The next morning, after washing up, Shesen sat at the dining table waiting for Maine to bring breakfast from the kitchen. He mentally asked Adan, "Has the location of the water energy changed?"
Adan replied after a moment, "It's been moving, getting closer to Brant."
Shesen asked for the specific location and drew a path of the water energy's movement on the map. His eyes lit up slightly: "I feel like it's moving towards Brant!"
Adan agreed, "I think so too."
Shesen looked at the map: "There are two more inhabited planets along the way. If it doesn't stop, then we might really be in luck this time."
Adan's voice was excited: "Oh, it would be fantastic if it really came to Brant!"
Maine placed breakfast in front of Shesen: yam and red date porridge, boiled eggs, and golden tender corn—it looked very appetizing.
Xie Sen looked up from the screen, a smile playing on his lips. "Thank you."
Maine leaned down and kissed him on the lips, then looked at the map. "Where do you want to go?"
Xie Sen shook his head, turned off his bracelet, and stirred his porridge with a spoon. "The energy's location has changed. Let me see where it is."
Maine sat down beside him. His breakfast was different from Xie Sen's: fried meat, fried eggs, and corn. Xie Sen had insisted he eat the corn to supplement his nutrition.
Maine asked doubtfully, "The energy's location can change?"
Xie Sen nodded. "Remember the Flying Rhinoceros? The energy was in its horn. If it moves, the energy moves with it." His eyes crinkled slightly. "We're getting closer to Brant Star, which is a good thing."
After finishing his breakfast, Xie Sen exchanged for an apple, ordered it to separate from the seeds, collected the seeds, and then ate the flesh.
While he was eating, Ma Qun contacted him and said directly, "We've found a partner company. The final price is 5,000 star coins per seedling. Each company will provide 1,000 seedlings. Not counting you, there are three other companies. Each company needs to pay 5 million. After deducting the seedling cultivation cost, I'll transfer the remaining 10 million to you after I receive the payment."
Xie Sen was surprised. One chili pepper could cultivate more than 30 seedlings, which was equivalent to 150,000 star coins per pepper: "So expensive?"
Ma Qun smiled and said, "It's not high. They are all seasoned business people and won't do business at a loss. We signed a confidentiality agreement. They know that the chili peppers we provide can improve the land, and we have data to support it. After a chili pepper tree matures, it can produce about ten kilograms of chili peppers every year. We can earn it back in one year."
Xie Sen did the calculations in his mind and instantly felt that the price was indeed not high: "Then I'll send the chili peppers over later."
"No need," Ma Qun said. "Li You will go get it. Your current health condition is special, and there are many media outlets watching you, so it's inconvenient for you to go out."
Xie Sen thought about it and realized it made sense, so he said, "Okay, I've sorted it out. There are 124 peppers in total. If the seedlings don't grow enough, the other three families will take the lead. It's okay if I have a little less."
Ma Qun smiled and praised, "What a sensible child."
Xie Sen chuckled dryly, "I'm an adult now."
Ma Qun's smile deepened, "If there are any problems during the planting process, feel free to contact me. By the way, given your special situation, it would be best to find some people to help. It's graduation season, so it's easy to recruit people."
Xie Sen: "Yes, I'll consider it."
After hanging up, he finished the remaining apples and discussed with Maine, "How many employees do you think the farm should hire?"
Maine thought for a moment, "Five. " "One finance department and four botany departments. The equipment is easy to operate; anyone can learn it. There's no need for a mechanical engineering department."
Xie Sen pulled up a map of the newly purchased land: "After deducting the offices, staff dormitories, and tool shed, divide the remaining land into ten portions. Plant ten kinds of foods we like to eat. Besides watermelon, what else do you like to eat?"
Maine didn't answer but said, "Anything is fine with me. They're all delicious. Plant whatever you like."
Xie Sen thought for a moment. Maine didn't seem to have any particular preference for other foods besides watermelon. He thought for a moment: "Fruits and vegetables are all quite delicious. Let's plant a variety of them. Three kinds of fruits: peaches, oranges, and watermelons; four kinds of vegetables: peppers, tomatoes, potatoes, and lettuce; plus three kinds of beans: soybeans, red beans, and mung beans."
Apples, pears, and several kinds of green vegetables were planted on the land near the apartment, so there was no need to plant them on the farm.
He grabbed Maine's hand, his eyes shining: "Let me tell you, soybeans are a great thing, you can make so many delicious things!"
Seeing his interest, Maine suggested, "Why don't we plant more?"
Xie Sen shook his head: "That's enough, this plot of land is quite large, it's just that there's no water source nearby, we'll have to bring in water."
Maine didn't mind: "Just hand it over to the construction company, I'll talk to them, and have them build the necessary structures as well."
Xie Sen smiled: "Well, it'll take some time to cultivate the seedlings, and the seed issue hasn't been resolved yet." The source of the seeds was unclear, which would be troublesome. Speaking of this, Xie Sen asked: "By the way, how's the investigation of Lu Qingxing going?"
Maine: "He's gentle, reliable, principled, and a dependable person."
Xie Sen leaned closer and whispered: "You've been monitoring him?"
His curious look was adorable, and Maine put her arm around the back of his neck and kissed the corner of his lips: "I planted a bugging device in his research institute office."
Xie Sen said: "In that case, I'll arrange a meeting with him!"
Maine opened her bracelet: "I'll contact him."
Xie Sen's lips twitched into a smile, secretly thinking, "What a jealous guy. "
When Maine contacted Lu Qingxing, he exchanged all the plants he planned to plant, except for the vegetables, and ordered them to separate the seeds and pack them into small bags.
He glanced outside; in the distance, various vegetables were growing in the fields, one of each kind, and the seeds would only be obtained after they flowered.
Lu Qingxing arrived quickly and transferred ten million to Xie Sen: "Sorry for the delay."
Xie Sen returned the money intact: "I said it wasn't necessary. I have something I need your help with, and it's quite complicated; it can't be done in one go."
With so many plants, it wasn't practical to discover them all in one archaeological excavation; he planned to discover them in multiple stages.
Lu Qingxing smiled gently, "No matter how troublesome it is, nothing can compare to forming a bond."
Xie Sen raised an eyebrow, "That's not necessarily true."
Lu Qingxing showed a hint of surprise, then said solemnly, "I will do my best."
Xie Sen said, "Most importantly, I hope this matter can be kept secret. Don't let anyone know except you."
Lu Qingxing nodded, his tone sincere, "I promise."
Xie Sen took out a small bag containing seeds and placed it in front of Lu Qingxing, "These are seeds of various plants. I hope they will be exposed and replanted by humans. And their source is—archaeological discoveries."
Lu Qingxing was stunned. After realizing what he meant, he picked up the seeds and examined them, exclaiming in surprise, "These are all fresh seeds."
Xie Sen nodded, "So I'll have to trouble you to age them."
Lu Qingxing looked at him, puzzled, "Where did you find these plants? Why didn't you just inform the Institute of Botany? Everyone would be grateful to you."
Xie Sen smiled helplessly. He did want to be grateful, but he couldn't explain the origin of the plants.
"I'm sorry, the specifics are difficult to explain, otherwise I wouldn't have asked for your help. Can you help?" he asked.
Lu Qingxing pondered for a moment, then hesitated, "It's true that archaeological predecessors have discovered plant seeds, and were even admired and respected for it. You're giving me so many seeds, I… can't bear such a reputation."
Xie Sen was surprised, not expecting his dilemma to be like this. He advised, "It's nothing. If you don't help, these seeds will be buried. If you help, you'll be the one who brings them back to life."
Lu Qingxing shook his head: "You're the one who should be praised."
Xie Sen waved his hand: "Don't mention it. I'm already quite famous. Many people have praised me for discovering chili peppers. These things are useless to me; they're a burden. In that case, this favor isn't really a good thing for you."
Lu Qingxing said, "I'm not a public figure. I travel frequently and rarely go out. It won't affect anything."
Xie Sen said happily, "That's even better! Please agree to help!"
Lu Qingxing thought for a moment and nodded: "Okay, I agree." He opened his bracelet and brought up a map. The map was different from the ones he usually saw; many locations on it had semi-circular markers.
He showed the map to Xie Sen: "The gray semi-circular marks represent ruins that haven't been explored in depth yet. Where is the closest place to where you found the plant?" He added, "Seeds found near where the plant grew are more credible."
Xie Sen asked about the climate of each place and pointed to a location with a climate similar to the south, located at the border of Moon City and Star City, which was quite remote.
Lu Qingxing marked the spot: "This is the ruins of Licheng. We need to collect detailed data before setting off, and the seed processing will also take time. We can only depart in a few days."
"It's alright, no rush," Xie Sen said. "Just finish your own work and help me out."
Lu Qingxing smiled, carefully put away the seeds, and glanced outside: "A-Jia misses you and the other contracted beasts. Can we play here for a while?"
Xie Sen stood up: "Of course, come on, I'll take you to the contracted beasts' dwellings. If A-Jia wants to come, you can bring it anytime."
The giant armored beast played with the contracted beasts for half an hour, and before leaving, it gently nuzzled Xie Sen with its tail: "A-Sen, I'll help Qingxing and do your job well."
Xie Sen stroked its scales: "Thank you. Be careful when you go out, and stay safe!"
"Yes, Asen, you need to take care of yourself too." The giant armored beast said softly, then left with Lu Qingxing. Over
the next few days, Maine went out to handle matters from time to time, while Xie Sen stayed in the apartment, chatting and playing with his contracted beasts. However, the contracted beasts, mindful of his health, acted more gently when he was around.
The farm's zoning was complete, and the irrigation equipment was installed. Powerful sprinklers were installed every fifty meters on each of the ten plots of land. When turned on, water sprayed out in an arc from the nozzles, covering a large area, and the angle could be adjusted to ensure every spot was irrigated. The houses were still under construction; once completed, the farm would be ready for use.
Xie Sen looked at the farm; the ground had been turned over, the soil crushed, and it looked much better than before, though the soil was still too dry. He switched to the control panel, selected the irrigation device, set the standard program, and turned it on.
Instantly, all the sprinklers in the farm began spraying water, their angles varying to precisely cover all the land.
Xie Sen exclaimed how convenient it was, setting a timer to automatically shut off after ten minutes.
After finishing, he felt a little hungry, so he exchanged for a dragon fruit and ordered it to peel and cut into small pieces, placing them on a plate.
He sat down on the sofa with the plate, eating the fruit with a fork. As he ate, he received a message from Lu Qingxing, telling him that he had already set off. He replied with a thank you message and continued eating.
Suddenly, Adan's excited voice rang in his mind: "Asen, the energy has reached Brant Star, very close to us!"
Xie Sen immediately put down his fork and opened the Brant Star map: "Where is it?"
"Fifty kilometers northeast," Adan said.
Xie Sen looked at the destination and was stunned: "Plant Research Institute?" He stood up abruptly, "Could it be that the researchers went to Fog Star and are only returning now? I'll go check."
Adan cheered: "Yay, so lucky!"
Maine had gone to Guangyao to get farm tools and wasn't home. Before leaving, Xie Sen sent a message to Maine, telling him that he had gone to the Plant Research Institute.
Xie Sen landed the shuttle in the research institute's parking lot. Stepping down, Adan exclaimed excitedly, "We're so close! I can feel it!"
Following Adan's directions, Xie Sen walked into the institute. Everyone there recognized him, and he made his way through without hindrance, arriving directly at Ma Qun's office.
Just as he was about to knock, the door was suddenly pushed open. Xie Sen jumped in fright; the force was immense. He instinctively tried to back away, but it was too late.
"Thump..." A loud crash echoed as the door, only two hand-widths wide, was slammed shut by a powerful impact.
Xie Sen's heart pounded. He stumbled back two steps, staring at the dented door and the fist-sized sunflower seed embedded in the dent. He turned to look at the sunflower on his left shoulder.
The sunflower was slowly shrinking, twisting its stem, and brushing its petals against his cheek in a comforting gesture. At the same time, Xie Sen felt a surge of worry.
He breathed a sigh of relief, reached out and pinched the sunflower stem, thinking to himself, "Thank you," he smiled, "I'm fine."
The sunflower stem twisted even more violently, his worry replaced by joy, shrinking back to the size of a finger, perched gracefully on Xie Sen's left shoulder.
Ma Qun and the person who pushed the door open were startled by the sudden loud noise. Someone from a nearby office poked their head out: "Ah Sen, what happened? Are you alright?"
Xie Sen turned around and smiled: "I'm fine."
The person looked at the dent in the door, mouth agape, staring at Xie Sen in shock: "You did this?"
Xie Sen was about to explain when the door was pushed open again, this time with measured force. When the door was fully pushed open, a chestnut-haired man over 195 cm tall was revealed. The man was very strong, with a fierce look in his eyes.
Behind him was Ma Qun, walking around the desk and heading out. Thinking of what had just happened, Ma Qun's expression changed instantly, and he hurriedly asked, "Ah Sen, are you alright? Did you bump into anything?"
Xie Sen shook his head.
The chestnut-haired man glanced at the dented door, his gaze sliding over Xie Sen's hand as he scrutinized him. "Did you do this?"
Xie Sen shook his head, offering no answer. His attention was completely drawn to the necklace around the man's neck; unfortunately, only the black cord was visible, the pendant hidden by his clothes.
Adan excitedly shouted in his mind, "It's right here!"
Even without it saying anything, Xie Sen could sense the energy—the remaining water energy—in the pendant.
Ma Qun looked at Xie Sen with surprise. Xie Sen's gaze was too direct; staring at a male's chest like that was certainly attention-grabbing. He coughed lightly. "Ah Sen, this is Cen Jun, the vice-director of the Moon City Botanical Research Institute." Xie
Sen snapped out of his reverie and greeted him politely.
Cen Jun scoffed disdainfully, "So, a pregnant female, really thirsty. Don't even think about me; I have no interest in other people's females."
He strode past Xie Sen, pushed the door slightly inward, looked at the outside of the door, and reached out to retrieve the melon seeds.
Xie Sen was stunned by his words for a while. After seeing this, he came to his senses and reached out his hand, saying, "This is mine, give it back to me."
After the sunflower's energy is recovered, it can mass-produce small sunflower seeds, but producing large sunflower seeds requires a significant amount of energy. Among the plants he activated, there were no dried fruits; sunflower seeds were his only dried fruit, and one seed could provide him with the nutrition he needed for the day.
Cen Jun didn't look at him, weighed the sunflower seed in his hand, and then smelled it: "Didn't you say you didn't hit it?"
Xie Sen: "I didn't hit it myself." Seeing Cen Jun remove the sunflower seed from his nose, he reached out to snatch it.
Cen Jun dodged away in disgust, angrily shouting, "Don't touch me!"
Xie Sen: "...I don't want to touch you! Give me back my sunflower seeds!"
"Sunflower seeds?" Cen Jun was taken aback, his eyes burning with desire as he examined the seeds closely. "The shape does resemble sunflower seeds, but they're way too big. No records ever mention sunflower seeds this big."
He looked at Xie Sen: "Where did you get these? How can you prove they're yours? If you can't, I'll take them."
Xie Sen pursed his lips. Only four people knew that sunflowers were his contracted plant, and he didn't intend to reveal it, as it was a secret weapon in dangerous situations.
Moreover, many people knew that chili peppers were his contracted plant; two contracted plants made it even harder to explain.
As he hesitated, Ma Qun said, "That's easy. There are security cameras outside my office. If these belong to A-Sen, you have to return them."
Upon hearing this, Xie Sen immediately said, "No need to check the security footage. I can prove it. Shall we talk inside?" He pointed to the office.
Ma Qun stepped back into the office, Xie Sen followed, and Cen Jun hesitated, frowning, before also entering.
After the office door closed, Xie Sen ordered the sunflower to grow larger. He reached out, and the sunflower spat out a large sunflower seed into his hand. He looked at Cen Jun: "Can I have it back now?"
Ma Qun and Cen Jun's eyes lit up. Cen Jun stepped closer and reached out to touch the sunflower, but Xie Sen stepped back: "Stay away from me!"
Cen Jun snorted: "You weren't like this before." He casually tossed the sunflower seed at Xie Sen.
Xie Sen reached out and caught it, putting both seeds into his spatial storage.
Adan thought to himself, "Asen, knock him out and steal the necklace!"
Xie Sen, considering the influence of energy, asked, "Are you sure you can knock him out? My plants will sense the energy when they touch him, won't it be like what happened to Xiao Kui when the Flying Lion Beast did?"
Adan hesitated, "Then, let Maine do it. The Flying Lion Beast can't help, he'll have to fight it himself."
Xie Sen sighed, "He has water energy on him, it's like he's got a cheat code. No matter how strong Maine is, he can't win!"
Adan sighed even harder, then cleverly suggested, "Then what should we do? Steal it while he's taking a bath?"
Xie Sen pouted, "That's unreliable, his house..." "He might not be able to get in; he might not take off the necklace while showering."
As they were talking, Ma Qun excitedly grabbed Xie Sen's arm, staring at the sunflower: "Ah Sen, is this a sunflower?"
Xie Sen nodded: "Yes."
Ma Qun's eyes burned: "Is it your contracted plant?"
Xie Sen nodded again, and Ma Qun exclaimed excitedly: "My God, you actually have two contracted plants! That's amazing! Does Dean Mu know? What did he say?"
Xie Sen shook his head: "They don't know," he hesitated for a moment, "Dean Ma, could you destroy the surveillance cameras outside your door?"
Ma Qun immediately realized his thoughts; he didn't want others to know.
Ma Qun calmed down: "If this gets out, it will definitely cause a huge sensation. We really need to prepare before exposing ourselves. I'll have someone handle it right away." He went aside to send messages to the relevant personnel.
Xie Sen looked at Cen Jun, who frowned. "This matter is of great significance and should be made public. Perhaps we can obtain useful information from you. If everyone could activate two contracted beasts, their abilities would be greatly enhanced."
Xie Sen pouted. "How can we get useful information?"
Cen Jun said seriously, "Cooperate with the research. After the experts study you, they will definitely find differences."
Xie Sen thought to himself, "Just as I thought. I don't want to be a guinea pig. Besides, I only have one contracted plant.
" He scanned Cen Jun. "Why don't you take the initiative to let someone study you? Your body must have changed a lot, right? If you're so dedicated, why don't you do it yourself?" Cen Jun
's expression suddenly changed. He stepped forward and grabbed Xie Sen's wrist. He was extremely strong, and Xie Sen's wrist skin instantly turned white. He hissed in pain and tried to pull his hand back, but he couldn't break free.
"How did you know?" Cen Jun asked in a deep voice, staring intently at Xie Sen.
Xie Sen's face turned pale, and he fired small sunflower seeds at Cen Jun. Although the seeds were small, their momentum was fierce.
Cen Jun dodged and was forced to let go. His voice deepened: "How did you know?"
He recalled Xie Sen's gaze earlier, and subconsciously touched the pendant through his clothes, his eyes burning with fervor. "You have one too, right? You have two contracted plants, is it because of this?"
Xie Sen rubbed his wrist: "I don't know what you're talking about." He regretted implying that Cen Jun was affected by energy just to provoke him.
Cen Jun's attitude made him uneasy, somewhat like a martial arts fanatic discovering a secret manual in a martial arts novel—too abnormal. In that case, asking Cen Jun for the pendant was impossible, and even touching it was highly unlikely.
Cen Jun sneered, his face full of disbelief: "No wonder you have potatoes and vines besides chili peppers... I see."
Ma Qun didn't understand what they were talking about, but explained, "Ah Sen's plant form is a chili pepper; he can mimic it."
Cen Jun looked at Ma Qun: "You believe that?"
Just then, there was a knock on the door: "Ah Sen."
Xie Sen heard Maine's voice and immediately went to open the door. As his hand left the doorknob, Maine grabbed it, her voice cold: "What happened?"
Xie Sen's wrist, where he had been grabbed earlier, was now bruised and purple, which was particularly noticeable on his fair skin.
Xie Sen thought of Cen Jun's water energy and shook his head: "Nothing."
Maine's gaze swept over the two people in the room, finally landing on Cen Jun, her tone icy: "You did this?"
Cen Jun said disdainfully, "It was just a random grab; I didn't use any force at all."
Maine's eyes were cold. She released Xie Sen and rushed towards Cen Jun, her fist aimed directly at Cen Jun's face. Cen Jun reacted quickly, shifting his feet to the right, turning his head to dodge the attack, and simultaneously kicking Maine.
Mei Yin dodged to the side, and with a bang, Cen Jun's foot struck the side of Ma Qun's desk, instantly cracking a large gash in the wooden surface.
Ma Qun's refined expression crumbled, and he roared, "Stop it, both of you!"
Xie Sen quickly chimed in, "Mei Yin, stop fighting." If these two really started fighting, the office wouldn't be big enough for them to tear apart.
Mei Yin paused, retreating to Xie Sen's side, her gaze turning cold as she looked at Cen Jun, plotting a sneak attack when Xie Sen wasn't looking.
Cen Jun flicked his wrist and shrugged at Ma Qun, "Sorry, I'll compensate you."
A Dan sighed, "It's over, he definitely won't give you the pendant."
Xie Sen said, "It was never going to happen in the first place." A Dan was silent for a moment, then said, "Let's use violence, I've got a plan!"