Winter Lord: Starting with Daily Intelligence

Chapter 135 Explosion is Art
A damp, chilly breeze, carrying a hint of vine fragrance, quietly slipped in from the valley entrance.

Large swathes of blackout cloth cast deep shadows, while a patch of frosty white stretched quietly across the gray rock ground.

“These plants… have grown a little taller.” Mick squatted beside the trellis, his fingertip gently touching a newly unfolded leaf.

“It has a strong vitality.” Louis, standing behind him, said calmly, his gaze fixed on the soft yet resilient stems and vines.

This is a "magical garden" specially designed to create magical plants.

The soil is mixed with "magic marrow soil" refined by Hilko, which can maintain the activity of magic.

They also hung a cold-light crystal cloth over the garden to simulate the low temperature and light environment of the shady cliffs in the north.

Surprisingly, the seedlings adapted well, not only did they not wither, but they even sprouted a few tendrils that gently entwined around the fence, as if exploring their new home.

But not all frost-leaf vines are so lucky.

Those old vines with yellowing veins and long history, even when carefully transplanted, still suffer root breakage and vine shrinkage the moment they are removed from the ground, quickly losing their vitality.

“This pile is beyond saving.” Mick shook his head regretfully. “The roots are all rotten to mush.”

“Don’t throw them away,” Louis said casually. “Send them all to Hillco.”

"Understood." Mick nodded, and was about to turn around when he suddenly looked back.

"By the way, my lord, would you like to take a look at the Frostblood Redberry? It looks quite nice."

Louis was somewhat pleased to hear the name and nodded slightly: "Lead the way."

They walked through the trellis and headed towards the other side of the greenhouse.

The air was noticeably warmer, and the ground was covered with a layer of pale purple, special soil that emitted a faint warmth.

Several low-lying, purplish-red plants stood quietly, their leaf edges faintly tinged with red.

“These are Frostblood Redberries.” Mick bent down, carefully lifting a corner of the insulation cloth, his voice tinged with excitement.

"It was planted seven months ago and is now in the seedling stage."

Louis crouched down, his fingertips lightly touching the leaves. The slight warmth of the magic emanating from them revealed a wildness, yet also carried a certain untamed potential.

“Not bad,” he said softly.

“If the environment continues to be stable, we should see results within three to five months,” Mick said with a smile.

Frosty Redberry.

Louis was the one who snagged the cheap seed through the "Daily Intelligence System".

It's almost time to bear fruit, and soon we'll be able to mass-produce fruits that enhance knights' fighting spirit.

"Very well, keep staring."

"Understood!" Mick straightened his back, his face beaming with undisguised pride.

…………

The frost-leaf vine's potion didn't take Hilco long to work.

The next afternoon, he handed Louis a glass bottle that shimmered with blue light, looking relaxed: "Sir, the potion is ready."

"So fast?" Louis took the bottle of medicine, raising an eyebrow slightly.

The bottle was sealed with alchemical glass, and inside was a viscous, light blue liquid.

When gently shaken, fine mist seeps from the bottle opening, carrying a faint scent of grass and mint, mixed with a subtle, almost imperceptible, icy magical fluctuation.

Louis stared for a few seconds, then whispered, "The smell is very mild, not irritating. The temperature is lower than the air, so it should have a short-term cooling effect... Could it cause a slow cooling reaction in agitated magical beasts?"

“Your understanding is pretty much correct.” Hilko shrugged, then suddenly narrowed his eyes and asked, “So what do you plan to use as experimental subjects? It can’t be the Snow River Mad Bull, can it? There aren’t enough of those.”

“Of course not.” Louis paused, then uttered three words: “Rampaging Rabbit.”

“Rampaging Rabbit?” Upon hearing this term, Hilko raised an eyebrow. “Hmm… certainly a suitable subject. Stimulating enough, with a strong enough reaction, and the observation and feedback would be very clear.”

The Rampaging Rabbit is one of the most "illogical" magical creatures in the North.

It's tiny, with fluffy ears, and squatting there looking like some kind of cute snow mascot.

But as long as you get within three meters and make even the slightest sudden movement.

For example, if you sneeze, pick up a stone, or even just look at it with a slightly fierce expression, it will swell up instantly!

The reddish-brown spine on its back will ignite like a fuse, and the next second...

"Bang!!"

The whole rabbit will explode into a cloud of blood mist, so much so that even your own mother wouldn't recognize it.

This is no exaggeration. Even an elite knight in full armor could be blasted into pieces if he didn't activate his battle aura.

Louis added, "And once we can control this thing, we can collect the 'red platinum magic crystals' from them in a targeted manner."

"Once this magic crystal is combined with the explosive effect of magic marrow, ah, it's unimaginable."

Hilko's eyes lit up: "Red Platinum Magic Crystal... Magic Marrow... If we add a small amount of Frost Flower Crystallization..."

No, that's not right. This level of stability isn't enough, but if we could cool the outer shell first, delaying the core's detonation by one second..."

Ever since the successful prototype of the "Ice and Fire" bomb, his hobbies seemed to have been shaped into something rather eccentric by Louis.

His greatest interest on weekdays is to stay in his workshop, mixing various magic crystals and magic marrow together, trying to create magic explosion bombs with different attributes and ranges.

Explosions are art!
“Red Platinum Magic Crystal…” Hilko murmured, his eyes almost shining, “That kind of magic crystal is extremely pure and has its own explosive properties. Combined with magic marrow and fire oil, it’s a match made in heaven…”

It's even more flexible than the Ice Armor Bear's magic crystals. Although its power might be significantly less, its advantage lies in the fact that once you tame a Berserker Rabbit, you can obtain an unlimited amount!

He recalled the "Ice and Fire Dual Heaven" magic bomb that had already been used, and a trace of nostalgia flashed in his eyes.

That explosion still replays in his dreams.

Unfortunately, once those few bombs were used up, the materials ran out, and from then on, they couldn't even produce a decent explosion.

But now... now things are different.

“If we can reliably tame the Berserker Rabbits, it’s like we’ve got a mine of magic crystals.” Hilko licked his lips.

Then Hilco and Louis exchanged a smile.

That was a tacit understanding among the believers in the explosion.

If this plan succeeds, Red Tide Territory could become the most dangerous lord's territory in the entire North.

As for the question of "where to catch the Rampaging Rabbit," it might be a hassle for others, but for Louis... it's no problem at all.

The daily intelligence system had been pushing information to him for a long time.

A large group of "Rampaging Rabbits," numbering over 100, is active in the woodlands southwest of the Red Tide Territory.

At that time, winter had just begun, and he was surrounded by a mess. Not to mention hunting monsters, even feeding his people was a problem. Naturally, he marked this intelligence as "wait-to-use" and threw it aside.

But now, the frost-leaf vine reagent has taken initial shape, and the team is ready.

“It’s time to take action.” Louis stroked his chin.

...Deep in the forest, shrouded in demonic mist, the team held their breath, awaiting the arrival of their prey.

Louis waved his hand and said, "Let's begin!"

The knights immediately scattered bait grass at the designated array points, and the sweet scent quickly spread, as if summoning trouble.

The Frenzied Rabbit has arrived.

It's small, with ears standing straight up, but no one can be fooled by its appearance.

That deep red ridge, like a thundercloud before a storm, once triggered, would detonate a powerful natural bomb.

Everyone present involuntarily held their breath.

Lambert carefully adjusted the distillation apparatus to ensure the reagent nozzle was aligned in the intended direction.

The three elite knights behind him had already deployed at their designated positions, each holding a crudely made net, their expressions focused.

Elite knights are used to decide the outcome of battles.

But Louis always made them do some weird things, though they got used to it.

"Click."

The moment the device was started, an almost inaudible sound rang out, and a wisp of transparent mist was slowly released by the distiller, quietly spreading in the wind.

That was a soothing medicine extracted from frost-leaf vine.

Colorless and non-toxic, yet it carries a fragrance reminiscent of the first snowflakes in the air.

A faint, cool whisper, like the murmur of a forest sprite, gently caresses the skin, as if playing a lullaby for tense nerves.

The Berserk Rabbit's movements indeed slowed down.

Its previously tense hind legs relaxed slightly, and its ears, which were no longer tilted forward in alertness, twitched slightly twice.

The crimson light in its eyes seemed to have faded a bit, and it lay down on the spot, scratching its nose with its front paws, looking... sleepy.

“Now,” Lambert whispered.

The net-wielding rider's footsteps sank, and he leaped out! The net sliced ​​through the air, landing with pinpoint accuracy!
"Snapped!"

The rabbit was caught in the net! Success—?
No.

The next second, the red platinum stripes on the rabbit's back suddenly lit up, like a spark being thrown into a pot of oil.

Its body swelled and wriggled, as if it were about to explode into a ball of flesh and fire!
The air seemed to freeze at that moment.

“Retreat quickly—!”

Lambert roared, and everyone rolled away to avoid him.

"boom!!"

With a loud bang, the explosion ripped apart on the spot.

The seemingly harmless little rabbit transformed into a swirling cloud of blood mist and shattered bones, blasting a nearby rock into a crack.

Fortunately, everyone evacuated in time and no one was injured.

However, a lingering burnt smell in the air reminded them that this was not a game.

Behind the rocks in the distance, Hilko brushed the dust off his clothes while scribbling notes in his notebook:
"The agent has taken effect, delaying the self-detonation time by approximately 1.02 seconds, which meets the initial expected standard. The atomization concentration still needs to be increased, and the release rate is slightly slow. It is recommended to adjust the agent's proportion."

The second operation took place that afternoon.

This time, the medicine was re-formulated, and the extraction concentration of Frostleaf Vine was increased by a full 30%.

As a result, Hilco practically drained the alchemy workshop's cauldron dry, even burning out a set of stills.

“This time, even the rabbits should be sleeping and dreaming,” he said confidently, patting Louis on the shoulder.

The procedure was almost identical to the first time, except that the spray dispenser was positioned closer to the center, the release speed was increased, and it started five seconds earlier.

Ensure the agent completely covers the surrounding air before the raging rabbit enters the netting area.

The Rampaging Rabbit reappeared, still looking as harmless as ever, but this time, everyone looked at it as if it were a ticking time bomb.

The mist quietly dissipated, and the familiar "fragrance of the first snow" once again filled the air.

The raging rabbit sniffed, stopped with its front legs, and twitched its ears slightly.

Then, it...sat down.

Quiet and docile, like a little pet waiting to be fed, completely lacking the tense, explosive energy of the last time.

"catch!"

The net handler darted out, and the net accurately covered the rabbit. This time, there was no explosion, no flash of red light.

The air was eerily quiet.

All eyes turned to the trapped little creature, which blinked sleepily and even yawned, as if it were slightly tipsy from the mist.

“It worked,” Louis said softly, a smile playing on his lips.

Hilko pulled out his notebook and quickly wrote: "No self-destruct reaction, indicating that the drug's effects have been successfully neutralized. The target's mental state is stable, and control has been successful."

The raging rabbit was captured successfully, without exploding into a bloody mist or startling the knights. It even yawned sleepily in the net.

Louis stood in the wind, watching the rabbit being put into a specially made black iron cage, a satisfied smile appearing on his lips.

"The Demon Bomb Factory Project has finally taken its first step."

Hilko excitedly spun around twice: "As long as we mass-produce them, we'll have a continuous supply of bombs!"

Thus, the first "small-scale rabbit breeding farm" in the Red Tide Territory officially began operation.

It is located in a natural underground cave with carefully reinforced rock walls and deliberately dim lighting, with only a few dim yellow lights emitting a lukewarm glow.

Most importantly, there was a small ventilation distillation device in the center of the cave, which was ticking away as it slowly atomized and diluted the frost-leaf vine extract before injecting it into the air.

The fragrance is so subtle it's almost imperceptible, yet it quietly seeps into the nerves, gently suppressing the raging rabbit's explosive instincts.

Looking around, the ferocious rabbits were huddled in their respective small enclosures, their ears drooping, their fluffy bodies curled up in a ball, so quiet that they didn't resemble the legendary "wild thunderbolts that can explode" as they were; they looked more like rows of fluffy buns.

Their red platinum stripes on their backs still shimmer faintly, yet they seem to have lost the urge to ignite.

"This smell is really something." Hilko muttered as he walked down the corridor wearing a protective mask and recording data. "It's like covering a pot of gunpowder with a blanket."

The cultivation model has also been established.

One type is the "natural selection" method, which involves observing the lifespan of rabbits in a stable environment over a long period of time, waiting for them to die of old age, and then completely extracting the red platinum crystal.

Another type is the "active detonation" emergency response, which uses specific sound and light stimuli to induce a self-destruction, and then specialized knights collect the unbroken magic crystals to make a large bomb.
“Then I’ll leave it to you, Hilko.” Standing at the edge of the platform, Louis looked down at the raging rabbits lying quietly below.

"Understood!" Hilko nodded quickly in agreement.

Who could have imagined that one day in the future, it wouldn't be the elite knights who would change the course of the war in the North?

Or are they these docile "exploding rabbits" lying in the misty frost?

(End of this chapter)