Chapter 168: Found
Xia Lu Nong was so excited that he barely ate any breakfast before eagerly pulling Kong Zhi toward their new destination.
Kong Zhi was just as interested. After finishing his meal and packing up, he transformed into the Golden Eagle, carrying the rose and their supplies in his talons as he flew in the direction Xia the cat had indicated.
Xia the cat’s eyes were bright, staring intently at the ground below.
It was still deep winter. Scattered patches of snow covered the earth, with hues of gray, yellow, dark green, and white blending together, creating a bleak and muted landscape.
Though not particularly scenic, Xia the cat watched intently, his eyes wide open, afraid that if he blinked, he might miss something crucial and lose the chance to find the meteorite crater.
The wind on the mountain was strong, ruffling his long fur.
Whether it was from the cold or excitement, Xia the cat began to tremble slightly.
He didn’t even realize he was shaking, and it took Kong Golden Eagle a while to notice. After that, he adjusted his flight to shield Xia the cat from the wind as much as possible.
They flew until after 2 p.m., then stopped to rest.
Xia the cat transformed back into his human form and wrapped himself in his down jacket. He pulled out a map and marked the areas they had flown over today with a pencil.
Kong Zhi boiled some water and brewed rose tea for him, saying, “Did we fly too long this morning? You seem a bit cold.”
“No, I’m fine,” Xia Lu Nong denied, sniffing as he focused on the map. “We’ll try to find it before dark. I think we can do it.”
Kong Zhi said, “Make sure you bundle up in your down jacket later so the wind doesn’t get to you.”
Each of them talked about different things, but somehow, their conversation still flowed.
The rose, on the other hand, had been completely forgotten. Its leaves had been blown limp by the wind, but no one seemed to notice.
For the first time, the rose felt envy. It didn’t know about a species called “single dogs” yet, but it was starting to understand that lonely feeling.
Kong Zhi, feeling quite exhausted, sat quietly beside Xia Lu Nong, resting while keeping an eye on him.
Flying had been especially tiring, particularly with the strong winter winds making things more difficult. After drinking more rose tea to restore his energy, he began to feel better.
Xia Lu Nong looked at Kong Zhi’s still pale face and, belatedly realizing how hard things had been for him, reached out to gently touch his arm, saying, “Why don’t we rest a bit longer? We’ve been searching for so long; there’s no rush. If we don’t find it today, we can always look again tomorrow.”
Kong Zhi replied, “No need. Let’s rest for a bit, then head out again.”
As he spoke, he handed Xia Lu Nong another cup of rose tea. “You’ve been out in the wind for so long—drink another cup of tea, or you might catch a cold.”
Xia Lu Nong, confident in his own health, replied with certainty, “I’m not that fragile. My body is in great shape, I’m not going to catch a cold that easily.”
Kong Zhi looked at him but didn’t push further. He simply said, “If you do catch a cold, we’ll turn back. We’ll rest up and come back another time.”
Xia Lu Nong knew Kong Zhi meant what he said. If he really got sick, Kong Zhi would likely take him back and return to the search later. So, Xia Lu Nong had no choice but to take the tea and drink it obediently.
After finishing, Xia Lu Nong glanced at the empty pot and said, “Why don’t we brew another pot of tea? Three cups aren’t enough.”
The meteorite was important, but so was their health. Xia Lu Nong figured it wouldn’t hurt to rest a little longer.
As they brewed a second pot of tea, Xia Lu Nong finally remembered the little pitiful rose beside them.
He hurriedly asked the rose, “Are you cold? Your leaves look a bit wilted.”
The rose responded, sounding aggrieved, “It’s rare for you to remember me.”
“Ahem, I’ve been thinking about you all along,” Xia Lu Nong said, transferring some of his powers to it. “We flew for so long yesterday, and you were fine, right?”
“Yesterday you flew fast, and today you flew slowly. How could it feel the same?” the rose retorted. “Your boyfriend was making sure you stayed warm, but I was left to face the cold wind.”
Xia Lu Nong patted one of its leaves. “Later, we’ll wrap you up in a down jacket too, making sure you’re all snug.”
After drinking two pots of tea and chatting for a while, they continued flying toward their goal.
As the sky gradually darkened, it became harder to see the ground clearly. Xia the cat soon could only make out patches of color below.
His eyesight wasn’t as sharp as the Golden Eagle’s, and in the dim light, it became quite difficult for him to observe anything.
Eventually, it was the Golden Eagle who spotted the meteorite crater, diving toward the ground.
When they were about a hundred meters above the ground, Xia the cat finally saw the massive crater.
The crater looked almost exactly like what he had seen in his dream, though it was much more desolate than in his vision. Perhaps it was due to winter, or the passage of time, but the place seemed forgotten, steeped in a sense of bleakness.
For a moment, upon seeing the crater, Xia the cat even questioned whether this place was still on Earth.
Nevertheless, he immediately recognized it.
“Meow, meow, meow!” Xia the cat meowed anxiously, waving his paws to signal the Golden Eagle to fly lower.
The Golden Eagle glanced down from over a hundred meters but flew off to the side instead. He was cautious, knowing the meteorite might be radioactive, and didn’t want to get too close.
Only then did Xia the cat snap out of his excitement and remember they had previously discussed the dangers of radiation and viruses. They needed to be careful.
They landed on a nearby mountain.
Both of them transformed back into human form and took clothes from their space bamboo tubes to put on.
Xia Lu Nong, brimming with excitement, exclaimed, “I can’t believe we actually found it! We’re so lucky!”
“It’s not luck; it’s thanks to your dream,” Kong Zhi said, pulling out binoculars. “It doesn’t seem like anyone else has been here. Let’s figure out how to deal with the meteorite.”
“Let’s try using plants. I’ll discuss with the rose whether one of its main bodies can approach the meteorite. If not, we’ll think of another way, maybe by using other mutated plants.”
Xia Lu Nong’s face flushed with excitement as he began discussing with the rose.
The rose nonchalantly said, “No problem. I have plenty of main bodies. One of them can go check it out, but you’ll have to compensate me.”
“That’s a given! What kind of compensation do you want? Powers, or something else? Whatever you ask for, we’ll figure out a way to make it happen,” Xia Lu Nong promised.
“Powers will do. You’ll have to transfer half of your powers to me every day,” the rose demanded.
Xia Lu Nong agreed seriously, “That’s fine, but how many days I transfer to you will depend on how much you contribute to this task.”
The rose bargained, “Since I’m the one taking the risk of scouting ahead, you should factor in that risk.”
Xia Lu Nong hadn’t expected the rose to drive such a hard bargain, and he chuckled. “No problem. I’ll give you five days’ worth of powers to start. If you contribute more during this mission, we’ll add more days accordingly.”
They came to an initial agreement.
Excited, the rose was about to rush toward the crater.
Xia Lu Nong quickly held it back. “Wait a second! I still need to explain the risks. This meteorite isn’t like anything we’ve encountered before—it’s an unknown object. We don’t know what kind of dangers it poses, so be careful.”
The rose responded, “I have plenty of main bodies. If one dies, it doesn’t affect the others.”
Xia Lu Nong spoke seriously, “That’s not necessarily the case. What if the harm isn’t physical but mental?”
The rose didn’t fully grasp the concept. After all, it was just a mutated plant, not as knowledgeable as some other species like honeysuckle.
But it knew Xia Lu Nong wasn’t saying anything good. “So, what are you saying? Do you want me to go or not?”
“Of course, I need you to go, but you must be cautious. If anything feels off, immediately cut off contact with that scouting body. Can you do that?”
The rose said, “Yes, but if I cut off the connection, that rose will be no different from an ordinary one. Once disconnected, I won’t be able to reestablish the link.”
Xia Lu Nong made the decision. “No problem, that’s an acceptable price.”
After explaining the situation to the rose, its attitude became much more cautious and less carefree.
Xia Lu Nong said, “In a bit, Kong Zhi will take your main body nearby. Is that okay?”
They planned to send the rose by air-dropping it, as Kong Zhi couldn’t easily get too close to the meteorite. The rose had more leaves than roots and naturally had some buoyancy.
They opened a parachute and tied the rose to it.
Floating down like this wouldn’t harm the rose, but it would need to untie the parachute by itself.
The rose muttered, “This is such a hassle. I could just jump down myself.”
Xia Lu Nong, serious, said, “That’s not safe. If you jump and hurt your roots, you won’t be able to move. Better to play it safe.”
Without realizing it, Xia Lu Nong was feeling a bit nervous—more so than usual. Normally, he didn’t ramble on like this, but today he couldn’t seem to stop, even starting to babble.
Kong Zhi patted him on the shoulder, signaling him to relax.
Taking a deep breath, Xia Lu Nong said, “You two head out now. I’ll watch over you from here with the binoculars.”
The rose left behind ten of its main bodies so it could still communicate with Xia Lu Nong, but since one body was scouting, most of its focus was there, making it difficult to talk to him.
Kong Zhi and the rose set out quickly.
Xia Lu Nong watched them fly off into the distance. Despite the cold weather, his palms were sweaty. It had been a long time since he felt this tense, and he wasn’t even sure what he was so nervous about.
Staring into the distance, his lips moved slightly in silent prayer.
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Translator Note:
Haha, I really cannot get enough of this rose tree, tsundere to the max!
