Chapter 243 - 152: The Crops Have Mutated? An Explosive Harvest! Golden Fertilizer is a Divine Planting Artifact

Chapter 243: Chapter 152: The Crops Have Mutated? An Explosive Harvest! Golden Fertilizer is a Divine Planting Artifact

Back in his room, Chen Chong lay on his bed but didn’t fall asleep. He was reviewing the events of the previous day.

Securing the supplies from the gymnasium, forming a team, eliminating the Parasites controlled by the Bloodthirsty Vine...

When he recalled the daily summary’s mention of "eliminated most of the Parasites," Chen Chong wasn’t surprised.

It was just as he’d guessed from the start. The hundred or so Parasites killed in the plaza weren’t all the Parasites in the entire school.

The remaining Parasites had either not attended the assembly or were hiding in some unknown corner.

But he was certain their numbers weren’t large—he estimated they accounted for only a tenth, or even less, of the original group.

That number was still within an acceptable range.

After all, the goal of this purge wasn’t to wipe out every single Parasite in the school, but simply to contain them.

Getting rid of every last Parasite in the school was nearly impossible, anyway.

With so many students going out each day, it was inevitable that some would get infected and slip back onto campus.

’I can’t just do nothing all day and stand guard at the school, catching Parasites, can I?’

The only way to stop it completely was to kill the Bloodthirsty Vine King!

As for the remaining Parasites, given their intelligence, they probably wouldn’t be so brazen after this incident. They would definitely lie low.

From now on, as long as he, Xu Jun, and the others followed the plan—killing any they found and capturing others when necessary—they could keep the Bloodthirsty Vine suppressed and unable to spread...

The ultimate source was still the Bloodthirsty Vine King!

Only by dealing with it could all these problems be truly resolved!

Besides, it was also holding a Stone Claw Eagle captive.

The Stone Claw Eagle itself wasn’t important; what mattered was its S-Class mate, far away in the heart of the jungle.

If they actually managed to lure that thing over, it would be one thing if it only went after the Bloodthirsty Vine King. But if it discovered the school and attacked them too, it would be a complete catastrophe.

Chen Chong decided that tomorrow, no matter what, he had to make time to check the cave from before. He had to find a way to deal with the Bloodthirsty Vine King and the Stone Claw Eagle. This couldn’t be delayed any longer.

Also, there were the Cards mentioned in the intel. He had to go collect those...

Today’s intel wasn’t anything special; it was almost all trivial information.

[D-Class Intel: There will be a short, heavy downpour tomorrow, signaling the start of the rainy season.]

[C-Class Intel: A school of small migratory fish will pass by the Great River Bend, near the school’s back gate, this evening.]

[B-Level Intel: A B-Level Card will appear approximately 1500 meters to the south.]

Other than the last piece of intel about the Card, the other two were basically worthless. At best, he could trade them for resources at the information exchange.

Chen Chong wasn’t bothered by this. After all, the intel he received was always random.

He’d gotten some A-Level intel mixed in on most of the previous days, so it was normal to get some ordinary stuff today.

’After all, you can’t expect to get high-value intel every single day, can you?’

Staring out the window at the dark night, Chen Chong slowly closed his eyes...

...

When he opened his eyes again, the sky was already growing light.

But he hadn’t woken up on his own. He was jolted awake by Xu Jun’s frantic shouting from outside his door.

"Brother Chong, Brother Chong!"

"Our damn vegetables have all mutated! Come out and see!"

CREAK—

Chen Chong walked out of his room, a look of weary resignation on his face.

’Why is he making such a fuss so early in the morning...’

Behind him, the still-sleepy Tiger Striped Dog stumbled out, swaying on its feet.

Ever since coming out once before, the Rock Armor Eagle had also taken to following them into the living room.

It, too, had been startled awake and hadn’t fully come to its senses. Its body, which already swayed from side to side when it walked, now moved as if it were hungover...

"Brother Chong, our vegetables have mutated!"

Xu Jun repeated.

He pulled Chen Chong toward the farmland, still trying to convey his shock.

"I went out this morning and it scared the hell out of me. The vegetables were all standing at attention in the dirt, like they were on fucking guard duty. I thought I was still dreaming..."

At first, Chen Chong didn’t understand what Xu Jun meant.

But when he got a clear look at the farmland...

His expression froze. He quickly rubbed his eyes, wondering if he was seeing things.

In the patch of Extraordinary Farmland between the regular plot and the mud pond, the twenty-odd assorted seedlings they had transplanted just last night were now... completely mature!

And they weren’t just bigger than he remembered—they were several times bigger! No, tens of times bigger!

They all looked like they were on steroids, each one more ridiculously overgrown than the next!

The sweet potato vines, for instance, now covered an area of nearly three square meters. Their leaves were so lush they had completely smothered the few crops planted next to them.

The sweet potato itself had broken through the soil, its exposed red, oval half looking like a basketball buried in the dirt.

The tomato vines clung to the wooden stakes they had set up. While the plants themselves hadn’t changed much, the fruits had grown from the size of a single fist to larger than two fists combined.

Even the small, green fruits from last night had turned completely red, now fully ripe.

The massive fruits were weighing the vines down, making them bend and nearly touch the ground.

It wasn’t unheard of for tomatoes to grow this large. With a good enough variety and sufficient nutrients, such excellent growth was possible.

But the key thing was...

These were cherry tomatoes!

When Shen Xinrou had first brought the plant over, the fruits on it had been barely bigger than a thumb.

After a long time growing in their normal plot, the fruits had, at most, grown to about the size of a fist—which had already made Chen Chong suspect they had mutated.