Chapter 65

Chapter 66: Qian Qi comforts: “Don’t be jealous, just wait…”

Li Hong Sheng kept feeling that Qian Qi knew something, so to draw her out, he decided to give her a personal tour of the Magiplant Research Institute. He told the team: “You all go over the report one more time, I’ll take Qian Qi out for a bit,” then ignored the researchers’ complaints and led her to the Magiplant storage area.

Inside the institute, all Magiplants are grown indoors. Some are mobile types that run around, so they must be kept in sealed test pods to stop them from escaping the institute and entering the human living zone.

From Li Hong Sheng, Qian Qi learned this: because the institute sits in the city, they can only grow C level and below. To study B level Magiplants, they have to enter a cleared B level Dungeon to sample on site, and a B level Awakener Strike Team must escort them, or people could die.

Of course, hiring a B level Awakener Strike Team costs money. That is also why, even though the Magiplant Institute has some results that bring in income, it still struggles every step of the way. The work burns money.

It’s not like the Magibeast Institute. Every year it gets huge budgets and sponsorships. Even trips into A and B level Dungeons come with free Awakener Strike Teams assigned from above.

Speaking of the gap between the two institutes, Li Hong Sheng’s eyes and voice were full of envy and sourness. Qian Qi patted the old man’s shoulder to comfort him, saying: “Don’t be jealous, just wait…”

Li Hong Sheng brightened at once. [Is she planning to support the Magiplant Institute later on?]

“…you’ll find some good things just can’t be won by envy,” said Qian Qi with a heavy sigh, “so let it go early, Dean.”

Li Hong Sheng went silent: [???]

Another beat of silence: [Can I throw her into a test pod and feed her to the Magiplants? This brat!!!]

Qian Qi chuckled and turned to keep looking around.

The storage held a rich variety of Magiplants. The seed room was packed with all kinds of seeds. Some were dead seeds, but that didn’t stop Qian Qi from using her Analysis Skill.

She bargained with her System, saying: “System, introduce two valuable D level Magiplants to me? I’ll feed you a check when we get back~”

The System gave her a suspicious look: [So generous?]

Qian Qi put on a straight face and said: “Of course. After all this time together, we’re one loving family now. Feeding you a check is only right.”

The System did not believe her. Qian Qi slapped the System Panel onto the shelf with a smack and did a dramatic wall slam with one arm, whispering: “System baby, we’ll be together for decades. Let’s trust each other a bit more, hmm?”

The System was quiet for a while, then decided to trust her this once. After all, she was stingy, but she kept her word.

The System pointed out two seeds, and Qian Qi scampered off to run her Analysis Skill.

Beside her, Li Hong Sheng had been telling the hard, poor founding story of the Magiplant Institute. Seeing that Qian Qi looked bored, he rolled his eyes and shifted to talk about duty to the nation.

He said with feeling: “Uncleared Dungeons sit idle. The Monsters in them have grown to who knows what level. Our Awakener warriors enter Dungeons every day to explore and slay Magibeasts, but only a few make it out alive.” He pressed on: “They fight to push the Dungeon back to its original level, so the Monsters refresh as low level again. Then the next generation of warriors will have it a bit easier.”

He glanced at Qian Qi’s face, sighed hard, and said: “Not to mention the Awakener warriors who rush between Combat Zones all year. Whenever Monsters pour out, they charge first. Many die young on the battlefield.”

“Classmate Qian Qi, did you know? Seventy percent of our warriors die from blood loss because they can’t get treated in time.” The Monster battlefield is chaos. Carrying the wounded back for treatment is very hard. Healing Awakeners are rare. Even if each Combat Zone keeps 1 to 2 healers, most are E level newbies.

Often the healing students at the Awakener University are required to intern at the rear of the battlefield to treat the warriors. So Hemostasis Potion is, to the warriors, a lifesaving medicine that lets them keep fighting. As for Defense Fruit, even more so. Ten minutes is enough to change the situation in every E and D level Combat Zone.

“The appearance of Hemostasis Potion and Defense Fruit is like rain in a drought. If we can make them common, the death rate of warriors will drop a lot, and many families will stay whole.”

The more he spoke, the more excited he became. His voice filled with hope. He even raised his sleeve to dab at the tears at the corners of his eyes.

Qian Qi nodded solemnly and said: “Dean, you’re absolutely right!”

“So…” he guided, hoping she would continue.

“So you must work hard. I believe in you,” said Qian Qi, cheering him on.

“No, that’s not…” Seeing that she wouldn’t budge, Li Hong Sheng dropped the hint and spoke plainly, saying: “Classmate Qian Qi, if you know the recipe for Hemostasis Potion and the growing method for Defense Fruit, shouldn’t you share them?”

He added, speaking earnestly: “I’m not trying to get it for free. This is about the fate of the whole world and countless lives. Can you really pretend you don’t know?”

He tried to wake her sympathy and sense of duty. He believed that as long as she wasn’t antisocial, she would choose to save more warriors. Without warriors to protect people, there would be no peace for the common folk.

Qian Qi let out a long, deep sigh.

“Dean, it’s not that I’m stingy. I really don’t know.”

She looked troubled, saying: “Didn’t the Principal tell you? I picked up the Defense Fruit by accident. I studied the growing method for a long time and still failed. As for Hemostasis Potion, I bought it from someone outside. That person shows up like a ghost. Every time they contact me, they use a new Light-Brain number. I can’t find them.”

“Think about it. I’m just a student who only recently started learning Magiplants. How could I be that amazing?”

“But you know how to grow Fire Qilin Lotus,” Li Hong Sheng shot back at once, “and earlier you said Silverwood Fruit can cause blindness as a side effect.”

Qian Qi spread her hands, helpless, and said: “Why would you rather believe me than the results your researchers got after a year of hard experiments? If I say the side effect is blindness, does that make it true?”

Li Hong Sheng froze for a moment.

“As for the Fire Qilin Lotus method, someone told me. That person is dead,” said Qian Qi, shaking her head, her eyes full of helplessness beyond her reach. “Dean, I’m human too. I have a heart. If I really knew the potion recipe and the Defense Fruit method, how could I keep them from you?”

“I wish I were a real genius who could save countless lives. For me, that would be the highest honor.”

She took Li Hong Sheng’s aged hands, her face full of frustration that she wasn’t good enough.

She acted so well that he couldn’t tell if it was real or fake. In the end, he could only let out a long sigh.

“Is there truly no way?”

“Dean, don’t give up hope,” said Qian Qi. She finished analyzing the D level seeds, then turned toward the meeting room. “Let’s go eat first. Only with a full belly can we fight on.”

Hands in her pockets, she walked ahead with the light steps of a little punk. Behind her, Li Hong Sheng watched her easy manner, his thoughts churning. He felt a mix of feelings he couldn’t name. [Is this child really so hard hearted?]