Chapter 111

Chapter 111

The audience realized that durian is truly a food sent by the heavens to punish humans, taking immense effort to open and smelling incredibly foul.

[This smells a bit like, well, you know what... Even though interstellar natural delicacies are scarce, we haven't sunk that low yet! We don't have to eat everything!]

[The value-for-money of durian is indeed not great. It's hard to open and smells terrible. How could something like this possibly taste good!?]

[Let's think differently. If we don't consider eating it, durian could be a great material.]

[The person above is overthinking it—plant materials can't be used as Mecha Materials; they're quite useless.]

[Given durian's toughness, even if we don't use it for mechas, it could make lethal weapons or excellent defensive facilities. The empire will definitely contact the lord about this. This thing is so tough that even unprocessed, it's a top-notch weapon. Plus, plant materials are renewable, relatively cheap, and offer great value for money. Who wouldn't want it!]

[Whether it's a material or not isn't the point. The real question is, can this even be called a fruit?]

The discussion in the comments veered off-topic and then returned to the main point. Mao Hao, naturally, had the same question. After the Shennong Star farce and reports from Berry Star undercover viewers about the fruit's foul smell and inedibility, his expression brightened. He was certain that Shennong Star couldn't produce more fruits.

"Just toss that thing out already. It'd be a shame if it stank up the place," Mao Hao quipped.

Yun Wan was exasperated. Even after mutation, the durian's smell hadn't changed much. But just cracking open a durian caused the house to collapse and the mecha to get wrecked. She'd lost at least a hundred grand, and durian wasn't even that tasty. For regular folks, eating it once could mean losing their home—or worse. The cost was too high. Could it even be sold?

A money-losing fruit, utterly unappealing, combined with Mao Hao's smug spectator act, left Yun Wan fuming.

"It's already open—let's give it a try!" Yun Wan said.

Though she wanted to ditch the durian, she figured the taste wasn't half bad and shouldn't go to waste.

This round would hinge on dragon fruit to make a splash.

"Why aren't you eating?" Yun Wan offered durian to everyone, but they hesitated, stammering, too scared to take a bite.

"Is this really edible, Lord?" Jiang Jiayu asked.

Usually, when plants stink, it's a warning to animals: "I'm poisonous—don't eat me!" Why should they take the risk to taste it?

"Of course!" Yun Wan replied simply. She grabbed a hefty chunk of golden durian flesh and took a bite. It was soft and sweet—not as good as grapes or strawberries, but about as sweet as bananas.

Seeing the lord dig in, Cong Ruyi shed her fear and boldly became the second to try it. Not having high hopes for durian, she was pleasantly surprised by its texture.

[Yiyi, you can't eat that! Oh my, I can't bear to see a beauty suffer!]

[Although I feel the same, has anyone else tried it with Yiyi?]

[emmm...]

[emmmm...]

[Let me say something, the taste is actually not bad.]

[Is the person above a hired shill by Shennong Star? How can you eat that stuff?]

[What stuff? It has nothing to do with that stuff! Look at the expressions of the people in the Shennong Star livestream. They've all eaten it. Does it look bad?]

The audience had an epiphany and carefully observed the expressions of Yun Wan and the others. Hu Yuanyang was the most dramatic. At first, he frowned, looking like he would rather die than eat a bite, but then he ate more and more enthusiastically, eating more than anyone else. After finishing, he even licked his lips, as if he wanted to suggest opening another one if conditions allowed.

Out of curiosity about durian, the audience secretly connected to the sensory sharing system, determined to immediately disconnect if they tasted something unbearable. However, more and more people connected to the system, and the tasting slots were quickly filled. Those who finally prepared themselves mentally found that there were no spots left.

[Wait, didn't we all agree not to eat that? Who's trying to snag a tasting spot from me?]

[Tried it already, not bad.]

[Not amazing, but it's decent.]

...

The positive comments in the barrage froze Mao Hao's expression. What the hell? Are people really trying this? Are the viewers that hard up? Then why do we struggle so much with new launches?

Impossible!

Mao Hao's brain was spinning rapidly, and he thought of the only excuse he could find.

Shennong Star must have cheated the votes!

Despite the host's assurance that the votes were checked and Shennong Star's count was clean, he refused to believe it!

How could he believe it! That stuff smells awful—clearly inedible—yet it got Shennong Star so many votes. Does he have to admit Berry Star's berries are worse than garbage?!

Shennong Star must have bribed the organizers—they definitely cheated!

If Shennong Star's playing dirty, Berry Star won't hold back either!

"Lord? Shennong Star's won six straight, we..." The host almost choked reporting Shennong Star's streak, silently praying for the contest to end quickly. Berry Star was crushed, not a single win, and he didn't know how long they'd be the laughingstock.

The challengers got wrecked by the defenders—it's infuriating.

He worried Mao Hao might snap and stir up trouble, but the decision on the match had to come from the lord, and he as a small host couldn't make the call.

He just hoped Mao Hao would say something smooth to end this disaster.

But Mao Hao's pride wouldn't let some small planet beat him. He firmly believed it was all a conspiracy.

"The match goes on!" he snarled.

Yun Wan raised a brow, studying Mao Hao's red eyes, and reached a conclusion.

This Berry Star Lord's losing it!

Mao Hao insisted on continuing, leaving Cong Ruyi baffled. Shennong Star had won six rounds—the whole PK—so why continue?

She cocked her head at Yun Wan, waiting for a reply.

Yun Wan's voice, though faceless, came through clearly. "Lord Mao, we've won. Continuing would mean a new match."

Mao Hao squeezed out an ambiguous syllable from between his teeth, "Is Shennong Star scared? Running out of fruits?"

It was a cheap shot, and Yun Wan wasn't biting.

It's not impossible to continue the match with him, but without benefits, she didn't want to play along.

"Of course not, but if we're to continue the match, Lord Mao should also show some sincerity. A new match naturally requires new stakes," Yun Wan said unhurriedly.

Mao Hao's eyes turned fierce.

This Shennong Star Lord is really greedy!

"Isn't Berry Star's planting technology enough of a prize?" Mao Hao retorted.

"Planting technology, I don't really need it!" Yun Wan blew the dust off her fingertips and said casually.

The chat exploded with activity as Shennong Star fans took the lead in mocking Berry Star's planting technology as unimpressive.

[Seriously, with the quality of Shennong Star's fruits, do they need Berry Star's planting technology?]

[Exactly, Shennong Star has been at a huge loss in the previous six matches, right?!]

The barrage made Mao Hao so angry he could spit blood. Seeing Yun Wan's indifferent attitude, if he didn't offer something attractive, she could easily refuse to continue the match.

Mao Hao wouldn't let her off so easily. In his view, Shennong Star was already at the end of its rope, and an extra match was his chance for a comeback!

"Fine! If you can still win the next match, then this Berry Star will be yours!"

[What?!?!]

[Oh my god!!!]

Mao Hao's words were like a bombshell, shocking both Berry Star's people and the audience.

Yun Wan's lips curled slightly; this bet sounded good to her.

Shennong Star could really use a satellite!

However, the lord of Berry Star really surprised her. To casually wager his own planet in a match—it's hard to believe Berry Star has lasted this long under his rule.

Seeing Yun Wan smile, Mao Hao snapped back, "I've put up a stake, so the Shennong Star Lord should also offer something. How about you also bet Shennong Star? That way, neither of us loses out."

Yun Wan raised an eyebrow at Mao Hao on the screen.

The lord of Berry Star's motives were obvious; he was about to make a big move.

Unfortunately, Yun Wan didn't want to risk Shennong Star. Even if she was 100% sure of winning, she wouldn't risk her hard work. Who knows when an accident might happen!

"Sorry, I don't really want to bet my planet. But if you're willing, I can bet Berry Star's planting technology," Yun Wan replied with a sly grin.

Mao Hao cursed the shrewd woman in his heart, even though he hadn't met her.

She really had a clever plan, betting the planting technology she had just won back, so Shennong Star wouldn't lose a thing. But even so, Mao Hao couldn't refuse her proposal. He had just lost Berry Star's new planting technology; if he could win it back, Berry Star wouldn't suffer too much.

As for the possibility of losing, that was temporarily not in Mao Hao's consideration.

"Alright, it's settled then!"

Mao Hao quickly agreed to the rematch, his face lit up, waiting for Shennong Star to fail, while the host turned pale, nearly passing out.

"This, this, this..."

He tried to cut in several times, but no one paid him any attention. It seemed like he was the only one panicking.

Actually, there was another person equally at a loss—the head of the logistics department. She had already reached out to the real lord of Berry Star in desperation.

If this acting lord isn't stopped, the whole planet will be ruined!

She couldn't understand how the lord could entrust Mao Hao with the planet. She hoped for a new planet representative this time; she couldn't stand being the scapegoat anymore. She came to work, not to babysit fools!

Mao Ling, Berry Star's true lord, had just wrapped up an all-night experiment and hadn't even caught her breath when she got a distress call from the logistics head.

[Lord, come quickly, Berry Star is in danger!]

Mao Ling slammed her hand on the table and glared, asking:

[What's going on? Are we under attack?]

[No, it's Lord Mao, he's about to bet the whole planet!]