Chapter 25 Discovery and Evolution
Before Li Zi and the others left, Tang Li brought each of them some cherries from the yard as a gift. These were the fruit seedlings that dropped when they were playing a dungeon together yesterday.
The cherries planted last night were actually ripe when I went out in the morning, but Tang Li was in a hurry to go out at that time, so she didn't deal with them.
If the fruit trees are not fully harvested, they will remain on the trees. A fruit tree can generally ripen three times.
I clearly told Xirang that they could pick the fruits if they wanted to eat them, but after a whole day, there was still not a single fruit missing from the tree.
I picked one third of the fruits at once, and the remaining fruits were still dazzling on the branches.
After seeing Li Zi and the others off, Tang Li picked a few cherries from the tree and handed them to Xirang and his younger brother.
Seeing that they had finished eating obediently, Tang Li stood up, picked up the space expansion stone, and buried it on the reclaimed land according to the system prompts.
After doing all this, Tang Li took a few steps back. She was quite curious about how this amount of soil would appear in the yard. Would it be shrunk into a microscopic shape, or...
A dazzling silver light flashed by, and the clods of earth in the yard not only did not expand wildly, but shrank into the most basic six pieces.
Tang Li: ...
"Ji!" Xirang and his younger brother duangduang sensed something was wrong and stepped forward. After jumping into the soil, they suddenly disappeared.
"So that's how it is." After a long silence, Tang Li also walked forward.
As if stepping into another time and space, Tang Li's eyes lit up and she found herself in an empty space with only land in sight.
She named this space the Planting Space.
She actually had the planting space described in the novel.
Tang Li began to explore the space. She was now standing on a platform paved with stone slabs. There was a house on the edge of the platform. Tang Li walked in and took a look. It was a large storage space of 100×1000. After setting it up, it could be opened from the outside, and there was no need to go into the planting space specifically to take it. In addition, this storage space can also be upgraded, but it is very expensive.
This space is enough for the moment. After seeing the upgrade amount, Tang Li quietly left the house.
Connected to the platform is a stone road. With the stone road as the central axis, the familiar square soil blocks are neatly arranged on both sides, extending into the distance, which looks very spectacular.
Looking at the bare land, the farming DNA in Tang Li's body was beating wildly, and she couldn't wait to start farming.
Plant all kinds of things and fill all the land with them!
Even though the land in front of her was still bare, Tang Li felt that she had already felt the joy of harvest.
From today on, please call her Farmer Lucky Star.
Xirang and Xiaodi, the two happy little jellies, were also having fun at the moment. When Tang Li looked over, they were jumping quickly on the ground, and they jumped far away without noticing.
Tang Li had never seen them so happy.
But this is normal. Even after upgrading several times, the space in the yard is limited. Usually, the two little guys can only play two or three times. How can they have so much freedom to play?
As expected, they were still confined at home. Thinking of the spacious space they had in the wild, Tang Li felt a little guilty.
When Xirang and his younger brother came back from their fun, Tang Li sat down cross-legged on the stone path and patted the two little guys' heads: "With so much land, you don't have to diet anymore, right?"
"Ji??!" Xirang and his little brother were originally happily hugging Tang Li, but when they heard this, they immediately turned into petrified jelly.
This guilty look is a confession.
"Do you think I don't know?" Tang Li tapped Xirang's head with heartache and helplessness. This idea must have come from it.
As early as when she picked up this little guy, Tang Li knew that it seemed to be very afraid of splitting. When it split for the first time, the little guy looked like the sky was about to fall.
Tang Li knew that it was worried that splitting too many slimes would become a burden to her and eventually be abandoned, just like the bedtime stories about picking up slimes and taking them home that were circulated in many magical continents.
This is indeed a very realistic problem. Even though slimes claim that they can survive by eating dirt, they cannot really only eat dirt. What is the point of living like that? Where will the living space for a large group of slimes come from? It is also a problem.
Of course Tang Li could promise to never give it up, but it was easy to make a promise, but being able to do it was another matter.
Rather than making a promise for free, Tang Li would rather take practical actions to reassure Xirang.
But this is definitely not something that can be done overnight.
Tang Li was not so anxious at first, because it was impossible for the slime to split into many parts at the beginning. Tang Li believed that the speed at which she could make money to support her family should be able to catch up with the speed at which Xirang and others split.
But the little ones didn't seem to believe it.
Tang Li discovered that the little ones were secretly dieting when she was refining medicine for two days.
That night, in order to refine medicine, Tang Li took away most of the life essence from one of the boxes, leaving only a bottom in the box. Because there was very little life essence left, the excess or shortage could be seen intuitively.
When she returned home the next night, Tang Li could tell at a glance that all the essence of life in the box was intact. With mixed feelings, Tang Li opened another full box, and sure enough, it was also full, without any missing.
These two little guys actually survived for so many days relying on the little nutrients in the soil and the food she fed them every night.
When Tang Li came to this conclusion, she didn't know how to describe her feelings.
Guilt? More likely self-blame.
I should have thought of it earlier. Xirang split into little brothers so quickly after coming home. Why is it that the two little guys haven't grown much even though they have been well fed and well fed for so many days?
It is true that Xirang had grown in the wild for a period of time, and due to the accumulation of strength and the good food and drink at home, it split quickly. However, according to the growth law of slime, no matter how slowly it grows, it would not be a little bigger than the beginning in just a few days.
Tang Li didn't want to recall how she felt at that time. She only knew that she was a very bad master.
"I'm really sorry..." Tang Li lowered her eyes. After waking up from her sleep, the two little guys provided her with so much emotional value, but she didn't really care about them.
Putting aside the younger brother for now, Tang Li knew that it was more in line with Xirang's ideas and was just a lively and simple slime without too many pursuits.
But Xirang was different from the little guy who took the initiative to find her home from the wild and stubbornly broke through the house's defenses time and time again to stay. Tang Li knew his idea from the very beginning and did have a way to help him realize his dream.
But she didn't do that and just let it work on its own.
"Xirang, I have a way to prevent you from splitting, but the price is being cursed. Are you still willing to do that?" Tang Li thought a lot during the past two days when she discovered that Xirang and the others were secretly on a diet.
Use the supernatural power on Xirang to help it break through the shackles that prevent the slime from upgrading, but the price is that it will be infected with the same curse as her.
Plants are fine, after all, the plants in the magical continent cannot become spirits, but Tang Li has never regarded Xirang as a string of cold data, so even though she knew what Xirang was thinking, she couldn't bear to do so.
Because in her heart, Xirang is a living being and the first warmth she feels in this world.
Xirang is different in her mind. If it is only for transformation with supernatural powers, there is of course no problem. She has used it on many people during the doomsday. It is a very powerful artifact that can transform one completely.
But the problem is that now she will inevitably be cursed when using her supernatural powers... The initial level of the slime is very low, and if she wants the soil to continue growing, it is impossible to use the supernatural power only once.
Every time the supernatural power is used, the curse may continue to accumulate. What if... the real situation may not be that bad, but what if?
It is because she has personally experienced this kind of pain that Tang Li is even more hesitant.
But perhaps, rather than worrying about its safety and making some decisions that are good for it without authorization, what Xirang needs more is respect.
Tang Li had been unable to make up her mind. This time, buying enough land was an opportunity. She did not refuse their gold coins, which was also closely related to the current predicament.
After explaining the pros and cons clearly, Tang Li gave the choice to Xirang and let it decide for itself.
We already have so much land, and we will have more in the future. I will work hard to feed you, and will never abandon you even if we keep splitting up. I already have the confidence to make this promise. Even so, do you still want to choose the more difficult path?
"Ji!" Xirang listened quietly, and chose to evolve without hesitation after Tang Li finished speaking.
It doesn't want to be a weak slime forever, and doesn't want to be abandoned. It wants to become stronger and stay with its owner forever.
Maybe it was born out of place, but that's just how it is.
"In that case, then let it be as you wish." Tang Li opened her arms and sighed softly. She was not surprised at Xirang's choice.
"Ji!" Xirang jumped happily and jumped into Tang Li's arms.
Holding the little guy's soft body gently, Tang Li closed her eyes and activated her supernatural power.
Strengthen the evolutionary data, weaken the splitting gene... With the influx of energy, the eternal level 0 curse on the slime's head was broken.
"Chi!" Perhaps because it was upgraded before accumulating enough energy for splitting, Xirang shrank in size after the transformation with supernatural powers.
Although the level has been upgraded, it looks even more cute and adorable than before.
[Xirang: A mutated slime tainted with an ominous aura. It doesn't fit in with the tribe and may be ostracized.]
At the same time, a first-level skill [Curse] appeared in Xirang's skill bar.
[Curse: Enemies within one meter have a 5% chance of missing their skills.]
At least Xirang itself was not harmed by the curse, and the situation was much better than Tang Li expected.
"Chi!" Affected by the curse, the younger brother no longer dared to approach his elder brother, but Xirang didn't seem to be very sad. The younger brother unilaterally distanced himself from it, and it never came close again, but kept jumping next to Tang Li.
"Maybe you can go out with me to fight monsters in the future." Tang Li looked at the way the two little ones got along and touched Xirang's head.
I didn't bring Xirang before because the slime would split when its experience value was full. Now that I have decided to help Xirang evolve, I can also arrange to kill monsters and level up.
"Chi!" Xirang agreed happily.
"Okay, you and I will go out together tomorrow. Let's plant the land first." Tang Li went out and brought in all the modified seeds.
Xirang and his younger brother used their jelly-like bodies to hide the seeds inside them, and quickly began to sow seeds on the land on both sides of the stone road.
It was obvious that the two little ones were always happy together before. Tang Li sighed and took some seeds to start planting from the other side of the road.
The two little guys planted crops such as wheat that take a short time to mature. It is easier to harvest if you start planting from the front. Medicinal herb seeds take a long time to mature, so it is more appropriate to plant them at the back.
It would take a lot of time to plant crops on such a large piece of land.
By the time Tang Li finished planting the medicinal herbs, the wheat planted in the front had already matured. The two little guys were planting in the back while harvesting the mature crops in the front. They looked very tired.
"No need to work so hard. We have so much land now. Planting three or four rounds a day is enough." Tang Li hurriedly stopped them. She would have no time to cook if she planted so much. Don't forget Li Li and the others!
Afraid that the little guys were working hard secretly where she couldn't see, Tang Li brought them out when she left the planting space.
The storage room for the planting space exists in the yard in the form of a small stone house, located in the corner next to the wall of the land.
After the planting space was opened up, the land in the yard became a teleportation portal similar to an icon. The six square pieces of land that looked lush and full of wheat on the surface were actually no longer suitable for planting.
Tang Li silently rearranged the layout, moved the land right next to the small stone house, and planted all the fruit trees in the backpack in the yard according to the layout that she liked.
After the land was moved to the side, the whole yard became much more spacious.
"Maybe I can find some flowers to plant." The package in the system is too expensive, but it seems to be sold at the player stalls. If that doesn't work, I can find some free time to go out into the wild to collect them and see if there are any drops. Tang Li thought about it and planned to go to the player stalls to see if there are any suitable flowers and plants after finishing the dungeon tomorrow.
"I'm going to start cooking. You guys can play in the yard by yourselves." After the land increased dramatically, Tang Li no longer thought much of the slime's improvements to the land. In order to prevent the little guys from secretly returning to the planting space, Tang Li would rather they play in the yard. If they like to eat soil, the lawn in the yard can fully satisfy their needs.
"Ji!" Xirang and his younger brother agreed obediently.
"Good boy!" Tang Li touched the heads of the two little guys and took the wheat she had saved today to grind flour.
She was so devoted to her work that she didn't notice that although the two little guys were obedient and didn't enter the planting space again, while she was busy cooking, Xirang suppressed the little brother and dragged it to the hut where the essence of life was stored, and pushed the little brother onto the essence of life with a serious face.
"Ji!" Eat!
Xirang looked serious.
"Ji??!" The younger brother was extremely surprised, and the intense joy even made it resist the inexplicable rejection of the boss.
He carefully ate one life essence after another, and secretly looked up at Xirang, fearing that it would get angry and beat him up.
"Ji!" Eat more, eat as much as you want!
"Ji!" The little brother was so excited that he shed tears. What good day was today? The boss who always strictly controlled his diet actually let him eat as much as he wanted? Was he dreaming?
No matter what, even if it will be thrown out by the boss after eating this meal, it must eat its fill!
The little brother fell into the box containing the essence of life, and ate all the essence of life at the bottom of the box with a roar.
"Jiji!" After eating, the little brother's whole body became bigger, as if he was full. He hummed for a long time, and suddenly collapsed to the floor as if deflated.
Then, the limp slime split into two, becoming two tiny slime clones.
"Ji!" Xirang nodded with satisfaction, and a small hand appeared from his jelly-like body, which imitated Tang Li and patted his younger brother's head.
As the night deepened, Tang Li had already ground the flour and went to the living room to cook. Xirang poked his head out to observe and found that Tang Li was still concentrating. He quickly grabbed the slime split out by his younger brother and threw it into the planting space.
After throwing it away, Xirang came back as if nothing had happened, opened another treasure chest filled with the essence of life and looked at his younger brother.
"Ji?" The younger brother, who was seriously injured after the split, was full of questions. Does the boss intend to starve it to death today?
I didn't expect its life to end so soon!
However, as a slime, being stuffed to death is also a very happy way to die. Maybe it should be happy.
With this thought in mind, the younger brother transformed his small hands and grabbed a handful of life essence without fear of death.
Awooo, awooo, it’s so delicious!
After eating a handful, the younger brother who wanted to catch more was stopped by Xirang.
"grumble?"
"Chi!" Xirang looked around the younger brother seriously, took out two life essences from the box and handed them to the younger brother.
“…” After the younger brother ate it obediently, Xirang nodded with satisfaction.
Yes, it’s this body shape, the same as before!
After doing all this, Xirang jumped happily, closed the box with a "click", warned his younger brother not to steal food, and then ran happily to cuddle with Tang Li.
"Why are you here? Is it because your little brother doesn't want to play with you?" Tang Li, who had finished cooking steamed buns and flower rolls, was making the new delicious food she promised Li Zi and the others. Seeing Xirang, who seldom came into the house, running in, she quickly put down the work in her hands and asked with some concern.
"Chi!" Xirang blinked, shook his head slowly, and leaned close to Tang Li's feet affectionately, indicating that he just wanted to cuddle with her.
Having wanted to do this for a long time, Xirang has been following his master. He squinted his eyes happily, and the whole slime was filled with the smell of happiness.
"Okay," Tang Li gave the clingy little guy a gentle look, "Then stay and help with the food tasting."
Tang Li handed the little guy a steamed bun and a flower roll, letting it eat them slowly while continuing what had been interrupted.
Considering the time and ingredients, Tang Li planned to make some thick cherry muffins with cherries, and um... a few meat buns, as she wanted to eat buns.
Tang Li bought all the materials she didn't have at the players' stalls in the evening.
The meat buns are simple to make, and the meat filling is pork bought from the player's stall.
Tang Li learned cooking skills from a psychic in the base after she became interested in steamed buns.
It is not easy to learn cooking in the apocalypse, but Tang Li is lucky enough to meet a master chef whose ancestors were said to be royal chefs in the palace. However, this master chef awakened his superpowers after the apocalypse and became a very outstanding superpower user.
Tang Li was able to know this person because of the introduction of the chef who taught her how to make steamed buns. After Tang Li helped optimize the chef's abilities, the chef taught Tang Li everything he knew.
Of course, it was only theoretical teaching. After all, supplies were scarce in the doomsday. Even if she had special abilities, she couldn't afford to eat and drink as much as she could while others were short of food and clothing.
Later, Tang Li asked others to help collect a lot of information. In that depressing environment, she relied on these materials to relieve stress and loneliness, and silently looked forward to the end of the doomsday.
"This is the first time I've eaten meat buns that I made myself. Now that the problem of raw materials has been solved, maybe I can slowly try to cook." Although steamed buns, flower rolls, dumplings, etc. are also delicious, as a southerner, she is indeed more accustomed to rice as a side dish.
However, you may need to raise your cooking level by a few levels. Although the cooking skills in "Magic Continent" are relatively flexible and do not require players to cook specific dishes at each level, the number of dishes that can be cooked at each level is regulated.
If there are sufficient raw materials, it is easy to improve the initial cooking level.
Soon, the fragrant meat buns came out of the oven!
Because flour was used, Roubaozi also had a debuff as expected, which was a loss of physical strength.
As a cooking method to replenish physical strength, this debuff is also amazing. Tang Li had a very dark look on her face. She didn't know whether it would be able to be sold after it was put on the shelves. She always felt that the future was very bleak.
"Try it." Tang Li took three meat buns, handed one to Xirang, then got up and walked outside, and gave one to the little brother who was disguised as a mushroom in the yard.
"Eat." Tang Li touched the little guy's head and looked at its silly look with some confusion.
The younger brother hesitated for a moment and stuffed the meat bun into his mouth with difficulty.
"Huh? It doesn't taste good?" Tang Li took a bite of the remaining meat bun in confusion.
The meat filling is fresh, tender, juicy and refreshing. It bursts with juice when you bite it. The meat filling alone is very delicious, and the bun skin soaked in soup brings the flavor to a higher level.
It obviously tastes good.
"Ji!" Xirang, who had appeared out of nowhere, was also eating the buns in big mouthfuls, his big eyes full of love for the buns.
Xirang, who has already eaten steamed buns and flower rolls, is so supportive. Surely the problem lies with me, right?
Tang Li was just about to ask if her younger brother was feeling unwell when Xirang bounced and hit her younger brother.
The younger brother wasn't used to the feeling the boss was giving him right now, so he just jumped away and dodged.
Xirang chased again, and the little brother jumped again, and the two little guys chased each other in the yard.
"Okay, they seem to be fine since they are so lively." Tang Li had a feeling that they were hiding something from her, but as long as the little ones were healthy, she could hide it.
Anyway, the house is so small, she will find out sooner or later.
Tang Li got up and went back to making thick cherry pancakes.
Sure enough, the facts proved that Tang Li was right. The next morning, when she entered the planting space, Tang Li discovered the secrets they were hiding.
"This is... split from my little brother? But if I'm not mistaken, this is Huang Ming, right?"
Can yellow-named monsters be domesticated?
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com