Sprouting Seedlings

"It's sprouted?!"

Linsey's voice trembled.

He didn't know which foot was in front, so he quickly ran over.

On the basically dry soil, all three wheat plants successfully germinated and grew into seedlings about three centimeters long.

It hadn't been long since Linsey had gone out to gather opinions from the farmers.

Turning my head to look outside the greenhouse, it wasn't even dark yet!

"This definitely didn't grow naturally!"

Linsey was overjoyed. He carefully reached out his hand around the three newly sprouted seedlings, but when he couldn't touch them, he withdrew his hand.

He wasn't even sure whether he should reach out and touch it.

With her arms outstretched forward, Linsey circled around from left to right and then from right to left.

In his anxious contemplation, he suddenly remembered that he was also Game Player! He had been having so much fun playing Survival Construction last night that he hadn't even thought about this!

Snap—

Linsey slapped her head:

"Oh right, how could I forget that!"

[Survival Construction] → [Simulation Management]

After switching to the Game Module, Linsey directly inspected the wheat seedlings using product information.

[Plant: Wheat]

[The wheat, influenced by the Essence, underwent a remarkable transformation, exhibiting an extremely rapid growth rate.]

[A seed with miraculous effects. Unfortunately, the quantity is too small, and its properties cannot be inherited by the offspring, so its value is generally low.]

"Characteristics cannot be inherited..."

Just this one sentence of description.

This immediately poured cold water on Linsey's burning passion.

He exhaled, leaned back, and slumped onto the Wooden Chair in the greenhouse, his whole body limp like a slug.

Linsey smacked her lips, thought for a few seconds, and finally shook her head with a smile:

"That makes sense: you reap what you sow."

"If I could create a super seed of game-rule level with my meager Essence, that would be a joke for this world."

Linsey quickly adjusted her mindset.

After figuring out the key point, he realized something good.

If his game skills turn seeds into Resource Conversion, then they will also lose their ability to be cultivated. As the Life Scholar of Volcano City say—preserving the possibility of life is never a bad thing.

However, the current Resource Conversion seeds only accelerate the growth rate.

On the contrary, in terms of cultivation, it has not lost the infinite possibilities that life should have.

"In short, we'll use these three wheat plants as a sample to record and clarify the details of their impact after Resource Conversion."

Having made up her mind, Linsey simply moved her chair to a more comfortable position and began to guard the Glass Greenhouse.

He was a little hungry after a busy afternoon.

Linsey took out a Meat Biscuit, poured some water, and before eating, she used her skill to Resource Conversion.

The food makes a "crunch crunch" sound when you eat it, and a cookie is completely swallowed in a matter of seconds, making the eating speed as fast and convenient as in the game.

Unfortunately, apart from that, there were no other changes.

"Based on current experience, the abilities of items after Resource Conversion are positively correlated with the Essence consumed. Items like seeds and torches, which consume a lot of resources, yield more advantageous abilities..."

Clang—

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door of the cabin.

Linsey, who was observing the wheat seedlings, quickly got up, went to the front hall, and opened the door.

"Hello... Suo Mu Jin?"

The person who knocked on the door was Suo Mu Jin, the town's only merchant and an awakened individual.

When the old man saw Linsey, he gave her a polite smile and then explained his purpose, "Linsey, do you have time to talk to me now?"

Linsey quickly welcomed Suo Mu Jin in:

"Of course, we made that agreement before we set off."

The two sat down in the front hall, and Linsey poured Suo Mu Jin a glass of water before beginning to recount her experiences from her long journey.

Throughout the narration, Suo Mu Jin nodded frequently, without ever frowning or showing any sign of embarrassment.

He was clearly quite satisfied with the various details of Linsey's memory.

When the story was completely finished, the merchant said rather simply:

"No problem, our transaction was completed smoothly."

"But Linsey, didn't you just say you collected those Ice Badger carcasses? I'd like to buy some from you..."

"Of course, no problem, it's just that I don't have any intact corpses on hand."

This is just a minor issue.

Before Suo Mu Jin could even speak, Linsey pulled a leg of Ice Badger meat from his backpack and handed it to him.

"This is nothing important, I'll just give it to you."

"That won't do." Suo Mu Jin smiled deeply as he took the Ice Badger leg from Linsey and placed two Silver Coin on the table. "Linsey, when dealing with merchants, it's best to always use a transparent pricing system, regardless of whether they are Awakened or not."

"Free things often come at a higher price."

Free things are often the most expensive.

Linsey understands this principle too.

He nodded solemnly to the merchant in front of him, then picked up the Silver Coin from the table.

Then, recalling his earlier suspicions when he left home that afternoon, he casually asked, "By the way, Suo Mu Jin."

"I told Uncle Anrui about this yesterday. Is he calling everyone in town together today to discuss a plan?"

Suo Mu Jin confirmed Linsey's guess. "That's right. Anrui called a meeting with everyone at noon today, and I only came here to complete the transaction after finishing things over there."

Linsey continued to ask:

So, what's the decision?

Suo Mu Jin answered without hesitation:

"This change has already posed a real threat to the Hidden Borderlands. According to Anrui, he plans to go there personally to check the situation."

At this point, the deal between the merchant and Linsey was complete.

Suo Mu Jin got up from his chair and walked outside, and Linsey saw him off.

The two walked to the fence gate outside the wooden house.

Suo Mu Jin looked at Linsey, who had come all the way to see him off, and stopped once more, asking a question with a meaningful tone:

"Linsey, what are your thoughts on the current state of the town?"

Linsey frowned:

"My opinion? What aspect are you referring to?"

Suo Mu Jin said slowly:

"Should we remain here, waiting for the expeditionary force to return at any time; or should we unite and find a way to break through the barrier of Black Mountain?"

Breaking through Black Mountain...

Staying in Border Town is certainly not a good choice.

However, the Dragon Beast roaming the Black Mountain World turned the latter into a life-threatening adventure.

Linsey sensed the probing in the other person's tone and frankly stated her thoughts:

"If the awakened ones in the town gather together and act as one, they might have a chance to break out."

"But there's a problem with doing this—what about the ordinary people in the town?"

"I think that in such a dangerous environment, ordinary people would simply be throwing their lives away."

"Commoners?" Suo Mu Jin raised an eyebrow, seemingly not expecting Linsey to answer like that. "Your kind of thinking is quite rare among young people. Most young Awakened ones rarely consider others when they act."

Linsey replied casually, "It's nothing, it's all thanks to the teachers' excellent teaching."