"Everyone, put in more effort! Let's head towards the water source!" Jiang Fan shouted with emotion.
Hearing about a water source instantly invigorated everyone.
"Water, water! Charge!" Zhou Niannian's eyes lit up, and she ran faster than anyone.
"Yes, charge! Faster, faster! We're still not fast enough," Dai Xiaomei excitedly urged her panda forward.
The panda, majestic and imposing like a knight in a game, rolled its eyes. *I'm the one running, not you. What kind of smug commentary is that?*
The group exerted themselves, sprinting with the last ounce of strength from their very marrow.
Not long after, they discovered a withered, yellowish tree, on the verge of dying, gasping its last breath. However, Jiang Fan and the others' eyes brightened. Where there was a dying tree, a forest might not be far behind.
Indeed, after walking for a while longer, a patch of green met their gaze. Zhou Niannian hugged Dai Xiaomei, and the two cheered.
The number of volcanic craters here had clearly decreased, but the surrounding land remained barren and red. Legends spoke of Mars' soil and winds being red. However, Mars' environment was so harsh that survival for even a minute was difficult. This small green forest, defying the adverse conditions, silently stood its ground in the wasteland, instilling in Jiang Fan and his companions a sense of life's tenacity.
"Green signifies life. As expected, hope is everywhere," Jiang Fan mused.
"Ooh ooh ooh," Zhou Niannian and Dai Xiaomei rushed towards the forest. The panda, embracing the nearest tree, was about to take a bite.
*Crack!* Jiang Fan tripped the panda with his hook. "Don't damage these trees. If there are trees, there's water. I'll go find some to drink." He turned and strode into the forest. "Those who wish to join me can. Others can look for some fruit."
Earlier, in the scorching desert, the sun felt like fire overhead, causing Jiang Fan to strip off his clothes and sweat profusely. Now, strolling through the forest, he felt a refreshing coolness and automatically put his clothes back on. While the surroundings were as hot as midsummer, this forest was neither hot nor cold, feeling like the comforting warmth of early spring.
Following his "Moist Air" talent, Jiang Fan soon discovered a spring in the forest. The spring emerged from a fissure at the base of a very solid cliff face. It was a mere fist-sized hole, from which water bubbled out. Jiang Fan predicted that beneath the cliff lay a stream flowing into the distance. It just so happened that a natural rock cavity existed here, allowing the spring water to emerge. However, tracing this water source was impossible unless one transformed into a tiny fish and leaped into the spring.
Jiang Fan scooped some water and drank, then opened his bamboo tube and began to fill it.
Zhou Niannian and Dai Xiaomei also ventured into the forest together. Initially, they worried about wild beasts emerging. Last time in a forest, they had encountered a black panther and a venomous snake, leaving them terrified. But after walking for half the day, they hadn't seen a single wild animal. Trees stretched out everywhere, an undulating sea of green. The forest was so vast they dared not venture deeper, fearing they would get lost. They recalled the "Sea of Trees" in Yunnan mountains, where people disappeared annually, and Japan's Aokigahara, a notorious suicide spot. Zhou Niannian and Dai Xiaomei truly dared not go further in.
"That's strange. From a distance, it only looked like a small patch of green. Why are there so many trees?" Zhou Niannian muttered. Indeed, from afar, the oasis appeared small, with no more than a thousand trees. Yet, what Zhou Niannian and Dai Xiaomei could see now already exceeded a thousand. Could this be some kind of magic array?
The viewers in the livestream chat buzzed with discussion upon witnessing this marvel.
"Trees everywhere, it's making my head spin. It's all green."
"Like my stocks, looking at them makes me dizzy."
"Strange, from a distance, the oasis doesn't look that big."
"Could it be a quantum forest? It looks small but is actually vast."
"Is such a thing possible in this world?"
Zhou Niannian and Dai Xiaomei also felt something was amiss and cautiously moved forward, holding sticks in their hands for protection against venomous snakes and wild beasts. However, instead of predators, they found a tree bearing vibrant, tempting fruit. These fruits, about the size of dragon fruits, were red and appeared fully ripe. Seeing the fruit, both Zhou Niannian and Dai Xiaomei's mouths watered. And there were at least dozens of them, enough for everyone.
"Wait, could they be like the fruit the hedgehog gave us?" Dai Xiaomei recalled the sour fruits from the hedgehog, her saliva still flowing.
"Even if they are, they'll be a great help," Zhou Niannian said. Indeed, they had survived thus far by eating those sourish fruits. While they couldn't quench thirst, they stimulated copious saliva production, a miraculous way to alleviate thirst.
Zhou Niannian and Dai Xiaomei eyed the fruit with longing, but the tree was too tall. Even with a human ladder, they couldn't reach it. Yao and the panda had disappeared somewhere. Dai Xiaomei picked up some stones and threw them at the fruit. Without Jiang Fan's pinpoint accuracy, she couldn't hit them. In the past, Zhou Niannian and Dai Xiaomei might have given up. Or they might have sat under the tree, foolishly fantasizing about eating the fruit. But now, after their experiences, they were no longer the same Zhou Niannian and Dai Xiaomei.
"Let's climb up and pick the fruit," Zhou Niannian proposed. Dai Xiaomei looked up at the tree. The fruit was at least five or six meters high. Falling from that height would likely mean instant death or broken bones. Dai Xiaomei swallowed hard.
"You have long legs, you're good at climbing trees. You go," Zhou Niannian said, feeling a bit intimidated by the ten-meter-high tree.
"Have you ever heard of long legs being good for climbing trees? Giraffes are the best climbers then," Dai Xiaomei retorted. "Smaller, agile people are good at climbing, like monkeys. You go." Dai Xiaomei's fists clenched. Who was she calling a monkey?
The viewers in the livestream erupted in laughter.
"That's right, Dai Xiaomei, you are a monkey."
"A cute golden monkey."
"No, I think she's a ferocious female ape."
"Zhou Niannian has a point. Anyway, you're good at climbing trees."
Dai Xiaomei stared up at the tree for a long time, then blurted out, "I'm afraid of heights."
Zhou Niannian sighed. It seemed she had to go herself. Honestly, she didn't feel entirely comfortable with Dai Xiaomei climbing. She herself had trained and was more agile than Dai Xiaomei. Without further ado, Zhou Niannian took off her shoes, rolled up her sleeves, and prepared to climb.