A blood-red light streaked across the night sky, like a crack torn open in the black dome.
Tens of days ago, Jiang Ye had also seen such a light while mining in the wilderness, but it was during the day. Seeing it again at night, it was even more dazzling and magnificent. By visual estimation, this beam of light was probably tens of thousands of kilometers long.
Jiang Ye glanced at the clock on the wall. It was 8:01 AM. The Air Force's long-range strike had arrived.
"Is this that annihilation ray?" Jiang Ye asked.
"That's right," Isabella nodded. "It's a weapon commonly used by the Air Force. It's cheap, powerful, and can strike targets across galaxies. If nothing unexpected happens, those jellyfish should already be dead."
Jiang Ye looked fearful. "Won't this thing fall down?"
"Are you referring to the ray or the jellyfish?"
"The ray."
"Don't worry, it won't. The annihilation ray is invisible and passes by in an instant. The light you're seeing now is caused by complex physical reactions in the path of the ray. It's similar to a bullet passing through cotton. The bullet is gone, but the cotton it passed through is burning," Isabella explained.
"Then I'm relieved," Jiang Ye said, getting up. "I'm full, I'll head back."
"Hey," Isabella suddenly grabbed his hand and blinked. "Leaving already?"
Jiang Ye froze, meeting her gaze, his face flushing instantly.
"I've prepared hot water," Isabella gestured with her finger towards the bathroom upstairs, tilting her head and smiling.
"Top floor."
Isabella tapped the display screen on the wall with her finger.
The marble floor in front of them slowly slid open, revealing a spacious hidden swimming pool. The water in the pool was still steaming, making the entire top floor feel warm, as if enveloped in mist.
Jiang Ye could hear his own heartbeat, his nerves taut.
Isabella directly unfastened the ties of her silk pajamas. The thin silk slid down her shoulders like water, pooling at her feet.
Her fair body, a pink swimsuit. Jiang Ye stood very close, able to see the veins beneath her skin. Her figure was truly amazing.
"Are you going into the water with your boots on?" Isabella turned to look at him.
Jiang Ye shivered as he took off his shoes and socks. Before he could even undress, Isabella hugged his waist from behind, resting her chin on his shoulder. She gently reached out to unbuckle his belt.
"I really like hugging you from behind," Isabella turned her head, her lips almost brushing his ear, and whispered, "Will you hug me from behind later too?"
"Okay," Jiang Ye swallowed, his face as red as a cooked shrimp.
Isabella crouched down and pulled off his pants.
"Beep beep!" A small notification sound suddenly came from her watch.
Jiang Ye turned to look.
Isabella frowned, tapped her watch twice, and stood up with a panicked expression, showing him the words on the watch screen.
There was only one sentence, but it scared Jiang Ye so much he almost jumped out of his skin.
[Husband: Have you settled in? I'll be there in two minutes, coming to see you.]
"Holy shit? Your husband is coming?" Jiang Ye's face turned pale. "What... what should we do?"
"Run!" Isabella pushed him.
Jiang Ye didn't even have time to put on his pants. He grabbed his shoes, socks, and pants, turned, and sprinted away. Barefoot, he ran downstairs and back to the base like he was in a hundred-meter dash along the asphalt road.
As soon as he sat down back at the base, a rumbling sound came from outside the window.
A cargo spaceship, spewing blue flames, landed next to the logistics center.
Jiang Ye quickly put on his pants and shoes, feeling a guilty panic, like a thief.
He needed to do something to appear normal. If Isabella's husband came to visit, he couldn't let anything slip!
After a few seconds of frantic thought, Jiang Ye's gaze suddenly fixed on the seaside.
Lush forests had grown up from the coastline.
"Perfect, I'll go harvest the forest. That'll seem quite normal!"
Jiang Ye walked out and headed straight for the mining truck, getting into the driver's seat.
He started the mining truck and drove towards the coast.
He hadn't yet purchased a tree harvester or anything like a chainsaw for felling trees, so he had to use the mining truck. The mining truck was massive and its steel plates were incredibly thick. Knocking down small trees was as easy as crushing scallions, perfect for rapid logging.
The fast-growing bamboo willows had grown to six or seven meters tall, with lush foliage, about the thickness of a teacup, and a vibrant green.
With a rumbling sound, the mining truck approached the bamboo willows.
Jiang Ye stepped on the accelerator, speeding up!
*Crack!*
With a sharp cracking sound, a bamboo willow was snapped directly, falling to the beach with a rustle.
The mining truck didn't even feel a tremor, remaining as steady as a mountain.
Jiang Ye continued to press the accelerator, the front of the truck aimed at the bamboo willows, driving forward!
With cracking sounds, one bamboo willow after another was knocked down, snapped at the base, and fell to the beach in disarray.
Before he knew it, all three hundred bamboo willows had fallen.
Next were the fast-growing eucalyptus trees.
The eucalyptus trees had mostly grown to ten meters tall, but were only about the thickness of a bowl, appearing fragile. After all, they had grown in just one day, so they couldn't be too sturdy.
The mining truck roared as it crashed into them. This time, the truck body vibrated slightly.
But it was only a slight vibration, and the front of the truck was unharmed. The eucalyptus tree snapped with a *crack* and crashed to the ground.
Jiang Ye drove the mining truck forward continuously, vibrating with each eucalyptus tree he knocked down. The vibrations became uniform, like riding a slow train.
The mining truck reached the end of the forest, and all the eucalyptus trees had fallen.
Jiang Ye got out of the truck and looked at the trees scattered on the ground, feeling very satisfied.
If nothing unexpected happened, the price of lumber wouldn't be particularly cheap.
But now he faced a problem: the trees were too tall to be directly thrown into the trading pod for sale. They needed to be broken down.
Jiang Ye thought for a moment, walked to the dock, got on the boat, and took out the fire axe.
He decided to start with the easier-to-break bamboo willows.
Jiang Ye rummaged through the piles of bamboo willows. They were all about the same thickness, so he randomly selected one and swung the axe!
*Crack!*
It broke with a single swing.
Jiang Ye chopped a bamboo willow into three sections, shouldered it, and returned to the base vehicle.
He placed it in the trading pod and scanned it.
[Item: Fast-growing Bamboo Willow]
[Item Description: A tree, a hybrid variety of willow, resembling bamboo but actually a willow. The wood has good basic density, high natural whiteness, is not hollow, and not dark-hearted, making it an excellent raw material for fiberboard and fine woodworking boards. It has superior pulping properties.]
[Estimated Price: 1100 Yuan]
The price was lower than he expected. Jiang Ye thought it would be at least ten thousand Yuan.
However, the cost price was 100 Yuan, and the selling price was 1100 Yuan. A profit of 1000 Yuan per bamboo willow was still acceptable.
Three hundred bamboo willows would earn him 300,000 Yuan!
After selling this bamboo willow, Jiang Ye went out again and spent a few minutes chopping down a eucalyptus tree to bring back.
He placed it in the trading pod and scanned it.
[Item: Fast-growing Eucalyptus Tree]
[Item Description: Cold-resistant, disease-resistant, drought-resistant, flood-resistant, and salt-alkali-resistant. There are rumors that large-scale planting can cause ecological damage, hence its nickname 'beast eucalyptus'. An excellent wood for the pulp industry, with high economic benefits.]
[Estimated Price: 1100 Yuan]
It was the same price as the bamboo willow.
Jiang Ye sold this one, turned, and went out of the base. Just as he was about to continue harvesting trees to sell for money.
But as soon as he stepped outside, he stopped, his whole body tensing.
Isabella and her husband were walking towards him from not far away.