Chapter 120 Farming and Steady Development (Patreon)

Chapter 120 Farming and Steady Development

"Boss, the planting area upstairs is basically set up, just waiting for you to use your ability."

Professor Ye's voice came from the stairway at this moment.

"Ah, Professor Ye, you could have sent someone to deliver the message, no need for you to come personally."

Hearing this, Han Ning poured the prepared High-Energy Soil into a plastic bucket, covered it with a lid, lifted it with one hand, and instructed,

"Lao Xu, put away the remaining materials, we'll need them next time."

"Okay." Xu Ming responded.

Carrying the bucket, Han Ning quickly went up to the fifth floor with Professor Ye.

Following Professor Ye's guidance, he pushed open the temporarily installed heavy insulated door curtain.

Instantly, a mixture of fresh, moist soil scent wafted over.

The originally spacious open office area had been completely transformed.

In areas with good lighting, there were pots of cultivation containers made from various repurposed vessels.

"Professor Ye, this place is well arranged." Han Ning praised.

He walked to the center of the planting area, extended his hands flat with palms facing down.

Emerald light surged from his palms, nourishing every seed and every seedling.

The recently sown spinach and bok choy seeds visibly broke through the moist Seedling Paper, sprouting tender yellow tips, then quickly unfurled into two vibrant green cotyledons.

The buried soybeans and mung beans trembled slightly, their thin white roots rapidly growing downward, the plump bean cotyledons split open, and tender stems pushed upward through the bean shells, growing into several-centimeter-high bean Sprouts in just over ten seconds.

On the mushroom side, beneath the covering damp cloth, white cotton-like Mycelium quickly spread, almost covering the entire bag surface, emitting the distinctive slightly sour scent of mycelium.

After one round of skill release, those Sprouts with short growth cycles, like bean Sprouts, had almost reached harvestable state.

While leafy vegetables like spinach and bok choy had grown to nearly half their natural growth cycle.

On the panel, the proficiency of Rapid Growth had increased by over thirty points.

"These bean Sprouts can already be harvested for consumption." Professor Ye examined the patches of white, tender bean Sprouts with evident pleasure.

"Yes, there's a large quantity, enough to provide extra meals for everyone."

Before all this, bean Sprouts were very common and inexpensive in daily life.

But in the current environment, they've become rare vegetables.

"Later, distribute these bean Sprouts. Professor Ye, now it's time for our treasures."

Han Ning called out, lifting the bucket of High-Energy Soil and giving it a gentle shake.

"Oh?" Professor Ye became intrigued.

The two went to the more confidential Extraordinary Crops planting area near the living quarters.

This area wasn't as large as the ordinary planting zone, just a small room by the window.

Han Ning opened the bucket lid, used a shovel to dig out a large chunk of dark red, glossy, fine-textured dough-like substance.

Miraculously, as the shovel stirred this dough slightly, its surface quickly became dry and loose, with fine particles separating internally.

In just a few seconds, it transformed from a sticky mass into a special soil emitting subtle Energy fluctuations.

"This soil—to be honest, I can't discern anything special. My knowledge seems wasted."

Professor Ye pinched a bit of soil, feeling the peculiar texture at his fingertips, somewhat bewildered. The knowledge he had acquired in the past now seemed inadequate.

"Heh, otherworldly techniques often carry a touch of the extraordinary, but I believe the knowledge you've learned will still prove very useful," Han Ning reassured him.

Under Professor Ye's guidance, Han Ning carefully dug up the squirting cucumber plant along with a small amount of its original soil. Meanwhile, Professor Ye prepared a new pot by laying a layer of ordinary soil at the bottom as a buffer and drainage layer, then evenly mixed High-Energy Soil with some ordinary soil and spread it over the top.

Han Ning carefully buried the squirting cucumber's root system into the mixed High-Energy Soil, ensuring the roots were completely enveloped by this precious soil.

"Alright, boss, try the 'massage' method you mentioned earlier," Professor Ye stepped back, both observing and learning.

Han Ning nodded, recalling the movements of those withered hands from the visions conveyed by the Will of Nature. His palms once again glowed with emerald light as he gently placed them on the main stem of the squirting cucumber plant.

The gentle vitality of [Nature's Blessing], combined with the accelerating properties of [Rapid Growth], began to press, knead, and lightly stroke different parts of the plant with a specific rhythm and pressure. Sometimes he gently followed the veins of the stem, sometimes paused briefly near the swollen nodes close to the root system to apply gentle pressure, and sometimes lightly tapped at the base of the leaves.

His movements appeared casual yet contained a peculiar rhythm, as if guiding the Energy Stream within the plant and stimulating specific growth points.

[Nature's Blessing (Beginner) Proficiency +1, Current 162/200]

[Rapid Growth (Advanced) Proficiency +1, Current 413/500]

Under the nourishment of the dual skills and this special massage technique, the squirting cucumber plant trembled slightly. The leaves visibly became greener and thicker, with an extremely faint jade-like luster appearing on their surfaces. The tiny bud at the top pulsed like a fetal movement, slightly swelling and contracting, while a faint fragrance emanated from the tightly closed flower opening.

"There's a reaction—" Professor Ye stared unblinkingly.

Han Ning, performing the operation himself, fully sensed the surging vitality within the plant. He continued massaging until the plant showed no further unusual phenomena, then stopped and said, "As long as it's effective. It seems this massage isn't a one-time thing but requires continuous application."

Professor Ye deeply agreed: "Exactly, mutation is a complex process that requires sustained stimulation and energy supply."

After finishing one squirting cucumber, they moved on to the next. For experimental purposes, they certainly didn't have just one plant—Han Ning had prepared eight in total for the first phase of observation.

By the time they completed the entire process, even Han Ning felt somewhat fatigued. Unfortunately, aside from showing some unusual phenomena, these squirting cucumbers hadn't truly mutated.

In the following days, Han Ning's life became regular and fulfilling. Everyone at Azure Cloud Resort entered a rare, relatively peaceful period of development.

Each morning before going out, Han Ning would cast Rapid Growth on ordinary crops to accelerate their maturation time while simultaneously increasing his skill proficiency.

He massaged the Squirting Cucumber and observed.

After resting for a while, he recovered some Spiritual Power.

He would call Xu Ming, Professor Ye, and that exceptionally fast young Awakened named Xiao Yu to form a team for hunting expeditions.

Han Ning did not take action himself, merely acting as a healer, relying entirely on the three of them to perform freely.

Only when they were injured would he cast Rejuvenation to heal their wounds.

The reason for bringing Xiao Yu was simple—his speed.

Han Ning planned to train Xiao Yu, utilizing his super-fast speed ability to serve as a scout, gathering intelligence on monsters and other survivors in the city.

Chairman Wu had likely had similar ideas long ago, but their strength was insufficient to fully develop these speed-type Awakened.

A bit later in the day, Han Ning would take Snowflake alone deep into the more active areas of the Black Serpent Monsters in the northwest direction,

searching for and killing elite Black Serpent Monsters to obtain the Energy Crystals inside them.

Over several days, they collected a total of five Crystals of varying sizes from the monsters.

Time passed day by day, until—one evening four days later.