HBWnovel Chapter 317: Compendium Update, The Name of Cheng Ye!
Chapter 317: Compendium Update, The Name of Cheng Ye!
Treasures still in their growth phase can indeed have their Traits collected by the Compendium!Cheng Ye's eyes suddenly lit up, an uncontrollable joy welling up in his heart.
He had previously studied the three treasures sent by the Research Institute for a long time, but the Compendium had never reacted. Now, merely slicing off a tiny piece of the spirit bamboo shoot had instantly triggered a prompt.
'Could it be that by exchanging Traits, I can replicate the Shelter City's method of cultivating treasures?'
With a stir in his heart, his Intent tapped on the Compendium interface, and the screen promptly shifted.
Surprisingly, the original Biological Compendium, which previously had only one general category, now featured a secondary classification.
The left side was labeled "Animals," while the right side was "Plants."
Among them, the newly recorded Purple Spirit Bamboo Shoot was categorized under plants. The text was a serene lavender, and upon closer inspection, a faint hint of red could be seen beneath the pale purple.
Based solely on the color provided by the Compendium, Cheng Ye instantly deduced the growth status of this spirit bamboo shoot.
Treasures indeed possessed the potential to evolve to the transcendent level!
[Purple Spirit Bamboo Shoot]
[Description]: Legend has it that the Purple Spirit Bamboo Shoot grows by the shores of the South Sea, beneath caves where the tides meet. Born neither from soil nor stone, it only embeds itself in the crevices of deep cyan reefs.
When the tide rises, it hides within the salty mist; when the tide falls, only an inch of its tender tip is revealed.
Fishermen once said that on nights of the full moon, starlight-like specks condense on the tip of the shoot. If one can pluck it, they will be able to hear the secrets hidden beneath the deep sea.
[Effects]:
Spirit Eyes (Long-term consumption can significantly improve vision, especially the ability to see in the dark. There is also a minuscule probability of causing a bodily mutation, giving birth to a special physique: Purple Spirit Eyes.)
Great Nourishment (Contains various energies required by biological organisms, is extremely easy to digest, and has no side effects.)
Duet (The yield of ordinary plants growing next to this item will automatically double.)
[Currently Recorded Traits]:
Purple Spirit Bamboo Shoot Seed (5.35%)
'Holy crap, I can actually use Traits to... exchange for treasure seeds?!'
Cheng Ye's eyes widened in astonishment. Despite having previous suspicions, he still felt somewhat dazed when the real System Panel appeared before his eyes.
What did this mean?
If the seeds of the Purple Spirit Bamboo Shoot could be cultivated, sprout, and grow smoothly, he would only need to harvest them continuously to aggressively expand the planting scale through the Compendium.
Perhaps the initial startup would be a bit difficult, but as long as a certain scale was formed, he could achieve viral multiplication later on.
Moreover, the three effects of the Purple Spirit Bamboo Shoot were extremely valuable.
The satiety and healing properties Gao Tianzhi mentioned earlier were likely just a simplified explanation of the "Great Nourishment" effect.
After all, by fully replenishing the body's required energy, minor ailments like headaches or mild fevers could heal on their own by relying on the body's natural immunity.
What truly deserved attention were the "Spirit Eyes" and "Duet" Traits.
Cheng Ye looked up at the adjacent rice fields; the exceptionally lush growth of the rice was likely due to this effect.
According to Happiness City's test results, Shi Province's environment was completely unsuitable for cultivating rice. For this paddy to have such vigorous growth now, it was clearly the work of the Purple Spirit Bamboo Shoot's "Duet" Trait.
However, it was currently unclear just how large the area of influence for this Trait actually was.
If the Purple Spirit Bamboo Shoot could be promoted in large quantities within Happiness City, there would be absolutely no need to painstakingly cultivate improved seeds; food production would directly enter an explosive mode.
As for the "Purple Spirit Eyes" Trait, no matter how small the probability of its manifestation, as long as the planting scale increased and enough of it was consumed in sufficient quantities, acquiring this special physique was only a matter of time.
'Good heavens, to have this kind of luck on the very first day out of the city?!'
Staring at the Purple Spirit Bamboo Shoot before him, Cheng Ye inevitably zoned out for a moment.
Just getting his hands on this single treasure made the entire Field Duty trip completely worth it, even if he were to pack up and head back immediately.
But the Wasteland was so vast; how many more places like this, hiding wild treasures, were out there?
His initial curiosity about exploring this Hermit camp instantly transformed into an irrepressible yearning.
If every Hermit camp hid a treasure, he would rather drop his mission in Guang Province and simply scour the entirety of Shi Province. Now that was the true path to striking it rich.
However, as his gaze fell back onto the Compendium's description, he realized that although he hadn't collected information regarding the Purple Spirit Bamboo Shoot before, he had acquired quite a bit of extra intelligence during the starfish outbreak.
'By the shores of the South Sea? Growing beneath caves where the tides meet?'
Thoughtfully, Cheng Ye closed the System Panel and looked up at Gao Tianzhi beside him.
"Are you absolutely sure you don't know the origin of this Purple Spirit Bamboo Shoot?"
"N-no... I don't know." Hearing Cheng Ye state its exact name, cold sweat instantly broke out on Gao Tianzhi's forehead. He braced himself to reply, though his eyes dared not meet Cheng Ye's gaze.
"Is that so?" Cheng Ye slowly stood up, not rashly opening his Protective Helmet to chew on the sliced-off piece of the spirit bamboo shoot.
Just looking at Gao Tianzhi's demeanor, he had already concluded that this Purple Spirit Bamboo Shoot was definitely not some wild seed brought over by a passing bird.
Combining this with Gao Tianzhi's earlier half-truths, Cheng Ye raised an eyebrow and directly stated, "Let me guess. You two aren't some Settlement Lord and Vice-Lord at all. Instead, you are defectors who fled from a Shelter City, aren't you?"
"What?" Gao Tianzhi's heart gave a violent jolt. He quickly shook his head and waved his hands, his tone panicked. "No, no, no, you must be joking! We are just ordinary Migrants, how could we be defectors from a Shelter City?"
"You obtained intelligence about the hidden realm of New Pond Mountain from the Shelter City. You knew that this place could isolate the Petrification Curse,"
"that it was suitable for planting, and that the environment was sufficiently concealed."
Cheng Ye ignored his defense and continued on his own, "The seed for this Purple Spirit Bamboo Shoot must have been brought out from the Shelter City by you as well... Hmm, no, maybe it wasn't a seed. Let me think again. Someone must have discovered this living Purple Spirit Bamboo Shoot in a sea cave. You happened to learn of the news, chose to intercept it, then defected and transplanted it here. Am I right?"
If he were in Dabo Town, he would have already initiated a soul-searching... ahem, an intelligence retrieval process by now.
But currently out in the Wasteland, Recharge Value was exceptionally precious. There was no need to waste energy searching for an irrelevant piece of intelligence just to satisfy his curiosity.
Moreover, seeing Gao Tianzhi's drastically pale face was enough to prove that his guess was extremely close to the mark.
The Wasteland really was quite interesting.
As expected, not a single word out of these Hermits' mouths was true. Their lies were layered one over another in a web of deceit; not a shred of it could be easily trusted.
"Relax, whether you defected or not has absolutely nothing to do with me. I have no interest in your background."
Cheng Ye shook his head.
In terms of the severity of defection, these people merely walked away with a single treasure. How could that compare to Cheng Wu directly wrecking an Inspection Station?
Not to mention that before Cheng Wu and Cheng Long left, they even dared to steal a Mother Source from the Research Institute. Their level of audacity far exceeded that of the group before him.
"S-sir..." Gao Tianzhi trembled all over, momentarily at a loss for how to respond.
They were clearly the masters of this hidden camp, yet after Cheng Ye arrived, he acted like a fortune-teller who could pinch his fingers and calculate the truth. With just a few glances, he had correctly deduced their origins.
"Go on, you must have a cultivation manual recorded for the Purple Spirit Bamboo Shoot, right? Bring it here and show me."
Cheng Ye lifted his chin, his tone casual. "I'm just passing through. I don't have that much interest in your treasure... Hmm, at the very least, I'll leave a portion of it for you."
Leave a portion behind?
Gao Tianzhi's heart clenched. Abandoning any further attempts at concealment, he turned and jogged back into the small hut, quickly returning with a yellowed manual in his hands.
Cheng Ye flipped it open and saw that it indeed contained detailed records of the entire transplantation process for the Purple Spirit Bamboo Shoot.
Originally, there had been four stalks of the Purple Spirit Bamboo Shoot when they found them. After taking them all, only two ultimately survived.
It seemed their choice to settle in this mountain cave was also to replicate the original growth environment of the Purple Spirit Bamboo Shoot.
'A mountain cave... Would the underground cave system beneath Dabo Town meet the criteria?'
Cheng Ye rapidly scanned through every planting step in the manual, feeling a sudden stir of inspiration.
The planting conditions for the Purple Spirit Bamboo Shoot were far from simple. First, it could not be directly exposed to sunlight. Second, it required continuous watering with a massive amount of fresh water. Lastly, it had to grow in an environment that was "neither stone nor soil."
To put it plainly, its root system had to wedge into the crevices between soil and stone, neither directly touching the dirt nor clinging tightly to the rock.
Cheng Ye wasn't entirely sure of the exact principles behind this, but the underground cave system beneath Dabo Town seemed perfectly capable of satisfying these conditions.
If he wanted to transplant it to the outside world, he would have to build a light-blocking greenhouse. He just didn't know if the "Duet" effect would still apply once a greenhouse was constructed.
"I'm going to cut off a bit more to take with me. You don't mind, do you?"
"You can take as much as you want! I only beg that you leave us a way out to survive!" Gao Tianzhi blurted out almost instantly, his tone brimming with supplication.
"What do you mean, a way out to survive?" Cheng Ye chuckled and shook his head. "I never planned on hurting you guys in the first place. Do I look like a bad guy?"
"Uh..." Gao Tianzhi opened his mouth, subconsciously glancing at Zhang Wen, who had remained silent all along.
Zhang Wen's eyes were still blank, unable to snap back to reality for a long time, as if he hadn't heard their conversation at all.
Evidently, even up to this moment, he still couldn't believe that Cheng Ye would spare the people in the camp, let alone let this incredibly precious Purple Spirit Bamboo Shoot go.
As he drew closer to the Purple Spirit Bamboo Shoot, the Earth-Shrinking Giant Louse in his Spiritual Body Space had already entered a frenzied state. Waves of Intent transmitted over frantically, repeating one single word over and over again:
'Eat, eat, eat, eat!'
'Don't rush, I'll let you eat it in a bit.'
Cheng Ye pacified this "number one contributor" through his Intent. Then, his hands flew into action, his movements as sharp and precise as a butterfly weaving through flowers. Piece after piece of the Purple Spirit Bamboo Shoot continuously fell onto the metal tray.
Watching the constantly rising Trait Value on the panel, the corners of his mouth stretched wider and wider, nearly unable to hold back a burst of laughter.
It wasn't until the Trait Value broke through the 100% mark that Cheng Ye finally stopped his actions.
At this point, less than a third of the Purple Spirit Bamboo Shoot had been harvested.
'How satisfying. These people nurtured it for five years, but it ended up benefiting me.'
Cheng Ye paused briefly before resuming his harvest, intending to accumulate the Trait Value to 200%.
This way, he could exchange for two seeds to plant simultaneously right from the start. By the next harvest, he might even be able to expand the scale to six stalks, truly achieving rapid mass production.
Soon, the accumulated Trait Value reached a full 200%.
Cheng Ye stopped in satisfaction. By now, the Purple Spirit Bamboo Shoot on the ground had been cropped down until only the middle section of its main stalk remained.
This was enough.
Although there was never any such thing as "showing mercy" in the Wasteland, and no one could stop him even if he took the entire Purple Spirit Bamboo Shoot, keeping this section of the main stalk meant he could come back to harvest more Traits in the future if his seed cultivation failed and ended up wasted.
Cheng Ye clearly knew the difference between a one-time transaction and long-term development.
"Do you have any bags? Pack these up for me to take away. I'm leaving the rest for you."
"Yes! Yes!" Gao Tianzhi quickly agreed, then added, "This thing can't be put directly into bags. We need to use foam boxes, line the bottom with stones, and cover the top with a layer of soil."
The harvested Purple Spirit Bamboo Shoot piled up and filled seven trays, each piece the size of a fist.
Gao Tianzhi brought out three foam boxes in one trip, barely managing to safely pack away all the harvested pieces.
"Alright, help me carry these down the mountain."
Cheng Ye stood up, lacking any intention of comforting the camp's residents.
While harvesting, he had already caught glimpses of the intense hatred burning in those people's eyes out of the corner of his vision.
Obviously, in their eyes, taking away the Purple Spirit Bamboo Shoot was akin to severing the roots of this hidden camp. He had no need to act like a saint parading around.
Seeing that he was genuinely leaving, the dazed Zhang Wen suddenly snapped back to his senses. He stared at Cheng Ye blankly, as if unable to believe that someone could actually restrain their greed in the face of such a supreme treasure.
"Don't worry, I'm not taking this for free. Whatever you need, I'll bring it over for you next time." Cheng Ye clapped his hands, his tone casual.
Gao Tianzhi, who was currently tying the foam boxes with hemp rope, abruptly lifted his head and spoke with urgency, "We need salt, we need sugar!
Winter is fast approaching, and we are almost out of both."
"Salt and sugar?"
Cheng Ye thought about it and realized it came down to a lack of experience. Before heading out this time, he hadn't anticipated running into hidden Humans at all, so naturally, he hadn't prepared such trading supplies.
"Apologies, I'm an Inspector from Happiness City out on Field Duty. I didn't bring any trading goods of that sort.
"
"You are an Inspector from Happiness City?" Gao Tianzhi was visibly startled and immediately asked, "Do you have anything to prove your identity?"
"Of course."
Cheng Ye reached toward his waist, and the Inspector Badge smoothly fell into his palm.
Gao Tianzhi clearly recognized the item. Upon clearly seeing the large character for "Inspect" and the patterns of Happiness City's towering walls on the badge, his expression instantly grew agitated.
"Sand Pond Lake... There's an open-air shallow salt mine by the lake, but we don't dare get near it. Quite a few terrifying Infected Bodies still linger in the water. If you could take us there to mine some salt..."
"You trust my strength that much? Aren't you afraid I might just be leading you to your deaths?"
"You're an Inspector from Happiness City, how could we not trust you!" Gao Tianzhi swept away his previous dejection, his face full of excitement.
Even the residents nearby, upon hearing Cheng Ye's identity, felt the animosity in their eyes gradually dissipate.
'Announcing my background is actually this effective?'
Cheng Ye paused for a second. On second thought, this place wasn't too far from Happiness City. This group had likely long harbored thoughts of seeking refuge there and had some understanding of an Inspector's status, so it wasn't all that surprising.
"Alright then. Tonight I'll stay over at the ruins of the New Pond Gathering Place. Come find me tomorrow at daybreak."
Cheng Ye pondered briefly and added, "As for the sugar, you can wait two months. I'll return after finishing my mission in Guang Province, and I'll bring some over for you then."
After saying that, he took the lead and headed back in the direction he came from.
Gao Tianzhi hurriedly called over two able-bodied youths to carry the foam boxes filled with the Purple Spirit Bamboo Shoot, while he closely tailed right behind Cheng Ye.
It was glaringly obvious that only after Cheng Ye's figure completely vanished through the narrow mountain crevice did the hidden camp abruptly erupt into a cacophony of chatter.
No one could have expected that the first time an outsider intruded after so many years, it would end like this.
Upon reaching the space between the two platforms, the two able-bodied youths skillfully ducked into the hidden tunnel while clutching the foam boxes. Cheng Ye, meanwhile, repeated his previous trick, taking Gao Tianzhi along to experience the sensation of walking on air and treading on wind once more.
Upon landing, the middle-aged man's face was still filled with marvel as he silently relished the taste of soaring through the air.
"It seems this Purple Spirit Bamboo Shoot was stolen out of a Shelter City by Zhang Wen, wasn't it?" Cheng Ye suddenly asked.
Gao Tianzhi froze for a moment. After a brief silence, he nodded with difficulty.
"He's completely cut off any path of return. Those who have betrayed a Shelter City often worry the most about the people around them betraying them in turn."
Cheng Ye smacked his lips, his tone flat. "However, Happiness City has changed a lot recently. We've built satellite towns of considerable scale outside the city walls. If you guys feel it's unsafe to stay here, you can consider moving to Happiness City. Once there, I can help introduce you to a stable job."
"By the way, my surname is Cheng, and my given name is Ye."
"Cheng?" Gao Tianzhi was taken aback and instinctively followed up, "Are you the contract management Inspector of Dabo Town?"
"Ho, you even know about the satellite towns?"
Cheng Ye hadn't anticipated that his reputation would have spread into the Wasteland ahead of him before he even went out on Field Duty.
Hearing it from the mouth of a stranger gave him a rather wonderful feeling.
The world was no longer remembering Cheng Wu, nor Cheng Long; they were remembering the name Cheng Ye.
Gao Tianzhi showed a look of sudden realization, and the last trace of wariness in his gaze toward Cheng Ye completely vanished. "We have radios, and we usually love listening to Little Sun's broadcasts the most! We tune in punctually every time! Your Dabo Town... we've known about it for a long time!"
Having said that, he looked a bit embarrassed and quickly added, "Actually, I wanted to communicate properly with you from the start. It was just Old Zhang who kept stopping me. He's always afraid of drawing unnecessary disasters."
'So they got the news through the radio.'
This was indeed the most convenient method of transmitting information across the Wasteland.
Gao Tianzhi smiled bitterly and shook his head, continuing, "As for migrating to Happiness City... we actually live quite comfortably here. We grew tired of the Shelter City's rules a long time ago. It's not that Happiness City is bad, it's just that we've gotten used to our current lazy and leisurely pace. We don't have that many material desires anymore, and we don't want to rely on going to work every day just to feed ourselves. If it weren't for the fact that we hadn't encountered a single passing merchant caravan last year and this year, we wouldn't have been reduced to such a destitute state today."
"Merchant caravans actually pass through here?" Cheng Ye was slightly surprised.
"Occasionally. Quite a few gutsy merchant caravans purposely come to Forbidden Lands like this to rest and reorganize, in order to avoid the troubles along the main routes."
To think that the merchant caravans abandoning the routes through Shi Province had not only dealt a heavy blow to Happiness City but also implicated these hidden camps rooted within the province.
It truly was a case of sharing in both glory and ruin.
"Staying here is pretty good, too. This place is definitely secluded enough..."
Waiting until those two able-bodied youths climbed through, the two men chatted casually as they made their way down the mountain.
As they talked, new ideas suddenly popped into Cheng Ye's mind.
The current disruption in communication between Shi Province and Guang Province was fundamentally rooted in a lack of profitable goods to sell to Guang Province.
But what about in the future?
If the path to Guang Province was to be reopened later on, and the upper and middle routes were impassable, this lower route they were currently taking had proven to be reasonably safe after a day's travel.
He could absolutely set up the New Pond Gathering Place as a fixed rest stop. They could plant crops here, achieve basic self-sufficiency, and survive without relying on nutrient paste.
Once the crops matured in the future, he could even send some rice, flour, and oil here to ensure the stability of the rest stop.
Taking a step back, even if he only brought some basic supplies each time he came over, it would be enough for this group to live comfortably.
However, Gao Tianzhi simply couldn't imagine that Cheng Ye's vision stretched so far ahead, having already considered plans for the distant future. He continued chattering about the daily life of their hidden camp: "Our camp here doesn't even have a name. We were afraid having one would expose our location..."
"There are no real rules here either. Everyone can sleep until they wake up naturally every day. Because the crops don't need daily tending, we live simply—chatting, painting, exercising. We even set up a basketball court, a pool table, and dug out a small swimming pool—"
"We also procured a set of solar energy equipment and bought several high-performance radios. Not only can we hear Happiness City's broadcasts—yes, we really did know about the satellite towns early on—but occasionally, we can even pick up broadcasts from the Shelter Cities over in Guang Province!"
"Over the years, the funds we spent trading with the merchant caravans were mostly what we brought out when we defected. Later, we also salvaged scrap from the New Pond Gathering Place, occasionally clearing out nearby Infected Bodies and Mutant Beasts in exchange for piecemeal supplies..."
"Plus, we have the spirit bamboo shoot. As long as we trade away just a tiny bit, we can bring back a lot of supplies."
"Impressive."
""
It had to be said, this was truly a hidden utopia free from KPIs, free from anxiety, and where one didn't even have to overthink the future.
Cheng Ye suddenly felt that perhaps the former Happiness City really wasn't as carefree as this place.
In Happiness City, skipping work for even a single day meant worrying about one's next meal.
Surrounded by intertwined material desires, with everyone around saving money, wanting to live in larger houses, and hoarding more supplies, there was simply no way to stop moving forward.
But in this hidden camp, people only needed to do what they wanted to do.
Singing, painting, exercising, or listening to the radio.
Sixteen acres of farmland simply didn't require hundreds of people to tend to them every day. As long as the merchant caravans didn't cut off completely, and with the spirit bamboo shoot serving as a fallback, their lives would never be destitute.
Of course, the prerequisite for all of this was not running into someone like him.
Without absolute hard strength, encountering a powerful external enemy left them entirely passive, just like they were now. They had to gamble on the arrival being a passing traveler with good intentions, rather than a bandit looking to burn, kill, and pillage.
Unknowingly, the four of them had walked from the mountain path all the way to the defensive walls.
Gao Tianzhi quickened his pace, leading Cheng Ye down through a concealed gap and toward the only courtyard in the Gathering Place that had its lights on.
The Camping Lamp cast a warm yellow halo of light.
Hearing footsteps, Liu Bi and Niu Fu immediately darted out from the courtyard. Their eyes fell upon the three people walking beside Cheng Ye, as well as the foam boxes each of them held in their arms.
"Brother Bi, Inspector Cheng didn't stay the night on the mountain. You owe me a hundred credits!" Niu Fu teased with a laugh.
"Hey, you're actually making money off me now." Liu Bi twitched the corner of his mouth and stepped forward to ask, "Back so soon?"
"I made some gains. The people here are quite friendly; every single one of them welcomed my arrival!"
As Cheng Ye spoke, he raised a hand and flipped open his Protective Helmet, revealing his entire face.
Even though he had already formed some guesses about Cheng Ye's age, seeing such a youthful face still made it difficult for Gao Tianzhi to conceal his shock, leaving him frozen in place.
"Wait a moment. Although I didn't bring salt or sugar, I still need to give you a little meeting gift."
After saying this, Cheng Ye strode into the courtyard, opened the rear tailgate of the Armored Vehicle, and took out five boxes of pistol Ammunition from an ammo crate.
They were all large packs, a hundred rounds per box.
Five hundred rounds of standard-issue bullets. He figured that would be enough to last this group for a while.
"Take them," Cheng Ye said, handing the ammo boxes over.
Gao Tianzhi paused for a moment before reaching out to open one of the boxes.
Seeing the gleaming brass bullets inside, he opened his mouth to speak but ultimately just bent down deeply, offering Cheng Ye a profound bow. "Thank you for your benevolence!"