Industrial Cthulhu doesn't believe in the end times.

Chapter 212 Funding
"What are those pits in front of your gate for? A moat?"

Hearing Su Xun ask this question, Xu Huan didn't know much about the matter either: "The engineers said that's how it was drawn on the design drawings, and since it doesn't have any impact, I didn't ask about it in detail."

"I don't know what the design institute thinks, but I think it would be nice to put a small flower bed there and plant some flowers. If you think there's a problem, you can fill it in for me."

"..."

After thinking about the location of those pits, Su Xun roughly knew what had happened.

"Forget it, let's leave it like that. We'll have Xiao Zhenru fill it out later."

"What does this have to do with Xiao Xiao?"

"It's nothing." Su Xun didn't continue the topic, but instead asked, "How have you been lately?"

"Everything is going well, but it will take some time to get the results."

Xu Huan led Su Xun to visit several houses where seedling cultivation equipment was installed. Su Xun looked at everything in this breeding center with great surprise.

There are automatic doors, but no photoelectric sensing system in sight. The indoor lights turn on and off as the doors move, and the heating system keeps the temperature within a constant range.

In Su Xun's perception, the potato that had reached the fourth level was the one manipulating things behind the scenes. With his knowledge, such a scene was certainly rudimentary and simple, but it contained many ingenious ideas, which is a good example of how supernatural technology can be combined with daily life.

"The temperature and humidity here are actively controlled by that potato, and the effect is surprisingly good," Xu Huan explained to Su Xun. "It's like its own air conditioner. As long as it feels comfortable, it will also adapt to the growth of other offspring."

"In addition, we also found that under suitable temperature and humidity conditions, it seems to be in a good mood, and even the computing power and response speed of the devices connected to it will improve."

...Well, what looks like an insulated greenhouse is actually a server room.

The temperature is quite suitable for potatoes, and it is also quite comfortable for humans. Before the cataclysm, soilless cultivation technology for crops like potatoes was already very mature and could be used from small balconies to space stations.

The conditions required for the growth and reproduction of extraordinary crops differ from those for ordinary plants; the potatoes used for the 'server' and other edible crops are also different.

These extraordinary plants can respond to their needs, but... what a child wants to eat and what a child needs are often different. This is also true for potatoes. Just like when Xu Huan and his group first discovered that potato plant, it was probably too thirsty at the beginning, and now it likes to ask for water all the time.

Fortunately, it's already a fourth-tier extraordinary plant, so there's no need to worry about it drowning.

Looking at the rows of potato seedlings on the shelf, Xu Huan said to Su Xun, "The first batch of seedlings will need about a month to grow before they can be put into use. If there is a sufficient supply of spiritual energy crystals, this process can be accelerated significantly."

"So you're asking me for funding?"

Su Xun smiled, and as he pondered, a sudden thought struck him: "There is funding, but you may have to collect it yourself."

"What is it?"

Su Xun told Xu Huan about the problems they were currently facing at the front, mainly that the corpses of the alien species were affecting the firing range.

"Pack up and dispose of those alien corpses on the battlefield, collecting tens of millions of spiritual energy crystals won't be a problem." Su Xun clapped his hands, increasingly convinced that this was feasible. Xu Huan's plant catalysis ability could extract and purify the spiritual energy within his opponents, eventually bearing fruit. He could even utilize the spiritual energy from zombies. Su Xun had always thought that Xu Huan's most useful ability was catalyzing plants, but he had overlooked its ability to purify spiritual energy. Now, thinking back, he was suddenly pleasantly surprised.

Once the natural, pure crystalline mineral deposits are excavated, the spiritual energy crystals containing impurities, such as those from alien species and zombies, will rapidly depreciate in value, and their applicable fields will be replaced and shrink by pure crystals. How to make them play a role is an important issue.

Although the fruit that Xu Huan forcibly and rapidly catalyzed was not as versatile as the spiritual energy crystal and was difficult to grow into a true mutated plant, it was still a considerable benefit. Xu Huan had spent a long time researching in the research area and had already figured out how to process it into feed, fertilizer, and food.

Normally, this approach wouldn't be very profitable, and Xu Huan's combat strength is limited. But on the battlefield now, although there are dangers, all they have to deal with are corpses that won't fight back.

The alien species' bodies are so huge that they rely on spiritual power for support. Once the spiritual power is drained, they will disintegrate and cease to be an obstacle. Su Xun had long been aware of this, and Xu Huan had also learned about it when he was expanding the Haiqu Secret Realm. At that time, he wanted to find some alien flesh and blood for research, but now he has the opportunity.

"If this works out, your Institute of Botany will receive over 10 billion revival coins in funding in the first year of this cataclysm. How about that? Does that give you some motivation?"

"I asked you for funding, and you want to use me as a laborer?" Xu Huan gave a wry smile. So many alien corpses, it sounds easy, but it's not that simple.

Nevertheless, he accepted the mission. Solving the problem for the Corps was something he had no reason to hesitate about.

"Enough of that. You didn't come to the breeding center today just to check on the progress, did you? Is there anything else?"

"Yes." Su Xunguang was so focused on solving the problems on the battlefield that he almost forgot his original purpose. He took out the peach pit in his hand and handed it to Xu Huan.

"This is something I acquired by chance. It should be a very powerful mutated plant, but it can't grow now, and it seems to lack spiritual energy. Do you see if there's anything you can do about it?"

Holding the peach pit, Xu Huan's expression gradually became serious: "I can feel that it... is very powerful, and its spiritual energy is indeed in a state of depletion."

Xu Huan's so-called strength does not refer to its high rank. Even for mutated plants, a seed has no rank to speak of. The strength he refers to is its 'talent', or something closer to its essence.

The more carefully he sensed it, the more alarmed he became, even feeling a sense of dread. He had seen many mutated plants at the Institute of Botany, including watermelons that could jump around even before they were fully ripe, and server potatoes that were considered "geniuses among beans." But all of these seemed insignificant in the face of this quiet peach pit.

“With my strength, I can only infuse it with spiritual energy; I can’t directly catalyze it at all,” Xu Huan said in a deep voice. “I suspect that the parent plant of this seed is extremely powerful. Its hard core… that is, this wooden outer shell, comes from its parent plant. It is extremely hard, protecting the seed inside while also becoming a constraint that hinders its growth.”

"If you want it to sprout, you need to infuse it with an astonishing amount of spiritual power."

Su Xunxin agreed. He believed that the seed left by Fuxi was from a tenth-order entity. This thing had survived in the secret realm for a long time, possibly even from before the last spiritual energy depletion. Just thinking about it made him realize how terrifying it was.

Xu Huan was very puzzled and asked, "Where did this come from? Are there such powerful mutated plants now?"

"No, this was found in a secret realm, not a creature that exists in the present world." Su Xun didn't explain further; the fewer people who knew about Fuxi, the better.

"So when Elder Xu goes to the battlefield to deal with the alien species later, can he also replenish its spiritual energy?" Su Xun felt a little embarrassed when he mentioned this. They had clearly agreed that the alien corpses would be used as funds for the breeding center, but now this thing would take up a lot of their budget. According to Su Xun's perception, this thing must have quite a large appetite.

"Don't worry, leave it to me." Perhaps sensing Su Xun's thoughts, Xu Huan smiled and said, "I should thank you for sending such a strange thing. I'm afraid I couldn't have done it even if I worked myself to death using ordinary plants to 'eat' all those alien species."

"The Institute of Botany couldn't possibly handle that much funding anyway, so this is just right."

(End of this chapter)