Chapter 98: Greenhouse Upgrade
Blindly searching won''t lead anywhere.
Hua Mi pondered, deciding to temporarily halt his n of finding the tree spirit and check on the situation at the Unicorn''s ce instead. He shifted direction toward the ruins of the ck Castle.
For this journey, Hua Mi prepared a light sponge cushion for himself, letting the bee swarm support it underneath while he sat on top—not just sitting, but even lying downfortably. It didn''t make him fly faster, but it surely made the journey more enjoyable! This was what he called a bio-powered flying carpet.
He wasn''t far from the ck Castle ruins. Over an hourter, he entered the Unicorn''s domain.
This time, the Unicorn didn''t teleport to greet him. Creatures like the green-furred apes within the territory were ustomed to him, giving a passing nce before ignoring him, allowing him to fly towards the Unicorn''s location.
Hua Mi smoothly arrived at the small courtyard,nding and gathering the bee swarm and cushion.
The Unicorn remained there, resting with its eyes closed. Sometimes, Hua Mi thought this Unicorn stayed here to suppress vampires, enduring such a long time. Just the thought felt tedious. Yet, considering the long lifespan of creatures like Unicorns, a few hundred years might be a fleeting moment for them, not to be measured by human standards.
Immediately, Hua Mi noticed the Unicorn''s broken horn had notably grown longer since hisst visit. The newly grown part surpassed the previous length.
"Looks like the Thunder Flower Honey really works."
It didn''t fully restore it immediately but certainly sped up the recovery process.
He nced around the courtyard. "Where''s rk?"
The Unicorn opened its eyes, giving him a nce but remained silent.
"...?"
Hua Mi suddenly had a bad feeling. What if it had attacked him!
It hadn''t mentioned being able to reverse the vampire curse, only saying it would keep him here. Solve the problem or solve the person causing it? Vampire derivatives weren''t as immortal as the actual vampires. If the Unicorn made a move, he wouldn''tst.
"Hmm? What''s that smell?"
Hua Mi detected a burnt odor in the air, like roasted meat, something he hadn''t smelled here before. Unable to pinpoint the source with his human nose, he released a scouting bee to locate the unusual scent.
The effect was immediate. Hua Mi identified the smelling from a copsed room behind the courtyard.
He envisaged unpleasant scenes and controlled the scouting bee to fly in that direction.
The room seemed like a hall, quite spacious. The top had copsed, offering a view of the blue sky and drifting clouds.
He spotted a familiar figure in a purple robe, back turned, wearing a hood, squatting on the ground. In their hand, a stick held a skinned small animal, roasting over a fire...
Several green-furred apes stood nearby, salivating.
The scouting bee reached the figure''s front, revealing their current appearance.
Pointed teeth, paleplexion. Their eyes, originally sapphire blue, now tinged with crimson, like blood-soaked sapphires, exuding an eerie aura.
All these signs indicated they had be a vampire derivative. But their demeanor appeared normal and clear-headed, unlike the crazed depiction in books.
"I''ll go talk to him."
Hua Mi nced at the Unicorn, which remained indifferent, seemingly permitting it.
He was used to this attitude from the Unicorn, so he headed through the corridor, stepping over several broken stone columns, entering the room.
He noticed a bloody animal carcass lying nearby. Hearing footsteps behind, rk turned, smiling, waving at him. "Hey, you''re here. The meat''s almost done, want to join in?"
Quite optimistic.
Hua Mi approached him. "Are you okay?"
"Not quite. You see," rk bared his fangs, pointing at his two vampire teeth, "I''m now a full-fledged vampire derivative. The Unicorn couldn''t reverse this process. Curses like these are stubborn."
"But you don''t look like it."
"Well, first, I didn''t directly transform from the original vampire, so I''m a lesser derivative. Therefore, the mental impact is weakerpared tomon derivatives. And the Unicorn''s domain can suppress my instincts to some extent. After these days, I feel calm, almost like a regr person. Spending a bit more time by the Unicorn''s side, and I think I can leave."
"But in your state, returning to human society..."
"Tomorrow''s worries are tomorrow''s concerns. I''ll continue the survey here, then bring back the report. If the guild doesn''t ept me, I''ll just resign. It''s an early retirement. Living secluded like you, tending flowers, doesn''t sound bad either."
Hua Mi felt rk should worry less about the guild''s eptance and more about potential reactions. Vampire derivatives weren''t viewed kindly by the public. Even if he retained his sanity, the stress could be unavoidable.
"You can send the report, no need to visit in person."
Hua Mi subtly hinted. rk understood, smiling ruefully. "I have family in Modu. Some things need to be rified face-to-face."
With that, Hua Mi refrained from furtherments.
"In fact, if it''s just this, it''s not a big deal." rk sounded cheerful, "Setting aside the change in my appearance, internally, I''m still the same. A mere curse can''t change me."
Saying so, he snapped a leg off the roasted meat, biting into it vigorously. After some effortful chewing, he spat it all out.
"Ugh!!"
He vomited it out.
"Well, maybe there''s a change in my diet... but these are trivial matters, right?"
"Hmm."
rk suddenly remembered something. "Oh, I promised to help you find the tree spirit before, never fulfilled that. How about we search for it now?"
...
Like an excited child eager to go out to y, after getting the ''approval'' from the ''parent'' Unicorn, rk joined Hua Mi, departing to search for the tree spirit.
Although his state hadn''t stabilized, a brief absence wouldn''t be an issue.
Bing a vampire derivative hadn''t robbed him of his observation skills.
"If anything, it''s strengthened," rk remarked.
Seated cross-legged on the flying carpet, he closed his eyes and, upon opening them, they transformed into slit pupils, different from the previous light-yellow. Now, they were crimson.
Seeming more eerie and intimidating, the vampire''s curse had taken its toll. Yet, it had enhanced his observational abilities.
He might be the world''s first vampire derivative observer.
His slit pupils scanned an area, swiftly locking onto a direction.
"There."
...
With rk''s assistance, Hua Mi quickly found the first tree spirit. It stood rooted somewhere, motionless, its crown devoid of leaves, almostpletely bald, with only a few leaves hanging.
Hidden among the woods.
With the naked eye, without careful observation, it was challenging to spot.
Approaching it closely, escaping might not be possible.
In a sense, it was a treacherous predator.
Dealing with this tree spirit, third-tier Scission Bees were sufficient.
Hua Mi controlled the bee swarm on the flying carpet, initiating a dive attack.
The unfortunate tree spirit couldn''t react; its arms were severed in two strikes.
Immediately after, it was dismantled entirely.
The first Enlightening Heart acquired.
All the
live wood was collected and stored in the magic box to take back.
rk mentioned that these special woods were rich in magical elements, unsuitable for construction but excellent as top-quality fertilizer when thrown into the greenhouse well.
Next was the second, then the third...
Before dark, they had harvested a total of five Enlightening Hearts.
ording to the adventurer''s guide, Hua Mi had in nearly half of the tree spirits in the ck Forest.
rk had also reached his limit.
His body started trembling uncontrobly. "The Unicorn''s craving, I need to go back..."
As they entered the Unicorn''s domain, rk''s symptoms eased.
Jokingly, he said, "Staying by the Unicorn for these days, I feel like I''ve be divine."
You, a vampire derivative, how does that rte to divinity? Hua Mi scoffed inwardly.
However, he admired rk''s optimistic attitude.
Before leaving, Hua Mi left a few bottles of Thunder Flower Honey for the Unicorn, boosting rapport.
The Unicorn was proud, its rapport increasing slowly.
Yet, Hua Mi believed in sincere efforts yielding results.
This time, the Unicorn seemed to have slightly elevated its fondness for him.
...
The next day, Alyss arrived to modify his greenhouse.
Integrating the green liquid generator''s function into the greenhouse''s main control system.
Hua Mi witnessed the prowess of a master architect once again.
In just a day, the modification waspleted, without affecting the flower fields inside.
The green liquid produced by six Enlightening Hearts was enough for the two flower fields to be sprayed twice daily.
The growth rate and quality of the flowers significantly improved.
The wlesspletion of the renovation left Hua Mi feeling almost guilty for notpensating her.
She didn''tck money.
Nor was she interested in it.
Her entire focus was on architectural design, seemingly undisturbed by worldly possessions.
"Keep an eye out for architectural information. If I get any rted intel or items, I can give them to her," Hua Mi thought.
For now, he simply gave her three bottles of honey.
One bottle each of three types of honey, not as payment, but as a gift.
Neighbors living in the ck Forest, exchanging gifts was normal.
...
The upgraded greenhouse was more convenient, requiring just a press on the console to spray the green liquid into the flower fields. It saved him a lot of time.
Everything proceeded systematically.
After a few days, Xiao Hong shared some good news with him.
The Mother Goddess blessed the field, showing signs of a budding Flower Core!
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