Chapter 3: Purchasing Supplies

The next day, Wang Mu did not go out. He found a large flowerpot for the Greenwood Treant to stay in temporarily, while he himself busied himself with purchasing supplies.

As for his parents, neither of them was home. They had gone to make arrangements for the breeding center. That was the part he had asked them to help with. With a Breeder backing him, there were no problems at all with that plot of land in the western district. Wang Mu had already completed the formalities online.

The real trouble lay in everything that came afterward.

The Breeder Academy only gave him one hundred and fifty points of support, and Wang Mu was still weighing what to buy.

First, there was a one-hundred-point package. It directly upgraded the breeding center itself, mainly by setting up an energy barrier, installing a Spirit Gathering Array, and adding a weather simulator and temperature regulator. It also included a hatchery.

What Wang Mu called renovation, in truth, only referred to remodeling his own living quarters and the storefront of the breeding center.

For twenty points, there was a basic breeder package, which included a full set of experimental equipment and the juvenile stock of one type of spirit beast. Naturally, Wang Mu chose Greenleaf Butterfly eggs—ten in total, all from Commander-rank stock.

That left him with only thirty points, and those were the only points he could freely allocate. Wang Mu was very tempted by spell crystals. These were made by Beast Tamers of at least the fifth rank, who imprinted their own understanding of a particular spell into a crystal for spirit beasts to study.

But they were expensive.

The mid-tier skill crystals Wang Mu had his eye on cost ten points each. He knew where his strengths lay, so he was bound to choose skills, even though things like spirit beast enhancement formulas and special evolutionary route theories were just as tempting.

"Then one Mental Scan skill, one Leaf Storm skill... and with the remaining ten points, an Excellent-rank plant-type spirit beast, a Serpent Vine."

Anyone with some family wealth would usually spend one hundred and fifty points on two or three Elite-rank spirit beasts for breeding, or spend all their points on a single Commander-rank spirit beast.

Unfortunately, Wang Mu's family was very ordinary. They had neither the funds nor the channels to set up a breeding center properly, so he chose the package instead. In truth, the package was not bad at all. If one calculated its actual value, it far surpassed one or two Commander-rank spirit beasts.

In fact, among all the items that could be exchanged with points, only the packages were what the academy truly recommended buying.

After making his choices, Wang Mu opened another webpage. This was the Shenzhou Myriad Goods Network, where one could buy practically anything, so long as one had enough capital.

After binding several bank cards, Wang Mu began selecting what he needed.

First was Dawn Dew Grass. It could accumulate spiritual power and was a type of food especially favored by insect-type spirit beasts.

Then there was Azure Jade Bamboo. Greenleaf Butterflies liked to eat it, and it could also accelerate their growth. Raising them from Level 0 was far too slow, so Wang Mu chose Level 2 bamboo instead. A single mature breeding plant already cost three hundred thousand. Herbaceous plants grew quickly, however, and with nutrient solution, it would not take long to turn them into an entire bamboo grove.

Then came the Redleaf Mulberry Tree, a plant with a trace of fire attribute. The higher its level, the stronger that fire attribute became, which in turn made it less suitable for the growth of Greenleaf Caterpillars. So Level 0 was enough. Each tree cost ten thousand, and he needed thirty of them.

There was also the Blueleaf Mistflower, a comparatively rare plant that could strengthen a spirit beast's mental attribute. The male and female plants were separate. An unsterilized pair cost two hundred thousand, and he needed at least three pairs just to ensure he could successfully keep one pair alive.

As for common spirit fruit trees, Wang Mu also bought mature fruit-bearing ones. These were not expensive, but under ordinary cultivation, they could only produce ordinary fruit. After being processed into nutrient products, at most they could be fed to the young of ordinary spirit beasts, and they had no special effects.

Wang Mu compared seller after seller and eventually found a long-term supplier for spirit fruits. Ordinary quality was enough for now. He could occasionally buy excellent-quality fruits, but higher grades would be better grown by himself. Even the cheapest Elite-rank spirit fruit cost a thousand per piece, and there was no guarantee one could even buy it.

After purchasing all sorts of odds and ends, Wang Mu felt rather melancholy. Ever since childhood, he had always won every scholarship he could, and he had also earned extra money on the side. Adding that to the starting funds his parents had given him, he had possessed a bit over ten million.

Now he only had four million left.

It sounded like a lot, but in Wang Mu's previous life, that would only have been enough to survive the startup phase of a business. In this life, he was simply grateful for the support provided by the academy. Otherwise, forget the startup phase—he would not even have had the capital to start.

Wang Mu glanced at the Greenwood Treant. It preferred stillness, and in all likelihood would never develop much of a desire for battle. Wang Mu did not disturb it. Instead, he returned to his room and opened a wooden box.

Inside were three cocoons—one silver-white, one green tinged with yellow, and one entirely green.

Since Wang Mu had intended to become a Breeder from the time he was young, how could he possibly have refrained from practice?

It was only because of his limited resources in the past that all his experiments had used ordinary Greenleaf Caterpillars. His greatest success had been breeding an Excellent-rank Mind Butterfly. At the time, Wang Mu had used his talent to share a Mindforce spell and a Mental Reinforcement spell with a Greenleaf Caterpillar. Out of several hundred Greenleaf Butterflies that emerged afterward, only one retained its mindforce after evolving.

After advancing once more, it became a Mind Butterfly.

That single success was what convinced Wang Mu's parents that their child was not fooling around but truly possessed talent, and that was why they had kept saving money for him all these years.

That one Mind Butterfly had sold for one hundred and fifty thousand. Ordinary spirit beasts generally topped out at one hundred thousand, while Excellent-rank ones started at one hundred thousand. The Mind Butterfly belonged to the mental type. If not for the fact that it only had a maximum lifespan of twenty years, its price probably could have exceeded five hundred thousand.

After that, Wang Mu managed to breed a few Mind Butterflies with some degree of consistency. He could usually produce one or two each year, and that was how he slowly built up a modest little treasury of his own.

In truth, he could have made more.

But Wang Mu understood priorities. Most of his time was still spent studying and improving himself. Occasionally, he also conducted experiments in an attempt to breed new species, but unfortunately, he lacked both resources and enough skills. Almost all of those attempts ended in failure.

Almost all, which meant that some had succeeded.

The three cocoons before him were proof of that.

For the Junior Breeder Assessment in a few days, Wang Mu had deliberately purchased quite a few materials and had even obtained Phoenix-Eyed Butterfly eggs from his father. In the end, he had bred three different Excellent-rank spirit beasts.

After hatching, a Greenleaf Caterpillar would fully enter the cocoon stage after twenty days, depending on the energy it consumed from its food. Then it needed another three to five days to evolve into a Greenleaf Butterfly. For Wang Mu, if it only evolved into an ordinary Greenleaf Butterfly, that meant failure.

After all these years of experimentation, he had already found several stable spell combinations that could guarantee a Greenleaf Caterpillar would retain one or two spells after evolving.

There was a special energy field around a Greenwood Treant, and it was of great benefit to insects. Wang Mu set the wooden box beside the flowerpot. His mental power was strong, and he could keenly sense the cocoons absorbing energy. By his estimate, they would complete their accumulation today and break out of their cocoons tomorrow morning.

That was one of the Greenleaf Butterfly lineage's characteristics. They would only emerge as butterflies at dawn on the following morning. If they missed that moment, they would die.

In modern society, however, the weather was no longer a real concern. Even if a sudden stretch of terrible weather appeared, there were specialized instruments to simulate the proper conditions.

Wang Mu had even checked the weather forecast in advance. Unless there was interference from a powerful spirit beast, tomorrow would definitely be a sunny day. One could always trust the weather forecasts of the present age. The authorities possessed both powerful technology and powerful spirit beasts; there was simply no way for reality to differ from the forecast.

And if there ever was, they would force it not to.

While Wang Mu was busy, Jiang Meiqin first prepared a fine meal for an important guest before getting ready to take leave.

The manager was rather curious. Chef Jiang had hardly taken leave in all these years. He also knew that Jiang Meiqin's son studied at the Breeder Academy, and this just happened to be graduation season. After thinking it over, he approved her leave slip and then asked, "Your Mu-Mu should be graduating soon, right?"

Jiang Meiqin could not suppress her smile. "He already graduated yesterday. That's why I'm taking leave today—to go have a look at his breeding center. That child has entrusted the whole thing to us. How could we not take it seriously?"

A flash of surprise passed through the manager's eyes, but he quickly smiled as well. Then he took out a red envelope he had prepared in advance and handed it to Jiang Meiqin.

"I've been hearing you mention Little Mu ever since he was born. Now that he's done well in his studies, you two can finally enjoy some blessings."

"People don't really hold graduation banquets and the like these days, so this is just a small token of my goodwill. Will you accept it on Little Mu's behalf?"

Jiang Meiqin hesitated.

Ordinarily, congratulations like this ought to be accepted. But when she thought of how her son was destined to become a breeder, and how little support they as parents could truly offer him, she felt that they should at least avoid becoming a burden. What if she accepted the gift now, only for someone to come asking for favors in the future?

In the end, however, Jiang Meiqin still accepted it.

The Shanhai Banquet Restaurant where she worked also had a powerful backer. This manager was the restaurant's second-in-command, chiefly responsible for receiving distinguished guests, and he had access to certain channels of resources. Since he was deliberately seeking friendly relations, there was no harm in accepting it. Perhaps some material Little Mu needed in the future could be purchased through the restaurant.

And even more importantly, there was the matter of clientele. Though, generally speaking, a breeding center never lacked customers.

In that brief instant, Jiang Meiqin thought of many things. Then she said, "When I get back, I'll tell him that his Uncle Xue gave him a red envelope. And when the breeding center opens, I'd better see you there."

Xue Yun rose and opened the door for her. "That I can't promise. But as long as there are no guests, I'll definitely come."

Hearing that, Jiang Meiqin actually felt more at ease.

They had known each other for decades as colleagues. They could not be called especially close, but at the very least, there had never been any friction between them. Jiang Meiqin understood this man to some extent. He was smooth and tactful, but also upright, which was why the owner entrusted most matters to him. Now that the younger generation had grown up, keeping in closer contact was not a bad thing.

After returning to the western district grounds, she told Wang Lingfeng about it. Wang Lingfeng said, "A few of my teammates also gave red envelopes. There were some I simply couldn't refuse, but it's all right. They're decent people."

"But hurry and call Wang Mu. Ask him what he wants to name the breeding center."

Jiang Meiqin shot the man a look. "You can ask him something that small yourself. What, are you embarrassed to call your own son?"

Wang Lingfeng immediately fled, directing his Burrowing Mouse to loosen the soil instead.

When Wang Mu received the call, he was staring blankly at the Greenwood Treant.

"The breeding center's name? Let's call it Qingmu. Qing as in qing-colored, and Mu from the Mu in my own name."

Jiang Meiqin had quite a few thoughts of her own about the name of the breeding center, but in the end, it was her son's, so she simply said, "All right, then I'll let them know. If you want to change it, make sure you do so before the registration goes through."

"All right, Mom."

After hanging up, Wang Mu continued thinking. He looked at the Greenwood Treant and sighed. He had just been thinking about names as well.

"Ah, naming things is such a bother. Even though I already thought of one, I keep feeling I could come up with something better. What do you think of the name Qingling?"

Rustle, rustle—

The Greenwood Treant shook its leaves, indicating that it had no objection. Its consciousness had not really developed yet, so what thoughts could it possibly have?

And so, the Greenwood Treant's name was settled just like that.

In truth, Wang Mu had chosen the name out of consideration for it. Plant-type spirit beasts required a very long time before even a faint intelligence was born. When that time came and it wanted to understand its own name, it would instinctively try to remember it. One simply could not give it something too complicated.

At present, everything that needed doing had already been done. Since Wang Mu had nothing else to occupy him, he began sharing Qingling's spells.

Originally, he had planned to skip Rooted Form entirely, because some spells could only be used by special races. He was a human, not a tree.

His father had previously owned a Dark Bramble that also possessed the Rooted Form skill. Even though Wang Mu's Shared Level with it had been high enough, he still had not been able to share that spell successfully.

Yet when he checked the sharing list, he was left somewhat stunned.