Age of Evolution

Delicate jade hands met coarse, large ones. A spark of golden lightning leaped between their palms – not static electricity, but a lightning ion from within Lin Zhen’s body that had accidentally emerged.

Su Mingyue withdrew her hand with a startled cry. She didn’t know it was a lightning ion, and assumed that static had simply built up between her and Lin Zhen.

Lightly pursing her red lips, Su Mingyue stole a glance at Lin Zhen and found him looking down at the water. Only then did she breathe a sigh of relief.

“What are you looking at?” Su Mingyue asked.

“The water.”

“The water? What’s so interesting about the water?” Su Mingyue lowered her head. The water at the edge of the Dool was gentle. casting faint riDDles like a mirror’s surface.

On the water’s reflection, a half-naked, muscular young man and a fairy-like girl in white robes sat side by side, their faces flushed. The water rippled gently, and the young man smiled.

The scene was harmonious, warm, and beautiful. Lin Zhen sighed, “I should’ve changed clothes and taken a photo for a keepsake. Later on, I can brag to others and say, ‘Look, this is a picture of me and Su Saintess together, quite the perfect match, right?”‘

Su Mingyue turned to look at Lin Zhen and rolled her beautiful peach blossom eyes at him, “You’re actually not that bad of a person. If anyone else spoke to me this way, I’d be quite unhappy. But I know you’re just teasing me, so I won’t get angry.”

Lin Zhen chuckled, “As long as you understand. A person’s character isn’t solely determined by their appearance. Take Tang Yu, for example. He usually acts like a refined gentleman, but you saw how he performed when his life was at stake. I, Lin Zhen, may be selfish and have many flaws, but at least I’m not like those rotten people with good exteriors.”

Su Mingyue nodded slightly, “You’re right about that. After this experience, I feel like I’ve grown up a lot and can see through people more clearly. It’s a good thing, and I shouldn’t be sad.”

“That’s the right mindset to have.”

Lin Zhen stood up, “I’m going to change my clothes.”

Su Mingyue looked back at him, “Didn’t you say you didn’t have any clothes?”

“Before, it was a coincidence. My clothes had just been torn up and I hadn’t had time to change. Now that I have the time, I can’t keep going like this.”

Su Mingyue looked annoyed, and Lin Zhen laughed as he ran off, and came to a large tree. He rummaged through his space ring.

Lin Zhen had brought more than ten sets of clothes, as he would be stuck inside the fruit trees for several years. The clothes were indispensable. He did not want to end up wearing only leaves like a caveman.

A set of dark red Tang clothing with golden thread embroidery caught Lin Zhen’s attention, and he decided to wear that.

Today was New Year’s Day, so wearing something festive was fitting.

The liquid metal turned into a belt hidden inside the clothes. Once he had changed, Lin Zhen noticed two space rings inside.

With nothing major to do, Lin Zhen sat down comfortably, leaning against the tree trunk, and opened up one of the space rings.

This ring wasn’t like the space rings developed later by the Tech Department. Its proper name was “Marching Stone” and was the result of early research when Void Stones were first discovered. The space inside could hold less than a cubic meter of items, rendering it unfit to carry much. However, it had caused a buying frenzy in the past.

However, the space inside these Marching Stones wasn’t particularly stable, and after several collapses, they eventually phased out of use. Some martial artists, unwilling to discard them, continued to use them without any issues.

Some martial artists acquired Marching Stones and found them inconvenient to carry. So they turned them into rings to wear on their fingers, giving birth to the idea of space rings.

The ring belonged to Lao San. When opened, it contained several bank cards, two knives, a sword, a chain, and lots of small, miscellaneous items.

Bank cards were useless to Lin Zhen, as not even a single cent could be retrieved. They would just end up benefiting the bank in the end.

Apart from the two weapons that might be worth a bit, nothing else held any value.

Lin Zhen was somewhat disappointed, and decided to try out the other ring.

This ring belonged to Hua, a Spiritual Mind Master. Usually, Spiritual Mind Masters were wealthy, so Lin Zhen hoped this time wouldn’t disappoint.

Aside from useless items like bank cards, the ring contained a sword, a spear, and a tower shield.

“Is this reallv all that’s in here?” Lin Zhen dug around for more.

After searching for a while, he found a stone in one corner.

“Is this a meteorite?” Lin Zhen took it out to examine more closely.

The stone was surprisingly heavy, with weight disproportionate to its size. Even Lin Zhen struggled to hold it. It must’ve weighed over 100 kilograms.

“What is this?” Lin Zhen simply sat down. He took out a chisel and scraper from his space ring and began to clean the surface of the stone.

Lin Zhen was no stranger to this kind of task. In less than half an hour, a goose egg-sized golden stone appeared in his hand, sharp golden energy occasionally spilling out from it.

“Hahaha!”

Lin Zhen stared at the stone for a long time, ignoring the fact that his hand was almost punctured, and couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

It turned out to be a Planet Core, a Planet Core containing sharp metallic energy!

Hua had no idea what he had gotten his hands on with this stone and couldn’t figure out its purpose. He simply treated it as a collectible and tossed it into a corner, only for it to end up in Lin Zhen’s possession.

The Leo meteor shower came to Earth, and in fact, it was a star that had shattered. Its Planet Core had also burst, scattering fragments containing various energies all over the world.

Lin Zhen knew the whereabouts of some of the cores, but there were a few he didn’t know about, like the Golden Core, which he never expected to be in Hua’s hands.

“This is great! With this, I have a new direction for my cultivation. Gold is the leader of the Five Elements. If I can absorb this golden energy, whether it’s injecting it into my liquid metal or other weapons, I can greatly improve their quality. I can even release metallic Sword Qi with my bare hands. This core is perfect for my cultivation.”

Lin Zhen looked at the golden core, which had not yet released its golden energy. It felt very prickly in his hands. If he truly absorbed the golden energy, he would be able to cut through steel with his bare hands.

Carefully putting the Planet Core into his Space Ring, Lin Zhen felt that today was truly his lucky day.

He adjusted his Tang suit and came out from the bushes with a bright smile. As soon as he came out, he saw a bright scene before him.

Su Mingyue was squatting there, making a wooden frame. The Mantis leg that Lin Zhen had brought back had already been peeled, and a wooden branch had been turned into a makeshift table, which even had some seasoning on it, presumably brought by Su Mingyue.

Su Mingyue had changed into a red jacket and a red skirt. Her waterfall-like hair was simply tied into twin ponytails, making her small face look as white as jade.

With this look, Su Mingyue seemed less cold and more radiant. The red jacket made her look like a beautiful little girl.

Seeing Lin Zhen come out, Su Mingyue noticed that he was also wearing a dark red Tang suit and smiled: “It seems that we have similar ideas. I also think that today is New Year, so we should wear something festive.”

Lin Zhen walked over and squatted down beside her, smelling the faint fragrance on her body, and playing with the tree branches: “According to the traditional customs of Hua Xia people, the elders or people of higher status give out red envelopes during the New Year. Although you and I are about the same age, you are the Saintess of God’s Grace Cathedral, the only one in the country. Your status and position are such that giving me a red envelope of a few billion or even more wouldn’t be too much, right?”

Su Mingyue gave Lin Zhen a glance: “While it’s true that I am the Saintess, the church’s money is not under my control. I only have a little bit of my own pocket money, and even if I gave it all to you, I’m afraid it would disappoint you.”

“It’s okay, any amount is a token of your appreciation. Just give it.’

Lin Zhen shamelessly stretched out his hand.

Su Mingyue nodded, seemingly intending to give the money, but she took out her phone and only then realized that there was no network here to transfer the money to Lin Zhen.

Seeing Su Mingyue’s embarrassed expression, Lin Zhen laughed: “Can’t give a red envelope now, can you? Just remember that you owe me one, and you can give it back double when you can.”

Lin Zhen was only teasing Su Mingyue, but he didn’t expect her to nod solemnly: “I’ve made a note of it.”

Seeing Su Mingyue’s serious expression, Lin Zhen knew that people probably rarely joked with her, taking everything seriously. So he stopped joking around and began tidying up with her.

Soon, the fire was lit, and Lin Zhen started to personally barbecue the Mantis leg, using a small piece of liquid metal as a skewer.

Su Mingyue sat next to Lin Zhen, watching him grill the meat. She held her little face in her hands, her watery peach-blossom eyes blinking, and her long lashes looking like two small fans. It was such a pleasing sight that it was impossible to be in a bad mood.

The color of the Mantis leg gradually changed, and Su Mingyue’s brought seasonings were quite complete. Lin Zhen sprinkled salt, spread oil, and then added some chili and pepper, creating a delicious aroma.

“Your cooking skills are really good. Just smelling it is so appetizing. I haven’t had a good meal in my time here, so I can finally have a feast today.”

“Hehe, how could I be your Idol if I didn’t have these skills?” Lin Zhen said with no shame.

However, his cooking skills were not just an empty boast. In his previous life, he had spent many years in the interstellar world, going through the ups and downs of life. Although he was not very talented in other areas, he was quite skilled in cooking. He had cooked this kind of grilled meat countless times and was very experienced.

“Dinner time, little glutton!”

Lin Zhen’s meat was ready, and the liquid metal turned into a table. He then took out a bottle of red wine.

“Would you like some wine?”

Su Mingyue nodded: “Yes, it’s New Year, and it wouldn’t be fun if you drink alone. Even though I don’t like the taste of wine.”

“Then I am truly honored.”

As the two sat on the stump, Lin Zhen raised his hand, broke off one of the table legs, and turned it into plates, wine glasses, and utensils in front of Su Mingyue’s astonished eyes.

“You are really extravagant, to be able to use liquid metal like this.”

“Haha, no matter how valuable it is, it’s just an object. It’s an honor for it to be used by its master.”

He released his Spiritual Power, and the liquid metal table grew another leg, though the table surface became a little thinner. Since this wasn’t a battle, it didn’t matter whether it was thick or thin.

After cutting a piece of meat for Su Mingyue, Lin Zhen was about to say something when she raised her wine glass and said, “Idol, I’m very grateful to fate for allowing me to meet you..”