With no immediate solution in sight, and Jinbao refusing to let her leave, Sheng Xia could only stare at the rare treasure before her while grinding her teeth in frustration.
She simply pulled out a stove and ingredients, calmly beginning to make breakfast. After eating those two carrots earlier, her appetite had completely opened up, so she decided to eat first and think later.
In cold weather, hunger came quickly, and only after eating would she have the strength to think properly.
She boiled water, cooked noodles, cut ham, cracked eggs, and within five minutes a luxurious bowl of instant noodles was ready.
Sheng Xia served a small bowl for Jinbao as well, eating while staring at the ice tree, her mind racing.
……
Yanjing, Gu residence.
Gu Ziyan returned at five in the morning. He lowered his head, only saying “sorry” to Su Mei before rushing straight to the command headquarters to report.
The national situation was in crisis. He needed to immediately assist the commander in constructing Yanjing’s defensive fortifications.
Su Mei had not slept all night.
She had never expected that in less than half a day, such a drastic change would occur in Kangcheng, and all she received was a single word, “sorry.”
She sat there in a daze for an entire day, until someone draped a coat over her shoulders and gently patted her.
Only then did she finally break down and cry.
“Old Master, do you think Sheng Xia is still alive?” Su Mei choked as she asked, teary-eyed at Gu Qing beside her.
Gu Qing felt deeply guilty. If only they had arrived a day earlier.
But he did not dare speak recklessly, afraid of further upsetting her.
He could only comfort her, “Xiao Su, don’t worry. Sheng Xia is blessed with good fortune. She will be fine. You just had surgery not long ago, you must take care of yourself. Sheng Xia cares about you so much, if she returns to Yanjing and doesn’t see you well, she will be heartbroken.”
Su Mei nodded through tears. “I believe Xia Xia is fine. She will definitely come back for me. Old Master, please don’t worry about me. If there’s anything I can help with, just tell me.”
For some reason, Su Mei had a feeling deep in her heart that her daughter was still alive, and that they would reunite again.
Seeing that she had calmed down, Gu Qing nodded after a moment of thought.
“Times have changed. Xiao Su, if you have nothing else to do, why not go help at the military hospital? You used to be a nurse, you should be able to help.”
Su Mei agreed immediately. She did need something to do, staying at the Gu residence was not ideal.
Gu Qing’s intention had been to keep her busy so she would not dwell on Sheng Xia. Unexpectedly, this casual arrangement instead gave Su Mei a new sense of purpose.
……
In the ice-and-snow dimensional rift, Sheng Xia, after eating and drinking her fill, sat calmly on a stool, thinking carefully about how to retrieve the fruit. Half a day passed in an instant.
At noon, the sunlight was dazzling and warm. When golden light fell upon the crystal tree, the nine fruits shimmered as if bathed in divine radiance. A fragrant scent spread through the air, refreshing and almost intoxicating.
Sheng Xia guessed this was a sign of ripening. As expected, the beasts across the chasm began to stir violently.
Some had already gone mad from the scent, rushing forward desperately, but the moment they crossed the gap, they were instantly swallowed by the strange snowfield.
Within seconds, several lion-sized beasts were reduced to skeletons, which then vanished completely without even a trace of bone dust left behind. The sight gave Sheng Xia goosebumps.
After witnessing this, the remaining beasts quickly calmed down, though their restless movements betrayed their anxiety.
Sheng Xia was also anxious. Jinbao kept pacing beside her, clearly tempted but afraid.
It jumped around endlessly, messing up her hair again and again.
From their behavior, Sheng Xia guessed that once the fruit fully ripened, it could not remain on the tree for long, otherwise the beasts would not be this agitated.
Just as she was forming a plan in her mind, another beast moved.
It was the snow-white ferret-like beast.
It retreated about ten meters, then sprinted forward. Near the chasm, it leapt onto another beast’s head, using it as a springboard to launch itself into the air.
In midair, it spread its limbs, revealing a membrane between them, allowing it to glide briefly.
Sheng Xia silently gave it credit. A truly high-IQ mutated beast.
All the beasts held their breath as it approached the crystal tree.
But the moment it landed on a branch and reached for the fruit, its body was instantly frozen by extreme cold.
A crisp crack followed, and the half-human-sized ice statue fell and shattered into pieces.
Both the beasts and Sheng Xia felt a chill in their hearts.
Sheng Xia frowned. Good thing she had not acted rashly. The crystal tree contained extreme freezing power.
Time was slipping away. With only half an hour before sunset, both Jinbao and the beasts had become increasingly restless.
Sheng Xia decided to take a gamble.
She pulled her car out of her spatial storage, then took out a steel-core climbing rope and attached a grappling hook.
After preparing everything, she grabbed Jinbao, looked into its eyes, and said seriously,
“Jinbao, I don’t know if you can understand me, but this is the only method I can think of. I will throw the rope to the tree and secure it, then tie the other end to the car. Only you can cross using the rope. Do you want to try?”
Jinbao blinked, as if processing her words, then surprisingly nodded.
Sheng Xia understood. Jinbao really was not an ordinary monkey. It actually understood her words. Its intelligence was astonishing.
She swung the rope once in her hand, using momentum to throw it toward the crystal tree.
The first attempt failed. The hook fell into the strange snowfield, and the rope began to disappear. White frost rapidly spread along it.
Sheng Xia quickly cut it away before the unknown force could spread further. From the reaction, she finally saw clearly what the “snow” was.
It was a mass of tiny white ice ants.
Countless ice ants formed this vast snow-like surface. They devoured everything, even steel, leaving nothing behind.
Sheng Xia instinctively stepped back, stunned.
Such small ants, yet so terrifying. Quantity truly was power.
She took out another rope and tried again, carefully adjusting her strength and angle.
Her wrist turned.
Whoosh!
Clang!
Success!