Chapter 23: What Is This? A Bookmark?

Chapter 23: What Is This? A Bookmark?

If I go, the ancient tomb would have already been discovered.

At this point, it seems pointless for me to go.

Tickets are so hard to come by, forget it.

Sheng Qingquan knows almost nothing about archaeology, but he also knows that under normal circumstances, officials would choose to rebury the tomb to ensure its integrity.

But this tomb has a fresh tomb robber's hole. In such a situation, officials would definitely conduct a salvage excavation. That means the archaeological team has probably already descended into the tomb.

Sure enough, they've already entered the tomb.

Sheng Qingquan clicked on a related news article that talked about this.

This makes it even less necessary for him to head over. Not to mention, according to the date in the news article, this happened two days ago.

Even now, compared to professionals, as an amateur, I can't help with anything in the tomb. Even with protective gear, I wouldn't get hurt, but at most, I wouldn't be a hindrance.

The situation inside the tomb must be quite complex. From watching live archaeological streams, the tomb passages are incredibly narrow. If I went, my large frame would just get in the way.

It's a shame that I can't talk about the golden finger or the storyline I saw. Every time I try to speak, it's like being muted. Otherwise, I could have warned the officials right away.

Although I know that after discovering the tomb, the archaeological team would be cautious and fully equipped when entering. But in such a scenario, would they actively search for that vine? Would they realize that the excessive vitality of the plants is due to the vine?

It seems improbable. Under normal circumstances, who would make such a far-fetched connection? How could the burial goods in the tomb be linked to the abundant crops outside?

It seems entirely unrelated.

If I hadn't read the novel, I wouldn't have made that connection either.

Thinking this, Sheng Qingquan couldn't resist poking the floating book before him.

"Why do you have so many limitations? If only you weren't muted."

The book swayed a few times with his poking but stayed silent.

Sheng Qingquan waved his hand and stashed the book.

"Forget it, why am I messing with a book?"

"I should figure out what to do next."

Sheng Qingquan was concerned. He didn't even feel curious about how the tomb robber was caught.

Honestly, there's nothing to be curious about.

Before, the tomb robber could hide perfectly because no one knew he was robbing tombs. No one was specifically looking into this matter, so it was easy for him to evade.

But now, after finding the tomb, using forensic methods to investigate based on the fresh traces at the scene, it's easy to find the person. The traces are still fresh.

Plus, the bus surveillance is still available. Although the exact day isn't known, even using a brute-force method to quickly go through the recent bus surveillance videos, focusing on buses that pass the city gate station and the bus stops near the tomb.

After checking a few buses, they found the tomb robber, carrying large and small bags, wearing a safety helmet, dressed like a construction worker.

There aren't many construction workers dressed like that on the bus, but there are enough that it's not just the tomb robber.

But dressed like this, he was offered a seat by a young girl again, and the girl was wearing a school uniform. Her words when offering the seat were identical to those in the plot, even the intonation matched perfectly.

With so many features all matching, there was only one tomb robber.

So there was no possibility of arresting the wrong person.

The hapless thief didn't even bother to hide his face. His face was clearly exposed, fully visible in the surveillance footage. Even the wrinkles on his face could be seen clearly.

From finding him to his arrest, it didn't take more than three hours.

The tomb robber wasn't a concern; what frustrated the staff was that they were also gagged and couldn't reassure Sheng Qingquan that there was no need to worry anymore, that the authorities already knew what he wanted to say, were paying attention, and were working hard to resolve it.

Luckily, their worries didn't last long.

On that day, as they were worrying, the staff suddenly received a phone call.

Upon answering, the staff's face lit up at the news.

"The issue of excessive plant vitality has been resolved? A small pile of vine ash was found in the sheltered area near the ancient tomb, which, along with Yu Jiaojiao's pink oranges, played a big role?"

"No other dangerous items were found in the tomb?"

He eagerly pressed for confirmation: "Our instruments didn't find anything, and after several more explorations with Cat Star's technology, no similar vines were found, and no peculiar substance that could stimulate plant vitality was detected?"

"So, we've actually made it through this apocalypse?"

"Great!" After getting another positive confirmation, the staff member on the phone was flushed with excitement. He punched the air in sheer joy.

Hearing this, the rest of the room erupted in joy. Their worried frowns turned into smiles.

Not only did they no longer have to worry, but Sheng Qingquan also didn't have to be anxious anymore.

They couldn't admit to hearing Sheng Qingquan's thoughts and uncovering the apocalypse's cause. But discussing actual events was fair game.

Not long after the staff received the phone call, Yu Jiaojiao rushed back. She was the perfect person to handle this matter smoothly.

Despite the institute's chaos, she managed to snag an afternoon off.

"Yu Jiaojiao?" Sheng Qingquan was drawing. Because he had been too anxious recently, he took on some work to distract himself and relieve his emotions. He was deep in his work when a sudden knock left him puzzled.

He lived alone, who could be knocking?

Sheng Qingquan was baffled to find Yu Jiaojiao at his door, arms laden with bags: "Did you get the wrong floor?"

Your place is on the third floor.

"Thank-you gifts!" Yu Jiaojiao squeezed in and piled the things in the hallway. "You're the reason my oranges are safe."

"Didn't I tell you that the scumbag and his mother were arrested? Didn't you wonder why a few oranges could cause such a serious situation?"

"Wasn't it because those oranges..."

"Were the key props to end the apocalypse."

Sheng Qingquan opened his mouth to speak, but halfway through he froze.

"Damn, I just realized, no one knew about this at the time. It was because I saw the golden finger, I was biased."

"Damn, how should I explain this?"

"How can I explain this to get out of it? Waiting online, urgent!"

Sheng Qingquan was panicking inside, but on the surface, he remained as cool as a cucumber.

Yu Jiaojiao was genuinely grateful to him, so she thoughtfully added a reason: "Did you think that just calling the police would handle something like this?"

Sheng Qingquan quickly nodded. That's exactly what he was thinking.

"Didn't you tell me earlier that Professor Lu Xiaohua was coming to our school to pick candidates? Actually, Professor Lu arrived early. I ran into her when I got back to school."

"Professor Lu found that the pink oranges I grew were very special and crucial to a recent research project she was working on. They could be a game-changer."

"The project Professor Lu is working on is a national priority. After discovering this, she quickly filed an application to have my orange tree listed as a protected plant. Especially the few fruits on it, which needed extra protection."

"You know Professor Lu's clout, the application was approved the same day."

"Because of the special circumstances, there have been people patrolling and guarding the area around the orange tree."

"Not long after, the guards told me they thought they saw my ex-boyfriend bringing his mother over, acting shady. I didn't believe it at first, but then my boyfriend invited me out for his birthday the next day."

At this point, Yu Jiaojiao pouted in dissatisfaction: "Anyway, in the end, both he and his mother got caught."

"I was also brought into the research institute. Professor Lu is now my boss!"

"Before this was finalized, I couldn't really talk about it. What if I said something and then didn't get into the lab? How embarrassing would that be? So I just gave you a bottle of honey."

"Now it's all good." Yu Jiaojiao closed the door and motioned for Sheng Qingquan to help carry the stuff to the living room.

"During this time, I've been helping my boss and managed to stay on. Now I've got results. My boss gave me a big bonus and some time off."

"I owe my bright future to your heads-up."

"If you hadn't told me that Professor Lu was coming to pick candidates soon, and that someone who couldn't compete fairly might try shady tactics, advising me to be extra careful and guard the orange tree, I wouldn't have rushed back to school."

"After getting back to school, if I saw someone who looked like Professor Lu from a distance, I would have just thought it was a coincidence. I wouldn't have chased after her to confirm."

"I might have missed this chance. And maybe let that jerk get away with it."

"So, as soon as I got the money, I went out and bought some nice things to thank you," Yu Jiaojiao said, pushing the items towards Sheng Qingquan, "so you must accept them."

Before Sheng Qingquan could decline, Yu Jiaojiao waved her hand: "Don't say those polite words, I don't like to hear them."

"By the way, I didn't just come here to give you things. There's something else I want to talk about."

Sheng Qingquan knew the other party might be changing the subject, but he couldn't help being curious.

"It's related to the project my boss is researching."

"I don't know if you've noticed, but there have been a lot of reports about bountiful harvests recently." Yu Jiaojiao got to the point.

Gifts can be given anytime, but the reason she came here was for this.

"During this period, crops have been bountiful, and even though it's already winter, plants are unusually lush, even blooming out of season. Mainly because they've been affected."

Yu Jiaojiao didn't specify what the effect was, but Sheng Qingquan understood. More than understanding, he felt relieved.

So the authorities had already discovered this.

Yes, he should have more confidence in the country. The power of a nation is beyond the imagination of ordinary people.

Indeed, even without hearing Sheng Qingquan's thoughts, the officials in the story had already identified the cause.

"It's related to the ancient tomb excavated some time ago, but I can't say much more. Although these matters aren't classified, it's still not appropriate to disclose them publicly."

"Anyway, the problem has been solved now."

"There are just some side effects."

"What I want to tell you about is these side effects. The previous behavior of these plants was due to the overstimulation of their growth. Fortunately, it was discovered early. Although they won't be overstimulated anymore, they'll go through a period of decline."

"The crops that were supposed to have a bountiful harvest will see a significant reduction in yield due to the impact."

To make it easier for Sheng Qingquan to understand, Yu Jiaojiao gave an example: "It's like when an ordinary person overdoes it during exercise and wakes up sore the next day. After some rest, they recover."

"However, a nationwide reduction in crop yields will inevitably cause panic. Fortunately, it's winter now, so the impact isn't as severe as in other seasons. The national grain reserves are enough, and the earlier bumper harvests can mostly make up for the upcoming losses."

"The good news is, once the problem is fixed, new crops won't be affected. Greenhouses have already started working overtime to plant. Not only will there be no shortage of grain, but vegetables will be in steady supply too."

"The effect is negligible."

"So don't worry about running out of food. You can stock up during this period, but there's no need to go overboard—just a moderate amount will do. Once this wave passes and people see that supermarkets and markets have plenty of stock, with a steady flow of fruits, vegetables, meat, and eggs, things will return to normal."

Sheng Qingquan realized Yu Jiaojiao must have been part of the research and had insider knowledge.

Grateful, she gave him a little heads-up while delivering the gifts, staying within confidentiality limits.

After all, when ordinary people see news of reduced yields once or twice, it's fine, but if it happens repeatedly, won't they start to panic? They would surely worry about future food shortages and start stockpiling.

"Is she worried I might go on a hoarding spree too?"

"That's true. Plenty of people still have enough salt at home to last a lifetime. This was caused by rumors back then that eating salt could protect against radiation, leading to skyrocketing salt prices across the country."

Sheng Qingquan quickly understood Yu Jiaojiao's good intentions and assured her he wouldn't act that way.

After saying her piece, Yu Jiaojiao left soon after. Since the gifts weren't expensive, Sheng Qingquan didn't push to give them back.

After all, they were neighbors, and it would be easy to pay her back in the future.

But more than that, Sheng Qingquan was worried about something else.

"Is what Yu Jiaojiao mentioned the same thing I'm worried about?"

"I hope I didn't get it wrong and we're not just talking past each other, each thinking the other means the same thing. Such misunderstandings are common in TV dramas."

Thinking this, Sheng Qingquan opened the novel and directly checked the balance.

"8888 Qiankun Coins!"

"All my previous Qiankun Coins were spent on books, and the balance had long been zero. So I can confirm that these 8888 coins are newly added."

"Based on my previous speculation, these 8888 Qiankun Coins should be the reward for successfully turning the tide and rewriting humanity's fate."

"The apocalypse crisis has been averted. The apocalypse won't come!"

"Great!"

Hearing this, the waiting staff also felt reassured. Even though the ancient tomb and the tomb robbers had been repeatedly checked and no issues were found, and the tomb robbers ended up in the hospital because they tried to sell the same artifact twice and got beaten up, everything was fine now.

It was just the media exaggerating, mentioning poisoning and curses.

Of course, he had it coming.

But amidst their joy, the staff still felt a lingering worry.

Now, with Sheng Qingquan's confirmation, they could finally breathe a sigh of relief. They could even sleep more soundly at night.

When Sheng Qingquan sat back down at his computer to draw, he no longer looked tense. He even felt like playing music, listening to songs as he worked.

In the following days, Sheng Qingquan paid special attention to external news.

Indeed, many platforms were discussing crop yield reductions.

"Mingfeng Province is a major vegetable-producing region in the country, supplying over half of the nation's green vegetables. White radishes, in particular, dominate 80% of the market. Out of every ten white radishes bought by residents, eight come from Mingfeng Province."

"The radishes are fresh and delicious. Whether stir-fried or stewed in soup, they're a treat. Now is the perfect time for spring planting, and the radishes have already sprouted. Under the farmers' careful care, they've been thriving."

"But now, the radish seedlings have taken a turn for the worse."

Sheng Qingquan glanced at the picture. The once lush radish seedlings were now sparse, their leaves—once upright—now wilted, thin, and yellow. Leaves like these clearly couldn't grow plump, white radishes.

The yield of this batch of radishes was expected to be low.

Fortunately, radishes can be planted year-round. Even if spring planting is preferred, if this January batch fails, they can wait until March or April to plant again.

It looks serious, but on closer thought, the impact isn't too severe.

Sheng Qingquan swiped past this news and saw another article about reduced yields.

This one was about satsuma oranges, which were expected to be at their peak harvest. Before workers could pick them, many oranges fell from the trees just days before harvest.

Since they didn't fall naturally, these oranges were unsellable and unsafe to eat.

"This means this year's Spring Festival might lack the sweet taste of oranges!" The writer's regret was palpable.

The photos showed not just fallen oranges but also leaves scattered on the ground.

"These orange trees are like me—losing hair way too young, shedding all over the place. It's heartbreaking!"

Sheng Qingquan read one comment and instinctively touched his own head, feeling a bit nervous.

Luckily, his hair was still holding up.

He clicked on a video showing the condition of winter wheat.

The growth wasn't looking good.

The farm owner in the video looked worried: "The growth was excellent before, the seedlings were very strong. I thought if we had good water and weather, this year's wheat might yield a super harvest."

"But then the situation took a sudden turn for the worse."

"There were no pests, and no lack of fertilizer. I even called in agricultural experts, who said this batch of wheat is beyond saving. The yield will definitely drop. Unless we pull them out and replant spring wheat in two months, or switch to another crop."

"We have insurance, and while the insurance and government subsidies will cover the losses, I might even make a small profit per acre, at least covering the seed costs for spring. But seeing the healthy seedlings turn like this, it's heartbreaking!" The farmer's distress was evident, even under his sun-tanned skin.

With so many reports like this, it felt like a famine was on the horizon. Many people panicked, rushing to stockpile rice, flour, oil, and filling their fridges with vegetables and fruits.

Even the sales of refrigerators went up a bit. Many people found their fridges too small to hold everything and specifically bought new ones to continue hoarding.

Fortunately, the authorities quickly calmed down the public. They clearly stated that the grain reserves were sufficient and that the issue was temporary, caused by weird magnetic field stuff. Now that the magnetic field has returned to normal, newly planted crops will not be affected, and various regions have already begun quickly replanting and rushing to grow more.

Moreover, unlike crops with short growth cycles, such as fruit trees, trimming some branches and leaves and giving them some extra care and fertilizer can help them recover in two to three months.

So even though the greenery on the streets didn't look very lively, after a small round of hoarding, many people came to their senses.

The remaining die-hard hoarders, no longer driven by panic, continued to stock up a bit more. Seeing that supermarkets and markets had plenty of stuff, they finally quit hoarding.

Even though some vegetables were hard to find, fast-growing ones like bean sprouts were abundant, and soon, the supply of most vegetables returned to normal. Prices didn't rise either, so these people also gradually stopped hoarding.

Everything went back to normal.

By the time spring planting was done, summer fruits like strawberries were harvested, and staple crops like rice and wheat grew well, no one wanted to stockpile anymore.

Some who had over-hoarded, seeing the large amounts of fruits and vegetables they had to throw away daily, and the piles of rice, flour, and oil in their rooms, started to regret it big time. These items had expiration dates, and the quantities they had bought were way too much to use up.

They could only hand them out for free to relatives and friends.

No matter how much these people felt bad about it, it had nothing to do with Sheng Qingquan.

The past few months had been uneventful, even allowing for a peaceful New Year, which made Sheng Qingquan feel somewhat disoriented and get a little too comfortable.

"Has the world finally calmed down?"

"Is the end of the world over?!"

Just as he thought this, a few days later, while enjoying the air conditioning, eating chilled watermelon, and happily playing games on his computer, a book suddenly appeared out of nowhere in front of him.

"What's this in my way? Ah, I died."

"It's a novel. Just when things had calmed down, why is this appearing again?"

The prophecy book is acting up again?!

In the next room, the staff who had been doing their own thing all put down their tasks.

Everyone's expression got serious as they looked towards Sheng Qingquan's location.

On high alert.

In the study. The game character's health bar completely depleted, Sheng Qingquan let go of the mouse, leaned back in his chair, and rested against the backrest.

He wasn't particularly upset about the game character's death; what bugged him was the book that had appeared on its own.

The semi-transparent book wasn't really in his way. But just the thought of what the book signified made Sheng Qingquan not want to open it.

As if sensing Sheng Qingquan's reluctance.

The book shook, and something fell out of it.

"What's this? A leaf?"

Sheng Qingquan reached out to take it. As soon as the leaf touched his hand, it disappeared into his skin, merging and vanishing.

Sheng Qingquan immediately understood its purpose.

"Is this a bookmark?"

"Or perhaps it's novel-themed merchandise. This leaf bookmark is from the vine in the previous apocalyptic novel. The book gave it to me, the reader, as a piece of merchandise?"

"The leaf has been treated, so it's safe. Once it recognizes me as its master, I can control plants with this leaf?"

"Every time an apocalypse in a novel is averted or resolved, I can receive merchandise gifts?"

"But some gifts are useful, some are not. It's all up to my luck?"

"I'm not picky about this; just having it is good enough. Besides, in this world, there are only people who don't know how to use things, not things that are useless."

"So the golden finger has been inactive all this time, preparing for this?"

"Are you alive or not?" Looking at the floating book, Sheng Qingquan couldn't help but ask.

"If you say it's dead, it still moves and prepares merchandise gifts. If you say it's alive, it usually seems no different from being dead."

In response to Sheng Qingquan's question, the novel remained silent.

But it gave Sheng Qingquan another surprise.

"Can I now directly talk about the novel's plot? I won't be silenced?"

"It should have been this way long ago!"

Upon hearing Sheng Qingquan's thoughts, the staff's first reaction was that the silencing no longer worked on him, but what about them?

A staff member quickly pulled out his phone, tapped on Sheng Qingquan's avatar in the chat app, pressed the voice button, and was ready to tell him the news via voice message.

But the moment he opened his mouth, he found himself unable to speak.

Not a single word came out, his mouth opening and closing uselessly, like a ridiculous big frog.

He stopped trying to speak, wanting to type instead, but couldn't.

But once he gave up on telling Sheng Qingquan about these things and just talked to his colleagues around him, everything went back to normal.

Clearly, the restrictions on them were still in place, and they still couldn't tell Sheng Qingquan.

"Looks like you've been busy upgrading these past few months?"

Not getting an answer, Sheng Qingquan didn't mind; the restrictions were lifted, and he got something good, which was enough to make him happy.

But soon, Sheng Qingquan found that his joy turned into sorrow.

Urged silently by the book, and thinking that he had at least gained some benefits, Sheng Qingquan opened the novel, but after just two pages, he couldn't help but close it.

As if by doing so, he could pretend he hadn't seen anything.

"I wondered why I suddenly got so many benefits!"

"Turns out it wasn't about upgrading, but because there were no new apocalypses during this time, it was preparing something big for me!"