Chapter 32: with translation of chapter title

Su Fei. Lu Qi Ya stormed off in a huff.

Lin Ke watched her go, his eyes deep and inscrutable, his mind calculating some things.

Did I mess up?

No, I didn't.

Su Fei. Lu Qi Ya's performance made Lin Ke realize that his sprouting method should have some value.

Wanting to buy it off with just five standard first-grade magic stones, the offer was too low.

Had the other side started out offering ten magic stones, Lin Ke might have sold it.

After all, he is currently in need of magic stones.

Wizard model scrolls, rune items, magical implements, even the pay-to-win gacha system—all require magic stones.

The reason he didn't haggle outright was also because the other party's attitude was overly aloof.

That contempt, born from the bone, was utterly undisguised.

"Sigh! Come eat!"

Lin Ke seemed to hear that sound.

A trade is a trade; don't turn it into charity.

So Lin Ke felt no regret over Sophie Lucia's departure or the failed deal.

All he's thinking about now is how to maximize the value of his sprouting method and develop it fully.

"There must be some step that Sophie Lucia knows but he doesn't."

"Looks like I'll need to spend more time on the 'forum' these days."

Lin Ke mused to himself.

Just like in his previous life, the forum's messages are a mixed bag, with plenty of false, worthless junk, but among them there are always a few highly valuable pieces of information.

Casting aside distracting thoughts, Lin Ke focused his mind and walked into the greenhouse.

The cultivation plan for silver star flowers is actually quite simple; its core is the lesser mist rain technique and a special nutrient solution.

There are two difficulties: first, the production and storage of the special nutrient solution, which involves a complex process and has a short shelf life; second, one must use the lesser mist rain technique to atomize the solution before forming rain to water the silver star flowers.

The intelligent management center of the third botanical garden, Tata Ling, will deliver the special nutrient solution, so the first difficulty is automatically solved.

Atomizing the liquid and then making it fall as rain is the highest-level application of the lesser mist rain technique.

Fortunately, Lin Ke has been practicing the lesser mist rain technique in his spare time at work, so he has mastered the skill, though he's not yet very proficient.

Lin Ke placed the three barrels of special nutrient solution that had already been delivered in the greenhouse at the center, opened them one by one, then split his focus: while sinking his consciousness into his mental sea to quickly sketch the wizard model of the lesser mist rain technique, he also projected his mental power outward to form a uniformly distributed grid that covered the soil.

Soon, the three barrels of special nutrient solution rapidly "evaporated" into mist, which, guided by the mental power net, spread evenly above the soil.

Once all the special nutrient solution had been atomized, a light patter of rain began to fall.

The tender white sprouts of the silver star flowers eagerly absorbed the nutrient solution, growing at a visible speed.

In the blink of an eye, the sprouts became seedlings.

Today's work is thus considered complete.

The empty barrels don't need Lin Ke to tidy up.

After a brief meditation to replenish his expended mental and magical power, Lin Ke left the third botanical garden.

Library, reading room.

For the first time, Lin Ke sat here not to read or study, but to play with his portable smart brain.

Mo Li was a little curious, glanced a few times, saw Lin Ke searching and browsing targeted information on the "forum," and then lost interest.

If Lin Ke thought she should know it, he would tell her without being asked.

If Lin Ke thought she shouldn't know it, no amount of pestering would help.

This blockhead!

Mo Li hummed a few times to assert her presence, then continued reading and studying.

She now looks forward to being promoted to First Grade Wizard Apprentice and then learning and mastering wizardry.

Lin Ke first entered the keywords "silver star flower," "silver star flower seeds," and "external injury potion," then searched and browsed related information.

After sifting through the massive amounts of junk information, Lin Ke eventually found a valuable piece of news.

Lin Ke discovered and clarified the relationship between the silver star flower's good seed rate, sprouting success rate, sprouting duration, and the yield of some low-end external injury potions.

"Turns out the sprouting method I came up with myself is actually quite economically valuable!"

Lin Ke let out a sigh, feeling inwardly quite pleased.

"Um… He selectively forgot the existence of 'Pomona Sprout's botanical talent.'"

But having economic value is one thing; how to realize it?

There are many valuable things in the world; how will others notice you?

What do you have to bargain with those "capital" and "powerful elites," instead of being used up and discarded?

These are all problems that need to be solved.

Lin Ke exited the "forum," closed his eyes, and pondered deeply.

Moments later, Lin Ke, via a hidden link on the official website, jumped into the high-level document archive.

This time, Lin Ke wasn't there to search or read documents; instead, he carefully examined every "page" of the high-level document archive.

Sure enough, Lin Ke found the "paper submission" entrance in a corner even more concealed than the jump link.

"What kind of quirk does the academy have?"

Lin Ke couldn't help but sigh, voicing his question.

Starting from the fact that on large aircraft, Newbloods must figure things out themselves to obtain the complimentary portable smart brain,

every aspect of the academy requires Newbloods to keep exploring, so they can peel back layer after layer of veils, uncover one benefit after another, and find one service after another.

After his sigh, Lin Ke entered the "Paper Publication" page and first carefully read the conspicuous "Newcomer's Notice".

This "Notice" is not long; in summary, it mainly covers two points.

First, it strongly emphasizes the prohibition and punishment for plagiarizing papers;

Second, it details the format of papers.

After reading the notice, he noted the paper format in his notebook; Lin Ke did not rush to look at the template paper recommended by the intelligent system, but instead searched the page carefully once again.

As expected, Lin Ke discovered another entrance hidden extremely deep: "Patents".

How can there be papers without patents?

Only when combined do they form a complete system.

Lin Ke immediately entered the "Patents" page, and among the categories, he focused on browsing content related to intellectual property.

After a while, Lin Ke gathered the information he wanted, then put away his Portable Smart Brain.

As for how to proceed next to maximize the value of the developed silver-star-flower sprouting method, Lin Ke already had a plan in mind.

First, gather materials and perfect the experimental plan;

At the same time, work diligently to ensure the biweekly part-time salary is paid on time and in full;

Second, once the funds are in hand, quickly purchase experimental materials, conduct the experiment, record data, and write the paper;

Third, publish the paper and apply for a patent;

Finally, with the paper and patent in hand, seek prospective buyers and sell.

Yes, sell.

Lin Ke never thought of holding onto the patent himself or using it to start a business.

Selling it for Magic Stones to aid his studies and wizard cultivation is the proper path.

In a world where power belongs to oneself, strength is everything!

(End of chapter)