Chapter 120 Farming, Steady Development

Chapter 120: Chapter 119: Farming, Steady Development

"Boss, the planting area upstairs is basically set up. We’re just waiting for you to come up and use your ability." Professor Ye’s voice echoed from the stairwell.

"Ah, Professor Ye, you could have just sent someone to pass the message. There was no need for you to make the trip yourself." Hearing this, Han Ning poured the prepared High-Energy Soil into a plastic bucket, sealed it with a lid, and lifted it with one hand. "Old Xu, pack up the remaining materials. We’ll need them next time."

"Okay," Xu Ming replied.

Carrying the bucket, Han Ning briskly walked up to the fifth floor with Professor Ye. Under Professor Ye’s guidance, he pushed open the heavy, temporarily installed thermal insulation curtain. Instantly, a fresh scent mixed with damp earth rushed over him. The originally empty open-plan office area had been completely transformed. In the well-lit areas sat rows of cultivation pots fashioned from various containers.

"Professor Ye, you’ve set this place up nicely," Han Ning praised. He walked to the center of the planting area, extended his hands, and faced his palms downward. An emerald-green radiance poured from his palms, nourishing every seed and seedling.

The recently sown spinach and bok choy seeds broke through the moist seedling paper at a visible rate. They poked out tender yellow sprout tips, which quickly unfurled into two vibrant, emerald-green cotyledons. The buried soybeans and mung beans quivered slightly. Fine, white roots rapidly plunged downward as the thick bean halves split open. Tender stems pushed the bean shells upward, growing into sprouts several centimeters tall in just over ten seconds. Over by the mushrooms, beneath a covering of damp cloth, white cotton-like mycelia rapidly spread. They covered almost the entire surface of the bags, emitting a faint, slightly sour scent unique to fungal mycelium.

After a round of Skills, the sprouts with short growth cycles—like the bean sprouts—had nearly reached harvestable condition. Meanwhile, leafy greens like the spinach and bok choy had grown to nearly half their natural growth cycle. On his interface, the Skill Level of [Rapid Growth] had increased by more than thirty points.

"These bean sprouts are already ready to be harvested and eaten." Professor Ye surveyed the patches of pale, tender sprouts with joy on his face.

"Yeah, there’s a lot of them. We can add some extra food to everyone’s meals." Before transmigrating, bean sprouts had been a very common and cheap food in daily life. But in their current environment, they were a rare and precious vegetable.

"We’ll distribute these bean sprouts later. Professor Ye, now it’s time for our treasures." Han Ning called out, lifting the bucket of High-Energy Soil and shaking it gently.

"Oh?" Professor Ye’s interest was piqued.

The two of them arrived at the Extraordinary Crops planting area, a highly confidential spot located close to the living quarters. It wasn’t as large as the regular planting area, consisting of just a small room by the window.

Han Ning opened the bucket lid and used a shovel to scoop out a large chunk of dark red, shiny, fine-textured dough. Miraculously, as soon as the shovel slightly stirred the dough, its surface rapidly became dry and loose, while tiny granules precipitated from the inside. In just a few seconds, it transformed from a viscous clump of matter into a special soil radiating obscure Energy Fluctuations.

"This soil... To be honest, I can’t figure it out. All my knowledge feels useless." Professor Ye pinched a bit of the soil, feeling the unusual texture through his fingertips, looking a bit bewildered. The scientific knowledge he had acquired over the years seemed no longer applicable.

"Haha, the technology of the Otherworld carries a touch of the Extraordinary to some extent, but I’m guessing the knowledge you’ve learned can still be of great use," Han Ning offered a word of comfort.

Under Professor Ye’s guidance, Han Ning carefully dug out the squirting cucumber plant, keeping a small amount of the original soil around its roots. Meanwhile, Professor Ye spread a layer of ordinary soil at the bottom of a prepared new pot to serve as a buffer and drainage layer. Then, he evenly mixed the High-Energy Soil with some regular soil and poured it over the top. Han Ning carefully buried the squirting cucumber’s root system into the mixed High-Energy Soil, ensuring the roots were completely enveloped by the precious dirt.

"Alright, Boss, let’s try the ’massage’ method you mentioned earlier." Professor Ye took a step back, observing as well as learning.

Han Ning nodded, recalling the movements of the withered hands from the images transmitted by the Will of Nature. His palms lit up with an emerald-green radiance once more as he gently placed his hands over the main stem of the squirting cucumber plant.

Guided by a specific rhythm and pressure, the gentle vitality of [Natural Blessing] and the catalytic properties of [Rapid Growth] accompanied his pressing, rubbing, and stroking across different parts of the plant. Sometimes he lightly stroked along the veins of the stem; sometimes he paused at the swollen nodes near the root system to apply gentle pressure; and at other times, he lightly tapped the base of the leaves. His movements seemed casual but contained a peculiar rhythm, as if guiding the Energy Flow within the plant and stimulating specific growth points.

[Natural Blessing (Basic Level) Skill Level +1. Current: 162/200]

[Rapid Growth (High Level) Skill Level +1. Current: 413/500]

Nourished by the dual Skills and this special massage technique, the squirting cucumber plant began to quiver slightly. Its leaves grew greener and thicker at a visible rate, their surfaces shimmering with an extremely faint jade-colored luster. The tiny flower bud at the top swelled and contracted slightly, much like a fetal heartbeat. A faint fragrance wafted from the tight slit of the closed petals.

"There’s a reaction..." Professor Ye stared unblinking.

Han Ning, who was performing the operation himself, fully felt the vigorous vitality surging within the plant. He continued to massage it continuously until the plant stopped displaying any abnormal phenomena. Only then did he stop and speak. "As long as it’s effective, that’s what matters. It seems this massage isn’t a one-time fix; it needs to be done continuously."

Professor Ye deeply agreed. "Exactly. Mutation is a complex process. It requires continuous stimulation and Energy supply."

Once the massage on one squirting cucumber was finished, he moved on to the next. An experiment naturally required more than one subject. For the first phase, Han Ning had prepared a total of eight plants for observation. By the time he finished the entire routine, even he felt a bit exhausted. Unfortunately, apart from showing some abnormal phenomena, these squirting cucumbers did not truly mutate.

Over the next few days, Han Ning’s life became regular and fulfilling. Everyone at Biyun Resort entered a rare, relatively peaceful period of development. Before heading out in the mornings, Han Ning would cast Rapid Growth on the ordinary crops to accelerate their maturation time and grind his Skill Level while he was at it. Then, he would massage and observe the squirting cucumbers.

After resting for a while to recover some Spiritual Power, he would gather his team. He would call upon Xu Ming, Professor Ye, and the young Awakened with blazing speed named Yu to form a squad and head out hunting. Han Ning didn’t participate in the fighting; he purely acted as the healer, leaving the three of them to fight freely on their own. Only when they were injured would he cast the Rejuvenation Technique to heal their wounds.

The reason for bringing Yu along was simple: his speed. Han Ning planned to nurture Yu, utilizing his super-speed ability to act as a Scout and gather intelligence on the monsters and other survivors in the city. Chairman Wu had likely harbored a similar idea for a long time, but lacking sufficient strength, their group couldn’t fully develop these speed-type Awakened.

A bit later in the day, Han Ning would take snow cake alone deep into the northwest area where the Black Snake Monsters were more active. They would seek out and kill Elite Level Black Snake Monsters to harvest the Energy Crystal Stones from their bodies. Over the course of a few days, they collected a total of five Crystal Stones of varying sizes. Time passed day by day until... an evening four days later.