Chapter 048

Chapter 048

Planet D36 has experienced war and appears desolate and backward, but its terrain, geology, climate, and other conditions are highly suitable for the growth of various plants.

Therefore, many people here make a living by gathering herbs, for this very reason.

Bai Xiaoyu and Lou Hao took a flight around in their aircraft and, after careful consideration, chose a piece of land located between District Nine and District Ten. This area contained a towering mountain range that experienced all four seasons—spring, summer, autumn, and winter.

Considering the growth characteristics of various medicinal herbs, a mountain range encompassing multiple climates clearly had an advantage.

However, just looking at this mountain range, it seemed challenging to develop herb fields on it.

Lou Hao followed his gaze. "What's the matter? You've been lingering here longer than anywhere else."

Bai Xiaoyu: "This place seems quite suitable."

Lou Hao: "Shall we go down and take a look?"

Bai Xiaoyu: "Sure."

The two descended, with the robot leading the way and them following behind.

Bai Xiaoyu was not particularly robust; he used to be the first one to get out of breath when walking with others. But now, the situation had changed.

When Lou Hao was rescued, his physical condition was F-. After half a month of recuperation, it had improved to D-. Although Bai Xiaoyu was still at D+, he was slightly better than Lou Hao.

Bai Xiaoyu: "Do you want to rest for a bit?"

Lou Hao wiped his sweat. "No need, I can keep going."

After saying this, he glanced at his body, a hint of disappointment in his eyes. If he had his previous physique, he could climb this mountain without breaking a sweat. Now, not only was his physique too weak, but he couldn't even transform into his beast form.

Lou Hao: "Boss, I have a question. What are the chances of my body recovering?"

Bai Xiaoyu patted his shoulder. "Don't worry, the chances are very high. While I can't guarantee a full recovery to peak condition, it's definitely possible. Including your beast form, there's hope for that too."

The missing wings and certain bones were the main reasons Lou Hao couldn't transform back into his beast form. Additionally, the extraction of his flesh and the potential depletion caused by consuming large amounts of Wild Beast Grass medicine required gradual recovery. As Lou Hao's physical condition began to improve, the initial treatments had already taken effect. Once his physical condition and mental strength reached a certain level, they could increase the dosage of the medicine.

Currently, Lou Hao, like Bai Xiaoyu, needed to dilute the medicine, baths, and oral intake due to his fragile constitution.

Previously, he had been thoroughly discouraged by Big Black and Xiao Xi, but now that Lou Hao was here, he finally had company.

Hearing this, Lou Hao was overjoyed and suddenly felt more energetic. "If I can recover, Boss, I'll carry you flying over the mountains. No need for you to walk."

Bai Xiaoyu thought about it—a winged snake carrying him while flying...

He nodded. "I'm looking forward to it."

As they walked and observed, Bai Xiaoyu grew increasingly satisfied with the place.

Bai Xiaoyu: "Can we only apply for land in District Nine?"

Lou Hao: "We can also apply for land across districts. Since this is near the boundary, construction cannot completely avoid crossing lines. Many buildings straddle the border. The opposite side is also vacant, so our application has a good chance of success."

The application was submitted, and the result came quickly.

Just as Lou Hao predicted, part of District Ten was also allocated to them. The district leader of District Ten even contacted him, asking if he needed more land and even hinted at establishing a medicinal herb procurement point in District Ten.

After securing the land, Bai Xiaoyu initially thought it was just the area he wanted, but upon seeing the actual boundaries, he was stunned.

They had allocated him a vast expanse of land, covering twenty thousand square kilometers, larger than many cities before the apocalypse.

Developing such a vast area would require significant engineering work, not to mention the planting phase afterward.

However, having a larger area was better than a smaller one. This way, he could arrange numerous types of medicinal herbs.

After the land was approved, Lou Hao started getting busy.

He brought in several engineering teams for Bai Xiaoyu to choose from. After selecting the best two teams and allocating funds, the construction of the herb fields began.

Interstellar engineering teams worked fast, thanks to advanced technology, but given the vast area and the difficulty of working on the massive mountain range, the task was still challenging.

Bai Xiaoyu was also busy. At the moment, he was browsing various seed stores on the Star Network.

A small white figure was pawing through seeds, seemingly inspecting them.

Many people were drawn to him, as it was amusing to see a furry ball checking seeds seriously, with ears twitching when satisfied and tail swishing when dissatisfied.

Bai Xiaoyu was unfazed by the crowd and had grown accustomed to moving on all fours.

Indeed, he was still using the original avatar from the Star Network. When asked why he didn't change it, he simply didn't have enough credit points. More importantly, he wanted to use his credit points wisely. Since it didn't affect his actions, he continued using it.

Over the past half month, the Star Network pharmacy had sold over ten thousand high-grade cultivation fluids through selected cultivation facilities. After deducting taxes and other fees, he had accumulated over two hundred billion credit points.

Tao Limeng received fifty billion for research, and most of the remaining funds went to the herb field construction, which still wasn't enough.

Seeing the depleted balance, Bai Xiaoyu couldn't help but lament how quickly credit points were spent.

Next, he needed credit points for seeds, equipment, and purchasing medicinal herbs.

Bai Xiaoyu calmly inspected the seeds. If there were any issues, he might find solutions, but now, he acted like someone with no worries. After all, things couldn't be rushed; he needed to do what he could step by step.

Now, ordinary seed stores had plenty of seeds for widely used herbs like cultivation fluid. They had already entrusted Lou Hao to purchase the nineteen types of herbs they needed.

Bai Xiaoyu was here to acquire seeds for less common herbs like the ones used in Vitality Cultivation Fluid and Repair Fluid, hoping to find some rare seeds.

He quickly finished inspecting the seeds in a small box, which were the primary herbs for making repair fluid. The quality was acceptable.

He directly added the box to his shopping cart. The box disappeared, and another icon for medicinal herb seeds appeared on his cart, marked with the quantity and price.

This game costs ten credits per play, which is dozens of times cheaper than the price of finished medicine.

After buying a box, Bai Xiaoyu continued to increase his purchases, intending to clear out the entire stock of this shop.

He then bought a considerable amount of seeds for the main and auxiliary ingredients of repair and nourishing elixirs. Some of the required herbs for these medicines were not recorded in the interstellar database, so he could only find some of the seeds. Once he felt he had enough, he turned his attention to the bone-washing elixir. Bone-washing grass was a herb he wanted to cultivate extensively.

Previously, most of what he had obtained were mature plants, rarely seeds.

Recently, the Sixteenth Legion and the Twenty-ninth Legion had also sent him some, but the quantity was still far from sufficient.

The bone-washing elixir is applicable throughout the interstellar region. To guide the dark matter within newborn eggs, bone-washing grass is essential.

Even now, despite accumulating bone-washing elixirs over time, he did not have many.

For now, he could only search more and cultivate as much as possible.

Bai Xiaoyu bought piles of seeds but still felt it wasn't enough. He had visited many online herbal shops, where the seeds were scanned and stored in reality, linked to physical products.

There were many varieties, but few were what he wanted.

The shop owner saw the white tiger cub looking worried and couldn't help but twitch his fingers, but eventually resisted the urge to pet it. This little beast looked adorable, but it had already contributed half a month's sales to his store.

This was a big customer; even if he wanted to pet it, he had to restrain himself and just look.

Soon, he walked over and asked softly, "Little guest, I'm the owner here. Are you unsatisfied with our herbal seeds? If these don't meet your needs, we have others."

Bai Xiaoyu turned to face the shop owner, "Owner, it's not that I'm unsatisfied, but I've looked through all these seeds and haven't found what I want."

The owner curiously asked, "What kind of seed are you looking for? We have most of the interstellar medicinal seeds here."

Bai Xiaoyu: "I'm looking for seeds that aren't recorded, more obscure ones."

The owner stroked his chin, seemingly thinking. Then he said, "You can try the Star Network Black Market. There, you'll find all sorts of things you wouldn't expect, perhaps including what you're looking for."

Bai Xiaoyu was immediately drawn in by the suggestion, "Star Network Black Market?"

The owner smiled at the tiger cub with its ears perked up and explained, "It's the free trading area on the Star Network, similar to the real-world black market. We call it the Star Network Black Market. However, minors cannot enter without an adult. You're still a cub, right? Why don't you tell your parents and let them take you there or buy it for you?"

Bai Xiaoyu glanced at his appearance, "I'm an adult; I just had poor mental strength and had to use a minor's avatar. But thank you for telling me this."

Though surprised, the owner quickly recovered and helped Bai Xiaoyu by sending him coordinates.

Bai Xiaoyu soon teleported to the location, standing in front of the entrance to the Star Network Black Market, guarded by two humanoid robots. People were coming and going.

As Bai Xiaoyu approached the entrance, he was stopped by an intelligent robot.

It was a beautiful female robot who looked at the tiger cub and said, "Minors are not allowed to enter the Star Network Free Trading Market without adult permission. Little one, please stop."

Bai Xiaoyu sighed, "I'm an adult. If you don't believe me, check my data."

Then the male robot also came over, and both robots' eyes suddenly emitted light as they scanned the small, fluffy creature for a long time.

Not only that, they also notified the supervisor.

The supervisor came out, confirmed Bai Xiaoyu's data, and told the robots, "He's an adult, no problem. Go back to your posts."

Then he turned to Bai Xiaoyu, "I know this place well. With those short legs, do you need me to carry you in?"

Bai Xiaoyu: "…No, thank you."

Entering the Star Network Black Market, Bai Xiaoyu found it bustling with stalls. Apart from the various avatars, it felt like returning to the pre-apocalyptic era.

With a sense of nostalgia, he walked past each stall.

Indeed, there were all kinds of items here, from food and clothing to energy guns, cannons, and even mechs.

Bai Xiaoyu's current goal was only herbs or herb seeds, but the known interstellar herbs were still more prevalent. Some people noticed that he was only interested in herbs and seeds and acted generously when making purchases. They quickly introduced him to unknown herbs, boasting about their miraculous effects, such as bringing the dead back to life.

Bai Xiaoyu glanced at them, but with his limited knowledge, they all looked like ordinary weeds.

Despite the constant chatter, he made significant gains but still needed more, so he continued forward.

A small tiger cub hopped along, constantly scanning the stalls on either side.

Suddenly, the tiger cub stopped, almost losing balance and rolling forward.

He approached a stall, eyeing a plant that curved like a snake with fine scales.

This was a holy herb for snakes, the transformation grass. Even near-death snakes could shed their skin and transform after consuming it.

The tiger cub blinked his animal eyes, thinking Lou Hao was lucky. He had originally come to find bone-washing grass seeds but stumbled upon this instead.

He pawed at the transformation grass, feeling the slightly raised scales and the peculiar slippery texture of snake skin. He sniffed it, detecting a faint scent of herbs mixed with a slight muskiness.

It was indeed the right herb.

The stall owner observed the young cub, amused by his actions of touching and smelling the herb, and couldn't help but say, "Little guy, your parents must be really trusting to let you wander around here alone. They should be careful you don't lose your pants."

Bai Xiaoyu: "I'm an adult."

The stall owner: "Kids always say that. My son does too. The herb in your hand was something I found interesting and brought home for him to play with, but it scared him. If you like it, take it."

Bai Xiaoyu: "This is a very precious herb called transformation grass. It's too valuable to give away. Name your price, and I'll buy it."

The stall owner found the cub's serious demeanor amusing and waved his hand, offering his terminal, "Just give me whatever you think is fair."

Thinking the cub was underage, he expected a small amount.

After the tiger cub left, he casually glanced at the transferred amount and was stunned—so many zeros!

He was given one hundred million credit points!

Bai Xiaoyu looked at his current balance; that one hundred million was now the bulk of his remaining funds, with only a few tens of millions left. He wondered how many seeds he could buy with it.

He continued walking, spending an entire day almost covering the entire interstellar black market.

The little tiger lay on a rock, panting. Even in the Star Network, there was physical exertion and fatigue, and he felt like he would be kicked offline by the system soon.

So far, he had only encountered a few plants of the Cleansing Grass, too few, and not a single seed.

Worried, he was.

At this moment, his gaze fell on a man with a scar across his face, standing not far ahead. More precisely, it was on the herbs in the man's hands.

It was a Cleansing Grass, one with seeds.

The little tiger jumped up and rushed over. Upon closer inspection, he found that the stall had more than just one plant of Cleansing Grass—there were about ten, each with seeds.

Bai Xiaoyu: "These herbs..."

Scar-faced man: "Kid, have your parents come."

Bai Xiaoyu: "I'm an adult."

Bai Xiaoyu and the scar-faced man locked eyes. The man's gaze was sharp and his demeanor intimidating, with a scar on his face.

After their exchange of glances, the scar-faced man nodded, seemingly believing Bai Xiaoyu's words, and replied, "These herbs are not for sale. I want a favor in exchange. I've eaten this herb before; its effects can improve physical strength and mental power, but the process is extremely painful. I know a place where there are plenty of these herbs. I can trade this information for a favor."

Bai Xiaoyu: "What kind of favor?"

Scar-faced man: "Do you trust me? Many people don't believe in the efficacy of these herbs."

Bai Xiaoyu: "I do. This is Cleansing Grass, which can cleanse the body and enhance potential. It's exactly what I need right now. You can tell me your favor, and I'll see if I can fulfill it."

The scar-faced man opened his optical brain and showed Bai Xiaoyu a video.

The footage showed a gaunt woman, her limbs reduced to skin and bones, but her belly was swollen. Her bony hands, covered in veins, constantly caressed her belly, occasionally turning and convulsing in pain.

The scar-faced man's expression was pained. "This is my partner. We are freelance mercenaries. Three months ago, we took a mission and upon returning, discovered she was two months pregnant. It should have been exciting news, but it turned into a nightmare. The egg inside her began developing, with sharp tentacles piercing through the new egg into her body, draining her essence and nutrients. We consulted doctors, who said the egg and the host had become a symbiotic entity, making abortion impossible. I've been searching for solutions, even consulting high-level alchemists from the Huang family, but they told me it was hopeless and suggested handing her over for research. I injured them and fled with my partner. There are still over two months until the hatching, and I don't know if she can survive until then. But now I have a new hope and plan to seek help from someone else."

Bai Xiaoyu watched the woman in the video. She was parasitized. He had encountered similar symptoms before, but never one that started parasitizing from within the egg. He took a deep breath. "I can try, but I cannot guarantee the safety of both mother and child."

The scar-faced man, remembering the alchemist's cruel intentions, his expression turned grim. "How will you try?"

Bai Xiaoyu opened his optical brain and shared his identity and address. "My name is Bai Xiaoyu, and I am a cultivator. If you trust me, bring her here as soon as possible."

The scar-faced man looked at the information and then at the little tiger, his fierce demeanor softening. "I know you. You were always my last hope. If you can't help, no one can. If you need these herbs, I can take you there. There are many, all with seeds."

Bai Xiaoyu nodded. Finally, there was news about the Cleansing Grass. The woman and the egg inside her were already in great danger, and bringing her sooner would be better.