Picking fruit (1)
Jian Tanxi walked over and asked, "Sister Qin Man, what's wrong?"
In front of Qin Man was an ecosphere, which was enlarged so that one could see what the people inside were doing.
Jian Tanxi discovered that many people in this ecosphere were fighting each other, some were dumping garbage into the river and lake, and some were even dumping their excrement into the river.
Homeless children began to appear on the streets, and some frail women also became homeless.
Jian Tanxi asked, "What's going on? There shouldn't be a lack of food and clothing in the ecosphere, so why are they fighting?"
Qin Man said with some worry, "In a place without laws and without a country, all sorts of chaos will inevitably arise over time. Although the people inside have enough to eat and wear, they still want to rob others, so fights and brawls happen frequently, and the weaker women and children are driven out onto the streets."
Without the Environmental Protection Agency, they've started recklessly destroying the environment. We need to find a way to release them quickly, otherwise, if they stay in the ecosphere, they'll do even more outrageous things.
"But we must first complete all the games and drive away the aliens before we can safely release our other brethren."
Do you think these games will ever end?
Jian Tanxi had no answer.
These days, she tries to avoid thinking about this problem, otherwise she will fall into despair.
She and her teammates managed to beat the game despite their best efforts, but then a new game would appear. They were like guinea pigs for aliens.
Jian Tanxi thought for a moment and said, "Even if we have a long game to play, we can take care of things in the ecosphere first."
Next, Jian Tanxi tried to pick up the ecosphere and shake it vigorously.
Most of the people inside the ecosphere felt the shaking and thought it was an earthquake, so they all ran to open spaces.
Those who dumped garbage into clean water sources are reaping what they sowed—due to the shaking of the ecosphere, water from some smaller rivers and lakes splashed high, landing on people along the riverbanks. Naturally, the filth also fell on humans.
Jian Tanxi knew that these people couldn't see her, but they could hear her voice, so she said loudly, "Foolish humans, if you continue to kill each other and destroy the environment, you will be punished even more severely."
Inside the ecosphere, many people knelt down, praying to heaven and repenting for the sins they had committed in recent days.
Jian Tanxi felt that after warning them, things should get better.
So she returned the ecosphere to Qin Man.
She then took out her own ecosphere to check, and if a similar situation occurred, she would do the same and issue a warning.
A few days later, they were teleported into a new instance.
This time, they came to an orchard.
Looking out over the orchard, you can see about twenty kinds of fruit. Bright red apples, golden apricots, plump oranges... it's dazzling to look at.
Qu Chen wanted to pick some fruit to eat, but Qin Man stopped him.
Jian Tanxi and Professor Pan looked around to see if any other players had arrived.
After a while, they saw two men in the distance walking towards them.
One of the men was in his thirties, with a sharp expression like a drawn sword. He was Fan Siqi, a special forces soldier. Jian Tanxi had played a game with him before.
Jian Tanxi was pleasantly surprised to see him again.
The other man looked to be in his early fifties, with a refined and cultured appearance. He introduced himself as Sun Chenyuan, and said he used to be the editor-in-chief of a newspaper.
After everyone introduced themselves, Fan Siqi was also very happy to see Jian Tanxi, Professor Pan, and Qu Chen.
Although they had only played one game together, Qu Chen still remembered Fan Siqi. He held Fan Siqi's hand and looked very happy.
Fan Siqi also picked up Qu Chen and played with him for a while.
After a while, a huge piece of paper floated over, with a middle-aged man wearing a brown cowboy hat on it.
The middle-aged man said, "Welcome to the new game—Fruit Picking. I am the referee for this game, the farmer John. Participants: Jian Tanxi, Qin Man, Qu Chen, Pan Xian, Fan Siqi, Sun Chenyuan."
I am a kind-hearted farmer. This game is not difficult at all. There are only three levels to pass.
First challenge: Pick peaches for the Monkey King.
On Sunrise Mountain to the east lives a group of clever monkeys, among whom the smartest and bravest monkey has become the monkey king.
The Monkey King loves peaches, and players need to pick a peach that suits his taste and offer it to him. If the Monkey King is satisfied, the level is cleared.
If the Monkey King doesn't get the peaches he wants, he'll kill you and make the little monkeys eat your brains.
Human brains are a highly nutritious food for them, and they have been eagerly awaiting their consumption.
Game rules: Each person can only pick one peach; anyone who picks more than one will be electrocuted and cannot be revived. Alternatively, no peach can be picked. Each team must offer at least one peach to the Monkey King. The game lasts for six hours.
Are there any other questions?
Jian Tanxi asked, "Can I meet the Monkey King first?"
"no."
What kind of peaches does the Monkey King like?
Do you think I'll tell you?
"What does the Monkey King like? Besides peaches?"
No comment.
Fan Siqi asked, "Is the Monkey King male or female?"
Farm owner: "Male."
How old is it this year?
"15 years old."
How many peaches are there here?
"I haven't counted them exactly, but there are at least six thousand."
"Do we have to pick peaches from this orchard?"
"Yes."
Everyone was free of questions for a moment, and then the referee disappeared.
Sun Chenyuan spoke first: "There are six of us, so we can only pick a maximum of six peaches. However, we know nothing about the Monkey King, and we don't know what kind of peaches he wants. Besides, from what I've observed, all the peaches here look pretty much the same. Shouldn't we just pick any one?"
Professor Pan said, "It's definitely not that simple. The Monkey King might be particular about appearances, so we can pick the biggest and most beautiful peaches."
Fan Siqi said, "I think we should pick the sweetest peaches; taste is the most important thing. It's a pity we don't know which peach is the sweetest."
Professor Pan: "I have the ability to talk stories. I'll ask a peach first and see if there's the biggest and sweetest peach here."
Professor Pan randomly picked a peach and activated his "Storyteller" ability.
After a while, Professor Pan said, "I asked around, and there are many peaches here that are big and sweet, so I can't tell the difference between good and bad ones."
Qin Man: "I roughly counted, there are about fifty peach trees here. There are six players in total, five adult players if you don't count Xiao Chen. Each of us five adults is responsible for 10 peach trees, and we will pick the best peach from the tree we are responsible for."
In this way, we've identified what we consider the best peaches and presented them to the Monkey King. If the Monkey King isn't satisfied, Xiao Chen will have another chance to pick a peach. We can guide him on which peach he chooses.
Fan Siqi: "That's a good idea. We can't see the Monkey King now, but we can after we pick a few peaches. We'll only offer five peaches to leave ourselves some leeway. I remember Jian Tanxi can communicate with animals. When we see the Monkey King, we can communicate with him directly."
Jian Tanxi nodded: "Yes, that's what I think too."
So, everyone quickly distributed the fifty peach trees to the five adults.
Jian Tanxi was allocated ten peach trees on the east side.
She carefully observed the peaches on the peach trees and found that there were indeed many large and good peaches, and she couldn't tell which one was better.
Jian Tanxi murmured to herself, "If they're all about the same, can't I just pick one at random...?"
She was about to pick one at random when suddenly she noticed a strangely shaped peach.
At first glance, the peach looked a bit like a little monkey hanging from the treetop. Moreover, the upper part of the peach had several dents, making it look like a monkey's face overall.
Jian Tanxi picked this strange peach. It looked like a monkey; perhaps the Monkey King would like it.
After picking the fruit, she returned to the center of the orchard to wait for her companions.
After a while, the others returned.
Fan Siqi was holding a large, round, pink and white peach in his hand. It was even bigger than his palm.
Professor Pan was holding a bright red peach in his hand. It looked very ripe and should be very sweet.
Qin Man was holding a very unique peach. The lower half of the peach was red, and the upper half was white, but the colors were not evenly distributed; rather, they were undulating, with the red parts resembling the shape of a landscape painting. It was as if a painter had painted a landscape on white paper with red paint.
Everyone was drawn to the peach and kept staring at it.
Professor Pan said, "I don't know if monkeys understand landscape painting. If they do, they should really like this peach."
Sun Chenyuan was holding a very large peach, bigger than any of the peaches everyone else had picked. However, this large peach was whitish in color and didn't look very sweet.
Sun Chenyuan explained, "I guess the Monkey King, in order to prove his status, might like the biggest thing, regardless of whether it tastes good or not. This is the biggest peach I could find."
Professor Pan nodded and said, "Yes, that's a good idea. Let's go find the Monkey King now."
They headed east toward Sunrise Mountain, where the Monkey King was.
Sunrise Mountain is not far from the orchard; it's only a 20-minute walk away.
They prepared to climb the mountain, but found an invisible barrier blocking their way.
At this moment, the barrier emitted a green light, and a mechanical voice said: "Player has been detected to be carrying peaches. You may proceed."
Then, the barrier opened, and the players were able to climb the mountain successfully.
Along the way, several little monkeys were playing.
Jian Tanxi then activated her ability to communicate with animals and asked one of the little monkeys, "Do you know what kind of peaches the Monkey King likes? If you tell me, I'll buy you lots of peaches to eat."
To everyone's surprise, the little monkey stared at Jian Tanxi's head and let out a strange laugh, saying, "Your brains must taste delicious... one, two, three, four, five... there are six people in total, and six portions of brains. Maybe I can get a bite, hehehe..."
Jian Tanxi felt a chill run down her spine, and goosebumps rose on her skin.
She could communicate with the animals twice more, but she felt that no matter which monkey she talked to, the result would be the same; they wouldn't tell her the truth.
For them, perhaps the players' brains are more attractive.
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