Awkward

Chapter 18: Awkward

Merine stared at Zhao Hai blankly, not understanding what he was gesturing about. It seemed he had no way to improve the land.

Merine couldn't help but feel a sinking feeling in her heart. She had noticed the significant changes in Zhao Hai recently, but they were mostly positive changes. However, seeing Zhao Hai's current state made her worried. She feared that he was being overwhelmed by the immense pressure.

Zhao Hai was also embarrassed. He was used to using a computer, so when he saw the scene in front of him, he instinctively wanted to interact with it. However, he had forgotten that the screen in front of him was just a projection and not something he could touch.

Scratching his head in frustration, Zhao Hai shouted "Yes" in his mind. Then a prompt from the Space appeared, saying, "Input the area to be improved. The current improvement area is ten mu."

An input box and a cursor appeared in front of him. Zhao Hai quickly thought "ten mu" and the Arabic numerals "10" appeared in the input box, along with the unit "mu."

Zhao Hai originally thought he could proceed with the transformation, but to his surprise, the prompt sounded again, saying, "Choose the improvement method: Space soil improvement / Spatial Water improvement / customizing."

Zhao Hai became frustrated and realized that Merine and the others were now looking at him strangely. He realized that the Space had many complicated functions, so he quickly selected the "customizing" option. He had already calculated the best improvement formula and wanted to customize it.

After choosing the customizing option, an input box immediately appeared in front of Zhao Hai. The Space prompt instructed him to input the proportion of Spatial Water and Space soil.

Zhao Hai quickly inputted "six" for Spatial Water and "four" for Space soil. Fortunately, he only needed to think about the input, as he didn't need to physically write anything. Otherwise, he would have looked like a lunatic.

After completing the input, there were no more prompt sounds from the Space. Zhao Hai finally felt relieved. Suddenly, a small cave entrance appeared by his side, and a dark substance dropped from the entrance onto the Black Soil in front of Zhao Hai.

The substance was so faint that it was difficult to determine whether it was Space soil or Spatial Water. It looked like a speck of dust. When it fell on the Black Soil, the Black Soil gradually changed visibly. The blackish color slowly turned into normal Black Soil color, forming a stark contrast with the surrounding land.

The area where the substance from Space fell was a square-shaped plot of ten mu. It was not much, but it was also not too little. The land that Merine and the others had measured was neatly separated from the surrounding land, making it clear at a glance.

After all ten mu of land were transformed, the cave entrance slowly disappeared. Zhao Hai walked over to the improved land and grabbed a handful of soil, examining it carefully. The soil was exactly as he had imagined, turning into fertile Black Soil.

Zhao Hai laughed with joy. He had finally succeeded. These ten mu of land could be used for planting. With this ability and the large expanse of land, he would no longer have to worry about starving.

Zhao Hai's laughter brought everyone back to their senses. They were shocked when they saw the cave entrance appear earlier. None of them had experienced such a thing before, leaving them speechless as they watched the gradual change in the Black Soil.

After Zhao Hai's laughter, they all regained their composure. Almost everyone imitated Zhao Hai's actions and went forward to grab the soil, carefully examining it. Merine and the others, who were familiar with farming, saw that the soil was completely different from before. It was even better.

Overwhelmed with emotion, everyone couldn't help but cheer. Most of these people were slaves, but being a slave didn't mean being a fool. After coming to the Black Wasteland, they understood their situation, but they never imagined that they would witness such a miraculous event one day.

Merine couldn't hold back her tears as she grabbed the soil that seemed to flow incessantly. Although she hadn't farmed, she could still appreciate the difference.

Meg was also excited, tears streaming down her face. She never thought this day would come so soon, and it was so sudden. Although she had thought about these possibilities before, when the moment arrived, she was still shocked and momentarily lost the ability to think, turning into a statue. However, tears continued to flow from her eyes.

Suddenly, Meg let go of the Black Soil in her hands and ran towards Zhao Hai. At that moment, Zhao Hai was already calm. Because of the existence of the Space, he didn't attach as much importance to land improvement as Merine and the others did, so he quickly regained his composure.

At this moment, Meg ran up to Zhao Hai, grabbed him, and shocked him. He never expected Meg to hug him.

Zhao Hai knew about the things Adam had done to Meg, but he didn't know Meg's feelings for Adam. In his memories from Adam, he only had a sense of desire, and it could be said that Adam had truly neglected Meg. The memories of their childhood had become blurred, but in his memories of growing up, he didn't have any love for Meg, only desire.

Given this, it was impossible for Zhao Hai to know Meg's true feelings for Adam. Therefore, he was truly shocked when Meg suddenly hugged him. He didn't know what had happened to Meg.

Zhao Hai, who had always been introverted and somewhat insecure, had never had a girlfriend and had never even held a girl's hand. He was a top-grade nerd, a one-man show.

Because of this, after learning about what Adam had done to Meg, Zhao Hai didn't dare to face her. He was afraid of facing Meg because he didn't know whether he should take responsibility for her or distance himself from her as much as possible, hoping that she wouldn't remember those unhappy memories.

However, Zhao Hai never expected that Meg would suddenly approach him like this. He was truly frightened. Helpless, he stood there, unsure of whether he should push her away or let her continue hugging him.

Merine also noticed Meg's unusual behavior. As someone who understood Meg the most, Merine was well aware of Meg's feelings for Adam and the deep wounds he had inflicted on her.

During that time, Merine had watched Meg every day, fearing that she would commit suicide. But Meg didn't, instead becoming like a soulless person, causing Merine great pain to see. But there was nothing she could do because she knew very well that worrying was not a cure. She couldn't help Meg with this matter; the only person who could help her return to normal was Adam.

However, Merine didn't hold any hope for Adam. To be honest, she was deeply disappointed in the previous Adam. If they hadn't been raised by the Buda family since childhood, she would have given up on Adam long ago.

But when Adam woke up in the Black Wasteland, he seemed to have become a different person. He became more sensible and steady. Moreover, he gained an extraordinary ability. Most importantly, he no longer caused trouble for no reason, and he approached matters methodically, with the demeanor of a true leader. Of course, she didn't know that he was no longer Adam but Zhao Hai.

Merine also noticed the change in Meg these past few days. Meg had been secretly observing Zhao Hai, and she often appeared around him, which was impossible before.

During that time, she would always hide if she saw Zhao Hai, and if she couldn't avoid him, she would stand there with her head lowered, trying not to attract his attention.

But these past few days, she would occasionally appear near Zhao Hai and even take care of him, asking him to get out of bed and taking care of his daily life. This puzzled Merine, but now, seeing Meg's actions, she finally understood Meg's feelings.

After a while, Meg let go of Zhao Hai, her face also blushing. However, she seemed to handle it better than Zhao Hai, who now had a flushed complexion. He opened and closed his mouth, but no words came out.

Seeing Zhao Hai's appearance, Meg suddenly smiled mischievously, teasing him, and then she turned and ran away. Zhao Hai watched Meg's retreating figure and felt as if he had drunk ten jin (0.5 kg) of strong liquor, losing the ability to think.

Meg was a beautiful girl, and Zhao Hai enjoyed looking at her. The things Adam had done to Meg had made Zhao Hai feel guilty when he saw her, so he had been finding ways to avoid her these past few days. Even when they were together, he tried to have other people present and not be alone with her, so as to keep his distance.