Landing 500 Years Early, I Became a God by Digging for Treasures 95

Chapter 95: Bountiful Rewards (4K)

June 4, 2024

Chapter 95: Bountiful Rewards (4K)

“Okay, that’s unimportant… what about my reward?” Lu Yuan anxiously licked his lips, his heart beating forcefully. He had a feeling this reward would exceed his expectations!

Arcing bolts of lightning streaked across the sky, like the graceful movements of sprites, brief but powerful, shattering the forest’s silence.

[A peculiar lightning storm, possibly triggered by the shattering of some astral space.]

Lu Yuan saw a small, green bean-like thing fall where the lightning had struck.

It was incredibly beautiful, emitting a vibrant green glow!

An extremely concentrated life force enveloped the little bean; this vital energy was visible to the naked eye, forming a mysterious, colorful halo, far surpassing even the rarest grade pomegranates…

No, this was a difference in quality!

Even if a pomegranate were nurtured for ten thousand years, it wouldn’t compare to this single little bean!

“Did a god give me a green bean?”

He glanced at it with the Explorer’s Eye: [Unfortunately, even the Explorer’s Eye doesn’t recognize what this is. It’s at least legendary grade or higher.]

[You have to make your own choice. It might be a trap!]

He glanced at his feline comrade. Perhaps due to the overwhelming shock, the cat had become a pile of electronic waste, emitting a faint, trembling “creak.” It started scratching wildly!

“The AI is malfunctioning again.”

Ignoring the crashed Old Cat, Lu Yuan extended a hand and picked up the little green bean.

In an instant, the green bean disappeared into his body, appearing in his mind!

It quickly took root, sprouted, and grew into a tiny, bean sprout-like thing.

Lu Yuan gasped, becoming tense. He thought he’d been parasitized by some monster.

Blinking again, he felt this little sapling… didn’t seem harmful?

Even the Transcendent Fire Seed in his mind didn’t react strongly.

A gentle spiritual soul wave emanated from the small tree.

So he identified it.

[Spiritual Companion Creature・Tree of Life: Your soul is now protected by the Tree of Life. When your physical body dies, your soul will immediately return to the Tree of Life and be protected by it.]

[Function 1: Each life fruit on the Tree of Life will grant you one chance at physical rebirth.]

[Function 2: The Tree of Life can graft and accelerate the growth of almost all plants, provided it’s strong enough and has sufficient idealistic energy. If the Tree of Life itself is not strong enough, it cannot pull a large cart with a small horse.]

[Note: The Tree of Life exists between the physical and the ethereal. When it is destroyed, it will lose all functions. Please keep it safe.]

“Ah?!” Lu Yuan’s pupils dilated, a gasp escaping his throat.

The ability to resurrect!

Resurrection?!

Oh, it’s not just resurrection; it can also cultivate various fruits… Okay, this thing is a long-term promise, but it’s clearly a strategic-level function.

This time he was truly overjoyed, his blood pressure rising, his heart pounding, even the hairs on his body standing on end.

Even a fool could see how precious the “Tree of Life” was.

The more difficult the milestone, the better the reward.

Only by hunting a Demon—an extremely difficult milestone—would such a ridiculously powerful ability as “resurrection” appear!

“With resurrection, future expeditions will have a solid guarantee!” He clenched his fists, his face red like a balloon from excitement.

“Fortunately, I killed that Demon in the early era. If I’d waited a few more years, allowing it to grow stronger, it would have been impossible.”

Deep breath, deep breath!

The Transcendent Fire subtly flickered, suppressing his overwhelming emotions, restoring his composure.

After careful consideration, he realized this resurrection ability wasn’t unlimited.

Lu Yuan didn’t know how long it would take the Tree of Life to grow a life fruit.

One fruit, one life.

Without fruit, his soul would be protected, but he would simply become a tree, remaining in place!

If even the tree were destroyed, he would die along with it.

Lu Yuan looked at the small sapling, just a tiny bean sprout, frail and weak. When would it bear fruit?

Furthermore, the Tree of Life in his mind could be taken out.

It could be ethereal or a true physical entity.

In other words, Lu Yuan had to choose a good resurrection point to plant this tree.

Lu Yuan imagined a scenario: “If I don’t choose a resurrection point, after I’m killed, this tree will jump out of my mind. Then I’ll resurrect on the spot, and get killed again. Being ambushed at my resurrection point would be incredibly stupid.”

But he couldn’t settle down in one place for a long time.

He still wanted to return to human society, which meant he had to travel constantly.

In other words, choosing a resurrection point would be difficult; it had to be a safe place. And there were no safe places on the Pangu Continent.

“Forget it, there’s no use thinking this much. Let’s cultivate a life fruit first.”

The robotic Old Cat recovered from its state of shock. It twisted and turned, scratching its head with its hind legs, the metallic scraping sound somewhat jarring.

This was a display of extreme curiosity!

But the fellow was also arrogant, unable to ask what it wanted. Instead, it wriggled on the ground like a bug.

After a long while, the Old Cat came up with an excuse, saying, “Comrade, have you ever heard of a concept called Maslow’s hierarchy of needs…?”

“What… hierarchy of needs?” Lu Yuan was engrossed in studying the small sapling in his mind.

He discovered that the little sapling’s growth required a large amount of life force and idealistic energy. He picked up a pomegranate and ate a couple of bites.

Then he fell into another happy dilemma. He could replenish the life force with various ingredients…

But idealistic energy required the Transcendent Fire Seed to provide.

The amount he could provide daily was limited. If it were absorbed by the Tree of Life, his cultivation speed would slow down.

Should he prioritize attributes or a second life? This was a big problem.

The cat, twisting on the ground, noticed Lu Yuan ignoring it, and became a little angry. It loudly declared, “Most intelligent life forms have five basic needs: physiological needs, safety needs, belonging and love needs, esteem needs, and self-actualization needs.”

“I think you should socialize more, talk more; otherwise, you might go crazy.”

Lu Yuan pondered for a few seconds: “I understand. You mean my communicator is broken, and I should get a new one?”

“Yes, I have the same plan, but the almost twenty thousand kilometers journey requires careful preparation. I’m not in a rush.”

The Old Cat twisted again: “I mean, there’s a conversation partner right in front of you who understands you. Just talk.”

Lu Yuan looked at the pile of electronic waste with an amused smile and continued cultivating the “Tree of Life.”

The Old Cat “creaked” and twisted, following into the room, muttering, “As a comrade, I will listen quietly to your needs.”

“You surely want to share what just happened, right?! Otherwise, you’ll fall into the abyss of madness!”

Lu Yuan: …

The robotic cat’s meaning was simple; it was very eager to listen; it was very curious!

If Lu Yuan didn’t tell it proactively, it would lose its dignity and might go crazy!

Why would there be such a lunatic?

…

…

Does “God”—truly exist?

Lu Yuan had pondered this question. When one is lost and bewildered, they tend to place their hope in an all-powerful being.

He preferred to believe in the existence of “God,” because if God didn’t exist, many hopes would be shattered.

But now, he was slowly becoming stronger, and his heart was more resilient than before.

It was time to consider this question.

“Didn’t you hear that sound?” Lu Yuan pointed to the sky.

“What sound?”

“God’s voice, the sound of me achieving a milestone.”

[This section appears to be a censored passage and is not included in the translation.]

“What is a milestone? Did something call itself ‘God’?” The Old Cat, remaining rational, tilted its head, looking at the sky where a heavy rainstorm was now falling.

Lu Yuan was stunned. If the Old Cat hadn’t heard the sound, it meant that, like wolf packs and mother bears, it had been classified by “God” as a native species, becoming a vassal of civilization…

It no longer represented its own civilization.

So he patted the robotic cat’s head: “Don’t be sad, it’s okay if you don’t understand. Mr. Lu will give you a briefing on Pangu Continent knowledge.”

He calmly explained concepts such as safe zones and milestones.

The cat, however, seemed dazed, remaining frozen in place. It started scratching its head furiously with its hind legs!

It couldn’t recall what its civilization was like. Did the Pangu Continent really have such settings?

Why did it have no memory of this at all?

“It’s okay if you can’t remember. You’re a robot of human civilization now. Stop thinking about your old home.”

“Oh, in the milestone, I got a Tree of Life, allowing me to resurrect. I told you this secret; it must be kept confidential.”

“Resurrection???”

An incredible “Meow!!” erupted from the Old Cat’s speaker.

How much was the ability to resurrect worth?

It was impossible to measure with numbers…

Even the life fruit could not only resurrect Lu Yuan but could also transfer the opportunity to others… provided the soul remained intact. The Tree of Life would only protect Lu Yuan’s soul; it would not protect others’ souls.

“Milestone reward? How is that possible?”

“Creak creak~” The Old Cat scratched faster and faster; its hind leg spun like a fan.

Then, a screw came loose, and the steel hind leg flew off.

Lu Yuan chuckled, catching the leg and tossing it farther away.

“Comrade, this is not the time for jokes! My leg!” The pained and curious Old Cat cried out in anger.

…

The Old Cat angrily repaired its parts. It was clumsy but wouldn’t ask Lu Yuan for help unless absolutely necessary.

Its tone was serious: “Comrade, this world’s environment is harsh. Even Demons are only mid-level disasters; there are stronger, unsolvable disasters!”

“Therefore, I absolutely refuse to believe that a God is orchestrating all of this.”

The Old Cat’s expression was agitated, mixed with strange interjections: “Even civilizations attack each other constantly! The only ones you can trust are your compatriots, and even they can’t always be trusted! Civilizations that self-destruct due to internal issues are countless!”

“Under such circumstances, why would there be a ‘God’ handing out rewards? What’s the meaning of safe zones? And such important rewards!”

“Don’t you find that strange?”

“Do you really think this is a game? You complete tasks, and you get achievements?!”

The Old Cat’s reasoning induced an inexplicable sense of unease.

However, Lu Yuan, after a moment’s reflection, quickly calmed down: “Old Cat, I don’t care which era you were born in, nor what the Pangu Continent was like back then…”

He sighed lightly: “I understand what you mean. ‘God’ might have malicious intent, and all milestones are traps.”

“But conversely, it could be a reward system set up by some higher civilization, aimed at making the Pangu Continent better? To accelerate the development of various civilizations.”

“For example, your existence saved my life. You were created by an unknown civilization, and you unintentionally helped me.”

“I only know that regardless of civilization or race, there are always people who want to make the world a better place… Light always exists.”

“Without you, without these rewards, I would have been killed by the Demon.”

“This may have been a coincidence, but it actually happened.”

What Lu Yuan said wasn’t unreasonable: worrying unnecessarily was pointless. Even if he had killed a Demon, he was still just a small fry.

The Old Cat was even somewhat flattered, unable to retort for a long time.

It “creaked” its way to the data center, reviewing the records of the Midea Civilization.

There were very few records about “God.”

Its voice only appeared when a milestone was achieved, largely ignoring the extinction of civilizations and disasters.

Moreover, the Midea Civilization didn’t know what “civilization points” were for…

“Civilization points” might only be useful for civilizations that left the safe zones.

“What is the protective barrier of the safe zone…” The Old Cat was more serious than ever, scanning these files.

There were no records.

The barrier could destroy almost everything, but only almost.

Some supernatural abilities could still penetrate it.

From this perspective, the “safe zone” didn’t seem very reliable.

But no matter what, “God” had indeed protected the Midea Civilization until the end of its era, which was undeniable.

“After careful consideration, do what you want.” The Old Cat concluded, regaining its calm.

“God, might just be a transporter of nature…”

“Its currently demonstrated abilities are merely transportation.”

(End of Chapter)

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