Ahhhhh, high-altitude survival!

Chapter 151, Bitter Plum Tree

Seeing this, Lin Yue quickly spat out the fruit she hadn't yet swallowed, and looked at the tree full of fruit with lingering fear. An old saying came to mind: "A tree by the roadside that bears many fruits must be a bitter plum." The ancients were right!

Seeing the man and wolf spitting incessantly to the side, a barely perceptible smile flashed in Xuan Ye's eyes. It glanced at the large tree beside it, then darted up in a few steps. It moved nimbly among the branches, and in no time, it deftly knocked down three fruits.

Xuan Ye used a clever technique, and the fruit, as if it had eyes, landed perfectly in Lin Yue's hand.

Lin Yue was taken aback at first and subconsciously raised her hand to wave her away, but then she suddenly remembered that Xuan Ye had found two apples that permanently increased the maximum energy value at a glance, and she immediately perked up.

She quickly took the three plums back into her backpack and looked closely. Sure enough, the system description clearly stated: 【Bitter Plum: Permanently increases Intelligence by 1 upon consumption.】

Lin Yue was delighted to find that the fruit truly increased the upper limit, and handed one to Bai Shuang and one to Xuan Ye.

There are three plums in total, and the three of them can divide them equally.

When Bai Shuang saw the bitter plum offered to her nose, she was so frightened that she took several steps back, shaking her head like a rattle drum, and shouting, "Sister, I don't want it! I'll give you the one I have. Don't worry, it's a voluntary gift, you don't have to return it!" Her appearance was a true depiction of someone who wanted to avoid it at all costs.

What kind of ridiculous gossip has Bai Shuang been hearing lately? She's even picked up new words. Bai Shuang found it somewhat amusing and looked in Xuan Ye's direction.

Xuan Ye shook his head slightly and replied briefly, "I don't need it."

Well then, since the two little ones have "voluntarily given" it to her, Lin Yue won't be polite. As she progresses through more levels in Plants vs. Zombies, the energy she needs will also increase, so the more of this fruit, the better.

Just thinking about the strange taste in her mouth made Lin Yue shudder. But attribute points were far more important than that taste. She gritted her teeth, closed her eyes, broke open the three fruits, removed the pits, and stuffed them into her mouth. She took a few bites haphazardly and swallowed them whole.

Not long after eating the fruit, Lin Yue felt a familiar warm current. Checking her attribute panel, she saw that her intelligence had reached 33 points – great! She felt even more motivated now.

Lin Yue was about to leave when she stopped and looked back at the big tree, her eyes filled with a mixture of hesitation and contemplation. Although the plums on the tree were terribly bitter, and just thinking about the taste made her throat tighten, they were still food, and a rare fruit at that.

Maybe we can find other materials to process these plums into canned goods or something, which can preserve them for a long time and improve the taste. Well, it doesn't matter if the taste is a little worse, since there are still so many people who are short of food. Once everyone calls their relatives over, the food shortage will probably widen even further. It's better to let her take this tree and make the most of it.

"Bai Shuang!" Lin Yue called out, raising her voice slightly. Bai Shuang, who had been squatting to the side, idly fiddling with the pebbles on the ground, twitched her ears upon hearing Lin Yue's call and quickly looked over.

"I'm planning to dig up this tree, can you help me?" Lin Yue squatted down next to Bai Shuang, looking at it earnestly. She remembered that Bai Shuang was very strong, and wondered if she could help her take a break.

"Sister, why did you take this bitter tree away?" Bai Shuang's round eyes widened suddenly, and she almost jumped up in protest, her furry little paws waving in the air. "I don't want to eat it!!! Don't try to trick me again!!"

Its voice still carried a hint of grievance, as if it remembered that Lin Yue was the one who started teasing it first.

Seeing this, Lin Yue quickly reached out and patted Bai Shuang's fluffy head reassuringly, a smile playing on her lips: "Don't worry, don't worry, it's not for you to eat."

"Huh? So you actually think it's delicious, sister?" Bai Shuang tilted her head, her face showing a "so this is the kind of sister you are" expression, clearly sympathizing with Lin Yue's taste.

Then, it shook its head regretfully, tilted its head back, and let out a loud "Awoo!"

No sooner had the roar ended than a few seconds later, several small animals, resembling cats, darted out from around the bitter plum tree. They were agile and nimble. With a single paw, each animal deftly scooped up soil, sending particles flying through the air without creating any mess.

Huh? Lin Yue was taken aback. She blinked and stared for a while before suddenly remembering Bai Shuang's unique skill. She quickly opened her bracelet and secretly checked Bai Shuang's status panel. Sure enough, it clearly showed that Bai Shuang had activated one of its skills—Leader, which could summon beasts of a lower level than itself to join the battle.

Hmm, Lin Yue originally thought this was only good for calling people to fight, but she didn't expect it could also be used for work.

No wonder, she thought. Although the bitter plum doesn't taste very good, it can at least increase attribute values, and its size is quite rare. How could there not be wild beasts coveting and guarding it?

So when she was picking plums, Bai Shuang's "howling" wasn't because she was happy that there would be food soon, but because she was using her intimidation to keep those little beasts from showing up and causing trouble.

Wow, it seems its leadership skill is really amazing! If Bai Shuang had been there when they encountered the stinging ants, with just this one ability, those little ants would probably have turned around and left, without needing Lin Yue and Little Mushroom to take action.

But then she thought, if Bai Shuang had been there, Lin Yue probably wouldn't have continued to advance the Plants vs. Zombies game, and naturally wouldn't have thought of the summoning spell, and wouldn't have been able to contact the little mouse. Uncle Dong certainly wouldn't have been able to successfully become Master Lu Wei's apprentice.

Looking at it this way, it's actually better this way; there's a divine will at work.

Perhaps because White Frost's level was much higher than those kittens, the little guys were working extra hard, and before long, the entire plum tree was swaying. Lin Yue quickly stepped forward, held the trunk with her hands, first put it into her bracelet backpack, and then put it directly into the Plants vs. Zombies game.

The tree was quite large, with its roots still in the soil, and it took Lin Yue a lot of effort to put it in. Fortunately, the tree seemed to be particularly adaptable. Seeing that Lin Yue had finished fiddling with it in a few moments and started to take out a small watering can to water it, Lin Yue felt relieved and continued walking forward.