Gardener

"I'm already one hundred and seven. Sigh, not a single old friend left."

A wealthy and fortunate tycoon, in his twentieth year of cancer, waited on by a professional team as he lamented life's impermanence in a VIP ward.

"Stop treating me, stop treating me. I can't be saved. Save some money for Xiao Tun Tun's schooling and marriage."

A grandmother not yet fifty-five took the chance while the nurse was distracted to pull out her own oxygen tube.

"...Why me? I've never done anything bad. I still have so much I want to do. My career has only just begun."

The wail of a young, desperate person echoed through the corridor.

"Why was it him instead of you?! You girl, wasn't it enough that you jinxed your little brother to death—"

Too much bitterness, too much sweetness, too much saltiness kept Lu PingAn awake at night in his cancer ward.

Was life sacred? Heh heh.

Was the course of life unrelated to external things? Heh heh.

Sweet, salty, bitter, painful... perhaps life was filled with emotions and flavor, but life itself had none. It was merely the starting point everyone had once possessed, and the countdown to the end that everyone would eventually face.

"Right, Big Cat's adorable Chris? Are you there?"

Awakening from his memories, Lu PingAn suddenly thought of something interesting.

"What?"

"I believe you're not human."

Lu PingAn fell silent for a moment before continuing.

"Humans couldn't come up with reasoning that naïve, then hypnotize themselves all the way into becoming a demigod. Your world of origin must have been quite easygoing."

"You dare mock me?! You tiny, ignorant mortal!"

Big Cat immediately flew into a rage.

But Lu PingAn merely sighed helplessly and, for once, spoke from the heart.

"...No. I'm envious of you, and of your world."

After finishing his conversation with Big Cat, he ignored the inevitable furious static and directly cut off the communication.

Next, Lu PingAn turned his attention to the panel that had just undergone a qualitative transformation.

Ding. Congratulations, host. The Job Change Ceremony has been completed. You have obtained the profession class: 'Gardener.'

Gardener profession adjustment (Tier 0): Slight increase to Spirit.

No plant cultivation-related skills detected. Profession Skill acquired: 'Planting (Taboo).' Current LV0, 0/100.

No plant modification-related knowledge detected. Profession Skill acquired: 'Grafting (Pollution).' Current LV0, 0/100.

"...It can work like that?! Isn't it supposed to start at LV1?"

Looking at the two LV0 skills, Lu PingAn was a little stunned, though fortunately, he could still open their submenus.

Planting (Taboo) LV0, 0/100: Knowledge and related techniques for cultivating polluted plants.

Grafting (Pollution) LV0, 0/100: Techniques and knowledge related to "linking" two polluted plants together. Maiden of the Forest: No more making weird things! Especially no adding new Vine Beard Monsters to my catalog!

The fewer the details, the bigger the problem. Compared to the descriptions of other Profession Skills, these two core skills of the Gardener were far too simplistic.

But after giving some thought to how Profession Skills were used and recalling the relevant information, Lu PingAn felt that a "Gardener" was far more dangerous than a Runner.

"Cultivating and modifying demonized plants? Both directions have plenty of potential, and both are rather subtle."

It was an unusual profession whose personal combat power could be ignored and whose profession adjustment was negligible. What truly mattered were the demonized plants themselves.

Support medicines came from demonized plants, while combat relied on combat-oriented demonized plants. The Gardener, this weak and burdensome profession, could even leave the battlefield entirely.

How strong you were depended on how many demonized plants you possessed.

If there were no suitable varieties, you could even modify and cultivate them yourself.

This was clearly a profession system that required time to accumulate.

Under normal circumstances, fixed-track job changes required half a year of preparation. A Tier 0 demonized plant over three meters tall was itself a restriction.

During the process of cultivating that first demonized plant, one would inevitably accumulate the corresponding cultivation knowledge. After a normal Gardener successfully changed professions, there was no way they should be LV0.

After thinking it over, Lu PingAn smiled. He was quite satisfied with this profession.

"Big Cat, how did you know I could skip the process and make demonized plants mature directly?"

"Lu PingAn, I %*&&...%"

As expected, when he reopened the communication, there was still a pile of censored words on the other end. But Lu PingAn had a way of getting the answer he wanted.

"Do high-tier Gardeners have the ability to ripen plants directly?"

"..."

The cursing stopped. Lu PingAn nodded, thanking his straightforward old pal on the other end for the answer.

"At what tier does that happen? Tier 5? Tier 6? Tier 7?"

The moment he said "Tier 7," the other side started cursing again.

"Lu PingAn! You're playing me! I #@@#@#"

"Damn, that's pretty high. Chris, be a lady. A lady, miss."

Apparently, it was an ability only available at a very high tier, and it had left a deep impression on Chris.

Don't be fooled by the fact that information on Tier 0 and Tier 1 professions had been printed into textbooks. Materials concerning Tier 2 and above were strictly confidential pollution knowledge.

As for the Gardener profession, it was beyond merely relying on demonized plants. It was the kind of profession that simply could not function without them.

If a low-tier Gardener wanted to fight, they would probably need to carry a large flowerpot around with them. Considering how complicated actual combat was, it would be best to bring along a small garden.

"Eh? It seems I can do that right now."

Ahem. Ordinary low-tier Gardeners really had little to no combat power.

But if high-tier Gardeners could casually catalyze demonized plants into their mature forms, that was another matter entirely.

Now Lu PingAn also understood why Chris had previously said that the Gardener profession could make up for combat ability.

"Then I'll take this chance to collect more demonized plant seeds. The store-bought stock I have on hand isn't quite enough."

Walking through the forest, Lu PingAn looked toward the distant mountain range.

Unlike Chris's colosseum-style secret realm, Lu PingAn was struck by the vast scenery the moment he entered this secret realm.

Grasslands, forests, mountains—this was a seemingly complete Small World. In particular, there was a relatively safe main road stretching all the way toward the deepest mountains.

And in truth, this also reflected the secret realm's three levels of difficulty.

The lowest difficulty was the grassland at the entrance. Many newcomers formed teams and studied there, and strange creatures or monsters were rarely seen.

Lu PingAn saw a bunch of Tier 0, Tier 1, and even Tier 2 Gardeners standing by the road with signs, looking for teams or even hiring bodyguards. It seemed the Gardener profession truly could not fight.

There were no medium- or large-sized demonized plants in the grassland either, apart from the enormous structures enclosed by fences.

If he had guessed correctly, those were the company groves Zhao Ying had mentioned, filled with the "Demonic Pines" belonging to those who had paid for job-change packages.

The forest was filled with ancient trees and shrubs. Once you strayed even slightly from the main road, you could no longer see companions who were not far away.

But since this secret realm was recommended for Tier 0 and Tier 1 Professionals, and Lei Shui Yun, one of the best among Tier 1s, was with them—

"As long as we don't stray too far from the main road, we'll be very safe, meow. Well, provided we don't run into robbers, meow."

Hearing that, Lu PingAn, who was looking into the distance, immediately smiled.

"Interested in changing professions to a jinx? I think you've got talent."