Chapter 58
Inside the adobe house of the abandoned post station, the light of the pale blue teleportation array grew brighter as the dungeon countdown decreased. Su Jing stood in the center of the array, her fingertips tracing the red numbers jumping on the system panel—"00:01:03," with only one minute left until the dungeon ended.
She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and her consciousness sank back into the system space. This was the last inventory of supplies before returning to reality, and there was no room for carelessness.
The consciousness first landed on the "Cultivation Resource Area," where three rows of dark-colored shelves were clearly visible in the dim light of the space. On the top shelf, 60 transparent jade bottles of Qi Gathering Pills were neatly stacked, each labeled in ink with "Qi Gathering Pill (Low Grade) 50 pills." As the fingertips brushed against the bottles, one could feel the smooth texture of the pale green pills inside. The system notification read, "The pills are well preserved, with no signs of moisture or oxidation."
The middle layer of healing pills was lined with black velvet, and the 67 jade bottles were arranged perfectly. The light red pills gleamed softly against the velvet. Ten emergency healing pills were stored separately in a small bottle in the "easy-to-access layer." The edges of the labels were slightly curled from being worn by fingertips, but they were still clearly visible.
The bottom layer of the health-strengthening pills was contained in a silver sealed box. The 50 boxes were sealed tightly together, and the faint, bitter aroma of the pale yellow pills could be smelled through the gaps in the boxes. All 999 pills remaining after the previous consumption were still there, and each one still had its full spiral pattern.
At the top of the shelf, a dark blue cloth-covered "Introduction to Immortality Manual" lay quietly. The edges of the cloth were still worn, and the handwritten "Basic Breathing Techniques" on the title page remained strong and vigorous. Beside it, a small coarse cloth bag contained spirit herb seeds. Holding the bag between her fingers, she could feel the soybean-sized seeds gently rolling inside. A system panel popped up a notification: "Spirit herb seeds have normal humidity, no risk of mold, can be planted at any time." Su Jing's consciousness swept over the manual's title page, suddenly remembering the Valley Master's instructions and Qing He's smiling face. Her fingertips paused lightly on the cloth bag, and she silently made a decision:
Back at the villa, we planted the seeds in the planting area, determined not to let this kindness go to waste.
After checking the cultivation resources, his consciousness quickly swept over other areas—in the cold storage area of the "livelihood area," the 55 eggs laid by 100 chicks that day were still in a transparent preservation box, and the "2025.10.13" mark on the lid was fresh;
The braised beef and pre-made barbecue skewers in the frozen section were covered with a thin layer of white frost and showed no signs of thawing;
Ten flying cars in the "Energy Zone" were parked on metal supports, with the energy indicator lights on the roof still shining with a steady blue light. 9,000 energy crystals were packed in sealed boxes, with the words "85% energy density" clearly marked on the labels.
The 40 laser guns in the "weapons area" were neatly arranged, and the energy cartridges next to each gun were full, with none missing or damaged.
"00:00:10," the countdown on the panel entered its final 10 seconds. Su Jing's consciousness exited the space, and when she opened her eyes, the light of the teleportation array already enveloped her entire body. Unlike the gentle breeze that greeted her when entering the cultivation instance, this teleportation brought a warm, enveloping feeling—
The pale blue light transformed into fine particles, flowing into my limbs and bones. There was no mechanical roar, no dizziness, only a slight "humming" sound in my ears, like the wind blowing through pine branches in the distant mountains.
When the light particles dissipated, Su Jing opened her eyes. She was no longer standing on the cold stone surface of the teleportation array, but on the familiar cement ground of the villa courtyard deep in the mountains. The golden rays of the setting sun filtered through the sycamore trees on the west side of the courtyard, casting dappled light onto her shoulders, carrying the unique warmth of autumn.
The solar panels in the yard were still working, and the panel showed "Today's cumulative power generation is 9.2 kWh, which has been stored in the backup battery." Compared to when she left, there was nearly 1 kWh more power, which meant that the robot was maintaining its daily operation according to instructions.
She turned to look at the patrol robot in the corner of the yard—there should have been two silver-gray robots patrolling along the trenches, but now only one was moving slowly, while the other was crookedly parked next to the sycamore tree. There was a clear scratch on the outer shell of the robot, extending from the left shoulder to the right abdomen, revealing the light blue circuit wires inside. Some of the wires also had charred marks, indicating that it was damaged.
The robot's head camera was still rotating, but it could not walk normally and could only emit a "buzzing" fault warning sound. The screen displayed the words "Outer shell damaged, left drive wheel stuck" in red.
Su Jing walked quickly over, squatted down beside the damaged robot, and gently touched the scratches on the outer shell with her fingertips—
The scratches had dried twig fibers along the edges, indicating that the robot was damaged by a broken branch during its patrol while she was away, causing the shell to break and the drive wheels to become stuck.
She recalled the "obstacle avoidance mode" she had specifically set before leaving. Perhaps the wind in the mountains had been too strong recently, causing branches to break suddenly, and the robot malfunctioned because it didn't have time to react.
"Fortunately, only the outer shell and drive wheels were damaged; the core circuitry is intact." Su Jing breathed a sigh of relief, her fingertips tracing the robot's control panel, her Technological Proficiency ability instantly activated—
There was no glaring light; instead, I felt as if a clear "robotic repair blueprint" had appeared in my mind. From the repair plan for the outer shell to the disassembly steps of the drive wheels, and even the connection method of each wire inside, everything was as clear as a well-marked map.
Her consciousness swept across the "tool area" in the space—containing the plasma cutting gun, insulating tape, spare drive wheels, and mechanical repair kits brought back from the Cyber dungeon, all of which were complete enough to repair the damaged robot.
A system panel pops up a notification: [Mechanical malfunction detected. Technological Mastery ability activated. Real-time repair guidance available. Estimated repair time: 30 minutes].
At this moment, the setting sun in the courtyard gradually sank behind the mountains, and the sky turned a faint orange-red. The fault warning sound of the damaged robot was still ringing softly, while another normal robot was still patrolling beside the trench, its red scanning eye beeping as it scanned the gasoline can.
Su Jing stood up, dusted off her trousers, and looked towards the villa's living room—where the security camera screen was still lit.
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