Chapter 9: Plant Identification Trait

After the Special Affairs Group's popular science explanation, Qin Chuan already knew how to use the equipment slot, allowing him to take the herbs and fruits before him for emergencies.

He carefully harvested the medicinal herbs, trying to preserve their potency as much as possible, then stored them in the equipment slot.

Seeming to guess Qin Chuan's thought, Shui Hua rushed to the low shrub bearing fruit, swept a stream of water over it, gently caught the falling fruit, and placed it on the ground.

By the time Qin Chuan filled an equipment slot with herbs, amounting to ten times what Shui Hua had gathered earlier, a pile of over a dozen fruits had already accumulated before her.

"Well done." Qin Chuan ruffled Shui Hua's head and put the fruits away.

With Shui Hua's plant identification trait, he gained considerable confidence in the upcoming wilderness survival.

Having stored the fruits, Qin Chuan cupped his hands over his ears and listened carefully.

Just as Shui Hua had said, he indeed faintly heard the sound of flowing water.

Recalling the introduction in the wilderness survival guide, Qin Chuan immediately lay on the ground, pressing one ear to the earth, trying to catch a clearer sound.

"Woof! Woof!" (Hold on! There's something good nearby!)

"What good stuff?" Qin Chuan stopped, his face showing interest, "Could it be another special herb?"

After following Qin Chuan for several hundred meters, Shui Hua suddenly sniffed, and a hint of astonishment appeared on her face.

"Woof~" (This fruit can quickly restore stamina!)

It was considering whether to pretend it hadn't seen what just happened.

Qin Chuan: "..."

Shui Hua sniffed again carefully, her face showing an uncertain expression.

"Woof~" (It's from over there!)

Shui Hua lifted a paw and pointed at something, wearing an expression that said, "Do we really need to lie on the ground to listen?"

Seeing this, Shui Hua blinked and looked bewildered.

"Let's go, let's check it out over there."

"Woof?" (What are you doing?)

"Okay, grab some more."

The person and beast walked and paused, and the empty slots in the equipment bar dwindled.

He silently stood up and patted the dirt off himself without a trace.

Shui Hua closely followed Qin Chuan, a thoughtful expression appearing on her face.

"..."

"Woof~" (I'm not sure either, but it should be very helpful to me.)

"Then let's go see." Qin Chuan spoke decisively.

After all, Qin Chuan seemed to have lost face…

"Woof~" (This herb can detoxify!)

"Pick it!"

He lifted his leg without hesitation and moved in the direction Shui Hua indicated.

"I'm judging which direction the water sound is coming from."

I almost forgot, Shui Hua has extremely keen senses.

Raising the level of a Contract Spirit Beast is currently the main way to grow stronger in the Dream World.

This point had been specially emphasized by the Special Affairs Group, and Qin Chuan himself fully agreed.

If we could truly find something that would let Shui Hua grow stronger, we must not let it slip away easily.

Shui Hua nodded firmly, sniffing carefully all the way, then suddenly lifted her head and looked toward the cliff on one side of the valley.

About fifty meters above this cliff, a branch stubbornly protruded from a crack in the rock, bearing a water-blue fruit roughly the size of an apple, plump and round, with a crystalline sheen flowing across its surface.

At a glance, it's clearly something good.

"Woof!" (That's it!)

Shui Hua cried out, feeling the fruit's unique attraction, her eyes filled with longing.

"This cliff…"

Qin Chuan approached the cliff before him and glanced again at the fruit fifty meters up.

This cliff isn't as steep as a knife-cut, but it slopes about seventy degrees; fortunately, loose rocks are scattered across it, making handholds easy to find.

For a canine spirit beast like Shui Hua, climbing the cliff is very difficult, but for Qin Chuan, although it's a bit troublesome, it's not impossible.

After all, the wilderness survival guide introduces many rock-climbing techniques.

He was confident he had memorized them well, though he had never put them into practice.

He grabbed a protruding rock at the mountain's base to test the feel, and Qin Chuan made up his mind.

"Shui Hua, wait down here; I'll go pick the fruit."

He shouted, grabbed a handful of ground stone dust, rubbed his hands, and without hesitation began to climb.

"Woof!" (Be careful!)

Shui Hua nervously crouched below Qin Chuan, head raised high; each time Qin Chuan stepped onto a new foothold, her expression grew a bit tense, and only when he regained his footing could she breathe easy.

One step, two steps…

Qin Chuan quickly reached a small platform about ten meters high and took a brief rest.

Because it was his first attempt, he had made a few small mistakes, consuming more stamina than professional climbing would, and now he had no strength left to continue upward.

He pulled a stamina-restoring fruit from the equipment slot, ate it, rested for a minute or two, and Qin Chuan felt almost fully revived.

Without time to marvel at the fruit's recovery speed, Qin Chuan hurriedly used hands and feet together to continue climbing upward.

First time raw, second time familiar—this time Qin Chuan's movements were noticeably more adept.

Only after climbing to a height of twenty-five meters did he run out of strength again, taking out a second fruit to begin recovery.

When he ate the fruit for the third time and recovered, the distance to the water‑blue fruit on the cliff was already less than ten meters.

Gazing at the sparkling light on the water‑blue fruit, Qin Chuan seized the moment and continued upward.

Eight meters… five meters… two meters…

The distance between him and the water‑blue fruit grew ever closer; he could almost reach it with his hand, when suddenly the ground gave way beneath his feet.

The stone that Qin Chuan was using as a foothold suddenly broke apart.

At the critical moment, Qin Chuan quickly shifted his center of gravity, barely supporting his body with both hands, avoiding a direct fall.

But there was no new foothold around his slipping foot; he could only strain to maintain his position, and as his strength waned, he would eventually fall.

The water below, anxious, leapt up the cliff to come help, but after climbing less than five meters it fell heavily to the ground, its face full of dejection and worry.

Feeling the continual soreness in his hands, Qin Chuan instead gradually calmed down.

"Shui Hua, use Torrential Break on my foot!"

As the words fell, a stream of water struck heavily against Qin Chuan's shoe sole.

The Torrential Break that had flown up to nearly fifty meters in height no longer possessed the fierce force of its initial release, but its residual momentum still easily lifted Qin Chuan's whole body upward.

At the moment the pressure on his hands was released, Qin Chuan seized the momentum to reach upward, plucking the water‑blue fruit and tossing it into his equipment slot while simultaneously planting his foot on another previously out‑of‑reach foothold.

His hands then naturally grasped the stone before him, and after a bit of shaking he finally steadied his posture.

Success!

Hearing the joyful cries of Shui Hua from below, Qin Chuan's face lit up with a brilliant smile.

(End of chapter)