Chapter 174
Chapter 174: The Pearl Clam in the Lake
His Stamina and Mental Power were nearly depleted.
Ye Qiyan lay completely flat on his chair, roleplaying as a salted fish by this quiet lakeside.
“You’re back?”
A familiar voice drifted over from afar.
The Red Tear Demon walked over silently, dragging a three-meter-tall yak carcass behind her sword of carved tears.
Obviously, she had treated this yak as a threat and resolved it in accordance with Ye Qiyan’s orders.
“A yak? Uh, why does it feel like all the animals on this island are so huge?”
Chickens half the size of a human, three-meter-tall yaks…
Yet the fish in the lake were exceptionally tiny.
“Yawn~ I’m so sleepy… Eve, process this yak. Remember to keep the hide intact.”
Floating nearby, Eve stared at Red Tears, the machine and the demon facing off against each other.
Eve pulled out the Lightning Spear, compared it to the tear carver sword, and then silently put it away, accepting the command to process the yak.
Picking up the parasol that Eve had just been holding, Red Tears stood by Ye Qiyan’s side once again.
“It’s so quiet…”
There was no roar of the Train.
No monsters chasing them in the wilderness.
And none of the various incidents they had encountered at other Platforms.
Aside from the larger animals, this Turtle Island seemed to be just an ordinary island.
“Caw~ Caw~”
The Demon Raven flew in mid-air, casually teasing the little Goshawk following behind it.
The Beedrills collected pollen and seeds from the island to bring back to the Train, enriching the resources in the Planting Carriage.
In the Breeding Carriage, the Goshawk was no longer the only resident.
High-jumping rabbits, massive chickens, fire-spitting lizards, and horned wild boars…
These strange animals would serve as the Train’s reserve food supply.
As for what to feed them?
It was very simple.
The rice bag obtained from Ten-Cang Rice City.
It would come in handy after all.
A ten-kilogram piece of rotten meat could be converted into one hundred kilograms of rice.
It couldn’t be more perfect as feed for these animals.
In addition, the 2,500 cubic meters of water in the Water Storage Carriage, after being purified by the purification device, flowed into different designated areas.
For bathing, drinking, raising fish…
The sun gradually set.
Beyond the island, the endless ocean was draped in a black veil.
Splash, splash~
The familiar sound of caterpillar treads came from the water.
Having recovered a good deal of his Stamina and Mental Power, Ye Qiyan had already set up a pot and was eating stewed fish.
Looking toward the sound,
he saw Wall-E crawling out of the lake, covered in water plants.
It shook its head vigorously, trying to shake off the water plants, only to wind them even tighter.
“You silly thing, come here.”
He plucked the water plants off it and sized it up.
“Hmm? Didn’t get the treasure?”
The little robot nodded, then suddenly noticed Eve beside Ye Qiyan and was startled.
!!!”
It extended its mechanical arm, pointing at Eve, then at itself.
It ran pitifully to Ye Qiyan’s feet and hugged his leg.
Obviously, it thought its master had a change of heart, found a better robot, and was going to replace it.
After all, from appearance alone, Eve was indeed far more exquisite than it.
“Silly Wall-E, this is Eve. She’s not here to replace you. Remember the Vigilant Sentry? She’s the robot the Vigilant Sentry transformed into.”
Wall-E looked at the roof of the Train; the Vigilant Sentry that used to be there had indeed vanished.
It looked at Eve again, rubbed its eyes with its mechanical claws, and then pitifully curved its camera-like eyes.
They were both the master’s robots, so why did it feel like there was such a huge gap between them?
However, knowing that the other party wasn’t here to replace it, Wall-E breathed a sigh of relief. It gently tugged at Ye Qiyan’s trouser leg and pointed into the lake.
“Are you saying the treasure you found is in the water? And you couldn’t bring it up?”
It nodded.
“…In the water… Though I can swim… Oh, right, this should work. Let me try it first.”
He thought of a good idea.
Taking off his shirt, the little jellyfish hiding near his chest woke up.
“Do you want to come down first?”
The little jellyfish seemed to understand his words. It poked its head out, looked around, and floated down onto the Red Tear Demon’s head.
“…You really know how to find a spot. Whatever, we’ll talk when I get back.”
Red Tears silently reached out to grab it, but the tiny Dream Eater Larva slid directly into her hair and vanished from sight.
“…”
“Ahem, it’s my pet. Don’t hurt it.”
“…”
Under the silent gaze of Red Tears,
Ye Qiyan walked to the lakeside, took a deep breath, spread his arms, and expanded the Wandering Star Holy Mark.
Entering the lake, all the water was blocked outside by the Holy Mark, forming a spherical space.
“It actually works! Let’s go, Wall-E, lead the way.”
Strolling along the lakebed, he pulled out the pure purification stone to light up the surroundings.
Eve followed as well.
Wall-E led the way in front.
They kept moving forward, walking slowly, which took about ten minutes.
He saw an entrance emitting a dreamlike, illusory glow.
Continuing downward, they sank into it and actually left the lake water entirely, arriving in an underground space covered in pearls.
Looking up,
the lake water was kept out by some unknown power.
Oxygen was plentiful, and everywhere they looked, there were not only pearls but also many giant pearl clams.
“Is this the place?”
Wall-E nodded and continued to lead him forward.
They walked in this underground space for about an hour.
The further in they went,
the larger the pearls on the ground became.
Fist-sized pearls were only fit to be treated as gravel here.
Head-sized ones weren’t considered rare either.
Only pearls as large as boulders were considered relatively precious.
“Just how big must the pearl clam be? Good grief, it probably has to be three stories high to produce a pearl this big, right?”
Ye Qiyan reached out to touch it. According to the system’s description, these really were just ordinary pearls, aside from their size.
They had no special value.
Bringing some back as decorations was fine, but there was no need to deliberately collect them.
Finally, Wall-E stopped.
Before it could point out the final direction,
Eve, who had been following Ye Qiyan, seemed to perceive a threat within her alert range. The Great Compassion Heavy Machine Gun and the Six-Barrel Ice Vein Beam Cannon both emerged from the space around her, their barrels pointing in one direction.
“Do you sense danger? Wall-E, is the treasure you found in this direction too?”
Wall-E nodded and quickly ran in front of Eve, waving its hands to indicate that there was no danger.
However, Eve had no intention of believing it, keeping her barrels pointed in that direction. As long as Ye Qiyan gave the order, she would blast the area ahead into smithereens.
“Let’s go take a look first.”
Following Wall-E, they finished the last leg of the journey.
Passing through the cave opening,
the world ahead suddenly opened up.
Before their eyes,
a giant pearl clam as high as six stories came into view.
Above its head, the lake water served as the sky.
Every time it slightly opened its mouth, it would exhale a puff of invisible gas. This gas was the reason the lake water was blocked above them.
Wall-E extended its mechanical claw, pointing at the gap in the giant pearl clam’s shell.
“So, the treasure you found is inside there?”
