An Unexpected Anomaly

Unique, unparalleled in the world.

"Isn't that a bit boastful? Can I see it?" Chen Song was a little dismissive when Bai Ge described it so mysteriously.

However, his curiosity was piqued, and he couldn't help but want to see what kind of flower it was.

Bai Ge picked up his backpack and said, "Allow me to go to the restroom."

With that, he expertly entered the restroom, leaving Chen Song completely bewildered.

After a while, Bai Ge emerged, pale and extremely weak.

Chen Song was startled. Bai Ge looked like he had lost a lot of weight, his once muscular and tall frame seemingly shrunken, as if he had lost dozens of pounds.

"Ah! What happened to you?"

Bai Ge was also dumbfounded. He hadn't expected that manifesting this flower would cause him to lose forty jin!

He had originally weighed around 150 jin with his tight muscles, but now he was probably just over 100 jin.

His appearance had changed drastically in the time it took to go to the restroom.

"I... I'm fine."

Bai Ge was starving but pretended to be fine.

His plan had gone awry. He couldn't understand why shaping a mere flower would consume so much energy.

The cost was far greater than when he had modified the carcass of the vicious dog.

As a result, he couldn't explain his condition and could only give a vague answer.

"Maybe I ate something bad, I'm a bit weak."

Chen Song was speechless. This wasn't just a bit weak; he had lost dozens of pounds of flesh!

He couldn't figure out what was going on, but his attention was soon drawn to the flower in Bai Ge's hand.

The flower was exquisitely beautiful, vibrant and eye-catching, with crimson fruit and golden branches, magnificent and exquisite.

Even its roots were exposed, appearing strange and unique.

"Ah!" Chen Song exclaimed, leaning closer. "Why isn't it planted? What if the flower dies?"

He immediately had someone bring a pot to plant the flower properly.

Chen Song stared at the flower, completely mesmerized, examining it from every angle, his expression growing more and more excited.

"It's too beautiful!"

"I've never seen a flower like this... it's a bit like an orchid, but completely different, and this fruit... hiss..."

"What variety is it!"

Bai Ge recovered slightly and said, "It has round leaves and crimson stems, golden flowers and crimson fruit. Its taste is like honey, it prevents hunger when eaten, and it can ward off fire."

Chen Song's eyes widened as he heard this. "Danmu?"

The Classic of Mountains and Seas carried considerable weight, and Chen Song had read it. He just hadn't immediately connected the flower before him with the mythical species from the Classic of Mountains and Seas.

Hearing Bai Ge's description now, he suddenly understood. The more he looked, the more it resembled it; this was clearly Danmu!

"Does this plant really exist? How is that possible? Isn't it fictional?" Chen Song's hands were trembling.

He understood too well the immense value of discovering a new species of flower, especially a wondrous flower recorded in the Classic of Mountains and Seas.

This wasn't just about a new variety anymore; it was a new species!

"The records in the Classic of Mountains and Seas are true! This is an ancient plant! So it couldn't be found in modern times because it went extinct... My god, where did you pick it? Do you have any more?" Chen Song said excitedly.

Bai Ge remained impassive. He knew this Danmu was the only one in the world and couldn't reveal its origin.

Seeing his silence, Chen Song didn't press further. Instead, he said, "I'll contact Young Master Luo right now!"

He walked to the side, made a call, spoke a few subservient words, and then excitedly pointed at the flower to describe it.

Words like "peerless wondrous flower" and "ancient divine object" came out, making Bai Ge speechless.

Chen Song had previously accused Bai Ge of bragging, but now Chen Song himself was bragging even more than he was!

Soon, Chen Song switched to a video call, aiming the camera at the Danmu.

Bai Ge glanced over and saw Young Master Luo on the other end of the video. He had fair skin and an imposing demeanor, and was no more than two years older than Bai Ge.

Luo Wendi didn't look at Bai Ge at all; instead, he stared at the Danmu, his expression filled with surprise and uncertainty. "Get closer."

Chen Song hurriedly held up his phone, bringing it close to the Danmu. It was clear that Luo Wendi wanted to see if the flower was fake or if it was a special effect.

After a long pause, Luo Wendi finally said, "Where are you?"

After Chen Song told him, Luo Wendi decisively said, "I'll be right there."

After hanging up the phone, Chen Song's entire body trembled with excitement.

He excitedly patted Bai Ge's shoulder and said, "Bai Ge, you were right. Young Master Luo really values this kind of wondrous flower. I'm benefiting from you this time!"

Unexpectedly, Bai Ge wasn't very excited.

He offered a few perfunctory responses and then walked to the window, looking in a direction outside the residential complex.

"Bell, what just happened? That energy, it couldn't be..."

Bell said, "Just now, a small portion of the reality energy from the 'Non-existence' domain escaped from the back of your head."

"Huh? What's going on?" Bai Ge asked.

Just moments ago, when he took out the wondrous flower, Danmu, he had clearly felt an extremely powerful energy surge out.

The direction he was currently looking was the direction from which he had felt that energy escaping.

Bell said, "When you took out the Danmu, that energy leaked a sliver from the back of your head. I don't know why."

Bai Ge frowned.

The energy that shot out of his brain hole was minuscule compared to what was inside, far less than one in a hundred million.

But even that less than one in a hundred million was still an immense amount of energy, so vast that Bai Ge still couldn't detect it, unsure of its exact equivalent...

He could only describe it roughly.

"What would happen if this energy rushed into reality?" Bai Ge asked, confused because he found that nothing had happened.

Bell said, "Theoretically, even if it couldn't destroy Earth, it should have turned thousands of kilometers into scorched earth."

"Hiss..." Bai Ge was astonished. What did thousands of kilometers even mean? Earth's diameter was only a little over ten thousand kilometers.

Energy potent enough to destroy a nation would definitely have a massive global impact.

Bai Ge looked out the window. The sun was setting, and night was about to fall.

Everything was normal. No catastrophic consequences had occurred.

"Strange..."

Such terrifying energy had been released from the back of his head, and yet nothing happened?

He was 100% sure it was reality energy, so he didn't understand what was going on.

"It was fine staying outside the multiverse in my brain hole, why did a little bit suddenly rush out?" Bai Ge asked.

"It can only be because there's something special about the Danmu you extracted," Bell said.

Bai Ge asked, puzzled, "But I've taken out other things before, and quite a bit of real-world matter. Why didn't anything like this happen then?"

Bell said, "What you extracted this time is different from all previous times."

Bai Ge thought about it carefully and indeed felt it was different.

This time, the consumption was too great. If modifying real-world matter required his body to provide reality energy, then this was far too much.

He had merely disassembled some real-world flowers and reassembled them. Why had he lost forty jin?

Moreover, the timing of the consumption was wrong. If it were just shaping, it would have been consumed within his brain hole.

But this time, as he took it out, there was an additional surge of consumption, which was very strange.

"What do you think the reason is, Bell?" Bai Ge asked.

Bell replied from deep within his mind, "It might be because... some of the characteristics you set for the Danmu were recognized by reality. In return, you needed to provide the corresponding energy."

"Characteristics? You mean supernatural traits like resisting fire? I thought the settings in my brain hole weren't recognized by reality?" Bai Ge said.

"That's what I thought at first, but there was clearly an additional consumption this time. Perhaps your settings could always be brought into reality, but the cost was simply too immense. This time, the Danmu might have contained some characteristics with a smaller cost, which you could afford, and thus you paid the corresponding price." Bell said.

Bai Ge thought that it was indeed possible.

Based on his previous understanding, all products of his brain hole could not be recognized by reality.

That's why he had specifically bought many plant herbs and used real-world matter as a base to shape the Danmu.

Only in this way could the Danmu not shatter at a touch or die with a brush.

He had even casually set many characteristics for the Danmu. In the brain hole world, the Danmu was truly a wondrous flower; consuming it could resist fire.

However, in reality, these should not have come true.

But with such a large consumption now, could it be that one of its characteristics had been realized?

Thinking of this, he suddenly didn't want to sell it anymore. He wanted to take the flower back and research it thoroughly.

Seeing Chen Song excitedly admiring the flower, Bai Ge frowned, unsure whether he should force himself to take the flower away.

Forcibly taking the flower would be like standing someone up, which he was unwilling to do. And he didn't dare to create a weakened version of the Danmu to appease Luo Wendi, fearing he might accidentally realize some other characteristic.

After all, he was already very weak, and another incident like this might cause him to faint...

After much deliberation, he decided to sell it after all.

"The flower isn't important. I'll have plenty of opportunities to research my brain hole creations when I get home."

"On the contrary, this mysterious energy, it was fine staying in my brain hole, but it keeps trying to escape..."

"I still can't figure it out. I used my own energy to extract the Danmu. What does that have to do with that mysterious energy escaping?"

Only Bai Ge could sense how vast that energy was, so vast it was indescribable.

Now that a little had leaked out and made its presence known, Bai Ge was extremely worried.

The more nothing happened, the more he felt that something was about to go wrong.

It wasn't until eight o'clock that Luo Wendi finally arrived.

Bai Ge didn't actually know him very well, only that he was the son of the city's richest man.

The industries his family was involved in spanned Xiangfan City and its surrounding counties and cities.

The Luo Group's businesses ranged from retail and hotel catering to real estate, and they had harmonious relationships with the government, making them a key local brand protected and supported by Xiangfan City.

Not only that, but Luo Wendi wasn't some idle rich kid; he was quite capable himself, managing an investment company and handling the finances for many businesses.

However, most people who knew Luo Wendi were aware of these facts.

As for more in-depth information, Bai Ge wasn't very familiar with it, as their social circles were simply too different.

"Mr. Luo, we've finally got you here. Please, have a seat."

Chen Song welcomed Luo Wendi in, offering all sorts of pleasantries.

Bai Ge was left to the side, wisely remaining silent.

It was clear that Chen Song, having finally managed to invite Luo Wendi, was seizing the opportunity to get closer and plan for future business collaborations.

Luo Wendi didn't interrupt him, chatting seriously with Chen Song, but his eyes kept drifting towards the Danmu.

The Danmu was placed in the center of the living room, displaying itself in all its splendor; it was impossible to ignore.

After listening to Chen Song's lengthy preamble, Luo Wendi finally said with a hint of impatience, "Is this really a Danmu?"

Chen Song quickly replied, "It closely matches the description in the Classic of Mountains and Seas. He's the one who brought it..."

As he spoke, he immediately introduced Bai Ge.

Luo Wendi glanced at Bai Ge and asked, "You're the one selling the flower? It truly is unique, one of a kind in the world... Could it be artificially produced?"

Bai Ge was taken aback. Seeing Luo Wendi's suspicion, he really wanted to say, I don't want to sell this flower anymore.

But ultimately, he said, "I picked it from Shennongjia... You can judge for yourself whether it's real. If you have doubts, you don't have to buy it."

At these words, both Chen Song and Luo Wendi were stunned.

Chen Song was anxious, thinking, Don't be so opinionated at a time like this.

He looked at Luo Wendi, only to find that Luo Wendi wasn't angry.

Instead, he smiled and said, "It seems you're quite confident. Ah, to be honest, even if this flower was cultivated through some method, it's still an extremely precious variety..."

"And if... it grew naturally, then it's a priceless treasure!"

"The Classic of Mountains and Seas does record such a flower. If it's a natural species, then the added value is immense... It's not just about its beauty."

"Let me put it this way: if it's artificially cultivated, I'm willing to pay ten million!"

Hearing this price, Bai Ge was immediately dumbfounded.

And then Luo Wendi continued, "But if it's natural, honestly, I wouldn't dare to buy it..."

"You wouldn't dare buy it?" Bai Ge was confused.

Luo Wendi said softly, "It should be handed over to the state."