Chapter 17
Su Jing lay on the grass, her fingertips gripping two packets of vacuum-packed jerky, her knuckles turning slightly white from the pressure. Her gaze was fixed on the guard dogs in front of the stone wall—the left dog had just reached the west side of the wall, its tail tucked behind its back, its nose sniffing the ground; the right dog had stopped on the east side of the wall, its head turned towards the interior of the tribe, precisely during the 30-second gap she had observed earlier.
"Now!" she whispered, flicking her wrist. Two packets of dried meat flew in an arc towards the grass 10 meters north of the stone wall. The packages made a soft rustling sound as they hit the ground, and the rich aroma of meat instantly wafted out from the small tear, drifting in the wind towards the guard dogs.
The right dog's ears twitched first, its scarlet eyes snapped to the source of the meaty aroma, a low growl escaped its throat, and it pawed at the ground twice before turning and charging north. The left dog on the west side, hearing the commotion, also raised its head and followed the scent—both guard dogs were completely absorbed by the jerky, leaving the area east of the stone wall, the area of the giant wheat, far behind.
Su Jing didn't dare delay. She lightly pressed her fingertip on the "stone" beside her—the disguise instantly dispelled, a pale blue light flashed, and the robot reverted to its silver-gray body. The mechanical arm extended with a "click," switching to "harvesting mode." She issued a command with her mind: "Locate the 16 giant wheat plants on the east side of the stone wall, harvest the stalks (with grains), pile 5 plants together, and be quick, complete within 30 seconds!"
The robot's "eyes" flashed green light, and its omnidirectional wheels slid silently, instantly arriving in front of the first stalk of giant wheat. The robotic arm's clamp precisely gripped the middle of the wheat stalk, and with a gentle snap—a barely audible "snap"—the stalk, along with the plump ears of wheat, was severed. Then, the robotic arm quickly shook off the attached soil and placed the stalk neatly on the ground.
One stalk, two stalks, three stalks… The robot’s movements were astonishingly fast. Although the “double strength boost” from the sweet grass roots was applied to Su Jing, her mental commands were transmitted even faster. Every grab, cut, and stack was precise and accurate. In less than 20 seconds, all 16 giant wheat stalks were harvested and divided into three piles (5+5+6 stalks), which were piled at the base of the stone wall.
Su Jing quickly glanced to the north—two guard dogs were tearing at the jerky, the packaging ripped to shreds, and they wouldn't be back anytime soon. She immediately got up, strode to the pile of wheat, and focused her mind: "Put it in the edible plant section of your space, and categorize it separately as 'Giant Wheat'."
The three piles of giant wheat vanished instantly, and the system notification in my mind rang precisely on time:
[Substance Identification: Giant Wheat (Edible)]
Hazard level: 0 (non-toxic)
Additional notes: After consumption, wound healing speed is doubled, and the effect lasts for 12 hours. Multiple uses will extend the duration.
Current collected weight: 5 kg per plant, 16 plants total 80 kg, cumulative collected weight: 874 kg + 80 kg = 954 kg (100 kg short of the target, exceeding the target by 854 kg).
She breathed a sigh of relief and touched the back of her hand with her fingertips—the small wound from being scratched by the grass blades, which was still scabbing over yesterday, had now completely healed, leaving only a faint mark. It was the half-stem of giant barley she had eaten before the harvest that had taken effect.
Just as Su Jing was about to have the robot change its disguise again, a "woof" suddenly came from the north side—the left dog had finished eating the jerky, looked up at the stone wall, and seemed to want to come back. Su Jing's heart tightened, and she quickly had the robot switch its disguise again, turning back into "stone" and sticking to the base of the stone wall; she then squatted down, using grass leaves to cover her body, and at the same time took out two more packets of jerky from her space and threw them further north.
The aroma of meat wafted through the air again. The left dog stopped, then turned and chased after it, while the right dog followed. Su Jing straightened up and leaned against the stone wall to catch her breath—those last 30 seconds had been too tense. If the robot had been a little slower, or if the guard dog had returned earlier, the consequences would have been unimaginable.
She scanned the space with her mind—in the edible plant section, giant haystacks lay nestled among sweet grass roots and honey fruits, their golden ears of wheat faintly glowing in the darkness. The 80 kilograms only occupied a small area. The 7,140 square meters of space remained spacious; it could easily hold not only the current 954 kilograms, but even several thousand more kilograms.
"We need to see if there are any more Giant Wheat plants before the guard dogs return." Su Jing adjusted her breathing and focused her mind to "enter the spatial gap"—through the gap, she could see a few more scattered Giant Wheat plants in the grass on the east side of the stone wall, and further away on the edge of the tribe, there seemed to be an even denser clump of wheat.
During the exit interval, a system notification sound will play simultaneously:
[Environmental Alert: 24 scattered giant wheat plants were detected 20 meters east of the stone wall; approximately 200 dense giant wheat plants were detected 50 meters from the edge of the settlement. There were no guard dogs, and only one giant patrolled by one hour later.]
Su Jing's eyes lit up—24 scattered plants, plus 200 densely packed ones, if harvested entirely, could yield at least another 1120 kilograms (224 plants x 5 kilograms). She touched the jerky in her pocket; there were still 96 packets left, enough to lure the guard dogs away multiple times; the robot had 7.5 hours of battery life left, more than enough to support the harvest.
She looked north again—the guard dogs were still tearing at the freshly thrown jerky, occasionally glancing up, but not moving towards the stone wall. Su Jing crouched down and gave the robot a new command: "Disarm, locate the 24 scattered giant wheat plants 20 meters to the east, continue harvesting, pile 10 plants together, and be careful to conceal them!"
The robot reassembled itself and silently glided towards the distant grassland. Su Jing remained by the stone wall, clutching a piece of jerky in her hand, her gaze shifting back and forth between the guard dogs and the robot—this was just the beginning. She wanted to take advantage of the giants' patrol breaks to collect all the giant wheat she could find, stockpiling enough crucial "wound healing" supplies for the apocalypse.
The robotic arm made a soft "snap" sound again, and the 17th giant wheat stalk was harvested. Su Jing's lips curled up slightly—the cumulative weight was still increasing, and the supplies in her space were growing. In this life, she would never struggle in the apocalypse due to a lack of supplies, as she had in her previous life.
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