Chapter 34: The Apiary

The conference room was deathly quiet.

Only the faint sound of the smart cleaning device could be heard as it swept up the debris from the table.

After a long silence, He Fang spoke up hesitantly, "Your Excellency?"

Was that just a loss of control of the Marshal's mental power? Should they call for a physician immediately?

Lu Qingyan noticed He Fang's concern. He glanced at the readings on the mental power monitor, confirming that there were no signs of instability in his own mental power, and replied, "It is nothing."

The surge that had occurred just a moment ago—a fluctuation powerful enough to cause physical changes in the outside world—was not triggered by "himself," or at least, not by the version of himself existing here and now.

But what on earth was it?

Lu Qingyan looked toward the now-darkened screen and asked, "Tell me what you saw."

Chen Mo immediately exported the stored video and began playing it, providing his analysis as it ran. In his view, this footage, when cross-referenced with the data previously sent back by the "Explorer" probe, essentially confirmed one fact:

The source of this peculiar mental power was a time and space where the level of technology and civilization was nearly primitive.

Initially, they had worried whether this was a false image deliberately staged by the Zerg to deceive humanity. However, the data brought back by the Explorer indicated that the probability of it being "faked" was extremely low. After all, the development of a civilization leaves indelible traces in every minute detail. For instance, the detonation of a nuclear bomb would inevitably leave specific radioactive isotopes in the air; even if they were minuscule, the Explorer would be able to detect them.

[Host has acquired the "Cotton Cloth Recipe," allowing for the rapid production of cotton cloth.]

Yet, recent monitoring charts showed that Major Kang's mental power curve, which had been wildly oscillating, was finally slowly returning to the normal range!

It was a pity that only villagers "with the corresponding skills" could comprehend the recipe; otherwise, this would truly be a new avenue for generating income.

Chu Jiu sat down on the bench nearby, looked up at the moon, and whispered to Xiao Guantou, "Are you angry?"

Chu Jiu nodded vigorously. "Yes! Yes! Next time the cotton is harvested, when you have enough cotton and enough cloth, you'll naturally be able to trade it for money!"

He Fang and Chen Mo looked at each other, both eventually saying with confusion, "Speaking? No. But this black cat did indeed meow twice."

When he saw the description for the Magic Beast Ranch stating it was "not directly reusable for 'Honor Zones'," he couldn't help but speculate: if it couldn't be used directly, could it be modified to work once certain conditions were met?

It wasn't just because it was soft, nor just because it felt wonderful to the touch; most importantly, its raw material, like nettle, grew directly from the ground!

Cheng Yue, who had been spinning wool and linen for many years, knew very clearly: this cotton cloth was simply miraculous!

For the people of Planet Alsa, who had entered the interstellar era, the backwardness of that world was beyond their everyday comprehension.

"After all, mental power... mental power is one of the hallmarks of the interstellar era. Why would that world possess such mental power? And why was that mental power strong enough to pierce through space and time to reach Planet Alsa?"

Pioneer Cabin.

Haha, he had seen through the system's little secret trick!

"Yes, yes, that's right."

At this moment, Chen Mo magnified the video on the screen, focusing on the few fluffy balls:

"Our Bean Village will have new products by next year that can't be found anywhere else!"

[Host has gained +500 Pioneer Points.]

Twilight deepened.

[After the host constructs this facility, it will generate an "Honor Zone Exclusive Blueprint," which can be given to the residents of that area for construction.]

Xiao Guantou leaned its little head down from the top of the cat tree to look at Chu Jiu, its ice-blue eyes narrowing into semicircles.

A tiny black cat, no bigger than a palm, lay on the boy's shoulder, its ice-blue eyes watching the Explorer behind the boy with vigilance.

Doing such a thing in front of his superior was actually quite impolite.

Cheng Yue wiped away her tears, struggling to control her expression, but her voice remained choked with emotion:

***

Lu Qingyan frowned slightly, looking at the frozen image on the screen:

If he were to comprehend the recipe himself, he could use the [Virtual Assembly Line] for rapid trial and error, and passive skills like [Clear Mind] would ensure his thoughts remained sharp; his speed of comprehension would certainly be far faster than that of the villagers.

"That 'cat'—did you hear it speak?"

Chu Jiu decided to give it a try.

The Roar-Roar Rabbit was sleeping in its hutch with its ears drooping, while Gulu-lu had its eyes closed, buried in the nursery with a cute, upturned curve to its mouth. The newest addition, Kaka-ba, was submerged in a half-basin of clear water, purring with satisfaction.

"This boy's behavior..."

Xiao Guantou felt its heart turn soft and warm, and at the same time, it felt a sense of panic, not knowing where to put its little cat paws.

Chu Jiu reached out to the kitten. "Come, come down first, and I'll tell you why I'm worried."

Chen Mo boldly speculated, "Some people who keep small animals will actively talk to them to increase the intimacy between them and the animal. That's not too rare."

When Chu Jiu returned to his bedroom after his bath, this was the scene he saw.

If it had been many years ago... there would have been an exception.

This unease lasted until several hours later.

The system was silent for two seconds, then popped up a new notification:

*

Watching the incoherent Cheng Yue, Chu Jiu patted her back gently, and only after her emotions calmed down a bit did he say:

But now, there were no such exceptions on Planet Alsa.

"Dr. Sun, to your knowledge, can mental bodies communicate with each other without barriers, but the 'language' of a mental body can only be understood by its owner?" Lu Qingyan asked.

[Construction Requirements: Requires 300 Pioneer Points, Bamboo Stalk x5, Timber x5, Spirit Beast x1.]

He Fang paused for two seconds, his expression quite troubled. "But this situation contradicts the fact that this is a 'live broadcast via mental power'."

Speaking of which, Chu Jiu couldn't help but lower his head and kiss the little fellow on the forehead.

Chu Jiu paused, then added:

It was so angry its whiskers were trembling, its tail was stiff, and all its fur was standing on end.

"Now... go tell the village chief the good news."

"Eh?!" Having been kissed on the cheek by the kitten, Chu Jiu was both surprised and delighted.

Lu Qingyan's expression shifted slightly, and he finally only said, "Good."

As Chen Mo said this, He Fang added:

These were all expected gains.

Chu Jiu stroked its forehead, using the simplest terms to tell it that he had a strange ability. This ability allowed him to communicate with spirit beasts like Xiao Guantou, arrange work for them, see them "grow" from their work, and receive prompts that "spiritual energy would fade if they didn't work."

"And finally," Chen Mo pointed to the small black fuzzy lump in the center of the screen, "this, it can basically be confirmed that this is a small black cat. The analysis results show a 90% probability that it is a cat."

He found Xiao Guantou at the cat tree, sitting high up, seemingly looking up at the moon outside the window.

Lu Qingyan massaged his brow and asked a question that was completely unexpected to He Fang and Chen Mo:

Xiao Guantou: "...Mm."

"Ah Jiu, thank you, I, I..."

This cloth made of cotton felt so incredibly soft to the touch.

The "big cat" in his mental landscape would reveal this kind of look whenever it instinctively sensed something unusual.

Silly, but... so cute.

But in the air of that world, such substances did not exist at all.

That's great.

***

Dr. Sun did not understand why the Marshal would ask such an obvious question, but he dutifully replied, "Yes."

The kitten wasn't even in the bedroom.

The result was just as expected; he could really obtain facility blueprints this way!

"You turned cotton—cotton that grew from the ground—into cotton cloth that can be worn and used!"

This human is worried about me.

Lu Qingyan massaged his brow again.

Is there someone looking for him at this time? And in a hurry?

"I, I can let Cheng Lin and the others wear more comfortable clothes..."

"Although there is only a little bit now... but, this, this..."

Seeing Chu Jiu run over, she took a narrow strip of cloth from her apron pocket with trembling hands:

"By the way, not only for us to wear, we, we can also use this to trade for goods, for money!"

In the end, Xiao Guantou reached upward, and its lips landed on the boy's jade-like cheek.

"That's right! It's cotton cloth!"

"In the video captured by the Explorer, this boy is talking to these, these, uh, little animals."

Chu Jiu checked the production progress of the "Apiary" in the background, feeling somewhat uneasy.

But Xiao Guantou kept its head held high, saying nothing.

Xiao Guantou hesitated for a few seconds, but eventually jumped onto Chu Jiu's hand and was cradled in his arms.

Naturally, it was angry.

Worried that I couldn't grow up, worried that I was in poor health, worried that my power was damaged...

Like right now.

"You did it!"

Because in the final decisive battle, Major Kang's defensive field had endured mental attacks far beyond its limit, the damage to his own mental power was even more severe. His mental body could only be described as "in tatters."

...A cat.

Aside from Colonel Tu and Major Shu's mental powers steadily recovering, Dr. Sun had stated in a report a few days ago with barely contained excitement: "Major Kang's body has also shown signs of improvement!"

Lu Qingyan said "Understood" and cut the connection.

Ever since Major Kang began showing signs of recovery, the physician had followed Marshal Lu's orders to send daily mental power monitoring charts of the Major—detailed down to the minute.

It wasn't until Dr. Sun's assistant bumped his arm that Dr. Sun came to his senses: *Ah, what nonsense am I spouting? Why mention the affairs of that family!*

There was another, more important and critical speculation.

He lifted Xiao Guantou to face him. "Are you not angry anymore?"

He Fang, having reached this point, actually raised a hand and scratched his hair.

Fortunately, Marshal Lu did not press for more, nor did he show any displeasure.

Was there nothing else?

[Dynamic notification from "Honor Zone—Bean Village": Villagers have comprehended the "Cotton Cloth Recipe"]