Chapter 16

Back home, Xu Qiao quickly took a combat shower, letting her hair dry and flow freely after it no longer dripped water.

Lu Yang had already set dinner on the table.

After worrying all day, when he received the news that Xu Qiao had returned safely, he had only steamed rice in the pot. Then, he finally had the mood to handle the ingredients, frying up three home-cooked dishes—one meat and two vegetables—in an hour.

If Xu Qiao’s cooking could score an eighty, Lu Yang would only score around sixty-five at most. After all, he wasn’t yet sixteen, and having been cared for by his parents before, he spent most of his time eating at the school cafeteria, leaving him with few opportunities to hone his culinary skills. As a sensible middle school student, he also didn’t dare waste those expensive, fresh ingredients.

Despite this, Lu Yang still felt that the lunch Qin Chi had sent was quite unnecessary: “Doesn’t he know I can cook?”

Xu Qiao replied, “This is our first time teaming up for a task. He prepared a meal for each teammate; it’s a kind gesture.”

Saying this, she curiously opened the exquisitely crafted wooden box.

No wonder it felt heavy in her hand; it turned out there was a layer of white porcelain inside, with five compartments holding rice, braised ribs, shrimp with vermicelli, stir-fried eggplant, and broccoli with mushrooms.

The steam was rising, and the aroma was mouthwatering.

Xu Qiao’s appetite immediately kicked in. She placed the box in front of herself, shared two pieces of rib and two shrimp with Lu Yang, and started eating.

Lu Yang swallowed, trying a bite with a critical mindset.

Xu Qiao smiled at him: “Isn’t it better than what I cook?”

Lu Yang replied, “…He must be really idle to have the time to refine his cooking skills.”

Xu Qiao countered, “Who knows? It could also be talent or a pursuit of perfection, wanting to do everything the best way.”

Recalling Qin Chi’s skill in dissecting exotic beast cores and his attention to detail in his attire and surroundings, Xu Qiao leaned towards the latter.

Lu Yang didn’t comment further and, seeing Xu Qiao enjoy her meal, quietly returned to eating what he had made.

Of course, after finishing the box meal, Xu Qiao graciously accompanied the middle schooler in finishing up his homemade dinner, wasting nothing.

As Lu Yang washed the dishes in the kitchen, Xu Qiao leaned on the sofa, sharing her experiences from the day. She mentioned how they had perilously resolved the attack of the nine-headed stone dragon lizard but didn’t bring up the mother lizard.

Lu Yang said, “It seems your three teammates are quite reliable.”

Xu Qiao hummed in agreement.

Sun Fushan had probably just finished eating as well; he excitedly commented in the group chat: 【@Qin Chi, did you make the lunch? It was amazing, a hundred times better than what I have at home.】

Xu Qiao: 【+1】

Meng Li: 【+1】
—-
In the next unit, Qin Chi had just stepped out of the bathtub. Ignoring the water stains left by the fire dragon spirit, he used his fire abilities to evaporate the moisture from his body. After tidying his short hair in front of the mirror, he opened the bathroom door and quickly pulled it back, not wanting the fire dragon to follow him out. He expertly trapped the dragon’s head halfway in the doorway.

The fire dragon: “……”

Sitting at the single dining table, Qin Chi took out his box meal. Before opening it, his gaze fell on the flower basket on the side table.

To prevent the flowers from mutating after leaving the shop, the florist only sold cut bouquets and sprayed a tasteless anti-mutation agent on the cut stems. This basket had been ordered on Friday, and within just three days, the once-vibrant roses and peonies had begun to yellow at the edges.

The more than five-meter-long fire dragon slithered along the ground, already losing interest in the flower basket, and went directly to the dining table, lifting its massive head. Its golden vertical pupils locked onto Qin Chi, breathing flames as it questioned: 【Why can you touch it, but I can’t? 】

Qin Chi replied while opening the box meal, “Lotus flowers are related to water; you might scare it.”

Fire dragon: 【What’s there to be afraid of? I won’t breathe fire on it.】

Qin Chi: “You look frightening enough to scare others.”

The fire dragon’s sense of beauty was different from that of humans. It would take pride in its appearance: 【This is called majestic and powerful. 】

Qin Chi casually glanced at his communication wristband. After replying to the three teammates’ praises, he said indifferently, “Right now, I’m getting along well with Miss Xu. If you scare her spirit, it might cause her to distance herself from me. Even if she’s willing to team up with me again, her spirit will never show itself in front of me, and you’ll never see the lotus again.”

The fire dragon: 【Maybe it’s not as timid as you think.】

Qin Chi replied, “But if you appear, they’ll guess that I’m a high-level ability user. I don’t want them to uncover the lies I told.”

Various studies show that the more extraordinary the spirit, the stronger the abilities it bestows on the ability user.
—-
A dragon, as a mythical creature, would not be believed to be just a C-level ability user if exposed.

After recuperation, he would return to his original base and continue serving on various battlefields. For Xu Qiao and her team, he would merely be a passerby. Since they wouldn’t meet again, his true strength would be irrelevant to them, and they probably wouldn’t care much about his harmless lie.

The fire dragon: 【You don’t need to lie at all.】

It wasn’t a spirit that needed to hide!

Qin Chi smiled, allowing the fire dragon to vent its energy while he focused on enjoying his dinner.

The fire dragon crawled to the entrance, its golden pupils aimed at the peephole on the door, trying to sense the presence of the lotus spirit.

Lower-level spirits couldn’t detect higher-level ones, but as long as Xu Qiao released her spirit, the fire dragon could easily perceive it at such a short distance.
—-
In unit 101, Xu Qiao chatted with Lu Yang for a while. Once it was dark outside, she returned to her room to rest.

Before sleeping, Xu Qiao released her spirit.

Four green lotus leaves gently unfurled, and the thirty-three petals of the lotus, tinged with pink and white, affectionately brushed against Xu Qiao’s face.

Xu Qiao softly praised, “Great! Our water abilities can also deal with C-level beasts.”

While she and the flower were intimately communicating, the fire dragon suddenly became restless, sensing the cool water energy and faint fragrance. Its massive head attempted to squeeze through the peephole, with its front claws scratching the door and its several-meter-long tail either rubbing against the ground or slamming against the floor.

Before it could cause damage to the room, Qin Chi promptly pulled the fire dragon back inside.

The fire dragon was in an uproar.

Qin Chi said, “…I’ll take you to buy lotus flowers tomorrow.”

On Monday, Qin Chi only had two classes in the morning.

There are many ways to recuperate, but Qin Chi couldn’t stand spending all day doing nothing in a secluded and quiet villa. He preferred to come to the distant and unfamiliar Southeast Base to teach, which would pass the time and make use of his years of rich experience dealing with mutated creatures.

After finishing his class, Qin Chi returned home for lunch before driving to the most famous flower shop on the Second Ring Road, “Baifangyuan.”

In the new era, whether planting crops or cultivating flowers, there’s always a risk of plant mutation, so the government strictly controls private planting. For the two small courtyards Xu Qiao is responsible for now, she must meticulously register every type of plant she cultivates, and high-priced plant mutation detectors must be installed in the courtyards. If any incident causes harm to neighbors, Xu Qiao would also have to compensate.

It was quite troublesome, but wood element ability users only needed to care for the plants regularly to ensure their safety, so they would continue to grow what was necessary.

Vegetables and fruits are food ingredients, and if they grow abundantly, they can be sold for extra income, making them the top choice for most ordinary ability users.

Only those who aren’t short on money at home or truly love flowers, along with ability users who specialize in the flower business, would cultivate fresh flowers. Speaking of which, the Southeast Base has a population of over ten million, and some people, after satisfying their basic material needs, still seek the spiritual enjoyment brought by beautiful flowers. Especially for couples, the wealthy send flowers every day, while those with less money try to reserve a bouquet for special occasions.
—-
The owner of “Baifangyuan” is quite affluent and built a flower garden in the expensive Second Ring area. Customers can directly buy flowers in the front shop or spend points to visit the garden in the back.

When Qin Chi stepped into the flower shop wearing a well-tailored dark blue suit, a round-faced employee immediately recognized the handsome customer who had ordered flowers just a few days ago.

“Mr. Qin, are you here to buy flowers again?” The round-faced employee warmly approached him.

Qin Chi nodded with a smile, scanning the various flower baskets before selecting one that featured tulips, peonies, lobelia, chamomile, and hydrangeas.

After paying with points, Qin Chi stored the flower basket in his space.

The employees in the flower shop were used to dealing with wealthy customers, so they were unfazed by Qin Chi looking towards the door leading to the garden. The round-faced employee smiled and asked, “Would you like to take a stroll in the garden?”

Qin Chi inquired, “Are there any lotus flowers in the garden?”

The round-faced employee replied, “Yes, but there are only a few tubs. As you know, lotus flowers are not as easy to care for as other flowers, and the demand for them is not as high among customers.”

Qin Chi said, “If it’s convenient, please take me to have a look.”

At this time, there weren’t many customers, so the round-faced employee greeted a colleague and led Qin Chi inside.

There was a total of eight tubs of lotus flowers, all placed in the most sunlit area. Among them, six tubs had only grown green round leaves, while only two had been stimulated by abilities to produce a few flower buds.

The round-faced employee explained, “Lotus flowers require advance reservations. You can take a look at the color of this lotus flower. If you like it, I can help you bloom it right now.”

She opened her portable tablet and quickly tapped a few times, bringing up a video of a lotus flower in full bloom on the screen.

Since he could only see the video and not smell the fragrance of the flowers, Qin Chi said, “Let’s bloom one to see.”

The round-faced employee cooperatively used her abilities, and one of the elegant flower buds gradually opened before Qin Chi, revealing a tender pink color with a watery translucence, looking ethereal and exuding a faint fragrance.

The fire dragon showed no particular emotion.

Qin Chi then instructed the employee to bloom one flower from each of the remaining seven tubs.

There were red, pink, and white flowers, as well as a rare green lotus flower. By the time they reached the last tub, it revealed a delicate yellow lotus with intricate petals.

The round-faced employee explained, “This is a double-petal lotus, which was relatively common in the old era. Nowadays, it has become a rare find among lotuses. Our boss posts tasks every year at the association looking for double-petal lotus seeds, and it was not easy to find one. This is the only one we’ve managed to get.”

Qin Chi thought of Xu Qiao’s lotus spirit, which only had eleven petals when released. He had never seen how many petals it actually had, nor could he ask.

According to Qin Chi’s instructions, the round-faced employee carefully cut eight flowers of various colors and sprayed the cut surfaces with anti-mutation medicine, arranging them in a half-person-tall dark blue vase, with a few lotus leaves added for decoration.

As usual, Qin Chi stored them in his space. After driving home, he took out the flower basket and the vase. The former continued to sit on the counter, while the latter…

Before he could find a suitable place for it, the fire dragon impatiently emerged, stretching its head to sniff each lotus flower before opening its mouth wide and swallowing the leaves along with the flowers, only to spit them out in disgust moments later.

Fire Dragon: 【Nothing smells as good as me. 】
—-
Qin Chi watched the lotus petals crushed by the fire dragon and thought about the petal he had held in his hand yesterday.

Of course, it was different; the lotus spirit had consciousness and emotions. It would gently help Xu Qiao tidy her hair but would also resist him as a stranger, quickly disappearing from sight.

This point should align with Xu Qiao; she maintained a proper level of politeness towards him.

Looking cheerful and friendly, she was, in fact, cautious and distant.