively flicked it with his finger, surprised.

The object made no sound at all; then he picked the cylinder up and forcefully struck the surrounding rock. Even as the rock broke apart, no sound emanated from the object itself, just the rock’s crackling echoed.

As a recently dropped out high school student, Chen Shouyi knew sound in materials arose from vibration, which resulted from the material’s deformation.

No sound meant no deformation during the striking process.

Looking at the still gleaming, unharmed cylinder, Chen Shouyi was amazed.

"This material is likely far harder than diamond. Just consider, this tiny object’s impact formed the crater, if it weren’t hard, it would’ve shattered long ago, how could it be intact?"

"You’ve stared long enough, give it back to me, hurry!" Shell Lady, grown impatient, jumped repeatedly.

This was found near her birthplace, undoubtedly hers by birthright.

"One small gem!" Chen Shouyi proposed without hesitation.

"No, no, no!" Shell Lady shook her head violently, she was about to explode. The exchange was clearly unreasonable by simple size valuation, outright deceiving a child.

"Then three small gems."

"#@￥ Giant, you liar, this is mine, I brought you here, don’t think of taking my stuff unless you give me one big big gem."

Shell Lady shouted angrily as she flew out, her tiny hands gripping the mysterious column in Chen Shouyi’s hand, seeming ready to wrest it away.

"How about swapping it for a big big gem?" Chen Shouyi seized the chance to offer.

"Giant, you’re sure you’re not lying?" Shell Lady hesitated, then quickly confirmed, her face showing delight.

"If you clutch this ugly gem any longer, I won’t trade with you," Chen Shouyi pretended to scoff.

Seeing Chen Shouyi’s firm reply, Shell Lady released her grip instantly, afraid he might change his mind, soon returning to his shoulder with silly giggles.

For her, while this thing seemed like a gem, it couldn’t compare to the pure, transparent, and perfectly rounded big big gem.

...

Chen Shouyi toyed with the crystalline column, inwardly pleased with himself, and pocketed it. He had no idea what use it might have, but he knew one thing for certain—it was definitely no ordinary object.