My Apocalypse System Arrives 10 Years Early

Chapter 117: Chapter 104: Feeling Too Much Like a Thief (Part 2)

In fact, Li Xiang had seen from the backend that the number of online viewers had at one point shot up to over five hundred thousand. The stream simply displayed a maximum of ”100,000+”.

After a dozen sips of Spirit Wine, Li Xiang’s body was coursing with potent Medicinal Power. Full of vigor, he switched hands and continued to work. He had been primarily using his right hand, but now he changed to his left.

Powerful Extraordinary Beings were all ambidextrous. If their right hand was injured, they could use their left to execute Swordsmanship that was no less formidable. In fact, because left-handed swordplay was less common, the angles of attack were different, often creating an element of surprise.

When Li Xiang ate at home, he would often switch hands without thinking, just as nimble with his chopsticks in his left hand as in his right.

As he completed the Refinement of the Medicinal Power, the pure luminescence within Li Xiang’s flesh and blood grew richer, and the more he worked, the more energized he felt.

Infused with Spiritual Power, the head of the Iron Pickaxe became ”unstoppable,” and each swing chiseled away a large chunk of rock.

At noon, Li Xiang ended his stream and used the Divine Movement Technique to head home for lunch.

Under the cover of the dense mountain forest, his figure was like a phantom, moving with incredible speed. Only when he neared his house did he slow to a leisurely stroll. During the meal, he mentioned to his grandmother that he was digging a cave in the mountains.

Grandma asked, ”Why are you going all the way out there to dig a cave?”

Li Xiang laughed. ”The fans love watching it. Besides, if there’s ever a major flood, we can take shelter in the mountain cave.”

Grandma was baffled. ”What’s so interesting about watching someone dig a cave?” ’She couldn’t understand young people these days. Why did they love watching people work online?’

But not understanding didn’t mean she wasn’t supportive. In any case, her grandson was earning money from it, and that was a skill in itself. Livestreaming himself working was much better than going out carousing, womanizing, and gambling.

As for what Li Xiang said about a flood, Grandma completely dismissed it. After all, this was Li Family Village. If he’d mentioned an earthquake, she might have worried a little, but a major flood? Heh. In all her life, she had only ever heard of major floods happening elsewhere, never near her home.

Little did she know that next summer—no, this summer, since New Year’s Day had already passed—Sichuan Province would experience unusually heavy rainfall. The water levels of the Qingyi River, Min River, Jialing River, Jinsha River, Tuo River, Fu River, Qu River, Yalong River, Dadu River, Anning River, and the Yangtze River would all surge, putting immense flood control pressure on many cities in the province. A flood crest would even pass through Li Xiang’s city. However, all of this was a minor affair, hardly worth mentioning compared to the super-flood that would come a few years later.

Why is Sichuan Province called ”Sichuan”? It wasn’t because it only had four major rivers—it has many more than that. If one considers that Han Zhong was once part of Sichuan Province, then the Han River would have to be added to the list.

The ”Chuan” in Sichuan does not refer to rivers, but to plains, as in the phrase for ”a vast expanse of flat land.”

In The First Year of Tang Daizong’s Dali Era (766 AD), the jurisdiction of the Jiannan Jiedu Envoy was divided into Jian Nan East River and Jian Nan West River, collectively known as the ”Two Chuans of Jiannan.”

By the time of the Song Dynasty, the area was reorganized into Yizhou Road, Zizhou Road, Lizhou Road, and Kuizhou Road, collectively known as the Four Roads of Chuanxia. This is where the ”Si” (Four) and ”Chuan” in the name ”Sichuan” originate.

As for the phrase ”Liu Bei takes Xichuan” in *Romance of the Three Kingdoms*, it’s clearly a historical error, as the term ”Xichuan” simply didn’t exist during the Han Dynasty.

As for the present-day Sichuan Province, it can only be called ”2.5 Chuan + 0.5 Kang,” because many areas have since been separated from it. For instance, Yu.

After lunch, Li Xiang found a battery-powered searchlight, grabbed a portable power bank, and went back to continue livestreaming his excavation.

The stream was as lively as ever, but Li Xiang didn’t interact with the viewers, focusing solely on his work (which was, in fact, his training).

He changed stances frequently, employing his Breathing Technique and Body Techniques as he hacked away with the pickaxe. In just over half a day, he had tunneled four to five meters deep. The light inside was growing dim, so he had to take out the searchlight he’d brought to illuminate the cave’s interior.

It was four to five meters deep, over two meters high and wide, and had an arched ceiling. If necessary, he could continue to widen and heighten it.

To make it higher, he would have to dig downward, since it was no longer convenient to dig at the ceiling.

The fans were astonished. ’He dug this much in just over half a day? His efficiency is off the charts!’

”Brother Xiang, I take back what I said this morning. At this rate, you’ll dig through the whole mountain in less than a month!”

”Though he can’t dig every day. He’s gotta rest.”

”Incredible. He’s the streamer with the most stamina I’ve ever seen. Those guys whose whole brand is combat sports and Traditional Martial Arts can’t hold a candle to Brother Xiang.”

While moving the excavated Stone, Li Xiang suddenly discovered something peculiar and decided to share it with his audience.

”Everyone, take a look! This is a large Stone I just dug up, and there’s a conch shell embedded inside!” Li Xiang held the Stone up to the camera to show everyone.

”So it’s true!”

”I’ve always heard that the Ba-Shu Region used to be an ocean. Turns out it wasn’t just a myth.”

”Then does that mean Kuimen was really carved open by Yu the Great?”

”No way, that’s impossible. Although from a bird’s-eye view, the Ba-Shu Region is clearly a basin and Qutang Gorge is its only outlet. And the cliffs are sheer, as if hewn by axes, looking a bit like a modern spillway... but they couldn’t have had that kind of massive construction capability back in the age of Yu the Great, could they?”

Luo Feifei couldn’t resist replying, ”Maybe there were Extraordinary Beings back then.”

”You’ve been reading too many fantasy novels, haven’t you? What’s next, gods and immortals?”

Luo Feifei didn’t argue. She knew no one would believe her, simply thinking to herself, ’In the Dream Realm, I’m a powerful Extraordinary Being. A Female War God.’

She had told her mother about it, but her mom just thought she was under too much stress from work and had even turned down a few roles on her behalf. Otherwise, Luo Feifei would be earning even more money.

Luo Feifei often acted in historical dramas, many of them fantasy or wuxia, so it wasn’t surprising that she would have such dreams.

A few moments later, Li Xiang dug out a large seashell.

Then he unearthed the bones of some aquatic creatures.

To everyone’s surprise, many of these conch shells, seashells, and bones were clearly not fossils. This sparked yet another heated discussion among the viewers.

”Maybe the era of the ’Sea of Ba-Shu’ wasn’t that long ago. Otherwise, why haven’t these shells and conches fossilized?”

As Li Xiang’s Iron Pickaxe came down, a dazzling flash of red suddenly appeared and vanished.

Li Xiang glanced over. Among the chunks of rock on the ground, one had a patch of vivid red. In the beam of the searchlight, it glittered like a sparkling Gemstone.

On the cavern wall itself, a large patch of red was now exposed. It was mottled, but many parts were vibrant and translucent, almost like jade.

He glanced over his shoulder. ’Good, my body is blocking the phone’s camera.’

’And it’s pretty far away, so the fans probably didn’t notice.’

Maintaining a neutral expression, he dug out a few more ordinary Stones and used them to cover the spot. He also turned to adjust the searchlight’s brightness and angle, making the red less conspicuous. Then, a moment later, Li Xiang made an excuse and announced he was ending the stream.

The fans were reluctant to let him go. ”Don’t go, Brother Xiang! It’s still early, keep going!”

”Watching you dig is like watching artistic gymnastics. It’s so relaxing and satisfying to watch.”

”Your movements are so cool and graceful.”

But another fan said, ”Brother Xiang has been working for a long time today. Even an iron man would be exhausted. You should go rest. There’s always tomorrow, don’t wear yourself out.”

However, a few sharp-eyed fans noticed something was off and commented, ”Why do I feel like Brother Xiang was acting super sketchy just now? Kinda furtive? Did you dig up something good?”

This comment immediately piqued everyone’s interest.

Everyone chimed in. ”Yeah, Brother Xiang, if you found something good, you have to share it with us! Don’t hoard it! You could sell it, you know!”

”Quick! What did you find? Let us see!”

”I think I just saw a flash of red on the stream. It couldn’t be a Ruby, could it?”

Luo Feifei also stared at the screen, her curiosity piqued. In truth, being highly perceptive, she had noticed it too. Seeing Li Xiang’s obviously unnatural expression now only made her more suspicious.

Seeing that many fans had figured it out, Li Xiang felt a pang of guilt. He wiped away a cold sweat and blurted out, ”What are you talking about? I’m just really tired. Bye, we’ll continue tomorrow!”

Then he hurriedly ended the stream.

Little did he know, his reaction only made many of his fans even more suspicious. ’Everything was going fine, so why did he rush off like a thief making a getaway?’

”Maybe he hit a mineral deposit? Is he afraid of someone reporting him, so he ended the stream?” someone asked in the fan group chat.