Ed used the Root Network to deliver a perfectly round, Blood Corpse head to himself, and then issued a random quest to players in the vicinity.
An hour later, a panting Soul Returner knocked on Duolin's office door.
After placing a grotesque head smeared with dried blood in front of Duolin, the Soul Returner greeted him, seemed to see some kind of prompt before him, and then left happily.
Duolin looked at the head with sharp canines and taut, grayish-white skin, and finally sighed.
"The legendary Blood Corpse really does look like this..."
Soon Aoda arrived in front of Duolin, and the guard captain pointed at the head and said:
"Send this along with this letter to the archbishop."
Aoda's expression showed some hesitation.
"What, is there a reason you don't want to do it?"
Aoda shook his head:
"No, but... should we put it in a bag or a box? Carrying it like this might scare people, right?"
"That's right."
While agreeing with this opinion, Duolin also thought of the Soul Returner from earlier, who was clearly swaggering down the main street of White Wax Town, grabbing the Blood Corpse's disheveled hair...
The thought of that scene made Duolin feel like crying but couldn't.
That's the downside of the Soul Returner —while they're always reliable on important matters, they completely disregard common sense.
Five minutes later, the Blood Corpse's head was placed into a sturdy but not very fancy wooden box. Aoda rode his Hoofed Beast, carrying the box and the secret letter, and headed back to Fir City, which he had just left.
Near the castle, in a " Greenhouse ".
[ Pond Fish and Old Abyss ] I saw the latest game announcement while having lunch, but unfortunately, even though I was itching to play, I still had to finish my afternoon classes.
Finally, evening arrived. As soon as she returned to her dorm, she immediately started the game. While checking the game information from the few hours she had been away, she went to her best friend's Aberration plant farm. Soon, she met [ Vanilla Ice Cream Scoop ], who was online under her real name. He was currently feeding his Aberration plants.
Looking up and seeing that it was a friend, [ the Vanilla Ice Cream Scoop ] immediately smiled:
"What a rare guest! What brings you here?"
"You're crazy. I was just here last week."
"Just being polite, did you read the update announcement?"
"Of course I looked. I came here to see if you have the ability to cultivate those newly Aberration plants."
"Oh, to be honest, I'd like to know too, so let me finish feeding these little guys first."
As [ Vanilla Ice Cream Scoop ] said this, it kept throwing the unrecognizable food scraps into the tree holes, and [ Pond Fish and Old Abyss ]'s lips twitched involuntarily.
My friend's ability to adapt to " World of Disorder " far surpasses mine. In just one month, she's gone from a complete newbie screaming at the sight of the Deadwood Vine to a seasoned caretaker of Aberration plants. The difference is so drastic it's hard to accept, and my address for it has changed from "Ahhh, what a monster!" to "Little guy."
Moreover, this person, who clearly couldn't even do housework in the real world, is now able to feed animals with a small shovel and feed bucket. Is it true that interest is the best teacher?
[ Pond Fish and Old Abyss ] took two steps forward and followed his friend:
What did you feed them?
"It's something like fish intestines, mixed with some kitchen waste."
"Huh?"
[ Pond Fish and Old Abyss ] recalled a detail from the Aberration plant care manual from [ Howling Pothos ] and asked in confusion:
"I remember the manual saying they didn't seem to like eating things from the river that much, right?"
That's true.
[ Vanilla Ice Cream Scoop ] nodded.
But being a picky eater is not a good habit.
She spoke casually, and a Deadwood Vine seedling in front of her seemed to confirm their conversation, showing obvious resistance to the food that had just been thrown at her, and scattering the feed that had just been thrown at her with a flick of its body.
This is just being incredibly ungrateful.
[ Vanilla Ice Cream Scoop ] handed the item in his hand to [ Pond Fish and Old Abyss ]:
"Could you get this for me?"
"... good."
[ Pond Fish and Old Abyss ] reached out and took the small shovel and feed, only to see her friend stride to the tree hole and grab the Deadwood Vine seedling with one hand. Her left hand gripped the tenderest part of the Deadwood Vine tightly, her right fist raised high, clearly ready to give it a good beating...
The Deadwood Vine seedling immediately began to desperately shrink back, and after several unsuccessful attempts, it finally went limp, making a gesture of surrender.
[ Vanilla Ice Cream Scoop ] Releasing its grip, the Deadwood Vine bent its top resentfully, slowly pulling back all the food within its reach, and began its slow digestion with a sense of submission and shame.
Taking the tools back from his friend, [ the Vanilla Ice Cream Scoop ] explained:
"Actually, once you get used to it, it's quite interesting, like... training a dog."
That makes sense, but...
[ Pond Fish and Old Abyss ] was momentarily at a loss for words, finding it hard to accept that his friend had become an expert in a certain field. He struggled for a while to come up with a good answer, but finally came up with a question to ask:
What is your current [ Plant Compatibility ] rating?
Five o'clock.
"So tall?"
[ Pond Fish and Old Abyss ] was immediately surprised. His friend should only be level 1. Even if he put both points into plants, he should only have three points.
Noticing his friend's confusion, [ the Vanilla Ice Cream Scoop ] explained:
"I bought a Tree Worship Church robe from someone; wearing it will give me a little [ Plant Compatibility ]."
It's only four o'clock.
"I've been trying to understand what these plants are thinking lately. A while ago, I helped the guide Cultivation some random seeds that I traded with the villagers. The reward for the quest is this set of gardening tools that increases [ Plant Compatibility ] by one point. When you use it, you'll have five points of compatibility."
"Wait, you mean you helped the guide Cultivation the seeds? Did you Cultivation those new plants?"
No, that's not true.
[ Vanilla Ice Cream Scoop ] Shakes head:
"Of the seedlings I Cultivation, some had abilities similar to those new plants, but none were exactly the same."
[ Pond Fish and Old Abyss ] said thoughtfully:
"That's outrageous. No wonder the game suddenly had several new plants that aren't available outside. The announcement even specifically emphasized that they were artificially Aberration plants. I guess some of your plants were used as models, and the guide modified them to become like this."
"So, you should know more about those plants than the average person?"
[Pond Fish and Old Abyss] gave his friend a subtle look, while the other's face remained completely innocent and foolish:
"Perhaps."
[Pond Fish and Old Abyss] turned and left upon hearing this.
"Wait for me, I'll go buy some samples and then help me figure out how to use them."