As someone in sequence 001, I also want to give up today.

Chapter 41: They combined aren't enough to defeat them.

Carrying the "Golden Cat's Paw Pudding Bush" home, the first thing Li Xian did was find a suitable place to put it.

It's obviously not suitable for the balcony—the fragrance is too strong and might attract the attention of the neighbors.

The living room is out of the question; Fat Orange is extremely wary of anything new.

Finally, Li Xian placed it next to the bookshelf in the corner of the study, where the light was just right, the ventilation was good, and it was the furthest away from the cat tree where Fat Orange usually stayed.

"Let's leave it here for now."

Li Xian put down the cardboard box and carefully took out the flowerpot.

The golden cat's paw flowers appear even softer under indoor lighting, and the pudding has a rich but not overpowering aroma.

As expected, Fat Orange strolled over from the living room immediately.

Crouching at the study doorway, his heterochromatic eyes warily stared at the glowing plant.

"Meow? (Translation: What is that? It tastes weird.)"

"Souvenirs brought back from school."

Li Xian gave a casual explanation.

He leaned closer to observe carefully, and the power of all phenomena silently unfolded, meticulously analyzing the energy structure of this mutated plant.

Just as he expected, the energy structure inside this pothos plant was quite unique.

The high-level spiritual power leaked from the bell served as a "seed".

The "definition" or "catalytic" effect brought about by Lin Wanwan's unawakened talent serves as a "template".

Zhang Yu's weak current served as a "trigger".

The combination of these three elements produces a complex energy field that is extremely stable and possesses certain "mimicry" and "replication" characteristics.

This energy field not only changed the plant's appearance and smell, but even gave it some... very faint responsiveness?

Li Xian tried to transmit an extremely gentle strand of spiritual energy, like gently stroking a small animal.

The leaves of that pothos plant swayed gently without any wind.

A few of the thinnest vines tentatively stretched towards Li Xian.

One of the stems had a tiny golden cat's paw flower at its tip, which gently touched Li Xian's finger resting on the edge of the flowerpot.

It has a soft, slightly cool touch, carrying the unique vitality of plants.

At the same time, Li Xian sensed an extremely vague, almost instinctive feeling of "pleasure" and "closeness" emanating from the faint collection of consciousness within the plant.

"Oh? That's actually quite interesting."

Li Xian raised an eyebrow.

This level of awareness is roughly somewhere between a mimosa plant and rudimentary artificial intelligence.

It can react to external stimuli, but it is far from true wisdom.

He thought for a moment and then conveyed the message with clearer mental intention.

"At home, no copying, no haphazard growth, tolerate the fragrance a bit, and especially don't provoke that fat cat."

The vines paused for a moment, then one of them bent up and down, as if nodding.

At the same time, the rich pudding aroma in the air noticeably faded and became much milder.

"They're quite obedient."

Li Xian was satisfied.

At this moment, the chubby orange cat at the door seemed to have noticed the flower's "yielding" attitude and walked in with elegant steps.

It circled the flowerpot twice, sniffed the flowers whose scent had faded, and then looked up at Li Xian.

"Meow? (Translation: Can this thing be kept?)"

"Yes, as long as they don't cause trouble."

Li Xian patted Fatty Orange's head.

Fat Orange stared at Green Ivy for a few more seconds, then let out a wheezing sound that was hard to understand, which was a sign that it had reluctantly accepted its new "roommate".

It jumped onto the top shelf, lay down high above, and continued to perform its duties as "security captain," while also keeping an eye on the newcomer.

Thus, the "Golden Cat Paw Pudding Bush" officially settled in Li Xian's home.

Li Xian gave it a simple name – Xiao Jin.

Although the name is unoriginal, we'll make do with it considering that plants probably don't understand complicated names.

After settling Xiao Jin in, Li Xian began preparing dinner.

Considering that Lingdang had been "fussing" at school all day, he decided to make steamed fish anyway.

After all, the excuse of braised pork is just talk; if it were actually made, that girl would nag about it for days.

During dinner, Lingdang chattered on about school while eating her rice.

"Old Deng, you don't know, Zhang Yu has been behaving himself in the office ever since his parents were called in today! He hasn't dared to show off his electric sparks anymore!"

"Wanwan said that during the next 'stable period of astral energy,' we will conduct more sophisticated experiments. This time, we will add a 'protective barrier' and an 'energy buffer device'... although the device she mentioned seems to be just stacking a few more cardboard boxes."

"By the way, Teacher Zhao taught a new lesson on mental energy guidance this afternoon, and I feel like... well, it's a little bit helpful?"

At this point, a rare look of distress appeared on Lingdang's face, different from her usual chuunibyou or mischievousness.

"But Old Deng... I think my improvement is a bit slow."

She put down her chopsticks and looked at Li Xian intently.

"Today, Teacher Zhao checked everyone's progress, and many students have improved their mental strength. Most people increased by two points. Wanwan was even more impressive, increasing from 12 to 16! Almost catching up with Zhang Yu's 17!"

"But I..."

Her voice lowered.

"I've only increased my salary a little bit so far, and they were all initially lower than me..."

Li Xian knew exactly what was going on.

The bell's original base mental strength was 16 points (after the nourishment from food and training over the past few days), and after fission, it reached 256 points, a solid E-level.

However, what she outwardly disguises is "mental amplification," which actually increases basic mental strength by about 50%.

Therefore, she must control her performance at a level of "around 11 points on the base and around 14 points after the boost".

To others, she went from "11 points of increase to 14 points" to "14 points of stable output" (now she's pretending to be 14 points), which is indeed an improvement, but the increase is about the same as other outstanding students.

But Lingdang herself knew that her actual base level had only increased by 1 point (15→16).

Compared to her classmates who easily gained 2, 3, or even 4 points, this speed did seem "slow".

Lin Wanwan, in particular, jumped from 12 to 16, a leap of 4 points, which was like riding a rocket.

Of course, Li Xian knew that it was because Lin Wanwan herself had extremely high hidden talent.

Previously suppressed by various misconceptions and limitations, now that they receive proper guidance, it's like a compressed spring suddenly being released, and rapid progress in the early stages is quite normal.

"You think it's slow?"

Li Xian placed a piece of fish into her bowl, his tone indifferent.

"Then let me ask you this: if you went all out right now, without using the Fission ability, and just used your current 16 points of basic mental strength, who in the class do you think could stop you from even a single blow?"

Bell blinked and began to think seriously.

"Zhang Yu? He's 17 points, but his control is terrible. I can easily push him with my telekinesis and he can't stand up."

"Wu Hao? He's 16 points. His ability is controlling both soft and hard objects, but he's useless in a fight."

"Lin Weiwei? She'll be popping up at 15 PM."

"Wanwan...she's 16 PM, but she doesn't seem to know how to fight?"

Her eyes grew brighter as she spoke.

"It seems... no one can stop me?"

"What if I let you use fission?" Li Xian asked again.

Bell immediately puffed out her little chest, and a hint of pride belonging to Sequence 004 flashed in her golden pupils.

"Even if they were all combined, they wouldn't be enough!"

Although she hadn't tried it, she could sense that if she unleashed her full power of 256 points of terrifying mental strength, let alone preschoolers, probably not many junior high students could withstand it.

"So what are you struggling with?"

Li Xian ate his meal slowly and deliberately.

"The other person's improvement is a real, substantial increase from 10 to 15. Your improvement is from 10 to 100. Whose 'value' do you think is higher?"

The bell froze, then slowly turned its little head.

Yup!

她真实提升1点，裂变后就是实打实的31点增长（15²=225，16²=256，差值31）。

While others increase by 3 or 4 points, that means they gain 3 or 4 more points of combat power.

Her 31-point "actual combat power increase" is equivalent to others' seven or eight times!

"It seems so..."

Lingdang's furrowed brows relaxed, and then she looked a little smug.

"Hmph, I am destined to rule the world, how can I compare my progress with those mortals!"

"Good to know."

Li Xian tapped on her bowl.

"Eat. Remember, at school, just perform at 'Li Xiaoling' level, don't give yourself away. Practice when you need to, eat when you need to, and improve steadily. It's normal for someone with your abilities to be slower at the beginning; your advantages will become apparent later."

"Okay!"

Bell regained her energy and started shoveling rice into her mouth.

The little bit of frustration in my heart vanished.

After the meal, Li Xian unusually did not ask Lingdang to undergo control training.

"I've had enough of this today. You can watch one episode of an anime, then take a shower and go to bed."

"Wow! You're so nice today, Deng!"

With a cheer, Lingdang rushed towards the television.

Li Xian returned to his study and continued to study the "Little Gold" plant.

He tried stimulating it with different energies and observed the response.

Using a weak electric current (imitating Zhang Yu) – Xiao Jin will tremble slightly, and the flower's brightness will increase, but it will not be replicated.

Nourished by gentle spiritual energy—Little Gold will sway its vines "happily," and the fragrance of the flowers will become fresh.

Using a conscious cut to exert a slight "intimidation" effect—Little Gold will immediately retract all its vines, close its flowers, and play dead.

"The level of intelligence is even higher than expected."

Li Xian stroked his chin.

"Moreover, this energy structure... if thoroughly analyzed, might be able to simulate a similar 'catalytic' effect? Used to rapidly cultivate certain special plants? Or..."

His eyes lit up.

"Used to 'enchant' ordinary food, adding a special flavor?"

Of course, this is just a preliminary idea.

The more important question right now is, besides being an ornamental plant and a natural aromatherapy appliance, what else can this potted plant do at home?

Li Xian stared at the golden cat's paw flower for a long time, then suddenly thought of something.

He picked the smallest flower (Little Jin seemed reluctant, but did not resist) and went to the kitchen.

Crush the flower petals, add them to the milk, and heat.

A richer, sweet aroma, reminiscent of caramel pudding, filled the air.

Li Xian took a bite.

"Hmm...it smells very strong, but it doesn't have any special energy; it's just ordinary plant juice mixed with aromatic substances. It's not edible, but it seems like a good option for aromatherapy or flavoring additives?"

He also tried soaking the petals in oil, or drying and grinding them into powder.

The conclusion is that the flower's greatest value at present may be its stable pudding scent that changes slightly according to emotions, and its faint but real "consciousness response".

It's nice to keep it as a pet.

As an ingredient... never mind, it's hopeless.

"Alright, just consider it another fragrant decoration."

Li Xian memorized the research findings and stopped worrying about them.

He handed the glass of milk with flower petals to Lingdang, who was yawning after watching the cartoon.

"Drink it, it helps you sleep. You can't eat it, but it smells good."

Lingdang took the cup, smelled it, and her eyes lit up.

"It smells so good! Like pudding milk tea!"

She sipped her drink, a satisfied expression on her face.

"Old Deng, Little Gold is really great, he can even make pudding flavored stuff!"

"It would be great if it could produce pudding fruits directly."

Li Xian's rant.