Chapter 95: Remaining Energy

The next morning, Xie Sen washed up, and sat at the dining room table as he waited for Maine to bring breakfast from the kitchen. He asked Adam in his mind, “Has the position of the water energy changed?”

Adam took a moment to answer. “It’s been moving closer to Brandt Star.”

Xie Sen asked for the exact location, and drew a line on the map to see how the water energy was moving. His eyes gleamed slightly. “Why do I feel that it seems to be moving towards Brandt Star?!”

Adam said, “I think so too.”

Xie Sen looked at the map. “There are still two human-inhabited planets in between. If it doesn’t stop, then we might really get lucky this time.”

Adam sounded excited, “Oh, it would be great if it did come to Brandt Star!”

Maine put the breakfast in front of Xie Sen. Yam and dates porridge, a white boiled egg and golden tender corn. It looked very appetizing.

Xie Sen looked up from the screen, and the corners of his mouth curled up. “Thank you.”

Maine glanced down, kissed him on the lips and looked at the map. “Do you want to go somewhere?”

Xie Sen shook his head, and turned off his bracelet. He stirred his porridge with his spoon. “The energy location has changed. I was looking at where it is now.”

Maine sat down beside him. The breakfast in front of him was different from Xie Sen’s. Fried meat and eggs plus corn. Xie Sen had insisted that he eat the corn to supplement his nutrition.

Maine wondered, “How does the energy position change?”

Xie Sen nodded. “Do you remember the flying rhinoceros? The energy was in its horn. If it moved, the energy would move with it.” The corners of his eyes curved slightly. “It’s been getting closer to Brandt Star.”

After breakfast, Xie Sen redeemed an apple, ordered it to separate the fruit from the seeds, put the seeds away, and ate the rest.

As he was eating, Ma Qun contacted him. Ma Qun said immediately, “The cooperation company has been founded. The final price is set at 5,000 star coins per seedling, and each group is provided with 1,000 seedlings. Not counting you, there are three other groups, so each group needs to pay 5 million. After the seedling cultivation cost, the remaining 10 million payment will be received, and I will transfer it to you.”

Xie Sen was surprised. One pepper could grow more than 30 seedlings, so this was equivalent to 150,000 star coins per pepper. “So expensive?”

Ma Qun laughed, “It’s not that high. These are veterans in the business world. They won’t lose money. We signed a non-disclosure agreement, so they know that the peppers we provide can improve the land, and there is data to back it up. A chili pepper bush can produce almost ten pounds of peppers per year after it matures, so they can make it back in a year.”

Xie Sen did a mental calculation, and instantly felt that the price really wasn’t that high. “Then I’ll send the peppers over later.”

“No,” Ma Qun said. “Li You will come and get it. You are in a special health condition, and there are many media outlets watching you. It’s not convenient for you to go out.”

When Xie Sen thought about it, it did make sense, so he said, “Okay. I’ve sorted it out. There are 124 peppers in total. If there aren’t enough seedlings cultivated, the other three groups will get priority. I’m fine with a little less.”

Ma Qun smiled, and praised him. “You’re such a sensible kid.”

Xie Sen laughed dryly. “I’m already an adult.”

Ma Qun’s smile deepened. “If there are any problems with the planting process, feel free to find me. By the way, since you are in a special situation, it’s best to find some help. It’s also the graduation season, so it is convenient for you to recruit people now.”

Xie Sen, “Yeah, I’ll think about it.”

He ended the communication, finished the rest of the apple, and discussed it with Maine. “How many employees do you think would be best to hire for the farm?”

Maine thought about it, “Five. One for the finance department and four for the plant department. The instruments are easy to operate, and can be learned casually, so there’s no need for a mechanical department.”

Xie Sen pulled up the newly purchased land schematic. “Excluding the office, staff dormitory, and tool room, the remaining land will be divided into ten parts. We can plant ten kinds of food we like to eat. Besides watermelon, what else do you like to eat?”

Maine didn’t answer directly, just said, “I can do anything. It’s all delicious. Plant what you like.”

Xie Sen thought back for a moment. Maine really didn’t have a particular fondness for foods besides watermelon. He thought it over. “Fruits and vegetables are quite delicious. We’ll do some of them. Three kinds of fruits: peaches, oranges and watermelons. Four kinds of vegetables: peppers, tomatoes, potatoes and lettuce. Plus three kinds of beans: soybeans, red beans and green beans.”

Apples, pears and several kinds of greens were already planted on the land near their home, so there was no need to plant them on the farm. He grabbed Maine’s hand, and his eyes glowed. “I’m telling you, soybeans are a good thing to make and eat more of!”

Maine saw that he liked it, and suggested, “Why don’t we plant more?”

Xie Sen shook his head. “That’s enough. The land is quite big, but there’s no water source nearby, so we need to draw water.”

Maine didn’t care. “Just turn it over to the construction company. I’ll give them the word, and let them build all the buildings we need.”

Xie Sen smiled. “Mn. It will take some time to raise the seedlings, and the seeds aren’t yet settled.” How to handle the source of the seeds wasn’t clear, and it was very troublesome. When he thought about that, Xie Sen asked, “By the way, how is Lu Qingxing’s investigation going?”

Maine, “Gentle personality, very reliable, very principled. A reliable person.”

Xie Sen asked in a whisper, “Did you monitor him?”

His curious look was cute. Maine took him by the back of the neck, and kissed the corner of his lips. “I put a bug in his university office.”

Xie Sen said, “In that case, let me ask him to meet me!”

Maine opened his bracelet, “I’ll contact him.”

The corners of Xie Sen’s mouth twitched and he smiled, while he secretly thought that he was jealous.

While Maine was contacting Lu Qingxing, he exchanged all the plants he was going to farm, except for the greens, then ordered them to separate out the seeds and put them in small bags one by one. He looked toward the door. He wanted to plant a variety of greens, one of each, then for them to grow until they bloomed, in order to obtain those seeds.

Lu Qingxing came quickly. He also transferred 10 million to Xie Sen. “Sorry for the delay of a few days.”

Xie Sen returned the money. “I said no. I have something I want to ask you to help with, and it’s complicated. It can’t be done at once.”

There were so many plants, and in archeology it wasn’t practical to have them discovered all at once. He knew it would take several tries.

Lu Qingxing smiled gently. “I can help. No matter how troublesome it is, it’s better than no contract.”

Xie Sen raised his eyebrows. “That’s not necessarily true.”

Lu Qingxing showed a hint of surprise, and then said cautiously, “I will do my best.”

Xie Sen said, “The most important point is that I hope this matter can be kept secret. Except for yourself, you can’t let anyone know.”

Lu Qingxing nodded. His tone was sincere, “I promise.”

Xie Sen took out the small bag containing the seeds, and put it in front of Lu Qingxing. “These are the seeds of various plants. I want them to be exposed and replanted by humans, and I want the source to be archeological findings.”

Lu Qingxing froze momentarily. After that reaction, he picked up the seeds and surveyed them, surprised. “These are all fresh seeds.”

Xie Sen nodded. “So I have to trouble you to also make them look old.”

Lu Qingxing looked at him, and wondered out loud, “Where did you find these plants? Why don’t you just tell the Plant Research Institute? Then everyone would be grateful towards you.”

Xie Sen smiled helplessly. He really wanted them to be grateful, but he couldn’t explain the source of the plants. “Sorry, it’s hard to explain the details. Otherwise I wouldn’t have asked for your help. So can you help?” he asked.

Lu Qingxing pondered for a moment. He hesitated a bit. “The archeological seniors have discovered plant seeds, and were even admired and venerated for it. You’ve given me so many seeds, I…I can’t afford the reputation.”

Xie Sen was surprised. He hadn’t expected this to be his difficulty. He advised, “It’s okay. If you don’t help, these seeds will be buried. If you help, you are the one who will bring them back to the world.”

Lu Qingxing shook his head. “It’s you who should be praised.”

Xie Sen waved his hand. “But I don’t want to be. I’m already very famous now, and I’ve already been praised by many people for discovering the chili. These things are useless to me, and they’re a burden. But if you say that this favor isn’t really good for you, then that’s it.”

Lu Qingxing said, “I’m not a public figure. I travel around from time to time, but I rarely go out when I’m at home. It doesn’t affect anything.”

Xie Sen said happily, “That’s even better! Do you agree to help?”

Lu Qingxing pondered for a moment more, and nodded. “Yes, I promise.” He opened his bracelet and pulled out a map. It was different from what he usually saw on maps, with half-arc markings on many locations. He showed the map to Xie Sen. “The gray half-arc markers represent ruins that haven’t yet been examined in depth. Where is the closest location to where you found the plants?” he said, and added, “The seeds are more plausible when they are found near where the plants were growing.”

Xie Sen asked about the climate conditions of each place, and pointed out a location with a similar climate to the south. It was located at the junction of Moon City and Star City, and was very remote.

Lu Qingxing marked the place. “This is the Force City site. We need to collect detailed information before we leave, and it will take time to process the seeds, so it will be a few days after that until we can leave.”

“It’s okay. There’s no rush,” Xie Sen said. “Just finish your job, and help me at the same time.”

Lu Qingxing smiled, carefully put the seeds away and looked outside. “A’Jia misses you and the rest of the contract beasts. Can we play here for a while?”

Xie Sen stood up. “Sure. Let’s go. I’ll take you to the contract beasts’ residence. If A’Jia wants to come, you can bring him over anytime.”

The giant armored beast played with the contract beasts for half an hour, and before it left, it gently touched Xie Sen with its tail. “A’Sen, I’ll help Qingxing, and get your business done.”

Xie Sen touched its phosphor armor. “Thank you. You guys be careful out there. Be safe!”

“Mn. Sen, take care of your health too.” The giant armored beast finished in a shy voice, and left together with Lu Qingxing.

In the next few days, Maine went out from time to time to deal with things, while Xie Sen stayed at home, and talked and played with the contract beasts from time to time. The contract beasts were concerned about his body, and behaved very carefully when he was around.

The division of the farm area was completed, and the irrigation equipment was built. Ten pieces of land were equipped with powerful sprinklers every fifty meters. When the switch was turned on, water sprayed out from the nozzle in an arc that covered a large area, while the angle could be adjusted so that every place could be irrigated. The house was still under construction.

Xie Sen looked at the farm. The ground had been turned over, and the soil was crushed. It looked better than before, but the soil was still too dry. He switched to the control panel, selected the irrigation device, set the standard program, and flicked the switch.

All of a sudden, all the sprinkler heads on the farm began to sprinkle water at an interactive angle, as they covered all the soil precisely.

Xie Sen exclaimed how convenient it was to set a timer, and have it turn off automatically after ten minutes.

When he was done, he felt a little hungry and exchanged a dragon fruit. He ordered it to peel itself, divide evenly into small pieces and drop on a plate. He sat down on the couch with the plate, and ate the pulp with a fork. As he was eating, he received a message from Lu Qingxing to tell him that he had already left. He returned a message of thanks, and continued to eat.

Adam’s surprised voice suddenly sounded in his head, “A’Sen, the energy has reached Brandt Star. It’s very close to us!”

Xie Sen immediately put down his fork, and clicked on the map of Brandt Star. “Where is it?”

“Fifty kilometers northeast.” Adam said.

Xie Sen looked at the destination and froze. “The Plant Research Institute?” He dusted himself off and stood up. “Did a researcher go to Misty Planet and just return now? I’ll go check it out.”

Adam cheered, “Yeah. Lucky you!”

Maine was out of town picking up farming tools, so Xie Sen sent a message to Maine before he left, and told him he had gone to the Plant Research Institute.

Xie Sen flew the shuttle and landed in the Institute’s parking lot. When he got off the shuttle, Adam sounded excited, “We’re so close. I can feel it.”

Xie Sen followed Adam’s cue, and headed inside the Institute. Everyone knew him, so he made his way unhindered to Ma Qun’s office. He was about to knock on the door when it was suddenly pushed. Xie Sen was startled. The force of the push was so strong that he subconsciously stepped back, but it was too late.

“Dang…” The door was only opened two palms wide, before it was slammed shut with great force.

Xie Sen’s heart beat wildly. He took two steps backward, looked at the dented door panel, then at the fist-sized seed in the dent, and twisted his head to look at the sunflower on his left shoulder.

The sunflower was slowly shrinking, as it twisted its branches and rubbed its petals against his cheek, with a soothing feel while Xie Sen felt a wave of worry from it. Relieved, he lifted his hand, squeezed the sunflower’s branch and said in his mind, “Thank you.” He smiled. “I’m fine.”

The sunflower branch twisted even more. Worry was replaced with joy, as it shrank back to the size of a finger and stood playfully on Xie Sen’s left shoulder.

Ma Qun and the person who had pushed the door were both stunned by the sudden loud noise. Someone from a nearby office poked his head out. “A’Sen? What’s wrong? Are you okay?”

Xie Sen turned around and smiled. “I’m fine.”

The man looked at the dent in the door, and his mouth opened into an O-shape. He looked at Xie Sen in shock, “Did you do that?”

Xie Sen was about to explain when the door was pushed open again, this time with measured force. The door was completely opened to reveal a chestnut-haired man over 195 centimeters tall, with a strong build and a hostile expression.

Behind him was Ma Qun, who walked around the desk to the outside. When he thought of the situation just now, Ma Qun’s face changed and he hurriedly asked, “A’Sen, are you okay? Did you just hit yourself?”

Xie Sen shook his head.

The chestnut-haired man looked at the sunken door panel, slid his eyes past Xie Sen’s hand, and looked at Xie Sen. “Did you do this?”

Xie Sen shook his head, and didn’t answer. All his attention was on the necklace around the man’s neck. Unfortunately, the necklace was only visible as a black lanyard, the pendant was under his clothes.

Adam shouted excitedly in his mind, “It’s right here!”

Even through the clothes, he could feel the energy, the remaining water energy, in the pendant.

Ma Qun looked at Xie Sen in surprise. Xie Sen’s gaze was too direct, as he stared at an androgynous chest like that, it was really attention-grabbing. He coughed lightly. “A’Sen, this is Cen Jun. The Vice President of Moon City’s Plant Research Institute.”

Xie Sen returned to his senses, and greeted him politely.

Cen Jun snorted disdainfully. “A pregnant female is really horny. Don’t hit on me. I’m not interested in other people’s females.”

As he said that, he brushed past Xie Sen, and took two big steps outside, then he grabbed the door panel and pushed it inward a bit. He looked at the outside of the door panel and reached out to take the seed.

Xie Sen was thunderstruck by his words. When saw the situation, he reached out and said, “That’s mine. Give it back to me.”

After the sunflower’s energy was recovered, it could mass produce small seeds, but large seeds required a lot of energy. He had activated the plant. It produced no kind of dried fruit, and the sunflower seeds were its only food product, but it could replenish the nutrition needed for a day.

Cen Jun didn’t look at him, weighed the seed, put it to his nose and smelled it. “Didn’t you say you didn’t hit it?”

Xie Sen, “I didn’t slam it with my own hands.” 

When Cen Jun took the seed away from his nose, Xie Sen reached out to grab it.

Cen Jun dodged him in disgust, and said angrily, “Don’t touch me!”

Xie Sen, “…The hell I want to touch you! You give me back the sunflower seed!”

“Sunflower seed?” Cen Jun was stunned. His gaze sized it up and he brought the seed to his eyes and examined it. “This shape…it does look like a sunflower seed, only it’s too big. There’s never been a seed this big in the book records.” He looked at Xie Sen. “Where did you get this? How can you prove it’s yours? If not, I’m taking it away.”

Xie Sen pursed his lips. The sunflower was his contract plant, and only four people knew. He wasn’t ready to reveal it. After all, in times of danger, it was basically a secret weapon. Also a lot of people knew that the chili pepper was his contract plant. If he were to have two kinds of contract plants, it wouldn’t be easy to explain.

As he hesitated, Ma Qun said, “This isn’t that simple. I have surveillance outside my office, so if this is Sen’s stuff, you have to return it to him.”

When Xie Sen heard that, he immediately said, “No need to transfer the surveillance, I can prove it. Can we go in and talk?” He pointed inside the office.

Ma Qun stepped back into the office, and Xie Sen followed. Cen Jun hesitated, frowned, then also walked in.

After the office door closed, Xie Sen ordered the sunflower to grow bigger. He reached out, and the sunflower spat a big seed into his hand. He looked at Cen Jun. “Can I have it back now?”

Ma Qun and Cen Jun’s eyes glowed. Cen Jun approached, and tried to touch the sunflower, but Xie Sen stepped back. “Get away from me!”

Cen Jun snorted. “You didn’t have this attitude before.” 

He threw the seed at Xie Sen. Xie Sen reached out and grabbed it, then put both seeds into his spatial pack.

Adam said in his head, “A’Sen, knock him out and grab the necklace!”

Xie Sen thought about the influence of the energy, “Are you sure I can knock him out? When my plant touches him, it feels the energy. Will it be like when the flying lion beast came into contact with Aoi?”

Adam stammered, “Well…then tell Maine to fight him. But the flying lion beast can’t help, he has to fight by himself.”

Xie Sen sighed, “He has water energy on him, which is equivalent to having an external plug-in. Even if Maine is powerful, he can’t win!”

Adam sighed more heavily, then said smartly, “What should we do? Steal it while he’s in the shower?”

Xie Sen deflated, “No way. His room isn’t necessarily accessible, and he may take the necklace into the shower.”

As they were talking, Ma Qun excitedly grabbed Xie Sen’s arm and stared at the sunflower. “A’Sen, is this a sunflower?”

Xie Sen nodded, “Yes.”

Ma Qun’s eyes burned, “Is it your contract plant?”

Xie Sen nodded again, and Ma Qun said excitedly, “Oh my god. You actually have two kinds of contract plants! That’s amazing! What did they say?”

Xie Sen shook his head. “They don’t know.” He hesitated. “President Ma, can you destroy the surveillance outside your door?”

Ma Qun immediately realized what he was thinking. He didn’t want anyone to know.

Ma Qun calmed down, “This matter would definitely cause a huge sensation if it got out. It does need to be prepared before it is exposed. I’ll have someone take care of things here.” He walked to the side to send messages to the relevant people.

Xie Sen looked at Cen Jun, who frowned. “This matter is significant. It should be announced. Perhaps useful information can be obtained from you. If everyone can activate two kinds of contract beasts, the ability will be greatly enhanced.”

Xie Sen bristled, “How do you intend to get useful information?”

Cen Jun said seriously, “With research. The experts will definitely find a difference after they study you.”

Xie Sen thought to himself, Sure enough, he’s not going to be a mouse. Not to mention, he actually only had one type of contractual plant. He looked over Cen Jun. “Why don’t you take the initiative to let someone study you? Your body should have changed quite a bit, right? If you’re so conscious of responsibility, you go yourself.”

Cen Jun’s face suddenly changed. He stepped forward and grabbed Xie Sen’s wrist. He was so strong that the skin of Xie Sen’s wrist instantly turned white. He hissed in pain as he tried to withdraw his hand, but he couldn’t break free.

“How do you know?” Cen Jun asked in a dark voice as he stared at Xie Sen.

Xie Sen’s face turned white as the sunflower launched a small seed at Cen Jun. The seed was small, but the momentum was overwhelming.

Cen Jun avoided it, but was forced to let go of his hand. His voice got deeper, “How did you know?”

He remembered Xie Sen’s gaze from before, and subconsciously touched the pendant through his clothes. His eyes were wild, “You have too, right? You have two kinds of contract plants, is it because of that?”

Xie Sen rubbed his wrist. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He regretted it a bit. He shouldn’t have implied that Cen Jun was influenced by the energy just because he disliked him.

Cen Jun’s attitude made him feel guilty. A bit like in martial arts novels, where the martial arts nerd finds the secret book of the Jedi. It was too out of order. In any case, to ask Cen Jun for the pendant was simply impossible. The possibility was very small that he could even touch it.

Cen Jun sneered, full of disbelief. “No wonder you have potatoes and vines…in addition to peppers. So that’s how it is.”

Ma Qun didn’t understand what they were saying, but when he heard that he explained, “A’Sen’s contract plant is the pepper. It’s a mimic.”

Cen Jun looked at Ma Qun. “You believe that kind of talk?”

As he was speaking, there was a knock on the door. “Sen.”

When Xie Sen heard Maine’s voice, he immediately went to open the door. When his hand left the door handle, he was grabbed by Maine. Xie Sen’s wrist, which had been squeezed earlier, was now bruised. Since his skin was very white, it looked especially obvious.

“What happened?”

Xie Sen thought of how Cen Jun had the water energy, and shook his head. “Nothing.”

Maine’s eyes swept over the two people in the room, and finally landed on Cen Jun. His tone was cold, “You did this?”

Ceng Jun was disgusted. “It’s just a casual scratch, not at all hard.”

Maine’s gaze was black. He let go of Xie Sen and quickly rushed Cen Jun. His fist swung directly at Cen Jun’s face. Cen Jun reacted extremely fast as he shifted his feet to the right, tilted his head to avoid the attack, and at the same time kicked at Maine.

Maine dodged sideways, and with a bang, Cen Jun’s kick hit the side of Ma Qun’s desk. A big gash instantly cracked the wooden side of the desk.

Ma Qun’s elegant expression couldn’t be maintained any longer, and he said angrily, “Stop it!”

Xie Sen also hurriedly voiced, “Maine, stop fighting.” These two people, if they really fought, the office would be demolished.

Maine paused his movements, and retreated to Xie Sen’s side. He looked at Cen Jun grimly, as he thought of ways to take advantage of Xie Sen’s absence to strike.

Cen Jun moved his wrist, and shrugged at Ma Qun, “Sorry. I’ll compensate you.”

Adam said despondently, “It’s over, he definitely won’t want to give you the pendant.”

Xie Sen said, “It was impossible to begin with.”

Adam was quiet for a moment, “Let’s resort to violence. I’ve got an idea!”