Chapter Twelve: The Water and Power Sources of the Floating Island

Page (1/3)

Gu Xi examined the reward carefully. She clicked on the description, only to find that the details contained just a few words, leaving her somewhat speechless. However, the phrase "speedrun" stood out prominently. She wasn’t particularly concerned about the reward for quickly leaving the Floating Island—after all, nothing could be worse than the current situation. What she really wanted to know was when she might have the chance to collect the rare Mousefolk card. She wondered what the system would reward her this time. Seeing such a friendly little mouse before her, she felt a bit reluctant.

The mouse led Su Chen and Gu Xi on a tour of their homeland, introducing everything as they went. They had just arrived at the transportation area for grains and vegetables. Su Chen was well aware that the Floating Island had no natural power generation or water treatment facilities.

“I want to know, aside from daily food and drink deliveries to the Floating Island, do you have any other operations?” Su Chen asked cautiously, stroking his chin, trying to glean some information from the eager little mouse.

Hearing this, the mouse was extremely excited! “Human deity, you asked the right mouse! I am an E-mouse among the Mousefolk; there’s nothing I don’t know. Follow me—I’ll explain everything and give you a tour.” It excitedly shifted from standing on two legs to running on all fours.

Because of its small size, when it took a step, Gu Xi and Su Chen only needed to take one large stride, so from a side view, it just looked like they quickened their pace. From the wheat fields to the edge of the vegetable gardens, they directly climbed a steep hill. Not far from this hill, many heads were bustling.

“What’s this?” Gu Xi asked curiously. The hill had blocked their view before, and the scenery on this side was quite different from the wheat fields. Over the hill, a strong scent of labor struck Su Chen and Gu Xi’s faces.

They saw rows upon rows of wind turbines, resembling dense sunflowers, planted firmly in the dry earth. Even more discomforting was that beneath these sunflower-like turbines, on both sides, sat two Mousefolk each, wearing hoodies. They were barefoot, fur-covered feet furiously pedaling.

Page (2/3)

The sound they made was like heavy panting—ha-shoo, ha-shoo. After exerting all their strength, the wind turbines in the ground began to spin.

“What is this?” Su Chen pointed at the hardworking creatures.

“That’s right, these are the Mousefolk,” the enthusiastic guide explained proudly.

Gu Xi remained silent. Su Chen was puzzled—why did so many Mousefolk come to do this work?

“Are they generating electricity for the Floating Island? Is all the island’s power generated by you?” He pointed at the electric currents shooting into the sky. At this moment, before they left the Floating Island, the entire city had no electricity. Surely, the Mousefolk must know this. Didn’t anyone tell them to stop?

“Yes, all the electricity on the Floating Island is generated by us,” the Mousefolk replied.

Gu Xi’s mind was already piecing together the answer—surely water came from them as well.

“Oh, so both electricity and water come from you. Let’s go see how you provide clean water to the Floating Island,” Su Chen continued. He was genuinely curious, having only read about such things in childhood books but never seen them in reality. This was a chance to broaden his horizons.

Similarly, when entering this place, he had tested the illusion function to ensure safety—no problems detected. His ability was to create illusions and test whether the surrounding environment was an illusion or posed any danger. If his earring glowed with color, it meant the illusion was solid. If it showed no color, it meant there was no need to create illusions or memories for anyone here.

Being in such an authentic place, even if temporarily, was quite pleasant. Though he still didn’t know how to leave the Floating Island, this brief stay was meaningful. On his map, this area was shaded gray. His brother once told him that if one day he could illuminate the entire map scroll, he would learn why his brother left and what legacy he had left behind.

He wasn’t particularly interested in the legacy but was eager to know why his brother disappeared after leaving only a map scroll and a note. Despite various efforts, nobody could find his brother or know how he was faring. The mystery of that map scroll had left a deep psychological shadow on him since the day his brother vanished.

Page (3/3)

Gu Xi and Su Chen walked side by side. Crossing the uphill path in their ordinary outdoor shoes was somewhat inconvenient; Gu Xi had almost tripped over a small stone just moments before.

Seeing Gu Xi stumble, the Mousefolk rushed to her side with lightning speed and knelt down beside her. “Human deity, are you alright? Be careful,” it said, sweat glistening on its forehead, as if afraid some precious treasure might have been broken.

This was the first time Gu Xi had been cared for so attentively by someone or something, and she felt a bit overwhelmed by the pampering.

“Oh, I’m fine. Hurry and show us how you handle drainage—I’m quite curious,” Gu Xi said, brushing dust off her knees and preparing to move forward.

The Mousefolk sighed in relief upon seeing her unharmed. “Good, otherwise, Chief would have my head, scared me to death,” it muttered. Though spoken softly, Gu Xi heard it clearly.

“After we finish looking at the drainage, where will you take us next? It’s getting late. Or maybe you can tell us how to leave the Floating Island?” Su Chen asked.

The Mousefolk walked ahead, sounding a bit guilty. “After the drainage tour, the chief has prepared a banquet for the evening. You’re all invited. As for how to leave the Floating Island, you’ll have to wait until after the meal; the chief will tell you. As for me, I’m not in the know. Hee hee hee, squeak squeak squeak!”

Apparently, this was a highly diplomatic mouse.

In no time, they arrived at a pool of water. It was unlike what Gu Xi had imagined—the pool was covered with algae. Green plankton completely blanketed the water’s surface.

Next to the pool was a sign: [Floating Island Water Purification Area. No unauthorized mice allowed. Electric current present. Danger!]

Just as the Mousefolk prepared to lead the two closer, a group of yellow heads suddenly emerged from beneath the pool. Not just one, but many.

Their faces were identical to the Mousefolk guide’s, but much more ferocious. Even more puzzling, pale yellow liquid dripped from their mouths. Upon seeing Gu Xi and Su Chen, they collectively emitted sharp, terrifying squeaks.