Chapter 15: One Million Hours?!

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Soap, toothpaste, and facial cleanser—those little luxuries that improve quality of life—were placed in a corner to serve as the bathroom area, alongside a small basin. The two sets of lightweight sportswear were hung on temporary hooks on the side of the wardrobe. Su Liu casually clipped a multifunctional pocket knife onto her belt— in this strange and unpredictable world, anything that could open cans or whittle wood was a trusty companion. Larger non-essential materials like wood, stone, glass, and iron blocks were stowed away in her backpack, instantly occupying nine slots.

“Looks like it’s time to find a backpack expansion stone.”

Su Liu even used two portions of wood to craft several simple storage racks at the workbench, organizing miscellaneous supplies like cotton cloth, kerosene, and batteries. An extra bottle of kerosene and a pile of glass neatly replenished what she had consumed the previous night while making protective covers for kerosene lamps. The whole space’s layout instantly upgraded from “cozy yet somewhat cluttered” to a “well-organized survival base.”

Just as she was admiring her handiwork, about to take a breath and daydream about frying some meat patties with vegetables for herself and Little Tuantuan tonight, the inconspicuous oil paper package buried deep within her backpack seemed to sense her leisure and began to warm slightly.

At the same moment, the Time Hourglass trembled softly, and an almost imperceptible star-blue glow flickered across the surface of the storage bag.

A sudden thought struck Su Liu. She recalled the cashier hamster’s cryptic remark:

“Looks like it’s drained of hope. Probably... just barely usable as a ‘time anchor point’ for fun.”

“A time anchor point?” Su Liu pondered, pulling out the long-forgotten “Embers of Time.”

The oil paper was rough and sturdy; under the ambient light, faint, indistinct patterns beneath the dust seemed to shimmer with a barely noticeable glow.

She carefully peeled back a corner of the paper.

Inside lay three shriveled, dull, lifeless seeds, resembling extinguished charcoal embers—rough and cold to the touch, with no hint of vitality.

Drawn by curiosity, Little Tuantuan approached, sniffing with its tender pink nose before sneezing lightly, its large eyes filled with confusion:

“Sister Liu Liu, these seeds... seem almost dead.”

Then, as if recalling something, Little Tuantuan fetched a flowerpot from the corner where miscellaneous items were stored.

“Sister Liu Liu, how about we find some soil and plant the seeds?”

Su Liu looked at the empty flowerpot Little Tuantuan had brought, then down at the three lifeless “embers” in her palm. She remembered the cashier hamster’s meaningful words—“time anchor point.”

“Let’s give it a try, Tuantuan,” Su Liu decided to accept the suggestion. “Consider it an experiment.”

She quickly retrieved a handful of moist soil from her storage space and gently buried the three grayish seeds in the center of the pot. She placed a shallow saucer beneath the pot to catch water.

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The flowerpot was set on the floor beside the massage chair.

Su Liu and Little Tuantuan both crouched nearby, staring intently at the inert soil.

Minutes passed, and still no change.

“Guess it really won’t work...” Su Liu murmured.

These seeds seemed utterly devoid of life; ordinary planting wouldn’t awaken them.

But she recalled the two resonances from the Time Hourglass—once near the shelf, once just moments ago while storing items. A notion sparked in her mind.

The cashier had mentioned “time anchor points,” and her Time Hourglass was precisely a device that manipulated time!

“Looks like this is the only way.” Su Liu solemnly took out the softly star-blue glowing Time Hourglass from her backpack.

“Tuantuan, move back a bit.” Taking a deep breath, Su Liu focused her mind, beginning to channel the hourglass’s power.

Her goal was not to slow down or speed up her own journey but to use the power of time to “wash over” this tiny flowerpot’s space and forcibly catalyze these strange seeds!

“Time acceleration!” she commanded silently, injecting pure energy into the hourglass.

In an instant, a visible blue stream of light, swirling with intricate silver runes, poured from the top of the hourglass like a river of time, precisely encircling the small flowerpot!

Inside the pot’s confined space, the flow of time suddenly accelerated by threefold!

As the time-acceleration glow enveloped the pot—

A barely perceptible faint gray aura emerged from beneath the buried seeds, carrying an ancient, weathered vibe, quietly spreading to form a domain slightly smaller than the pot’s opening.

This domain twisted subtly, like a miniature spacetime singularity.

Even more astonishing, a translucent information panel visible only to Su Liu instantly popped up before her eyes!

“Special spacetime resonance detected... Analyzing target... Analysis complete...”

Seed: Embers of Time
Status: Deep dormancy
Potential: High-dimensional unknown crop
Shortest time required for germination: 999,999:59:59 (conventional time flow)

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Su Liu stared at the panel, her eyes widening as a long string of “999,999” flickered before her, her mouth slightly agape, her mind momentarily frozen.

“Ones… tens… hundreds… thousands… one million!” Her tongue tangled trying to grasp the astronomical figure!

“What kind of joke is this?! One million hours?! In days, that’s over a hundred years?!

If I planted it in normal time, I’d be dead before it sprouted!”

A wave of absurdity surged within her. No wonder the little hamster said it looked “on the brink of death,” “drained of hope”!

This was no ordinary seed; it was an ancient remnant feeding on the power of time itself! Or rather... a treasure chest key from the other side of time, waiting for the right “unlock password”? And the Time Hourglass seemed to be the only slender chance to touch that key.

Su Liu gasped inwardly, grateful she had the hourglass. With threefold time acceleration and future upgrades, she might yet speed things up.

Little Tuantuan sensed her emotional shift and, puzzled, nuzzled her arm with its big head.

“Sister Liu Liu, why did it stop? Does the seed not like it? It still looks lifeless... That number is so big, it’s scary...”

Su Liu smiled wryly and rubbed Little Tuantuan’s head.

“It’s not that it doesn’t like it... It’s just that our little ‘time water’ probably isn’t even enough to moisten its lips...”

She gazed at the mysterious flowerpot, a vague thought gradually sharpening: these three seeds might be worth far more than all the supplies she had gathered so far.

Currently, the Time Hourglass’s slowing effect covered five hours, but Su Liu chose to accelerate time by ten hours for this seed.

What exactly did the cashier’s final words mean—“In the chaos of the journey, find your own rhythm and flavor”?

Lost in thought, Little Tuantuan, who had been excitedly exploring the new space and ultimately fixated on some spirit beast snacks, suddenly let out a howl, grabbed a newly purchased bag of “Squeaky Jelly Strips,” jumped onto the massage chair, curled up comfortably, and began clawing open the package to eat.

Watching its contented expression, Su Liu couldn’t help but chuckle. After a long day of hard work, she too lay down on the massage chair and pressed the button.

A low hum sounded as the chair’s precise and soothing massage kneaded her stiff muscles.

“Ugh… creak…” A few joints creaked faintly under the relief.

Massage chair effect activated, fatigue -10.

The soreness brought by the afternoon’s continuous use of the Time Hourglass to slow travel gradually eased under the powerful massage.