Chapter 283: Chapter 235: The Mysterious Jade Token That Affects Celestial Phenomena

"Fifty Gold Coins for the two Spiritual Longswords. For the remaining eight weapons made of common materials, I’ll give you five Gold Coins. That’s fifty-five Gold Coins total. Is that price acceptable to you?"

Lin Li wasn’t sure what the going rate was for weapons that were practically scrap.

However, he readily agreed after hearing the Shopkeeper’s offer, as the price was higher than he had expected.

Before coming to the pawn shop, Lin Li had expected forty Gold Coins at most.

"Sir, shall I convert the Gold Coins to Spirit Stones, same as last time?" the Shopkeeper asked when he saw Lin Li accept the offer.

"Yes, convert it all to Spirit Stones." Lin Li naturally chose to convert the payment. After all, Spirit Stones were a hard currency in both worlds and could be easily exchanged for the local currency in either.

A moment later, Lin Li left the pawn shop with eleven Spirit Stones from the Shopkeeper. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

He headed toward a distant alley, lightly tossing the small linen bag containing the eleven Spirit Stones in his hand as a thought crossed his mind.

’I basically just picked up eleven Spirit Stones for free. This morning’s trip out of the city wasn’t a waste after all.’

’Oh, right. I almost forgot about that other item. I’ll take care of it when I get back, then I can take a nap.’

After crossing the road and stepping into the alley, Lin Li vanished without a trace.

......

On the Mysterious Small Island, shrouded in a boundless white mist, a figure materialized before the arched Stone Gate at its center, a structure as black as ink.

Back on the Mysterious Small Island, Lin Li had a thought and instantly vanished from where he stood.

The next second, he reappeared in the southern part of the island, standing before a Spirit Plant covered in Spirit Fruits that resembled cherry tomatoes.

Next to this Spirit Plant, a plastic-sealed bag lay quietly on the grass.

Lin Li bent down, picked up the bag, and examined the grimy, dark object inside. He then moved a few steps to the side and used a shovel to dig a small hole in the ground.

’In a few days, I should know if you’re really a Spirit Plant seed.’

Lin Li opened the bag and placed the object, which looked like a chestnut from Blue Star, into the hole he had dug.

He covered it with soil, tamped it down with his foot, and gave it some water.

’All done.’ After planting the unknown item, Lin Li went to check on the fields he had tilled, where he had previously planted crops like potatoes and corn.

Although not much time had passed, the crops had already sprouted.

Based on past experience, they would be ready for harvest in just a few more days.

"Yaaawn..." His work finished, a sleepy Lin Li yawned and left the Mysterious Small Island.

......

「At 3:00 PM.」

In the dim bedroom, Lin Li slowly opened his eyes after a short nap.

*Haaaah...*

Outside, a fierce wind howled, causing the windowpanes to vibrate faintly.

Just having woken up, Lin Li heard the noise and looked toward the window, confused.

’What’s going on? Why did the wind suddenly pick up like this?’

He threw off the covers, got out of bed, and walked to the window. Pulling back the curtains, he looked outside.

The sky was now overcast with dark clouds. Gusts of wind tore through the complex, making the flowers and trees in the greenbelts RUSTLE noisily.

BOOM...

A clap of thunder cracked across the sky, startling countless people and making their hearts jump.

’Looks like a huge storm is about to hit. The weather changed so fast... there wasn’t any warning at all.’

Before Lin Li returned from the Mysterious Small Island to the real world for his nap, the weather had been perfect.

The sun had been shining brightly in a cloudless sky, with no hint of rain.

But now, after sleeping for a little over two hours, he woke up to find the perfect, clear sky had turned foul.

Lin Li pulled the curtains closed again. He left the bedroom and went to the bathroom to wash his face, rinsing away the last traces of sleep.

BOOM...

BOOM...

BOOM...

The thunder rumbled again, much more frequently than it had four or five minutes earlier.

After about ten minutes of continuous, earth-shaking thunderclaps, the pitter-patter of fine raindrops began.

The falling raindrops formed silvery threads, twisting erratically in the wind as if dancing to its wild tune.

Lin Li had been planning to go out for hot pot this evening, but now he just stood on his balcony, staring out at the hazy curtain of rain.

Seeing the sheer intensity of the downpour, he knew it wouldn’t be stopping anytime soon. He had to abandon his hot pot plans.

"The weather forecast clearly said it would be sunny for the next few days. How could a storm like this just pop up out of nowhere? The forecast is so unreliable!"

Lin Li grumbled, recalling the forecast he had checked that morning as he watched the pouring rain outside.

He then turned back inside and went to the kitchen to wash some fruit.

......

The sudden, unforecasted storm enveloped almost the entire city.

Everyone was caught completely off guard by the sudden torrential rain.

Pedestrians scrambled for cover, but the rain was so heavy that many still ended up with soaked clothes and shoes despite finding shelter.

Office workers, previously absorbed in their tasks, all stopped what they were doing as the storm hit.

Listening to the PATTER of rain against the windows and the intermittent cracks of thunder, they groaned inwardly.

"Oh no, no, no! My laundry! I just washed it last night, and it’s still hanging outside! It’s going to be completely ruined."

"Are you kidding me? Didn’t the weather report say it was going to be clear skies for the next few days? Why is there suddenly a massive storm?"

"I didn’t bring an umbrella! I hope this rain stops by the time we get off work, or I might be stuck at the office all night."

Everyone was puzzled as to why a major storm had suddenly appeared when the forecast had shown no signs of rain for days.

Everyone complained about the sudden storm, but that was as far as it went; no one gave it any deeper thought.

In truth, the unannounced storm that had abruptly enveloped the entire city was the result of an accident.

「Inside a high-spec laboratory at the Rongcheng Spiritual Energy Research Institute.」

A middle-aged man in his forties with a buzz cut, dressed in a white lab coat, stared grimly at a Jade Token on the lab bench. The token was emitting a faint golden Spiritual Light.

The Jade Token was palm-sized and made of a common material, its surface covered in many faint, intricate patterns.

As it glowed with a faint golden Spiritual Light, it continuously emitted invisible Spiritual Energy Waves.

As time went on, the humidity around the glowing Jade Token began to rise, and beads of water started to form on its surface.

This man in his forties was a senior researcher at the Spiritual Energy Research Institute.

Minutes earlier, just as he was about to leave the lab, frustrated by the lack of progress in his research on the token, the Jade Token had unexpectedly activated on its own.

It then began to influence Rongcheng’s weather, triggering the city’s sudden, violent storm.

*Ding.*

Just as the middle-aged man was debating whether to shut down the Jade Token’s activity, the laboratory door opened.

An elderly man with white hair, around sixty years old, walked in. Following closely behind him were several men and women about the same age as the researcher.

The elderly man’s name was Wang Shi, director of the Rongcheng Spiritual Energy Research Institute.

The people behind him were also researchers, but they were only mid-level. Their authority was far less than that of the middle-aged man, a senior researcher.

......