The Marvelous Green Gemstone

Tom was surprised to learn that the big gecko had the greatest interest in biscuits. Watching the gecko swallow the crumbs eagerly, he pulled out another large piece of biscuit, but before tossing it, he had an idea.

The creature didn't seem to show any hostility or aggressive behavior toward him, unlike the ants that would attack him on sight. Even though he had used it yesterday to deter the ants, its return today wasn't about revenge; it seemed more interested in getting food, which intrigued Tom.

Now that Tom had shrunk in size and his range of movement had greatly diminished, with the constant threat of ants on the ground, having a big creature like the gecko with ideal crawling speed and wall-climbing ability could be convenient if he could tame it as a mount.

With this idea in mind, Tom immediately reconsidered giving away the biscuit. The gecko was not pleased when Tom withdrew the biscuit, emitting a displeased "chirp chirp" sound. Seeing that the gecko didn't charge at him to snatch the biscuit, Tom realized that it wasn't as hostile as he initially thought.

Carefully, he extended the biscuit towards the gecko with one hand while keeping his other hand outstretched. The gecko, with its shiny black eyes, approached cautiously, its tongue curling around a part of the biscuit due to Tom's grip.

"Let me touch you!" Tom cautiously reached out with his free hand towards the gecko's head, which recoiled slightly, wary of his hand. However, upon seeing the biscuit in Tom's palm, the gecko blinked its large eyes, displaying a conflicted expression between caution and the food.

"Come on, let me touch you, and then the biscuit is yours!" Tom offered the biscuit while reaching out his hand.

The gecko's tongue swiftly snatched the biscuit, leaving Tom's hand untouched. Tom didn't give up. He reached into his backpack again, this time successfully touching the gecko's head. Its skin felt cold to the touch, typical of cold-blooded creatures, smooth and hard without emitting any heat.

Unfortunately, as soon as the biscuit was finished, the gecko retreated, still looking wary. Tom immediately took out another piece, and the gecko approached again. Tom attempted to touch its head once more, contemplating riding it, but as his hand touched its back, the gecko swiftly shook its head, causing Tom to stumble backward.

"Ss...ss...ss..." The gecko was clearly displeased.

Tom found himself sitting right where he had dropped the gemstone earlier, surprised by the gecko's strong reaction. Feeling somewhat disheartened, he decided to retrieve all the gemstones first, as they seemed peculiar.

The red gemstone could be used to lead ants away in critical moments, so Tom stored it in his backpack first. Among the remaining gemstones was a green one, which he held in his hand. The gecko emitted another "chirp chirp" sound.

Knowing the gecko's voracious appetite, Tom reluctantly fetched another biscuit. "This is the last one," he said, offering it.

The gecko eagerly devoured the biscuit, leaving Tom's hand covered in its sticky saliva. Tom wiped his hand on the gecko's head, saying, "Since you ate my biscuit, you won't mind me wiping my hand, right?"

But as soon as his hand made contact, Tom felt immense pressure on his head.

In that moment, he saw over twenty ants circling around him, overwhelmed by a strange sensation of "What a mess! What a mess!" and the bizarre thought of "That two-legged bug deceived me!"

The unusual sensation overwhelmed Tom, accompanied by intense pain as he stumbled and sat on the ground. The gecko looked at him with a puzzled expression, seemingly expressing a special sentiment.

Tom pondered for a moment, recalling the scene of the battle with the ant colony he had witnessed earlier on the corridor outside. "Was what I just saw your memories from yesterday?"

The gecko, no longer wary, leaned in as if inviting him to touch it.

Tom reached out to touch it, but this time, there was no strange sensation like before. "Could you sense my thoughts just now?" he asked the gecko.

Without malice towards the gecko, Tom only wanted to bond with it. Given the exchange of thoughts that just occurred, the gecko must have understood his goodwill, as it no longer guarded against him.

Unable to speak, the gecko closed its eyes, allowing Tom to stroke its head.

As Tom touched the gecko's cold head and pondered what had happened, he looked down and noticed the green gemstone he had been holding. He raised it up. "Was it an illusion? The green of the gemstone doesn't seem as deep as before."

"Could it be that this green gemstone allowed me to sense the gecko's thoughts and memories? But why doesn't it work now?"

Tom tried several times but couldn't experience the same wonderful state as before.

After resolving the crisis and feeling excited, Tom felt extremely thirsty. He had been thirsty all night since yesterday, and the recent activity had exacerbated it. His lips were parched, and the gecko blinked its eyes, tilting its head, looking at him.

"Water!" Tom reached for its back, and surprisingly, the gecko didn't resist. Emboldened, he climbed onto its back, but the gecko seemed hesitant, shaking a few times. Tom quickly held onto its neck, nearly falling off.

"Let's go drink water together!" Tom patted its head, pointing to the high sink in the distance. Suddenly, the green gemstone he held emitted a faint green light, and he immediately felt the same unique sensation as before, though without contact with the gecko's thoughts.

"Forward, climb, drink water!" Tom mentally conveyed the thought, wondering if he could communicate his intentions to the gecko through this state.

Sure enough, he felt a wave of joy in his mind, indescribable in words. The gecko immediately carried him towards the sink.

"Yes! I can communicate with the gecko through this green gemstone! I knew these gemstones had special effects!" Tom rejoiced inwardly.

Climbing onto the sink, which was about the same height as the stairs, proved to be quite challenging, even with the help of the gecko. Tom stowed the gemstone away as they reached the top, sweating profusely. "I need to make a saddle later."

The gecko arrived at the sink, and Tom jumped down to turn on the faucet, allowing water to flow out. The gecko promptly crawled to the bottom of the sink to drink.

Tom shook his head. "Greedy fellow." He took out the green gemstone, dropped his backpack, and jumped down himself.

As the sink was about the height of the stairs, it posed no difficulty for Tom. He attempted to command the gecko with the gemstone, but there was no response. He walked over and touched the gecko's body, eliciting a reaction.

"Drink water, take me up!" Tom conveyed mentally.

The gecko responded with a thought of "I want more food," and Tom felt reassured.

He untied the cloth wrapping around his body and went to the flowing water to drink and

bathe.

After the gecko had its fill, seeing Tom bathing, it moved closer and imitated his movements, swaying its body from side to side, appearing to enjoy it.

Tom thought to himself, "Wait, let me wash first."

"I want, I want!" came the gecko's response.

Thus, they engaged in a water-snatching battle.

Finally done, Tom climbed back onto the gecko. He dried himself off and felt his body temperature rapidly dropping, so he wrapped himself up.

The gecko nudged him, and Tom knew it was thinking about biscuits again. He patted it and said, "I'm out now. Come with me; I have more biscuits." The gecko responded with a pleased signal, indicating its acceptance.

"Indeed, a glutton."

At that moment, Tom saw several ants crawling out from under the door crack.

Although the gap under the door was blocked, the sides and top were not. Tom had been on the ground before, but now, on the sink beside the door, the morning breeze carried his scent outside, attracting the ants.

Tom could feel the gecko's anger clearly. These dozen or so ants must have reminded it of yesterday's ordeal.

He climbed onto the gecko's back, and it carried him to the ground. Watching the approaching ants, Tom unsheathed his cap needle.

With the gecko's help, dealing with these dozen or so ants was no problem. He just had to be careful not to get bitten. There were three large ones and five medium-sized ones, all of which had gemstones. Having experienced the wonder of the green gemstone, these troubles now seemed like moving treasures to him.

In fact, these dozen or so ants were no trouble for the gecko, now that it had grown in size. Even the large ants couldn't penetrate its tough skin. Tom stood guard, seizing the opportunity to dispatch the ants, eliminating them within a few minutes.

In the end, he dug up the ant corpses, retrieving 3 small red and 2 small yellow gemstones, along with 4 large red and 1 large yellow ones, but none were green.

He tossed 2 small and 1 large yellow gemstones to the gecko, which it eagerly swallowed. Tom stored the remaining red gemstones in his backpack, believing he would eventually discover their uses.

Just then, the door was pushed open, and Tom focused his gaze. "No way!"

A large ant had managed to push open the closed door. It was glossy black, with six robust legs, a massive head, and a tail, its size almost matching that of the gecko.

The gecko disregarded it, casually crawling over. Tom was too distracted to stop it.

The two giants clashed immediately. Tom approached to observe, recognizing the creature as a soldier ant, far larger and more powerful than the worker ants he had encountered before.

The soldier ant's size and combat prowess far exceeded those of the worker ants!