"Little Zhezhe, can I take the bird's nest?"
"Go ahead!"
"Can I chop some of the branches too?"
"Knock yourself out!"
"Wanna listen to some music?"
"No thanks!"
Tang Xiaoguo carefully placed the bird's nest in the tree fork like a professional artist, then embarked on her grand project.
Over at Lu Zhe's side, he had cleared out a patch of land after working hard all morning, which was one-third of the original planned area.
He discovered that actually, chopping down trees wasn't the most difficult part of pioneering new land, there were other problems.
With the soil exposed, there were also lots of weed seeds that would soon sprout into new weeds, competing for the limited sunlight with tender crops.
Even the strongest herbicide would be no match for glyphosate in dealing with this less-than-one-sixth acre plot of land.
Even more annoying were the removal of rootstalks!
The tree density here was too high, the tree roots would severely hinder crop growth.
To dig up those roots that had grown for decades or even centuries, it would be really difficult without some heavy machinery.
Relying solely on trenching shovels to slowly and gradually dig bit by bit, it would probably take half a month to clear away these obstacles.
Having worked until sunset when the glare off the stone wall had significantly diminished, Lu Zhe decided to call it a day.
Oh right, he wondered how Xiaoguo was coming along with her shelter construction.
Lu Zhe picked up his axe and walked over, then dropped it in shock.
He saw an oval dome about 1.5-2 meters in diameter under a short tree.
Lu Zhe's first reaction was could there be some prehistoric bird still living here?
But then he recalled not having seen anything like that before!
Where was Xiaoguo?
Hope she hadn't been carried off by a giant bird.
Just as he was puzzling it over, a sweaty Tang Xiaoguo emerged nibbling on a papaya from behind the tree, beaming with pride.
"Well, whaddya think?"
"Good heavens, what on earth is this thing?"
"It's a shelter, duh?"
"A shelter?" Lu Zhe circled the bird's nest in wonder. "Are you...trying to lay eggs here?"
"Lay eggs? What nonsense! This is the bio-inspired shelter I designed!"
"Who taught you to build a shelter shaped like the Bird's Nest stadium from the 2008 Olympics?"
"Where's your taste? Isn't this the most suitable shelter that could be built here? If you don't believe me take a look at what the natives did, aren't their shelters built just like this?"
Lu Zhe looked around and indeed saw several more bird nests.
"What about when it rains?"
"That's why it's under a tree silly. Oh wait, it won't get struck by lightning will it?!"
"It shouldn't."
"If worse comes to worst I can always add a canopy on top later. Look, two people can lie down perfectly fine in here."
So saying, Tang Xiaoguo plopped down but immediately yelped and jumped up. "Oww that hurts!"
Lu Zhe sighed. "You don't have the soft feathers of a bird. Branches won't prick you if you crouch on them, but sustained pressure will be painful. Give it some time and your body will adjust."
"No way, too painful...Lu Zhe, can we fix this?"
"Hmm..." Lu Zhe pondered. "Looks like we'll just have to make do. Let's gather some hay to put on top."
"Okay!"
"But first let's get some food. What's for lunch?"
"Papaya and boiled papaya, plus some grilled fish and seafood soup!"
"How come it's all papaya? Lately you seem obsessed with eating that!"
"It's yummy, I just love it! What, got a problem?!"
"No, not at all!"
After lunch the two gathered some hay to line the bird's nest. Lying on top once more was much less uncomfortable.
In fact it was rather cozy.
Lu Zhe had to admit he was impressed.
"I've seen lots of survival videos before showcasing all kinds of shelters, but this is my first time seeing one built like a bird's nest!"
"Haha, aren't I clever?"
"Very clever indeed! Let's add a rain canopy and we can make do with this."
"Make do? This is extremely makeshift!"
To be frank, despite its bizarre appearance, the shelter Tang Xiaoguo built worked surprisingly well - good drainage, dry, breathable and flexible. As long as they had materials, it was relatively easy to construct.
It just needed some patience and lots of branches, which Lu Zhe happened to provide in abundance from his tree chopping efforts. This allowed such an odd yet practical shelter to be born.
"You must be exhausted. Let me give you a back massage!"
Lu Zhe figured there was no harm in trying. Might open new horizons.
"Sure, but go gentle."
"I know I know!"
Tang Xiaoguo perched on a low tree branch and started lightly treading on Lu Zhe's back with her snowy feet.
Lu Zhe found it to be quite enjoyable!
"Well?"
"Feels really good!"
"I'm going to stand up now, okay?"
"Okay!"
Tang Xiaoguo slowly rose while holding onto the trunk, dancing gracefully atop Lu Zhe's back as if waltzing.
The wonderful sensations relaxed all the tension from his body.
And just then, he noticed something peculiar.
Tang Xiaoguo angrily exclaimed: "Too naughty, copying us are they?!"
"Who's copying us?"
He looked up. "Well I'll be darned, it really is!"
Not far away, inside another bird's nest, a scarlet macaw lay on its stomach while an emerald macaw slowly marched on its back, swaying rhythmically!
"But they're not the same as us. It looks like they're...making babies, known colloquially as treading."
"Oh my, a scarlet macaw and emerald macaw making babies? Tsk tsk, in broad daylight too, have they no shame before the scarlet papa and emerald mama?!" Tang Xiaoguo self-righteously admonished.
Lu Zhe casually explained: "That is a hybrid macaw, the easiest parrot to differentiate male from female since the females are red while the males are green. So it would be unusual to see two red or two green macaws paired together."
Tang Xiaoguo nodded in understanding. "I see, that makes sense!"
That night, as they dined on roasted macaw meat and contemplated the unpredictability of life and fate, many a sentimental sigh was heaved.
And so the day passed without incident. Lu Zhe felled half of the targeted trees, while Tang Xiaoguo constructed a bird's nest shelter.
The next day they would continue clearing land for planting, but rains arrived again by dusk.
nd fell into a coma while saving his younger sister from an out-of-control car. He became a vegetable. No one knew that his consciousness had crossed into a world of cultivation. Over the course of sixty years, he began as the lowest kind of mine slave, struggling to survive amid mountains of corpses and seas of blood. By sheer chance, he eventually obtained the complete memories of a fallen Immortal King. Alchemy, medicine, formations, feng shui, physiognomy, artifact forging… Every great inheritance of the cultivation world was now his. But when he opened his eyes again, he discovered that ten full years had passed in the modern world. To pay for his treatment, his father had sold the family’s shop and house, leaving himself covered in lasting injuries and illness. His mother had cared for him day and night, and more than half of her hair had already turned white. His younger sister, who had been only fifteen back then, was now twenty-five. To help repay the family’s debts, she had been forced to lower her head and put on a smiling face in places of glittering lights and endless revelry. Only then did Chen Xuan understand that what he had lost was not merely ten years. He had lost the life his entire family was meant to have. The good news was that he had brought back the memories of an Immortal King’s entire lifetime. The bad news was that his soul had returned alone—his cultivation had not come with him. Spiritual energy was scarce, resources were depleted, and the modern world still had firearms, surveillance, capital, and laws. If he wanted to protect his family, break free from everyone’s control, and become truly invincible beneath the heavens, he would have to start all over again.
s the Eldest Princess, renowned for her cold and aloof detachment, became the most docile of lambs, obeying his every command without question. But when the final move was played on the chessboard, as Gu Chenghan seized everything and ascended on the verge of apotheosis, that very Princess suddenly embraced him from behind, her tone carrying a dependence never heard before: "Wait... you haven't yet... commanded me to love you forever." Gu Chenghan froze abruptly. She... hadn't been hypnotized?! ... [The Eldest Princess's Diary] [When my soul was extracted, becoming the sole spectator outside my own shell] [At first, there was overwhelming fury, until I saw] [How he used my sword to effortlessly shatter my inescapable doom] [How he wielded my authority to eradicate fatal conspiracies I had never even detected] [Like a deity, he rescued me from the deep mire I was trapped in] [If not for those annoying vixens, he and I would be a match made in heaven] [I think I am ill, gravely ill] [My deity should belong to me alone] ... "Hypnosis? Oh, it succeeded, my dear Master." "Only this time, it's my turn to hypnotize you."
y came from. The chests contained supplies, currency, class-change scrolls, skills, talents… and even godhood! The laws of the world were completely rewritten. This became a world where everyone gambled with their fate! Some people, despite having nothing, opened a divine artifact and rose to the top, eventually ruling the world. Others went bankrupt, opened nothing but worthless junk, and leaped from skyscrapers in despair. Lin Ye arrived in this world from another reality, utterly bewildered. “What is going on? Why is everyone a gambling addict?!” “Opening chests? No way. I refuse to gamble. I’ll start with myself!” Until— On his first chest, he obtained a Mythic Talent: Void Incarnation! He could become completely intangible, pass through all things, and reduce everything to nothingness! … On his fiftieth chest, he obtained a Mythic Weapon: Blade of Karma! With a single slash, karma shattered, twisting the universe and overturning the myriad phenomena of creation! … On his ninety-ninth chest, he obtained a Mythic Divine Treasure: Primordial Purple Energy! It could split open the heavens and earth, create all things, and evolve countless worlds with a single thought! Lin Ye: “Now that I think about it… shouldn’t someone have told me that every chest is guaranteed to contain something Mythic?!”
ine. During your journey, you save an abandoned baby girl and become her elder brother】 【You rely on each other, becoming each other's support】 【At the end of the simulation, you shield the now-grown girl with your life, sacrificing yourself to block numerous demonic cultivators. You die, and the light in the girl's eyes fades】 …… 【Second Simulation: You are transported to a world where steam and magic coexist】 【You immerse yourself in the study of magic, obsessed with its research. One day, while out, you encounter a half-blooded demon girl wandering the streets. You take her in as your student】 【You teach the demoness what it means to be human, show her the beauty of the world, and nurture her into a miracle that surpasses even the gods】 【At the end of the simulation, you die of old age in front of the nearly immortal demoness due to your mortal lifespan】 …… One simulation after another, one encounter after another. Xu Xi suddenly felt something was off: "Wait, you said you're coming to the real world to find me?"
