Chapter Fifty-Two: Spatial Gourd

“Really?” Shen Lie was drawn in by the other man’s words and took an interest.

“Really? This discovery is astonishing. Let me tell you—” Duan Yu glanced around as he spoke, then pulled Shen Lie aside and lowered his voice mysteriously. “This gourd may look ordinary on the outside, but inside it holds a hidden marvel.”

“Oh? What’s going on?” Shen Lie asked along, playing the part.

Duan Yu seemed very pleased with Shen Lie’s reaction, and with the expression of someone who knew a promising man when he saw one, he went on, “I’ve discovered that this gourd has the same function as the magic pouches from fantasy novels.”

“What!” Shen Lie blurted out in shock. Only after noticing several people looking over did he lower his voice and ask, “No way. Are you sure?”

How could Shen Lie not know what a magic pouch was? He understood even better how important a space-type item would be in this age. With one of those, it would mean being able to carry large quantities of supplies on one’s person, never again having to worry about food.

He had not never wondered whether such a thing might exist, but the idea always seemed too fantastical. Though the apocalypse had brought about many changes, it had not seemed likely to change so much that even the tools used by immortals would start appearing. So he had never paid much attention to the matter.

Now it seemed his imagination had been too limited. In this age, the only rule was that anything you could imagine might exist. And now, such a thing had truly appeared.

“Of course I’m sure. Look at this.” Seeing Shen Lie’s skepticism, Duan Yu opened his shoulder bag, revealing a small jade-green gourd inside.

“Come on, let’s go to your car and I’ll demonstrate it for you.” Duan Yu took the gourd in his hand, looked around, and said to Shen Lie.

The car he meant was not the armored vehicle, but one of Shen Lie’s own off-road vehicles. Shen Lie kept it specifically for searching for supplies, and at ordinary times it was used to transport the survivors from Eastwind Town who followed them.

Since it was rest time, the vehicle was empty. After Shen Lie and Duan Yu climbed in, Duan Yu eagerly pulled out a bucket from the back. It was half full of water.

“Watch carefully.” Duan Yu removed the stopper from the gourd, shook it upside down to show that it was empty, then poured the water from the bucket into it until it could hold no more.

“Get me an empty basin.”

Shen Lie immediately took a plastic washbasin from the trunk and set it in front of Duan Yu. Then he watched as the other man slowly poured the water from the gourd into the basin.

An astonishing sight unfolded.

To Shen Lie’s startled eyes, the water coming from the gourd seemed endless. In the end, it actually filled the entire washbasin.

Satisfied with Shen Lie’s expression, Duan Yu dropped the last few remaining beads of water into the basin. The water level rose all the way to the rim; one more drop and it would have overflowed.

“Well? I wasn’t lying to you, was I? There are many gourds like this in that place, and the one I picked is only an immature little gourd. If it were a fully ripened one, the internal space would definitely be much larger than this,” Duan Yu said, carefully putting the gourd back into his bag and staring at Shen Lie with burning intensity.

“Tell me. What’s dangerous about that place?” Shen Lie was certainly tempted by such a good thing. He knew that since the other man had come to him, it meant the place where this gourd grew must be highly dangerous and beyond what his own group could handle. Otherwise, even if they got along well, the man would never have shared information like this with him.

“Heh, there is indeed some trouble. The gourd vine grows beside a pond. For reasons no one knows, the fish in that pond have mutated. They’re terribly troublesome and highly aggressive. As soon as any living thing gets close, they swarm and attack.”

“But that’s not the worst of it. The real problem is that around the gourd-growing area there are some shrubs, and in those shrubs lives a swarm of mutated wasps. Each of those wasps is as big as a fist, and the venomous stinger in its tail is incredibly deadly. If one hits you, the outcome is absolutely miserable. Two of my men already died from those stings.”

“On top of that, there’s a giant mutated toad over there. That thing is mutated beyond reason; it’s almost as big as a calf, and its whole body is covered in scales. Ordinary weapons can’t hurt it at all. It can also breathe fire, and its flames are extremely potent. If you get even a little on you, you risk being burned to ashes. My own vehicle was melted by the fire it spat.”

After hearing the whole explanation, Shen Lie nearly cursed aloud. He thought, Are you here to make a fool of me? This isn’t a little bit dangerous. This is a living hell. Land, water, and air, all three defended, with not a single opening left. Forget picking gourds. I’d probably be blasted to pieces before I even stretched out a hand.

“Ahem. Um, Brother Duan, I still have some things to take care of on my side, so I won’t wade into this mess. There probably won’t be too many gourds there anyway. You’d better think of another way yourself.”

Wasps and toads alike? Shen Lie immediately backed out. He had struggled hard to survive until now and had no intention of going out of his way to die.

Seeing that his words had frightened Shen Lie, Duan Yu instantly looked anxious and said in a hurry, “Hey, don’t chicken out. No matter how dangerous it is, there’s always a way to crack it, right? Besides, as long as we don’t go into the river, those fish aren’t much to fear. The main problems are the wasps and that giant toad. With you, me, and your Miss Du, wouldn’t getting a gourd be easy? And space-type items are priceless. Once we miss this chance, we’ll never find the same opportunity again. By the time the team sets out, we won’t have another shot!”

Only then did Shen Lie finally understand. So the one Duan Yu truly wanted to ask for help was not him, but Du Lili. Whether it was the wasps or the fire-breathing toad, Du Lili’s abilities could restrain them. It was just that Du Lili had a cold, aloof temperament, and ordinary people could not easily persuade her. That was why he had dragged Shen Lie into it.

“How will the spoils be divided if we get it?” After hearing all that, Shen Lie felt that obtaining the item was not entirely impossible. But since Du Lili was being involved, the distribution had to be made clear in advance.

“First you and Miss Du choose, then I do. No matter how many we get, we’ll split them in turns,” Duan Yu quickly promised as soon as he saw Shen Lie’s tone soften.

“All right. I’ll ask Du Lili first. If she doesn’t go, then I won’t be joining either.” After saying that, Shen Lie returned to the armored vehicle, found Du Lili, and explained the matter to her.

A gourd with spatial properties was absolutely a rare treasure. Whether for personal use or for trading for other goods, it was the sort of thing one could only encounter by chance and never seek out. Shen Lie was deeply tempted, and he figured Du Lili would have a hard time resisting it too. As for danger, there was no shortage of that in the apocalypse.

“Let’s go take a look.” In the end, Du Lili was moved as well. She nodded gently and agreed.

A little over three kilometers from the survivors’ temporary camp was a small pond. Many shrubs grew beside it, and perhaps because no one had come here for a long time, the vegetation was especially luxuriant. Most strangely of all, three gourd vines grew on one side of the pond, each vine bearing seven or eight small gourds.

A four-wheel-drive vehicle came roaring in at full speed, but it stopped a long way from the pond. Five people got out.

“Is this the place?” After getting out, Shen Lie lifted his binoculars and looked toward the pond, then asked Duan Yu beside him.

“That’s right, this is it. Xiao Ma, Xiao Zhang, you two stay here and don’t move. I’ll go over and take a look with Shen Lie and the others.” Duan Yu gave instructions to his two subordinates. In truth, there was no need to have brought them at all, but both of them knew the situation here, and he was afraid they might leak the secret, so he brought them along.

“Yes, boss. You be careful.” As soon as the two heard that they did not have to go, they let out a huge sigh of relief. On the way here, two of their companions had already been stung to death by those giant wasps.

“Let’s go. We’ll head over, and keep your movements light.” With a wave of his hand, Duan Yu set off. Shen Lie and Du Lili immediately followed without a word.