Chapter 77

The next morning, after having breakfast, Wang Yong went to the front desk to check out and left the hotel with empty hands. At the entrance, he hailed a taxi and went to the bus station, where he bought a ticket to Xishuangbanna.

Less than half an hour later, Wang Yong boarded the express bus to Xishuangbanna. After more than eight hours on the road, he finally arrived at the beautiful Xishuangbanna. Enthusiastically, he followed the crowd off the bus and stood on the land of beautiful Xishuangbanna.

Xishuangbanna, known in ancient Thai as "Mengla," means an ideal and magical land. It is famous for its beautiful tropical rainforest landscapes and the ethnic minority cultures, a shining pearl embedded in the southern border of the country.

On this beautiful and fertile land, there are one-quarter of the nation's animal species and one-sixth of the plant species, truly making it the "Kingdom of Animals" and "Kingdom of Plants." It has also become a popular tourist city in China, attracting visitors from all over the world. The unique Water Splashing Festival, held in mid-April each year, draws countless domestic and international tourists, including the beloved Premier Zhou Enlai.

Upon arriving in Xishuangbanna, Wang Yong directly hailed a car and went to the Primitive Forest Park. Without looking at the various artificial or semi-natural landscapes in the park, he directly entered the primitive forest. After walking for about an hour, he had probably penetrated about 30 kilometers into the forest.

Wang Yong stopped and had Xiaoguang scan for any cameras or infrared alarms. Following Xiaoguang's guidance, he walked for another hour or so before truly entering the primitive forest, where almost all artificial things had disappeared. Unlike the entrance, which had stone paths and various surveillance devices, and where tourists and park staff were often seen, everything here had vanished. All that remained were deep canyons, birds singing in the mountains, lush forests, and clear rivers, making one truly feel the mystery and beauty of nature.

Wang Yong expanded his divine sense to cover an area of about 200 meters around him and continued forward. Along the way, he encountered many species he had never seen before, and he selected some to bring into the small world. This caused the small world to expand almost continuously, but only in the area he called the tropical zone. This left Wang Yong, as the owner of the small world, feeling quite helpless. Although he had become the owner of the small world by chance, he still felt he knew too little about this mysterious place.

Wang Yong, who was very interested in bamboo, collected every type of bamboo he saw and brought it into the small world. Unconsciously, a large bamboo forest had formed in the small world. With the growth rate of bamboo and the magic of the small world, it wouldn't be long before a vast bamboo sea appeared in the small world, providing Wang Yong with an endless supply of bamboo shoots and bamboo fungus.

Wang Yong collected six seedlings of the towering sky tree, which can grow up to 80 meters tall. This is a rare species, with very few in the world. When these trees grow up, the scene will be spectacular!

Wang Yong also collected an unknown number of the miracle tree, known as the "cluster flower," as there were many artificially planted ones, and taking them wouldn't be noticeable. So, almost every small tree he encountered along the way was transplanted into the small world.

Still, Wang Yong was afraid it wasn't enough, so he collected many seeds and scattered them in the small world. With the magic of the small world, these seeds would have an astonishing survival rate. With their miraculous growth speed, he could make a fortune by selling the timber in the future.

In the primitive forest, Wang Yong discovered many strange plants. For example, a plant that looked like a thick vine actually strangled the tree it was attached to. Wang Yong saw a tree that had already withered and some parts of the trunk had rotted. Later, he saw another tree that had been completely rotted away, leaving only a straight, hollow space in the middle of the thick, upright vines, indicating that a tall, lush tree had once grown there.

Seeing this strange plant, Wang Yong's curiosity grew. Xiaoguang informed him that this plant is called a strangler plant. It restricts the growth of the host plant by wrapping around it, robbing it of nutrients and water from the soil, and competing for sunlight with its branches and leaves, ultimately winning the battle for survival.

There was a plant called the hibiscus, which can change its color three times a day: white in the morning, light pink at noon, and dark red in the evening. There was also the dancing grass, which dances in the wind, the banyan tree that forms a forest from a single tree, the clock flower that blooms at specific times, and the massive buttress roots, among others.

Under Xiaoguang's guidance, Wang Yong also discovered the highly toxic tree sap of the "blood-sealing tree," the red bean tree, the green bamboo, the tea tree, the bodhi tree, the tree fern, and plants with enormous leaves, all of which left him amazed. Wang Yong couldn't help but marvel at the place being called the "Kingdom of Plants."

With so many tropical plants, the animals living here couldn't be left out. He collected various common and rare animals, big and small, as long as he saw them. Of course, not too many, just enough to ensure they could reproduce and thrive in the small world. The largest of these was the Asian elephant.

On his journey, Wang Yong encountered three herds of Asian elephants. He let the largest herd go and brought the two smaller herds into the small world. One herd consisted of a male, a female, and a calf, while the other had three females, a large male, and two calves. To provide enough food for these large eaters, Wang Yong had to bring in more plants, especially the fruit trees they liked.

Besides the elephants, there was another creature that caught Wang Yong's interest: the slow loris, a monkey that spends most of its life sleeping in trees. The slow loris, also known as the pygmy slow loris, is rare and endangered. It is small and moves slowly, making it a lower-order primate. It is about 32-35 centimeters long. The slow loris lives in tropical and subtropical rainforests, completely in trees, and rarely comes down to the ground. It prefers to live alone and moves very slowly, only speeding up when attacked, hence the name "slow loris."

They feed on plant fruits, small birds, insects, and bird eggs. These lazy little monkeys have large, cute eyes, making them very adorable. Wang Yong thought Yuan Yuan, Wang Qian, and Wang Han would definitely like them, but he wasn't sure how to legally and reasonably introduce them, as they are a first-class protected species in the country. However, Wang Yong had no qualms about bringing them into the small world.

After all, being a first-class protected species means they are extremely rare. Bringing them into the small world would be much better for their survival and reproduction than living outside. He could always release some back into the wild once their population had grown.

Walking and stopping along the way, by the time it was dark, Wang Yong had reached a small river. Despite the risk, he decided to camp there to collect more animals quickly. Generally, rivers are gathering places for various animals, and one might encounter large, fierce beasts, especially at night. However, Wang Yong was confident he wouldn't be harmed. Since he had the small world, animals felt a strange sense of familiarity with him, and this had been proven when he collected the elephants and slow lorises.

He set up a tent from the small world, which took about half an hour. After setting up the tent, he took out a set of cooking utensils, including a gas stove, pots, pans, and condiments. Having a small world that could serve as a warehouse was very convenient.

He had plenty of vegetables and meat. He had already sold a lot of ham, sausages, and cured meat. Besides, there were countless fish in the small world, and catching one would be enough for a meal. He decided to stew a grass carp, stir-fry some eggplant, and cook some garlic sprouts with sausages, and make a few golden eggs. He didn't need any staple food.

He took out a few cans of beer and started his first dinner in the primitive forest.

Apart from the cured meat, everything else came from the small world. With the cooking skills he had learned from Old Gao, the food tasted excellent, and the aroma wafted through the evening breeze. Wang Yong sat by the river, sipping beer and eating, enjoying his meal immensely.

As night fell, the darkness enveloped the land like a prehistoric beast. The dense foliage of the giant trees blocked the stars, making the forest even darker. The wind rustled the leaves, sending shivers down one's spine. The occasional animal calls in the vast, silent forest were particularly terrifying.

After finishing his somewhat luxurious dinner in the forest, Wang Yong put all the utensils back into the small world and buried the garbage with river mud. He then entered the tent, took out his phone, and started reading a novel.

However, a sense of loneliness and fear crept into his heart, and he couldn't shake it off. Helplessly, he called Yuan Yuan. But he forgot he was in the primitive forest, where there would be no signal. He put down the phone, feeling frustrated, and wondered what to do. Suddenly, he remembered Xiaoguang, the super-computer. No signal? No problem. He was sure Xiaoguang could handle it.

Sure enough, Xiaoguang, a product of alien technology, didn't disappoint. Wang Yong didn't care how Xiaoguang did it, but within half a minute, he had connected the call to Yuan Yuan. (To be continued.)