Chapter 601: A Different Device

“Have you finished dealing with the Black Calamity on the Hua Sheng Islands?”

“No,” Xi replied, somewhat dejected. “After the Ever-Thirsty One vanished, we lost our observer, so the Black Calamities on some of the islands transformed into something else. We still need to spend time figuring out their new traits, which will take a good deal of time.”

“But we’ve more or less handled the Black Calamity on the Central Island,” Xi said, pointing to the black disc in the sky and the black rabbit Mo Ling was chasing in the distance.

Li Luo looked at the rabbit, a little curious.

“What did you turn that rabbit into?”

At this question, Xi answered, a little embarrassed, “Senior was the one who had me do it. Please don’t tell the other healers… He had me make a rabbit that picks up trash. If it can’t find any, it just starts digging everywhere.”

“Picking up trash? Why? What’s the use of that?” Li Luo asked in confusion.

“I don’t know either.” Xi shrugged.

Unbeknownst to them, Mo Ling was currently standing inside the Block, gazing thoughtfully at the messy space.

‘One rabbit is probably enough for now. If the space gets any bigger, will I need to add a few more?’

By the bed not far off, several empty soda cans were scattered on the ground.

In a corner piled with junk, some useless wrappers were mixed in.

And next to the “green plant,” some snack crumbs were scattered.

It wouldn’t take Mo Ling long to clean up this trash himself. With just a thought, all of it would be automatically teleported out of the Block.

But with so much miscellaneous trash, Mo Ling couldn’t get around to cleaning it all up in time.

This was a situation that called for a “robot vacuum.”

And so, the black rabbit was born to meet the need. When Xi asked Mo Ling what the rabbit was for, Mo Ling only replied that it had a “great purpose.” He would never admit that he was just too lazy to clean.

If it weren’t for the fact that multiple rabbits would fight each other over the trash, Mo Ling would have wanted another ten or so of them.

The rabbit was the only thing Mo Ling had ever seen that could move around inside the Block. Watching it scurry about looking for trash also brought a measure of comfort to Mo Ling, who was perpetually trapped inside.

Recalling the rabbit from outside, Mo Ling piloted the Block back to Li Luo’s side.

It was only then that he discovered Li Luo had long since woken up and was about to head to the beacon.

Li Luo walked over to the beacon, checked the signal on its control panel, then pulled out an electronic screen, analyzed it for a moment, and said to Xi, who was standing nearby, “The signal’s back to normal.”

“Back to normal? Does that mean the crisis on the Hua Sheng Islands is completely resolved?”

Xi asked happily at first, but his tone slowly turned to dejection. “Does that mean… you and Senior are leaving?”

“Yes.” Li Luo nodded.

Xi’s shoulders slumped, and his hand gently caressed the beacon.

“I was hoping you wouldn’t be leaving so soon.”

“Now that the crisis is resolved, it’s time for us to leave,” Li Luo said seriously.

“Where are you going?” Xi asked curiously.

“Back to the Pipe Fortress. If my synchronization rate meets the standard, I’ll head down to the Fifth Level…”

“The Fifth Level… that’s so far away.” To Xi, who had never left the Hua Sheng Islands, other Sky Islands were already a distant reality, to say nothing of another level of the Abyss.

“If I get the chance, I’ll go out and see the world too,” Xi said with a hint of yearning. These healers, “trapped” on the Hua Sheng Islands, also secretly longed for adventure.

“When I become an Elder, I’ll lift the travel restrictions for all healers!” Xi said, clenching his fists resolutely.

“Then I’ll be waiting for you to become one.” A voice suddenly spoke from behind Xi. He turned around to find that Elder Ladi had appeared behind him at some unknown time.

“Elder, I was just talking nonsense…” Xi explained awkwardly, wringing his hands.

But Elder Ladi didn’t reprimand him. Instead, he walked over, gently patted his shoulder, and whispered:

“See that you do.”

Xi froze, scarcely able to believe what Elder Ladi had just told him.

Ladi didn’t linger. He walked past Xi and came to stand before Li Luo.

“I am very grateful for your help, human… Please deliver this letter to the administrator of the Pipe Fortress for me.”

Ladi extended his hand, and with a flash of white light, he materialized a human-style letter.

Li Luo didn’t take it right away. He asked curiously, “What is this letter about?”

Ladi was forthcoming. “It’s about a collaboration between healers and humans,” he explained.

This answer gave Li Luo pause.

“If you don’t believe me, you can open it and see for yourself. There’s nothing classified inside, just some suggestions for collaboration. The specific details will require further discussion, and now that the Hua Sheng Islands’ signal is back to normal, communication will be much smoother.”

Ladi gently held the letter out to Li Luo. Li Luo accepted it carefully and placed it in his bag.

“How can I prove to the Pipe Fortress administrator that this letter is from the healers?”

“You won’t need to. The signal was restored after you arrived on the Hua Sheng Islands; that itself is a credit to you. As long as you are the one delivering the letter, they will believe you.”

Li Luo nodded. That made sense.

“You can try out the beacon’s functions now to see if they’re working properly,” Ladi reminded him.

At this, Li Luo turned and tried operating the beacon’s control panel. All functions were normal.

“Departure function initiated.”

Following a system prompt, the tall signal tower suddenly began to HUM and rotate. Then, with a CLICK, the control panel opened, and a white device ejected from the bottom.

‘It’s white. It’s different.’ Li Luo recognized at a glance that this device was not the same as the one he had seen before.

Meanwhile, a list of instructions appeared on the control panel’s display.

“Please place the deployment device in an open area for use. Follow the requirements below…”

“Ground must be level and unobstructed.”

“No strong air currents.”

“Area requirements…”

“Temperature requirements…”

Beneath the long list of instructions was a location assistance feature: a simple map displaying suitable deployment areas nearby.

Li Luo studied it carefully and realized that the spot where the bamboo bed had been placed would work as an open area for deployment, but he’d have to move the bed first.

“Xi, give me a hand.”

“Okay.”

…

Before long, the white device had been moved to the center of the clearing.

Li Luo returned to the beacon and pressed the deployment button. The white device began to unfold slowly, transforming into a white airship. Its balloon was white, as was the gondola below it, looking as though it had been dipped in a thick coat of white paint.

Strangely, the airship’s balloon had several fin-like vanes on it, arranged in opposing pairs. Li Luo counted eight pairs in total. For now, they were all drooping, their purpose unclear.