Chapter Fifty-Five: Hard to Speak

Duan Yu’s fears proved unfounded. These six little monsters were not actually the Calabash Brothers from the legends; four of them breathed fire while the other two spat water. These were their only special abilities, and their power was mediocre at best. Once the group recovered from their initial surprise, they easily drove the creatures off.

Indeed, they were driven away. These little monsters seemed to have mutated from parasites inside the calabashes. After witnessing the prowess of Shen Lie and Du Lili, they scrambled and fled into the water one by one. Strangely, the fish in the water did not attack them. Seeing this, Shen Lie and the others did not linger on the shore.

Although they had lost the six mature calabashes, they did not leave empty-handed. About twenty green calabashes remained. Since Shen Lie had already claimed the toad monster's pearl earlier, he did not ask for too many of these green calabashes, taking only five. Of the rest, Du Lili took nine, Duan Yu took four, and the remaining two were given to Duan Yu’s two subordinates. Since they had tagged along, they couldn't be allowed to return empty-handed.

According to their tests, the capacity of these green calabashes was about five times their apparent size. A normal calabash of that size could only hold one bottle of beer, but these could hold five. While it seemed magical, its practical use was limited. However, once filled, the weight remained only that of the calabash itself, which was a very useful feature.

The group began their journey back to camp. Before leaving, however, Shen Lie cut down the three calabash vines. He planned to bring them back to Professor Liu for research. Mutated plants of this kind were rare, and perhaps Professor Liu could extract something useful from them.

The off-road vehicle roared back toward the camp. Throughout the ride, Shen Lie kept his hand tightly around the small, dark-green calabash he had slipped into his pocket. He was genuinely worried that this thing might burst open like the six mature ones, and it would be disastrous if a Seventh Brother popped out.

Yet, he could not bring himself to throw it away. Even the ordinary green calabashes possessed five times the storage capacity. This little dark-green one looked so unique; if it turned out to have a hundredfold capacity, he would hit the jackpot.

After a tense journey, the off-road vehicle finally arrived at the camp. The moment they stopped, Shen Lie leaped out impatiently. He hurried over to his own team's vehicle alone and set to work on opening the small, dark-green calabash.

The tiny calabash was only about a hand-span long, and the stem at its mouth was thinner than a pinky finger. Shen Lie highly doubted that even if its internal space was massive, he could fit much of anything inside. It seemed it could only hold liquids, or perhaps millet and rice; even a kernel of corn would struggle to squeeze through.

Nevertheless, he set to work with great enthusiasm. Gripping his black spear in his left hand to prepare for any sudden emergencies, he held a small hacksaw in his right. He secured the calabash in place and began sawing at the stem near the opening.

"No way. Is it really this hard?" After sawing for a good while, Shen Lie realized he hadn't even managed to scrape off a single speck of dust!

This came as a major surprise to Shen Lie, but his shock quickly turned into excitement. The more anomalous the object, the greater its potential internal space. As for opening it, that wouldn't be an issue. Even though resources were scarce these days, they weren't completely non-existent. He carefully put the calabash away, went out to find a small power cutter, and returned.

The power cutter had been borrowed from Division Commander Zhang Kaitai. It ran on a battery, and thanks to Shen Lie's connection with Professor Liu, the commander hadn't asked any questions about what it was for. Shen Lie secured the calabash once more, plugged the cutter into the battery, and switched it on.

*Screeech—*

"Holy crap, how can this thing be so hard?" The cutting wheel had worn down significantly, yet the stem remained completely unmarked. Shen Lie switched off the power and scratched his head in frustration.

Even a power cutter couldn't leave a scratch. While this meant the calabash was likely of immense value, it was useless if he couldn't open it. What was he supposed to do, fashion it into a warhammer to bash people's heads in?

"It seems ordinary methods won't work on this. I'll have to try something unconventional," Shen Lie muttered. He picked up his black spear. He had noticed that the patterns on the calabash were unusual; ordinary physical force would never pierce it. To open it, he would need supernatural energy.

What counted as supernatural energy? His bloodline power was one, and the mysterious energy residing in his forehead was another. However, his bloodline power lacked a compatible weapon to channel it properly, leaving him with only the black short spear.

"Alright, little calabash, let's see how you handle the power of the Starlight Clan!" Shen Lie channeled the mysterious energy from between his brows into the black spear. The weapon flared with a dark light, radiating ripples of energy. Raising his hand, Shen Lie brought the sharp tip of the spear down hard on the base of the stem. The patterns on the small calabash suddenly flared with brilliant light, but then, as if suppressed by a counteracting force, they shuddered and instantly went dark.

When Shen Lie looked at the stem again, a smile spread across his face. The plug at the top had been cleanly sliced off, leaving a glossy, smooth surface. Faint traces of an unusual aura drifted out from within the calabash.

He did not act rashly. Keeping his black spear at the ready, he waited cautiously for a long time. Once he was sure no mutated Calabash Brother was going to crawl out, he used the tip of the spear to flip the calabash up and caught it in his hand.

"Zhang Jing, bring me a bucket of water!" Shen Lie called out to Zhang Jing, who was standing guard outside the vehicle. Once she returned with the water, he began trying to fill the calabash.

"Huh? What's going on?" Fresh water was scarce, so to avoid wasting any, Shen Lie used a funnel to pour the water in. However, after trying for a while, he realized that not a single drop was entering the calabash. It was as if the opening was blocked by an invisible lid; the water simply pooled at the rim and spilled over the sides, no matter what he did.

"Well, isn't that bizarre?" Shen Lie held the calabash up and peered through the opening. There was no visible obstruction inside, though the depths of the gourd were pitch black and difficult to see.

This left Shen Lie stumped. If he couldn't even pour water into it, what was the point of having a massive internal space? After spending so much effort to obtain what seemed to be a useless trinket, he didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

As he turned the calabash over in his hands, rubbing its surface and pondering the cause, his eyes suddenly fell upon his black spear. An idea instantly flashed in his mind.

*Perhaps this calabash requires some form of energy to activate?* Shen Lie noticed that the patterns on the calabash bore a striking resemblance to those on the black spear, prompting this sudden hypothesis.

The theory was highly plausible, but he dreaded the possibility that it required the mysterious energy in his forehead. That energy pool was already critically low—barely enough to save his life in an emergency. If this calabash drained it further, he wouldn't dare use it at all.

Fortunately, luck was on his side this time. The calabash did not disappoint. When he channeled his bloodline power into it, the vessel was easily activated. The patterns on its surface glowed once more, and he instantly felt a mystical connection form between himself and the object. A hazy, gray space of about five cubic meters materialized in his mind's eye, looking almost illusory.

Mimicking the action of a certain demon from *Journey to the West*, Shen Lie aimed the mouth of the calabash at a water bottle resting on the car seat. With a thought, he silently commanded, *Absorb!* A faint beam of light shot out from the opening, enveloping the bottle. Instantly, the bottle vanished.

In the next instant, Shen Lie saw the water bottle resting quietly in a corner of the gray space inside the calabash. He instinctively focused his mind on it and found he could shift its position at will. With another thought, the bottle materialized right back on the car seat.

Had there not been so many survivors resting around the vehicle, Shen Lie would have burst into a wild, triumphant laugh. He had truly found a priceless treasure. Five cubic meters of space! If he packed it with food, it would probably last a single person a whole year. He would never have to worry about starving again.

He carefully secured the calabash with a piece of tough, thin cord. He first hung it from his waist, but quickly decided that wasn't safe enough; he might lose it during a fight without even noticing. He slipped it into his pocket, but still felt uneasy. In the end, he simply hung it around his neck.

With the calabash finally secured, his mind was at ease. But then, his gaze fell upon another object now resting in his hand—the token-shaped metal piece that had been revealed when his family heirloom pendant shattered.