Meyer's lifelike appearance was still vivid in his mind, and Samuel Young, worried he might meet the same fate, picked up the safe and left the Tree of Life.

Not long after he left, the panel suddenly popped up again: [Successfully protected the Tree of Life. Reward: Earth Goblin*1]

Seeing this, Samuel Young was stunned: Wasn't the money in the safe the reward he got for defending the Tree of Life?

The Tree of Life had grown a bit taller, its crown even larger. At some point, a green fruit on it had grown to the size of a basketball, and then, swaying, it suddenly fell to the ground.

The peel split open, and a green-skinned little fellow with big eyes and a long nose crawled out.

After appearing, the little guy looked around, then, upon seeing Samuel Young, immediately knelt down: "Greetings, great Lord of the Elven City! I am your loyal clansman, the earth goblin who can jump, Nate!"

Samuel Young asked, "Earth goblin? Aren't you an earth elf? And why are you so short? Are you still a child?"

The little earth goblin giggled, rubbing his thin big hands, and said, "Reporting to my master, 'earth goblin' is just short for 'earth elf.' We earth goblins are naturally short; in fact, I am already an adult."

Damn it!

This answer shocked Samuel Young: I've read so many books and am so cultured, and you still dare to fool me? Earth goblin is earth elf? Then is Harvard just Harbin Buddhist College? Is Boda just Ningbo University? Is Jida just...

"Then what's your name?"

"Can-Jump Nate. My name is Nate, and my surname is Can-Jump, so my full name is Jumping Nate."

"How well can you jump?"

The little elf prided himself on his wit, but was stumped by this question: "N-no, my surname is Can-Jump, but my specialties are digging, herding, farming, arithmetic, deception, and theft."

Hearing this, Lord Young's face lit up: "You're good at theft? Then can you open a safe?"

Jumping Nate said, "Of course, my master. I can open it. I've already smelled the seductive scent of money and the pungent, hard stench of diamonds inside."

Samuel Young handed him the safe, just about to ask if he needed any tools, when Jumping Nate stretched out his slender fingers, pointed at the lock, a flash of white light appeared, and with a 'ka-ba' sound, the deformed safe lid popped open.

"Whoa, awesome, awesome." Samuel Young gave him a thumbs up.

The little earth goblin giggled and said, "Master, you flatter me. This kind of lock is too simple, with no magical traps at all. Jumping Nate has hundreds of ways to open it."

"Then can you open it while jumping?"

Chapter 4: Vacation Town

The weather in South Africa during the rainy season is like a girlfriend's makeup—changes in an instant. Not long after Jumping Nate appeared, it started to rain.

Samuel Young didn't want to get soaked and was exhausted and starving after a long day, so he arranged for Nate to guard the Tree of Life while he went to the town to take shelter from the rain.

The town was some distance from the Tree of Life. It wasn't large, but it had an elegant style. A smooth highway wound across the grassland, passing through the town and disappearing at the edge of the earth.

The town was dotted with many houses, almost all single-story villas and two-story buildings, with few buildings over three stories.

This is a feature of South African architecture: vast land, sparse population, no need to build high-rises.

After entering the town, he breathed a sigh of relief. This was still South Africa, not South America. Shops on both sides of the road flew the national flag—the South African flag.

He was about to find a convenience store to buy something to eat when the panel suddenly popped up again. The tree spirit gave a new prompt: [The young lord is already starving. Why not check out 'Mei Mei Da Fast Food'? Guess what you might find there?]

Looking at this quest, Lord Young laughed. This little tree spirit is quite mischievous. Guess? Guess my ass!

Mei Mei Da Fast Food was right at the entrance to the town's main road, a two-story building. On this rainy day, few people were out, and the fast food restaurant was quiet, with only a table of young black men wolfing down their food.

As he entered, a tall white girl greeted him with a bright smile and asked, "Hello sir, what would you like to eat? I recommend you try our sadza. Our chef once went to Zimbabwe especially..."

"OK, sadza, two orders of sadza."

"Uh, we also have samosas, which are cold dishes and a specialty of our restaurant..."

"OK, samosas, two orders of samosas."

"We also have charcoal-grilled giant bats..."

"OK—no, no, not OK, I'll pass on that."

The samosas came out first. They are a kind of deep-fried triangular snack originating from Santanyana, somewhat like Chinese fried dumplings, but shaped into triangles. The filling is cooked first, then wrapped in dough, deep-fried to a golden color, and served cold.

Each samosa is about the size of two dumplings, and a plate comes with five samosas, looking and smelling delicious.

Faced with such food, Samuel Young couldn't resist. He grabbed the samosas with both hands, stuffing them into his mouth like Rambo with grenades: "bia-ji, bia-ji, bia-ji..."

One plate of samosas was gone.

The other plate of samosas was gone too.

Luckily, two big plates of sadza were served just in time.

Sadza is a staple food in Africa, known by different names in different countries. The name 'sadza' comes from Zimbabwe, and among all countries, Zimbabwe's version is the most refined.