Chapter 81: New Farmland and Thunderfire Beads
Expanding the greenhouse required common materials—wood, stone, steel, glass—all readily purchasable with money.
Alyss had mentioned that this design would make future expansions convenient for him.
Wood was easy—forests were never short of timber. A few trees controlled and felled at random would suffice.
As for other materials, he considered buying them from Earth.
Then transporting them via the magic box.
This required considering dimensions. If a steel plate bought was too large for the magic box or exceeded the dimensions of the greenhouse's "well," it'd be awkward—he'd have to process and cut it himself, truly troublesome.
Better to start with smaller-sized products, steel plates or pipes; shapes didn't matter, even different elemental compositions weren't relevant. Once tossed into the greenhouse well, they'd all be broken down, recombined during expansion as needed.
With online shopping and logistics being convenient, even these bulk goods arrived within days.
These materials, bit by bit, cost him over a hundred thousand, but the previous honey sales earned him over four hundred thousand—sufficient.
He also bought twenty more bee colonies.
Hua Mi transported all the materials to the greenhouse, tossing them into the well.
After enough materials were input, he could select the expanded structure at the control panel.
The initial greenhouse resembled a 2x5 rectangular space, divided into ten grids, each grid an acre, totaling around ten acres.
Now, the Thunderfire Flowers occupied about seven acres, leaving three.
He planned to double the area, expanding by ten more acres.
As for the shape, also 2x5, adjacent to the original, forming a 4x5 space.
A barrier was needed in the middle because different environments had to be created on both sides.
For the Thunderfire Flowers, no alterations were necessary; the harsh ice period was perfect for them.
On the other side, to meet the growth needs of the Mother Goddess's gift, heating was required.
No need for additional insulation materials—directly raising a magical barrier, allowing the greenhouse owner and invited guests to move freely but perfectly isolating the environments on both sides.
No need to add additional heaters or humidifiers; the greenhouse itself regulated the environment by adjusting the proportions of various elements within the area.
For instance, increasing the fire element's ratio raised the temperature; a larger water element ratio increased humidity.
It defied science but was quite magical.
Once set, a pitch-black barrier appeared on the other side of the greenhouse, similar to the transition area at the entrance, filled with black mist.
About an hour later, the control panel displayed construction completion, and passing through the black mist led to the other side.
Both sides were almost identical, akin to two similar greenhouses connected.
Hua Mi still planted a sign here, labeled "Mother Goddess's Gifted Farmland."
The growth environment blessed by the Mother Goddess needed an increase in the fire element and a decrease in the water element.
Hua Mi adjusted the new farmland's environment based on instinct and then planted the Mother Goddess's gifted seeds harvested in recent days, just like before.
The first batch occupied a bit more than three acres.
The planting spacing for the Mother Goddess's gift was about half larger than that for the Thunderfire Flowers, so fewer could fit within the same area.
"The magical elements contained in the Mother Goddess's gift, be it the purity of the fire element or the content of rare elements, far surpass those of the Thunderfire Flowers. The honey brewed might indeed be extraordinary... and properly cultivated, it might even yield floral spirits."
A farmland with floral spirits was beyond comparison to one without.
Hua Mi poured considerable effort into this new farmland.
...
Days passed by.
When the Mother Goddess's gift's farmland was almost full, the Thunderfire Flowers' honey flow period was also ending.
The connection between both sides was perfect.
On a sunny day, the Thunderfire Flowers' honey finished brewing and bottling began.
"I wonder what's unique about this honey."
Out of habit, he first took honey from the separate Azurefire Beehive.
In line with utilizing all available resources, besides the Forest Swift Bees and Mighty Bees, his main honey gatherers, he had several other honey-collecting capable bee colonies join the force.
Azurefire Bees were among them.
The temperature in this beehive noticeably felt much higher than the others.
While collecting the honey, two round, shiny pearls tumbled out of the beehive, rolling to his feet.
"What are these?"
Hua Mi took a closer look.
Both pearls gleamed a pearl-like white—one large as a quail's egg, the other about half its size.
Hua Mi picked up the pearls, examining them closely, finding faint bluish streaks resembling drifting smoke.
Almost like elixirs, complete with patterns.
They felt warm to the touch, hard in texture, yet smooth, akin to wax-coated.
They emitted a slight burnt smell.
"Could these be honey condensed into hard cores?"
Hua Mi channeled his mental energy into the smaller pearl, unexpectedly discovering a wealth of magical elements inside.
Due to his lack of affinity with magic, discerning the specific magical element type was impossible.
But the surging energy was palpable.
Hua Mi couldn't resist temptation, prodding it slightly.
In an instant, it triggered a chain reaction, activating all the magical elements inside.
The pearl swiftly heated in his palm, generating tingling static sensations.
Sensing danger, Hua Mi instinctively threw the pearl away.
As it landed in the Thunderfire Flowers' field, it made a muffled 'bang.'
Pale flames erupted on the ground, instantly engulfing the nearby Thunderfire Flowers, exploding into a radius of about two meters, crackling with lightning as if forming rifts, shattering the space into countless fragments.
Within about 5 seconds, the spherical area gradually dissipated.
Silence returned to the greenhouse.
Hua Mi and the nearby pseudo-floral spirits were dumbfounded.
Grey ashes floated down while Thunderfire Flowers around were devoured by Azurefire.
Firefighting!
Hua Mi snapped out of it, rushing over.
Fortunately, the fire wasn't extensive and could be quickly extinguished using soil.
Hua Mi sighed in relief, glancing at the larger pearl left in his hand, no longer daring to toy with it.
"Is there a chance for Azurefire Bees to produce such by-products when brewing honey?"
It seemed even honey-collecting bees could evolve not just towards higher honey yield efficiency but potentially create additional products.
Not bad.
Honestly, this pearl could be quite practical for attack, an excellent attack item.
Easy to use—activate with mental energy and toss it at the target. A dual thunder-fire attribute attack; even if it didn't kill, it'd certainly cause significant damage.
"With thunder and fire, let's call it Thunderfire Bead."
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