Happy

"Ding ding ding! The host has successfully killed four Professionals and gained 4 Life Points."

Looking at the four piles of clothes on the ground, Lu PingAn provided the system's voice-over for himself.

"Damn, why didn't it approve of 'life is devouring and evolution' back then? That would've been so simple. Just kill people. This is obviously much more troublesome."

Glancing at the Life Points that had decreased again on the system, Lu PingAn sighed at how hard life was and how difficult it was to make money.

Getting no points for killing people was within his expectations.

His "principle" was "life can be traded as currency."

Then the ways to obtain Life Points should be through "transactions" and "appreciation," not "killing."

At the very least, it was much better than having no clue at all.

"Why are you staring at me so stupidly? Heh. I discovered earlier that my BUFF could be used on plants to speed up their growth, so as soon as I entered, I successfully set my course and became a gardener."

Lu PingAn smiled and explained a little to the still-dazed Cat Cat.

Some things could not be hidden. He would definitely have to use his "ripening" ability extensively in the future.

Cat Cat silently nodded, glanced at the surrounding "corpses," and fell into silent self-isolation. She even wanted to squat on the ground and draw circles.

They were all rookies. She had heard that he had been an ordinary person just a month ago, so how could the gap be this huge? She had already been employed for a year and a half.

".What Tier were they? What path? Were they strong, meow?"

But she still could not help asking.

"I don't know. I never saw them make a move."

More accurately, he had not given them a chance to make a move. In a direct fight, even ten Lu PingAns would only be fodder.

After yawning, Lu PingAn turned his attention to the System Panel that had deducted points again.

He had not lied. His ability to make plants mature truly was his "investment."

Using Invest Life on the Demonic Impatiens Balsamina Thunder Seed. Life Points -1. This credit target does not possess higher intelligence. Investment failed.

Life Points cannot be reclaimed and are automatically degraded into Life Source Power.

The Life Source Power target cannot absorb it and is degraded again into Life Curse Power.

The target has been affected by Life Curse Power and has begun mutating.

Quite simply, after Lu PingAn's one Life Point was downgraded twice, it became a large amount of "curse power," forcibly turning the demonic plant into a Mature Body in one go.

"Plants are simple. Survival is their instinct, so all the curse power was used for their own growth. The gardener path really suits me."

Murder and arson brought gold belts. After merely sorting through the "remains" of the four wolves, Lu PingAn almost felt the urge to start a business with them.

"Four Enchanted Weapons, plus some basic protective gear, are worth at least eight thousand at market price. Four Plant Guides, though one can't be used anymore—it's soaked through with blood. Several potions, and lots of items..."

Lu PingAn did not know much about market prices, but even with a rough estimate, this haul was definitely worth over ten thousand. No matter how he looked at it, it was a massive profit.

That was because these novice hunters had left most of their wealth outside and only brought their personal gear and Spoils of War.

And the cost Lu PingAn had paid was roughly—

"Less than forty bucks. What a steal."

The Baqilia Bloodsucking Vine? It was just a morning glory vine he had casually picked up, completely free.

The Tier 1 demonic plant, the Touch-Me-Not Mine, was somewhat valuable, but Lu PingAn had used seeds. The kind that cost one hundred for a pack of ten, and they had been freebies he had picked up at the entrance.

Common demonic plants fell into two major categories: magically modified native Earth plants, and exotic species from other realms, including large Secret Realms. The Demonic Impatiens Balsamina Thunder was clearly the former.

The original form of the Demonic Impatiens Balsamina Thunder was the impatiens, a common annual herbaceous flower. Once its fruit formed, it would automatically burst open and shoot out its seeds.

Some big shot on the gardener path had extracted this portion of its genetic module and created the highly popular low-tier combat demonic plant, the Touch-Me-Not Mine.

To make it more "practical," it discarded useless components such as leaves and stalks, retaining only the bare minimum self-circulating system and the "flower bud" that cultivated its fruit.

After several rounds of improvements, it had focused on increasing its explosive power and range.

It was probably already version V5.0. Once mature, the slightest touch would make it explode, giving it extremely impressive destructive power among low-tier demonic plants.

Its drawback was that, with nothing but explosive components left from top to bottom, it was highly unstable. Most of the time, it was used as a "landmine."

Bury the seeds where needed and wait one season, and the Minefield would be ready.

"Most demonic plant seeds are worth next to nothing. For me, that's a benefit."

Of course seeds were cheap. One Demonic Impatiens Balsamina Thunder would yield at least dozens of seeds after exploding.

What was valuable was the time cost of cultivating it for a season, along with the resources consumed in the process.

On top of that, it exploded too easily and was difficult to transplant. The market basically only had the low-value seeds, which were not easy to sell either.

"Burying landmines in a modern city? What are you trying to do?"

Lu PingAn still had three small packets with more than twenty seeds in his pocket, all freebies he had casually taken when buying the Plant Guide.

"Let's go. Let's head back."

After all that, Lu PingAn did not feel like continuing onward. Even if he wanted to go deeper, he should first store away his gains.

".I don't have the basic knowledge of demonic plants. Comparing the guide with actual specimens is too tiring, and I might easily miss something good. Let's wait for that female gardener's share. I'll raise them for a few days first..."

Lu PingAn had checked the System Panel. His Profession Skill was still LV0 (0/100). Clearly, this method of "planting" was not recognized by the system, so he could not gain normal planting experience.

But while he wanted to leave peacefully, someone else was unwilling to let that happen.

Near the forest exit, the temporary group was stopped.

A group of people suddenly emerged and blocked the way out.

"Dragon Snake Group. This is our turf. By the rules, we collect a toll. You don't mind, do you?"

The one who came to greet them was a fair, chubby young man. Behind him, people were collecting fees from travelers headed down the road.

Lu PingAn was a little surprised. This was the famously safe Forest Secret Realm?

What left Lu PingAn even more speechless was that Cat Cat looked utterly calm, while the travelers ahead obediently took out bags and picked out items to hand over.

"By the rules, around ten percent of your gains will do. Only demonic plants and related things obtained here count, but the minimum is an equivalent value of five hundred."

Well, they had run into fellow professionals who even understood sustainable development.

The Dragon Snake Group's young man smiled warmly and seemed quite approachable. Otherwise, he would not have been chosen for such an easily offensive job.

At that moment, another group returned. They walked straight through, and the Dragon Snake Group members immediately stepped aside.

"They?"

"Oh, they're Tier 2."

The chubby young man smiled, then glanced at Lu PingAn's wristband.

The meaning was obvious. If you were a Tier 2 or above powerhouse, go right through. If you were Tier 0 or Tier 1, pay up obediently.

Lu PingAn smiled. This really was a lesson for him.

After leaving the law-governed social order behind, were these the survival rules of the shadowed inner world? And this was only a small-to-medium Secret Realm near the city.

"Uh, you should've seen that I only just entered before turning back, so I didn't gain much. Are these seeds enough?"

The chubby young man gave them a glance, then turned back to say a few words, confirming that Lu PingAn had indeed entered only recently and had not gone far.

He took the seeds, tossed them into a sack, and swaggered back.

"Go on, then. Remember to bring more next time. Tsk, poor bastard."

Cat Cat was a little angry, but Lu PingAn smiled and pulled her back.

"Next time for sure, next time for sure."

Lu PingAn left calmly, as if he had accepted everything, accepted the unspoken rules of this world where the strong preyed on the weak.

Years of being tempered by society had taught him that when one was under another's roof, one sometimes had to lower one's head.

And when the two of them had passed the checkpoint and just walked out of the forest—

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

The violent explosions made even the ground tremble.

The miserable cries that followed made Lu PingAn frown. They could still scream? The power seemed a little lacking.

"Next time for sure—if there is a next time. Heh heh."

Unspoken rules? Rules? What did they have to do with me?

Before, he had nothing, so naturally he had to bow his head. Otherwise, getting casually killed by someone would have been far too uneconomical. He only had half a year left to live. But now—

"Being happy is what matters. Being happy is what matters."

Thus, amid the chain of explosions and screams, Lu PingAn's smile grew even happier.