The Honey Water Bee breeding base was something Luo Yu was eager to set up. He considered this breeding project even more important than the medical Ink Fish project, second only to the evolution of the Ink Fish.
After all, if it succeeded, he would be the greatest beneficiary... The medical Ink Fish could only make him money, but the Honey Water Bees could efficiently improve his own strength while also making him money.
"A Honey Water Bee farm..."
Director Yu Lei had just approved an Ink Fish farm for the Luo Yu Research Institute, and now Luo Yu wanted to set up a Honey Water Bee farm too. But after giving it some thought, he slapped his hand down.
"Approved!"
As for the money, they could always squeeze it out somewhere. At worst, they could cut other budgets. Mirror Moon High School wanted to renovate its training grounds, for example. To hell with renovations. They could make do with the old ones for now.
"But can you handle researching both the Ink Fish and the Honey Water Bees at the same time, all by yourself?" Director Yu Lei voiced his concern.
Luo Yu said, "I'm planning to recruit people. I actually invited Uncle Chen Zhuo's son before."
"That's right." Yu Lei paused, then looked at Chen Zhuo. "Chen Zhuo, you're a researcher who studies the relationship between mutant beasts and the strengthening of Beast Tamers. This research project is right up your alley. Your son has probably learned plenty from you too. He should go work on it with Luo Yu. A union of two strong talents."
Chen Zhuo: "..."
"Besides, isn't your son Chen Bo an apprentice Beast Tamer too? I've seen the effects of this Sting Training Method, and they really are astonishing. As a researcher, he could also enjoy the strengthening effects right away. I expect he'd make great progress."
"So, did your son go? Don't tell me you stopped him?"
Chen Zhuo: "..."
Chen Zhuo wiped away his sweat. Chen Bo had mentioned it to him, and he had flat-out refused.
But at the time, he hadn't known anything!
Now that he thought about it, Chen Zhuo wanted to slap himself.
If this Sting Training Method was real, its effects were far too powerful.
The only reason he hadn't wanted Chen Bo doing anything else before was so he could concentrate on preparing for the Canglan Ocean University entrance exam and building up his strength. But now, the Luo Yu Research Institute's Sting Training Method was the fastest way to grow stronger...
He had effectively shut the door on a fast track to strength.
But the key question was, could he be blamed? Who could have known that Luo Yu, already working on an Ink Fish breeding project, would come up with a Honey Water Bee Training Method too... Was that the speed at which a human started new research projects?
"Chen Bo hasn't mentioned it to me yet, but I do think this is an excellent opportunity to gain experience..." Chen Zhuo forced a smile.
"And I have to thank Luo Yu for thinking of our Chen Bo... Don't worry... I'll bundle the brat up and send him over tomorrow!"
For Chen Bo to get a foot in the door of research that could change Mirror Moon Island's educational system, he really did have to thank Luo Yu, Luo Zhuo thought.
"When the youth are strong, the island is strong." Director Yu Lei nodded with relief.
Then he continued, "Actually, I have another candidate to recommend."
"Of course, I'm not sure whether she'd be willing to help."
"Who?" Luo Yu asked. The more help, the better, of course, but he preferred having too few to accepting the wrong people. He only wanted elites who could actually help, not people looking to take credit.
The director asked, "Do you know the Moon-Facing Pavilion?"
"Yes," Luo Yu said. "It's the busiest restaurant on Mirror Moon Island. I've eaten there before, and the food really is delicious."
Yu Lei nodded. "After all, the guardian deity personally declared it the best on the island. There's a food offering event at the Mirror Moon Celebration, and at least eight times out of ten, the Moon-Facing Pavilion wins with its most delicious dishes..."
"You could call it a giant in Mirror Moon Island's restaurant industry."
"The Moon-Facing Pavilion has a signature dish, honey-glazed grilled fish. One of its ingredients is honey from the Honey Water Bees they raise themselves."
"The Moon-Facing Pavilion is also the only place on Mirror Moon Island that raises bees."
Yu Lei pondered for a moment, then said, "I'm planning to talk to the owner of the Moon-Facing Pavilion and buy a batch of good-quality Honey Water Bees from them for your research."
Luo Yu really had to thank these breeders on Mirror Moon Island. Wang Defa! The Moon-Facing Pavilion!
Without them, he would have had to wait a long time for a boat from Mirror Moon Island to go buy some from other islands.
"Who was the person you mentioned?" Luo Yu asked.
"The Moon-Facing Pavilion owner's daughter. After graduating, she didn't join the fleet. Instead, she stayed home to help manage the business and even earned a breeding qualification certificate. She's the one in charge of that Honey Water Bee farm. Most importantly, I remember that she contracted a Honey Water Bee Queen. If it's her, she's bound to know a great deal about Honey Water Bees. What do you think about inviting her to be an assistant at the institute and take part in the Honey Water Bee research?"
Director Yu Lei was eager for the research to produce results and strongly recommended other talented people.
"She contracted a queen?!"
Luo Yu was a little surprised.
After all, although the Honey Water Bee Queen was a mutated evolution of the Honey Water Bee, her own species rank was still only Low-Rank Ordinary Species.
When fighting an outside enemy one-on-one, her strength actually wasn't much different from an ordinary Honey Water Bee's. She was even inferior to some Honey Water Bees with combat talents.
It was like how an emperor wasn't necessarily stronger in battle than a soldier.
However, her special ability was commanding the swarm, so she was practically a god in a civil war.
The problem was that the swarm and the queen weren't a single entity. Even if a Beast Tamer contracted the queen, they couldn't bring the swarm into the Beast Taming Space with her. As a result, unless they carried hundreds or thousands of Honey Water Bees around with them, they couldn't make full use of the Bee King's advantages.
Of course, if they really could bring plenty of Honey Water Bee soldiers along, contracting a Bee King would indeed be formidable, probably no weaker than some Superior Species. She was quite an unusual pet beast.
Legion combat mode!
But that also meant raising a whole legion of mutant beasts. A Beast Tamer without considerable wealth simply couldn't afford it.
But if it was the Moon-Facing Pavilion owner's daughter... Well... She was probably another wealthy young lady.
It was worth mentioning that after the Honey Water Bees mutated, their reproductive system had also undergone earth-shaking changes from that of ordinary bees.
In a normal swarm, only the Bee King, also known as the queen, was primarily responsible for reproducing. She would mate with multiple drones and lay eggs, while all the drones that mated with her would subsequently die.
As for the worker bees responsible for gathering nectar, they were suppressed by the Bee King's pheromones and did not reproduce. Only in rare special circumstances, such as when the swarm lost its Bee King, would they lay unfertilized eggs.
Thus, in a normal swarm, the Bee King was the undisputed core of reproduction.
Among mutant Honey Water Bees, however, things had changed.
Ordinary Honey Water Bees could still mate and lay eggs normally. They were no longer suppressed by the Bee King and were no different from other species. The Bee King, on the other hand, had become the only member of the entire colony incapable of reproduction!
A lonely king!
At the same time, the Bee King no longer evolved from a larva fed royal jelly. Instead, an ordinary Honey Water Bee with the "Bee King" talent mutated into one after raising her life level!
Luo Yu had observed that all the Bee Kings on Moon-Gazing Peak had a Senior Level talent called "Bee King."
[Individual talent]: Bee King (Senior Level talent. A Honey Water Bee with this talent will mutate into a Bee King after her life level breaks through level 5.)
After an ordinary Honey Water Bee evolved into a Bee King, she would lose her ability to reproduce, but she would also gain the power to command the swarm. What she lost on one hand, she gained on the other.
Moreover, a swarm could only have one Bee King. If multiple bees in a swarm had the "Bee King" talent, the Bee Kings that evolved would slaughter one another until only one king remained.
So, if Luo Yu wanted to set up a Honey Water Bee farm, he only needed to find plenty of ordinary individuals with Senior Level talents. He didn't need to raise a Bee King specifically.
Still, since a Common Species could have two talents, Luo Yu really wanted to know what would happen if a Bee King had both the "Bee King" and "Strengthening" talents. Would the effect of King's Needle be even better?
To achieve that, he only needed to mate a bee with the Bee King talent who hadn't evolved yet with one who had the Enhancement Talent... After all, losing the ability to reproduce only happened after becoming a king.
"If she's willing to come to the Luo Yu Research Institute as an assistant, she's certainly welcome. Having a Beast Tamer who's contracted a queen to help would make managing the swarm easier," Luo Yu said.
Most importantly...
The restaurant owner's daughter...
She should be good at cooking, right!?
Could it be... that the Luo Yu Research Institute was finally going to have a cook of its own!
"Good!" Director Yu Lei chuckled. He figured... the Moon-Facing Pavilion would be happy to sponsor this research. The bureau was really out of money, and there were too many places that needed it. He could only go to businesses on the island like this one and seek sponsorship.
The meeting ended.
A group of Mirror Moon Island's veteran researchers saw the great Luo Yu off like a bunch of raw recruits.
That evening.
At Chen Zhuo's home, dinner was as abundant as ever: crab roe noodles, chilled seaweed salad, takoyaki...
"Son, go help out at the Luo Yu Research Institute tomorrow," Chen Bo's father said.
"Study hard, and don't be afraid of pain. Take my experimental notes on human evolution with you too, for you all to use as a reference."
Chen Bo raised his head. "Huh? What happened?"
The next day, Luo Yu came to the director's office again. Director Yu Lei got straight to the point. "Boss Lin of the Moon-Facing Pavilion agreed. You can go to their farm and pick any Honey Water Bees you like for breeding research. They're sponsoring all of them free of charge."
"And his daughter Lin Li will also be at your disposal and cooperate with your Honey Water Bee research. She won't take a salary either."
"Free?" Luo Yu grew wary. Surely the director hadn't thrown his weight around and pressured them? An official forcibly taking over a private business...
"Heh..." Yu Lei smiled. "Don't underestimate yourself. First the medical Ink Fish, then the strengthening Honey Water Bees... Anyone with eyes can see the Luo Yu Research Institute's potential."
If they didn't invest now, when would they?
"Besides, she's contracted a Honey Water Bee Queen. Now that a scholar studying Honey Water Bees has appeared, she'd be overjoyed to learn at his side. You should know how many Beast Tamers wish those famous biologists would study their pet beasts' species."
Luo Yu did know that. Wasn't that Qiao Yi, for example, asking biologists everywhere to help research an evolutionary path for the Heartsea Jellyfish?
Biologists with proven research results were honored guests among traditional Beast Tamers.
Many powerful Beast Tamers were also happy to seek partners in professions such as breeding and research.
"Come on, I'll take you to see the Honey Water Bee farm." Director Yu Lei intended to take Luo Yu there personally. After speaking, he couldn't resist pulling out a cigarette.
"I have a light."
"July, light the director's cigarette." Quick to read the situation, Luo Yu summoned July. July immediately stepped forward and extended his wing. With a sizzle, the cigarette lit...