Chapter 23: Unknown Seed

Chapter 23: Chapter 23: Unknown Seed

A dark green, collapsible water bottle appeared in her hands. The material felt like some sort of rubber—it had to be a quality item.

Seraphina Sinclair immediately expanded it, holding it up to the light to check for any damage.

Perfect.

Seraphina Sinclair relaxed. Now, all she had to do was wait quietly for the afternoon to arrive.

Just as she was getting bored, she received another private message from [Pretty Guardian].

[Pretty Guardian]: Are you Blacktiger Ford? The one from the announcement?

Seraphina Sinclair: "???"

’Isn’t my name written right at the top of the private chat? Has this person really not seen it this whole time?’

Before Seraphina Sinclair could reply, the other person sent another message.

[Pretty Guardian]: I’m a huge fan! My idol! Please give me an autograph! I really, really like you!

’This person wasn’t acting like this a moment ago.’ Seraphina Sinclair grew wary. She had a gut feeling that this person was up to no good.

Sure enough, a moment later, the other person sent another message.

[Pretty Guardian]: My idol, do you need this? I’ll give it to you for cheap, just a can of coke. How about it?

What they sent over was an Unknown Seed.

[Unknown Seed (E-level)]

[Description: A green seed that looks full of life. However, planting is not recommended for novices.]

’Planting is not recommended for novices.’

Seraphina Sinclair’s lips twitched. ’Is this person really taking me for a sucker?’

’Trading a coke for something explicitly labeled not recommended for novices... That’s a bad deal... a monumentally bad deal.’

[Blacktiger Ford]: I don’t have any coke, but you can have an autograph.

Seraphina Sinclair admitted to herself she had no intention of negotiating in good faith. She’d said it just to mess with them.

When Pretty Guardian saw the message, not only did they not get angry, but they actually started to seriously consider the possibility.

’Of course, an autograph from the only player to ever get a server-wide announcement was worthless in itself.’

’What I care about is her future value,’ Pretty Guardian thought. ’If I can get on good terms with her, someone like that will definitely be a huge help to me down the line.’

’And right now, it’s the early stages of the game. No one has much of anything. It’s the perfect time to make a small investment for a big return!’

’I can treat it as an investment.’

’Besides, this seed is useless to me. The Description says it clearly: not recommended for novices to plant.’

’To put it bluntly, giving it to Blacktiger Ford is no different from throwing away a piece of trash.’

With that thought, Pretty Guardian stopped wasting time and directly sent the gift to Blacktiger Ford.

"You have received a gift from the survivor [Pretty Guardian]: Unknown Seed (E-level)! What a lavish gift! Go thank them!"

Seraphina Sinclair stared at that last sentence, lost in thought. ’Why does this feel so much like one of those trashy browser games I used to play in my past life?’

’Did they run out of funding? There’s zero class to it anymore.’

’Wait.’

’They just sent the seed over, just like that?’

Before Seraphina Sinclair could say anything, another message arrived from them.

[Pretty Guardian]: Let’s have it, my idol! One autograph!

Seraphina Sinclair: "..."

She was starting to understand what was happening, and what the other person was after.

’It’s just an investment, isn’t it?’

The title of "the only survivor to get a server-wide announcement" still carried some weight.

But to be cashing in on that reputation... Seraphina Sinclair silently averted her gaze, feeling a little embarrassed.

Though she might say she was embarrassed, her body was quite honest as it opened a blank page—another built-in function of the system.

With a flick of her wrist, the two words "Blacktiger Ford" appeared on the blank page in large script.

She adjusted the angle, took a picture of the name, and sent it to Pretty Guardian.

[Blacktiger Ford]: Figure out how to print it yourself.

Pretty Guardian: "..."

’She actually sent one?’

’How shameless.’

They were left a little speechless but didn’t say anything else.

Investing was inherently risky, and more often than not, whether you saw a return depended entirely on the conscience of the person you invested in.

...

Seraphina Sinclair held the green seed between her fingers, frowning as she observed it for a long while.

It looked just like the common pea seeds from her past life, though the color was off. This seed was a more intense green—a shade that wouldn’t naturally occur on any living thing.

She hesitated, wondering if she should plant it now.

The system was, at times, reliable, something Seraphina Sinclair knew from deep experience. The Blackmist Worm incident had been a harsh lesson; if she hadn’t had the Fish Oil on hand, she really would have had to start over from scratch.

If she planted it now, it might really not survive.

Seraphina Sinclair sighed. Just as she was about to give up, she suddenly heard a voice that was like a godsend.

"A new friend is here. Why is it still sleeping... still sleeping... It needs to be in the Earth to wake up."

Seraphina Sinclair bit her lower lip. She hereby declared the Sunflower to be the MVP of every cheat she had ever encountered!

’Who on earth came up with this "inner voice" thing? It’s just too useful!’

Seraphina Sinclair was no longer conflicted. If the Sunflower was reacting to this little seed, she could just follow the directions from its inner voice, step by step, and bring out the seed’s full potential!

At that thought, Seraphina Sinclair immediately fetched several units of Earth and packed them into a flowerpot.

The flowerpot’s dimensions seemed to have been designed perfectly; five units of Earth filled it exactly, which was very satisfying for her obsessive-compulsive side.

Seraphina Sinclair placed the flowerpot on the windowsill, dug a small hole in it with her bare hands, and only then did she place the seed inside and cover it with earth.

’What’s next?’

Seraphina Sinclair instinctively looked toward the Sunflower, but it remained silent.

Seraphina Sinclair: "..."

’Right, I forgot. This kid doesn’t like to think.’

’Is there even a doctor in this godforsaken place?’

Left with no choice, Seraphina Sinclair stood there thinking for a moment, trying to recall her farming experiences from the village in her past life.

’At this point... I should probably add a little water.’

Seraphina Sinclair took out her mineral water and poured a little in. Seeing the soil was only slightly damp, she tilted the bottle to pour some more.

Just then, she finally heard the Sunflower’s inner voice again: "It’s waking up... my little friend..."

Seraphina Sinclair turned her head toward the Sunflower, momentarily frozen, not daring to make a move.

And the Sunflower did not disappoint her.

"Doesn’t like water, likes sunshine? So fussy... It needs to be in the sunshine for two whole hours to sprout."

’Two hours of sunshine, continuous.’

Seraphina Sinclair mentally filed away this crucial piece of information as she quietly capped the mineral water bottle.

’Continuous’ meant it couldn’t be interrupted. That ruled out the hand-cranked lamp. Seraphina Sinclair didn’t have a Kirin Arm; she couldn’t crank a daylight lamp nonstop for two full hours.

In that case... the only thing she could use was the Black Fog Crystal Energy Storage Lamp she had just made. It could store 200 points of sunshine, but she had no idea if that was enough for two hours.

Seraphina Sinclair picked up the small lantern and studied it for a moment, only then noticing a line of small text hidden on the metal casing.