"Hey, kid, wait a moment!"
Seeing Richard about to step away again, the Witch Demon Elder remembered something important and hastily called out to him.
"What is it?" Richard asked, looking at the Witch Demon Elder.
"I just thought of something. You mentioned you suspect that the tree in the house might have other ideas and might try to secretly do something dangerous. You’re not worried about this and are even prepared to catch it on the spot, forcing it to accept harsher terms, right?" the Witch Demon Elder said.
"Is there a problem?" Richard asked, a bit puzzled, "Didn’t we confirm these details a minute ago?"
"Of course there’s a problem!" the Witch Demon Elder retorted, annoyed. "Based on what I know about you, there’s no way you’d stay here indefinitely. You might leave at any time, and sometimes for several days. What if, I mean what if, that tree in the room causes trouble while you’re gone, what then?"
"Aren’t you here?" Richard gave the Witch Demon Elder a glance and answered calmly.
"Me?" The Witch Demon Elder was taken aback, then understood Richard’s implication, eyes widening. "That’s really too much. That tree in the room is an Immortal Species. It may seem well-behaved now, but if it really erupts, who knows how strong it will be? What if there’s danger when I deal with it? Moreover, as a Witch Demon... well, I’m not afraid of it, but what if I make a mistake and fail?"
"That’s why I told you to keep working hard," Richard said. "Improve your strength and develop more powerful Magic Puppets so that when it causes trouble, you can handle it."
"Is that what you really meant just now?" The Witch Demon Elder blinked.
"Alright, I’ve got to get busy, you... do as you please."
Richard waved his hand and stepped aside, leaving the Witch Demon Elder standing there, blinking repeatedly, pondering something.
A week passed in no time.
A week later, in Eden, in the Mechanical Processing Sector, inside Research Room No.3.
The Ancient Tree Species Ximu, which had been moved here, looked vastly different compared to a week ago.
Now, it was fixed in place by a black iron frame within a glass pool filled with Nutrient Liquid. Its trunk had grown to a height of one and a half meters, with a diameter of over ten centimeters, looking like a cylinder. Most of the trunk remained unbranched, except at the top where densely packed branches formed a lush canopy — yet the canopy was void of leaves, appearing bare, like tangled wires.
Richard was present near it, fiddling with a machine situated nearby.
The machine resembled a slot machine on Earth, but more complex. An array of pointer instruments occupied the screen area, with numerous levers and buttons arranged densely on both sides. Additionally, coils of wires wrapped around underneath the machine.
After adjusting the machine for a while, Richard turned to look at Ximu, asking, "Are you ready?"
The tree bark twisted at the trunk, revealing Ximu’s face, as a two-centimeter-diameter hole blew out rapid air, following which Ximu’s voice sounded, "Intruder, I am ready, you may begin."
"Alright then." Richard nodded, grabbed a wire connected to the machine, and approached Ximu.
The wire was as thick as an infant’s arm, encased in black insulation material, with a sharp beak-like tip at the end. As Richard dragged it next to Ximu, he moved the sharp tip close to Ximu’s trunk.
As the tip was about to contact Ximu’s trunk, a round hole automatically opened on Ximu’s trunk, allowing the tip to easily insert and envelop it.
Richard nodded slightly, turned back to the machine, and picked up a second infant-arm-thick black wire.
Then the third, fourth, fifth...
Eventually, Richard inserted over ten black wires into Ximu’s trunk before stopping.
"Clack, clack, clack!"
Standing before the machine, after a brief adjustment, Richard looked at Ximu and said, "You can start supplying energy. Begin with a small amount for testing, then gradually increase."
"Intruder, you have told me this three times before. I possess the Wisdom of a high-level life, there’s no need to be so verbose, I understand perfectly," Ancient Tree Species Ximu replied with slight impatience, after which the branches at the crown vibrated rapidly, rubbing against the air in the room at a high frequency. ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴀɴᴛ ᴛᴏ ʀᴇᴀᴅ ᴍᴏʀᴇ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs, ᴘʟᴇᴀsᴇ ᴠɪsɪᴛ 𝖓𝖔𝖛𝖊𝖑~𝖋𝖎𝖗𝖾~𝖓𝖊𝖙
A few seconds later, as if friction had generated electricity, a bright blue arc suddenly flashed on one of the branches. Soon after, red, cyan, green, yellow, and purple arcs appeared one after another, covering the entire canopy.
Then, the continuous current traveled to the trunk and flowed through the wires into the machine in front of Richard.
"Clack, click, click!"
Richard squinted at the readings on some of the machine’s instruments, swiftly adjusting the numerous levers as he said, "Alright, everything is normal, increase the energy supply, double it first."
"Understood," Ximu replied, with even more densely packed arcs appearing on the canopy, absorbing energy across the void at a rapid pace, doubling the flow through the trunk, wires, and control machine, then transmitting via pre-laid wires underground to other areas to take effect.
"Double it again, clack, click!"
"Increase again by another fold, clack, click, click!"
After a few more minutes of this, when Richard once again called for a doubling, Ximu refused.
"No more, now I’m close to my limit," Ximu said, its canopy unrecognizable, completely engulfed by various colored arcs, forming a dazzling conglomerate of mixed colors.
Richard glanced at Ximu, pondered for a moment, and said, "Alright then, just maintain it . Under normal circumstances, how long can you sustain it?"
"If nothing changes and no external surprises occur, I can sustain this state up to a year later — when our cooperation ends," Ximu replied.
"That’s best, keep it this way, and if any issues arise, let me know promptly and I’ll assist you," Richard stated, adjusting the machine once more before turning and walking out to Research Room No.2.
At that time, Research Room No.2 had become much more complex than before, with numerous new devices added, but the core part remained the laser generator at the center.