Xie Sen looked at the long row of trees in the distance with a pang of heartache. To block the giant lynx, he had exchanged for twenty trees at once, spending twenty energy points. He looked at Maine: "Could you find someone to transplant them into the yard?"
"Sure, I'll call someone later." Maine nodded, putting his arm around Xie Sen and leading him outside.
Xie Sen tugged at his hand: "Haven't you picked up your graduation certificate yet?" According to the order in which the botany professors issued graduation certificates, Maine's grades were probably the last.
Maine said: "I'll pick it up after I go to the hospital."
"I'm fine, I'll go with you to get your graduation certificate, and we'll leave together later." Xie Sen said.
Maine hesitated, and Xie Sen pulled him towards Class 1 of the Information Department: "It's decided then." The crowd dispersed, making way for them.
Those who had followed Maine continued to trail behind them. Someone said, "Thank God, can I have a potato?"
"I want a chili pepper!"
Maine retorted coldly, "Don't even think about it."
Xie Sen accompanied Maine to get his diploma, waited for him to finish taking photos, and then suggested, "How about taking a picture in front of your classroom?"
University classrooms aren't always fixed, but they're still where students spend the most time. Xie Sen, thinking of this, decided to take a picture in front of Class 1.
Maine had spent a lot of time in that classroom.
Maine naturally had no objections. After taking a photo in front of Class 1, they declined other students' invitations to take pictures and left the classroom.
Just as they exited the building, a student suddenly rushed over. Maine instantly went into battle mode, coldly staring at the newcomer.
The newcomer stopped two meters away, looking at Xie Sen with shining eyes: "Student Xie, I challenge you!"
Immediately afterward, one after another, people ran over, all challenging Xie Sen.
Xie Sen was completely bewildered, not understanding why so many people suddenly wanted to fight him. Thinking back to his previous fight with the male, even though he won in the end, he still felt frustrated, having wasted too much energy and lacking sufficient attack power.
Many of the plants he activated later hadn't developed any attack methods, and while the earliest activated plants had some ideas, he wasn't very skilled at using them in actual combat.
Now that someone was challenging him to a fight, and he no longer needed to hide his plants, he was very tempted.
Maine scoffed, "Challenge a pregnant man? If you want to challenge him, beat me first!" He glanced around, "I'm waiting for your challenge letters."
Sitting on the shuttle, Xie Sen opened the academy forum and said dejectedly, "I actually really want to fight. My combat skills are terrible. With so many plants and energy now, I should have been able to kill this guy in one hit. I almost let him escape."
Maine said, "You're already very strong. You're not suited for strenuous exercise right now."
Xie Sen patted his stomach lightly, "It's okay. Look, I fought today and I didn't feel anything. I mainly use plants in my fights, so it doesn't really test my physical strength."
After the shuttle stopped, Maine reclined the seat, pushed off with his hand, and lightly leaped to the back seat. He reached out and lifted Xie Sen's shirt. Xie Sen shrank back, "What? Oh my god! How can this be so scary?"
There were two thin, long, bluish-purple marks on his ribs and shoulders, the marks from when the vines had bound him. He touched them with his fingers and felt a little pain, "Hey, the vines are pretty useful, but they're too tight when you're going fast."
"Fighting requires a certain level of physical fitness," Maine said, leaning down to kiss him on the lips. "If you want to fight, at least wait until after the baby is born."
Xie Sen replied, "Okay, I'll practice more often so my reactions will be faster in a real fight." He glanced outside. "Is this a hospital?"
"Yes, let's go see Dr. Bai."
Dr. Bai was quite surprised and a little scared when he examined Xie Sen: "How did you get injured? Luckily you avoided the abdomen, otherwise it would have been very dangerous."
After the examination, Dr. Bai breathed a sigh of relief: "It's okay, you and the baby are fine. Just be more careful in the future." He wrote down the name of an ointment: "This ointment is suitable for pregnant women. It has no side effects. Just buy it at the counter."
The two thanked him, bought the ointment, and returned to their apartment.
Not long after, the doorbell rang. Xie Sen opened his bracelet and saw two tall males standing at the door, with a trailer behind them piled high with trees.
Xie Sen's eyes lit up, and he immediately stood up. Maine said, "I'll go over there. Where
should we plant these trees?" Xie Sen pulled his arm, "Let's go together. The tree seeds have already been planted along the wall, so we don't need to plant any more. Let's plant these trees in front of the apartment."
In the end, twenty trees were planted in a circle in front of the apartment on the left, leaving an open space in the center. Xie Sen planned to put a table and chairs there as a place to relax and have tea.
After the trees were planted, Maine went to make lunch, Xie Sen took a shower, and then sat on the sofa browsing the news. The news about his attack had spread online, and the comments were mostly expressing anger and demanding severe punishment for the attacker, as well as many people concerned about his health.
He looked at this, switched to the anchor control panel, and sure enough, there were 999 private messages again. He opened the first few, and they were all asking about his health and praising his abilities.
He didn't continue reading and wrote a notice: "Thank you for your concern, I'm fine, about to have lunch! [smiley face]"
He had barely sent it when he received a reply: "It's good you're okay, I want to have lunch with the streamer!"
"Please stream your lunch, seeing it would make me happy too!"
"Same here, this stream has been so educational, I've seen so many contracted beasts I've never seen before, and so many foods I've never even heard of."
Xie Sen didn't reply, and of course, he didn't start a stream.
Earlier at the concert hall, eating in front of 20,000 people, he initially felt very uncomfortable, but the stage was large, and when he looked at the food, he didn't feel the audience's presence. Most importantly, the people around him were eating very well, creating a lively atmosphere, and he forgot about it when he got absorbed in his food.
If he were to stream lunch, and it was just him and Mei Yin eating together, in front of tens of millions of viewers, his attention would definitely be on the audience, and he definitely wouldn't be able to eat.
Thinking of the private messages praising his skill, he switched back to the news page and clicked on the video of the news about his attack.
The video was short and of poor quality, starting with the giant lynx carrying its master as they fled and ending with the crowd dispersing. Many comments below the video discussed how the trees suddenly appeared.
"So cool! So many trees suddenly appeared!"
"I watched it in slow motion several times. Are the people fighting behind Xie Shen fighting over potatoes?"
"Yes, that yellow thing being kicked around is a potato!"
"I remember Xie Shen's previous sparring videos; he definitely fights with plants."
"So, are these potatoes and trees remnants from a battle?" "
Haha, I have a great idea! I want to spar with Xie Shen!"
"Wake up! Xie Shen is pregnant now. Sparring with a pregnant man? Isn't that embarrassing? Besides, Maine said that if you want to spar with Xie Shen, you have to get past him first."
Xie Sen looked at the comments and once again marveled at the netizens' wit; it was a waste of talent not to be a detective. By the end, he finally understood why those people wanted to spar with him.
They were all after the plants!
The video was clearly taken by students who were watching; it's shaky and unclear. It seems the school was quite reliable in not letting the video circulate.
After lunch, Maine made Xie Sen a strawberry milkshake. Xie Sen sat on the sofa, leaning against Maine, slowly sipping it while chatting: "What are your career plans?"
Maine ran her fingers through Xie Sen's black hair: "Continue working on various software programs. What about you? Is there anything you'd like to do?"
Xie Sen thought for a moment: "Nothing in particular I like. I quite enjoy cooking. There's so little food here; I have to remember a lot of the ingredients myself. I don't know how to cook everything, so I have to figure things out." He laughed, "It's actually quite interesting."
From ingredients to finished product, it gives him a great sense of accomplishment. When he made bean sprouts and tofu from memory, he was especially happy. He had made bean sprouts in elementary school science class, but seeing them grow gave him a real sense of accomplishment.
On Brant, or rather, on all the planets here, many delicacies have disappeared due to the scarcity of plants. Some recipes have survived, while others have not. The revival of cuisine still has a long way to go.
Xie Sen became excited at the thought: "Relying solely on system energy definitely won't work; we still need to cultivate more land. With more plants, we can make all sorts of delicious food. Later, I can open a restaurant, handling everything from ingredients to finished products."
Maine said, "I'm glad you like it, but running a restaurant will be very tiring."
Xie Sen didn't mind: "It's okay, it's not for making money, it's just for my hobby. I'll just develop dishes, not be the head chef."
Maine laughed: "Alright, I'll be the first to taste every dish you make."
As they were chatting, Xie Sen's communicator rang. Seeing the contact, he sat up straight, placed the juice on the coffee table, and turned on the speakerphone: "Young Master Qi, did you find out?"
Young Master Qi replied: "Yes, it's someone from Planet Boots, a professional spy trained from childhood. He chose the plant-based system simply because there are few people there." The management is loose, the identity is concealed, and you have a lot of time to do other things. You are an unexpected surprise to him.
Xie Sen rolled his eyes: "I wonder if he is still happy?"
Mr. Qi laughed out loud: "The military is negotiating with Booth Star. It is estimated that there will be no result. After he is caught, he is destined to be an abandoned son." His voice became serious, "Except for Booth Planet, there will definitely be people on other planets interested in you. The plants on your body will have a huge attraction for any planet."
Xie Sen said: "I will keep a distance from any strangers, and I will not easily trust unfamiliar people."
Mr. Qi: "Okay, it seems you still don't want anyone to protect you. The military leader has given an order. Your opinion is the main one. If there is any danger, please contact me."
"Okay," Xie Sen asked before he hung up, "How's the giant lynx doing?" "
The Contract Beast Research Institute has taken over. You can ask Dean Mu." "
Hanging up the communication, Xie Sen took a sip of juice and said, "The military here is quite easy to talk to. "
After this attack, he thought the military would be tough and send people to protect him. When he received the message from Mr. Qi, he was still thinking about how to refuse.
Maine wasn't surprised at all: "It's not that they're easy to talk to, it's just that your identity is special. They're worried you'll be dissatisfied with Brant and go to another planet. If you were a native of Brant, it would be easier, but you're an adopted son. If you recognize people from another planet as your parents and leave with them, the military can't do anything except use force, and it would trigger a war."
"Besides," Maine smiled, "they're also afraid you'll be angry and won't provide the plants."
Xie Sen thought about it and felt it made sense, then laughed: "Think what you want, as long as the result is what I want. Anyway, I don't mind having someone else with me at any time."
He opened his contacts and found Mu Lin: "I'll ask Dean Mu about the situation."
Mu Lin quickly answered the call, and Xie Sen asked directly: "How's the giant lynx?"
"It's awake, but it's very irritable because it was separated from its master and injured." Mu Lin clicked his tongue. "Do you know who its master is?"
Xie Sen: "Yes, I know. What will it do if its master is imprisoned?"
Mu Lin said in a deep voice: "Separate imprisonment," he couldn't help but curse, then sighed, "Contracted beasts will act according to their master's orders. If they're not imprisoned, they'll definitely fight. A long time ago, there was a case where a contracted beast helped its master escape from prison."
Xie Sen thought of the research he had discussed with Bai Jiao: "What if the contract is broken?"
Mu Lin's tone was surprised: "What do you know?"
Xie Sen said: "Not much. Hasn't the contract-breaking medicine been successfully developed yet?"
Mu Lin said: "I obtained a research document from Meyer's bracelet before. It contains many records of the mental reactions of contracted beasts after being subjected to various stimuli. After studying it, the contract-breaking medicine research team has created a contract-breaking medicine, but the effect is uncertain."
Xie Sen didn't expect Mu Lin to explain it to him in such detail, and was somewhat surprised.
Mu Lin continued, "We've had several meetings and decided to try the drug. Regardless of its success, the contracted beasts might fall into a frenzy, especially those that have established a close partnership with their masters. We'd like to ask for your help. Previous surgeries on contracted beasts have shown that you can effectively soothe them."
Xie Sen suddenly understood. No wonder Mu Lin had told him everything; if he had agreed to help, he would have found out anyway.
He said, "Okay, when should we try it?"
Mu Lin smiled, "That's kind of you. I'll contact someone. Let's do it as soon as possible. The sooner we test it, the better. If it doesn't work, the research team will have to continue." He sighed, "There are quite a few contracted beasts imprisoned at the same time as their masters."
Xie Sen: "Just contact me when you confirm the time. I'm not busy lately."
That evening, Xie Sen came out of the bathroom while drying his hair. As soon as he stepped out the door, Maine suddenly knelt down on one knee in front of him. Xie Sen was stunned, still holding the towel in his hand, his heart pounding.
Maine's movements were remarkably swift and decisive. Without any preamble, she pulled out a subtly gleaming black box, held it up, and looked intently at him: "Ah Sen, will you be my partner?"
Xie Sen snapped out of his daze, grabbed the towel, tossed it behind him, nodded, and extended his hand: "Okay!" Thinking about his current attire of shorts and a tank top, he couldn't help but sigh, "Couldn't you have proposed when I looked handsome?"
A hint of amusement flashed in Maine's eyes: "You look handsome right now."
Xie Sen's lips curled up, and he scoffed: "You're not even a tenth as handsome as I was at my best." A drop of water dripped from the back of his head. He shrank back, and seeing Maine open the box, he resisted the urge to turn around and see his messy hair.
If he couldn't see it, he'd pretend to be incredibly handsome now.
The box opened, revealing two simple silver rings, sparkling beautifully under the light. Maine gently squeezed his finger and slipped the ring onto his finger.
Xie Sen picked up another ring and examined it closely. He noticed the initials of his name on the inner ring. He twirled the ring on his finger; he knew without looking that Maine's name was also on it.
He carefully slipped the ring onto Maine's finger. Their hands intertwined, fingers resting on the back of each other's hands. Xie Sen laughed, "Beautiful! Your taste is directly proportional to your looks."
He pulled his hand up forcefully, "Get up! Why are you still kneeling?"
Maine pulled her finger away, kissed the back of his hand, then lowered her head, wrapped her arms around his waist, and pressed her head against his stomach, her voice filled with joy, "Baby, your daddy said yes to my proposal!"
Xie Sen ruffled her hair, a little embarrassed. Before, even with ten heads, he never imagined such a scene would unfold. Besides embarrassment, he felt mostly happiness. Neither he nor Maine had any family; they had formed a family together, and they would have their baby.
At this moment, he felt that being able to have a child was a wonderful thing.
After a while, Xie Sen tugged at Maine's hair: "Get up. He's probably not even as big as a fist right now, and he doesn't understand what you're saying. I need to blow-dry my hair."
Maine got up, lifted him onto a stool, bent down and kissed him on the cheek, her expression delighted: "I'll blow-dry it for you."
Xie Sen glanced at Maine. Maine's most common expression was blank; when she was with him, her expression was gentle, and she would smile, but she had never been this happy before, as if even the strands of her hair were happy.
He couldn't help but smile: "So happy?"
Maine pinched his earlobe: "Yeah, I've been waiting for the day I get my graduation certificate."
Maine's movements were very gentle, her fingers running through Xie Sen's hair. The hairdryer was completely silent, and the room was quiet.
Xie Sen touched his belly: "So when are we getting our marriage certificate? When are we having the wedding?"
"Tomorrow morning." Maine had obviously already thought it through and gave an immediate answer. "I haven't planned the wedding yet. You can't be too tired during your pregnancy. Can we have it after the baby is born?"
Although Xie Sen had never raised a child, he had seen others raise children, and he knew that there were a lot of things to do after the baby was born, which was particularly exhausting.
"No, let's have the wedding this month or next month. My pregnancy isn't too noticeable yet, and I don't know how busy I'll be after giving birth
. Let's not make it too big, just invite some close friends for a meal." Mei Yin ruffled his hair, which was completely dry, put the hairdryer back, and leaned down to hug him. "I want everyone to know you're my partner."
Xie Sen tilted his head and kissed him. "Do you think anyone doesn't know now? Don't make a fuss. You're not the type to like the limelight. I hate trouble. I don't want to only have chaotic, tiring, and exhausting memories of the wedding later."
Hearing this, Mei Yin immediately said, "Okay, as you say, not too big. I'll arrange it. You don't need to worry about it; you just need to decide who to invite."
Xie Sen nodded. "Okay."
The next morning, Xie Sen had just finished breakfast and was drinking orange juice when he received a call from Mu Lin, informing him that the drug trial was scheduled for 10:00 AM at the Contract Beast Research Institute.
He and Mei Yin went to get their marriage certificate first. The staff taking their photos made them look incredibly excited.
After receiving their certificates, Xie Sen and Mei Yin were thrilled to see each other's names listed as partners in their identity information. They spent a long time being affectionate on the shuttle.
They arrived at the research institute at 9:50 AM. Gu Luo was waiting for them in the parking lot and led them to a building at the back. Gu Luo used his facial recognition to get them into a huge room.
There were six other people in the room: Mu Lin, Bai's father, Bai Jiao, and a doctor they had met during the contracted beast surgery. They didn't recognize the other two.
The room was divided in two by a transparent wall, which in turn was divided in two by a concrete wall. On the left was a huge, unconscious kangaroo, and on the right lay an unconscious male.
Xie Sen immediately recognized him: "Is that the contracted beast dealer?"
Mu Lin nodded: "It's him."
Bai's father, standing beside the massive equipment on the right, said: "Everyone's here, let's begin."
"Okay." The tall, middle-aged doctor next to Bai's father nodded, tapped on the equipment, and the ceiling above the transparent wall opened, revealing various instruments. Two thin tubes hung down, each containing the same pale blue liquid, but the kangaroo's liquid was three times that of its owner.
The sharp tip pierced the unconscious man and animal, and the pale blue liquid gradually disappeared.
Everyone except Xie Sen and Maine gathered around the instrument, watching the changing values.
Xie Sen had been watching the kangaroo, and after a while, he noticed it kick its leg. He immediately said, "The kangaroo seems to be waking up." He took a step forward and placed his hand on the transparent wall.
Mu Lin said, "The mystery drug's effects are almost worn off."
Soon, the kangaroo fully woke up. It let out a loud cry, kicked its leg, and jumped up, then froze, turning its head dazedly. When it saw Xie Sen, its head stopped, and it jumped to the transparent wall, nuzzling its head against Xie Sen's hand, opening its mouth to cry.
Tuan Tuan translated, "It's saying sorry, it didn't want to hurt you."
Xie Sen looked at the kangaroo in surprise. The kangaroo blinked its large eyes, its extremely long eyelashes brushing against the wall like two brushes, and weakly cried out again.
Tuan Tuan continued translating: "Is my beast master dead? I can't feel him anymore, that's good. I hate him so much, I didn't want to form a bond with him at all. My beast master is dead, I'm going to die too, I deserve to die, I've done so many bad things, and hurt so many companions."
Large tears fell onto the wall. Xie Sen felt both heartache and anger; the kangaroo had clearly been forced into the bond.
He comforted him, "You'll be alright, don't be sad. You were just following your beast master's orders, you're not bad."
"What is this?" a doctor asked in surprise.
Xie Sen touched the kangaroo through the wall, then turned to the doctors: "It's a success! It can't sense its master's presence anymore."
The tall, middle-aged doctor operating the equipment nodded, his voice trembling with suppressed excitement: "Yes, the data shows it's currently in an unbound state, but its body and mind are very weak."
He looked at Xie Sen: "You're truly amazing! You can talk to it?"
Xie Sen pointed to Tuantuan: "It translated."
This result greatly excited all the doctors, Bai Jiao's eyes shining brightly: "That's wonderful!"
The contracted beast dealers were taken away and exiled, the kangaroo was sent to the research institute's nursing area to recuperate, and after discussing with the doctors, Mu Lin decided to continue the unbound process.
After all, there was enough time, and Xie Sen was also there; unbound several more groups of contracted beasts to determine if the unbound medicine's effects were stable.
The first few groups of contracted beasts to unbound were all contracted beast dealers. The unbound process went very smoothly; the contracted beasts were all forcibly bound, and they were all very happy after the unbound process, but their bodies were weak, so they were all sent to the nursing area.
Upon reaching the giant lynx and its master, the situation suddenly changed. After regaining consciousness, the giant lynx roared loudly, relentlessly attacking the walls. Its enormous eyes, blood red, stared at the doctors, as if it wanted to pounce and devour them whole.
Tuantuan said, "It's cursing! It's demanding you return its master and threatening to eat you all!"
After translating, Tuantuan flapped its wings and flew to eye level with the giant lynx, chirping incessantly, "Hmph, look at yourself! Still spouting threats? Are you kidding me?"
"Your master attacked Asen; he's clearly no good. You're no better than him!"
The giant lynx, its eyes crossed in an attempt to see Tuantuan clearly, roared at her.
Tuantuan: "Go ahead and shout! Shout until you're hoarse, no one will help you. You think you can scare me just because you're loud? What a joke! I'm braver than you are!"
The entire outer room was filled with the roar of the giant lynx and Tuantuan's incessant chirping. The giant lynx stopped shouting for a while when it got tired, but Tuantuan kept chirping enthusiastically.
"What...is it saying?" the tall, middle-aged doctor asked, pointing at Tuantuan.
What else could it be saying? They were arguing!