Liang Qiaoqiao didn’t want to endure too much cold wind, so she deliberately chose a sheltered mountain slope.
Few people ventured out during winter, and she didn’t encounter anyone along the way.
Climbing slowly from the foot of the mountain, she focused all her attention on the Treasure Appraisal Space.
[Ding, 50-year wild thornbush detected. Appraise or collect?]
Liang Qiaoqiao tapped “Appraise.”
[Ding, 51-year wild thornbush identified. 50 points obtainable. Collect?]
Liang Qiaoqiao hastily tapped “No.”
What would she do with something thorny, inedible, and useless in her space?
[Ding, 30-year wild pear tree detected. Appraise or collect?]
A pear tree with flowers and fruit? Excellent!
Collecting it would be highly beneficial—she could even taste the fruit once it bore.
Liang Qiaoqiao quickly tapped “Yes” twice in succession.
[Ding, 33-year wild pear tree identified. 30 points obtainable; one 33-year pear tree collected. 60 points obtainable.]
(^▽^)… Her fruit!
After the persimmon tree in her courtyard, acquiring another fruit tree delighted Liang Qiaoqiao immensely.
As she ascended, the variety of plants increased noticeably.
Compared to the frequently harvested lower slopes, the mountain’s vegetation was far richer.
Older trees, in particular, were dozens of times more abundant here.
This greatly pleased Liang Qiaoqiao.
She amassed points enthusiastically while collecting every usable tree along the path.
Gaining points and useful old trees—what could be better?
However, mindful of soil erosion, she avoided over-harvesting in one area.
After all, the Treasure Collection Function of the Treasure Appraisal Space didn’t spare even the soil around the trees.
Liang Qiaoqiao only dared to leave behind numerous large pits because few people climbed the mountain in such cold weather.
In any other season, these pits would surely terrify the villagers.
She couldn’t help muttering, “Why can’t this wretched Space refill the pits?”
Digging holes without filling them—how irresponsible!
Despite her complaints, Liang Qiaoqiao didn’t expect the stubborn stone in her mind to respond.
After climbing for what felt like ages, she had gathered the 250 points needed for the Space’s second upgrade—all before reaching the mountainside.
Eager to see the upgrade results, Liang Qiaoqiao found a large rock to rest on, drinking cold water from her backpack.
She immediately clicked the upgrade icon in her mind.
“Buzz…”
The stubborn stone began spinning rapidly in her brain, nearly dizzying her.
Finally, it slowed down.
Peeking cautiously, Liang Qiaoqiao noticed the stone’s uneven patterns had smoothed slightly, and the golden glow enveloping it had brightened.
“Biu-biu-biu…” After a series of chaotic sounds, lines of golden text emerged:
[Treasure Appraisal Space successfully upgraded to Level 2. Current usable area: 100 square meters. Daily Appraisal Attempts: 30. Treasure Collection Attempts: 20. Maximum appraisal range: 2.5 meters.]
Liang Qiaoqiao: …So the usable area really just added a zero to the original number?!
Hahaha, what a huge surprise?!
Liang Qiaoqiao was practically overjoyed.
Just imagine—if every upgrade added another zero to the usable area, how enormous would her Space eventually become?! (She was getting carried away with wishful thinking.)
Looking at the significantly expanded Space and the newly added treasure appraisal range at the end of the text, Liang Qiaoqiao grinned from ear to ear.
It was totally worth braving the winter winds and climbing up the mountain—this trip had paid off!
A 100-square-meter Space—finally, the size of a medium-sized suite.
Compared to the measly one square meter at the beginner level, her Space was no longer so cramped.
She casually tapped the question mark icon in the upper left corner of the light screen.
Sure enough, she could see a new “Treasure Map” option inside.
As expected, an upgrade couldn’t come without a few extra surprises. (Spoken like a seasoned gamer.)
Curious, Liang Qiaoqiao tapped open the treasure map.
The screen flickered before her eyes, and she immediately saw the map accurately displaying a real-time image of her current location.
Every blade of grass, every flower, and every stone was rendered in minute detail, more precise than electronic maps from the future.
Liang Qiaoqiao: “!!!” Could it be that this shabby stone, like her, had also traveled from the future?
After marveling for a while, Liang Qiaoqiao turned her attention to the other information displayed on the map.
It turned out that the map was divided into different colored zones, making it look rather flashy.
Liang Qiaoqiao scrolled directly to the bottom and, as expected, found the color legend.
Green represented safety and plants, purple represented animals, red represented danger, and gold represented treasures…
The intensity of the gold color indicated the value of the treasure.
Lighter gold meant lower value, while deeper gold meant higher value.
Similarly, deeper red indicated greater danger.
Liang Qiaoqiao: …
Was even a Space this intelligent and user-friendly these days?
Why did it feel even more advanced than the smart technology of the future?
Liang Qiaoqiao clicked her tongue in amazement. With such a smart and user-friendly Space, she wouldn’t dare call it shabby anymore.
Just reaching Level 2 had brought so many surprises. Feeling as if she were carrying a house with her, Liang Qiaoqiao was already looking forward to future upgrades.
What other surprises would the Treasure Appraisal Space bring when it reached Level 3?
Glancing at the 350 points still safely stored in the points bar after two upgrades, Liang Qiaoqiao rubbed her chin and couldn’t help but wonder if these points could serve other purposes later on.
Surely, the points couldn’t just sit there for her to look at without any other use, right?
Liang Qiaoqiao had a feeling that couldn’t be the case.
Based on future consumer concepts, many businesses offered point redemption services.
She just didn’t know if this shabby stone from the 1970s understood the business strategies commonly used by future profiteers.
Liang Qiaoqiao did the math: the first upgrade of the Treasure Appraisal Space required 100 points.
The second upgrade required 250 points.
Currently, she had 85 new points left, and she still needed 715 points for the next upgrade.
Mystery solved—the third upgrade required a total of 800 points.
Her experience from the two upgrades told her that points already used for upgrades could only be accumulated further but couldn’t be reused for the next upgrade.
So every time she leveled up, she had to accumulate points again, using new points to advance to the next level.
When she reached Level 2, it cost 250 points and brought a significant surprise.
Advancing to Level 3 required 800 points—several times more than the previous two levels—and she wondered just how big the surprise would be this time.