The Strange Flower Danmu

The tense two-day gaokao passed quickly. Bai Ge relied on genuine ability, after all. Once knowledge was learned and stored in his mind, it became his own.

During the final English exam on the second day, Bai Ge finished his paper early.

He pretended to check it out of boredom, but in reality, he closed his eyes and propped up his head, sinking his thoughts into his imagination.

"The final fruit... will be ready soon..."

At that moment, Bai Ge was designing an exceptionally beautiful yellow flower in his mind. The materials were various plants and herbs he had bought at the flower market after finishing his exams the previous day.

He had actually been secretly studying his ability in the examination hall. Of course, no one noticed his imagination. At most, they thought he was dozing off.

"This flower of mine may well be the most beautiful flower in the world."

His earlier idea of a super-processing factory was not impossible to realize.

Since modifying real-world matter consumed something, he could not pursue quantity. He could only pursue quality.

Scarcity made things valuable. With the same amount of expenditure, rather than making a pile of handicrafts, he might as well create something rare and bizarre that did not exist in reality.

If he brought in some steel bars and rare earths, then no matter how beautiful the things Bai Ge created were, they would have little more than artistic value. How much could they be worth?

Diamonds, on the other hand, were worth something. He had made a few, but they looked somewhat cloudy. Clearly, he had yet to master shaping matter down to the molecular level.

Plants were different. After decomposing them and removing their souls, he could control them. By combining them as he pleased, he could create a plant that looked entirely new.

Besides, he had always firmly believed that whatever others did not have was the most valuable.

"Done. Danmu!"

At that moment, an exquisite flower drifted within his imagination.

Its petals were golden yellow, while its branches and trunk were deep red, straight, and long. Its roots and stems were luxuriant. It had sixteen petals and resembled an orchid, but its fruit was enormous.

At the center of the flower rested a vermilion fruit, round and crystalline like a bead of blood.

This was the product of Bai Ge extracting numerous medicinal plants and herbs, then processing and shaping them within his imagined world.

Its design was based on "Danmu," which came from the Classic of Mountains and Seas. It was a strange flower from the Western Mountains Classic, with a vermilion fruit in its center that could protect one from fire when eaten.

Such a form did not exist in reality. Even after searching the entire world, no one would find a flower so strange and beautiful.

"It's a shame that once I take it out, reality will acknowledge nothing except its appearance. Sigh."

Bai Ge admired Danmu. He had endowed it with many properties, and combined with its real material foundation, this flower could be said to be the supreme divine object in the universe of his imagination.

But once brought into reality, he could only sell it as a pretty flower.

"I wonder how much it can sell for. I once heard of flowers selling for millions. True flower lovers would definitely be willing to pay a high price when they saw such a marvelous plant."

When the time came, Bai Ge immediately handed in his paper.

The gaokao was over, and he could hardly wait to find a rich man to sell the flower to.

Bai Ge walked out of the examination hall with a relaxed expression.

He looked around. A large crowd of students were complaining bitterly to their parents with gloomy faces.

They all complained that this year's gaokao questions had been unbelievably difficult and full of obscure topics.

Besides, he could no longer wait to promote the strange flower in his imagination.

He should have gone to the flower market to sell a flower.

However, Bai Ge knew that if he went there, no one would likely be able to pay a high price for his strange flower.

Fortunately, when he had been developing new employers, he had investigated quite a few wealthy people.

He did not know everything about them, but he had a general understanding of the interests and hobbies of many rich people.

Suddenly, he remembered someone. If it was that person, he would definitely pay a high price.

"I'll find Manager Chen. I need him to introduce me."

Bai Ge left the school, got into a car, and called Manager Chen.

After the other party answered, Bai Ge did not mention the flower. Instead, he first asked about the aftermath of their previous job.

For twenty thousand yuan, Bai Ge had helped Manager Chen steal a share-transfer agreement worth tens of millions.

He had always kept this matter in mind, constantly thinking about wrapping it up as soon as possible.

"Manager Chen, can those things be collected?"

The voice on the other end soon replied, "Oh, Little Bai. You're still as well-informed as ever... Haha, come on over. I'm at Hu Hanlong's place. No... it's my place now."

Bai Ge was stunned. Hu Hanlong was the owner of the house he had stolen from last time. He had not expected Manager Chen to buy the villa.

Clearly, Hu Hanlong's business had suffered a major setback because of his previous job.

"Okay. I'll be there soon."

After hanging up, Bai Ge immediately headed for Huangjia Garden.

This time, he did not need to avoid the cameras. He went straight into Hu Hanlong's house.

Sure enough, it was already Manager Chen's property.

As soon as he arrived, a round, portly man approached with a smile, accompanied by a bodyguard.

Manager Chen's name was Chen Song. He primarily ran a construction company and was worth quite a bit of money. However, Bai Ge had once secretly investigated him and learned that Chen Song owed the bank a hundred million yuan in loans.

His wife had once nearly conspired with his brother to swindle away his business. At the time, Bai Ge had volunteered and informed Chen Song of the matter. That was how they met, and he gradually became a regular client.

"Little Bai, you did a good job last time. I paid you the remaining balance long ago, so we're even. But I know you like to see things through to the end. Don't worry. To keep you from making any mistakes, I deliberately bought this villa. I've also had all the equipment you installed cleared out," Chen Song said with a smile.

Bai Ge understood him. He knew that Chen Song had definitely taken advantage of the situation when buying the villa, probably getting it at an extremely low price.

He had been studying his imagination these past few days and had forgotten to investigate Hu Hanlong's situation. Still, he imagined Hu Hanlong had already collapsed.

"Then thank you for being so thoughtful, Manager Chen. Can I take a look at the equipment that was cleared out?" Bai Ge asked with a smile.

Chen Song froze. "I've already had someone dispose of it. What? You don't trust me?"

As he spoke, his expression turned cold.

He was now full of confidence, no longer the wretched man Bai Ge had met before, and wanted to put on a show of authority.

Bai Ge hurriedly smiled. "How could I not trust you? It's just that..."

As he spoke, he suddenly walked toward a painting and reached out to remove a listening device from it.

"It's just that your people probably didn't clear everything."

Chen Song's expression stiffened. When he saw the listening device in Bai Ge's hand, he immediately glared fiercely at the bodyguard.

The bodyguard felt terribly wronged and hurriedly explained, "I didn't do it on purpose! There were really a few I couldn't find..."

Chen Song shouted angrily, "It was right on the painting! It was so obvious, and you still couldn't find it? You even lied and said you'd found them all!"

Bai Ge smiled and asked the bodyguard, "How many did you find?"

The things he had hidden were not so easy to find. The bodyguard had probably searched for a long time and still missed several. In the end, to get the job over with, he had simply claimed that he had found them all.

Sure enough, the bodyguard said, "There are still six cameras... and I didn't find a single listening device."

After hearing the bodyguard, Chen Song flew into a rage and cursed him thoroughly. Then he suddenly realized that he still had great need of Bai Ge.

After all, cameras were easy to find. One could use the surveillance footage to determine the angles from which they had filmed.

Yet six remained undiscovered even under those circumstances. That was enough to prove how hidden the places where Bai Ge had installed them were.

After he calmed down, he turned around and discovered that Bai Ge had already made a circuit of the villa. He was holding six cameras and twelve listening devices.

Bai Ge had found all the remaining equipment.

Chen Song hurriedly softened his tone again. "You really are impressive! My people are worlds apart from you. They're all useless."

Bai Ge smiled. "You're too kind. Everyone has their own specialty."

Chen Song shook his head. "To be honest, I owe you a great deal for where I am today. There isn't a single person around me who can do the kind of work you do. Work for me. I can give you two million a year!"

"One payment for one job. I don't accept long-term employment. Sorry." Bai Ge refused decisively.

Chen Song's expression darkened. He was annoyed, but he restrained himself.

Although the previous job had successfully dragged Bai Ge into the mud and made him dirty as well, Chen Song also knew that Bai Ge was aware of too many of his secrets. Threatening or controlling him was unrealistic.

"Sigh, think it over. You can come to me anytime," Chen Song said disappointedly.

Bai Ge smiled. "I didn't expect you to think so highly of me. Actually, I came this time hoping Manager Chen could introduce me to a few major clients."

When Chen Song heard this, he knew that his hope of taking Bai Ge on as a subordinate had become even slimmer.

Even so, he smiled. "I've actually mentioned you to a few friends, though I didn't tell them your name or contact information. Since you've brought it up, I can introduce you to them."

The moment Bai Ge heard that, he knew what had happened.

Chen Song had always intended to recruit Bai Ge, so naturally he had not mentioned Bai Ge's name, lest someone else hire him.

But now, he seemed to have given up and decided to build a good relationship with Bai Ge instead.

Bai Ge asked, "Manager Chen should know... Luo Wendi, right?"

Chen Song was startled. "You want to meet Young Master Luo? I can only barely claim to know him, and I can't give you his number. He has to contact you himself."

Bai Ge pondered. "Please tell him that I have a strange flower for him to admire."

"A strange flower?" Chen Song repeated. "I've never heard that Young Master Luo likes flowers."

"Luo Wendi truly doesn't like flowers or plants, but he has bought rare orchids at high prices twice. For someone who doesn't like flowers to do that can only mean... there is someone extremely important to him who loves strange flowers and plants," Bai Ge said.

Chen Song was stunned, then sighed emotionally. "You really came prepared. That makes sense. Back then, I didn't even know my brother and ex-wife had betrayed me, but you did... Sigh."

He then asked, "What kind of strange flower is it that you're so confident it can help you connect with him?"

Bai Ge smiled. "This flower is unique. It is the only one in the world!"