CH 23

It didn’t take long for Borg’s group to follow the clues on the live broadcast room to find where Tu Mianmian was.

At that point in time, Tu Mianmian had already transformed the show into an eating broadcast on the spot.

He and the Dandan Grass fed each other and feasted on wild vegetables harmoniously.

Fritsch, Robbins, and Xu Lu were jumping around Tu Mianmian, wanting to rub a bit of attention from the cameras surrounding Mianmian.

They looked as if they worked well together.

Borg raised his smiling face and said hello: “Greetings to the Duchess.”

Tu Mianmian turned his head and stared at Borg for a bit: “?”

“We have a task that can’t be completed and we wanted to ask for your help.” Borg answered in response to Tu Mianmian’s questioning eyes.

He leaned forward and very wisely opened the task card saved on his light brain to show to Tu Mianmian: “Please look at it first.”

On Borg’s light brain, the task judged as S-rank was displayed.

Robbins glared at Borg and his group one by one and commented, “You’ve gotten two tasks in total. One was already replaced by us and the other is coming directly to ask for help?”

Robbins looked down at Borg’s group condescendingly, and mocked them: “Can’t even complete one task?”

Borg smiled and didn’t say a word.

Tu Mianmian poked at the Dandan Grass beside him, indicating that he had eaten enough and didn’t need to be fed any more vegetables.

Then, he looked at the content of the task and the introduction of the mutant plant on Borg’s light brain.

He pulled on Dululu’s vine and dragged it over, “Huh? This mutant plan looks like you! Your relative?”

This mutant plant also had a lot of vines.

Dululu took a look and quickly waved its vines: Not my relative! But I can beat it!

Tu Mianmian became a little interested and agreed to Borg’s request for help: “Then I’ll go and help you take a look.”

Maybe you can see mutant plants fighting.

“Mianmian, be careful of a conspiracy.” Frisch leaned over to remind in a low voice.

Xu Lu agreed and said: “What if Borg set up a trap and is just waiting for us to jump into it?”

“It doesn’t matter.” Tu Mianmian thought about it and said, “Strength decides everything.”

He confidently said: “Anyway, Dululu said that it can beat that mutant plant.”

With Dululu, the elder brother with seniority in the mutant plant world covering him, Tu Mianmian wasn’t afraid at all!

[Goose, goose, goose, I’ll laugh at the goose who cries first! Tu Mianmian pushed out Dululu to deceive people.] (T/N: basically idiom like the boy who cried wolf)

[I think Borg is weird. His purpose for coming to Mianmian is too far-fetched.]

[Maybe he just wants to rub the camera? Maybe asking Mianmian for help is just an excuse to grab some attention?]

[Now I can see the disadvantage of not giving other guests shots, because when we can’t see them, we don’t know what will happen. Maybe a conspiracy will occur.]

[Shocking! He has a high affinity for mutant plants, and he actually does such a thing to mutant plants…For details, please look forward to today’s broadcast at 8 o’clock tonight.]

After a bit of walking, Tu Mianmian and Borg’s group came to the S-rank mission point—the place where the mutant plant Calming Vine was also located.

Approaching from a distance, you could see a large open space ahead, and the Calming Vine was planted in the center of the open space.

Judging by the large area of the site occupied by the Calming Vines, you can tell that it’s a big boss in the mutant plant world.

In the face of this big guy, you probably shouldn’t let Dululu come forward to be a thug.

After it sensed people approaching, the Calming Vine stretched out a long, thin vine in front of Tu Mianmian.

There was a small ‘bang’, and a small flower quickly bloomed along the vine.

The flower had snow-white petals and exuded a refreshing, cold fragrance.

The tip of the vine plucked off the flower and carefully inserted it into Tu Mianmian’s hair.

After being picked, the fragrance from the flower became more intense and even the people near the flower could smell the cold fragrance.

After smelling it, they suddenly felt refreshed.

Robbins was knowledgeable about the Calming Vine’s flowers and a trace of envy could be seen flashing through his eyes, “This is a Calm Flower…”

Calm Flowers have the effect of nourishing and repairing mental power.

When someone’s mental force becomes manic, these flowers are able to produce a calming effect on them.

This is the reason for the Calming Vine and Calm Flower’s names.

However, Calm Flowers have only one output channel, the Zoological Garden, and the numbers are pitifully small.

To the outside world, these flowers have always been priceless and in short supply.

But, as soon as the Calming Vine and Tu Mianmian met, it gave him a flower, which is really enviable.

Tu Mianmian took the Calm Flower off the top of his head and placed it on the tip of his nose to sniff.

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The cold aroma rushed to his heart.

He didn’t know if it was an illusion or his own wishful thinking, but he felt like his demon power seemed to become a bit stronger.

Mianmian held the small, white flower between his fingers, pinched the rhizome and turned it around, and the petals immediately spun into an afterimage.

Viewed under the sun, the color was as white as jade, and there seemed to be a faint shimmer on the petals.

Tu Mianmian asked those around him, “How long can a plucked Calm Flower last?”

“One month.” Robbins answered: “The longer the time goes on, the more effective the Calm Flower will be, until it eventually withers.”

Tu Mianmian quickly understood and hurriedly placed the small, white Calm Flower in his space button like a small treasure.

After putting it away, he found everyone staring at him.

Tu Mianmian smiled embarrassedly, “Sivir should be able to use it. I wanted to save this Calm Flower for him.”

Everyone: “…”

Oh god, today is really a day full of harvests.

Not only did they smell the aroma of Calm Flowers, but they also ate the Duchess’s dog food.

“Being too jealous will make me ugly!” Robbins yelled.

In front of everyone, the Calming Vine which had been very quiet after giving a flower suddenly moved.

The vines wrapped around the corner of Tu Mianmian’s clothes and tugged.

It probably felt that Tu Mianmian had stood in place for too long, and it wanted attention.

When the vine finished pulling the corner of Mianmian’s clothes, it rolled itself around Tu Mianmian’s wrist and pulled him forward with a slight force, revealing a hint of impatience.

Everyone hurriedly stepped forward to make sure it wouldn’t become violent.

However, once Mianmian came closer, the Calming Vine trembled all over and then numerous Calm Flowers bloomed on all of its vines.

The cold fragrance hit everyone there.

After all the Calm Flowers bloomed, they quickly withered and the petals fell all over Mianmian’s body.

But that’s not all. The Calming Vine took something from behind and handed it directly to Tu Mianmian.

It was a large bundle of flowers.

The large bouquet of Calm Flowers had different colors.

In the Interstellar Era where the popularity of greenery is extremely low, a bouquet of flowers is already a very expensive luxury.

Even in the Central Star, which is actively engaged in greenery, the price of a bouquet is not low.

Not to mention, this was a bouquet of priceless Calm Flowers.

Under everyone’s gaze, Tu Mianmian took the bouquet of flowers.

The entire scene was silent.

The live broadcast room was also silent.

After a long time, Robbins was able to regain his voice, “Being too jealous no longer makes me ugly.”

He was trying to remain calm, but let out a sob: “Instead, being extremely jealous will make me become disfigured.”

[Give me first aid! Central Star Hospital! I can’t hold on anymore!]

[This is the smell of money. It’s the smell of star coins…]

[The Calming Vine is blatantly showing off its wealth! Does this count as Mianmian ‘being smashed in the face by star coins’?]

[I’m going out! Outside! I’m going to pick up the petals on the ground to eat! It’s all money!]

[The dog men of the Central Star should watch this! There’s a mutant plant that understands romance! Go give me a good study!]

After the flowers on the Calming Vine withered, a large pile of Calm Flower seeds were left behind.

These seeds can be artificially cultivated.

However, artificially cultivated Calm Flowers are not as effective as the ones which bloom from the Calming Vine—but they’re just right for the urgent needs on the market.

Also, collecting these seeds are exactly the contents of the S-rank task belonging to Borg’s group.

Once Tu Mianmian handed in the collected seeds to the task robot, he glanced over calmly in the direction behind him.

Because he was surrounded by the scent of Calm Flowers when he first got here, he didn’t notice it.

But, now that he was accustomed to their scent and presence, Tu Mianmian felt a different and unique energy here.

It was a weak energy, on the verge of extinction.

It resonated faintly with Tu Mianmian’s demonic power, attracting him towards it.

When Borg saw the task robot leave, he turned on his light brain and walked to Tu Mianmian: “Thank you for helping us complete the mission Duchess.”

He checked the task on the display of his light brain, which then showed the words ‘mission completed’.

“No thanks.” Tu Mianmian said as he came back to his senses.

He waved his hand indifferently, and raised his chest a bit, “It was just a little effort.”

“Don’t mention it.” Tu Mianmian said as he smiled and placed the large bundle of Calm Flowers into his space button.

“It was worthwhile for me to come here! Haha!”

Borg: “…”

He felt like something was lodged in his heart.

Robbins, Fritsch, and Xu Lu also saw that the task was completed so they stepped forward and surrounded Tu Mianmian, preparing to leave.

Their business was finished, so it was useless to stay.

When he saw them leave, Borg became a bit anxious.

He wanted to frame Tu Mianmian, but he couldn’t do it under the lenses of the live broadcast cameras, otherwise he’d be ruined if he was caught by the audience.

But now Tu Mianmian was leaving and this was the closest place to the restricted area.

He just had to find a chance to trick Tu Mianmian over, but not seem deliberate.

Borg’s team saw his thoughts at a glance, so they turned around and began to try to make Tu Mianmian stay: “Duchess, you helped us. Although it wasn’t a big effort for you, we should express our gratitude.”

“Why don’t we treat you to a meal? Or afternoon tea?”

Borg also chimed in and said: “It’s almost time for afternoon tea after all.”

There’s a scheduled intermission for a lunch break.

During that time, the guests can move freely about and the live camera will also temporarily stop shooting.

It was the perfect time for Borg to take action.

The team that schemed with Borg sang the same tune together.

And surprisingly, Tu Mianmian took their advice even though they were suspicious.

“Okay.” Tu Mianmian nodded and agreed neatly, “Let’s take a break.”

Mianmian didn’t know about Borg’s plan, but he already had his own plans.

Right now, he wanted to freely move about the garden and find the place that attracted him.

With Mianmian’s approval, Borg was overjoyed and immediately summoned a robot to help with the intermission.

The live cameras also announced that filming would temporarily be suspended.

Then, everyone dispersed and went about their own business.

Borg was about to find Tu Mianmian to start his plan, but when he turned his head to look for him, he didn’t see Mianmian’s figure.

He was startled, then looked left and right.

At a corner leading to the restricted area, he caught a glimpse of Tu Mianmian’s back.

Borg’s heart jumped—emotions of joy and doubt flooded him at the same time.

He was glad that he didn’t need to provoke and guide Tu Mianmian himself.

He was already heading in that direction, but the important part is whether or not he headed to the restricted area alone.

With little time to think deeply about it, he immediately followed in Mianmian’s footsteps.

——

Borg didn’t see Tu Mianmian until he reached the restricted area.

The defensive cover of the restricted area glowed with a faint shimmer, blocking Tu Mianmian from the outside.

Borg’s eyes flickered slightly in indecision.

But he steeled himself again.

From the moment he made the choice to cause trouble, he was prepared.

He had already got the instruction on how to open the defensive cover of the restricted area.

Mianmian was blocked outside, so Borg turned on his light brain and entered the pass code.

“…?” Standing in front of the protective cover, Tu Mianmian stood there in a bit of a daze.

The cover opened a small entrance suddenly.

Mianmian looked around only to catch sight of a sneaky figure hiding away from the corner of his eye.

He hesitated for a moment, then turned on his light brain and switched it on to the hidden video recording mode.

Then, he walked in without looking back, heading straight towards the flower in the center of the restricted area surrounded by a defensive cover.

The Rainbow-colored Flower in the center of the restricted area was as tall as a person, with a sturdy rhizome and a bud-like flower at the top.

But the state of the Rainbow-colored Flower didn’t look optimistic.

The bud was wilting and it looked like it was extremely lacking in nutrients.

A section of the rhizome was dry and it seemed as if a light touch would break it and result in its death.

The closer he got to it, the more intense the energy felt to Tu Mianmian.

He also perceived the emotion of ‘hunger’ from the Rainbow-colored Flower.

Mianmian hesitated for a bit and then mobilized his demon power to condense in his hand.

He stretched out his fingers forward slowly, wanting to gently touch the flower.

Just as his fingertips were about to touch the rhizome of the Rainbow-colored flower, there was a sudden force that pushed him from behind, causing Mianmian to fall forward uncontrollably.

Tu Mianmian: “!”

He bumped into the Rainbow-colored Flower, and when he tried to look back, he only saw Borg’s figure running away swiftly.

The flower shook after being bumped and a piercing alarm sounded throughout the sky.

Mianmian’s face paled.

The moment he touched the Rainbow-colored Flower, a strange spiritual magnetic field formed and he established a connection with the flower.

The demon power in Tu Mianmian’s body was uncontrollably sent to the Rainbow-colored Flower.

When his demon power poured into the sluggish flower, it was quickly absorbed and the rhizomes turned greener and the flower bud became more delicate.

After it absorbed enough demon power, the Rainbow-colored Flower stopped, but Tu Mianmian’s demon power was almost exhausted.

Mianmian leaned against the rhizome of the Rainbow-colored Flower and sat down tiredly.

His face became paler and he looked even more fragile and weak.

The bud on top of the flower slowly bloomed, and between the layers of the petals, a small thumb-sized creature crawled out.

It was a little ‘elf’ with golden, curly hair and a pair of translucent wings.

Around her, there were sprinkles of lights which scattered everywhere as she fluttered her wings.

The elf flapped her wings and flew out of the flower, then circled around Tu Mianmian twice.

She moved close to Mianmian’s cheek and rubbed it affectionately, while letting out a small, thin sound from her mouth.

<Author’s Note>

After the elf was born, she saw Mianmian for the first time and shouted happily: Mom!

Lord Duke: ?