Chapter 326

Chapter 326

The Overgrown Fragments

The entire mountain research institute and its protective measures were established for Lin Nannan and those mysterious fragments, so no one interfered when she entered the mountain.

After entering, she began searching from the initial spot. Along the way, she encountered Ma Amin, who greeted her warmly and promised to show off his cooking, insisting she try his dishes.

Lin Nannan had always missed his cooking while away, so she didn’t hesitate to accept. She even included Lu Hang.

Lu Hang was looking into the origins of the wristwatch and couldn’t join immediately, but once he finished, knowing she was in the mountains, he would surely come.

"Just one more person to feed," Ma Amin agreed without hesitation.

While Lin Nannan’s presence wasn’t unusual, her odd behavior drew many curious gazes.

"Stop staring—mind your own work!" she explained, finally shooing them away.

Her odd actions baffled not just onlookers but even Yin Xu, who showed up personally after hearing about it.

"What’s going on?" he asked.

Unable to explain, Lin Nannan made up an excuse: "I think if fragments appeared here, there must be more. Maybe finding them will help us analyze and utilize these pieces."

Had that one fragment not vanished, she could have demonstrated, but now, with nothing to show, she had to resort to this weak excuse, hoping to convince Yin Xu.

Yin Xu paused, surprised he bought it, then pondered for a moment. "Might as well try. But without a clear target, how do we search?"

Stunned that he believed her, Lin Nannan hesitated briefly before finding her voice again.

"I’ve brought it up before, but they might not recognize the unique aspects. So, we should try ourselves—there might be discoveries!"

Yin Xu adapted quickly. Since their research often didn’t match what they’d seen, he joined the search.

They split up, agreeing to consult each other when uncertain—far better than working alone.

Lin Nannan supported his suggestion and started working in earnest...

After tracing the watch’s origins, Lu Hang hurried back. Learning his wife was in the mountains, he headed up immediately.

By the time he arrived, he got a meal in, while Lin Nannan still hadn’t found anything.

"Did you get to the bottom of it?" she asked Lu Hang.

Taking a sip of water, Lu Hang nodded. "Yes. It was sent by the parents of the child you saved. After losing several family members, that child was their last surviving child. They were so grateful, hence the watch."

Lin Nannan asked curiously, "So, is it okay to accept?"

"Of course. The source is clear—no reason to refuse!" he assured her.

Thrilled, Lin Nannan said, "Then I’ll wear it once we’re back!"

Seeing her joy, Lu Hang said with regret. "I never thought to buy you a watch..."

"Don’t worry about it! Now I have one. We should save our own money!" she replied cheerfully.

Lu Hang didn’t respond, but he thought to himself how much he hadn’t given her—especially during their wedding, when he gave her nothing, while she had brought a hundred yuan from the Lin family, all spent during their trip to the southern city.

Yin Xu couldn't resist teasing the couple, who had just returned yesterday and had only been apart for the morning, as they chatted endlessly, "You two, will you ever stop? Get moving already."

"What work? Can I help?" Lu Hang asked.

Lin Nannan shook her head and said, "I don't think we've found all there is here; there must be something else, so I want to look around..."

"Didn't we already search before?" he asked, puzzled.

This question made Lin Nannan organize her thoughts before finding a suitable explanation. "Think of it like a gun - what's outside isn't the same as what's inside. The fragments we found are like the outer shell. We don’t know what the internal structure is, so before, they only found those fragments. Yin Xu and I wanted to search ourselves to see if we could find something different."

Lu Hang understood her meaning and immediately threw up his hands, "Yeah, no way I can help with that!"

"Then go with them. Stick around for dinner first!"

Knowing she was craving Ma Amin's cooking, he recalled her muttering on the train about wanting to eat barbecue, especially with Ma Amin’s special seasoning. He then suggested, "How 'bout I bag us some fresh meat? We can have barbecue!?"

How could Lin Nannan refuse such a great idea? Her head bobbed like a dashboard toy, leaving Yin Xu torn between laughter and frustration.

After Lu Hang left, Yin Xu teased, "Someone might get the wrong idea and think Lu Hang starves you."

"Not appreciating good food is truly sad!" Ever-loyal Lin Nannan shot back, cutting off any comeback before turning and walking away. Yin Xu was left speechless, raising his hand to point at her retreating figure.

"Totally spoiled rotten!" he muttered before getting back to work.

Lin Nannan searched meticulously, making slow progress until she spotted a grassy rock on a mound outside the tent. Sensing the weird energy coming off it, she paused and didn’t act immediately.

She had just made up an excuse to fool Yin Xu, but now, this thing was actually growing grass.

Perhaps due to its unique material, the grass grew unusually well.

Taking a deep breath, she crouched down, cleared the grass, and dug out the fragment disguised as a rock.

Yin Xu, having found nothing after searching for a while, thought about discussing with Lin Nannan whether to search deeper inside. Seeing her crouching there, he approached and asked, "Find something?"

Not intending to hide it—since it was meant to be repurposed into a cutting machine—she straightforwardly replied, "Check this out. Could this be it?"

The fragment seemed unremarkable at first glance, especially with the grass on it, making it easy to overlook.

When Yin Xu saw it, he instinctively said, "This is just a rock, right?"

"Touch it," Lin Nannan said, looking up at him.

Trusting Lin Nannan’s abilities, Yin Xu crouched down and reached out to touch it, immediately sensing something off.

Didn't feel like any stone—it was cold and metallic, nothing like regular rock.

"Is this really it?" he asked, looking at Lin Nannan.

"That's news to me too," she replied.

Hearing this, Yin Xu didn't waste a second. He pulled off the weeds and began clearing away the dirt and small stones. Soon, a pitted something that only looked like a rock but wasn’t—no, a fragment, or rather, a chunk—lay before them.

This chunk wasn’t very large, but it was bigger than any fragment Lin Nannan had found before.

Riding this small victory, Yin Xu couldn’t wait. He was itching to haul it back first, and Lin Nannan agreed.

Having Yin Xu hovering cramped her style, unable to do many things. Now that he wanted to leave, she jumped at the chance.

Soon, they hauled off the chunk, and Lin Nannan was free to hunt for more fragments and chunks in peace.

She had no intention of taking these fragments away, thinking she could simply collect them when no one was around.

Where there was one, there would be another. Not long after Yin Xu left, Lin Nannan found another piece. She immediately pricked her finger and fused with the fragment, instantly sensing the change in her mental energy. She was so thrilled she couldn’t stop grinning.

It really worked!

For her, this was the best news she could’ve hoped for.

She had thought she might never recover.

As long as she found those fragments, she could gradually restore her mental energy. Even if she couldn’t return to her peak, it would still be better than now.

Having this power meant better protection—it was like a second life. How could she not be over the moon?

However, after finding two pieces, she couldn’t locate any more.

When night fell, Lin Nannan had to call it quits.

When she returned, lured by the smell of food, she saw Lu Hang getting cooking tips from Ma Amin. The rabbit and fish roasting over the fire instantly grabbed her attention...

"Hungry?" Sensing her gaze fixed on the grilled fish, Lu Hang walked over with a smile. "Since we were staying up here for dinner, Dad had Lu Ming bring some fish—said he just pulled them from the river. I grilled them using Chef Ma’s seasoning!"

"That’s gotta be good!" Her eyes sparkled.

"If it’s good, dig in! What’re you waiting for?" Ma Amin chuckled upon hearing her words.

As Lin Nannan approached, Yin Xu hurried over as well.

The moment he saw her, he exclaimed excitedly, "Lin Nannan, the thing you found is just like those fragments! Nothing we’ve got can even scratch it..."

Lin Nannan kept her cool but played dumb. "Really? You’ve already tested it?"

Yin Xu nodded. "I tried as soon as I got back. It looks different from the fragments we found before, but the material is just as unbreakable..."

This one was just as baffling as the others—huge for research, but we can’t crack it.

Hearing his frustration, Lin Nannan smiled and said, "It’s just the beginning. Who knows? Maybe one day, we’ll suddenly figure it out. Isn’t that what research’s all about?"

Her words lifted his spirits a little, and at everyone’s urging, he temporarily set aside his concerns and dug in with everyone...

"Who knows what else is buried in these hills..." Holding his grilled fish, Yin Xu gazed at the sprawling mountain range and sighed.

Lin Nannan’s heart stirred, and she asked thoughtfully, "Where were the other fragments found? Wasn’t it around here?"

Yin Xu swallowed a bite of fish and replied, "A ways off. We had no clue there were other kinds of fragments before, so we’ll have to start searching this area all over again."

Lin Nannan had already prepared herself for this. She knew Yin Xu, the research nut, wouldn’t let it go—but she wasn’t worried. She had the upper hand, after all.

Joining the search for fragments, Lin Nannan became the busiest person in the household, out at dawn and back after dark every day.