Chapter 14
On the way to the herb garden in the hovercar, Basil no longer cared about his disgusting outfit. What worried him more now was whether Feng Ran really wanted to buy banned drugs. Although they only wanted to use them for research, and although he was a little curious, he thought that if the Control Yuan found out later, even the most pampered young master would get a good spanking from his uncle.
However, if Feng Ran really, really wants that drug, getting beaten up will only mean being bedridden for a week... Although getting a spanking is embarrassing, and Chris will take embarrassing photos of him, if that helps him get the banned drug for research...
While Basil was struggling to make a decision, the hovercar arrived at its destination.
The Sea Anemone Herb Garden is located in the lower city of the Imperial Capital, Kempe, a place where the common people gather. There are also several local welfare homes there. It is probably the most inconspicuous corner of Kempe. Normally, he and Feng Ran would never come to such a place.
The exhibition was held at a hotel not far from the herb garden. Before this, Basil would have wondered how they could afford to hold an exhibition when they could only afford to rent a suburban hotel in the downtown area. But now that he knew they had a business behind them, it was no surprise.
He was now on edge, and even though there weren't many people at the exhibition, Basil would secretly take notes on each one he looked at, as if they were all there to buy banned substances.
Fengran was much more casual than Basil. After all, the so-called exhibition wasn't all hype; there were some things worth seeing, including two or three herbs that weren't commonly found on the market. One of them was a rhizomorphic crystal that even Xing Tong didn't recognize.
Fengran pressed the explanation button in front of the display case, and the projected screen provided a detailed introduction to the herb's classification, family, genus, origin, distribution, and habitat of the hybrid parent plants, as well as the characteristics of the new varieties cultivated from it.
At first glance, it seems there is no problem, but Xing Tong is very certain that its encyclopedia has not been updated for this species, and there is no registration information for cultivation experiments. Moreover, plants of the Araceae order would not have such thick woody roots and stems, let alone layers of crystals.
Feng Ran glanced at the introduction again and saw a place that seemed inconspicuous at first glance but was actually quite different from the place of origin of the father: Planet 9312.
A post-war wasteland that was recently incorporated into the Carlos Empire's territory, originally an alien planet.
This is a different species of plant.
Feng Ran's intuition told him that this was definitely the key ingredient in the banned drug.
Feng Ran tugged at Basil, who was still looking around, and asked, "Do you think we should buy this?"
Basil stared blankly at the thing that looked like a tree root and a crystal for a long time. The medicinal value section noted that it needed further research, but it still wrote "aphrodisiac." He was a little awkward: "Should I ask the staff for you?"
There weren't many visitors in the exhibition hall, and the staff walking around quickly noticed them and came over.
Hello, is there any problem?
Before Basil could speak, Feng Ran grabbed his hand and spoke first: "This bitter-skinned tree root is quite unique. I'd like to know if these exhibits can be purchased? Or does the herb garden offer a purchasing channel for these products?"
“The exhibits probably won’t do, but the medicinal products available in the herb garden are fine. You can come to our park to purchase them later. But are you sure you want the roots of the bitter tree? Because it is difficult to cultivate new varieties, there are not many mature plants of this size. In addition to making medicines, the park also needs to reserve some for a new round of cultivation.”
The staff member was very considerate and polite, and continued to explain: "If you are interested, you can directly purchase the medicine made in our herb garden. It is more effective than traditional decoctions, but because it is a newly cultivated and rare product, the price will be higher than that of ordinary medicines."
Feng Ran pretended to be deep in thought, blinked, and asked her, "Does the effect of the potion depend on the amount of bitter tree root used?"
"I'm not sure about that. You can ask our professional doctors in the park when the time comes. However, the quantity is limited. If you are sure you want to buy it, I can reserve a spot for you now."
"Please reserve one of the mature plants for me as well, I want to take it back for my collection. I don't think I need to reserve the other herbs, right?"
"Yes, that's right."
The staff member smiled, opened the portable computer, operated it for a while, and handed it to Feng Ran.
"You need to pay a deposit first. The remaining amount will be settled after you finish your visit at the herb garden."
Basil glanced at it from the side and felt that the extra zero was abnormal. He suddenly realized what was going on and hurriedly pushed Feng Ran aside: "I... I'll pay."
His father would notice if he spent a large sum of money, so Basil used his own savings. Even though he had shares in the family company and received dividends every year, he still felt a pang of regret. The thought that this was just a deposit made him even more worried.
It wasn't that he was worried about the money. Although he knew this herb garden was probably a shady business and he hadn't paid with a real ID card, he was still worried that his uncle would find out and beat him up.
After confirming receipt of the money, the staff gave him a number tag and also provided them with a more detailed route map than the smart navigation system.
After leaving the exhibition hall, Feng Ran took Luo Le's hand and leaned closer to ask him, "You didn't have to pay for me just now. I have money. Weren't you worried about your uncle finding out? Don't do something so reckless."
Now that the medicine was bought, Luo Le finally felt relieved. He felt a sense of "what's the use" and relaxed. Looking at their hands clasped together, he couldn't bring himself to put on a sour face, but he couldn't help but be sarcastic: "How much money does Feng Xiqiao have to give you? If you want it, I'll buy it for you. It's not like I can't afford it. Besides, if my uncle finds out, I'll just get a beating. But you're living with Shen Shiqian now. If he finds out, he'll throw you in jail!"
Feng Xiqiao didn't have much money to give Feng Ran, but Feng Ran wasn't short of money either. At least, her savings would always make a profit if she entrusted Xing Tong to invest. The little AI controlled the lifeline of information technology and wished it could hack into all the banks and squeeze money out of them for her. However, Feng Ran didn't allow it to do that. It could only do its best to stir up the stock market. After several years of operation, Feng Ran had already achieved financial freedom. She didn't even care about Feng Xiqiao's meager money.
Feng Ran didn't take Shen Shiqian to heart because with Xing Tong around, the data was completely hacked, and they couldn't possibly trace it back to her and Luo Le. However, she felt a little flutter in her heart at Luo Le's care for her.
Feng Ran: "I'll be sad if you get hit too."
Basil was in a good mood: "That's enough. I'm going to make you completely infatuated with me."
Feng Ran blinked: "Young Master, please say less, or I'm afraid I won't be able to resist making you lose face today."
Basil, with her high offensive and low defensive stance, blushed instantly: "Hey!"
He said bitterly, "You'll know what fear is when I humiliate you."
Feng Ran: "You're welcome anytime."
The Sea Anemone Herb Garden is located in the suburbs of downtown, surrounded by what looks like old industrial parks. Its main entrance has a shiny electronic signboard facing the main road, but the route map given to them by the staff indicates that they should go through the other side entrance.
The side door had no markings; a small door was half-open, with a long curtain hanging over it so that you couldn't see inside. It looked like a scene from a gangster movie.
This was the first time Basil had participated in such a shady deal. He was a little nervous, but he couldn't show too much weakness in front of Feng Ran. He took a deep breath and rushed in before Feng Ran could lift the curtain.
The side door connects to the passageway, and the brightest room at the end is a cultivation room. The huge freezer is filled with many plant seedling test tubes, and the incubator contains other different test tubes. All the necessary research facilities are there, and it looks surprisingly professional.
There were only two "doctors" in the cultivation room. One of them was a middle-aged man with red hair and a strong build. He had healthy wheat-colored skin, wore a medical mask, and upon closer inspection, there were scars on his face.
He was the first to look up from the control panel at Feng Ran and Luo Le, and gave them a polite smile, but Luo Le found his smile creepy.
"Are you here to pick up your medication by appointment?"
Feng Ran stepped forward and looked at him, subtly shielding Basil behind her. "Yes, number 732."
“Wait a moment,” he turned to another man in a white coat who was fiddling with test tubes, “Fran, go get them for them.”
The man named Fran looked more like a real doctor, wearing heavy protective goggles, his hair was frizzy from being pulled back by rubber bands, he had dark circles under his eyes from lack of sleep, and his skin was pale. In some ways, he fit the stereotype of the pharmacist profession.
There was another door on the wall behind Fran's workbench, but it was also covered by a curtain. He went into the next room and came out shortly after, carrying a brown paper bag.
The red-haired man standing nearby said with a smile, "Nothing leaked, right?"
Fran: "One general-purpose drug, one 9312, that's all."
The red-haired man opened his personal terminal first. "The final payment is 50 million star coins. We only accept payments from private accounts. If you are used to paying with an ID card, please switch accounts first. Thank you."
A pungent, spicy smell suddenly filled the air. Basil seemed to notice it too, his face turning red as he tried to hold it in. He seemed to feel a little uncomfortable instinctively and reached out to tug at Feng Ran.
Feng Ran could only hold his hand and calmly pay the remaining balance using her mobile device. She had sensed it the moment she saw him upon entering; this man was an Alpha, and a very high one at that, probably an S. As for his "feeling," she couldn't say.
Fran, looking disgusted, clipped a clip to his nose and handed the brown paper bag to Feng Ran: "Don't water the herbs."
"oh."
Watching them leave the incubation room and disappear into the end of the corridor, Hilde slowly withdrew her pheromones.
Fran started fiddling with the bottles and jars again, without looking up: "How's it going?"
Hilde: "One with at least two S's and one A's."
He thought for a moment, then opened his terminal and began investigating the origins of the two people by using the virus that had been implanted in their private accounts during the payment process. To his surprise, after searching around, he found that the money had indeed been deposited into his account, but the virus had been implanted in his own account.
Hilde took off his white coat, which seemed out of place on him, and put on a black face mask.
"I'm going out for a bit."
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