The thick fog that had enveloped the night finally dispersed, and the world seemed to have returned to normal.
Unable to leave the base, Jiang Ye was not idle. He used an excavator to clear a plantation, opening up an area the size of four basketball courts in one go. He then purchased a sack of magical seeds and scattered them liberally.
After planting all morning, he harvested a large quantity of fruits, vegetables, and grains.
Most of them were familiar produce, nothing particularly surprising. Jiang Ye spent three hundred thousand, bought three more warehouses, and had them built next to the base vehicle. He designated them for storing grains, vegetables, and fruits respectively. He had a touch of OCD; everything had to be orderly.
The only pleasant surprise was the emergence of some spices in a corner of the plantation!
Star anise, fennel, ginger, cardamom, garlic, and scallions that had grown to two meters tall.
With these spices, he could finally cook some substantial dishes.
Jiang Ye had endured enough plain boiled and steamed food and planned to hone his culinary skills in the next couple of days, to treat himself.
At one o'clock in the afternoon, Jiang Ye was standing on a reef, enjoying the sea breeze, when he suddenly heard a sound.
It was like the piercing shriek of a fighter jet, but even sharper.
He looked up and saw a point of light in the distance, trailing a long white plume, falling like a meteorite.
Jiang Ye turned and ran, sprinting back to the base and sealing all doors and windows. He didn't want to be crushed by some inexplicable flying object.
But as the point of light drew closer, it suddenly decelerated sharply, its speed changing from that of a cannonball to a slow descent like a shuttlecock. Immediately after, the incoming object landed outside the base, only ten meters from the gate.
Jiang Ye's eyes widened in disbelief. Was it Iron Man?
Indeed, it looked very much like Iron Man: a humanoid metallic mecha, primarily blood red with silver-white joints, its hands and feet spewing flames for propulsion. It landed with a tremendous roar, settling steadily on the ground.
Then, the metallic mecha opened, and a short, cute girl hopped out.
The little girl was dressed in a grey combat suit that was tight-fitting, accentuating her ample chest and slender waist, with legs that were slightly thick, resembling a rabbit's. She had a bob haircut, with a small tuft of hair on top that playfully stuck up. Her skin was fair and tender, and she was breathing rapidly, her cheeks slightly flushed, reminding him of a cute female classmate who had run all the way to class, afraid of being late.
"Jiang Ye!" Li Nannan stomped her foot on the sand, looking like her legs were numb. She frowned and shouted, "Are you home!"
Jiang Ye had been feeling angry, still holding a grudge from their conversation yesterday. But the moment she called out, Jiang Ye froze, then burst into laughter.
Li Nannan had a baby voice, an extremely cute baby voice, both sweet and adorable.
She was also cute, and her voice sounded like a baby's, completely lacking in intimidation. Jiang Ye imagined her scolding someone, but he couldn't feel any threat or rudeness, only cute silliness.
"I'm here, I'm here!" Jiang Ye pushed open the base door and stepped out.
"You didn't come out when you saw me arrive, you had to wait for me to call. What are you doing cooped up inside!" Li Nannan glared, puffing out her cheeks like a goldfish.
Jiang Ye struggled to suppress his laughter. "Calm down, would you like to come in for a cup of tea?"
"Don't try to get friendly. What good tea could you possibly have in this poor place?" Li Nannan rolled her eyes and said in her childish voice, "Just take me to see the water ghost."
Jiang Ye walked ahead, with her following behind, and the two of them boarded the fishing boat.
The Iron Man suit was quite intelligent, following Li Nannan silently, like a robotic servant.
Entering the cargo hold, Jiang Ye pulled out the fishing net from the corner, untangled it, and revealed the dismembered corpse of the water ghost.
"Scan!" Li Nannan reached out and patted the Iron Man's shoulder.
The Iron Man stepped forward, its optical sensors emitting beams of light, scanning the corpse.
"This thing is so cool, like Iron Man," Jiang Ye remarked.
"What a silly name, don't just call it that. This is an Air Force mecha," Li Nannan frowned.
The Air Force mecha completed its scan and straightened up. "Scan error, no matching data found."
Li Nannan's small, furrowed brow shifted. She had been angry moments ago, but now she was puzzled. It really was an unknown species.
She wore black leather boots, and with a tug, she pulled a small knife from the side of her boot.
She squatted beside the water ghost's thigh, inserted the knife with force, and cut off a tiny piece.
"Analyzer!" she called back without turning her head.
The Air Force mecha opened its chest cavity, took out a device the size of a razor, and handed it to Li Nannan.
Li Nannan placed the water ghost's flesh into the analyzer, gripped it with both hands, and shook it vigorously as if drawing lots from a jar.
Half a minute later, the analyzer beeped, indicating the analysis was complete and the data had been sent to your personal terminal.
Li Nannan took out a phone-like device from her pocket, tapped it open, and read it intently.
"Damn, I get it," she said.
Jiang Ye looked at her inquiringly. "Get what?"
"This water ghost, it doesn't have a cellular structure, nor any genetic material. Normally, trading posts detect if something is a biological organism by checking for genetic material. This water ghost has no DNA or RNA, no genetic material at all, so the trading post can't determine if it's alive," Li Nannan looked up at Jiang Ye.
"Then what is it?" Jiang Ye was very confused.
"I'm not sure. It's definitely a biological entity, it has bones and flesh, but its specific structure will have to be studied by scientists," Li Nannan stood up, grabbed the fishing net, and said, "I'm informing you, this water ghost has been requisitioned by the Air Force! I need to take it to the Air Force research institute for slicing."
"Alright, you can take it," Jiang Ye said. "When scientists come up with any results, can you tell me? After all, this thing is quite dangerous. I'm the discoverer and reporter, so I have the right to know, don't I?"
"We'll talk about it when we have results," Li Nannan pushed him aside and strode onto the deck. As if remembering something, she glanced back at Jiang Ye. "If you encounter this thing again, try to capture it alive. Or if you can find where this species congregates, send me the coordinates, understand?"
Jiang Ye stood at attention and saluted. "Yes, ma'am! Beautiful Commander, won't you stop by my place before you leave?"
"Don't try to get friendly. Don't think you can be so casual with girls just because you have a handsome face. If you act like this again, I'll slap your face crooked! I'm very busy, I'm leaving."
Li Nannan waved her hand, and the mecha automatically enclosed her body. With a roar, flames erupted from the mecha's feet, and it took off like a fighter jet, rapidly ascending into the sky, whistling as it disappeared into the clouds.
Jiang Ye reached up and touched his face, shrugged, returned to the captain's cabin, clicked on the screen, and started the fishing boat.