He had been looking on for over an hour, occasionally asking for clarification whenever he came across something he didn’t understand.
Although Ji Xinghuo was not a Plant Witch, this knowledge was still useful.
Ren Mian would meticulously answer every question.
As dinner approached, Ren Mian had almost finished tending to the garden.
She walked up to a tree that was just over two meters tall, unremarkable in appearance and somewhat resembling an osmanthus tree with dense branches and lush, green leaves exuding a faint fragrance. On it hung a small fruit, similar to a green apricot, appearing unripe.
Ren Mian plucked the only fruit from the tree and tossed it over, "See if it’s sweet."
"What kind of fruit is this?"
Ji Xinghuo asked casually, popping the fruit into his mouth.
Crunching it a few times, the fresh and juicy bite burst with sweetness in his mouth, akin to a peach but without a pit.
He smacked his lips, relishing the aftertaste and involuntarily looked up at the tree hoping to find a second fruit, but to no avail.
"Tastes good, doesn’t it?" Ren Mian asked with a smile.
"Delicious!" Ji Xinghuo nodded.
"This is the fruit of the Sky Tree, which I’ve transplanted onto this Three-Leaf Sweetgum," Ren Mian pointed at the nearby green tree, saying coyly, "The Sky Blue Fruit is a kind of capacity-expanding wonder. Mutants and monsters below the fourth life evolution can all fuse with an additional Alien Species after eating it. It’s worth thirty million on the market."
Ji Xinghuo’s jaw dropped in disbelief.
He had just nonchalantly eaten thirty million Ya Yuan. Had he known the fruit was so valuable, he would have savored it slowly, thoroughly enjoying the taste.
Eating the ginseng fruit was nothing compared to this, but at least he was slightly better than Zhu Bajie—he had tasted its sweetness.
Then he remembered an issue.
"Ren Jie, I don’t have thirty million," Ji Xinghuo said, looking embarrassed.
"This is a benefit of joining the team; you don’t need to pay for it," Ren Mian said with a smile, "Join the team, complete a hunt, earn my approval, and you’ll get a Sky Blue Fruit. Both Xiaochi and Caiyi have had it, don’t overthink it."
"That’s a relief, that’s a relief."
Ji Xinghuo let out a sigh of relief and was immediately elated, "Ren Jie, you’re too generous, offering such a precious fruit as just a team entry benefit."
"I’ve mastered the cultivation method for the Sky Blue Fruit. It’s not too precious for me, as each person can only eat one; more than that is of no use," Ren Mian remarked nonchalantly.
"Even if you can’t eat it yourself, you could still sell it for money," Ji Xinghuo said, astonished.
"I’ve already sold quite a lot," Ren Mian replied with a faint smile, "When your wealth reaches a certain level, you’ll find there’s a lot of things you want that money can’t buy, especially for the needs of High Rank Mutants. Money really isn’t that useful."
Ji Xinghuo truly understood what it meant to be wealthy beyond measure!
Money really isn’t that useful...
Is that even human talk? It sounded enviably luxurious.
Ji Xinghuo gazed at the little tree in front of him and suddenly understood why Ren Jie had casually planted it in the garden without any special protection.
Because she didn’t care at all.
Ren Mian noticed his gaze, "Sky Blue Fruits are very rare, and most people wouldn’t recognize them. If someone does recognize and picks one, good for them for having the eye for it."
At that moment, Jiangnan Caiyi came over and called, "Sister, Mister Xinghuo, it’s time for dinner."
Ren Mian and Ji Xinghuo left the greenhouse and returned to the villa.
Zhonglin had also returned.
After dinner, Zhonglin suddenly said, "Ren Jie, I’ve thought it over for a few days, and I still want to fuse with ’Bloody Frenzy’."
"Have you made up your mind?" Ren Mian asked.
Zhonglin nodded firmly, "You said that beyond the Legendary rank, the power of Bloody Frenzy appears mediocre and lacks potential. But those are considerations for after achieving Legendary status. I’m currently an Advanced Mutant, two Ranks away from Legendary. Right now, the most important thing is to strengthen myself so that I can have a chance to advance to Legendary."
"As for the lack of potential, since I’m a Mutant without a professional template, I’m not limited by it. In the future, there might be other Abilities that can make up for it."
"Consider this a trial. Being a Mutant without a professional template is all about being brave enough to try."
"Anything is possible!"
Towards the end, Zhonglin’s expression grew more and more determined.
"Since you’ve thought it through, I won’t object," Ren Mian said, seeing how serious he was, and because his reasoning made sense, she agreed.
"Thank you, Sister Ren!" Zhonglin was overjoyed.
"The market price for Bloody Frenzy is about twenty-three million, let’s call it twenty million. According to the loot distribution principle, if you take Bloody Frenzy, you’ll have to give each of us five million Ya Yuan." Ren Mian thought for a bit and then said, "I’ll waive my five million, just give it to Xinghuo and Caiyi."
"Alright, no problem," Zhonglin immediately agreed, "I have enough savings to cover the payment."
Ren Mian took out the Alien Species of Bloody Frenzy and handed it over to him.
She then took out the crystalline Alien Species obtained in the cave of the Floating Mountains and looked at Ji Xinghuo, "Do you still want this Ether Sensitivity?"
"Then we’ll use the same distribution method. Ether Sensitivity is valued at two million Ya Yuan. You’ll give six hundred and seventy-five thousand to Little Chi and Caiyi each, and I won’t take any," Ren Mian said and then handed the Alien Species over to Ji Xinghuo.
"I’ll go sell the rest of the Alien Species."
Ren Mian left with the Alien Species, and in less than half an hour, she was back.
There are many shops in Olympia City that buy Alien Species. Dozens of Alien Species sold for over eight million in total, which was less than half of what Bloody Frenzy was worth.
Ren Mian distributed the money among the three teammates, not keeping any for herself as she wasn’t interested in money.
Ji Xinghuo received a total of over nine million.
After giving Chi Zhonglin and Jiangnan Caiyi one million and five hundred thousand each, he still had over seven million remaining, plus one Ether Sensitivity Alien Species.
"I’m about to become a millionaire again soon!"
Suddenly Ji Xinghuo felt that making money didn’t seem so hard. In just over forty days, he had earned back ten times the money he had spent on Weapon Equipment.
Of course, he hadn’t forgotten one thing.
"Sister Ren, the twenty million I owe you..."
Ji Xinghuo didn’t finish his sentence before Ren Mian stopped him, "Keep that money for now, use it to increase your strength. You can pay me back later when you have the money, there’s no rush."
"Alright," Ji Xinghuo didn’t make a fuss.
Especially knowing that Ren Mian was an extremely wealthy woman who could make tens of millions selling just a single fruit, such a sum didn’t matter to her, so he didn’t feel as guilty for owing her temporarily.
That Star Night, Ji Xinghuo entered the training room and exercised for a few hours. During the period of Star Power Recovery, he took a sum of money and went out.
Sometime later, he arrived at a specialty store for Alien Species.
"Do you have any Ether Sensitivity?" After inquiring, Ji Xinghuo learned that astonishingly, they didn’t have any.
He visited several stores and gradually understood how sought-after Ether Sensitivity was—it was almost always immediately bought upon arriving in stores, seldom available in stock, with pre-orders being the only option.
After wandering in Olympia City for two hours, Ji Xinghuo finally spotted Ether Sensitivity in one of the stores.
This Ether Sensitivity Alien Species, acquired from a monster, looked like a part of a brain, a small grey blob.
Ji Xinghuo requested a hands-on examination, and the store owner readily agreed.
Upon touching the Alien Species, the interface of Wanxiang Star Pupil appeared in his vision.
[Alien Species: Ether Sensitivity]
[Fusion Success Rate: 83%]
Reading the information on the interface, Ji Xinghuo instantly understood. Indeed, the Ether Sensitivity obtained in that cave was different!