These were the seedlings Aunt Chunhe was sending to Berry Forest.
Some Berries had no seeds and had to be grown from seedlings.
Chunhe had taken on part of the seedling cultivation, but unfortunately, the torrential rain had destroyed many of them. Those that remained were exceptionally precious.
Chapter 45: Perilla Marking
The Sevii Islands lay offshore to the south of the Kanto region.
The seven islands were arranged roughly east to west at first, with three in a row: Island 1, Island 2, and Island 3.
A little farther south, another nearly horizontal row consisted of Island 4 and Island 5.
Farther south still, at the same latitude, were Island 7 and Island 6.
Viewed vertically, Island 3, Island 5, and Island 6 formed a column, linked by large bridges.
Normally, Shen Qi only had to haul cargo from Island 6 to Island 5. This time, he would have to drive more than twice as far to reach Island 3.
He still had classes tomorrow, so he couldn't stay out too late.
"Chansey."
"Jili!"
There was no need to communicate through the game interface. Chansey knew exactly what Shen Qi needed.
Defense Curl.
Before improving the vehicle's overall performance, they first had to strengthen its body.
Earning 600b from tonight's run was a good thing, but if he broke any components, he would end up losing money instead.
He equipped the [Adaptive Tire].
After gaining control over Normal-type energy, Shen Qi had another way to practice besides training with Chansey: restoring the tires' durability.
He expended Mental Power to control the output of Normal-type energy, practicing over and over until it became second nature.
Next came one use of Work Up, a move that raised both offensive stats, boosting the vehicle's horsepower and torque.
"That should do it."
The Little Sheep was overloaded with heavy cargo. Shen Qi had no intention of pushing its performance too far. Going a little faster than normal and reaching his destination safely would be enough.
"Chansey, have you been deep into Ruins Valley?"
"Jili!"
Having trained hard there for over a year, Chansey had explored half of Ruins Valley and was fairly familiar with the terrain.
"Do you know about Point Cave, in the deepest part of Ruins Valley?"
Point Cave was its name in the game. It had Braille instructions explaining how to activate various mechanisms, making it highly recognizable.
"Jili..."
Chansey shook her head to indicate that she had never heard of it. She only knew of some ordinary caves.
It was perfectly normal that she hadn't been there. The so-called "deepest part" of Ruins Valley was a description from the player's perspective-the center of the map in the standard version of the game.
In reality, Ruins Valley's terrain wasn't as simple as it was in the game, and Point Cave's entrance wouldn't be sitting out in the open, completely unobstructed.
Shen Qi took a Berry out of a cloth bag and handed it to Chansey.
These Berries came from Aunt Chunhe's farm.
Berries were far more expensive than ordinary fruit, so their quality standards were high. If they contained too little energy and lacked sufficient medicinal and training value, they couldn't be sold at a high price. They were essentially Berries that had "failed the grade."
Berries like these were actually quite tasty and could still sell for a little money, but Chunhe often gave them to her neighbors for free.
After the rescue at the Berry fields, she had likewise set aside some of the remaining Berries to thank the islanders.
Crunch~
He bit into the sweet Berry, and its fragrance filled his mouth.
The Little Sheep traveled along the mountain road through the fresh air of a summer night, with Chansey beside him helping him drive.
So nice~
Taking the handkerchief Chansey offered, Shen Qi wiped the remaining moisture off his hands and returned both hands to the steering wheel.
"You know, no matter how experienced a driver is, holding the wheel with one hand is never right."
Chansey gave Shen Qi a sidelong look.
[You're one to talk...]
As he chatted idly with Chansey, a bright light suddenly flooded the rearview mirror.
It was a race car with an unfamiliar paint job...
Shen Qi paid it little mind and kept driving at his own pace.
"Huh? What's that guy doing?"
The race car was certainly faster than the Little Sheep, but instead of passing on the outside, it moved into his lane and followed behind him.
This was... a challenge to race.
"Is he nuts? Challenging a Little Sheep in a race car?"
When drivers encountered other race cars during ordinary mountain runs or drives on back roads, they didn't need to get out and talk. There was an unspoken way to challenge someone.
After approaching the car ahead, the challenger would slow down and follow behind it, signaling that a chase was about to begin and giving the other driver time to prepare.
Then the two cars would begin their chase. Usually, there was no overtaking involved. Instead, they drove the entire stretch of road, with the trailing car losing if it fell about twenty meters behind. Conversely, if it stayed close, the lead car lost.
After losing, the lead car would slow down and let the trailing car take the lead, with the same rules applying.
This format decided the winner through driving skill and speed while avoiding the dangers of overtaking. After all, they weren't racing on a designated course, and another vehicle could appear at any moment.
During a chase race, anyone who didn't want to participate or wanted to concede could turn on their hazard lights, slow down, and pull aside to clear the road, bringing the impromptu race to an amicable end.
Even so... anyone who came out into the mountains to race a Little Sheep had far too much time on their hands.
The Little Sheep was hauling cargo. Shen Qi had no intention of racing him, nor did he need to follow their rules and turn on his hazard lights to withdraw. He could simply keep driving at his original pace.
He would act as though he knew nothing about racing culture and was just an ordinary Small Merchant making a delivery.
After leaving the Marker Mountain stretch, Shen Qi glanced behind him. The race car was still following. Surely it wasn't going to keep following him onto Trail Mountain?
"Jili!"
Chansey was clearly a little uncomfortable. She didn't like the feeling of being watched.
[How about we speed up?]
"Don't be impulsive. You must never get carried away when driving. The same goes for racing."
The cargo the Little Sheep carried today was relatively valuable. It wasn't as heavy as his previous loads of local produce, but it still weighed around seven hundred kilograms.
Racing with all that aboard would be practically suicidal.
Fortunately, the other driver didn't intend to keep foolishly following him. The car gradually accelerated and pulled alongside him on the outside.
A high-performance car already consumed plenty of energy. Slowing down to trail the Little Sheep was simply burning through its energy reserves for nothing.
After all this time, Shen Qi had actually formed a rough idea.
The unfamiliar race car behind him might belong to the Perilla Racing Team-to Shan Sheng, whom Island 6's drivers had been mentioning frequently lately.
He was searching for an exceptionally powerful Little Sheep, one capable of beating a professional driver in a Class B Car. That was why he paid particular attention to Little Sheep vehicles of the same specifications.
With the two vehicles side by side, Shen Qi could see a leaf-shaped marking on the race car's body, with purple patterns running across the leaf.
Perilla was an herb used to season food, and it also had medicinal value.
The distinctive marking confirmed Shen Qi's suspicion.
Shan Sheng, a reserve member of the Perilla Racing Team.
The race car's window rolled down, revealing the sharp-eyed Nidorino in the passenger seat.
Shen Qi took out a Berry, and Nidorino's large eyes suddenly softened. Nidorino even swallowed.
In the driver's seat sat a fashionably dressed young man. A headband held back his trendy short blond hair, giving him something of a rock singer's look.
"Your racing line is pretty clean, and you've got a good sense of pace. You didn't lose your composure just because another car was chasing you."
Shan Sheng offered his unsolicited assessment with the air of a seasoned expert, though he was actually just a reserve driver warming the bench.
Shen Qi merely had his window open for ventilation and didn't acknowledge him.
Shan Sheng didn't seem embarrassed either. "You've got some skill, but you're not the one I'm looking for. Do you know of a really fast Little Sheep on Island 6?"
"No."
"Heh. See you, then."
The race car accelerated, using its powerful performance to open up a huge gap before disappearing around a bend in the mountain road.
Chapter 46: Young and Talented Trainer
In the open country between Trail Mountain and Marker Mountain, the race car bearing the Perilla Marking came to a stop.
Shan Sheng made a phone call.
"Sis, I still haven't found those two opponents."
Tonight, Shan Sheng had already made a full sweep back and forth through Island 6's mountain roads. Since it was rather late, he hadn't encountered many cars.
Apart from a few drivers he had already beaten, there had only been a Little Sheep whose driver had decent skills. It was much faster than other Little Sheep vehicles, but it couldn't begin to compare with the expert Shan Sheng remembered.
"I can understand treating Island 6's Tsareena as an opponent, but this Little Sheep you mentioned..."
The woman's voice on the phone sounded doubtful. No matter how his sister considered it, it seemed implausible. "Could you have mistaken it for something else?"
"If I could mistake a Little Sheep, I might as well quit being a driver. Anyway, I'll make sure I complete this training challenge properly..."
The training assignment his sister had given Shan Sheng was to visit the seven offshore islands and defeat every driver before returning to the Perilla Racing Team.
There weren't many formidable drivers in the Sevii Islands, but there were always a few local talents with exceptional skills. If Shan Sheng could truly hone himself there, he had a chance of becoming a mainstay of the Perilla Racing Team in the future-or even more.
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