He arrived at the edge of the peat bog.
Su Wei stopped, took the water bottle from his waist, unscrewed the cap, and took a sip of drinking water with ice crystals in it.
The water slid down his esophagus, and the coolness forcefully stimulated his body, keeping him in a state of excitement.
He raised his hand to wipe the sweat from his forehead.
The GoPro on his chest was still flashing red.
He moved closer to the camera and adjusted the angle of the RØDE microphone.
"Gentlemen, this is the eastern foothills of Pillar Mountain, an unnamed swamp on satellite maps."
He pointed his camera at the landscape ahead, covered in snow but with faint dark brown patches showing through.
"A several-hundred-square-meter indoor exhibition hall, using industrial water pumps and artificial filter cotton, can only support a lifeless aquarium."
We need truly large-scale decomposers.
"I want to dig up some living soil from a century-old site and take it back."
After saying that, he pulled out his entrenching tool and strode into the swamp area.
[ Substrate Analysis LV1] is operating at full power.
The land beneath our feet is dissected into layers.
The low-lying area to the right front.
Year calculated: 15 years. pH value: 4.2. Judgment: Dead layer, no usable colonies.
Beside the dead tree stump on the left.
Age calculated: 40 years. pH value: 5.0. Judgment: Low fungal activity.
Not enough, not nearly enough.
The microcirculation within these common peat mosses is extremely fragile.
Once transplanted into an indoor environment, they will all die and turn black within a week.
The exhibition hall requires a top-quality substrate that has withstood the test of hundreds of polar winters and has formed a robust fungal network symbiosis.
Su Wei investigated more than a dozen locations, going deeper and deeper into the area.
Snowflakes fell on his shoulders, accumulating into a thick layer.
He stopped on the shady side of a huge, dead spruce trunk.
The terrain here forms a natural harbor.
Most of the snow was blocked by the tree trunks, revealing the thick, dark green-black vegetation layer below.
The data Gathering Module reported extremely strong data fluctuations.
Estimated age: 120 years or more.
pH value: 5.5-6.0, perfectly weakly acidic.
Symbiotic colony activity: extremely high. Contains thirty-two species of cold-region endemic actinomycetes and nitrifying bacteria.
This is the place, the natural bioengine.
Su Wei crouched down and stuck his entrenching tool into the snow beside him.
This thing is too brutal; one shovelful will sever the underlying symbiotic fungal network.
He opened his pack and took out a Stubai high-carbon steel flat-edged carving shovel.
The blade is extremely thin and has extremely high hardness.
He used a high-carbon steel shovel to gently cut along the edge of the moss community at an angle.
It has a soft feel, and when you push it to a depth of 15 centimeters, you can feel a slight fiber resistance at the bottom.
The [ Crafting Module ] passively activates the [ Nimble Hands ] perk.
Su Wei's fingers keenly sensed the stress points where the underground roots met the peat.
Instead of prying it open, he subtly adjusted the angle of his wrist and, following the grain of the plant fibers, slowly severed the connection at the bottom.
The entire 50-centimeter square and 15-centimeter thick century-old peat moss community was completely supported.
The bottom is covered with dense, dark brown peat moss and crisscrossing, white, spiderweb-like mycelium.
This soil contains hundreds of millions of polar microorganisms.
He moved with extreme gentleness, carefully placing it into the custom-made temperature-controlled food storage box he carried with him.
He specifically purchased this box.
The built-in small battery can lock the internal temperature at a hibernation temperature of 4 degrees Celsius.
This can protect the fungal network to the greatest extent.
One piece is not enough; the demand for bottom layers in marine and woodland areas is enormous.
He continued the meticulous peeling work he had just performed in the sheltered spot.
Each cut avoids the nodes of the main root system.
He dug out eight pieces in total, until the refrigerator reached its maximum capacity.
He spent most of the day's physical exertion and nearly 100 kilometers of driving to collect those few dozen liters of soil.
Even buying ten truckloads of potting soil from the flower market wouldn't buy you this half-box of pristine microscopic wonders.
This is a barrier that cannot be bridged with money.
Su Wei closed the lid of the refrigerator and pressed the latch.
It was completely dark by then.
The storm howled above the canopy, emitting a sharp shriek.
Temperatures are plummeting.
Su Wei switched on his tactical flashlight, the cold white beam cutting through the darkness ahead.
He shouldered his pack and lifted the 60-pound temperature-controlled food cooler with both hands.
Return via the same route.
The snow had deepened, and the wind and snow had covered his footprints.
This made the return journey extremely difficult.
Sixty pounds of weight pressed down on his arms, causing his chest to heave violently.
The snow hike had depleted the last bit of benefit from the Simple Dietary Supplementation.
The muscles in my legs began to tremble involuntarily, and lactic acid accumulated in large quantities.
Each time I pulled my leg up, it felt like I was fighting against the pull of the entire swamp.
It took him an hour and a half to walk three kilometers.
When the beam of the tactical flashlight finally swept across the black outline of the Raptor pickup truck, Su Wei stopped and exhaled a long breath of white air.
He walked to the back of the car and opened the back door.
Place the food container securely inside and double-secure it with both the safety belt and the elastic cord.
Then, he slumped into the driver's seat and slammed the car door shut.
The cold wind was kept out.
The temperature inside the carriage was extremely low as he turned the key.
The engine started successfully.
The warm air vents gradually released hot air, blowing on his frozen cheeks.
He leaned back in the leather headrest, took off his damp, cold leather gloves, and tossed them onto the dashboard.
The phone remained in a no-service state; this area was a complete signal dead zone.
The pickup truck shifted into reverse and slowly drove out of the dense forest, following the tracks it had come from.
The chassis kept making scraping noises as it rubbed against tree branches.
Half an hour later.
The car veered off the forest path and onto the gravel road of the main road.
The phone screen next to the dashboard suddenly lit up.
This was followed by a series of violent vibrations and a continuous string of beeping sounds.
The signal was restored, and the backlog of data flooded in instantly.
Su Wei picked up her phone; the lock screen was completely filled with various notifications.
The icon in the TikTok backend displays a red "99+".
He opened the software.
The newly released short video of feeding foxes has seen an explosive increase in views.