Chapter 29 Picking Fruit
The tree in the picture appears to be about two and a half meters tall, with few leaves on its branches, but all of them are covered with purplish-red fruit.
The fruit is about the size of a small tangerine, with a bumpy surface, like a strawberry.
"It sounds tempting. Did your commander come up with the name?"
"No, it was our chief of staff who got up."
Li Liang looked at the two people huddled together, chirping crickets, and said helplessly, "We're less than a kilometer apart, so looking at pictures here is less worthwhile than going over to see the real thing."
After being reminded one by one, the two looked up at each other, then quickly ran forward with smiles on their faces. Several other spirit beings followed, all running around with great joy.
Not far away, I saw a patch of festive purple plum blossoms. The fruit was hanging so densely that it looked like a purplish-red expanse.
"That's a huge area! Haven't you tested this?"
"Why wasn't it tested? This stuff tastes good, but there are so many fruits on one tree, testing each one individually wouldn't reveal how many are edible," Yang Dong complained.
The fact that an honest person would speak like this shows just how infuriating this thing is.
Hearing him say that, Gu Qing quickly observed the nearest tree carefully. In his eyes, the tree had changed; every fruit on the tree was surrounded by a dark gray mist.
The fruit grows so densely that it seems as if the entire tree canopy is covered if you don't look closely.
Gu Qing walked around the tree for most of the way before discovering a fruit that looked like a luminous pearl, radiating a lustrous light in the grayish-gray mist.
"Qingqing, wait for me, I'll climb the tree and find it for you." With that, Zhang Ze took out his equipment and prepared to climb the tree to test her.
"Hey, hey, don't rush. Come up to the right, yes, a little higher, and the one on the left a little to the left, yes, yes, that's it."
Gu Qing directed Zhang Ze to pick one, and Zhang Ze used an instrument to test it. "Purple Spring Plum, a mid-level pure fruit of the third rank, recommended for consumption."
Zhang Ze jumped down from the tree. "Qingqing, you're amazing!" he said, taking out water to rinse it. "You should try it right away."
Gu Qing took the fruit, shook off the water droplets, and then took a bite. The outer skin was slightly hard, but the inside was juicy and very sweet.
"Mmm, it's so sweet."
As he spoke, he started searching again, and then found another one at the very top of the tree, "the one in the very top clump of fruit closest to me."
Li Liang went up this time. The fruit at the highest point was not easy to pick and it was a bit strenuous, but it was a minor problem for them.
Seeing this, Gu Qing muttered to herself, "Could I let my little cloud go up and pick it? That would be more convenient."
After Li Liang climbed down the tree, she handed the fruit to Gu Qing, but upon hearing her say that, she quickly stopped her.
"Qingqing, you must not release your spiritual body casually in the wild. Not only will it easily attract polluted beasts, but the high level of pollution outside may also injure your spiritual body."
“Yes, unless you face a life-or-death decision one day, a purifier’s spiritual body should avoid fighting against a polluted beast,” Yang Dong warned her with a serious expression.
Seeing that everyone was quite serious, Gu Qing quickly nodded earnestly as well. She was terrified of death, especially of it; she still had a bright future ahead of her.
Therefore, she is obedient and never does anything risky.
“It’s also because none of the three of us have a spirit body that can fly.” Zhang Ze found another tree and prepared to climb it.
However, although the three of them didn't possess flying spirit forms, they had Gu Qing as a cheat code. Climbing a tree, no matter how strenuous, was it more strenuous than sitting in the tree checking each fruit one by one?
So they quickly filled a large box with pure fruit and two and a half baskets with low-pollution fruit.
Li Liang said, "Qingqing, if there are fruits with less than 20% pollution, they can be picked."
Fruit is more expensive than vegetables and meat. Grade 3 low-pollution fruit costs as much as Grade 2 clean vegetables.
Gu Qing thought about it and realized it made sense. She had always used the best products, so she hadn't realized it until now. It seemed she was a bit out of touch with reality.
Although it cannot determine the amount of pollution, it can provide a rough estimate of the pollution concentration.
So she gave them instructions, and for this purpose, she even gave them something like a laser pointer. Whichever tree she shone on, two of them would go up in the tree and pick it.
There might only be two or three pure fruits on a tree, but you can pick a dozen or twenty low-pollution ones. This is something that can be picked in just two or three hours.
Gu Qing put all the fruit away, and the group sat down to rest.
"Qingqing, those who can so accurately sense the purity of plants are mostly S-level or higher evolutionaries. This is also an important reason why A-level or higher evolutionaries are so sought after."
Li Liang spoke slowly and softly, but his enunciation was very clear. Gu Qing naturally understood that he was reminding her, and she hadn't hidden it from him at first.
It was a test for them, but instead of spreading it, they warned her to be careful. Gu Qing felt that she hadn't misjudged them after all.
These individuals can be considered long-term partners.
After all, she quite enjoyed gathering resources, and the reason she was staying put was because her level was too low and her stamina was poor. She wanted to seize the time to level up and increase her chances of survival.
Secondly, because she has no reliable companions or protectors, when she goes out, she is just delivering food to aggressive beasts and plants in the wild.
But then again, she's low-level and doesn't have any contractors around her. Unless she spends a lot of money, who would be willing to protect her?
"Thank you, Brother Li Liang, Brother Yang Dong, and Zhang Ze, for thinking of me so much. Don't worry, I didn't even know I had these feelings before. I'll be more careful in front of others in the future."
"Yes, yes, the three of us will definitely keep it a secret for you. But there's something I have to say: why are the other two called 'brothers,' but I'm called by my name?"
Zhang Ze asked, unconvinced, and Gu Qing tossed him the fruit in her hand. He caught it, smiled and thanked her, and then ate it.
"Have you rested enough? If you have, let's walk further inside." Li Liang stood up and looked inside.
"Aren't we going to pick the rest of the fruit trees?" Gu Qing noticed that there were still some fruit trees near the inside.
“We’ve measured every single tree inside; otherwise, how would we know such detailed data?” Zhang Ze smiled at Gu Qing.
Gu Qing reached out and patted him on the shoulder twice, and he didn't flinch, but grinned and made funny faces to tease her.
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