A giant bee, nearly the size of a human, stared at the vegetative man in front of it. The vegetative man was also intently watching the giant bee, which was yellow and black and covered in fuzz. He could even see countless reflections of himself in the bee's dense compound eyes.
"It doesn't seem hostile. Could it sense that my clone is made of plants?"
Ed pondered to himself, feeling that staring into the monster's eyes wasn't a good idea.
For most living beings, at this point, they would either retreat or engage in a fight; there is almost no third option.
But Ed is different; he's in a vegetative state, and his clone is made entirely of plants, so he can—
flowering.
Ed's feet transformed into roots, Drain nourishment from the soil, and small flowers began to bloom on his body.
In just a dozen seconds, Ed could clearly feel that the Worker Bee were treating him much better.
It seems to like itself quite a bit.
The giant Worker Bee took two steps forward and moved closer to Ed. Soon, the monster began to rub its fur against Ed's flowers.
Seeing that the other party was no longer a threat, Ed pulled his legs out of the mud and continued towards the Hive.
After the Worker Bee had finished collecting pollen on him, it left contentedly.
With this indescribable disguise, Ed began to venture deeper into the Sea of Flowers.
Along the way, he saw countless Worker Bee carrying heavy pollen to the Hive, as well as swarms of Soldier Bee that had attacked Oliver earlier. These insects, whose bodies had developed aggressive specializations, were now patrolling the Sea of Flowers in large groups.
Ed only needs to determine the location of the Hive by observing the density of Worker Bee and Soldier Bee.
As he walked, he suddenly smelled a strange odor. Although his plant-based body didn't need to breathe like a human, Ed had still given it a sense of smell to detect problems, and now it came in handy.
It wasn't the fragrance of flowers; rather, it smelled like some kind of chemical that had leaked into the air...
Ed's main body suddenly felt his vision blur for a moment, then his clone stopped moving and stood frozen on the ground. The next moment, Ed's main body's vision went black.
He immediately sensed something was wrong, and his mind raced, quickly finding a possibility from his knowledge of his past life—pheromones!
He manipulated his clone using his own status and Root Network, but his pheromones had already unknowingly connected to the body and severed ties.
It felt like having your internet disconnected while remotely controlling a device; a complex mix of emotions welled up inside Ed.
The big shots in this World of Disorder are all incredibly capable!
Ed already knew from the Grand Foundry Master that he wasn't the only one in the world with a local area network, and now it seems that such things are common to powerful individuals, only the way and form of their existence are different.
He can establish connections between various Aberration plants and players through roots and Little Green leaves. The Grand Foundry Master can also shield his senses through a combination of machinery and Psionic Energy. Now, the Queen Bee or the Hive has shown him a third possibility—thought integration through pheromones.
The good news is that Ed's clone had sent back enough information before disconnecting. Ed knew that this pheromone was more like a way of Seizure from an unconscious individual (like a clone), and it wouldn't have any effect on the perfectly compatible body, the original.
But then he hesitated—should he go there himself?
Isn't this a bit dangerous?
Ed suddenly remembered the last time he had taken such a risk, it seemed to be when he went to Seraphina's dragon nest to try and get a small loan.
At that time, I only had four or five players under my command, and none of them had any money to spend. My mentality at the time was that I was just throwing my life away and had no worries at all.
But times have changed, and now the Second Holy See has improved, and I have more or less developed the bad habit of being hesitant and indecisive.
Just as Ed was analyzing and reflecting on his actions, a sudden inspiration struck him—
Why am I being so hesitant and indecisive?
Because of a lack of security.
Who can give me a sense of security?
Of course, the stronger one!
Who is the strongest person you know?
Of course, it's the microloan Haji Dragon.
With this in mind, Ed's thoughts suddenly became clear.
He had always treated Seraphina as a defensive tower, but in reality, this dragon could do many things, including being a bodyguard.
" Haji Dragon, there's something I want to ask you."
With his mind at ease, Ed quickly returned to the vicinity of the castle and arrived at the Obsidian Bank.
Despite the thick layer of snow covering the outside, the area around Obsidian Bank remained sweltering. Although Seraphina's clothes changed frequently, they never strayed far from the category of summer everyday wear.
It's highly unlikely that a Red Dragon would be afraid of the cold.
The girl with dragon horns put away her classroom notes, which were engraved on dragon scales, and looked at Ed with suspicion, as if questioning the reason for his visit.
The vegetative-state boy looked utterly aggrieved.
What kind of look is that?
"I think you want to borrow money from me..."
"I..."
Ed was speechless for a moment. As the number of players increased, the circulating funds in the entire system were also increasing day by day. However, since the Second Holy See had not yet started large-scale foreign trade, Ed's reserves were still sufficient.
Moreover, this is precisely the advantage of virtual currency: even if the number of players increases, as long as most players in the market still use the Root Network for online payments, it can issue a small amount of extra currency without anyone knowing.
So he's actually not short of money right now.
"It's not about borrowing money, I just want to tell you something."
"What?"
"Do you remember that queen bee? I'm planning to go to the Sea of Flowers to see what its intelligence level is. If possible, I'd like to cooperate with it."
Seraphina looked at Ed with a suspicious expression:
What does this have to do with me?
Ed didn't answer but asked a question in return:
What do you think the queen bee's strength level is?
"Should it be Middle Tier?"
Seraphina guessed, but Ed shook his head:
"More than."
He explained earnestly:
"I originally planned to use my clone to negotiate with the queen bee, but after entering the Sea of Flowers for a while, the clone lost contact. It must have been interfered with by the Hive."
"I understand, so you're planning to go yourself."
"Yes."
"So what does this have to do with me?"
Seraphina asked the question again, feeling that there must be something strange about Ed's lack of a direct answer.