The stone he had picked up by the river had sat in the wooden box for two days. Every afternoon, when Lin Chen opened the box to inspect it, the new stone and the old stone shard remained separated by the layer of dry cloth, each maintaining its own state. The new stone's surface showed no obvious changes while it sat there, and its temperature was normal, matching the surrounding air.
On the afternoon of the third day, when Lin Chen opened the wooden box, he noticed that the stone shard was warmer than it had been the day before. He touched it through the dry cloth and could feel a distinct heat seeping through the fabric, like a stone that had baked in the sun for a long time. He lifted the cloth and took out the shard, placing it in his palm. Its temperature remained steadily elevated, the entire piece uniformly warm, with no sign of localized overheating or cooling.
[ Ding! Unknown item analysis progress: 18%. ]
The progress bar on the system panel had advanced by another small segment. He turned the stone shard over and examined the patterns on its back—the lines appeared clearer under the heat, as though the warmth had baked out deeper details. Where the patterns converged, a faint ring of discoloration had appeared around the tiny indentation, as if a thin layer of material were seeping out from within, reflecting light differently from the surrounding surface.
[ Ding! Abnormality detected in the stone shard's internal structure. Continued monitoring recommended. ]
Lin Chen placed the stone shard back in the wooden box without closing the lid completely, leaving a gap for air circulation. When he stepped out of the tool shed, Krillin was returning from the beach with