Zhang Tie, who had always been curious about the "Spirit Qi Value" option, impatiently opened it. Just like the other two options he had opened yesterday, the top of the log contained a pinned message about the Castle of Black Iron's "Spirit Qi Value." Compared with the previous messages about "Merit Value" and "Basic Energy," this one deepened Zhang Tie's understanding of this world even further.
--Plants build a bridge of interdependence between the material world and living beings. Spirit Qi comes from the release of life potential energy produced when plants combine with matter and grow. It is the foundation on which all living beings depend for survival and evolution, and the law of harmonious coexistence between the universe and nature is embodied in this. More Spirit Qi can accelerate plant growth and make other living beings more active, allowing them to advance farther along the path of evolution.
Like the first two messages, this passage about Spirit Qi shook Zhang Tie to the core. He read it over and over more than ten times, and at last, a glimmer of understanding dawned on him. He finally understood why everyone liked green. Green was the color of plants. Where there were plants, there was Spirit Qi, food, water, and everything needed to survive. Places with more green—in other words, more plants—were also where living beings multiplied and thrived most. Just think: which was better suited for humans to live and reproduce, a barren, uninhabited desert or a lush, verdant forest? Naturally, the latter, because it meant more resources for survival and more Spirit Qi—or, as the message put it, more life potential energy.
A tiny seed buried in the soil could become a towering tree a few years later. When you thought about it carefully, wasn't that a miraculous thing? Without soil, the seed remained that same tiny seed. With soil, its form of life underwent a tremendous transformation. The two combined to release life potential energy. Plants transformed matter and energy that humans and animals could not directly absorb and use into visible food, fresh air, and invisible Spirit Qi, nourishing all living beings and building a bridge between matter and life. As Zhang Tie saw it, the law of harmonious coexistence between the universe and nature was a process of positive interaction between the material world, plants, and all living beings. Plants constantly provided Spirit Qi to all living beings, while all living beings had to ensure that this process was not disrupted and create a suitable environment for plants. He remembered a teacher at school once saying that the reason the human world had fallen into depravity and eventually collapsed before the Great Cataclysm was, at its core, that humanity had constantly violated the laws of nature and the universe. Back then, people had been so arrogant that they thought themselves invincible, treating everything in nature and the universe as resources and possessions to be plundered and destroyed at will, rather than as the home and companions on which they depended for survival. People kept taking without knowing how to give back, and that was what caused a series of grave problems. That was also why, in the orthodox school system, the Great Cataclysm and the arrival of the Star of God were seen as disasters for humanity, while in reality, many extremist sects viewed them as the beginning of humanity's rebirth. In their eyes, the Great Cataclysm and the arrival of the Star of God signified the end of humanity's misguided way of life and the beginning of a new humanity.
After reading the message above, Zhang Tie pondered for a moment, then turned his attention to the next message that had appeared automatically.
--On Friday evening, May 13, 889 Black Iron Calendar, potato seeds began to sprout in the Castle of Black Iron, and the Spirit Qi Value in the Castle of Black Iron's space slowly increased. The handsome and imposing Fortress Master, please note: the rate at which the Castle of Black Iron's Spirit Qi Value increases is directly proportional to the number, variety, and quality of plants in the space. More plants, more high-level plants, and more plants of different kinds that provide the different levels of life potential energy needed to form a complete ecosystem will provide more Spirit Qi to the space per unit of time.
This was the second entry in the "Spirit Qi Value" log. As soon as he finished reading it, Zhang Tie felt he had unlocked another secret about this mysterious space, and he was delighted. If a few sprouting potatoes could provide the Castle of Black Iron with 0.3 units of Spirit Qi Value in a single night, what about other plants? Take the Purple-Leaf Paulownia trees along the street outside his home, for instance. Although he hadn't studied much about plant taxonomy, he instinctively felt that a tree had to provide more Spirit Qi Value than a few potatoes. That was obvious even if you thought about it with your knees. Of course, Zhang Tie couldn't answer how different tree species compared with one another. But what did that matter? He glanced around the empty space and thought, There's plenty of room to experiment. As long as something can grow, who cares what it is? That thought brought a few more strange ideas to mind, but since he was still in the Castle of Black Iron and there were many secrets here to explore, he had to put those ideas aside for now.
After closing the Castle of Black Iron's Basic Attributes, Zhang Tie casually tapped another branch of the menu tree and opened the Castle of Black Iron's "Space and Terrain Creation" function. The last time he had clicked on this function, the system had informed him, "The Space and Terrain Creation function is unavailable because all three reserves of the Castle of Black Iron are at 0." Zhang Tie wanted to see what kind of surprise "Space and Terrain Creation" could offer now that none of the three reserves were zero anymore.
Sure enough, there was a surprise. When he opened the "Space and Terrain Creation" button, three subcategory menus appeared before his eyes:
--Surface Layer Option
--Subterranean Layer Option
--Underwater Layer Option
The buttons for "Subterranean Layer Option" and "Underwater Layer Option" were both grayish white. From experience, Zhang Tie knew that meant those two options were currently unavailable. So he clicked the "Surface Layer Option" button. As soon as he did, a three-dimensional image about a foot square appeared before his eyes. Looking closely, Zhang Tie realized that everything in the image was a miniature version of the entire map of the Castle of Black Iron as it existed right now. The image was incredibly lifelike; even the rebar he had stuck in the ground as a marker was visible. Feeling that he could rotate the image to get a better look, Zhang Tie tried moving the three-dimensional image floating in the air before him with his hand. To his surprise, the map really did turn in the direction he pushed it, showing the Castle of Black Iron from another angle. Delighted, Zhang Tie kept turning the image this way and that before him, examining his Castle of Black Iron from every spatial angle. And that wasn't all. Zhang Tie also discovered that he could zoom in and out on any part of the three-dimensional map. When he placed both hands on the map and spread them apart as if pulling open a curtain, the map grew larger. When he placed both hands on the map and brought them together as if closing a window, the map shrank. When he moved one hand in a certain direction, the map's viewing angle changed as well. By changing the size and angle however he wished, he could examine every detail on the three-dimensional map, close up or from a wider view.
This was so much fun! That was what Zhang Tie thought. The three-dimensional map alone felt like a fun puzzle cube or toy, filling him with delight. He waved both hands in the air, enlarging and shrinking the map as he turned it this way and that. He played with it for more than ten minutes before finally stopping, still reluctant to put it down, and carefully examining the other details. Since it was called "Space and Terrain Creation," surely it wasn't just there to let him feast his eyes.
There were no other function buttons on the three-dimensional map. Just as Zhang Tie was wondering how to go about "creating" something, a line of text appeared before his eyes.
--Handsome and imposing Fortress Master, all creation follows the law of "what you envision is what you receive." As long as you project onto the map any terrain image you can imagine and visualize in your mind, the Castle of Black Iron can create it for you.
Click. Was it really that easy? Zhang Tie decided to try. He adjusted the map to a straight-down, ninety-degree view, fixed his eyes on a spot in the upper-left corner, and imagined a pond about ten square meters in size. Slowly, a pale blue phantom appeared in that area of the three-dimensional map. It was a little blurry, but its shape and general outline were exactly like the pond Zhang Tie had envisioned.
Visualization took a lot of mental energy. With Zhang Tie's abilities at the time, he couldn't fully visualize all the details of a pond more than ten square meters in size. So the pale blue phantom of the pond was somewhat indistinct.
Just as Zhang Tie was using his "power" to try to visualize a pond, but still couldn't "piece together" all its details, another message appeared before his eyes.
--The handsome and imposing Fortress Master's visualization of the terrain to be created is less than 5% complete. Allow the system to use the Law of Natural Creation to make up for the missing parts? After the system uses the Law of Natural Creation to finish constructing it, the handsome and imposing Fortress Master can make adjustments manually!
--Agree...Disagree
What else could he do? He could only "agree." When Zhang Tie tapped the "Agree" button, the pale blue phantom of the pond on the map finally settled into place. It was exactly as he had imagined, yet the pond's phantom looked even more natural and lifelike than the one in Zhang Tie's mind. Looking at it, Zhang Tie let out a long breath. It was a bit of a blow to his pride, but he had to admit that the system did this job far more reliably than he could. Practicing Heart-Punishing Divine Calculation over the past few days required him to visualize an abacus, too. With his current abilities, visualizing an abacus was barely manageable. Visualizing a pond? He'd better forget it.
Once the general terrain had been created, so-called "manual" adjustments were much easier. He simply manipulated the map, kneading the pale blue phantom like dough to make broad adjustments to its "size," "width," "outline," and "position" on the map. He couldn't use the "manual" method to handle the finer details, but even so, the fun and convenience of the Castle of Black Iron's "Space and Terrain Creation" function far exceeded Zhang Tie's wildest expectations by dozens of times. In Zhang Tie's eyes, this function had turned the entire Castle of Black Iron into a super-interesting toy. It was so damn fun!
Overjoyed, Zhang Tie nearly jumped up again. But before the grin on his face could stretch from ear to ear, a line of text appeared on the pale blue pond phantom and instantly poured a bucket of cold water over his overheated head.
--This terrain creation requires the following resources
Basic Energy Reserve--56879, Spirit Qi Value--6878, Merit Value--912--Create?
--Yes...No...
What the hell kind of creation was this? Looking at the pitiful decimals on the Castle of Black Iron's Basic Attributes for Basic Energy Reserve, Spirit Qi Value, and Merit Value, Zhang Tie nearly burst into tears. At this rate, even if he did every chore at home in a day—cooking, sweeping the floor, and doing the laundry—it would earn him only about 3 Merit Value. To save up the 912 Merit Value, would he have to work at home like that for at least two years? Spirit Qi Value wasn't too bad; those sprouting potatoes had given Zhang Tie a glimmer of hope. If he planted more things in the future, he shouldn't have to worry about Spirit Qi Value. As long as there were plants, it would keep growing steadily. But the Basic Energy Reserve was truly enough to make anyone despair—56879. The nearly half-kilogram of Fool's Gold he had tossed into the Pool of Chaos had yielded only 0.2 units of Basic Energy Reserve. To get 56879 units, wouldn't he have to toss at least about 280,000 kilograms—or 28 tons—of Fool's Gold into the Pool of Chaos to convert it into that much energy?
The merciless "reality" made Zhang Tie realize that the Castle of Black Iron's "Space and Terrain Creation" function, that great toy-like feature, wasn't something he could afford to play with right now. The Castle of Black Iron's system seemed to follow some strict law of "equivalent exchange." If he couldn't save up enough of these resources, the system wouldn't give him the time of day. Everything here required something to be spent, and only enormous effort could earn it back. There was no such thing as a free lunch, not even for the "handsome and imposing Fortress Master." This toy was a real money pit!
Forget it. He might as well see whether any of the other functions were more practical for him right now.
After closing the "Space and Terrain Creation" function, Zhang Tie tapped "Biology and Species Management"...