Chapter 18: Electrocuted

Meilin and the others stared blankly at Zhao Hai, wondering what on earth he was gesturing at. Had he truly found no way to improve the soil?

Meilin's heart sank. She had noticed significant changes in Zhao Hai recently, but they had been for the better, so she hadn't thought much of it, assuming he had simply matured through the hardships. But seeing him like this now, she couldn't help but worry—was the immense pressure driving him mad?

Zhao Hai was also feeling quite embarrassed. Having grown accustomed to using a computer, he couldn't resist the urge to reach out and click when faced with such a scene. Since there was no mouse, he could only try to tap at it with his fingers, completely forgetting that what stood before him was not a physical screen, but merely a projection.

Scratching his head, Zhao Hai quickly shouted "Yes" in his mind. Immediately, the spatial prompt sounded again: "Please enter the area to be improved. Your current maximum improvement area is ten mu."

An input box appeared before him with a cursor blinking incessantly. Zhao Hai immediately thought "ten mu." Instantly, the Arabic numeral "10" appeared in the box, followed by the unit "mu."

Zhao Hai thought that was it, but to his surprise, the prompt sounded again: "Please select the improvement method: Spatial Soil Improvement / Spatial Water Improvement / Custom."

Zhao Hai was nearly driven mad with frustration. He noticed that the looks Meilin and the others were giving him had changed, yet the spatial interface continued to present him with endless complications. He quickly selected "Custom"—he had already calculated the optimal formula, so he had to use it.

Sure enough, after selecting custom, another input box popped up, and the spatial prompt chimed once more: "Please enter the ratio of Spatial Water to Spatial Soil."

Zhao Hai immediately entered "six parts Spatial Water and four parts Spatial Soil." Fortunately, he only had to think the commands to input them into the box; if he had to write them out by hand, people would have definitely thought he was a lunatic.

Once the input was complete, the spatial system finally fell silent. Zhao Hai breathed a sigh of relief, only to see a pocket-sized rift suddenly open beside him. A cloud of greyish matter flew out of the rift and descended onto the black soil in front of him.

The grey substance was so indistinct that it was impossible to tell if it was spatial soil or spatial water; it looked like nothing more than dust. However, as it landed on the black soil, the earth began to change at a visible speed. The color, which had been as dark as oil, gradually lightened into a natural black soil color, creating a sharp contrast with the surrounding land.

The way the grey substance fell was quite peculiar—it covered a perfectly rectangular area of exactly ten mu, not a bit more, not a bit less, and even more precise than the boundaries Meilin and the others had measured. A shallow furrow appeared at the edge, clearly separating the improved ten mu from the surrounding land.

Only after the entire ten mu had been transformed did the rift beside Zhao Hai slowly vanish. Zhao Hai walked to the edge of the improved land, scooped up a handful of soil, and examined it closely. It was exactly as he had imagined: it had become fertile black soil.

Holding the soil, Zhao Hai burst into laughter. He had finally succeeded. This ten mu could now be used for planting. With this ability and this vast expanse of land, it would be hard for him to ever go hungry again.

Zhao Hai's laughter startled everyone present. They had been stunned when the rift appeared beside him; they had never encountered anything like it before. Everyone had lost the ability to speak, standing there in a daze, watching the black soil transform bit by bit.

It wasn't until Zhao Hai laughed that they snapped out of it. Almost everyone instinctively performed the same action as Zhao Hai—whether they were slaves or part of Meilin's group, everyone stepped forward to grab a handful of soil and examine it.

Meilin and her companions were one thing, but the slaves were born to farm. They could tell at a glance that this land was fundamentally different from before—it was just like the soil they used to farm, if not better.

Then, almost involuntarily, everyone began to cheer. Although most of these people were slaves, being a slave did not make them fools. Since arriving at the Black Soil Wasteland, they had understood their circumstances, but they never imagined they would witness such a miracle.

Tears streamed uncontrollably down Meilin's face. Although she had never farmed, she could see the difference between the improved and unimproved land at a glance. This patch of land was more than just soil; it was the hope of the Buda family.

Mei Ge also wept with emotion. She hadn't expected this day of happiness to arrive so quickly and so suddenly. Although she had contemplated such possibilities before, when the moment actually arrived, she was stunned. She suddenly lost the ability to think or speak, standing like a wooden statue, even as tears flowed uncontrollably from her eyes.

Mei Ge suddenly dropped the black soil in her hands and ran toward Zhao Hai. Zhao Hai had already calmed down; because of the existence of the spatial dimension, he didn't view the land improvement with the same gravity as Meilin and the others, so he recovered more quickly.

At that moment, Mei Ge suddenly ran to Zhao Hai's side and threw her arms around him. This caught Zhao Hai completely off guard; he hadn't expected her to embrace him.

Zhao Hai knew about the past between Adam and Mei Ge, but he didn't know the depth of Mei Ge's feelings for him. From the memories he had inherited from Adam, he knew Adam felt nothing for Mei Ge but desire. To put it bluntly, the old Adam had been a scoundrel; he had never truly cared for Mei Ge. His childhood memories were a blur, and in his adult life, there was no love for Mei Ge, only lust.

Under these circumstances, Zhao Hai naturally couldn't fathom Mei Ge's feelings, so when she embraced him like this, he was truly stunned, wondering what had come over her.

In his previous life, Zhao Hai had been a shut-in with a hint of inferiority, so he had never had a girlfriend or even held a girl's hand. He was the ultimate shut-in, a paragon of repressed emotion.

It was precisely because of this that, upon learning what Adam had done to Mei Ge, Zhao Hai hadn't dared to face her. He was afraid of facing her; he didn't know whether he should take responsibility for her or stay as far away as possible to avoid being a reminder of her unpleasant past.

But Zhao Hai never expected Mei Ge to do this to him today; it truly startled him. He stood there flustered and helpless, unsure whether he should push her away or hold her back.

Meilin also noticed Mei Ge's unusual behavior. As the person who knew Mei Ge best, Meilin understood clearly how Mei Ge felt about Adam, and because of that, she knew exactly how deeply Adam's past actions had wounded her.

During that period, Meilin had watched Mei Ge every day, terrified that she might commit suicide. But Mei Ge hadn't killed herself; instead, she had become like a person who had lost her soul, which broke Meilin's heart. Yet, Meilin was powerless, knowing that a sickness of the heart can only be cured by the heart itself. No one could help Mei Ge in this matter; the only person who could help her return to normal, besides herself, was Adam.

However, Meilin had held no hope for the old Adam. To be honest, she had been utterly disappointed in him. If they hadn't been raised by the Buda family since childhood, she would have abandoned him long ago.

But when Adam "woke up" here in the Black Soil Wasteland, he seemed like a different person—more sensible, more steady, and possessing a very unique ability. Most importantly, he was no longer acting recklessly; he was organized and carried himself with the air of a leader. Of course, she didn't know that the man before her was no longer Adam, but Zhao Hai.

Meilin had also noticed Mei Ge's changes over the past few days. Mei Ge had been unconsciously stealing glances at Zhao Hai, and she would frequently appear in front of him—something that would have been impossible before.

After "that incident," Mei Ge used to avoid Zhao Hai whenever possible. If she couldn't avoid him, she would stand there with her head bowed, trying her best not to draw his attention.

But lately, she had been appearing before him constantly, bringing him water, waking him up, and looking after his daily needs. This had initially baffled Meilin, but seeing Mei Ge's behavior now, Meilin finally understood her feelings.

It took a while for Mei Ge to let go of Zhao Hai, but his face turned bright red. From his previous life until now, he had never been so intimate with a girl. Even though he had Adam's memories, the dominant consciousness was that of Zhao Hai, so he truly wasn't used to Mei Ge's sudden warmth.

Mei Ge's face was also flushed after letting him go, though she handled it much better than he did. Zhao Hai's face was beet red, his mouth opening and closing, but he couldn't manage to say a single word.

Seeing Zhao Hai's expression, Mei Ge suddenly let out a little giggle, gave him a charming, sidelong glance, and turned to run away. Looking at Mei Ge's retreating figure, Zhao Hai felt as if he had just downed ten catties of strong liquor; he was so intoxicated that he had lost the ability to think.

Mei Ge was a beautiful girl, and Zhao Hai loved seeing her. However, because of what Adam had done to her, Zhao Hai felt a sense of guilt whenever he looked at her. Consequently, he had been trying to avoid her lately, and even when they were together, he tried not to be alone with her, always ensuring others were around.

But that sudden embrace and that single glance from Mei Ge had sent an electric shock through him, making Zhao Hai realize that a future with Mei Ge was not impossible.