Chapter 443 - 442: Giant Sunflower

Chapter 443: Chapter 442: Giant Sunflower

After all, Luna Jacobs worked for her.

Seraphina Sinclair did a lap around the moving cottage. Once she confirmed there was no need to change the blueprints, she ambled over to the Sunflower.

The moment she got closer, the Sunflower’s inner voice piped up.

’Hmph, hmph~ The little human finally remembered me.’

It sounded a little strange, but thankfully, only Seraphina Sinclair could hear it.

The Sunflower had reacted when she chose the path this time, so she might see the Path’s Gift in a few days.

The Little Light Ball might be small, but it gave quite a lot.

Both human and Sunflower were looking forward to its appearance.

Seraphina Sinclair pushed the thoughts aside and retrieved the bucket of slime.

Before she could even start feeding it, the Sunflower’s inner voice grew frantic, clamoring, ’Gotta eat, gotta eat...’

The Sunflower’s voice was soft and sweet, its tone quite adorable. Far from being annoyed, Seraphina Sinclair felt an urge to tease it.

She moved the bucket of slime a little farther away, and just as she expected, the Sunflower’s voice grew louder.

Seraphina Sinclair smiled and finally fed the slime to the Sunflower.

The inner voice stopped immediately, as if it was too focused on its meal to have any other thoughts.

About half the slime was gone before Seraphina Sinclair heard the Sunflower sigh contentedly, ’Yummy.’

She chuckled, pulled up the Sunflower’s Growth Rate page, and rested her chin in her hand, watching the data tick upward.

Soon: [Current Sunflower Growth Rate 5000/5000]

[Evolution Conditions Met]

[Sunflower is evolving...]

’Looks like it’s the same as before.’

Seraphina Sinclair expertly turned her face away, not looking directly at the Sunflower.

Sure enough, the next second, the Sunflower erupted in a white light too brilliant to look at directly.

Every living creature in the moving cottage, from Luna Jacobs to the Gloom Hatchling, instinctively looked over.

When Luna Jacobs realized what was happening, she shot up from her stool. Her eyes were wide as saucers, and for a long moment, she couldn’t process what was going on.

She knew how important the Sunflower was to every survivor, but she had no idea it could erupt in such a brilliant white light.

She wanted to say something, but after seeing Seraphina Sinclair’s calm expression, she swallowed her words.

Seraphina Sinclair wasn’t surprised at all.

What did that mean?

It meant this wasn’t the first time the Sunflower had burst forth with such an intense light.

’But... why?’

’How could a Sunflower display such a strange phenomenon?’

Seraphina Sinclair was calm. Through their connection, she keenly sensed Luna Jacobs’s unease.

When she turned and saw the utter shock on Luna’s face, Seraphina Sinclair couldn’t help but frown. She asked jokingly, "What’s wrong? Hasn’t the great Artemis ever evolved a Sunflower for you?"

Seraphina Sinclair was teasing. In her opinion, there was no reason for Luna Jacobs to be this shocked.

But the next second, she saw Luna Jacobs shake her head with absolute earnestness.

’What?’

Seraphina Sinclair froze for a second.

There was no way Luna Jacobs hadn’t evolved a Sunflower before, so... there was only one possibility: her Sunflower didn’t erupt in a brilliant light when it evolved.

"And my Sunflower never got this big, either."

Luna Jacobs pointed at the Sunflower, swallowed hard, and finally managed to get the words out.

Seraphina Sinclair slowly turned her head and blinked.

Not because of the dazzling light, but because the scene before her was so surreal that she instinctively wanted to make sure her eyes weren’t playing tricks on her.

The Sunflower was gone.

In its place was a... thing that nearly touched the ceiling.

Thicker, bigger, and taller.

Seraphina Sinclair’s brain short-circuited for a moment, only able to produce those three words.

The stalk was frighteningly thick, its dark green skin covered in a layer of fine fuzz that gave off a faint silvery sheen under the dim yellow light. It looked as if it were dusted with frost, but it was simply beautiful.

Its leaves unfurled, one overlapping the next, nearly filling half the room.

And it really did fill it. Seraphina Sinclair had to turn sideways just to find a gap between the leaves to stand.

001’s sleeping spot was completely gone now. But the cottage was about to be upgraded again, so the space would expand. It would find a place to sleep eventually.

The Sunflower’s largest leaf drooped down, its edge just brushing against Seraphina Sinclair’s shoulder. It had the unique, gentle warmth of a plant, as if it were saying hello, or perhaps confirming she was still there.

Seraphina Sinclair didn’t move.

Her gaze traveled up from the leaf, past the thick, segmented stalk, and finally landed on the enormous flower head.

The flower head was drooping, facing directly toward her.

Golden petals layered over one another, each one unfurled just right, their edges curled slightly as if seared by the sun. The sunflower seeds in the center were packed densely together, each one plump and radiant, suffused with a faint golden halo.

The entire plant was glowing.

It wasn’t a blinding light that was impossible to look at, but a soft, warm glow that emanated from the edges of the petals, the veins of the leaves, and the fuzz on the stalk, illuminating the entire small cottage.

Seraphina Sinclair tilted her head back, momentarily speechless.

’This thing... is my Sunflower?’

’The same Sunflower that used to huddle in its pot, going limp whenever its Hunger Level ran out, and internally complaining every day that "the little human is ignoring me"?’

Before she could recover from the shock, the enormous flower head suddenly moved.

It lifted slightly, as if it were sizing her up.

Seraphina Sinclair’s heart skipped a beat.

’This gaze... why does it feel a little unfamiliar?’

’Don’t tell me it evolved so hard that it evolved away its old memories?’

Just as she was wondering if she should say something, she saw the flower head suddenly... collapse.

Yes, collapse.

Like an expression held for too long that finally broke, like a prideful tsundere who had finally lost their composure.

The thick stalk went limp and bent over, and the giant flower head FLUMPED onto her freshly made bed.

The unfurled leaves also lost their Spirit in an instant, drooping listlessly. The largest one didn’t forget to rub against her ankle, its edge curling slightly, as if complaining, or perhaps trying to be cute.

Seraphina Sinclair: "..."

She looked down at the pitifully drooping leaf by her feet, then up at the giant Sunflower sprawled on her bed with its flower head buried in the covers. The corner of her mouth twitched.

That feeling of unfamiliarity from a moment ago vanished in an instant, like air escaping a popped balloon.

She took a deep breath and was about to speak when she caught sight of Luna Jacobs out of the corner of her eye.

The woman was standing there, stock-still, eyes wide and round, her mouth opening and closing without a single word coming out.

It wasn’t her fault for overreacting. Even Seraphina Sinclair herself had been startled before the Sunflower started exhibiting its familiar traits.

She was silent for a moment, then asked seriously, "You just said your Sunflower doesn’t have a white light when it evolves?"

Luna Jacobs nodded and repeated, "And it doesn’t get this huge, either."

She turned to Seraphina Sinclair. "Didn’t you see my Sunflower? Back in the instance dungeon."

Now it was Seraphina Sinclair’s turn to frown.

She had originally thought her Sunflower’s appearance was the only thing that was different from others, but now it seemed...