Chapter 312: The Way of Things

8:15 AM.

Luo Qi wiped the water from his hair and walked along the corridor toward the central hall, which branched out in all directions (literally).

A rich floral fragrance surged through the hall. Luo Qi sniffed and, following his intuition, walked toward the center of the hall. In front of a three-paneled screen, a figure was indeed busy at work.

"Hey, kawaii," Luo Qi said by way of greeting. "Are you 'arranging' flowers?"

The Highland Mage who had received them yesterday looked up, slowly straightened his back, put down the tools in his hand, and asked with earnest curiosity, "Guest, may I ask what 'arranging' flowers refers to?"

Luo Qi pursed his lips. "It's collecting the reproductive organs of plants, 'arranging' them in a container, and obtaining a kind of... perhaps aesthetic... pleasure."

"I do not quite understand. Is this a hobby of humans?" the Highland Mage asked.

"Human..." Luo Qi muttered, frowning. "Are you really that unfamiliar with humans? Oh right, there's no internet here, not even cell service. Surely no humans come here; it's a desolate mountain wilderness, even Mages don't come up here much, so you all are a bit isolated."

"Useless information has no meaning even if one knows it," the Highland Mage said quietly. Because the tone was so composed, Luo Qi actually felt a bit of awe.

"Then what are you doing?" he asked. "Since it's not 'arranging' flowers."

"I am cultivating a type of plant; it is very difficult to cultivate successfully. The liquid in the bottle is a nutrient solution. However, this plant is capable of producing a type of energy," the Highland Mage said.

"Used to make energy drinks like Red Bull?" Luo Qi asked.

"Try touching the flower," the Highland Mage suggested gently.

Oh hey, that was exactly what Luo Qi had in mind; that deep blue hydrangea looked more vigorous than an ordinary hydrangea.

He reached out his hand, wanting to stroke the flower head, but just as his fingertips touched the petals, a jolt of electricity conducted from the petals into his arm, and his arm went numb instantly.

As if he had been struck by a club, Luo Qi let out an "Ah!" and let go, curling his arm back. "I got shocked! Couldn't you have just told me the flower was electrified? What kind of energy is that!"

"It is only a harmless intensity," the Highland Mage said. "The Energy Field inherent to this plant is very helpful to Mages; if used properly, it can be used to stimulate a Mage's potential."

"What? If you put it that way, going to an internet addiction center to find Professor Yang could also realize one's potential."

"It is not the electric shock that takes effect," the Highland Mage explained patiently. "The place where this flower grows will form a special Energy Field."

"Oh," Luo Qi hummed, then said briskly, "Fine, pretend I understood. I came here, actually, to ask you about a bigger problem. When I came over just now, you weren't here."

"Apologies, I went to the garden to retrieve flowers just now. The plants have reached the time when the nutrient solution must be changed," the Highland Mage said.

"Uh... you take care of many flowers by yourself?" Luo Qi asked.

"I only need to adjust the nutrient solution for one pot of flowers, and the other nutrient solutions will generate automatically," the Highland Mage said honestly.

"Oh," Luo Qi scratched his head. "Then what is the name of this magical plant?"

"ZW272," the Highland Mage said.

"..." Luo Qi pursed his lips, giving the Highland Mage a dumbfounded look, then suddenly a thought occurred to him. "Oh? Plant 272?"

The Highland Mage looked at him, perplexed, as if he did not understand why he would say such a redundant thing.

"It really means that? You all are even more like botanists than the most unimaginative botanists," Luo Qi said, though he looked the Highland Mage over carefully again. "But ordinary botanists wouldn't have such a strange, elegant air about them like you do."

"What does that mean?" the Highland Mage asked.

Luo Qi did not answer, but his interest in the plants grew even more. "Where did you get the plants? Some unexplored Amazon basin, or an undiscovered Shangri-La?"

The Highland Mage looked at him, uncomprehending, and tried to explain, "These are seeds stored by the Highland Mages."

But Luo Qi was even more dumbfounded. "You mean ancestral seeds? I've never heard of plants in the wild that shock humans. Wait, I should have definitely never heard of them, right? Let me think... electric eels are animals... so... I really should have never heard of them."

The Highland Mage's expression looked as if he had indeed pondered Luo Qi's words. "I have not been to every corner of the world."

"You mean to say you don't know if there are any outside either?" Luo Qi felt that communicating like this was a bit tiring. "So your seeds are just ancestral seeds of the Highland Mages?"

"That could also be said."

Luo Qi really didn't know what else to say.

The Highland Mage looked at him and, in a friendly manner, provided further explanation, "The Highland Mages stored many seeds; they are all remnants of the Ancient Mages."

"Ah," Luo Qi suddenly realized. "Seal plants, huh?"

The Highland Mage seemed not to understand what Luo Qi was talking about, but he continued along his own train of thought. "The cultivation methods for too many plants have been lost. We spent a lot of time cultivating plants, and ZW272 is one of the rare successes."

"The rare successes are already up to number two hundred and something, so how many seeds do you have in total?" Luo Qi asked in surprise.

"Approximately four hundred and seventy thousand types," the Highland Mage said modestly.

Luo Qi swayed slightly; it was fortunate he hadn't impulsively offered to help the Highland Mage grow flowers just now, or his life would have been forfeit.

The Highland Mage looked at the silent Luo Qi for a long while before asking, "May I ask, what was it you wanted to ask me just now?"

Luo Qi stretched out from his wilted state. "I wanted to ask if the restroom here uses a—demand-response mechanism, right?"

The Highland Mage nodded. "That is indeed the case. This saves the most energy and space. You only need to first determine the target Coordinate where the restroom should appear, then transmit the request, and the restroom will appear."

"But why, when I was just now thinking hard at a wall that I wanted to go outside, was I unable to walk out?" Luo Qi asked.

"Do you mean to ask me where the main gate is?" the Highland Mage asked, confused.

Luo Qi nodded vigorously.

"Please follow me, guest." The Highland Mage turned and walked toward a certain direction in the hall. Luo Qi tried hard to observe that area, but other than the monotonous carpet pattern, he saw nothing.

"Please stand here, guest." The Highland Mage stopped. "Right where you are standing, no need to walk forward any further. Yes, stand here and imagine you want to walk out of here, and that will suffice."

"Imagine?" Luo Qi said, not quite believing it. "Is there a chance I'll get stuck in the wall?"

"That is impossible. This is an optimized Orbital System; the position after passive transmission is fixed," the Highland Mage said.

"Aren't you going to open a door for me?" Luo Qi asked, and even gave the Highland Mage a hint. "Like the door Pei Shu opened."

"The door is right under your feet, guest."

"Fine," Luo Qi said, took a deep breath, and focused his attention.

"Wait," the Highland Mage said.

Luo Qi only heard that sentence, and then he was whipped hard by a swirling gale; he shivered and let out a sneeze. He trembled as he clutched his thin clothing, looking with awe at the snow-capped mountains in the distance, lost in the bleak wind and snow.

Damn it, didn't account for the temperature difference.