Chapter 051

Chapter 051

Bai Xiaoyu and Lou Hao traveled by spacecraft to the Herb Base, which was located on the boundary of the region, far from all cultivation points.

At this moment, Bai Xiaoyu had a large black egg behind him and a small white egg in his arms.

Lou Hao watched the two eggs, which behaved obediently in front of Bai Xiaoyu but shot him hostility every time he spoke with Bai Xiaoyu.

He had become immune to it; as an adult, he didn't want to argue with two round eggs.

Bai Xiaoyu stroked the two eggs. Both Dahai and Xiaobudian were excited about being able to go for a ride with him.

He had been too busy lately, so bringing them out now was a form of compensation. Xiaobudian was no longer as fragile as before and could handle the spacecraft ride without any issues. As for him, this flight did not require spatial jumps, so he wouldn't feel uncomfortable.

The journey across half a district took less than ten minutes with the speed of a starship.

Upon arriving at the Herb Base, they found that it had transformed significantly from the overgrown mess it once was.

A ten-meter-high metal wall shimmered silver under the sunlight, extending endlessly on both sides.

They disembarked from the spacecraft, and Bai Xiaoyu gave the metal wall several glances.

Following his gaze, Lou Hao explained, "This is a protective wall made from mecha materials, capable of withstanding attacks from S-class mechas and below. It's equipped with a grid of tens of thousands of volts, rows of energy cannons mounted on the wall, which can attack incoming targets externally and intruders above the base internally. Currently, only the first herb zone has been built, and the rest is still under expansion."

Bai Xiaoyu nodded, satisfied with the protective wall, which could be described as impregnable.

However, the downside was its high cost. Half of the hundreds of billions of credit points had already been spent on the wall.

This was still considered minimal because the raw materials for the wall were available on this planet. The governor of District Nine negotiated with the governor of District Twenty-Three, and Bai Xiaoyu agreed to prioritize supplying their district with potions at half price for three years. In return, the other side sold the metal at half price and fully supported the construction of Bai Xiaoyu's Herb Base.

The modified energy cannons installed on top were purchased from District Eleven under similar conditions.

As they approached the entrance of the Herb Base, two robots greeted them. After scanning Bai Xiaoyu and his companions, one robot said, "Identity confirmed. Please proceed."

Inside, the area was divided into herb zones based on the types of herbs, each occupying a specific area ranging from ten acres to five hundred acres. This allowed for planting according to the needs of each herb. If necessary, multiple areas could be selected for planting.

Bai Xiaoyu entered a nearby herb zone, which was a vast three-hundred-acre area with soft soil. Despite the seemingly empty surface, many machines were buried underground. The dividing walls between zones were also equipped with various sophisticated instruments that looked like question marks to him.

These instruments were designed by Tao Limeng and manufactured by District Eleven. According to the introduction, these instruments not only handled basic operations such as sowing, watering, and fertilizing but also simulated the environment and climate required for herb growth.

Most herbs in the galaxy have been thoroughly studied, allowing for fixed climate patterns to be set. However, due to varying growth stages, professional herb environment builders were needed to adjust air, light, temperature, humidity, etc., to create the most suitable growing conditions.

In addition, the soil essential for herb growth was specially formulated by professional soil mixers. Suitable soil could accelerate the growth cycle, improve quality, and enhance medicinal effects.

However, most herbs on the market already had standardized soil formulations and growth programs.

Bai Xiaoyu frowned, thinking about the herbs not recorded in the galaxy, which had no known records.

After finishing his explanation, Lou Hao looked at Bai Xiaoyu, who was stroking the two eggs, and asked, "We need to hire environment builders and soil mixers. The seeds are ready, and we can start planting soon. What are your requirements for these positions?"

Bai Xiaoyu replied, "The environment builder should be able to construct the growth environment for unrecorded herbs based on the approximate conditions I provide. The same applies to the soil mixer."

Lou Hao paused, surprised, "Boss, your requirements are quite high. Most environment builders and soil mixers work based on existing templates. Constructing new environments and exploring new soil formulations is something many lack the ability to do, even if they have the skills, it takes a long time. Unless we find geniuses in these fields."

Bai Xiaoyu responded, "Let's try recruiting. We also need to cultivate herbs that require large quantities of nutrient solutions. If we can't find suitable candidates, we'll hire some ordinary environment builders and soil mixers."

Lou Hao posted the job advertisement with Bai Xiaoyu's requirements.

The ad quickly garnered thousands of views, but there were no applicants.

Many environment builders and soil mixers thought the poster was joking. Constructing new environments and soil formulations was incredibly difficult. Existing methods had been refined over generations, and new herbs discovered annually required expert teams to study for months or even years.

Moreover, the work location was the backward and dangerous D36 planet. The base was only identified by a number, without even a proper name. It seemed like a small faction's unrealistic dream. Such factions often failed within a year, so they preferred more stable opportunities on major planets.

After three days, they received only a few dozen applications compared to the thousands of others.

Lou Hao screened out those clearly unqualified but attracted by the generous conditions. Of the remaining resumes, none met Bai Xiaoyu's standards, but they might be useful for ordinary tasks.

He invited the remaining thirty candidates for interviews, half environment builders, and half soil mixers.

Bai Xiaoyu joined the interviews. The first candidate, a middle-aged man, claimed to be an environment builder but turned out to be just a show-off during the practical test.

The second candidate, a soil mixer, had average skills but only knew how to formulate a few standard soils.

The third...

It wasn't until halfway through that a young man, an environment builder, showed some promise and passed the test. Seeing Bai Xiaoyu's difficulty in hiring, he demanded the higher pay of a versatile senior builder.

After a round of interviews, Bai Xiaoyu left. He decided to leave the responsibility entirely to Lou Hao and did not attend the next two days of interviews.

On the third day, Bai Xiaoyu was injecting nutrient solution into the ball inside Qi Yanhuan's belly.

Each injection went into the transparent sphere, causing the suction cups to react excitedly, but they couldn't absorb anything until the tentacles extended from the semi-transparent egg absorbed their fill.

Bai Xiaoyu's mental power circled inside, noticing that the egg's semi-transparent membrane had solidified slightly over the past few days. The yolk remained connected to the mother, which would separate automatically after two months when the egg fully formed and hardened. At that point, the egg would hatch.

But whether the tentacles would retract back into the egg was uncertain. He focused on the suction cups attached to the transparent sphere, wondering if he could detach the tentacles somehow.

After discussing with Qi Yanhuan, he decided to give it a try.

He removed the liquid from the transparent sphere, and the suction cups, squeezed together by a thick layer of film, began to deform. They struggled for fifteen minutes before he added the nutrient solution. An hour later, Bai Xiaoyu checked again and noticed the yolk's color had dimmed.

Clearly, the tentacles had fully integrated with the yolk. Damaging the tentacles would harm the life inside. These tentacles had become part of the yolk, so he decided to retract them himself since they wouldn't do it on their own.

Bai Xiaoyu observed the slowly solidifying outer layer of the egg, noting that the extended tentacles hindered the process. He decided to send the tentacles back into the eggshell immediately.

He injected a solution to reduce the viscosity of the water ball. Initially worried that the suction cups would break free and reattach, he had prepared a similar transparent film inside the egg.

To his surprise, the tentacles remained motionless after feeding. Using his mental power, he gently pulled one out, and the tentacle lazily moved, allowing Bai Xiaoyu to push it back into the egg.

Bai Xiaoyu quickly stuffed all the tentacles back inside, and as a precaution, he carefully covered the entire space with the thin film he had laid down earlier.

Perhaps due to insufficient energy absorption in the past, these tentacles instinctively went out to absorb energy from the mother body. Now, as long as sufficient nutrients and energy were supplied daily, the tentacles could remain inside the egg shell until the baby hatched.

Bai Xiaoyu injected nutrient fluid into the egg and noticed that the tentacles were absorbing it in clumps, moving around chaotically but not harming the yolk at all.

After observing for a while, he found that the yolk remained in good condition, and the fed tentacles became plumper and less troublesome. Bai Xiaoyu withdrew his mental power.

Lifting his head, he met the eyes of a beast on the bed—a wolf sprawled across the entire bed. At first glance, Bai Xiaoyu thought it was a husky, but it turned out to be a wolf, albeit emaciated.

This was Qi Yanhuan's beast form, similar to Xiao Xi's when she was sub-adult. Standing up, it reached Bai Xiaoyu's ears.

Since the day all the suction cups attached to the mother body were resolved, Qi Yanhuan could transform into her beast form the next day.

Beast forms have stronger constitutions than human forms and are easier to heal. In just three days, after receiving various nutrients and healing agents, the wolf had gained some weight.

Now tilting its head to look at him, Bai Xiaoyu recalled Xiao Xi's beast form, his fingers twitched but he retracted his hand. "All the tentacles inside the egg have been sent back. As long as we inject nutrient fluid daily, the baby will hatch in two months."

The docile wolf rubbed its head against Bai Xiaoyu's hand. Qin Lie, standing nearby, spoke excitedly, "Master Bai, Little Huan said thank you. You are truly our benefactor; if you need anything in the future, just let us know."

Bai Xiaoyu: "No need to be so formal; I've already received your payment."

Qin Lie hugged the wolf in its beast form. At this moment, Lou Hao, who had not done well in his interview, approached and saw Qin Lie suddenly turn into a large white rabbit, its ears twitching. A scar on its face made the rabbit look somewhat fierce.

And now, this fierce-looking rabbit was rubbing against the larger wolf, making excited noises.

Bai Xiaoyu was taken aback; such a pair at opposite ends of the food chain was quite interesting.

Lou Hao's lips twitched; he never expected that someone as burly as Qin Lie would have a rabbit as his beast form, while the gentle Qi Yanhuan was a wolf.

He glanced over and then turned to Bai Xiaoyu, handing him a folder. "From the interviews these past few days, I think only these six candidates are suitable—three herb environment constructors and three soil mixers. Take a look and see if you want to hire them."

Bai Xiaoyu took the folder and flipped through the documents. After reading, disappointment showed in his eyes. "It seems finding ideal herb environment constructors and soil mixers is quite difficult."

Lou Hao: "Boss, it's not just difficult; it's very difficult."

As they talked, they did not notice the two creatures rubbing against each other, both perking up their furry ears upon hearing something interesting.

After listening for a while, the two beasts looked at each other.

The large rabbit suddenly stood up and transformed back into human form.

He cleared his throat. "Um... may I interrupt you for a moment?"

Bai Xiaoyu turned to look at him and then at the lying wolf. "Is there something wrong?"

The wolf shook its head slightly, and Qin Lie hurriedly said, "You mentioned establishing an Herb Base and recruiting herb environment constructors and soil mixers?"

Bai Xiaoyu nodded. "That's right."

Lou Hao added, "Our boss needs herb environment constructors and soil mixers who can build environments and mix soils for unrecorded herbs based on the information he provides. The requirements are very high. Do you have any recommendations?"

Qin Lie, seeing the hopeful looks on their faces, scratched his nose, smiling sheepishly. With his wife and child recovered, the burly man's smile lacked its previous ferocity and seemed more gentle.

"I do have some recommendations. Little Huan is an herb environment constructor, and I am a soil mixer. If you don't mind that we haven't practiced our professions for ten years, we can give it a try."

Bai Xiaoyu: "Of course, you can."

Lou Hao suddenly stared at Qin Lie's face, then turned to look at Qi Yanhuan's beast form. His expression grew increasingly puzzled. "There is a slight resemblance. I wish I had paid more attention to the top students from different majors in school. The beast forms match, but the names don't."

Qin Lie felt uneasy under Lou Hao's gaze. "What are you looking at?"

Lou Hao suddenly asked, "Which school did you graduate from?"

Qin Lie answered reflexively, "Imperial Military Academy."

Lou Hao's eyes suddenly became serious. "When did you graduate?"

Qin Lie: "Ten and a half years ago."

Lou Hao's heart skipped a beat; the timing matched.

Ten years ago, the Imperial Military Academy produced two super geniuses in the fields of herb environment construction and soil mixing. They even outshone the top students in the academy's prestigious majors like command, mecha, alchemy, and cultivation.

One was herb environment constructor Qin Yanhuan, and the other was soil mixer Qi Lie.

Qin Yanhuan, like Lou Hao, was double-majoring, with a minor in mecha. Her beast form was a wolf. She loved adventure and enjoyed fighting, often challenging other mecha students.

Qi Lie's beast form was a rabbit, initially shy and gentle.

Oddly enough, they were a couple. It was said that the young rabbit Qi Lie fell in love with Qin Yanhuan during a fight and pursued her for three years. Eventually, the rabbit successfully lured the wolf into her den. This story was still talked about by their juniors ten years later.

Their abilities were even more impressive. Their excellent academic performance earned praise from many professors. During their university years, they were invited to join the Royal New Herb Research Base. In just a few months, they solved problems that had stumped experts for years. They accomplished in months what others took decades to achieve.

The entire galaxy was stunned, and the media hailed them as the new kings of herb cultivation, each excelling in their respective fields and together dominating the field.

Their collaboration was seamless, a perfect synergy that far exceeded the sum of their individual talents.

However, after graduation, the couple disappeared without a trace, unseen for ten years.

Many speculated that they might have been recruited by a major organization to research new herbs in secret. But over time, fewer people mentioned them. After all, new geniuses emerged every year, though each mention of them always brought admiration.

Seeing Lou Hao staring intently at Qin Lie, Bai Xiaoyu asked, "Why are you staring at Qin Lie like that?"

Lou Hao muttered, "Qin Lie, Qi Lie, Qi Yanhuan, Qin Yanhuan!"

He suddenly grabbed Bai Xiaoyu's shoulders. "If my guess is correct, you've got talent, no, geniuses knocking at your door! Boss, what kind of luck do you have... Ah!"

Bai Xiaoyu watched as the suddenly appearing large black egg knocked Lou Hao away, then rubbed against Bai Xiaoyu before jumping onto Lou Hao's back and smashing down hard, bouncing around and rolling over him.

Xiaoyu couldn't help but laugh and cry at the same time, thinking about Lou Hao's current double S physique; even if the big black egg applied more force, it wouldn't break him. Well, let them have their fun.

He turned to look at Qin Lie, who had already returned to Qi Yanhuan's side, now back in human form. Both of them couldn't help but laugh at the commotion caused by the large black egg.

They hadn't been this happy in a long time.

Qin Lie looked back at Bai Xiaoyu, "Lou Hao was right. Our original names are Qi Lie and Qin Yanhuan."

After graduation, Qin Yanhuan loved adventures, so Qi Lie gave up everything to accompany her. For ten years, they faced countless dangers together, traversing numerous mountains and rivers, and eventually had their own child.

Now they finally wanted to settle down. Since their benefactor had established the Herb Base, it was perfect for them to continue doing what they loved while also repaying their debt of gratitude. Why not?

Lou Hao finally managed to get up, panting heavily, and asked, "I have a question. Why did you switch surnames?"

Qin Lie and Qi Yanhuan exchanged a glance and smiled.

"Taking my surname and giving it your name. That's our way of being romantic."

Lou Hao was speechless. He glanced at the two of them, their eyes locked in a tender gaze, then looked away and saw the large black egg trying to squeeze into Bai Xiaoyu's arms.

He suddenly felt a bit overwhelmed.