Chapter 42: Blossoming Beauty
Hua Mi brought over a handy charging desk lamp from Earth, making activities easier at night when there was no moonlight.
This desk lamp allowed the adjustment of light hues through a knob, ranging from orange-yellow to incandescent white.Ñ00v€l--ß1n hosted the premiere release of this chapter.
Under the pure white light, the plant in the flowerpot displayed a peculiar black and white contrast.
The stem and leaves remained black, just like the young shoots at the beginning, even darker than the young shoots.
However, the newly grown flower bud was pure white, almost dazzling under the light.
Turning the knob to adjust the light's hue, the stem and leaves remained black, while the flower bud changed in sync with the light.
This indicated that the flower bud reflected almost all the light, the opposite of the stem and leaves.
Hua Mi dripped some green liquid onto the flower bud.
The green liquid slowly seeped in, but the flower bud itself didn't change much.
"Tomorrow, I'll let the seven little ones cast a spell... maybe it will bloom."
By the way, recently, after the temperature dropped, not only were the seven pseudo-flower spirits sluggish, but the bees were also less active.
One reason was the low temperature, and the other was the scarcity of nectar outside.
But as long as the temperature stayed above 0°C, it wasn't a big problem.
Even an ordinary bee colony could maintain the suitable temperature inside the hive by generating heat through friction (in simple terms, generating heat through rubbing).
Not to mention the newly evolved bee species with higher resistance to harsh environments.
The current bee colony structure consisted of fifty bee groups.
Among them, 40 were Forest Swift Bees, the main force for honey production.
There was one Painful Sting Bee and one Ironclad Bee, both more combat-oriented but also capable of nectar collection.
One Ironclad Swift Bee and one Circumcision Bee were purely combat units, considered his elite troops.
There were also six common bees as reserves.
The structure was healthy, with both offense and defense capabilities and the ability to meet production needs.
The Circumcision Bee was a bee species he obtained through a second-generation hybrid.
He had even tried to perform a third-generation hybrid on this basis.
But as the number of hybridizations increased, the difficulty increased exponentially.
With his current mental strength, a second-generation hybrid was already his limit.
He had tried several times with a third-generation hybrid, but had not succeeded.
Of course, this wasn't the limit of hybridization, but his personal limit. His mental strength was not strong enough.
As for the hybrids between Painful Sting Bees and Ironclad Bees, and Painful Sting Bees and Forest Swift Bees, since both were first-generation hybrids, he could easily do it.
"Boss, if the stock is insufficient, just restock, no need to limit the purchase quantity."
"Good honey needs time to brew. Boss, keep it up, we're waiting for you."
"Looking forward to the next batch of honey (^_^), I wonder if it will have other effects."
"I bought honey from another store in Huayu Town, although it's also free of additives, the taste is much worse, and there are no obvious effects. The meal replacement plan failed, Boss, hurry up with the new batch."
"Don't be afraid of the purchase limit, let's mobilize the whole family!"
"I recommended it to my friend, but he didn't believe it. He even suspected me of promoting it."
The next day, Hua Mi traveled back to the other world and immediately felt the temperature drop by several degrees. The two worlds were like night and day.
He quickly took out his black robe and put it on, blocking the cold air from outside.
"I hope the ice age doesn't get too cold, preferably staying above 0°C."
Otherwise, for the lower vitality of common bees, Forest Swift Bees, and Painful Sting Bees, they might not be able to survive the ice age solely by generating heat on their own.
The vitality of Painful Sting Bees and Forest Swift Bees was similar to that of common bees, and they didn't evolve advantageous traits in this regard, resulting in a lower ability to withstand harsh environments.
When external factors such as temperature became unfavorable for the bee colony's survival, intervention was needed.
"Maybe I should bring a heater, the kind you burn wood in. After all, the forest is not lacking in wood, and with Circumcision Bees, it's easy to cut down a tree into logs."
Hua Mi silently noted the idea of heating the wooden house.
The mysterious seed's flower was still the same as last night, with a clear black-and-white contrast. The flower bud seemed slightly larger, but it wasn't very noticeable, possibly just a psychological effect.
He opened the window and looked outside.
Most of the trees had already started shedding their leaves, while some remained evergreen.
The entire forest had become much quieter, with fewer insect chirps and birdcalls.
"It's probably going to be difficult to find new sources of nectar, but if I can build a greenhouse during the ice age, that would be great."
After all, the chaotic period after the ice age was even more hostile to the environment.
With a greenhouse, at least he could ensure a source of nectar.
Hua Mi dripped some green liquid onto the mysterious flower.
At that moment, the seven pseudo-flower spirits flew in, lining up.
"Good morning, Beekeeper."
The leader, Little Red, let out a big yawn, with two glistening teardrops in the corners of her eyes.
All seven of them had a drowsy look, a far cry from their previous states.
"You arrived just in time," Hua Mi greeted with a smile. "Look, this plant has grown a flower bud. With a little magic to ripen it, it might bloom."
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