Qian Qi nodded with relief. “I knew it. Classmate Miao Miao wouldn’t abandon me.”

She stood up, put on her coat, and after a quick wash, she picked up her textbooks as she had done the day before and headed downstairs in her flip-flops.

Chen Miao Miao followed behind her, strongly tempted to push her down the stairs. But considering Qian Qi’s thick skin and her cockroach-like resilience, Chen Miao Miao ultimately gave up on the idea.

She wasn’t some foolish cannon fodder. If she wanted to kill Qian Qi, she would need a solid alibi to avoid any suspicion.

Qian Qi felt a bit disappointed. “Why didn’t she make a move? I was planning to kick her down the stairs in self-defense.”

The blue panel: […Are you the villain, or is she?]

Qian Qi said not to mind these details.

After breakfast, Qian Qi headed back into the mountains. She had just analyzed three new magical plant seeds and planted them in her experimental field, tending to them with care.

Then she began wandering around the mountains again.

The Magical Plant Academy had a considerable number of students. Across four grades, there were over a thousand students. So, while Qian Qi was roaming the mountains, there were also quite a few students recording the growth of their magical plants.

The appearance of the rare guest, “Qian Qi,” naturally piqued their curiosity, but it also made them somewhat nervous.

“Why is that lunatic suddenly in the mountains?”

“Who knows? She wouldn’t just uproot the magical plants we’ve worked so hard to grow, would she?”

“I don’t think so. Besides, she’s not a good student. She probably doesn’t know the weaknesses of magical plants. If she confronted one, she wouldn’t survive.”

“Not necessarily,” whispered a senior. “You probably don’t know this, but Qian Qi stole Li Shuyun’s Fire Qilin Fruit a couple of days ago. I heard the Fire Qilin Lotus was smashed to pieces with a hoe.”

“Wow! The Fire Qilin Lotus has strong defense and offensive capabilities. How did Qian Qi manage to defeat it?”

“Not just that. I heard Qian Qi wanted to eat the Fire Qilin Fruit, but for some reason, she suddenly returned it to Li Shuyun.”

“She’s insane! Eating a Fire Qilin Fruit? It’s common knowledge that magical plant fruits can’t be consumed directly!”

The seniors huddled together, their voices rising and falling as they gossiped. Their perception of Qian Qi’s madness deepened. One of them couldn’t help but exclaim, “I really don’t know how her parents raised her to be so crazy.”

Qian Qi was also curious about how the original owner’s parents had raised her.

Unfortunately, her fragmented memories contained no trace of her parents. Even her communicator’s contact list had no records of family or friends.

There was one fixed contact, but since it wasn’t labeled, Qian Qi didn’t dare call to ask who it was.

“I hope I don’t end up with a family full of troublesome burdens,” Qian Qi silently prayed. Otherwise, she couldn’t guarantee who would be more unlucky in the end.

…

At night, a cool breeze swept over the mountain ridge. The oddly shaped magical plants swayed and rustled their leaves. The moonlight cast eerie, monstrous shadows through them. From time to time, low, hoarse noises echoed through the dark, cold forest, sending shivers down one’s spine.

Su Xing Le stood at the foot of the mountain, a plastic box of monster beast meat at his feet. The cold wind made him shiver. He rubbed his arms, trying hard not to pay attention to the magical plants around him.

At this hour, most of the magical plant students were already asleep. He really couldn’t understand why Qian Qi had asked him to deliver the monster beast meat in the middle of the night.

After waiting for a while without seeing Qian Qi, Su Xing Le couldn’t help but open his communicator and message her.

[Young Master Su]: Where are you? Why aren’t you here yet?

[I’m Your Grandpa]: Are you in a hurry?

[Young Master Su]: Not really…

Mainly, he was a bit scared. He had heard that some magical plants could move on their own, although the academy prohibited the cultivation of such mobile plants.

[I’m Your Grandpa]: If you’re not in a hurry, turn around.

Su Xing Le turned around in confusion and was met with Qian Qi’s smiling face.

He was instantly terrified: “Holy crap!”

When did she get here? How did she make no sound at all?

“Help me carry this up,” Qian Qi said, a hoe slung over her shoulder. Since her hands weren’t free, she naturally ordered Su Xing Le around.

Su Xing Le didn’t dare refuse. He quickly picked up the plastic box and followed Qian Qi.

The two walked along the safe path. Although it was called a safe path, it was only relatively far from the experimental fields and out of the attack range of the magical plants. As they walked, Su Xing Le could clearly hear the crunch of branches under their feet, which sounded particularly eerie in the dead of night.

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the magical plants stretching their branches and leaves, trying to attack them. Su Xing Le couldn’t help but speak up, hoping to ease his tension through conversation. “Um, Qian Qi, aren’t you scared?”

Qian Qi glanced back at him and chuckled inexplicably. “Why do you think I brought a hoe?”

Su Xing Le thought hard. “For defense? To fight back if the magical plants attack us?”

Qian Qi shook her head. “Wrong. It’s in case you get torn apart by the magical plants, and I don’t have a hoe to dig a hole and dispose of the evidence.”

Su Xing Le: ???

Now Su Xing Le was even more scared.

He was wrong. He shouldn’t have been afraid of the magical plants. Qian Qi was far more terrifying than any magical plant!!!

After walking for nearly 20 minutes, the two finally reached their destination. Qian Qi opened the plastic box and saw the legendary monster beast meat.

At first glance, it looked similar to beef, but the texture was firmer. She pinched it and was surprised to find it was all tough, solid muscle.

Could the Fire Qilin Lotus even digest something this hard?

“Is this stuff hard to get?” she asked, turning to Su Xing Le.

“Not really. I know a graduated senior who has a channel for buying fresh monster beast meat,” Su Xing Le replied.

“Oh?” Qian Qi’s interest was piqued. “What are the sources for monster beast meat?”

“There are three. The first is when Awakened enter dungeons and hunt monster beasts. They bring the corpses out, sell the valuable parts to the Monster Beast Research Institute, and then sell the remaining parts, like the meat, to Beast Tamers as food for their contracted beasts.”

“The second is through the Monster Beast Research Institute’s official website. Although it’s more expensive, the supply is stable, and they offer nationwide delivery. You don’t have to wait at dungeon entrances for Awakened.”

“The third…” Su Xing Le paused, “is like my graduated senior. Working at the Monster Beast Research Institute comes with many hidden benefits, such as exclusive sales rights. You can buy monster beast meat at a low price from the institute and then resell it.”

Qian Qi pondered this. If she wanted to start a factory to produce hemostatic potions in the future, she would definitely need a stable supplier of monster beast meat. If she could connect with someone from the Monster Beast Research Institute… like Su Xing Le’s senior.

Wait, no. There’s still a middleman taking a cut.

Qian Qi tentatively asked, “If your senior quits, would he still have that exclusive sales right?”

Su Xing Le nodded. “Yes.”

Aha!

Qian Qi was overjoyed. In that case, why not just work at the Monster Beast Research Institute herself? Once she got the exclusive sales right, she could leave!

But she vaguely remembered that to work at the Monster Beast Research Institute, you needed a degree and graduation certificate from the Monster Beast Department. It seemed she couldn’t escape the fate of changing her major after all.

Great!

For the sake of affordable monster beast meat, she would work hard to earn money and aim for the Monster Beast Department!

A sweet, honey-like retirement life, wait for me~