Rebirth 08: Equipment God

Chapter 293 Moving the Old Tree
The Retro Workbench is incredibly useful; its capacity far surpasses that of the original Repair Tool Box, and you can continuously add new items to it.

The interior has ample space and, with proper planning, can easily accommodate all commonly used tools, making it a portable workbench.

That very night, Zhai Da wanted to unlock the "special effect" of this equipment and see if it could truly solve the major hurdle of "weakening".

The unsealing mission requires him to help others repair ten items.
But after searching the whole house, only Lu Wei's wardrobe door was "broken," and when it was opened, it made a groan like the lower back of a thirty-year-old man.

It was a little abstract, but Zhai Da still managed to force it and unfolded the [Retro Workbench] under the wardrobe door.

When Lu Wei saw that Zhai Da had taken out such complicated tools just to repair a "louver", she was momentarily stunned.

It looks like a huge project.
Zhai Dazhen has worked very hard.
After readjusting the screws on the louvers and adding some lubricant, it was fixed. It even helped Zhai Da complete a task, reaching (1/10).

It seems that the effect of this equipment does not limit the use of tools, but only the spatial concept; it needs to be above the workbench. I just don't know what the height is.

Ultimately, the equipment could not be unsealed that night, and Zhai Da could only leave it until he returned from Dongyang to deal with it.

He has a flight early tomorrow morning, so let's not bother him tonight.

------

The next morning, before Xiao Mutou had even woken up, Zhai Da had already set off for Taiping Airport.

An unexpected situation prompted Zhai Da to make a last-minute decision to go back. He was grateful for the invention of the airplane, which allowed him to make a round trip in just one or two days.

At 8 a.m., Zhai Da had already boarded a flight to the province of bulk goods and arrived around 10 a.m., while Lu Tao had already taken a flight half an hour earlier and returned to Harbin.

Zhai Da originally asked him to wait for him to go back together, but in Lu Tao's words, he had nightmares all night and felt unclean. He wanted to go back to Harbin to get a massage.
The kind that's rubbed on all four sides.

Ignoring the noisy unlicensed taxi drivers, Zhai Da walked to the edge of the airport. The area was surrounded by farmland and rural areas, so he randomly chose a deserted country road.

With a loud "bang!", the [Mechanical Core] appeared on the spot, the huge object compressing the air and kicking up dust.

The entrance was perfect.

Zhai Da got into the car and drove towards Dongyang.

I can't afford a black cab, so I'll save where I can and spend where I can, and drive my Porsche back to my hometown!

About half an hour later, just before noon, Zhai Da had already entered the territory of Dongyang County and went straight to No. 99 Luochuan Road.

After Utopia and Xu Xuejun's workshop closed down, this place became a remote corner where even large trucks wouldn't stop. Only the small shop stood there, waiting for someone to revitalize the place.

Upon opening the large iron gate of the courtyard, Zhai Da immediately sniffed the air. There was no obvious odor.

The old elm tree, which had been executed, seemed much more robust than when it was first brought here. Its new leaves in early spring were lush and green, giving it a vibrant and lively appearance.

Yes, without looking down.

If you look down, the sight of those small animal carcasses, half-exposed, is enough to make you want to scrub your eyes with a steel wool pad.

Zhai Da looked up at the crows and sighed, "Brother, this job is a bit rough."

The crows tilted their heads and looked at Zhai Da, as if to say: You've got some nerve!
On the way back, Zhai Da had already asked the sanitation worker who was in charge of maintenance before and figured out what had happened, or rather, he had roughly guessed it.

Here's the timeline: First, in the middle of last month, all the plants in the yard except for the old elm died. The sanitation worker thought he had killed them by overwatering. When Zhai Da left, he joked that he had watered them with a "lethal dose," but in fact, he had a fixed amount, about one bucket every other day.

A typical tree only needs one bucket per week.
The other party might often be lazy, not coming for days at a time, and only watering two or three buckets when they do come. So after all the nearby plants died, she suspected that she had messed it up. In her opinion, the old elm should also be close to death, but it was just too big to be seen for the time being.

So, fearing responsibility, he never contacted Zhai Da again, and he never came back!

Some elderly people are like taciturn gourds when they encounter problems; they either hide it or run away.
If Fan Junwei hadn't had an acquaintance who went through a roundabout way to find him, the other party wouldn't have even answered Zhai Da's call.

In short, the maintenance solution was stopped, and the nearby plants were all "sucked" to death by the old elm. Perhaps the crow was worried that the old elm would die, so it decided to plant its own tree and imitate Zhai Da's behavior.

That's roughly the idea; it's hard to fully understand things about animals.

Based on their intelligence, the crows should have recognized Zhai Da, but intelligence is one thing, and habits are another. They remained perched on the tree branch, staring at him with their scarlet eyes.

Only one of them let out a strange cry and flew down. Zhai Da resisted the urge to dodge, and the crow fluttered down and landed on his shoulder.

Just like last time, it seemed to be the same crow. Zhai Da took out a peanut he had prepared beforehand from his pocket, flicked one up, and the crow on his shoulder caught it deftly and smoothly.

"You seem to be the oldest one; are you the leader here?"

I think I saw it yesterday. Crows have a social structure, but it's not like the "male + mate" model of lions. However, the largest ones generally have higher status.

The other crows weren't as friendly, but they would still eat the peanuts that Zhai Da flicked onto them. After feeding them all, which could be considered a greeting, Zhai Da picked up the shovel by the wall and began turning over the soil under the tree.
The largest crow remained perched on Zhai Da's shoulder, intently watching his movements, seemingly learning how to dig a hole efficiently.

Sure enough, almost every one of those small, half-exposed creatures had tiny roots underneath, like tentacles. The root system of the "Execution of the Old Elm" was truly bizarre.
Zhai Da continued digging, making a trench towards the two dead "small trees".

It wasn't actually that small; it was about the thickness of a bowl and several meters tall. During the Utopian era, it was used to hang an "inextinguishable light bulb," but now it's withered and looks like a telephone pole.

There were two intertwined tree roots underground, one thick and one thin, but the thinner roots seemed to be the victors.
Judging from this distance, the roots of the old elm tree have likely spread across most of the yard, making its removal an urgent matter.

Don't let it collapse in a short time.

In Harbin, the plants are grown indoors in hanging baskets, where the roots can be maintained and trimmed, which is much more convenient than here.
There was no need to hesitate any longer. Zhai Da took out his pure gold cane and tapped the ground lightly to confirm that there were no cameras or people nearby. The closest one was the convenience store owner, who was taking a nap.

Then place your hand on the trunk of the tree where the old elm was executed.

Just as he was about to try to add it to the "equipment" slot, Zhai Da subconsciously looked up.

Thirteen crows stared at him, motionless.

Through the dense branches, you can see five or six bird nests; I wonder if there are any eggs inside.

The bird's nest must be newly built, since the last time the tree was transported horizontally.
These crows may have lived with the old elm for generations, which is why they continued to come and live there even after the elm was transplanted.

From the crows' perspective, Zhai Da was the latecomer who acquired ownership of their "home" from the perspective of "humans." He not only messed with them once, but also wanted to take them away completely.

Zhai Da sighed. He wasn't an animal rights activist, but unnecessary casualties were pointless.
Finally, Zhai Da muttered to himself, "Rebuilding the nest is troublesome, but it doesn't affect survival, especially now that spring is here and food is plentiful. I've also seen no eggs in the White Model World."

Without further hesitation, he placed his palm on the tree trunk again.

This was the first time he had received such a huge amount of equipment, and he was a little nervous.

With a loud "bang," the sudden appearance of the vacuum zone caused a whistling airflow, and the large tree, which was as thick as two people could hug, standing in the yard, simply vanished into thin air.

The part about "execution of Old Yu" was completely wiped out; such a huge commotion didn't even leave behind a single fallen leaf.

However, the parts that were not part of the "execution of Old Yu" remained in mid-air, including the bird nests that fell down.

The flock of crows were startled and took flight, narrowly avoiding falling to the ground. They circled and emitted even more piercing cries, seemingly trying to express something.

Or they might use very harsh language.

There was only a hole on the ground, about the same size as the old elm tree, but the area below it was empty.

Zhai Da roughly covered the hole with a shovel, took one last look at the restless crows, and left No. 99 Luochuan Road.

Although it was an unexpected situation, I still had to see my mom and Tang Xiao Kui since I was here.

Give them a surprise.

Zhai Da returned to the roadside, hailed a taxi, and headed towards Sanmao Residential Area.

The [Mechanical Core] can be transferred across provinces using the "Equipment Slots", but it can only be driven by the user for convenience and cannot be detected by those around them.

Otherwise, Mom would assume he drove back and forth, which would inevitably cause her worry.

On the way, Zhai Da put on a mask, closed his eyes to rest, he had gotten up too early today.
Little did they know that a huge crow was flapping its wings and flying above the taxi.

Under the midday sun, its feathers reflect a variegated purple light, which is why it was called the "auspicious black bird" in ancient times.

They continued to follow Zhai Da forward.

(End of this chapter)