Chapter 3: Rubbing Trees to Produce Wooden Planks?

On his way home from the lab, An Wen purchased a microscope.

"Where's Yuan Pan?"

The moment he arrived home, An Wen began searching for Yuan Pan.

It was only after searching for some time when he recalled that he had left Yuan Pan in the dining room downstairs.

There was an aquarium right outside the dining room, and An Wen found Yuan Pan sitting right in front of the aquarium, staring at the tropical fishes swimming inside.

"You're not a sea turtle, why are you staring at the fish?"

An Wen picked Yuan Pan and placed him on the table.

Yuan Pan then waved its four claws frantically in the air, but An Wen did not care. He took out the microscope and began observing Yuan Pan's tail.

"Indeed, Yuan Pan is covered in bacteria."

After confirming his conclusion, An Wen let go of Yuan Pan and allowed it to walk away.

"Tch!"

Facing An Wen, Yuan Pan released a pile of feces onto the table, and then walked away while wagging its small tail.

An Wen ignored Yuan Pan's taunt. He then took out the test reports again and frowned as he looked at the data while pondering.

"Although it is very hard to believe, the only logically possible reason left is still the truth, no matter how inconceivable it sounds."

"There are no traces of any microorganisms in the soil, water, snow, or air samples collected from the other world, but there are still microorganisms found on Yuan Pan."

"This eliminates the possibility that crossing over to the other world has destroyed all microorganisms, and the only remaining explanation would be that microorganisms do not exist in the other world."

To be honest, coming to such a conclusion completely contradicted An Wen's knowledge in science.

His numerous years of learning scientific knowledge were severely undermined.

Even though he did not major in biology in university, anyone who had gone through nine years of compulsory education was surely aware of the significance of microorganisms in the biosphere.

How was it possible for plants to grow in the other world without the presence of microorganisms?

Apart from plants, were there any other living organisms in the other world?

After pondering about his discovery for half a day, An Wen still could not comprehend how the other world functioned.

Nevertheless, the analysis of the samples did provide him with any good news - he no longer needed to be afraid of bringing viruses in the other world back to Earth.

"I should leave a camera there first, to see if there are any changes in the other world after I leave."

An Wen then got up and walked to his workshop.

The entire workshop was filled with various kinds of equipment and parts.

There was a turbojet that had been assembled halfway, an airplane model that had been folded and fragmented into countless pieces, as well as a variety of unorganized accessories and tools.

When he reached the workshop, An Wen retrieved a camera from the cabinet on the wall.

"Great, there is sufficient battery to last for over four hours, that will do."

Attaching the camera to the tripod stand and inserting a memory card into the camera, An Wen held on to the camera and vanished in his house.

The situation on the small island was no different from the previous time An Wen had traversed.

Even the footprints on the ground were those left behind by him.

There were no other living organisms and no strangely-shaped footprints.

An Wen swiftly scanned his surroundings and found that there were no signs of danger.

He then set up the camera he brought as quickly as possible.

Fixing the tripod on the ground, he turned on the camera and began recording.

The entire process took him a total of 25 seconds, and once he was done, he quickly vanished from the small island.

"That was so wickedly cold."

After a few seconds of standing in his laboratory, An Wen gradually grew warmer and finally stopped shivering.

When he was still in school, An Wen once heard a classmate, who was from Mohe City, bragging about winter in his hometown. He said that, at the peak of the winter, water thrown out of a pail would freeze in midair.

If they were using the toilet outdoors, they had to use a stick to knock as they emptied their bladders.

Back then, An Wen believed that the classmate was bragging and merely took his words as a cold joke.

Now, however, he believed that his classmate's words could be possible if the temperature in Mohe City was similar to that on the small island.

Of course, An Wen's classmate's words were not something that An Wen would test himself.

What would happen if he made a mistake and knocked improperly or in the wrong area?

After all, every object becomes extremely fragile when they are frozen.

After letting his thoughts run wild for a short period, An Wen turned on his computer and purchased a set of professional equipment used for expeditions to Antarctica.

In this day and age, it was possible to buy anything with money online.

"Ring..."

The mobile phone on the table rang.

Looking down, An Wen found that someone had sent him a WeChat message.

"Who is Zi Yuexiao? Oh... it's Yuan Pan's mother, I remember now."

An Wen then opened the WeChat message and gazed at the sender's name. However, he did not recognize the name at first.

He then looked at the contact notes and realized that it was Yuan Pan's mother.

It was only at that juncture when An Wen finally recalled that it was the girl who gave him Yuan Pan.

"Senior, I heard that you brought Yuan Pan on a trip, would you mind sending a few photos of Yuan Pan on the trip for me to see? (Pitiful emoji)"

What is she talking about?

When did I bring Yuan Pan on a trip?

When An Wen finished reading the message, he was slightly confused.

Humans, being forgetful creatures, would easily forget what they said in the past, especially after casually spouting nonsense.

"There are no photos."

"Oh, I see, that's such a pity. Senior, do you have any spare time in the afternoon?"

"No, I'm busy playing games."

"Alright then, I shall not disturb you anymore, Senior!"

"Alright, bye."

Putting down his mobile phone, An Wen closed the shopping webpage and launched a game on his computer.

Only games could help solve his worries.

In contrast, girls and the like were simply a waste of time.

An Wen was not a straight guy; he knew that Yuan Pan's mother took an interest in him, but he was not interested in her at all.

Girls were creatures who were simply too annoying.

If he had time to spend with a girl, could he not use that time to play games instead? Otherwise, could he not use that time for aeromodelling?

Did he really have to waste his time accompanying a girl to shop or to watch movies? Was he that much of a fool?

Was time worthless?

Furthermore, the girl was clearly interested in him. If he made any moves, it would be challenging to break free afterward, and it would be extremely problematic.

If he was seeking a girl for himself, he could find any girl he wanted from the X-rated Productions and Entertainment Company in the 2D society. 

There were a plethora of girls to choose from.

Moreover, he still loved having a 2D waifu the most.

The game soonly launched, and An Wen's avatar appeared on the bridge of a spaceship.

"Eh...? Did they release another new ship? They are 'ship sellers' indeed. Forget it, I shall buy new ships later, I should visit my fish tank first."

Time seemed to pass very quickly as he played the game.

In a trice, it was evening.

An Wen helped himself to some food, then fully equipped himself and traversed back to the other world.

Four hours had passed, and he needed to retrieve his camera from the other world. While he was retrieving the camera, he also planned to take a look around the coast of the small island.

As long as he did not enter the forest and maintained a wide field of view, he would be able to notice any danger from a distance.

Whoosh!

When An Wen reappeared on the small island, the first thing that greeted him was not a dark night sky, but the blinding sunlight.

He instantly looked down at the thermometer - it was a blazing 35 degrees Celsius.

Donning a down coat, a winter hat, a mask, and gloves, he was wrapped extremely snugly.

In the heat of the blazing sun and the warm sea breeze, he looked utterly silly in his attire.

"Goodness gracious!"

Completely at a loss for words, An Wen grabbed his camera and returned back to Earth.

The camera was recording for over four hours. After more than two hours passed, at around 2 p.m. on Earth, the sun started to rise in the other world.

Then, after a short span of 30 minutes, the 15-centimeter-thick snow melted completely. In slightly over two hours, the temperature rose from -45 degrees to 35 degrees.

Such a variation in temperature was simply ridiculous. With an atmosphere following the standard composition of the atmosphere on Earth, how was it possible for the temperature in the other world to vary so greatly?

Was oxygen not present? Could heat not be conserved?

An Wen changed out of his winter clothing and fussed as he looked at the recorded footage on the camera's screen.

The information in front of him showed just how much the other world went against the laws of science.

Nevertheless, after he finished watching the recorded footage, An Wen was 80% certain that the coast of the island was not dangerous. During the four-hour-long video footage, not a single living organism appeared within the camera's frame.

Whoosh!

An Wen crossed over to the small island once again.

Day and night on the island were on two different extremes.

Even though An Wen was currently wearing beach pants and a singlet, he still felt extremely warm, as if he was inside a steam oven.

Looking at the clear, blue sea, An Wen had a strong urge to head in for a dip.

Unfortunately, he did not want to go for a dip until he was sure of his own safety.

"There are fruits on that tree! I should pick a few of them and use them as samples for my tests."

An Wen was wandering leisurely along the coast when he saw fruits growing on a tree.

The fruit was red in color and had a husk, like a coconut.

Walking over to the tree, An Wen kicked the tree forcefully.

Wham!

The tree swayed slightly, but the fruit did not fall.

Wham!

After throwing yet another kick at the tree, the fruit still did not fall.

An Wen frowned. He decided that he would 'fight' the tree to the end - he would not give up until the fruit fell.

Ah... Wham, wham, wham...

An Wen threw front kicks, sideways kicks, and roundhouse kicks ruthlessly at the tree. 

After over ten seconds, An Wen heard a thud.

Did the fruit fall?

An Wen looked down and searched the ground.

Eventually, he did not find any fruit, but instead noticed a standard-sized wooden cube measuring 30x30x30 cm on the ground.

He blinked - he was unsure about what he had just seen.

Looking up, he saw the fruit still hanging on the tree.

Looking down, he noticed the wooden block beside his feet.

An Wen then came to a sudden realization that the other world was not as simple as he had originally imagined it to be.