Chapter 492: Bound to the Child-Bearing System and Becoming a Winner in Life Chapter 493: Interstellar World Farming (5)

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Main Character:

Shen Yao

"Shen Yao?"

"Lin Sheng!"

Shen Yao looked toward Lin Sheng, who had appeared not far away; since there was only the two of them around, he did not bother adding the word "classmate" either.

"What's wrong with you?"

One could not say this place was utterly devoid of human habitation, but indeed there was hardly any life present.

Lin Sheng was sitting sprawled on the ground just like that, a backpack and a pitched tent placed beside him; by the looks of it, he seemed to be planning to rest for a while?

Lin Sheng pushed his glasses up awkwardly, "I've been traveling these past few days and am too tired, wanted to rest," but before he could even get into the tent, he saw Shen Yao appear within his line of sight.

Come to think of it, he really hadn't expected that Shen Yao, who was assigned to logistics, would run into him halfway.

Shen Yao sat down next to Lin Sheng, "Just right, I need to rest for a bit too; is there any danger around here?"

"Host, why don't you trust the System? There's no danger," the System jumped up and down in her mind, thinking to itself that it had just scanned the area — there couldn't possibly be a problem.

Lin Sheng nodded, pointing at the robot he had taken out to scout the surroundings; it was not large, but its movements were agile, and it even had the ability to blend into the environment.

"It's relatively safe for now; we still have a stretch of distance from the desert, and who knows when Shi Qing and the others will rendezvous," so there was no need to rush the journey.

Shen Yao gave an "mm" and nodded, then took out two nutrient agents from her backpack.

Lin Sheng: ……

Lin Sheng accepted them with a face full of awkwardness, drank them down, then asked how Shen Yao had been faring on her own during this period.

Shen Yao: ……

Shen Yao gave a brief explanation in two sentences, not mentioning the laser guns and other weapons inside her space — after all, her innate space was different from a capsule space.

Two tents stood abruptly erected on a boundless plain.

The two people each returned to their own tent to rest briefly, then set off together again on the journey.

With Lin Sheng planning the route, the going from then on was more effort-saving than before.

Besides, there were convenient tools like propulsors for traveling; the two of them spent five days and finally reached the desert where the energy fruits grew.

This desert was vast; as far as the eye could see it stretched broad and boundless — to find energy fruits in it one would still have to rely on other means.

Lin Sheng bent over rummaging in his backpack; Shen Yao did not speak, just observed, and by the way sent the disobedient System in her head out on an assignment.

"Found it!"

Lin Sheng said happily, then in Shen Yao's view tossed the small sphere in his hand directly onto the ground.

The small sphere, only the size of an egg, was a lovely pink all over; upon touching the ground it rapidly transformed, growing a body trunk and a flat head.

The more Shen Yao looked, the more familiar it seemed; finally the pinkish-red molt turned bright red, and only then did Shen Yao confirm what this small sphere's form resembled — a red ant.

A product unique to the desert, and a colony with strong aggression that feeds on energy fruits — the mutant ants.

It is said that the reason no humans survive on this exploration planet is because the mutant ants wiped out humanity, leaving behind all creatures except humans.

Because research experts once discovered traces of human habitation on this planet, but due to the immense passage of time there was no way to confirm it.

Similar statements spread, and even showed signs of escalating further.

Lin Sheng handed Shen Yao a capsule pack containing a protective suit.

"We need to be careful once we go in; the red ants are extremely unfriendly toward humans," they would even attack unprovoked.

Shen Yao gave an "mm," and at the same time took out the various ointments she had bought, "You can keep them yourself," once inside who knows what might happen; if they got separated again, they could only rely on self-rescue with all their might.

The two people exchanged their respective supplies, ensuring that even if separated they could survive in the desert; then, following the "red ant" ahead, they entered the desert step by careful step.

Above their heads blazed the scorching sun; they wore protective suits covering themselves completely.

Shen Yao half-narrowed her eyes, repeatedly lifting her head to confirm the direction they were in.

Staring at the desert sand too long made one's eyes swim; moreover, to blend into the environment, their silver-white protective suits had also taken on the same earth-yellow color as the sand.

"Keep going forward, we're almost there."

Lin Sheng kept confirming the robot's position and adjusted their heading according to the bearings.

Shen Yao followed obediently behind Lin Sheng; the two of them inched forward bit by bit, and without using the propulsors to speed up, their pace was like that of a slow-moving snail — arduous and sluggish as they moved through the desert.

"Aiyo, careful!"

Lin Sheng suddenly cried out, and his whole person kept sinking downward.

Shen Yao subconsciously leapt backward, then reached out and grabbed Lin Sheng's arm bend, using the propulsor's thrust to slowly pull him out of the quicksand.

That's right — what Lin Sheng had accidentally stepped into was quicksand, very commonly encountered in the desert.

Because the quicksand was only active in this one patch, other areas showed no reaction, and the passing robot's small size did not disturb this patch of quicksand, which led to Lin Sheng stepping into it completely off guard.

"Thank you"

Lin Sheng thanked Shen Yao embarrassedly; even without Shen Yao's help he could have gotten out, it would just have required using other tools from his backpack.

The mission was not yet fully complete; no one knew what they might encounter later, and Lin Sheng did not want to reveal his methods this early, so this word of thanks, he spoke it with genuine sincerity.

Shen Yao waved her hand, suggesting that the road ahead needed to be traveled as carefully as possible.

The quicksand just now had given them a warning; even in the interstellar world, where human lifespan has doubled, venturing out still brings all kinds of dangers.

No matter how abundant the prepared items, they are still not enough; Shen Yao took out the robot from her backpack, shifted it into the form of a robot dog, input the mapped route she had drawn into it, and had it replace Lin Sheng walking in front to lead the way.

Walk and walk, from the sun high overhead to the sun slanting west, about to set.

The two of them finally found a small area where energy fruits were growing.

The area was not large; inside grew a few energy fruits, extremely beautiful and crystal-clear translucent ovals, hanging on the branches and flashing with light.

The two tacitly finished harvesting the energy fruits, then left the area and found a leeward hillside to spend the night.

The tent from the backpack was taken out and quickly pitched; each went inside their own.

As for keeping watch, Shen Yao took the first half of the night, Lin Sheng the second half.

The temporary squad on the wristband still had no word; there was still no conclusion on how Shi Qing's trio were faring.

"We must prepare for the worst — the two of us may have to gather all the energy fruits." Once Shi Qing's three couldn't make it in time, the squad mission would fall on their heads.

"Fine. These few days we'll explore along the desert and gather as many energy fruits as possible."

The message was sent via the wristband; Shen Yao browsed other viewable messages, and when drowsiness surged, she hurriedly took out the wake-up spray and sprayed it.

Outside the tent was an uninhabited desert; not far away a bonfire was burning.

Shen Yao sat at the tent entrance; alert devices were posted around their resting spot, and the System was helping monitor the surroundings.

Gazing at the star-filled night sky, Shen Yao's thoughts slowly drifted far.

Until rustling sounds came from Lin Sheng's tent, the wristband lit up — Lin Sheng was awake.

She yawned, dropped her head, and slept; when she opened her eyes again it was already the next day.

Last night all was well, no danger encountered; they planned to continue deeper into the desert interior, where more energy fruits would be produced.

Unlike the mission to hunt Long-toothed Tigers, the energy fruit gathering required a large quantity; if the two of them had to gather the whole squad's mission, it would take tremendous effort.

Lin Sheng's expression wasn't good; Shen Yao knew without asking — the missing trio hadn't made contact, leaving only the two of them to explore the desert.

"Shen Yao, let's go."

Lin Sheng patted her cheeks, rousing her spirits.

Breakfast was a simple, tasteless nutrient agent; one tube lasted the whole day without needing to eat.

The guide was still the robot dog Shen Yao had released yesterday; Lin Sheng's robot handled scouting.

Today their luck was better; they discovered several energy fruit growth points.

And the robot that crawled farthest sent back nothing but good news — as if they'd poked an energy fruit nest.

Lin Sheng's complexion turned ruddy; besides energy fruits being the exploration mission, they could also be sold for Federal Currency.

While harvesting, Shen Yao wondered, telling the System to watch the surroundings but not forget underground.

"Energy fruits are Red Ant food; there's no reason we can't see Red Ants here."

Result: the two of them wandered for a day and a half and didn't glimpse a single Red Ant hair.

"Host, you're being too careful," the System replied lightly, then let out a heart-rending howl.

Shen Yao:...

Shen Yao subconsciously covered her ears; Lin Sheng beside her noticed her movement, hurriedly observed the surroundings, confirmed nothing was wrong, then reached out to steady Shen Yao, concerned for her condition.

Shen Yao pointed at the ground, her face somewhat pale. "I feel panicked; we'd better leave quickly."

Leave?

Why leave?

There are still this many energy fruits not harvested!

Lin Sheng wanted to refute Shen Yao, but her complexion was excessively pale.

He swallowed the words at his lips; Lin Sheng hurriedly recalled the faraway robots, then dragged Shen Yao outward.

Walking definitely couldn't match crawling; Shen Yao listened to the System reporting the incoming Red Ant army, gritted her teeth, casually activated the propeller on her back, and pulled Lin Sheng flying toward a nearby sand slope.

Lin Sheng:...???

Lin Sheng was somewhat angry, because Shen Yao's action hadn't informed him in advance.

Just like when Tang Wen and Zheng Hui left, it gave a feeling of disrespect.

Shen Yao had no time to care about Lin Sheng's displeasure; she patted his shoulder, pointed at the red dots emerging not far away.

"Something's coming."

Lin Sheng turned his head and directly faced a stretch of red glittering in the sunlight.

Red Ants appearing is nothing strange; one could even say it would be strange if there were no Red Ants around energy fruits.

But "this quantity is too much; they're moving toward us." Lin Sheng took out a propeller, placed it at his waist, pressed the button to activate, and sped away with his back to the Red Ants.

They thought this would let them escape, but unexpectedly they also encountered Red Ants poking their heads out along the way.

Clusters of Red Ants, like flowers blooming in the desert — beautiful from afar, only terrifying up close.

Lin Sheng and Shen Yao each took out their defensive weapons; upon meeting the Red Ant assault, they directly counterattacked.

Pity the Tang knife was still too large for Red Ants; one swing down, most could escape.

Shen Yao took out a lighter, lit it, and threw it into the Red Ant swarm along with fuel.

Good news: fire attack had effect; bad news: effect wasn't great.

Lin Sheng took this as inspiration, tried water attack, thunder attack, all sorts of messy attacks thrown in.

The propeller carried them flying toward the distance; whether behind or beneath, all were Red Ants baring claws wanting to attack them.

Shen Yao wished she could pull out the particle cannon for a shot; pity Lin Sheng was there, couldn't use it.

Continued flying forward; the Red Ants behind were also shaken off.

Just as the two were about to breathe a sigh of relief and rest their feet, a colossal giant abruptly appeared ahead.

It was actually an ant hill built from Red Ants, oval all over, with 'arms' constantly extending forward on both sides.

They gasped; both directly flew sideways, narrowly dodging while still being struck on the body by Red Ants.

Shen Yao reached out and patted; the earth-yellow protective suit on her body, as expected, emitted sizzling sounds.

Red Ant mouthparts are corrosive, able to corrode everything.

Though the Federation-produced protective suit's material is superior, it cannot block Red Ant strong acid; Shen Yao could only avoid Red Ants landing on her as much as possible.

Lin Sheng was forced to separate from Shen Yao, and as the constantly gathering Red Ants grew more numerous, the straight-line distance between the two was stretched ever farther.

Shen Yao:...

Shen Yao sent Lin Sheng a message, then turned and flew toward the Distant.

After leaving Lin Sheng, Shen Yao no longer waited, but took out the Particle Cannon and blasted at the Red Ant Swarm behind her.

The Particle Cannon's energy was immense; one shot blasted the Red Ant Swarm until not even slag remained.

Seeing the effect, Shen Yao used the Propeller's capability to constantly maneuver and attack.

Soon, the Ground was covered in black fine slag; a gust of Wind scattered it Everywhere.

These were all remains left by the Red Ants, and through expressionless Killing, Shen Yao finally dealt with the Red Ant Swarm that had been relentlessly pursuing her.

Having handled the Trouble following behind, Shen Yao did not immediately Contact Lin Sheng, but instead relied on the Propeller behind her to actively Explore the Surroundings.

Discovering Energy Fruit she collected them; discovering Red Ants she directly used the Particle Cannon to deal with them — anyway the Particle Cannon recharges simply, and she carries tools in her space.

Busy all the way, until evening arrived, Shen Yao had to find a place to rest Overnight.

The System was honest This Time, starting a three-hundred-sixty-degree no-blind-spot exploration and reconnaissance.

Afraid that the previous missed-detection incident would Happen again, bringing Trouble to the Host.

The System performed its duties conscientiously, and Shen Yao could not say anything too harsh.

Taking Out the previous set, for Safety's sake, Shen Yao also placed a few extra Robots.

Wearing Clothes, she lay into the Tent; Shen Yao was about to Close eyes and rest waiting for tomorrow, when she suddenly heard the System let out a "Huh?"

"Something happened?"

Her closed eyes opened again, and Shen Yao looked at the flat, unremarkable Tent top.

"Someone is running this way, with a group of Giant Animals following behind."

By normal human speed of Other Worlds, even by dawn they would not reach Shen Yao's location.

But this is the Interstellar World; the Host goes out only with a Propeller equipped — that person, relying on a fast Mecha, needs only Half Hour to meet.