Fendona's little head simply could not process that information.
"Isn't this beyond the realm of magic? Is this a power only gods possess?"
Her lips parted slightly, making her look so adorably inviting that one could hardly resist kissing her.
Communication Crystals were extremely precious magical items. Limited by their energy reserves and inscribed magic arrays, they could transmit only a few dozen kilometers at most, and even then, their signals were often poor.
Yet in the world Lin Mo described, everyone could own a divine artifact like "Global Connect"?
Seeing Fendona's wide-eyed, provincial expression, Lin Mo smiled faintly, looking utterly composed.
He changed the subject,
asking as though it had just occurred to him:
"By the way, how old are you?"
Apparently realizing that asking a girl her age right off the bat was a bit outrageous, he immediately added:
"Of course, you don't have to tell me if you'd rather not. I'm just curious. You look about my age."
Fendona had no such reservations. Instead, she smiled and answered innocently:
"It's all right. I'm a hundred and eighty this year."
"Pfft-"
The mouthful of Holy Light Water Lin Mo had just taken sprayed out in a cloud of mist.
"Cough! Cough, cough, cough!"
He choked so hard it felt as though his lungs would tear apart.
A hundred and eighty?!
Are we counting in days?!
He looked up at Fendona. The girl before him had a face brimming with youthful plumpness, her skin so tender it seemed a pinch could draw water from it.
No matter how he looked at her, she seemed barely old enough to be an adult.
A hundred-and-eighty-year-old old... girl?
That defies science!
"A-are you all right?" Frightened by his violent reaction, which looked remarkably like a dying man's last struggle, Fendona hurriedly handed him a fresh glass of water.
"I'm fine, I'm fine." Lin Mo waved his hands repeatedly, but the look he gave Fendona had completely changed.
It was a complicated mix of shock, envy, and "You long-lived races are cheating! I'm reporting you to the GM!"
"Do all you Elves... have such... ridiculous lifespans?"
"Yes. We Elves generally live for over a thousand years," Fendona answered as though it were perfectly natural.
Lin Mo: "???"
"And Her Majesty the Queen's age is beyond anything we can even begin to guess."
Lin Mo felt as though a dump truck had run over his worldview three times.
A thousand years, minimum...
People in Great Xia live just over eighty years on average. To them, we're probably mayflies, born in the morning and dead by dusk.
He suddenly felt that Blue Star's little apocalyptic crisis, measured against the vast river of time...
Never mind, it's still deadly. Mayflies have a right to survive too!
With Lin Mo deliberately steering the conversation and Fendona in curious-child mode, the meal ended on a thoroughly successful note.
Not only had he enjoyed a top-class feast from another world, but he had also managed to tease out a fair amount of general information about the Elves' social structure and their relations with neighboring races.
After the meal, Fendona noticed a faint trace of weariness in Lin Mo's expression and said considerately:
"I've noticed that the Holy Human Race has a habit of taking afternoon naps. I imagine you do too. I won't disturb your rest."
That was music to his ears!
Lin Mo was inwardly ecstatic. It was about time to return, so he nodded, rose, and took his leave.
Back in the wooden house filled with the fresh scent of plants, Lin Mo shut the door behind him.
He quickly removed the miniature camera from the clothing over his chest,
then took a leaf he had casually helped himself to by the roadside,
and carefully wrapped the camera in it until it was completely covered.
"Mission complete. Returning."
He lay down on the bed and tucked the bundle into his mouth.
He closed his eyes, and his consciousness sank into darkness.
The scent in his nostrils was no longer the fragrance of plants, but slightly dry air.
Beneath him was the unbelievably soft, specially supplied mattress.
I'm back.
Lin Mo abruptly sat up, immediately spat the bundle out of his mouth, and placed it on the bedside table.
He picked up the radio and pressed the talk button.
"Zhao, I'm back."
The instant he finished speaking, Zhao Gang's urgent yet steady voice came through the radio.
"Copy! I'll be right there!"
Lin Mo got up and opened the door.
Zhao Gang was already standing outside. Behind him were Academician Qian Zhenhua and several core experts from the advisory team, all wearing expressions that screamed, "Show us already!"
Everyone's gaze locked onto the object Lin Mo had wiped clean and was holding, as though drawn by a powerful magnet.
Their stares were so intense they seemed capable of setting the air ablaze!
Ten minutes later.
The central command center for Project New Hope.
The atmosphere inside the enormous circular room was solemn in the extreme.
More than a dozen of Great Xia's finest minds from a range of fields had gathered there. Not a sound could be heard; even their breathing had softened.
Standing beside Zhao Gang, Lin Mo watched a technician carefully connect the miniature camera to the main computer.
Every screen in the room went dark at once.
A second later.
The central screen suddenly lit up!
When a city built entirely from enormous plants and entwined with glowing vines appeared on the screen, like a myth brought to life, gasps rippled through the command center!
"Heavens... so this is the Elves' city. It's even bigger than I imagined! Are those Demon Clan corpses being carried away?"
"This architectural structure... it's perfectly integrated with nature!" Academician Qian Zhenhua adjusted his glasses and leaned forward, looking as though he wanted to climb into the screen.
"Look! Those glowing vines!" Academician Liu Chengen, a biologist, sprang to his feet in excitement,
"Is that biological energy or a magical phenomenon?"
The footage moved with Lin Mo's footsteps, revealing this fantastical world to everyone inch by inch.
Then,
an Elf girl's face filled the entire main screen, her pale green eyes brimming with unrelenting sorrow and despair.
Her breathtaking beauty and utter brokenness delivered an unparalleled visual impact.
"This is... Lady Fendona," Lin Mo explained softly from the side.
When the camera swept across the ravaged battlefield and the faint black demonic aura in the distance, a military staff officer's expression changed sharply.
"Enlarge screen three! Analyze the marks on the ground! That level of destruction... conventional artillery couldn't do that!"
No one responded.
The world on the screen had seized everyone's attention, leaving them too stunned to speak.
The footage continued.
A city shimmering with color, like a fairyland.
The World Tree, towering into the clouds and wreathed in the radiance of life.
Elves on the streets, their expressions grim, ready to die at any moment...
Every image shook those present to their core!
The white-haired Academician Qian Zhenhua braced himself against the table, his body trembling slightly with excitement and his eyes blazing with fervor,
"A living, breathing natural ecosystem beyond anything we could imagine!"
As time passed, the footage reached the terrace atop the tree.
Fendona appeared on the screen, followed by the dazzling array of "vegetarian dishes" on the table.
When Lin Mo picked up the fruit glowing with a pale blue halo and bit into it, Liu Chengen stopped breathing. He spun around and stared straight at Lin Mo,
"Comrade Lin Mo! What did it taste like?!"
Before you continue