After Cen Jun finished speaking about the compensation, he snorted coldly, strode out of the office, and slammed the door shut.
Xie Sen pursed his lips; seeing Cen Jun's reaction, he understood that obtaining the necklace through peaceful means was completely impossible. Hearing A Dan's words, he was overjoyed and hurriedly asked, "What method?"
A Dan said smugly, "Cen Jun has water energy, which is why Maine can't beat him. I'll separate a portion of the energy and put it on a carrier. If Maine wears it, he can beat him, right?"
Xie Sen exclaimed in surprise, finding it quite reasonable: "Your energy can be separated?"
"Of course, I can control it; I can release it and absorb it."
Thinking about the effects of the energy, Xie Sen was somewhat uneasy.
Ma Qun's expression was not good: "Vice Dean Cen's temper is getting more and more volatile. Before, he just ignored people, but now he's actually attacking females! That's too much!"
Hearing this, Xie Sen was even more uneasy. It seemed that the effects of energy on people were the same as those on contracted beasts, causing greater emotional fluctuations and affecting their mental state.
Adan asked in confusion, "Asen, why aren't you saying anything? Don't you think my method is great?"
Xie Sen replied helplessly, "It is indeed great, but I'm worried that the energy will affect Maine and damage his mental health."
"It's alright," Adan said confidently, "The energy is incomplete, so the impact is minimal. Cen Jun has had the energy for quite some time, and look, he's still quite normal. If he realized something was wrong and distanced himself from the energy, his condition would be even better than it is now."
Adan advised, "I'll only separate one-fifth of the red energy and get the necklace as soon as possible. It might take less than half a day. Such a short time shouldn't be a problem."
Xie Sen hesitated, "I'll discuss it with Maine later."
After expressing his dissatisfaction with Cen Jun, Ma Qun looked at Xie Sen, "Asen, what brings you here today?"
Xie Sen had only come to the research institute to find water energy. Hearing Ma Qun's question, he paused for a moment, then smiled and said, "I wanted to ask if I could attend the meeting?"
No matter what method he used, he had to see Cen Jun. Today was the 14th, and the exchange meeting was from the 15th to the 19th, lasting five days. The researchers from Sun and Moon City would leave on the 20th, so he had to find an opportunity within these few days.
Ma Qun hesitated, "Both the Sun and Moon City Research Institutes have invited you to attend, but we declined due to concerns about your health and potential accidents. Do you still want to participate?"
Xie Sen nodded, "The attendees at this meeting are all top researchers in botany from Brant Star. No botany student wouldn't aspire to attend."
Maine glanced at Xie Sen, his eyes filled with doubt. He didn't know if other botany students aspired to attend, but Xie Sen certainly did; he possessed more plant species than the entire planet Brant. Xie Sen noticed
Maine looking at him out of the corner of his eye. Caught lying on the spot, he felt a little embarrassed, but still maintained a sincere expression as he looked at Ma Qun.
Seeing Ma Qun hesitate, Xie Sen immediately added, "There's no need to specifically mention my attendance. I'll just sit in the back and pretend to be a recorder. Maine will be with me; nothing will happen."
Seeing his enthusiasm, Ma Qun smiled and said, "Alright, if you want to participate, I'll arrange a corner seat for you. The meeting might last a long time; if you're not feeling well, you can leave at any time."
Xie Sen smiled and said, "Thank you, Dean."
On his way back to the apartment, Xie Sen originally intended to drive the shuttle back, but Maine stopped him. In the end, he left his shuttle in the parking lot and rode home in Maine's shuttle.
Back at the apartment, Maine finally voiced her question: "Why did you attend the exchange meeting?"
Xie Sen didn't hide anything, explaining that Cen Jun's necklace possessed energy: "When you fought him just now, how strong did you feel about his abilities?"
Maine replied, "Very strong, unlike an A-level contracted beast master."
Xie Sen: "I knew it. He was affected by the energy, his abilities were enhanced, and it won't be easy to snatch the necklace from him."
Maine looked down at him: "You really want the energy?"
Xie Sen nodded: "Yes, this is the last energy. If I can recover it, I won't have to look for it again."
Maine asked: "Is it enough to just get the necklace?"
Xie Sen: "Yes, but he values the necklace highly and always wears it, so getting it won't be easy."
He hesitated for a moment, but still didn't tell Maine about Adan's suggestion. He wanted to see if there were any other methods; he still had the mystery-inducing agent Bai Jiao had given him in his backpack!
Even if, as Adan said, the matter was resolved quickly, Maine would hardly be affected. But he didn't want to risk that slight possibility.
Maine patted his shoulder reassuringly, "Don't worry, I'll figure something out." He got up and poured Xie Sen a glass of water, then took out a bottle of dark green nutritional supplement, "Drink this first."
Xie Sen pushed the supplement away with disgust, "I eat fruit every day, I don't need this supplement."
Maine gently persuaded, "I asked Dr. Bai, this is the latest version, it's very nutritionally complete, and it's very suitable for early pregnancy. I've tasted it, and it tastes better than regular nutritional supplements."
Xie Sen looked at him suspiciously, but seeing his worry, he reached out and took the supplement, uncorked it, and a strange smell immediately filled his nostrils. He couldn't control himself and turned his head to gag, "Ugh..."
He stretched out his hand holding the supplement, trying his best to get away from the smell, his hand trembling with the gag, spilling the dark green supplement onto the back of his hand.
Maine's expression changed instantly. She took the nutrient solution from his hand and tossed it aside. She put
her arm around him, gently patting his back, and handed him some water: "Drink some water and calm down." Xie Sen recovered and took a sip of water from Maine's hand, his face turning green: "I absolutely refuse to drink the nutrient solution, I can't even stand the smell." He absolutely hated the feeling of gagging.
Maine kissed his cheek tenderly: "No, no, I'll talk to Dr. Bai and see if we can supplement our nutrition through injections."
"No need," Xie Sen grabbed Maine's arm, "Fruits and vegetables are enough for me, I'm perfectly healthy." He thought for a moment: "How about this, let's make a juicer. I can drink more juice, it's more convenient than eating fruit."
He described the juicer's appearance and working principle to Maine, who listened and said: "That's simple."
Maine opened the bracelet and skillfully designed the program. Xie Sen curiously leaned over to watch, looking completely bewildered until the final design stage, when he finally understood.
"What kind of pattern do you like?" Maine asked.
Xie Sen thought for a moment: "The simplest cylindrical shape will do."
On the morning of the 15th, when Xie Sen woke up, Maine was already making breakfast. He sat up and was turning to get his clothes when he suddenly felt something was wrong and threw back the covers.
He bent his ankle and looked at the anklet on his foot. The anklet emitted a faint red light, and a rich energy emanated from it. He asked in his mind, "Adan, what's going on?"
Adan whispered, "I thought about it and wasn't comfortable with it, so I separated one-fifth of the red energy into your anklet. Don't worry, the system is on you, so touching it won't affect you at all. I used a special method; it won't be automatically absorbed by you. I'll recycle it when needed."
As he spoke, as if to cover up his guilt for taking matters into his own hands, he raised his voice: "There's no harm in doing this. If the situation is critical, you can give the anklet to Maine, which can improve his combat power. It's very safe!"
Xie Sen rubbed the anklet, and sure enough, he didn't feel the energy rushing into Peony's body when he touched the energy carrier before.
He laughed, "Adan is so smart! If you had just told me this method, I would have agreed too."
Adan chuckled, "Am I super smart?!"
"Yes, yes, yes, Adan is the smartest and best!"
After breakfast, Maine went to the gate to pick up a package and brought back a juicer. After cleaning it, he asked Xie Sen, "What would you like to drink?"
Xie Sen exchanged two apples, had them cut into small pieces, and handed them to Maine.
A minute later, a 400ml glass of apple juice was freshly made.
Xie Sen took a sip, the sweet and sour taste filling his taste buds, with a refreshing apple aroma. He smiled contentedly and held it to Maine's lips, "Try it, it's delicious." Maine bent down
and took a sip from his hand, her eyes brightening slightly, "You drink it. Next time, tell me what you want to drink in advance, and I'll make it for you at breakfast."
Xie Sen nodded, "Okay." Juice tastes much better than plain water.
He glanced at his remaining energy; 8,300 remained. The effects of the chili peppers had weakened considerably over the past few days, increasing his energy finitely each day, and in a few more days, it would be almost gone.
He wasn't worried. The vegetables and fruits he ate each day consumed about 15 energy, and Maine provided him with 9 energy daily, leaving him with over 8,000 energy—enough for him to have a baby.
After finishing his juice, he and Maine strolled around the apartment, then checked on their contracted beasts, playing with them for a while. Seeing that it was almost time, the two headed to the Plant Research Institute.
The plant exchange meeting was being held in Conference Room 101 of Building One. When they arrived, there were only ten minutes left before the meeting started, and most of the attendees and staff were already seated.
"Ah Sen," a staff member from the institute waved to him from the back door of Room 101, and whispered as he approached, "The two seats closest to this door were prepared for you by the director."
Xie Sen thanked him and mingled with the staff members as they entered, then quietly sat down in the last seats.
Xie Sen glanced around the meeting room. It wasn't large, with three long tables, each with six seats, arranged in a triangle. Behind each table was a large screen.
The table in front of him was for the Star City plant representatives. He didn't recognize anyone at the table to his left, but after seeing Cen Jun, the third from the left on his right, he understood: the left was for the Sun City representatives, and the right for the Moon City representatives.
Cen Jun sat with his arms crossed, leaning back in his chair, his gaze unabashedly appraising the Sun and Star City representatives.
After confirming Cen Jun's location and that the necklace was still on him, Xie Sen looked away. Ma Qun
delivered a long, flowery welcome speech, announcing the start of the meeting. Xie Sen wasn't interested, listening while browsing the school forum.
Lu Qingxing had already gone to the Li City ruins; the plants would soon be available, the farm could begin planting, and recruitment needed to be put on the agenda.
The school forum had a dedicated section for graduates, with plenty of job-seeking information, application strategies from senior students, and information on hiring companies.
Xie Sen focused on the job postings from the recruiting companies. He noticed that software engineering, information engineering, and combat engineering were the most popular majors, with many openings. As for botany, his keyword search yielded only one result, a student's comment: "Ahhh, why isn't a single company hiring botany students?!"
Just then, the conference room suddenly became noisy. He looked up and saw Cen Jun standing there, his face grim: "Dean Ma, the three cities have always had a friendly relationship, helping each other. Are you refusing to provide chili seeds because you want chili peppers to become exclusive to Xingcheng?"
Ma Qun's voice remained gentle: "Vice Dean Cen, I didn't refuse. Admittedly, the three cities have a friendly relationship, but researching new plants is very expensive. In the past, when new plants were introduced from Yuecheng, Xingcheng also paid a price."
"A hefty price tag?" Cen Jun sneered. "Chili peppers are the contracted plant of a plant-type beast master. What did you spend? You were just lucky to have a plant-type beast master."
Ma Qun said, "Luck is also part of strength. If Moon City truly wants to cooperate, it should show some sincerity. I thought you had already thought this through before coming here."
Cen Jun said, "I think your so-called price should be reduced depending on the situation."
The Sun City representative also said at this time, "I agree with Vice Dean Cen. Plants are a shared resource of Star Brant. Generally speaking, we should share the cost of cultivating new plants equally. This situation is special. There are almost no research costs for the new plants. Of course, we can't refuse to pay because of this, but paying according to the usual average is indeed unreasonable."
Xie Sen understood. It turned out that they were trying to bargain.
Ma Qun said, "If you think it's unreasonable, I would welcome another way: exchange it for a new plant."
The Sun City representative's face turned ugly: "There are no new plants."
Cen Jun's expression changed slightly, and he didn't speak for a moment.
Xie Sen raised an eyebrow, thinking about the effect of energy on plants, guessing that Cen Jun might have discovered some kind of plant.
The room erupted in arguments again, with continued bargaining.
Xie Sen, head down, was browsing the forum. He'd drunk too much water that morning, and after sitting for an hour, he needed to use the restroom. He tugged at Maine's sleeve and pointed outside, and Maine followed him out.
Cen Jun's eyes flickered; he saw Xie Sen, lowered his gaze thoughtfully, said "Excuse me," and also left.
When Xie Sen came out of the restroom, Maine and Cen Jun were standing face to face in the hallway, the atmosphere tense, as if they were about to fight.
Xie Sen's eyes darted around, and he jumped behind Maine. Maine was startled and quickly grabbed his legs, gently scolding, "Nonsense."
Cen Jun looked surprised, with a hint of disdain, "You really don't know your place..."
Xie Sen didn't say a word, and before he could finish, he took out a mystery spray and sprayed it twice at him, while simultaneously telling Maine, "Back off."
Maine quickly backed away, and Cen Jun, instinctively avoiding the spray, also quickly backed away, creating distance between them.
Xie Sen stared intently at Cen Jun, only to find him still standing there unharmed. He mentally asked Adan, "What happened? Can energy protect against poison?"
Adan replied, "I won't get poisoned. His words must be related to water energy; your spray is liquid."
Cen Jun's face darkened, and he touched the black rope around his neck. "A mystery drug? You want to steal my necklace?" His eyes blazed with anger. "Where's your stuff? Give it to me obediently, and I won't hold it against you."
Xie Sen feigned ignorance. "What stuff?" As he spoke, he released his grip on Mei Yin's neck and whispered, "Put me down." Mei Yin, staring intently at Cen Jun, put him down and firmly stood in front of him.
Cen Jun's face twisted in rage. "You're trying to steal my stuff and you're still pretending to be stupid? Disgusting!" He smirked. "Perfect, saves me the trouble of finding you."
With that, he pushed off the ground and charged towards Xie Sen at incredible speed. Mei Yin stepped forward to block him, preventing him from advancing further, and the two quickly began to fight.
Xie Sen crouched down and removed the anklet from his foot.
Maine's skill was clearly superior to Cen Jun's, but Cen Jun had the energy to cheat, making him incredibly strong. His punches were powerful and swift. When Maine dodged, Cen Jun couldn't retract his fist in time, denting the wall and creating cracks around it.
Xie Sen watched in trepidation, fearing Maine might be accidentally hit. He thought for a moment, then summoned Black Fungus to cover the surrounding surveillance cameras, and then had Black Fungus absorb Cen Jun's eyes.
After covering Cen Jun's eyes, the Black Fungus slid off the next second. Influenced by the energy, it couldn't harm Cen Jun, but it did impair his vision for a second, allowing Maine to kick him in the abdomen.
Cen Jun seemed oblivious to the pain, his movements completely unaffected, continuing his counterattack.
Xie Sen considered that chili peppers were the most lethal to Cen Jun, but Mei Yin was too close to him, making accidental injury a possibility. He continued to summon black fungus, constantly obstructing Cen Jun's vision. Taking advantage of the obstruction, he threw out the anklet and shouted to Mei Yin, "Catch!"
Mei Yin instinctively turned around, his pupils shrinking sharply upon seeing the anklet, his movements pausing for a moment. Xie Sen was startled and quickly summoned a potato, using the black fungus to obstruct Cen Jun's vision and expanding the potato to separate the two.
He shouted, "Grab it quickly, I'll put it back on after I've dealt with him!"
Mei Yin regained his senses, reaching out to catch the anklet, instantly feeling a powerful energy surge through his body, his muscles brimming with strength. The potato behind him was punched through, the mashed potato flesh scattering everywhere, Xie Sen quickly retrieved the potato.
Mei Yin turned and struck out with his palm, accurately catching Cen Jun's fist, pulling him backward, and kicking him in the abdomen.
"Ugh..." A groan of pain escaped Cen Jun's throat as he arched forward, his hands instinctively clutching his abdomen. Taking advantage of the moment, Mei Yin reached out and snatched the necklace from his neck, throwing it back to Xie Sen.
"Give it back!" Cen Jun roared, his entire being going berserk, his attacks becoming exceptionally vicious.
Mei Yin dodged and attacked simultaneously, forcing him away from Xie Sen.
Xie Sen caught the necklace; the heat instantly surged from his palm, up his arm, and into his right shoulder. Adan cheered in his mind, "Great!"
"What are you doing? Stop!" Cen Jun's roar attracted the attention of the security guards, and someone rushed over, shouting at the fighting.
Mei Yin's eyes flickered; she stopped attacking and simply kept dodging, preventing Cen Jun from getting close to Xie Sen.
Cen Jun's eyes were bloodshot, his expression crazed, his gaze towards Xie Sen seemingly murderous: "Give it back!"
Soon, two security guards rushed forward to restrain Cen Jun, but they couldn't subdue him immediately. Two more guards had to help before they finally managed to restrain him.
After recovering his energy, Xie Sen walked over to Maine. A security guard asked, "Ah Sen, what happened?"
Xie Sen reached out to hand over the necklace, but Maine grabbed it and gave it to the guard. Xie Sen said, "He attacked me, and Maine fought with him. During the fight, his necklace fell off." Cen Jun,
with both hands restrained, tilted his head and opened his mouth to bite the necklace, startling the guard, who instinctively withdrew his hand. "What are you doing?"
Cen Jun said fiercely, "Give it back to me!"
Ma Qun, having heard the report, hurried over, followed by representatives from Sun City and Moon City. The Moon City Dean, seeing Cen Jun being held captive, looked grim. "Is this how you treat your guests?" Ma Qun's
expression was also unpleasant. "Quickly release Vice Dean Cen."
The guard released Cen Jun as ordered. Cen Jun grabbed the guard's hand holding the necklace and twisted it. He was extremely strong, and the guard's hand instantly dislocated, causing him to cry out in pain. The necklace fell to the ground, but Cen Jun caught it.
His expression was crazed, his actions ruthless, shocking everyone present. Dean Yuecheng shouted, "Cen Jun, what are you doing?"
Cen Jun ignored the dean, clutching the necklace tightly. Feeling no energy, he slammed the necklace to the ground and reached for Xie Sen, yelling, "Give it back!"
Mei Yin, who had been watching him intently, grabbed his hand and shoved him towards Dean Yuecheng, coldly saying, "Is he mentally unstable?"
Xie Sen, alarmed, grabbed Mei Yin's hand, demanding, "Give me the anklet."
Mei Yin glanced at him sideways, remaining silent.
Just as Xie Sen was about to ask for it back, Cen Jun erupted in a frenzy of curses, "You bastard, give it back! Thief, robber! You already have it, even the second contracted plant! You're still not satisfied!"
Xie Sen scoffed. Cen Jun really thought he had two contracted plants, activated by energy.
Cen Jun was held captive by four security guards, unable to move. Ma Qun's eyes flashed with deep thought. The other two representatives were stunned, wondering if they had misheard them. A second contracted plant?
Xie Sen said, "I don't know what you're talking about. I've already returned the necklace to you. Why are you so nervous? Was this necklace originally yours? You're so agitated, like someone has discovered stolen goods." "
Bullshit! I found it!" Cen Jun retorted angrily. "You're the thief! Give it back to me!"
Xie Sen said, "Look, this wasn't originally yours, and I've already returned it to you."
Dean Yuecheng said angrily, "Cen Jun, stop messing around. Didn't I just give you the necklace? Why are you treating something you found like such a treasure?"
Cen Jun gritted his teeth and shouted, "I'm not talking about the necklace, I'm talking about what's inside! Something that makes people stronger and promotes plant growth!"
Dean Yuecheng exclaimed in surprise, "There's such a thing?"
Xie Sen scoffed, "What could such a small pendant possibly contain? I returned it to you after I found it. If there's a mechanism inside, open it and see for yourself."
"Stop playing dumb!" Cen Jun was furious. "It doesn't have a physical form; it's a kind of energy. It disappeared after you took it!"
Xie Sen looked at Dean Yuecheng: "Does he have delusions? Did he tell you about such a treasure? He was also acting strangely during the fight, like he had bipolar disorder. Does he have any medical history for this?"
"No," the dean said in a deep voice.
Ma Qun said, "Then let's do the examination here. He attacked a pregnant female and harmed our staff. The circumstances are serious. If he didn't have mental problems, we would have to let the police handle it."
"He just acted impulsively," Dean Yuecheng said, trying to smooth things over.
Ma Qun disagreed: "Look, his emotions are very strange. Confirming the situation is for everyone's safety, especially for those who are often with him. Their safety is not guaranteed."
Hearing this, Dean Yuecheng hesitated and said, "Then let's do an examination first."
The examination results were not optimistic. The doctor said seriously, "His mental state is very poor. He has great mood swings and is easily agitated. It is best to treat him immediately."
"No, I'm fine. I'm perfectly fine," Cen Jun retorted loudly, thinking that Xie Sen had two contracted plants and had just taken away the energy from his necklace. He pointed at Xie Sen, "If I have a problem, his problem is definitely bigger than mine!"
Xie Sen rolled his eyes and offered, "Doctor, please examine me."
He looked relaxed and had a smile on his face. Even if you weren't a doctor, you would know that his mental state was very good.
And indeed, that was the case. The doctor smiled and said, "Your mental state is very good. Keep it up. Pregnant men are easily affected by emotions, so you'd better stay away from emotionally agitated people."
Xie Sen thanked the doctor. Mei Yin gave Cen Jun a cold look, then put her arm around Xie Sen and said to the horse pack, "He was just frightened. I'll take him home first."
After Xie Sen became pregnant, he was forbidden from sitting in the passenger seat. He sat in the back seat and reached out to scratch Mei Yin's shoulder: "Give me back my anklet."
Mei Yin grabbed his hand and rubbed it without saying a word.
Xie Sen became nervous: "You're not reluctant to part with the energy on it, are you? You saw what happened to Cen Jun. Wearing it all the time will affect your mental state!" Mei
Yin sensed his worry and said, "I will give it back to you."