landbeastnovel Chapter 68 Fire Spirit Grass - Frenzied Proliferation! Advancement Path - Crimson Flame Flesh Worm
Chapter 68 Fire Spirit Grass - Frenzied Proliferation! Advancement Path - Crimson Flame Flesh Worm
Chapter 69 Fire Spirit Grass - Frenzied Proliferation! Advancement Path - Crimson Flame Flesh Worm
The mountainside behind the mountain.
Jiangling No. 7 breeding base.
Inside the factory area.
Passing through the gate of the poultry area, the view suddenly opens up.
A free-range area, enclosed by green wire mesh, stretches out on the gentle slope at the foot of the mountain, and is about the size of two or three basketball courts.
Several rows of low shrubs were planted along the edge of the open space, serving as a natural windbreak, with a sparse layer of dry straw spread at the base of the shrubs.
Five hundred pheasants were scattered throughout the open space.
Most of its feathers are ordinary brownish-red, with occasional glimpses of dark red on its tail feathers.
Su Chen's gaze, however, fell upon the hundred Firefeather Chickens that had been separated and fed the new formula.
Their most striking feature is their fur color!
The common turkey has reddish-brown feathers, while this turkey has a richer coppery-red color, with pure, dark red tips on its back and tail feathers.
A pure, unblemished flame red.
As the afternoon sun shone down, a hundred turkeys strolled, pecked at food, and flapped their wings in the experimental area.
"Look, after raising them according to your formula, the feathers of these turkeys are all quite different. They look like they could fetch a high price!"
Su Guoliang carried a basket of feed out of the feeding room at some point.
He put the tin basket at his feet, bent down, grabbed a handful, and scattered them among the chickens.
Golden particles are: falling on the grass 8
The flock of chickens swarmed over in a flurry, and a few of the bolder hens even stepped over their companions' backs to snatch the feed pellets bouncing on the ground.
Su Guoliang grabbed another handful from the basket and scattered it closer together this time: "Your recipe is really amazing! I've been raising chickens for so many years and I've never seen such good-looking turkeys."
He grabbed another handful, but instead of throwing it away, he squatted down, opened his palm, and held it up to a hen that had come closer.
The pheasant tilted its head and examined him for two seconds, then slowly pecked a few grains from his palm.
A satisfied smile appeared on Su Guoliang's face.
"Haha~ Sometimes, raising things can be tiring, but it can also make you feel good! You used to like wandering around the chicken coop with me when you were little, remember?"
Su Chen's lips curled up slightly: "I remember. Back then, I also wanted to ride the Firefeather Chicken."
"Yes, yes, yes!" Su Guoliang laughed heartily, "You chased a rooster all over the yard, and in the end it chased you back and pecked you until you cried."
"Dad, let's not bring this up again."
"Alright, alright! You're too big for that, you're getting shy now." Su Guoliang clapped his hands and put the empty feed bucket aside.
Su Chen stood behind him, watching his father squatting on the ground feeding the chickens, and the corners of his mouth involuntarily curled up slightly.
After watching for a while, he looked away and asked, "Dad, where are the Fire Spirit Grass and the Crimson Flame Insects?"
"It's near the chicken coop, I'll take you to see it!"
Su Guoliang finished scattering the last bit of feed in his hand, patted his trouser legs, stood up, and walked with a pigeon-toed gait towards the other side of the poultry house.
Su Chen followed behind him, and Xiao Zi stepped out from the bushes, wagging its tail as it followed.
After passing the east wall of the poultry house, a small field surrounded by a bamboo fence came into view.
The fence wasn't high, only reaching Su Chen's waist; it was clearly a temporary enclosure.
The field plots are not large, about three or four fen (a unit of area), and the soil color is different from that of ordinary vegetable plots; it is a dark reddish-brown.
And what's planted in the fields is the Fire Spirit Grass!
Before even getting close to the fence, a scorching heat hit us.
It wasn't the kind of burning heat, but a warm, gentle warmth, like the soft, continuous heat you feel when you're next to a radiator.
The mountain breeze in October is usually a little chilly, but at this moment it carries warmth.
Su Chen's gaze fell on a Fire Spirit Grass.
The Fire Spirit Grass is about 30 centimeters tall, with a straight stem that is light red and translucent, revealing fine fibrous veins inside.
The leaves are narrow and sword-shaped, with a crimson main vein and light orange lateral veins, and the leaf margins are slightly curled.
There were about two or three hundred plants planted in the field, so dense that from a distance it looked like a patch of bright red grass.
His gaze had barely settled when the panel popped up.
[Fire Spirit Grass Status: Cannot be contracted (lacks sentience)]
Strength Rank: Unentered Race Potential: First Realm - Servant Level Attribute: Grass/Fire Growth Potential: 0.2
Talent: None; Special Abilities: None; Skills: None; Related Technology: None
① Advancement Path: 1 path in total ② Industrial Technology: 2 items in total ③ Pet Armament: None ④ Master Technology: None
There's even an advanced path!
Su Chen's heart stirred, and he opened the detailed panel.
[Advanced Path - Fire Sword Grass Price: 250 Pet Energy Points Effect: The shape of the grass leaves changes, the edges harden into a blade-like structure, and high-temperature inflammatory sap is produced inside the leaves. Mature Fire Sword Grass will spray high-temperature sap after its skin breaks, inflicting a continuous burning effect. A defensive zone formed by clusters of Fire Sword Grass can deal significant damage to servant-level evil creatures.]
interesting!
He silently repeated it to himself.
Then I looked at industrial technology.
[Industrial Technology ① - Frenzied Proliferation Price: 50 Pet Energy Points Effect: Optimizes the asexual reproduction efficiency of Fire Spirit Grass. Under suitable conditions, the underground stem division speed is increased by more than twice.]
The harvesting cycle has been shortened from 45 days to 30 days, and the annual yield per unit area has increased by about three times.
For optimal results, use a sufficient amount of Red Flame Soil and Flame Spring Water.
【Industrial Technology ② - Creeping Growth Price: 80 Pet Energy Points Effect: Activates the creeping growth ability of stems on Fire Spirit Grass.
The original Fire Spirit Grass relies solely on underground stem division for propagation, resulting in a moderate reproduction rate, and each plant is independent of the others.
After activation, the above-ground stems can root at the nodes, forming new independent plants. These new plants can spread out around the mother plant in multiple locations, and within a short period, a single plant can spread into a dense patch.
Su Chen looked at the two technologies twice, a complex mix of emotions welling up inside him.
The two industrial technologies combined only amount to 130 pet energy points.
His daily consumption is now even higher than that!
In other words, by taking a day off from martial arts training, you can unlock both technologies.
"Crazy proliferation" simply means making the Fire Spirit Grass grow extremely fast, like chives, where you cut one crop and another grows back.
The creeping and spreading part is interesting.
I learned about it in biology class during my high school days.
Grasses reproduce in two main ways: sexual and asexual. Asexual reproduction is further divided into three types: above-ground stems, underground stems, and so on.
Fire Spirit Grass does reproduce through underground stems, but it's not the kind of plant that can simply grow into a patch by scattering a handful of seeds.
Its underground stems have a limited range of distribution, and each mother plant can only support a limited number of daughter plants.
The creeping and spreading is different.
Strawberries, zoysia grass, and carpet grass all produce a type of stem that crawls close to the ground, called a stolon.
Each stolon can take root and sprout independently after touching the ground. A mother plant can successively produce dozens of seedlings, which can be spread out horizontally and quickly fill an empty space.
If Fire Spirit Grass could possess such an ability, the amount of Fire Spirit Grass produced could easily increase several times over!
If the technology of Fire Spirit Grass alone can be promoted, it will bring about a significant transformation to the entire aquaculture industry in Jiangling City.
It's a great technology, even for the entire Federation.
Martial arts are his own personal path.
Technology, however, is technology that can benefit all mankind!
If it were someone with a global vision, they would probably use all their energy points to upgrade their technology without hesitation.
But Su Chen knew in his heart that he was not that selfless.
Technology takes time to develop.
Humans, or rather, he himself, may not have that much time.
No one can say for sure when an even more desperate apocalypse will descend again!
Moreover, when it comes to technology, if you don't figure it out yourself, someone else might.
"Perhaps other parts of the Federation, especially the nine super base cities, have already deployed the relevant technology."
"Don't underestimate the Federation's mobilization capabilities!"
"It's too advanced to be displayed, and I'm not kidding! The same applies after the apocalypse."
"Otherwise... how was the Spirit Guard Army, which brought down all the major bandit leaders, created? Was it merely by absorbing talented martial artists?"
"Wrong! Utterly wrong!"
He suppressed his thoughts and quickly glanced at his balance.
Pet Energy Points: 169.
That's enough to acquire both of these technologies.
Just then, Su Guoliang's voice came from the side.
He brought over a tin bucket filled with a pale red, fine, sand-like powder. The particles were so fine that a handful would slip through your fingers like quicksand.
"It's only been transplanted two days ago, and it's showing no signs of acclimatization problems; it's growing well. Haven't I taken good care of it?"
He squatted down and evenly sprinkled the light red fine sand on the surface of the soil between the plants of the Fire Spirit Grass.
The fine sand fell onto the soil surface and quickly seeped in, visibly darkening the soil's color.
Su Chen smiled and said, "Dad! This is your field of expertise, you must be amazing! Otherwise, how could you have achieved all these honors?"
Su Guoliang smiled contentedly, then paused, his gaze sweeping around the area: "Oh, right! The Crimson Flame Worms are also in this area, can you spot them?"
Su Chen looked down at the ground, then pointed to the other side of the field not far away.
"Aren't they right there? Several have already popped up!"
The soil in that area had clearly been disturbed, and the surface was covered with a layer of loose, fine soil.
A few small mounds of earth rose up on the surface of the soil, and a few pale pink insects poked their heads out of the mounds and slowly burrowed into the soil.
Su Guoliang laughed loudly: "Haha! You're not so bad at distinguishing grains yet! You don't know, some young people in big cities can't tell wheat from rice, and they can't even tell sesame seeds from rapeseed when they're put together."
"What's even more outrageous is that a short video introducing the four-leaf clover had ten million views! Wow, that's terrifying!"
Su Chen didn't respond; his attention had already been drawn to the Crimson Flame Bug panel.
The Crimson Flame Insect is somewhat like a silkworm magnified several times in my previous life, about the thickness of a little finger and about five or six centimeters long.
In its early stages, the skin is white with a pinkish tinge and slightly transparent, revealing a thin, dark red line on its back.
Their habits are similar to those of earthworms; they like to burrow into the soil.
[Crimson Flame Insect Status: Unable to form a contract (lacks intelligence)]
Strength Rank: Unentered Race Potential: First Realm - Servant Level Attribute: Fire/Earth Growth Potential: 0.3
Talent: None; Special Abilities: None; Skills: None; Related Technology: None
① Advancement Path: 1 in total ② Industrial Technology: None ③ Pet Armament: None ④ Master Technology: None
Industrial technology is a whopping 0!
Su Chen was taken aback for a moment, but not surprised. It's certain that not every species has a complete technology tree.
He then clicked on the advanced path.
[Advanced Path - Crimson Flame Worm Price: 100 Pet Energy Points Effect: Changes the Crimson Flame Worm's dietary preferences, significantly increases individual size, thickens body walls, and significantly increases body fat content. Increases dried worm yield by 50%~100%]
When processed into dried red flame worms, they shrink by at least 80-90%. You're lucky if you can get two ounces of dried worms from one pound of fresh worms!
It not only fattens the insects but also increases the yield of dried insects!
This means that the Red Flame Flesh Worm has a much lower proportion of water in its body.
He hasn't used any of the advanced paths yet.
With five advancement paths laid out before him, Xiao Zi naturally wanted to buy the best one!
The Crimson Flame Worm costs 100 points right now, which isn't expensive at all!
"We could try it out and see what it's like for a pet to advance."
Su Chen is always decisive in his actions.
Fire Spirit Grass - rampant proliferation, unlocked!
Advanced path—Crimson Flame Flesh Worm, unlocked!
The balance jumped from 169 to 19.
"Neither Xiao Zi's first task nor Zhang Yan's first task is difficult; you'll get the rewards quickly."
"Zhang Yan's second mission also has a chance."
"Besides, if we're really short on energy points, we can stop using the skill learning machine for now. We don't have many skill stones in stock anyway, so there's no rush."
Thinking this way, the pang of heartache he felt subsided.
Then he quickly checked the specific information about the two technologies.
【Crazy Propagation Operation Method: Soak the roots of the Fire Spirit Grass seedlings in a mixture of Fiery Spring Water and Red Flame Soil for about two hours, then transplant them into a potting soil in which Red Flame Soil accounts for no less than 30% of the total soil volume.
Afterward, the soil needs to be watered daily with diluted Yanquan water to keep it moist. The watering cycle will be gradually shortened from the original 45 days to 30 days.
The optimal ambient temperature is 22-28℃, soil pH is 6.5-7.0, and daily sunlight exposure is no less than six hours. Using it in conjunction with organic base fertilizer will yield even better results.
【Advanced Path - Crimson Flame Worm Operation Method: Place adult Crimson Flame Worms (over 5 cm in length) into a fasting state and feed them Fire Crystal Ore Slag after 48 hours of starvation.
The slag needs to be ground in advance to a particle size of no more than two millimeters.
When feeding on slag for the first time, most red flame insects will refuse to eat, and it is necessary to keep them in a state of hunger to continuously induce them to eat.
The entire induction period lasts about seven to ten days, during which more than 50% of the individuals will die due to refusal to eat.
The surviving individuals will change their diet and begin actively consuming mine slag. The offspring of these surviving individuals will be fed mine slag for three generations, and slow-growing, small-sized individuals will be eliminated, ultimately leading to the breeding of a stable, heritable strain of the Red Flame Flesh Worm.
The technology of rampant proliferation is bound to increase costs.
The use of hot spring water, red soil, mixing ratios, and transplanting procedures—each step involved additional investment beyond what was originally planned. The final result will only be known after actual planting.
But the Crimson Flame Flesh Worm looks refreshing!
First, starve them for two days, then feed them with slag.
Don't like it? Then keep going hungry until you do!
The whole process takes seven to ten days, and more than half of them starve to death. The survivors are kept alive, and their descendants are then selected in the same way for three generations.
Forced survival of the fittest!
Su Chen knew about fire crystal ore slag.
The waste left over from mining fire crystal ore is troublesome to handle, takes up space when piled up, and is sold by the ton.
The price is definitely much cheaper than the feed formula my father is currently using!
He glanced at his father, who was squatting by the field, proudly holding a Crimson Flame Insect, but had no intention of revealing the two plans.
After all... Dad is a good guy in every way, except he's very curious, has a strong patriarchal personality, and doesn't want his children to have too many secrets he doesn't know, leaving them with too little personal space. But Mom has managed to suppress this trait of his very well!
If he suddenly pulls out two brand-new breeding plans, he'll definitely be eager to get to the bottom of it.
How did you get it? Where did it come from? Is what you did illegal?
Did they steal another company's production materials? That's very dangerous! These days, rich people are really capable of murder...
This is, after all, a martial arts world. Don't think that federal law can regulate everything!
If asked to delve deeper, what would Su Chen say? Would he reveal his system panel?
But what if we take a roundabout approach and tell Mom Li Huilan first?
Su Chen knew best who her mother was. She didn't ask any questions, just did as she was told!
After some time, the results will be there.
Even though the old man was still curious, he noticed that his son didn't tell him directly, but instead went around in circles and told his wife about it first.
This action itself is sending a signal, but it's not convenient to elaborate.
Although Dad was very curious, Mom kept him in check, and he wasn't stupid either.
He has enough time to process this signal and will eventually realize that this matter shouldn't be questioned.
People should live with clarity! Only then can they avoid a lot of trouble.
Many broken families are due to a lack of mutual understanding between the two parties, leaving them trapped in a vortex of family conflicts and unable to escape and resolve the issues.
Su Chen looked at his father, who was squatting on the ground in the distance, carefully tending to the Crimson Flame Insects, and said nothing.
At this moment, Su Guoliang held a Crimson Flame Worm between two fingers of his right hand and raised it in front of his eyes.
"The quality of the insects I bought is absolutely top-notch!"
He softened his tone: "Look at this one, what a perfect color! White with a hint of pink, well-proportioned, and full of vitality. When selecting the larvae, I personally visited three suppliers, comparing them one by one!"
"At the time, Lao Sun's goods were 30% cheaper. I took two boxes to look at them, but the insects were limp and couldn't even crawl. You get what you pay for, so I returned them on the spot!"
As he spoke, he gently placed the crimson flame worm back onto the soil and covered its body with a little fine soil using his fingers.
"Dad, you have such a sharp eye."
Su Chen strode over, cradled the insect in his palm, and examined it closely: "The batch you picked not only has good vitality, but its body color is also truly beautiful. I saw a standard illustration of the Crimson Flame Insect in biology class before. The teacher said that the clearer and more complete the red lines on its back, the stronger its fire affinity will be as an adult, and the higher the content of effective ingredients will be after it is dried!"
Upon hearing this, Su Guoliang raised his eyebrows slightly, and then his entire face relaxed.
After being earnestly praised by my own son, I felt a sense of comfort welling up from the bottom of my heart!
He coughed lightly, suppressing his laughter and managing not to let it out.
Just then.
A deep tiger's roar came from the factory gate in the distance; it was Bai Liang's voice.
It wasn't loud, just a low-frequency buzzing sound coming from deep in the throat, with a hint of announcing something.
Su Guoliang looked up at the sound, glanced in the direction of the main gate at the foot of the mountain, and stood up.
"Oh? Looks like someone's arrived. It should be that professor's team from the Academy of Sciences!"
He turned to look at Su Chen, his eyes still holding the lingering smile from earlier.
"His team is full of graduate students and doctoral students from Jiangling University. Why don't you go and check it out? You might learn a lot!"
Gangneung University is also a first-tier university.
Su Chen knew it was about the Thorn Demon Pig experiment. He had observed it and found that it had indeed improved a lot, feeling that it was somewhat close to the advanced scheme in his cheat system—the Thornback Dragon Pig!
He smiled and shook his head: "Never mind. I was planning to take Xiao Zi out for some practice this afternoon."
Su Guoliang nodded and patted him on the shoulder.
"Okay! Take care of yourself."
After saying that, he turned and walked briskly toward the factory gate at the foot of the mountain.
Su Chen watched his father walk away, then looked down at Xiao Zi at his feet.
Little Purple was lying on the grass, its chin resting on its front paws, its light golden eyes staring at the Crimson Flame Insects crawling around on the ground, its tail tip slapping the ground repeatedly.
"Let's go! Let's find a place to practice your newly learned Thunder Body Charge!" Su Chen kicked its side. "You'll have to work hard these next few days!"
Little Purple's ears drooped down, and its tail stopped flapping.
So much for the promise of a life of luxury after leaving the city guards? Fairy tales are all lies.