Chapter 6
Chapter 6: Why Was This System Such a Picky Eater?
A few minutes later, Qian Qi added Su Xing Le on her lightbrain, returned his coat and student card, and left the boys’ dorm satisfied.
“I’ve got one more use of Analysis Technique today,” she said cheerfully. “Time for a stroll on Back Mountain.”
At Awakeners University, every department had its own territory: the Magic Beast Department had its dissection lab, the Beast-Taming Department had its magic beast storage, the Commander Department had its battle simulation rooms, and the Skills Department had its dueling plaza.
The Back Mountain plantation belonged to the Magic Plant Department—where students grew and researched magic plants.
On the ridge, Qian Qi scanned the field below. Plants twisted and lashed in the wind like a crowd of troublemakers.
“Alright,” she muttered. “Who looks the most bully-able today?”
A translucent panel popped up without warning.
It hovered over a deep-red plant and drew an absurdly thick arrow pointing down.
“You want me to analyze that one?”
Qian Qi walked over. The plant resembled a spring orchid from her old world—if that orchid had been dipped in blood and sharpened for war. Countless thin red leaves encircled a pale bud. The edges were lined with razor serrations. The bud was dotted with three petals streaked orange-red and dark crimson.
Analysis Technique flickered.
[Magic plant name: three-scale orchid
Rank: E-rank
Attack method: leaves attack autonomously when approached; bud and petals can fire projectiles
Weakness: strong light
Organ-function analysis: root, stem, leaf, flower, fruit, seed]
Qian Qi tapped through the organ-function analysis options. Her eyes brightened.
“The petals can stop bleeding?”
She checked her lightbrain. Sure enough, research existed: three-scale orchid petals had a hemostatic effect.
But it was weak. Worse than the hemostatic medicine humans had already invented.
Which made it… kind of useless.
Qian Qi looked back at the System panel.
It brightened like it had been waiting for this exact moment.
[Dear customer, are you lost and confused?
Is your pocket empty, yet you dream of becoming a millionaire?
Are you all alone and want eight male models to keep you company?]
“…Speak human.”
[Only 998 yuan to purchase the recipe for “magic potion — strong hemostatic potion”~
Don’t hesitate—act now! Only 998! Take a magic potion home today!]
Qian Qi stared. “Why do you sound like an infomercial?”
Then she jabbed a finger at the words. “Magic potion?”
[A magic potion is medicine made from various magic plants mixed in precise ratios. It often has special effects. For example, “strong hemostatic potion” can instantly heal and stop bleeding—even if an artery is cut.]
“That’s insane,” Qian Qi breathed, eyes shining. In a world like this, injuries were practically a daily hobby. If she could make that potion…
She could get rich. Very rich.
She immediately clasped her hands together, face full of awe. “System Lord, you are truly one of a kind. With your blessing, I could walk sideways through the world!”
[Ahem. Not at all.]
“So,” Qian Qi said sweetly, “can we make it cheaper? I think 20 yuan is perfect.”
[Get lost.]
“Come on.” She fished out a battered, wrinkled 20-yuan bill and waved it. “I have to stay alive first, right? If I starve, how am I supposed to make you money?”
The panel went silent.
Then:
[Installments. Two months. First month: 20. Second month: 978.]
“Ninety.”
[978.]
“One twenty.”
[978.]
“Three hundred. Final offer.”
[778. 778 is fair!]
“Five seventy-eight. Bottom line. Otherwise I’ll starve and we both lose.”
[…]
[678. One price. Buy it or don’t.]
Qian Qi’s grin snapped into place. “Deal~ As expected of the generous System Lord~”
She shoved the money toward the panel.
The panel drifted back.
[I want the crisp, brand-new 20 in your pocket.]
Qian Qi stopped. Then slowly turned her head like she’d heard something illegal.
“…You’re picky?”
She stuffed the battered bill back into her pocket, dug out the shiny new 20, and handed it over.
The panel swallowed it.
Immediately, a recipe flashed across the screen.
“Three-scale orchid petals, ground into powder with equal grams of crimson flame grass leaves, tuo seng fruit peel, and peeled, deseeded pu wind fruit flesh… then…”
Qian Qi hummed, rubbing her chin. “Alright. Now I need to gather ingredients.”
Liang Yu Ting had said each student could apply for ten magic plant seeds for free every semester. If she could get seeds for those plants…
She headed straight for the office building.
—
It was a bright day. Mo Yin Qiu lounged in a wooden chair on her office balcony like a queen on her throne, enjoying a rare “paid day off.”
Magic Plant Studies was unpopular. Few people wanted to teach it. Even talented graduates chose the better-paid Magic Plant Research Institute over a teaching job in the Magic Plant Department that paid 2,000 a month.
So the handful of lecturers in the Magic Plant Department were mostly staff borrowed from the institute, teaching part-time.
Usually there were only five classes a week. The rest of the time, one teacher would be on duty to answer student questions.
Today, that teacher was Mo Yin Qiu—the first-year mentor.
She crossed her long legs and took a big swig from a beer can, her gorgeous face and fiery figure drawing glances from male teachers in the neighboring Magic Beast Department.
Just as she was enjoying herself, someone knocked on the door.
“Come in,” she called, and quickly tossed a cloth over the beer can.
Qian Qi walked in and immediately spotted her: Mentor Mo Yin Qiu of the Magic Plant Department.
Mo Yin Qiu recognized Qian Qi at once, too. A notorious student. Skipped class. Fought constantly. Mo Yin Qiu had warned her before: one more incident and she’d be expelled.
And yet this was the first time Qian Qi had shown up voluntarily.
Mo Yin Qiu lifted her chin. “What is it?”
“Mentor Mo,” Qian Qi said politely, “I’m here to apply for magic plant seeds. What’s the process?”
Mo Yin Qiu’s eyes narrowed. Qian Qi had never applied before. She’d never cared about planting. Why now?
“Qian Qi,” she said slowly, “magic plant seeds are not allowed to be sold outside the university. If you do, it’s immediate expulsion. You know that, right?”
Qian Qi paused, then said honestly, “I actually didn’t know that.”
Mo Yin Qiu blinked.
Once.
Twice.
Her expression said everything.
The System popped up, smug as anything.
[Someone likes Little Qian’s crisp, shiny money~]
Qian Qi shot it a flat look. In her head, she added, Picky eater. One-star review. Unlike me—I like other people’s money.
The System replied with a lone, baffled punctuation mark.
[?]