My tamed beasts can't be demons.

Chapter 35 Dreamy Rhizobium (13)

Wu Xiaoqing is truly the epitome of beauty, and she's also the older sister type.

With her cursed frog, she's both a healer and a baby, making her an absolutely perfect older sister—if only she could control her habit of being foul-mouthed online.

Zhou Lu recalled that the most outrageous thing this senior student did was to argue with someone on the forum for six months. No matter what the other person replied, she would immediately reply with "You're right, but your mother is dead."

The matter ended with the administrator banning both of them from speaking.

Upon seeing Wu Xiaoqing's ID, Zhou Lu suddenly remembered that he could have purchased a batch of goods from her laboratory before entering the secret realm.

While the Enlarged Delicious Mushroom might be a bit of a stretch as food, it's an absolutely perfect substitute for fighting or escaping.

Although the inherent disadvantages of mushrooms mean that even a second-tier spirit beast like the Enlarged Delicious Mushroom can only fight on par with a first-tier spirit beast at best, due to the inherent disadvantages of mushrooms, the actual combat strength of the Enlarged Delicious Mushroom is only comparable to that of a first-tier spirit beast.

But when a crisis occurs, it often comes down to just a few seconds.

With this in mind, Zhou Lu decisively changed direction and headed to Wu Xiaoqing's laboratory.

When the laboratory door opened, Wu Xiaoqing was taking off her stockings.

Her long legs appeared exceptionally white against the backdrop of semi-transparent black stockings.

"..."

"Xiao Lu? What brings you here?" Wu Xiaoqing asked with some surprise upon seeing Zhou Lu.

Zhou Lu silently closed the lab door: "What are you doing, Xiaoqing?"

Wu Xiaoqing glanced at the half-undone stockings and, without any attempt to hide it, said, "I'm collecting new bacterial strains."

"what?"

"It's infuriating, really." Wu Xiaoqing said angrily. "I don't know which bastard reported it. I finally managed to register my edible mushrooms, but the association rejected it. They said it's a weapon, not food."

The instigator touched his nose and immediately tried to cover it up: "Didn't Teacher Xiaoxi say this research was very valuable? She even gave you a lot of fairy coins..."

"It is valuable, it is valuable." Speaking of this, Wu Xiaoqing couldn't help but feel proud. "Xu Yilong from Kaituo Army came to see me yesterday, saying that he wanted to reach a long-term cooperation with me and continuously supply Kaituo Army with large and delicious mushrooms."

Xu Yilong...

Zhou Lu immediately remembered the system's task.

I don't know if he even noticed my performance on the exam.

"Isn't this great?" Zhou Lu was genuinely happy for Wu Xiaoqing.

The value of the enlarged, delicious mushroom was clearly discovered by more than just Zhou Lu.

In exams, it's a disruptive element, but in dungeon exploration, it's an absolute lifesaver.

Its only disadvantage is that, as a second-tier spirit beast, its cultivation requires a certain level of expertise.

But since it's a mushroom, the barrier to entry can't be too high.

It can be said that with this research alone, Wu Xiaoqing can establish herself firmly in the breeding department.

"What's so good about it?" Wu Xiaoqing rolled her eyes. "I'm a food science major! Ugh! Can't I make any edible mushrooms?"

Speaking of this, Wu Xiaoqing puffed out her cheeks angrily, crumpled the stockings in her hand into a ball, and stuffed them into the beaker next to her.

"So, what are you doing now?" Zhou Lu knew that scientists always did some strange things, but wasn't it a bit too weird to stuff his own stockings into a beaker for extraction?

While stirring, Wu Xiaoqing said, "I've seen many people say that beautiful girls' feet have a special charm. I'll see if I can extract the corresponding bacteria for cultivation."

Zhou Lu was speechless: "Is it possible that those people were just making a joke?"

"Huh? Is this a joke? Then why would someone ask me for stockings?"

"That's a pervert! Block him! Call the police!"

Wu Xiaoqing glanced at Zhou Lu and said meaningfully, "So what are you doing now?"

What am I doing?

Zhou Lu looked down, following Wu Xiaoqing's gaze.

Hanabi was carefully touching the stockings on Wu Xiaoqing's other leg, occasionally tugging at them, trying to take them off.

"Holy crap! What are you doing? Fireworks!" Zhou Lu nearly coughed up blood.

Fireworks was startled by Zhou Lu's voice, and its leaves trembled a few times.

It immediately retracted its vines and obediently stretched out its branches and leaves to greet Wu Xiaoqing.

"Don't do such strange things." Zhou Lu picked up Hua Huo helplessly.

Hanabi asked in confusion: Huh? Doesn't Master like this thing?

"..." Zhou Lu remained silent for a long time. "Although I don't know what you're talking about, I have a feeling that you're thinking about something very impolite."

The flowers drooped their leaves somewhat dejectedly.

It thinks its owner doesn't like its legs because it's not wearing stockings, and it's planning to steal them to study them...

"By the way, what brings you here today?" Wu Xiaoqing didn't take these things to heart; she was the kind of carefree woman. "I haven't congratulated you yet, but you got a perfect score on the preliminary exam and even passed the exploration certificate test."

"I also have to thank Sister Xiaoqing for giving me Fairy Coins," Zhou Lu said gratefully.

"Anyway, that thing is useless to me."

"Only Sister Xiaoqing could say that..."

Wu Xiaoqing seemed to remember something, opened a drawer to the side, and took out a paper bag: "Oh right, this is for you, as a reward for passing the exam!"

Zhou Lu curiously took the bag; inside were some black lumps.

"What is this?"

"Dreamlike rhizobium." Wu Xiaoqing carefully examined the beaker in her hand.

If it weren't for the stockings in the beaker being so out of place, this would definitely look like a standard research scene at the Academy of Sciences.

"Dreamlike rhizobium..." Zhou Lu repeated the name.

Wu Xiaoqing put down the beaker in her hand: "Dream Rain Flower doesn't have natural toxicity, and its evolved forms may not either. If plant spirit beasts don't have the poison attribute, they can't learn poison-type skills, which will put them at a disadvantage in battle. Dreamy Rhizobium can grant the plant spirit beasts it coexists with the poison attribute, and there are no other side effects."

"Directly imbue it with poison attributes?" Zhou Lu said in surprise, he had never heard of such a thing before.

Attributes are usually something that spirit beasts are born with or that they evolve and awaken; I've never heard of them being acquired in this way.

Wu Xiaoqing shrugged and said, "It's not very useful except for this. It's pretty useless as a first-tier spirit beast, isn't it? I wanted to research special symbiotic bacteria that could increase the yield of root crops like potatoes, but this is what I ended up researching."

Speaking of this, Wu Xiaoqing became somewhat dejected: "Sometimes I really doubt whether I have any research talent at all..."

Xiaoqing, how about we try a different approach? I don't think you're well-suited for developing food spirit beasts...

"Won't rhizobia make the roots look ugly?" Zhou Lu suddenly asked, glancing at the fireworks in his arms.

The mushroom's sparks of interest turned the leaf away.

To be honest, the roots of the Fireworks are so clean and white, like works of art. It would be such a shame if they became ugly after being infested with rhizobia.

"It makes me so angry just thinking about it!" Wu Xiaoqing said angrily. "It's supposed to be rhizobium, but it doesn't do anything extra to the roots! It doesn't even grow nodules."

Fireworks turned back with relief and continued looking at the mushrooms.

"Didn't you announce the results?" Zhou Lu asked in a low voice.

Wu Xiaoqing asked curiously, "What's the point of publishing such rubbish results?"

Is this some kind of garbage?

A rhizobium that can impart poisonous properties to ordinary plants and spirit beasts!

It's important to know that many plant spirit beasts actually have excellent potential in combat, but they are eliminated by other poison-attribute plant spirit beasts because they lack the poison attribute and cannot learn skills that require both grass and poison attributes.

Dream rhizobium can absolutely change their fate.

"What about that mushroom from last time?" Zhou Lu recalled the mushroom that almost killed Wu Xiaoqing. Its toxicity, which took effect so quickly, was an explosive phenomenon in the world of poisons.

"It's just rubbish." As she spoke, Wu Xiaoqing glanced at the mushroom field behind her. "Speaking of which... I feel like my mushrooms are getting fewer and fewer."

The firework plant lying next to the mushroom field looks like it's using a fill light, and it occasionally rubs its vines like a fly rubbing its hands.

Two more chapters to go.

(End of this chapter)