novelsite Chapter 5 Storage Belt
Chapter 5 Storage Belt
"The Moon Shines Over the Twenty-Four Bridges..."
Li Fulan lowered her head and pinched the jade belt around her waist, her fingers rubbing against the slippery jade stones, her face full of disgust.
Tang Sanqi's name has a pedantic, pretentious feel to it. But in the modern mindset of efficiency, this terrible name is utterly useless except for making people rack their brains.
Imagine if he were on the battlefield and reported to the command center: "Report, I've put C4 in the third 'bridge hole' of 'Bright Moon Night'."
Those staff officers would probably be stumped for a while before they could figure out what he was talking about.
"Pretentious."
He shook his head, mentally renaming the thing.
"From now on, let's call it a storage belt. Simple and efficient."
After changing his name, he took a deep breath and closed his eyes.
But it didn't get dark.
Instead, a particularly eerie "vision" emerged from deep within my mind.
It's hard to describe the feeling, but if I had to, it's like something suddenly growing out of my body.
A piece of "flesh" suddenly appeared in my head.
This flesh doesn't hurt or itch; it just hangs solidly on the nerve, divided into twenty-four pieces, each like an independent stomach, or like a bladder that will never feel full.
They are there; it's a purely physiological sense of existence.
Without needing to see or touch, as long as you have a thought, you can clearly sense those twenty-four spaces, each about one cubic meter in size, just like controlling your fingers. You can even get feedback from your nerves about whether there is air or a vacuum inside.
"This feeling... is quite intoxicating, but it's also a bit off-putting."
Li Fulan muttered to himself. This experience of "growing new parts" would be big news in biology.
He was too lazy to sigh anymore. With a thought, a nerve impulse similar to "clenching a fist" instantly locked onto "stomach number one" in his consciousness.
Then he opened his eyes and placed his right hand directly on the heavy Kevlar body armor.
According to the conventions of novels, there should be some special effects at this point, such as a "whoosh" sound, or a blinding golden light, or at the very least some spatial ripples, right?
The result—nothing.
No "whoosh," no light.
The moment his hand touched the bulletproof vest and his mind gave the "remove" command, the bulletproof vest was gone.
Just like deleting files on a computer, it doesn't even go to the recycle bin; it's completely wiped clean from a physical level.
The weight pressing down on the grass disappeared instantly, and the bent blades of grass, freed from their restraints, swayed and straightened up.
Li Fulan blinked, her consciousness probing deeper.
really.
In the previously empty "stomach compartment" of his mind, the black bulletproof vest was lying obediently in the corner.
[Command Center, this is Li Fulan.]
He pressed the walkie-talkie on his left shoulder, his tone as if he had just finished solving a physics problem.
[The bulletproof vest has been stored. The storage space is confirmed to be usable. The operating logic is "mental anchoring"—as long as my mental energy is sufficient and the item doesn't repel me, I can store it.]
Lin's voice came through the headphones, and the clattering of keyboards and whispering discussions behind me were impossible to suppress.
[Received. Li Fulan, now proceeding to Phase Two: the live organism rejection test. We need to figure out where the boundaries are.]
"They're here."
Li Fulan squatted down and casually grabbed a handful of black soil from the outer edge of the Star Dou Great Forest.
The soil was mixed with rotten leaves and messy, thin roots, it was sticky, and it had a pleasant earthy smell.
"receive."
He silently recited it in his mind.
no response.
The soil remained motionless in his hand. It felt like trying to force a cube into a round hole, and the space in his mind clearly told him: No, get out.
A repulsive force that is both elastic and rigid.
[First failure.]
Li Fulan said to Mike, "I think I know what's going on."
He let go, brushed off the mud, and picked up a dry stone.
"receive."
The stone is gone.
He picked up a dead twig.
"receive."
The branches are gone too.
Then he looked at a wildflower blooming brightly at his feet, but instead of plucking it, he reached out and grasped the stem.
"receive."
The repulsion is back. The space in my mind is like a landlord with obsessive-compulsive disorder, stubbornly refusing to let this "living tenant" in.
With a sudden burst of strength, Li Fulan snapped the flower stem.
The flowers that were just a moment ago lively and energetic have suddenly become rootless, dead things.
"receive."
This time it was quick and easy, without any hindrance. The flower that had just "died" instantly appeared in cell number one, lying quietly next to the bulletproof vest.
That's interesting.
Li Fulan stood up, clapped her hands, and smiled slightly.
[Report to command center: The rules are basically clear.]
This thing has incredibly rigid criteria; it's practically a book of life and death based on pure idealism.
On the other end of the headset, Commissioner Lin remained as composed as ever, but spoke noticeably faster: "Be more specific."
Alive animals are not allowed in. Dead animals can be placed anywhere.
As Li Fulan spoke, she swiftly grabbed a crawling beetle from the tree trunk.
The insects fluttered about on his fingertips, kicking their six legs with gusto.
He tried to pull it in—but it didn't work. The repulsive force in his brain almost gave him a concussion.
He pinched his two fingers together.
The insects stopped kicking and turned into a mushy mess.
Try again—and it worked. The disgusting thing slid smoothly into slot number two.
Even bacteria in the soil or plant roots, as long as they are still breathing, are considered "alive," no matter how weak the signs of life are; they cannot be stored away.
Li Fulan stared at the mud on the ground and drew a conclusion.
So, you want to take the seeds back to farm? No way. Want to capture soul beasts for live dissection? No way. But that doesn't mean you can't take samples.
In the command center, Director Zhao frowned first and then relaxed upon hearing this.
It's a real shame we can't bring them alive. We can't build a spirit beast breeding farm, nor can we transplant those magical herbs.
but……
"We can take the dead!" Director Zhao slammed his hand on the table. "Corpses! That's exactly what we need! The flesh, bones, hides, and blood of soul beasts—those are the real treasures of materials science!"
Commissioner Lin's mind worked even faster, and he immediately pressed the call button.
[Li Fulan, your deduction is very useful. Since we can't bring them alive, let's try a different approach.]
The most important thing right now is to obtain 'high-value biological samples'. You're currently on the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest; look for any recently deceased soul beasts, or...
He paused, his tone somewhat subtle.
Or, you can make some yourself.
Li Fulan raised an eyebrow.
Want to make something yourself?
These office workers are really daring! Do they think I'm some kind of war god?
"Sir, let me remind you, I only have level 10 soul power right now, and my only soul skill is turning into a mushroom. I'm a truly weak healer. You want me to kill soul beasts? You want me to become a 'high-value sample' to be given to the soul beasts, right?"
There was a two-second silence in the headphones.
"We won't send you to your death." Commissioner Lin's tone betrayed no embarrassment. "According to the intelligence you provided, the low-level soul beasts in this world aren't very bright. You can't bring your Desert Eagle, but you still have the bulletproof vest. More importantly, you still have that mushroom."
You can try using mushrooms in combat to hunt monster corpses.
"I'll wander around the outskirts first, like a junk collector, and bring back any dead rats or birds I see. As for ore..."
He bent down, picked up a grayish-brown object that looked like a mineral, and casually stuffed it into his belt.
[Take this rock back to the geologists to amuse them. Tell them it's a souvenir from another world, and suggest they slice it up for research. Don't break it; I risked my life to collect it.]
After saying that, he switched off the call and, like a cleaning man who had just finished get off work, put his hands in his pockets—though he didn't have any pockets—and sauntered into the woods.
Since you're going to do the job of "transporting between the two worlds," you have to act like a transporter.
Let's set a small goal first.
Fill all twenty-four compartments with local specialties from another world.