Chapter 64

Chapter 65: I Like Eating Checks

Qian Qi didn’t think anything at all. Standing behind Mo Yin Qiu with a blank look, she said: “Dean, you don’t need what I think. You just need what you think.”

She knew very well that he was testing her Hemostasis Potion and Defense Fruit. She was the first person to make a magic potion, which was the strongest “proof” that Magiplants could benefit Humans. If she argued back, it would be the most convincing way.

But she lifted her hands and said innocently: “I’m just a student. How would I know something this deep?”

It wasn’t that she didn’t know. She planned to play dumb. Since Li Hong Sheng hadn’t told these people about the potion or the Defense Fruit, why should a student like her say it? She didn’t want to be the bird sticking its head out.

“Dean, what’s the use of asking her? What could she know?” said Wei Zhen with a snort. “The Human Benefit Division no longer needs to exist. If we had cut it earlier, we wouldn’t be in this sorry state.”

Studying Magiplants for Magibeasts already took huge time and effort. Studying something fuzzy on top of that was a waste of life.

He opened his Light-Brain and showed his latest results: “This is the Silverwood Fruit I successfully grew last year. The data is strong enough to prove it raises a Magibeast’s ability to draw Elemental Power, letting it attack harder.”

He said with full confidence: “This fruit works for all E grade Contract Beasts on the market. Long term use will raise their power. It has more profit value than Fire Qilin Fruit and can absolutely save our institute’s reputation and funding.”

Profit value?

Qian Qi’s ear twitched like a radar ping.

She looked up at the report. Silverwood Fruit came from a D grade Magiplant called Silverwood. The fruit was about the size of an apricot, with a silver foil shine and two wood like grain lines, which gave it the name.

“This one is nice,” she thought, her fingers itching. She glanced at Li Hong Sheng and asked quietly: “Dean, can I see an actual Silverwood Fruit?”

She had to see a real plant to use her Analysis Skill. A picture alone wouldn’t work.

Li Hong Sheng looked at her, then said to Wei Zhen: “Bring one over.”

Wei Zhen frowned at Qian Qi. He didn’t mind leaks; the Silverwood Fruit would be sold sooner or later, and the patent would carry his name. He just didn’t like her. In his eyes, she was a clinging pretty face who wasn’t even that pretty, hanging on Researcher Mo and acting spineless. It annoyed him.

He didn’t hide his disdain as he said: “Dean, she’s a student. What would she understand? Showing her is a waste of time. You’re not planning to add her name to my report, are you?” He glanced at Qian Qi with sudden caution and added: “Researcher Mo has done a lot for the institute, but I won’t let a pretty face take credit for my hard work.”

“You’re overthinking it,” murmured Li Hong Sheng behind folded hands, half covering his mouth. “I’m more afraid you’ll beg her to add your name.”

“What?” said Wei Zhen, not hearing clearly.

“Ahem, nothing. In short, under my management, that won’t happen,” said the dean. “Bring the Silverwood Fruit. I want to see it too. Move.”

With a soft click of his tongue, Wei Zhen left and returned with the fruit.

“Don’t touch it. It’s expensive,” he said as he set it on the table, then sniffed at Qian Qi. “If you break it, you can’t afford it.”

Qian Qi ignored him, activated her Analysis Skill on the Silverwood Fruit, and rubbed her chin.

“How is it?” asked Li Hong Sheng, studying her face. He was very curious how she always knew these planting methods. Silverwood had been a new find only last year, and she had just started school then. If she knew a better way to grow it, he would have to reevaluate her.

He stared at her. The other researchers stared at her too, curious what advice the dean’s guest would give.

“I think…” she began.

Under all those burning stares, she paused for two seconds, then said: “The real fruit looks better than the photo.”

Li Hong Sheng: [???]. Wei Zhen: [???]. The researchers: [???]. They had pricked up their ears for that?

“I want to see the data report again,” said Qian Qi, pointing at the light screen. “Do you have detailed numbers on a Magibeast’s Elemental Power response and body response after eating Silverwood Fruit?”

Li Hong Sheng looked at Wei Zhen. With another annoyed click of the tongue and a mutter of “what’s the point of showing her,” Wei Zhen opened the test report. It ran over thirty pages, proof that he had repeated tests for a long time. The content and numbers were careful and strict.

Qian Qi scrolled with a serious face, but inside she was chatting with the System.

[Qian Qi: What are we eating for lunch? I feel like Dean Li won’t treat.]

[System: You can eat anything. I only want to eat money.]

[Qian Qi: Do you want paper bills or coins?]

[System: I like eating checks.]

“Tsk,” went Qian Qi, which drew several stares from Wei Zhen and the others. Her face didn’t change as she kept reading and kept chatting.

[Qian Qi: Little System, you know, you’ve caught my attention.]

[System: … Thanks, but humans and systems are impossible.]

After she finished, she looked at Li Hong Sheng.

He straightened at once and asked, eager: “Well?”

“Dean, do you cover lunch?” she asked.

Wei Zhen finally exploded, roaring like a lion: “Dean! Is she sick? She read for so long and found nothing, and now she only thinks about food?”

What was the point of making everyone wait?

Li Hong Sheng waved for calm. After last time’s lesson, he caught her meaning right away this time and said: “Don’t worry. Lunch is on me. I’ll have Researcher Mo cook for you herself.”

Mo Yin Qiu, who had been trying to be invisible, thought: [???].

Now Qian Qi was happy. She pointed at the Silverwood Fruit and said with a smile: “This fruit does raise a Contract Beast’s power. Sadly, it has side effects.”

“That’s impossible!” shouted Wei Zhen as he slapped the table and stood. “I tested for a year. Not one Magibeast had side effects. You just glanced at the data. How can you be so sure?”

“Silverwood Fruit has a toxin that harms a Magibeast’s eyesight,” said Qian Qi, keeping it brief. “It’s harmless to Humans, but to Magibeasts it can cause blindness.”

One lunch cooked by Instructor Mo could only pay for that one answer. Even that was a bonus. More guidance would be a different price.

Seeing her casual attitude, Wei Zhen grew even angrier. He was a strict, serious researcher. After graduating from Awakener University, he had devoted himself to Magiplants, never whining about hardship. He had worked so hard to grow the Silverwood Fruit. It was about to change the institute’s fate. And with one light sentence, she denied everything. Blindness? He had never seen a single blind Magibeast in a whole year.

“Dean! What do you mean? Do you really believe her nonsense?” he demanded, shaking. His hands were under the table, and Qian Qi even wondered if he would flip it the next second.

A sudden urge to win rose in her. Should she flip the table one second before him? She thought it over and decided to forget it. There were too many people here. If someone got hurt, that would be bad. [Sigh, I’m so kind. Bad people will bully me one day.]

She shook her head at herself, pointed toward the door, and asked: “Dean, can I go look at the other Magiplants now?”

She still had two more uses of her Analysis Skill today. She wasn’t going to waste this trip.