Chapter 9

Chapter 9: Earn a New Title: Land Snatching Magi!

Seeing Han Tian and the others hesitate and try to refuse, Qian Qi sighed with pity and said: “Don’t you know that fortune favors the bold? What if I’m a hidden top student? High risk, high return. If you were a little braver, you’d realize you’re hugging the best thigh ever!”

The Blue System Panel glanced at her skinny legs and said: [I don’t see anything thick.]

Annoyed, Qian Qi swatted the panel away, then turned back to Han Tian with a gentle tone and said: “By the way, since you’ve finished with your experimental plot, could you lend it to me for a month?”

Han Tian had no idea what she wanted the plot for. He just wanted this talk to end, so he nodded immediately and said: “Sure, take it for two months if you want.”

Her eyes brightened at once. She had picked the right person. Han Tian looked thin and timid, very easy to, um, very kind and generous. Of course he would lend out an idle plot.

Silently crossing Han Tian’s name off her Light-Brain list, Qian Qi wore a “kind” smile and walked up to the next classmate, saying: “Hi there, classmate, I heard you also haven’t been planting lately?”

The next classmate froze: [Don’t come any closer!!!]

That day became a nightmare for the students of Magiplant 101. Because Qian Qi, that maniac, took their precious experimental plots. They could not use them right now anyway, but that did not stop them from hating that awful Land Snatching Magi.

Qian Qi had no idea she had gained a new title. After she successfully “borrowed” seven experimental plots, the class bell rang. She licked her lips, still not satisfied, and sat in the first row.

These plots would be enough for now. Next, she would calmly nurture her Magiplants.

She did not have big dreams. For now, she just wanted to make some money, graduate, apply for Magiplant planting rights, buy land, open a small factory, produce Hemostasis Potion, become rich, and then retire to a sweet, honeyed life.

She did the math with shining eyes and said to herself: “One Three Scale Orchid matures in seven days. The others take at most fifteen. That should get me about 2 kg of Hemostasis Potion. At 10 g a bag, that’s 200 bags. One bag sells for 998 credits. That’s almost 200,000. If I lease ten mu of land… heh heh heh~”

The numbers made her snicker in a very not-noble way. She could already see her bright, rich retirement.

On the podium, the teacher had been wondering why the class-cutting terror Qian Qi had shown up. Then she saw Qian Qi smiling darkly. The teacher shivered and looked away.

[What bad idea is this Academy Scourge thinking up now?]

After class, Qian Qi tucked her textbook under her arm and looked for her cute lunch buddy, Chen Miao Miao, but found that she had slipped out early. Qian Qi sighed with regret. No free lunch today.

She bought two big steamed buns in the cafeteria, then dove back into Back Mountain to begin her big project. Using her Analysis Skill on three of the seeds, she followed the steps to plant them, then pulled out her Light-Brain to write the planting report.

She looked toward the distance and said with a bit of wonder: “Plants that can kill people… that’s pretty wild.”

Farther up the slope, seniors had Magiplants two meters tall, some even three. Their leaves were thick and rough. They were covered in hard, sharp thorns, and some even had shark-like teeth. Qian Qi could not help but marvel at these beings from another world.

She thought: “The Monster Dungeons must have even more jaw-dropping species.”

But whether in her past life or this one, she only wanted a safe, rich life. She had no plans to enter those dangerous dungeons. Let the Awakeners hunt monsters and protect the world. She would just sell them affordable, high-quality Hemostasis Potion.

She pulled over a small stool and sat down. The noon sun beat hard on the earth, making the giant Magiplants droop a little. In her good mood, the girl focused on studying, taking a bite of a bun now and then, reading with real interest.

At 2:45 in the afternoon, she closed her book and headed to Li Shu Yun’s plot to give the Fire Qilin Lotus its second watering.

Li Shu Yun happened to be there. When she saw Qian Qi, her body stiffened on instinct, and she instantly regretted coming up the mountain at this time.

Qian Qi smiled in real delight and said: “Senior Sister Li, are you here to record the growth report?”

Li Shu Yun kept her voice stiff and said: “Yes. What about you, Junior Sister Qian?”

She replied with an easy smile: “I’m here to water the Fire Qilin Lotus.”

She opened the bag of urea next to the field and began measuring and mixing by ratio. Watching her smooth, practiced movements, Li Shu Yun felt a little confused. She had heard Qian Qi was a poor student who knew nothing about planting. But this skillful measuring and mixing did not look like something a poor student could do.

Even so, she still said in a low voice: “Junior Sister Qian, the first step for growing a Fire Qilin Lotus is to mix 2 kg of nitrogen-potassium compound fertilizer to enrich the soil…”

Qian Qi lifted her head and looked at her. Li Shu Yun instantly fell silent and regretted speaking. [Why did I butt in? What if she thinks I’m mocking her for being a weak student?]

To her surprise, Qian Qi only smiled and said: “I know. I just want to try a different method.”

“A different method?” Li Shu Yun frowned slightly. The textbook method for Fire Qilin Lotus had been set by Magiplant researchers after years of study. It was the “most likely to produce Fire Qilin Fruit.”

How could a freshman at the bottom of the grade discover a better method?

She wanted to advise Qian Qi not to waste time, but seeing how confident Qian Qi looked, she pressed her lips together and said nothing. Better not to meddle. Besides, she was mostly afraid that talking too much would get her punched.

After Li Shu Yun left, Qian Qi wandered around Back Mountain. Book learning alone was boring; she liked to combine it with real plants. First, she observed the Magiplants listed in the Hemostasis Potion formula. Many students had planted those, which made things easy for her. After a busy afternoon, she went down the mountain for dinner, then came back to fuss with her plots.

At 10:45 that night, she gave the Fire Qilin Lotus its third watering, logged the soil numbers, and finally walked down the mountain under the starlight.

The next morning, before dawn, when Chen Miao Miao tried to sneak out of bed, Qian Qi’s eyes popped open. She turned over and said with a bright smile: “Miao Miao, up so early? Why not call me to eat together?”

Chen Miao Miao jerked in fright and banged her forehead on the upper bunk’s iron bar. Her whole face wrinkled in pain.

[This crazy woman. Did she wake up early just to watch me? I really want to beat her up.]

But seeing Qian Qi’s half-smiling face, Chen Miao Miao lost her nerve. She gritted her teeth, forced a smile, and said through clenched teeth: “No, I was just about to call you.”