New Seed: Nen Komugi

The sun scorched the stone streets of Meteor City as Carl's small, thin figure darted nimbly through the jostling crowd.

Half an hour later, in the southern shantytown.

"Clang, clang, clang~"

With a groan from the rusty hinges, Carl slowly shut the door of the sheet-metal shack.

"Enter the manor~"

Without hesitation, Carl immediately called out in her mind.

A hum of twisting space-time burst beside her ears, and nine amber-colored plots of land appeared in the void.

Tender green branches spread their jade-like leaves, golden light from the three suns flowing through their veins.

"Sigh..."

Carl put down the bundle and gently patted her cheeks, trying to drive the anger from her heart.

He wasn't usually so quick to anger. His earlier rage had been entirely this body's instinctive reaction...

"In the end, I was still affected by the original owner of this body..."

Carl plopped down on the ground and sighed, then turned her gaze to the bundle Chrollo had tossed her.

"Let's see what new seeds Chrollo brought me."

Rubbing his hands together, he untied the bundle-and three bulging packets of seeds came into view.

"Buzz~~"

[Two-season crop: Nen Komugi]

[Maturity: 24 hours]

[Irrigation requirement: manor spring water]

[Effect: Consume a hundred or so to awaken Nen. Continued consumption continuously increases Nen quantity.]

"Holy... holy shit!!!"

Carl's throat bobbed violently as a quintessential Chinese curse issued from his very soul.

Farming!

He had to farm!

Having transmigrated into the Hunter world, who wouldn't want to become a Nen user?!!!

At that thought, Carl hurriedly lowered her head and carefully counted the seeds.

Although seeds could be obtained by harvesting mature crops, Nen Komugi was only a two-season crop-which meant Carl would have to spend more time stockpiling its seeds!

One, ten... thirty-seven.

A full thirty-seven!

For Carl as she was now, that was more than enough!

"There are also sixty-one Bomb Pomegranates. Once the rest of the pomegranates are harvested..."

Carl sat cross-legged on the ground, silently counting on her fingers.

"Ninety-three pomegranates. I'm seven short!"

If she planted Bomb Pomegranates, which grew the fastest, she only needed seven more plants. In six hours, she would have enough crops to expand the land!!!

Carl stood up, patted her backside, and took a few steps forward, pressing her hand against the nearest pomegranate tree.

The trunk felt warm and hard beneath her palm:

[Twelve-(four-)season crop: Bomb Pomegranate]

[Maturity: 3 hours, 29 minutes, 57 seconds]

Though it was clearly a plant, Carl could feel its inner joy. Thinking of the three enormous suns in the sky, which weren't harsh in the slightest, he seemed to understand something.

Carl withdrew her hand and walked back to the mattress she had laid out earlier. After lying down, she relaxed and closed her eyes.

She had been far too exhausted that morning. Even though the original owner of this body had exercised regularly, he was still too young, and he usually lacked food and clothing. His body had very little strength to speak of.

The two trips to and from the shantytown had taken him across more than half of Meteor City and used up almost all his strength.

"Rumble~"

A thunderous noise came from Carl's stomach.

Carl rolled over and curled up as tightly as she could, compressing her lower belly.

In his previous life, whenever he stayed overnight at the office after working late and got hungry, he would do this out of habit. It could effectively ease the hunger in his stomach...

There wasn't much food left in the manor...

He wanted to save the last piece of bread until he woke up.

And compared with going out now, risking his life to pick through the garbage mountain, then trading what he found with the recyclers for bread,

he would rather get some sleep first and wait for the Qi and Blood Pumpkin to mature.

At daybreak the next day, the three newly risen suns hung in the sky, their gentle light slowly spilling down.

Squatting in front of the nearly mature pumpkin, Carl stared eagerly at the panel before her:

[Three-season crop: Qi and Blood Pumpkin]

[Maturity: 0 hours, 0 minutes, 05 seconds]

[Irrigation requirement: completed]

[Effect: Greatly replenishes qi and blood. Consume a hundred or so to gain a body of robust flesh and blood.]

"Five, four, three, two, one."

As the countdown reached zero, Carl thought, "Harvest!"

In the blink of an eye, the red-jade-colored pumpkin, as large as a cartwheel, suddenly shook, and the place where it joined the vine broke apart.

"Thud!"

A dull sound rang out as the pumpkin hit the ground.

[Qi and Blood Pumpkin seed ×1 has been placed in storage.]

Ignoring the notification in her mind, the ravenous Carl pulled a sharp knife from her sleeve and quickly hacked the pumpkin into eight pieces.

Without hesitation, he picked up a slice bigger than his face and bit into it.

He had finished the bread yesterday afternoon, and Carl had survived on the manor's spring water ever since!

But no matter how much he drank, water was still water, not substantial food!

Hunger clung to him like an incurable affliction, tormenting his nerves at every moment.

The manor's pumpkin wasn't as small as an ordinary pumpkin, and it was quite juicy. Its texture was different too: crisp as a freshly picked cucumber, tender and delicious, yet extremely filling.

As soon as he ate it, it turned into streams of warmth that flowed through his limbs and bones.

In just a moment, Carl saw several old chilblains on his fingers fading away at a speed visible to the naked eye. In their place was fair skin with a hint of toughness.

As expected of a product of the manor!

Carl was overjoyed. He could clearly feel streams of warmth spreading through his body with every bite of pumpkin he swallowed. Clearly, the Qi and Blood Pumpkin was making up for the deficiencies and hidden injuries the original owner had left in his body!

Although he didn't have a mirror, he could still feel the improvement in his vitality and spirit. Most noticeably, Carl could now clearly see the branches and leaves on every vine!

Before this, unless he deliberately moved closer, he couldn't make out every vine at all!

Let alone the leaves on them!!!

"Burp~"

After eating the rind as well, Carl let out a loud burp for the first time in a long while.

That was right. Just one eighth of the pumpkin had filled him up!

Feeling the blissful fullness in her stomach, Carl carefully picked up the remaining seven slices one by one and placed them beside her blanket.

He had it all worked out: he only needed two slices a day, so the remaining seven were enough to last him until the next pumpkin matured!

In other words, from today onward, as long as the manor existed, he would never have to worry about going hungry.

Even after all three seasons of the pumpkin had been harvested, he would set aside a plot of land specifically for growing pumpkins.

As long as he kept the cycle going, Carl was confident he would never be troubled by hunger again!!!

The days when he had to risk his life going to the garbage district to scavenge every two or three days were gone for good!

"Next, all that's left is to expand the manor's land!"

With her stomach full, Carl silently squatted beside a newly planted Bomb Pomegranate sprout and began waiting again.

The previous batch of pomegranates had already been harvested, and ninety-three Bomb Pomegranates now lay quietly in the manor's storage.

After the harvest, the pomegranate trees, which had originally stood nearly a meter tall, had also scattered in the wind, leaving Carl, who had hoped to take advantage of them, somewhat helpless. He had only wanted to make himself a new bed-what bad intentions could he possibly have?

As a dignified manor owner, he couldn't keep sleeping on the ground forever, could he?

The pomegranate sprout before her was the result of seeds she had just planted and watered.

Looking at the maturity time of five hours, fifty-five minutes, and thirty-four seconds on the panel, Carl rubbed her chin, itching with anticipation.

This was the first time she was upgrading the manor, and she was looking forward to it!