My Community Transmigrated Again

The sound of the Ant-men collapsing startled Zhang Shitou.

He turned his head to see the two Ant-men lying motionless on the ground.

Zhang Shitou’s voice trembled. ”You... you can’t sleep here. The ground is too hard. Get up, quick.”

The two Ant-men didn’t move an inch.

Zhang Shitou guessed what had happened. ”They’re really dead... They’re actually dead.”

’The Lord was right about everything.’

At the mouth of the cliffside cave, the corners of Qin Ziwen’s mouth turned up. ”He’s fine. It seems this curse really does only target the bloodlines of the underground races who participated in the siege.”

But he didn’t let his guard down. He still remembered the gray shadow that had been spying on them from the darkness yesterday.

Just because the curse didn’t kill the man didn’t mean the gray shadow was harmless.

Below, Zhang Shitou slowly walked forward. He didn’t venture deep into the ruins, instead circling around the city’s periphery.

Though he didn’t know why he hadn’t died, the place made him subconsciously uneasy, and he didn’t dare to go any deeper.

The ground was covered in rubble, uneven and difficult to walk on.

He grew tired after walking for a short while.

Suddenly, a sound came from up ahead.

Zhang Shitou stopped. He looked toward the source of the sound, which came from deep within the ruins.

Zhang Shitou’s expression was conflicted. ’The Lord’s order was to investigate the situation here thoroughly.’

’He had originally planned to investigate from the outside, which would have been for the best.’

’But he hadn’t found anything during his walk just now. It seemed that if he wanted to investigate thoroughly, he would probably have to...’

”Brother, he’s heading inside,” Qin Ziwu said, pointing down. In the direction he pointed, Zhang Shitou had circled the ruins, paused for a long while, and finally started walking toward the depths of the ruins until he disappeared from everyone’s sight.

Less than fifteen minutes later, Zhang Shitou reappeared in their field of vision.

He was walking back the way he came.

Qin Ziwen watched him, his brow gradually furrowing.

”Brother, the way he’s walking is strange,” Qin Ziwu said, his tone grave. ”I feel like he’s a different person. He hasn’t been possessed, has he?”

Zhang Shitou returned to the base of the cliff, his arms held parallel to his sides, his posture stiff as he walked.

”It’s him,” Qin Ziwen said, narrowing his eyes. The others all looked at him.

After a moment of silence, Qin Ziwen said, ”Pull him up.”

The rope was lowered again, and two Ant-men went down with it.

Below, Zhang Shitou grabbed the rope. Qin Ziwu gave it a pull. ”Whoa.”

He looked back at his older brother. ”Brother, he’s heavy. Like a block of iron.”

Below, Zhang Shitou’s limbs were incredibly stiff. Qin Ziwu had to strain, as if hauling up a dead pig, before he finally managed to pull him up.

Once he was pulled up, Zhang Shitou’s eyes closed. All the strength left his body, and he fell down, ramrod straight.

”Dad!” Zhang Daya cried out.

A flicker of sorrow passed through her mother’s eyes. She covered her daughter’s eyes and turned her head away.

”What’s all the wailing about? He’s not dead, just passed out.” Qin Ziwu checked Zhang Shitou’s pulse, then made a soft sound of surprise. There was a large bulge inside the lining of Zhang Shitou’s clothes.

’He clearly remembered Zhang Shitou carrying nothing when he went down, just the clothes on his back.’

Qin Ziwu pulled open his shirt, and a round, glittering golden object rolled out and fell to the ground.

The eyes of everyone present were drawn to it.

What had fallen to the ground was clearly a brilliant Golden Apple, looking as if it were carved from pure gold!

”He found this in there? It’s surprisingly beautiful.” Qin Ziwu picked it up. The moment he lifted it, his eyebrows shot up. The object was much heavier than he expected. It felt less like an apple and more like a lump of iron in his hand.

Qin Ziwen had also noticed the object.

He used Insight on it.

[Level 7 Marvel] Golden Apple (① Edible ② Can be embedded in special gardens or planting-type structures)

Effects: ① When consumed, the Golden Apple can stimulate a bloodline’s potential, allowing an ordinary creature to advance into an Extraordinary Creature.

② When embedded in a structure, that structure has a certain chance of attracting a Companion Beast. The Companion Beast can absorb the Spiritual Essence of Extraordinary Plants to grow alongside them.

’So it really is a material needed to build the Garden of Eden.’

Qin Ziwen’s expression shifted slightly.

’Based on the results from Insight, this Golden Apple couldn’t help but remind him of the [Small Deep Sea Core], a Level 5 Marvel he had obtained on the previous map.’

’The effect of the Deep Sea Core was similar to the Golden Apple. Once swallowed, it could absorb the world’s aquatic energy to nourish the body, allowing an ordinary creature to advance into an Extraordinary Creature.’

’Judging by the effect alone, the Deep Sea Core was very similar to the Golden Apple.’

’Both could allow an ordinary creature to directly advance to the Extraordinary level after being consumed.’

’But their focus was different. One nourished the body with aquatic energy, while the other stimulated bloodline potential.’

’Moreover, the Golden Apple wasn’t just for consumption; it could also be embedded in a structure.’

”So there really is a Golden Apple,” Qin Ziwu mused. ”And I have to say, this thing is as beautiful as a work of art. I’d almost feel bad eating it.”

”I have a use for this. Let’s hold onto it for now,” Qin Ziwen said, taking the apple from his younger brother’s hand.

After turning it over in his hands for a moment, he glanced at Zhang Shitou, then at the Golden Apple, and finally looked back toward the depths of the ruins.

’He recalled the Fishman legends he had heard before. Rumor had it that deep within the city of the Gray Race, there was a tree that bore golden fruit. Since this golden fruit was the Golden Apple, that tree was most likely the Golden Apple Tree.’

”Get him a cushion. The ground here is hard,” Qin Ziwen had just said when Zhang Shitou, who was lying on the ground, slowly began to stir.

After opening his eyes, Zhang Shitou raised his head blankly. A moment later, clarity returned to his eyes, and he shuddered.

He scrambled to his feet.

”My Lord!”

”Did you pick this apple?” Qin Ziwen asked, holding up the Golden Apple.

”I... I picked it?” Zhang Shitou looked bewildered.

”We found it on you.” Qin Ziwen observed that Zhang Shitou’s expression didn’t seem to be fake.

Zhang Shitou was in disbelief. ”My Lord, I... I really don’t remember. I just heard someone calling my name, so I walked toward the voice. Inside, I saw a huge pit. At the bottom of the pit was a huge tree with a bunch of glowing gold on it, and then... I can’t remember anything after that.”

Qin Ziwu cut in, ”Can’t remember? All of us just clearly saw you walk back on your own.”

Zhang Shitou was dumbfounded. ”How could that be... Don’t tell me I was possessed.”

Qin Ziwen said, ”Whether you were possessed or not doesn’t matter. What’s important is that you brought back the Golden Apple. You did a good job. For now, go back and be with your family.”

”Thank you, My Lord! Thank you, My Lord!” Zhang Shitou thanked him profusely.

After Zhang Shitou had left, Qin Ziwen discussed their next steps with the others.

”It seems there really is something in these ruins, but it doesn’t appear to have any malicious intent toward us.”

”It’s not necessarily a lack of malice. It could be that it can’t harm us, so it’s just trying to drive us away.”

”Who says it’s driving us away? I think it’s trying to lure us in, using that Golden Apple Tree as bait.”

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