From the seat opposite Leyton, the plump, mature woman smiled and nodded, her voice very gentle as she said:
"It's me. You've come for the Primordial Moon's favored one?"
Leyton nodded slightly, then handed over the transparent amber in his hand. After Martina took it, he snapped his fingers, and the translucent amber instantly disintegrated, turning into specks of starlight and vanishing.
Martina watched the mushroom, still glowing faintly in her hand, her brows gradually furrowing. She directly reached out and tore the mushroom apart, exposing the mycelium inside to the air. In just a few breaths, the mycelium changed from white to light blue.
"Oh, a mushroom that changes color and glows!"
Bugs Bunny exclaimed in surprise. It looked at the shredded mushroom in Martina's hand with great curiosity, seemingly pondering what kind of mushroom it was and if it should plant some itself.
Leyton kneaded Bugs Bunny's drooping ears and said calmly:
"This is a mushroom that blends animal cells with some plant characteristics. Although my Peeping Eye can discern some of its differences, it cannot directly identify its specific characteristics."
Martina nodded lightly, reassembling the shredded mushroom in her hand. Then, some spirituality spread out, and the torn mushrooms seemed to come alive, growing back together into a complete mushroom.
She sighed softly, her expression grave as she looked at Leyton and said:
"It has a scavenging nature, easily accumulating toxins and corruption. It's difficult to tell if it's harmful just by looking at its surface. It has strong reproductive and survival capabilities; as long as there is sufficient water, it can multiply quickly and is very difficult to clear completely."
"This hybrid mushroom can be said to be quite perfect. Even ordinary Druids cannot achieve this. In the South Continent, apart from members of the Church of the Earth Mother, the most likely to do so are the Followers of the Primordial Moon."
"If many such mushrooms appear, what would they be used for? To compete with surrounding plants for water in the soil? Or to subtly spread corruption?"
Leyton asked, a little puzzled.
Martina shook her head slightly and mused:
"I can't be sure either, but this mushroom only accumulated a small amount of corruption and toxins, not within the harmful range."
"I will gather people to quickly develop an antidote to eradicate this mushroom. Whatever its purpose, we just need to deal with it in advance."
Leyton nodded slightly and brought up another matter:
"That Follower of the Primordial Moon seems to have a blasphemy card in her possession—the Mother card!"
Martina's expression instantly darkened. After a long silence, she sighed softly and said:
"I will pray to the Mother. That blasphemy card likely hides a trap from an evil god."
"Come back in a few days. By then, the antidote for this strange mushroom should be almost complete."
Leyton nodded slightly, stood up, bowed to the other party to bid farewell, and then walked out of the church with Bugs Bunny.
Watching Leyton's departing figure, Martina sighed softly as she looked at the mushroom in her hand. Then she stood up and walked to the Holy Emblem of Life at the front of the hall.
She sat before the Holy Emblem of Life, her eyes lowered, her hands clasped before her mouth and nose, and devoutly prayed to the Earth Mother.
Walking out of the church, Leyton found that the sky had completely darkened. He raised his hand and tugged slightly, pulling out a curtain-like shadow to cover Bugs Bunny, subtly concealing its figure.
He was not in a hurry to return to Paz River Valley, planning to stay in Hatys for two days first to understand the situation in East Balam.
The dim streetlights flickered, as if the flames inside could go out at any moment.
Leyton walked towards a livelier area, observing the surrounding buildings and pedestrians.
East Balam, colonized by Loen, was much more stable than West Balam. The nights here were quite lively, and various vendors enthusiastically greeted customers.
In Paz River Valley, once the Sun set, people would retreat into their homes and not go out unless necessary, to avoid potential armed conflicts that could erupt at any time.
Many buildings here showed signs of renovation, seemingly affected by the City's continuous expansion.
Leyton glanced around, found a local restaurant with more Loen people, and walked in with Bugs Bunny, whose figure was concealed.
This was a barbecue restaurant. Besides common meats, they also brushed vegetables and fruits with special seasonings and grilled them.
After ordering his meal, Leyton lightly touched his fingers, spreading out his spirituality to create an invisible ripple.
By grasping the mind bodies of the surrounding people, he created psychological blind spots, placing Bugs Bunny in the "conscious blind spot" of those around him, thereby achieving psychological invisibility.
Bugs Bunny hopped on the chair. Seeing that no one noticed it, it directly picked up the fruit on the table that hadn't been brushed with seasoning or grilled yet and began to munch on it.
While grilling his own meat, Leyton asked curiously:
"Do you know how to digest the Harvest Priest potion now?"
"Hmm, Sister Martina said that 'harvest' doesn't just mean an increase in crop yield, but also the satisfaction of one's own spirit."
"But I think if I find a plantation and use my Beyonder abilities to help them expand their planting scale and increase yield little by little, I can achieve a harvest. Increased yield will definitely make people feel satisfied, and then I can digest the potion."
"A significant increase in yield does not necessarily lead to higher profits; on the contrary, it might even cause prices to fall."
Leyton thought of the news he had read before and casually mentioned it, sighing at the same time.
"Why? Isn't more always better?"
Bugs Bunny asked, very confused.
Leyton chuckled softly, his tone flat as he said:
"Anything, once there's too much of it, becomes worthless."
"However, you can go to Mr. Pulak's plantation to help him grow coffee beans. Now is exactly the coffee bean planting season, and no one would refuse the help of a Harvest Priest."
Bugs Bunny nibbled on a few pieces of South Continent fruit that looked like sweet potatoes, making crisp sounds as it chewed. After eating all the fruit in front of it, it mumbled:
"Although the climate conditions in Paz River Valley are very suitable for growing coffee beans, it still takes seven or eight months to harvest once. That's half a year all at once... Is there a way to digest the potion all at once?"
"Yes, there is." Leyton chuckled and nodded.
"What way?"
Bugs Bunny's eyes lit up, looking at Leyton with pleasant surprise.
Leyton, while moving his own portion of fruit in front of Bugs Bunny, said with a smile:
"You can roll the Die of Probability. As long as it gives you a six, you won't even need to concoct the potion; you can just chew on that staff and successfully advance to Biologist."
Bugs Bunny imitated Leyton's thinking posture, extending a paw to rub its furry chin. After thinking seriously for a moment, it slammed both paws on the table in front of it and said in a lively tone:
"It's decided then, Boss! Where's that Die of Probability? I'll try it now."
Leyton raised an eyebrow, reached into the inner pocket of his coat, pulled out the small tin box containing the Die of Probability, and casually tossed it in front of Bugs Bunny, saying:
"If you roll a one or a two, you're very likely to turn into roasted rabbit. Think carefully before you roll."
"It's so close to the Church of Nature; as long as I still have a breath left, Sister Martina can save me."
Bugs Bunny said, tilting its chin slightly, a nonchalant expression on its face.
Leyton looked speechlessly at Bugs Bunny opposite him.
'I wondered why this rabbit was suddenly so brave today; turns out it had already thought about who to ask for help.'
He chuckled softly, leaning back slightly against the chair, eating his grilled meat mixed with fruit, and watching Bugs Bunny take the Die of Probability out of the small tin box.
The milky white dice was held in Bugs Bunny's two paws. It mumbled a few words to itself, then gently tossed the dice.