Chapter 16

To be honest, sometimes Zhang Tie also felt that he was a bit neurotic. Just like at this moment, even though there was no one at home, before entering the Black Iron Castle, Zhang Tie carefully checked the small house, closed the windows and the stairwell tightly, making sure they were airtight. Only then did Zhang Tie prepare to re-enter the Black Iron Castle. After all, this experience was too special, and Zhang Tie was not sure whether there would be any strange sound or light effects each time he entered the Black Iron Castle. Besides the shock and surprise, the Black Iron Castle also brought Zhang Tie the pressure of carrying this secret. Therefore, being careful was always a good thing.

After checking, Zhang Tie always felt that he had forgotten something. He thought for a moment, patted his head, and muttered to himself, "How could I forget such an important thing!" After saying that, Zhang Tie put down the ladder to the attic, went downstairs, and came to the courtyard near the kitchen. On one side of the courtyard wall, there were two strings of dried corn cobs hanging. Zhang Tie took one of the corn cobs down, thought for a moment, and then went to a corner of the kitchen, where he found two slightly sprouted potatoes in a bag. Only then did he go back upstairs to the small house in the attic, and to the adjacent storage room. Zhang Tie found the two pieces of pyrite he had left aside, a piece of scrap rebar over a meter long, and finally a dagger given to him by his brother from a drawer by the bed. After putting these things on or hanging them on his body, Zhang Tie stood in the room, closed his eyes, and began to sense the archway in his mind.

Perhaps because he had used it twice already, the process of sensing the door this time was faster. Almost as soon as Zhang Tie closed his eyes and slowed his breathing, in less than twenty seconds, the door in his mind appeared clearly before his eyes.

"Enter!" Zhang Tie said in his mind. Then, he felt the light around him flicker slightly. When Zhang Tie opened his eyes, he was already standing in that strange space.

— Welcome, noble and handsome lord, to the Black Iron Castle!

The familiar system dialog box appeared before Zhang Tie's eyes and disappeared a few seconds later.

"Noble and handsome lord" and "welcome," these two words were used so well! Zhang Tie thought to himself with a sense of pride, and then hurriedly checked the "equipment" on his body.

The rebar in his right hand was still there, the dagger in his waist was still there, the potato and corn cob in his left hand were still there, and the two pieces of pyrite in his clothes pocket were still there. At this moment, if someone saw Zhang Tie's strange appearance, they would surely think he was sick, but who would have thought that Zhang Tie was already overjoyed.

Zhang Tie really jumped up from the ground, excitedly shouting twice, "Great, really, you can bring things from the outside world in here." Even if he hadn't discovered any other functions of the Black Iron Castle yet, just this function alone was enough to make Zhang Tie excited for a long time. Being able to bring things in meant that from now on, Zhang Tie would have a secret portable storage that no one could discover. Just this function alone, although he wasn't sure how to use it now, would definitely have significant uses in the future.

"Got it, got it..." Zhang Tie excitedly turned around several times before gradually calming down and organizing his thoughts. Since the first function of the Black Iron Castle had been confirmed, the next step was to experiment with its other functions. Thinking of this, Zhang Tie put down the rebar and potato, took out the two pieces of pyrite, and threw them on the ground. Finally, he took out the dagger from his body. After taking these things out, Zhang Tie squatted down, holding the dried corn cob with both hands, and began to pick the corn kernels off the cob one by one. There were about two hundred kernels on the corn cob, and after picking them off, they filled about half of his pants pocket. After picking the corn, he threw the bare corn cob away, stood up with the rebar, and looked around.

The space before him was exactly the same as when he came yesterday. The rolling rainbow mist above, the strange little tree in the center of the space, and the black mud pond, everything was unchanged.

After wandering around this vast land, Zhang Tie finally chose a spot and then forcefully inserted the sharp end of the rebar into the soil at his feet.

With a "pu" sound, about 20 centimeters of the rebar's front end was completely buried in the soil.

"Oh, this seems a bit deep. I remember the teacher said 10 centimeters would be enough," Zhang Tie scratched his head, a bit embarrassed, and pulled the rebar out of the soil. From the texture of the soil, the humidity of the soil below was still good, which made Zhang Tie more confident.

He inserted the rebar again, and with a "pu" sound, this time it went about 10 centimeters into the soil, half the depth of the previous time. "That's enough," Zhang Tie said to himself, and then pulled the rebar out again. A shallow hole appeared in the soil at his feet. He took a dried corn kernel from his pants pocket, placed it in the hole, and then covered the hole with soil. This was the simplest way to plant corn, and Zhang Tie was filled with joy. After the first successful planting, the rest was easier. Zhang Tie followed the same method: a poke with the rebar, a small hole, a corn kernel, and then covering the hole with soil. Each hole was about 50 centimeters apart.

"pu" sound, a seed, planted...

"pu" sound, a seed, planted...

"pu" sound, a seed, planted...

"pu" sound, a seed, planted...

In just over ten minutes, Zhang Tie had planted all the corn seeds in his pants pocket, forming about seven rows on a small piece of land. After planting the corn, Zhang Tie continued, running back to where he had left the pile of things, took out the dagger, and cut the two sprouted potatoes into five or six pieces each. Then he returned to where he had planted the corn, and using the dagger, he dug a hole next to the corn field, placed a piece of potato in the hole, and repeated this process, planting the potato pieces in a row. After completing this, Zhang Tie patted the dust off his hands, stood up, and smiled foolishly. He then stuck the rebar into the ground next to his "cultivated" corn field and potato field as a marker.

On the left of the rebar was the corn, and on the right was the potato. Whether they would grow or not was up to fate.

After completing the second task of entering the Black Iron Castle today, Zhang Tie felt much better. He organized the things he had brought and walked towards the black mud pond, which was constantly bubbling. Zhang Tie had already figured out that nothing in this space would be without a purpose, and the black mud pond must have its own function.

This time, he approached the black mud pond much closer than when he first explored it. Zhang Tie walked right up to the edge of the black mud pond and stopped just within reach. Of course, Zhang Tie wasn't foolish and didn't reach in directly. This place gave him a sense of extreme danger, and he knew that if he reached in, the consequences would likely be disastrous.

He walked around the edge of the strange black mud pond twice but still couldn't figure out its purpose. Finally, Zhang Tie's eyes lit up, and he thought of a method. He ran to where he had left the two pieces of pyrite, picked them up, and ran back. About ten meters away from the black mud pond, he threw one piece of pyrite into it. As the pyrite sank into the black mud pond, Zhang Tie quickly opened the Black Iron Castle's management panel, clicked on the "Basic Attributes" in the menu bar, and checked it.

— Black Iron Castle

— Length: 1 Krosa

— Width: 1 Krosa

— Spirit Energy Value: 0

— Merit Value: 1

— Basic Energy Reserve: 0

— Special Output: None

Merit Value 1? Strange, where did the merit value come from? Zhang Tie was a bit puzzled, but before he could react, he saw the "0" behind "Basic Energy Reserve" suddenly jump to "0.1." When the number changed from "0" to "0.1," the font color of the "Basic Energy Reserve" item became more vivid, changing from a light black to a raised blue.

— Basic Energy Reserve: 0.1 (blue)

This raised item box reminded Zhang Tie of the "Confirm" buttons in the system. So, with a try-it-out attitude, Zhang Tie pressed the "Basic Energy Reserve" item box, and a semi-transparent log viewing window appeared before his eyes. The log dialog box had two contents, with the first content placed at the top center of the log box, and the second content below it.

— Everything in the universe is a manifestation of energy. Matter is solidified low-frequency energy, and space is sublimated high-frequency energy. Therefore, all matter and space can be reduced to the original energy.

— On May 13, 889 Black Iron Year, at 20:38, a piece of pyrite was transformed by the Chaos Pool, and the Black Iron Castle gained 0.1 units of basic energy reserve!

So, the strange black pond is called the Chaos Pool, and it seems to have some use. It can convert things thrown into it into the most basic energy. Isn't this similar to the garbage incineration plant in Black Flame City, which burns garbage to provide heat for the residents of Black Iron City? The Chaos Pool is the same, just a bit more powerful! Solving this mystery, Zhang Tie felt even more satisfied, knowing the function of the strange black mud pond. As for the first content in the log, Zhang Tie vaguely felt that the words were important, but they were beyond his understanding, so he ignored them after reading them once.

What energy, what matter, what space, why say so much nonsense? Zhang Tie felt a bit angry, thinking, "Isn't it just a broken pool, a garbage processing plant? Why make it so complicated? What's wrong with you?"

After closing the log window, Zhang Tie clicked on the "Merit Value." The last time he came, Zhang Tie clearly remembered that the "Merit Value" was 0, but today it had become 1, and the font color and status of the "Merit Value" were clearly the same as the "Basic Energy Reserve," indicating that it could be clicked to view. So, Zhang Tie clicked on it without hesitation.

Like the previous one, the pop-up dialog box had two contents.

— Eliminating evil and promoting good is the greatest kindness bestowed by the Creator on humanity; revering heaven and loving people is the closest ladder for the mundane to reach heaven. Blessed one, on your journey to return to heaven, please manifest the Creator's kindness in the world, so that all the gods in the sky can understand your heart. Please harvest the most sincere joy and gratitude of the countless living beings, and end the evil souls and boundless darkness, making yourself a light. You will find that when you become light, you will walk on light, and a glorious and splendid road will unfold at your feet.

The first content in the log had a huge impact on Zhang Tie. As he read, he didn't know why, but his eyes became inexplicably moist. Reading the second content, Zhang Tie's tears finally couldn't be held back.

— On the evening of May 13, 889 Black Iron Year, the noble and handsome lord had a family dinner with his family. After the meal, he took the initiative to wash the dishes and clean the kitchen, keeping the house clean and making his parents feel happy and relieved, gaining 1 merit value.

So, it turns out that it doesn't take anything earth-shattering; just doing such simple things can make his parents very happy!

The problem of spirit energy value was still unsolved, but today's gains were beyond imagination. With a somewhat complex feeling, Zhang Tie left the Black Iron Castle and instantly returned to his room in the attic. He stood there for a while, then rushed out of the room like a madman...

Two hours later, when Zhang Tie's father and mother returned home and opened the door, the entire house, from the floor to the walls to the furniture, had been thoroughly cleaned. Even some less noticeable areas where clutter was usually stored were neatly organized. Zhang Tie's parents stood at the door, unable to react for a long time.

"Has the house changed so much? We were only gone for two hours. Did we walk into the wrong house?" Zhang Tie's father said, a bit puzzled.

Zhang Tie's mother also couldn't speak, suspecting that her eyes were playing tricks on her. At that moment, Zhang Tie, carrying a bucket of water and a mop, came down the stairs, and the couple immediately understood.

"Son, did you do all this?" Father looked at Zhang Tie as if he were an alien.

"Yes!" Zhang Tie smiled, wiping the sweat from his forehead.

"Son, did you get some kind of shock? Don't scare your mother!" Mother reached out to touch Zhang Tie's head, as he usually helped with some household chores but had never been so proactive and diligent.

Hearing his mother's words, Zhang Tie felt both moved and ashamed. "Dad, Mom, I'm fine. I was just bored tonight and wanted to give you a surprise. How about it, are you happy?"

A surprise from the son? Zhang Tie's father and mother looked at each other, relieved, and both smiled, nodding in unison, "Happy!"

Zhang Tie also smiled, feeling incredibly satisfied...

When it was time to sleep, Zhang Tie, alone in his small room, entered the Black Iron Castle again, threw the remaining piece of pyrite into the Chaos Pool, and eliminated the last evidence of the Black Iron Castle in the world. Then, he opened the basic attribute panel of the Black Iron Castle.

— Black Iron Castle

— Length: 1 Krosa

— Width: 1 Krosa

— Spirit Energy Value: 0

— Merit Value: 2

— Basic Energy Reserve: 0.2

— Special Output: None

As expected, the basic energy reserve increased by "0.1" again. When he clicked on the merit value log, a new log entry appeared.

— On the evening of May 13, 889 Black Iron Year, the noble and handsome lord took the initiative to clean the house again, keeping it clean and tidy, making his parents feel happy and relieved, gaining 1 merit value.

With a satisfied smile, Zhang Tie fell into a deep sleep on the bed...

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