Starting Cultivation in Wasteland-Chapter 528 - 398: Other Civilizations

Seeing Granny Jia sleep so soundly, Qu Jianlei felt embarrassed to disturb her and could only stand there silently.

However, the moment he stopped, Granny Jia’s snoring came to an abrupt halt.

Then she lifted her head, wiped the corner of her mouth with her sleeve, and slowly opened her eyes, "Anything?"

Qu Jianlei smiled, "Granny Jia, were you asleep or not?"

"Just resting a bit, being lazy," Granny Jia’s old eyes remained half-open, half-closed, with a dim gaze.

"If I died two years earlier, how long could I have slept? No rush now... what’s the matter?"

Qu Jianlei took out a few photos, showing a broken hairpin, "I’d like to ask, do you recognize this?"

"Hmm?" Granny Jia glanced at it, her eyes widened instantly, "Is this... a hairpin?"

As imagined, when she said the word "hairpin," it was in the pronunciation of the Divine Land language, albeit with an accent.

"Found on Steve," Qu Jianlei didn’t want to deceive the old lady, "It feels a bit mysterious."

"Ah, he had this kind of good thing on him?" Granny Jia looked surprised.

The next moment, she hesitated to speak, "Can you take it out and let me see?"

"This..." Qu Jianlei was momentarily speechless, "If I said I destroyed it, would you believe me?"

"Of course, I believe you," Granny Jia replied, her body relaxing as she lazily leaned against the cabinet.

"If you wanted to trick me, there are plenty of excuses."

Isn’t it true that the old lady has seen it all? She really understands everything.

Qu Jianlei hadn’t initially decided how much to share, but seeing this, he couldn’t be evasive anymore.

"That hairpin has the ability to defend against spiritual attacks, it feels very peculiar."

Granny Jia squinted her eyes, answering lazily, "Very normal, a hairpin either defends against spiritual attacks or against lightning."

Isn’t this exactly my nemesis? Qu Jianlei was stunned to hear that, "It can also resist electromagnetic attacks?"

"Yes," Granny Jia replied weakly, but the next moment, her eyes suddenly opened wide and her expression became serious.

"Are you saying that even after the hairpin broke, it could still repel your spiritual power?"

"Yes," Qu Jianlei felt a bit embarrassed, but he couldn’t deny the truth, "Luckily, Steve didn’t take it out."

"That guy... was quite lucky," Granny Jia sighed softly, deep in thought.

Then, she looked at Qu Jianlei, her eyes bright and piercing, "Even damaged, this item... do you have any remnants of it?"

"Granny Jia, you have to give me more information," Qu Jianlei wasn’t foolish; he knew this was the time to make a deal.

"If there’s not enough reason, even if I show it to you... it won’t be easy to explain."

He didn’t say to whom he’d have to explain—actually, it was to his hometown, but if the old lady assumed otherwise, it wasn’t his concern.

Granny Jia’s eyes flickered with a sharp light, hesitating as she spoke, "If you don’t know... it might bring you trouble."

"I’m not afraid of trouble with this matter," Qu Jianlei answered decisively.

The information gathered had reached this point, there was no way he could back down, "It better be shocking enough, so I have a reason to convince others."

"This..." Granny Jia contemplated for a while, then sighed, "Actually, quite a few people know, it’s related to divine script."

The old lady knew that such defensive items had an untraceable origin and could not be replicated.

Anyone who obtained such an item was truly fortunate; its value was indescribable.

She had been lucky enough to hear some information before, knowing it was armor meant to guard against two rare attack methods.

Saying this, she sighed deeply, "According to old legends... some hairpins could even enlarge, and their attacks were sharp."

"But no one has actually seen a hairpin attack, though occasionally, the latter two types of hairpins can be seen."

Qu Jianlei asked in response, "This broken hairpin, what’s its value in Supreme terms?"

"At least ten Supreme... minimum!" Granny Jia answered without hesitation, "Even broken, it still has defensive capabilities, high-class goods!"

"This is truly..." Qu Jianlei twitched at the corners of his mouth. Little Hu, that brat, is too extravagant!

Then he cleared his throat, "This Steve is quite brainless, holding such a treasure and still trying to seize some electromagnetic body technique?"

After all, according to the old lady’s evaluation, the electromagnetic body technique was worth at most only two Supreme.

"He didn’t dare let anyone know," Granny Jia answered steadily, "Otherwise, he couldn’t keep it."

Qu Jianlei was again a little surprised, "Even the Supreme can’t keep such a thing?"

"Supremes vary in strength," Granny Jia replied without a ripple of emotion, "I’m quite curious how you managed to damage it?"

Isn’t this asking me to show the item? Qu Jianlei thought to himself.

However, he had another question to ask, "Granny Jia, how did you get all this information?"

"Acquired..." Granny Jia squinted her eyes, "Many channels; living long has this benefit."

"But most channels are official, like through the academy or the military, others are personal experiences."

Hearing this, Qu Jianlei pondered and asked, "Does Green Water Academy have any similar information?"

"Green Water? Impossible," Granny Jia shook her head and replied without hesitation, "The history is too short."

Qu Jianlei wanted to ask something else, but the old lady couldn’t hold back, "You’ve been asking for so long, can I take a look at the item?"

Qu Jianlei took out two broken hairpin pieces wrapped in paper and carefully placed them on the table.

Granny Jia straightened her back and carefully opened the paper wrap, pausing in surprise when she saw the broken hairpin.

She cautiously used her spiritual power to perceive it several times, falling into contemplation.

About a minute later, she raised her head and looked at Qu Jianlei in puzzlement, "This dreadful... how did you manage it?"

Qu Jianlei waved his hand and answered straightforwardly, "Sorry, it’s not convenient to say."

He realized now that sometimes a direct refusal was more effective than a roundabout one, which could also put an end to the other person’s curiosity.

Of course, the premise is having the ability to do so; otherwise, it’s not a refusal but asking for trouble.

Indeed, Granny Jia didn’t mind and after a moment of thought, suddenly spoke up, "How much has your cultivation level increased?"

"Cultivation... increased?" Qu Jianlei was stunned by the question, "Mine?"

He hadn’t thought that this thing could boost cultivation level, but all the benefits went to Xiao Hu.

Granny Jia was even more astonished than he, "You destroyed such a treasure, and your cultivation level didn’t increase?"

Qu Jianlei blinked, uncertainly, "It seems... there is some healing effect."

Upon hearing this, Granny Jia frowned slightly, then slowly nodded, "Maybe... the energy in this thing is very calm."

Qu Jianlei furrowed his brows as well, "There’s energy? I only sensed some spiritual replenishment."

"That, I don’t know," Granny Jia shook her head bluntly.

The next moment, she thoughtfully remarked, "But it’s possible, if it’s defending against spiritual attacks, supplementing spiritual power is not unusual, right?"

Qu Jianlei was thinking of something else, "You said the energy is relatively calm... is that a different type of energy?"

"You should ask your own people," Granny Jia answered directly, "Some things shouldn’t be told by me."

Qu Jianlei pondered for a while and then asked, "One last question, is this energy possessed by the civilization that mastered the divine script?"

Since it’s called divine script, it must belong to another civilization.

Even if in this universe, some civilizations differ from the Imperial, they shouldn’t be called divine.

"Of course," Granny Jia answered without hesitation.

She didn’t think the other party was unaware of this information, then sighed, "It’s a pity it appeared too briefly."

Qu Jianlei suppressed the excitement in his heart and asked solemnly, "I don’t know much about this civilization; could you elaborate?"

Granny Jia rolled her eyes at him, "Go back and ask your own people. If they don’t tell you, it means you’re not qualified to know yet."

Qu Jianlei didn’t feel like continuing the conversation about his untrustworthy family, and he glanced at the broken hairpin, "So I’ll take this away?"

Granny Jia’s mouth twitched, it was clear she was also quite interested in the remnants of the broken hairpin.

But she still watched Qu Jianlei put away the broken hairpin and softly asked, "Could you tell me how you managed to break it?"

Qu Jianlei shook his head and smiled as he replied, "Who doesn’t have a few secrets?"

Watching him leave directly, Granny Jia stared at his back and gently shook her head, "You truly dare to reveal anything."

Qu Jianlei gained quite a lot today, especially confirming that the people from Divine Land have indeed been here.

Moreover, the number of people who knew about this was probably not small, but the information barrier still existed strongly.

The key point is that such barriers are mutually agreed upon, distinct from the government’s official stance.

Even Granny Jia was like this; she had helped Qu Jianlei several times, even against Steve.

But when it comes to this topic, she wouldn’t speak an extra word.

That afternoon, the atmosphere in the Old City District grew tense, as the City Guard and Patrol Guard intensified their patrols and started house-to-house investigations.

The library was also investigated, with everyone called to verify their identities, even book borrowers weren’t spared.

However, this was, after all, a government body, so the investigators were just going through the motions.

Strictly speaking, it wasn’t that the investigators were negligent; with a metropolitan population of fifty million, there was simply no capacity for in-depth investigation!

During the investigation of Qu Jianlei, it was somewhat more stringent, and it was unknown if the government had received a big list from the Quantum Team.

Qu Jianlei maintained his composure and appeared unproblematic, but after being questioned twice, someone still indicated they wanted to take him for further thorough investigation.

Lack of investigative power? Taking him back for slow examination sounded reasonable, right?

At this moment, Granny Jia spoke up, her voice trembling, "Panda, come help me organize some books."

No one paid attention to an old woman with white hair, but the curator spoke, "Panda, you go ahead."

The investigators were quite dissatisfied, but the curator lightly coughed, "Granny Jia is the A-level guarding the Rare Books Tower!"

An A-level Warrior is truly far removed from ordinary people, and those who knew the library were aware of the unique nature of the Rare Books Tower.

So, after a moment of hesitation, they chose not to bother Qu Jianlei further, letting him go.