Taming and Utilizing Aberrant Phenomena

After the meeting, Lu Yuan decided to head to the volcano.

He had gained quite a lot here, endured some risks, and obtained a massive amount of information.

Especially the knowledge related to the "Eternal Tinder"—it truly made him eager to try it out.

He could hardly wait to turn his gains into combat power.

Before leaving, Lu Yuan took that turd-like lump out of his Storage Space.

He also handed over most of the metal junk he had scavenged from the Meida Civilization to the logistics officers of the Lize Civilization.

His Storage Space was now eighty or ninety percent empty.

"Help me smelt these."

"Trash from an Alien Civilization?!"

Naturally, many scientists from the Lize Civilization knew their stuff. They instinctively reached out and touched that lump first.

It was hard as a fossil.

Then they held their fingers near their nostrils and sniffed, each wearing an odd expression. "It has a miraculous fragrance."

Lu Yuan was speechless. You don't need to flatter me this hard...

Several Appraisal Ability Users began appraising it.

They quickly discovered the wonderful properties of the unidentified lump and clicked their tongues in praise. "So it's a lump of Idealistic Element. Did it come from that prison?"

"Yeah. How about we split it fifty-fifty?" Lu Yuan laughed.

The Undying Giant Turtle felt incredibly awkward.

What were these people doing? Studying its poop? And splitting it fifty-fifty? What the hell was that supposed to mean?

"No, no, no. The Governor instructed us... You uncovered enough information. All of this wealth belongs to you."

The other party spoke earnestly. "But we cannot smelt these Idealistic Elements instantly, either. You may have to wait a while—at least a day or two."

"Then... I'll have to trouble you."

"I agree to give you five percent as payment."

Lu Yuan was not worried about them shortchanging him.

Even if the Lize people skimmed some off the top, he would not care much. Besides, they probably did not dare.

So he simply treated five percent of the Idealistic Element as processing fees.

Even brothers had to settle accounts clearly. Lu Yuan knew perfectly well that he could not treat the Lize Civilization like subordinates.

The previous transaction had already been fair.

He did not like owing favors recklessly.

"No, no, five percent is too much. It's only smelting."

"There are many precious elements inside. Three percent—no... even one percent would already be a huge profit for us."

They were both surprised and delighted, yet not greedy. Instead, they spoke honestly and humbly.

They looked over the scrap metal again and said, "These ordinary metals, uh, are mostly rusted. They really aren't worth much... We have some stockpiles here. Just take whatever you want."

The expert led Lu Yuan to a materials warehouse filled with gold, silver, copper, iron, aluminum, tungsten, titanium, and all kinds of alloys.

They were all high-quality metal ingots, piled up in heaps.

They were, after all, a technological civilization. Even if they only had the scale of one city, they still possessed plenty of conventional supplies.

Lu Yuan looked again at the junk he had collected from the Meida Civilization: metal doors, scrapped cars, water pipes...

Well, he had grown attached to this junk.

Greedy Demon God Lu Yuan did not really want to hand over the trash. He simply liked this broken-down stuff.

But he also knew that smelting it here was the best destination for the junk.

Out with the old, in with the new.

"Prepare all sorts of components for me—screws, bearings, gears, coils, sensors, and so on. I need all of them. When I come back next time, I'll take them away in bulk."

"Easy enough."

"I'll visit the volcano first, then investigate the various Spaceship Wreckages. Prepare the helicopter as soon as possible. The largest components can't exceed three meters."

"That will absolutely be no problem! Our engineers are already working on it!"

Lu Yuan added, "Also, I'll borrow your communicator for a while and return it later. These Idealistic Elements will serve as collateral."

"If I die outside and can't return the communicator, then these elements will be yours."

Faced with Lu Yuan's request, Governor Moxi felt bitter inside. He opened his mouth, but did not dare refuse.

He could only comfort himself inwardly. The flow of time is different anyway. Going without the communicator for a few days won't matter.

Cities could communicate by telegraph as well. It was simply less convenient than a communicator.

"Please, make yourself at home," he finally said helplessly.

Before leaving, Lu Yuan handed him a small box. "A little gift for your civilization, nothing special... It also represents the friendship of our Human Civilization. May we all coexist harmoniously."

Moxi accepted the box. Judging from his widened eyes and surprised expression, he seemed rather taken aback.

In the Lize Civilization, opening a gift box in front of the giver was the most proper etiquette.

A rich fragrance assailed his nostrils. Merely inhaling it made every pore on his body open.

It was a precious pomegranate fruit.

As a gift, it was remarkably generous.

The lingering trace of gloom in his heart vanished completely.

Moxi watched Lu Yuan's departing figure and thought, One fruit in exchange for borrowing the communicator for a few days? This deal is ridiculously profitable...

He quickly thought of even more.

This gentleman isn't the kind of person who gets carried away just because he has power.

That was actually quite rare. When wealth gathered, people scattered; when wealth scattered, people gathered. When people scattered, wealth scattered; when people gathered, wealth gathered.

The principle was neither profound nor obscure, but understanding it was easy while practicing it was difficult.

Many people became arrogant the moment they gained a little power or wealth.

This is the kind of relationship that lasts... He seems to want to promote broader cooperation... Human Civilization?

"Let's go, Turtle Grandfather!"

"We're going to take a look around Pangu Continent, then come back after a while."

The Undying Giant Turtle had been living quite freely.

In truth, according to its philosophy of survival, as long as bad people did not capture it, it could live well anywhere.

Hearing Lu Yuan call, the fellow scampered over like a charging rhinoceros.

"So this is... the Safe Zone's light barrier?" The Undying Giant Turtle widened its eyes, looking left and right, then even sniffing at it.

There was no smell at all.

Taking advantage of the light barrier's inattention, the gluttonous turtle suddenly gave it a lick.

A burst of dust and light drifted past. Its tongue vanished, and blood sprayed from its beak.

"Wa Ga Ga! Fuck your grandmother!"

The turtle roared furiously, speaking some incomprehensible ancient language.

"Meow?" Old Cat cried out, mocking it. "My turtle, do you want to find out what truly dying means?"

As a turtle that regarded dignity as life itself, it could not allow itself to lose face in front of such a large crowd.

Especially when it saw a group of Lize people pointing and discussing nearby, the Undying Giant Turtle became somewhat agitated.

Apparently trying to show off deliberately, the giant turtle regenerated its tongue and sneered. "Let me show you Turtle Grandfather's abilities. What exactly is dying? Can this thing kill me?"

"I don't believe it!"

All kinds of patterns on its shell began to shine. Those profound, agile, intricate markings glittered like stars, sun, moon, and constellations, flowing continuously.

It transformed into a black stone, exuding an ancient and archaic aura.

With a fierce kick from both hind legs, it slammed its shell viciously into the Safe Zone's light barrier!

To be honest, Lu Yuan was a little nervous at that moment.

He was afraid that the "good brother" he had tricked into joining him would die for no reason.

After all, it was not a Gui. Its "undying" nature had limits.

The Lize people watching nearby were equally baffled. They had no idea what the turtle was up to, and their discussions suddenly grew louder.

The next second, the turtle shell collided with the light barrier!

The shell was struck bright red by the barrier!

Like lava, clumps of red matter splashed off its back and instantly vaporized into red mist.

The intricate patterns shone even more brightly, reflecting golden sunlight.

The Undying Giant Turtle truly appeared outside the Safe Zone.

It had succeeded. By physical means, it had successfully crossed the Safe Zone's light barrier... Though the price was rather steep. The giant turtle was injured, its shell glowing red, and its body had shrunk by a full size.

But it really was the first Extraordinary Ability capable of forcibly breaking through the Safe Zone, leaving Lu Yuan utterly amazed.

The Lize people were even more dumbfounded. One after another, they discussed how "the Safe Zone is getting worse and worse" and "the light barrier definitely can't eliminate Gui."

Others held up cameras and took pictures of the turtle.

"In terms of defense, this turtle that has lived for who knows how long truly has become extraordinary. No wonder it has survived until now."

"Well then, we're leaving. Goodbye!" He waved and bid the Lize people farewell. "Get the helicopter ready soon, so I can go to other cities."

"Understood. Rest assured!"

Whoosh!

Lu Yuan easily teleported from the Safe Zone to Pangu Continent.

The city behind him vanished.

The bustling crowd vanished as well.

He let out a quiet breath, carried the turtle—which had shrunk considerably—onto the speedboat, started the engine, and departed.

The giant turtle was still groaning. The patterns on its shell shifted continuously like flowing water.

But having shown off and regained its dignity, it became a little smug again. "What is dying? If you can, tell me the answer, you stinking cat. If you can, make me die."

"What is living? If you can, tell me how to live, you bastard." Old Cat had a filthy mouth.

"I'm a bastard? What was that insult formula again... I forgot! This is making the bastard furious!" The bastard was enraged.

The two began exchanging insults.

Listening to the little animals quarrel, Lu Yuan suddenly felt that the journey had become much livelier.

The engine roared to life, and the speedboat raced across the river, leaving a white wake behind it like a snow-white Long Rainbow.

An overwhelming sense of exhilaration surged through him!

He no longer had to be like before—just one man and one dog, relying entirely on talking to himself to ease the boredom.

Back then... it had truly been miserable!

This feeling now...

"Ah!!" he shouted at the top of his lungs.

His booming voice traveled far across the empty wilderness, while a few birds occasionally swept through the distant sky.

Old Cat and the turtle seemed infected by his mood and began shouting too—though Old Cat was actually puzzled. Why was it, an artificial intelligence, shouting? Oh well, whatever. It could count it as a bug!

Amid their howling, the portions of the turtle shell burned by the light barrier recovered at a visible rate.

Lu Yuan's Life Tree also possessed powerful restorative abilities.

However, the Life Tree was pure vitality, a universally existing idealistic mechanism.

The power of the engravings and the Life Tree operated on two different principles.

Lu Yuan studied it roughly.

The Life Tree had a broader range of effects, working on illnesses such as cancer, ALS, high blood pressure, and the like.

As long as one poured in vitality frantically, it would have at least some effect.

The engravings, however, seemed incapable of resolving such difficult diseases...

But the engravings healed faster!

The Life Tree's healing effect was gradual.

The engravings' healing, on the other hand, seemed to be achieved by overdrawing a small amount of vitality, but the results were truly visible to the naked eye.

"They really are two different things. Each has its own strengths."

"For the Undying Giant Turtle, the side effects are practically zero."

After ten minutes, the giant turtle had basically recovered completely and was once more hopping about energetically.

Its Form Attribute, however, had become 21.1, dropping by nearly one point, while its body had shrunk by roughly ten centimeters.

"So this is how its undying nature works... Every time it gets injured, it shrinks by a little. When it shrinks enough, it becomes a stone." Lu Yuan rubbed his chin and muttered softly.

"Hmph, only when this master enters complete hibernation am I truly undying! Not even Gui can destroy me!"

"Once I enter final hibernation, I won't wake up until the next era, and I'll lose more than half my memories. Sigh."

"Are you into masochism?" Old Cat asked.

"How could I be?" Tears suddenly flowed from the turtle's eyes. "That hurt so much just now! Turtle Grandfather is good at enduring pain, but that doesn't mean I like it."

Orange Cat Cat could not understand why this fellow had suddenly become so sentimental.

Could it have something to do with what it experienced in the Da Lai Empire laboratory?

So the two warmly embraced, and the furry cat paw gently patted the turtle's shell. "When you think of something sad in the future, tell Cat Master. Don't bottle it up."

"Cat Master... I've suffered so much! In that laboratory, I just couldn't die no matter what."

"I could only stay alive! I suffered so much! Back then, I kept thinking, how could I die?"

Old Cat flew into a rage and unleashed a frantic flurry of scratches.

"..."

Lu Yuan, completely lacking in sympathy, witnessed the bizarre behavior of these two lunatics and found it rather incomprehensible.

He declared righteously, "I'm certain that I'm the only one here with a normal mental state."

He was vaguely curious. Why had his Civilization Milestone not been completed yet?

Capturing and Utilizing Aberrant Phenomenon... shouldn't that have been completed already?

"God, didn't you see that this turtle is an aberrant phenomenon?! The real deal!"

Lu Yuan looked at the sky, then at the Undying Giant Turtle.

"Could it be that it hasn't been utilized yet?"

But... he had clearly utilized it.

Inside the ghost's room, the Undying Giant Turtle had helped him clear out a great deal of resin...

Didn't that count as utilization?

A trace of doubt arose in his heart. "Could it be that, in that hidden space, even God can't observe it?"