"Quick! Bring a flowerpot over! A plant with great research value has been discovered in the mine and can be grafted!"
Having negotiated a price with Master Fox, Wang Qiqi issued an order via walkie-talkie, instructing the logistics support team outside the mine to fetch a flowerpot and a brush to prepare for the plant's transfer.
"Quiet down for a bit; it has more to say." Ansheng glanced at Wang Qiqi and said, "Forest Musk Deer still has things left unsaid. Your ecstatic expression almost scared it to wet itself."
The mine could collapse at any moment, so Wang Qiqi stopped the other logistics personnel from entering. She injected herself with a Spirit Particle Potion to transform into Leopard Girl and, together with Master Fox, ventured into the cave to search for the treasure mentioned by Forest Musk Deer.
In her form as Leopard Girl, Wang Qiqi's excitement radiated a predatory aura, scaring the herbivorous Forest Musk Deer. It feared they would trap it and devour it whole.
"What else does it have to say? Just wrap it in diapers when you send it to the hospital later."
Upon hearing Master Fox's words, Wang Qiqi sized up Forest Musk Deer with a lascivious gaze, barely holding back an eerie laugh.
"Forest Musk Deer mentioned that such Spiritual Particle Plants aren't isolated phenomena but occur in groups, with a very high prevalence in the Qinling and surrounding areas." Ansheng wore a serious expression and said, "There's something strange in the Qinling!"
"Forest Musk Deer found six Spirit Plants! If it were a strong carnivore, wouldn't it boast about it?"
Seeing Master Fox translating and informing her about the anomalies in the Qinling, Wang Qiqi was momentarily stunned, as if she had thought of something, and frowned at Forest Musk Deer.
"The number of Spiritual Particle Plants... is it very large?"
"Woof woof..." Forest Musk Deer replied dejectedly.
Upon hearing this, Ansheng translated: "Forest Musk Deer said there are some in the forest and mentioned it can't tell you because you'll go to their home and take their cooking pots too!"
Forest Musk Deer's meaning was simple: it's okay to tell Master Fox this information.
But it can't be told to humans, because once humans enter the mountains, it's not just about picking Spirit Plants but taking their cooking pots as well.
In other words.
The information about Spiritual Particle Plants in the Qinling isn't really a secret. Any Spirit Beast can learn of it from other wild Spirit Beasts, but there's a mutual understanding not to tell humans who are greedy.
Whether or not the Spiritual Particle Plants exist, Ansheng wasn't particularly concerned. Relying on Spirit Plants to enhance one's Physique can't beat a solid foundation built through personal effort for faster improvements.
What truly concerned Ansheng was if all Forest Musk Deer claimed were true.
Does that mean the Qinling Mountain Range actually houses many Spirit Beasts?
But they all purposely avoid humans, worried that humans will discover the Qinling's secret and take everything from them.
"...Was it because of the Spirit Plants?"
Wang Qiqi looked at Forest Musk Deer and then at Master Fox, with a somewhat exasperated expression, and commented:
"Let's just say they've overthought it. The consumption in Chang'an City alone, for research projects and supply to us, is calculated by the kilogram."
"Consuming eight to ninety kilograms a day, their bit of wild Spirit Plants wouldn't suffice for anyone. If the Longevity Club or other countries' research teams knew, they'd think we're technologically backward, crying in crotchless pants due to hunger!"
Though Xia Country is vast with abundant resources, it also has a large population and vast territories to manage, keeping the Security Bureau very busy.
While not completely dismissive, unless wild Spiritual Particle Plants were along the way, they wouldn't bother to even take a look, unless they had research value.
The national number of Spirit Plant cultivation greenhouses, and unmanned vertical plant factories was unknown even to Wang Qiqi. Yet, employees in the Spiritual Particle Plants industry number no less than 150,000.
Worrying about humans and Spirit Beasts competing for resources only shows Spirit Beasts' lack of understanding of technological power.
"However, thanks to the lead from Forest Musk Deer, we've now figured out why, in the Qinling region, the number of Spirit Beasts has exploded in the past six months."
"If it's due to Spiritual Particle Plants, it beautifully explains the reason." Wang Qiqi confidently looked at Master Fox and said:
"There are indeed many Spirit Beasts in the forest, so if Master Fox is bored, give us a call, and we'll take you up the mountain to find Spirit Beasts."
Ansheng: "........"
Isn't what you're saying clearly changing the subject?
The growing number of Spirit Beasts in the Qinling was a perplexing issue for woodcutters.
But with Forest Musk Deer's confession to Master Fox, revealing the forest's secrets, the explosion in Spirit Beast numbers was resolved, yet a new question emerged.
Why did the number of wild Spiritual Particle Plants surge abnormally in the last six months?
This phenomenon doesn't occur in other areas.
However, Wang Qiqi had no intention of delving deep into this subject and prepared to report the information upward.
......
After picking the Spiritual Particle Plants, Wang Qiqi escorted Forest Musk Deer onto a helicopter.
The urgently hospitalized Forest Musk Deer was, post-surgery, also wrapped in adult diapers and sent to Golden Leopard's ward.
Meanwhile, the fifty-plus grams of musk in its pouch all ended up in Master Fox's pocket.
"Heh..."
Lying on the bed with a tablet, Golden Leopard looked at Forest Musk Deer's medical records and laughed raucously, pointing at the anesthetized Forest Musk Deer to ridicule.
Forest Musk Deer's face was dazed and blank, evidently still under the effects of anesthesia.
......
"Master Fox, would you like a late-night snack?" Lin Bingyun glanced at the wristwatch—it was now 5 a.m.—and opened a can of iced cola, asking Master Fox.
Master Fox's life wasn't structured by time or schedule, arranging things as they occurred.
"No food, just a bath to wash off all the coal dust, then I'll take the potted plant back."
Ansheng patted his stomach, not feeling hungry, intending to head home, take a bath, and bring his teapot back to Ah Qing's dorm to sleep.
"Okay."
Lin Bingyun nodded, making arrangements, and informed the housemaids to start running the water and help package the tea tree for Master Fox to be sent to the car later.
Lin Bingyun parked the car, lifted the weapon boxes Master Fox gathered tonight, and placed them in the makeshift storage built from the double-decker parking space. The contents were increasing, ranging from machetes to oil saws, now including fish catchers and glue—all sorts of firearms.
If a security officer searched here, they'd end up issuing a notice of criticism.
The affairs of the Security Bureau are not for you to meddle in.
"Huh?"
Returning to take a shower, Ansheng noticed something odd in his dormitory, stopped in his tracks, and approached his bed, bewildered, raising his hand to compare himself to the mattress's height.
Upon comparison, Ansheng was astonished to find he was half a head shorter than his own bed.
"Housekeeper Lin... I'm shorter than my bed! And why are those foreigners here too?"
"Oh... they were all sent together." Lin Bingyun replied as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
"The mattress is ready-made; it's the fastest we can arrange. With the base, the total thickness should be around 52 cm. Do I need to measure it with a Lu Ban tape?"
Ansheng: "......."
A mattress that needs mountain climbing...
Gosh, I'll have to scale a cliff just to get on the bed.
Seeming to read Ansheng's mind, Lin Bingyun stepped forward, grabbed Master Fox, and very naturally placed him atop the mattress.
"Hmm?"
"Quite comfy... Get Ah Qing one of these. Housekeeper Lin, send me the link."
Ansheng glanced at the price and tossed his phone aside.
"Sleeping on a bamboo mat that snags your hair isn't impossible either."