With the capture of the entire 'Glutton Gang', this little escapade came to a close.
"Since we fought side-by-side, we're friends now!"
Caesar laughed heartily. Although the previous fight was a bit surreal, the willingness to stand and fight with her was a sign of trust in itself.
That was enough to represent trust.
So, no matter what, she had completely accepted Andrew as a friend.
And for Andrew, who had always considered anyone he'd hunted with a friend, the sentiment was mutual.
"If anything comes up in the future, my Sons of Calydon will definitely have your back!"
The contract was signed. Piper, off to the side, was holding up her phone, counting the zeros in the transfer record over and over while fantasizing about how silly 'Big Steel Tooth' would look after its modifications.
Meanwhile, Burnice was ecstatically gripping the lead armor on Andrew's hand, stroking it endlessly.
As Belle, coordinating with Wise, tied up the last gluttonous pig who kept trying to filch things from his teammates, all the distinguished members of the 'Glutton Gang' were bound up like rice dumplings and detained together.
When the last person was shoved into Big Steel Tooth's cargo container, the voice of the black sheep of the group could be faintly heard from inside.
"My bad, my bad, this one's on me. It absolutely won't happen again."
Caesar scratched her head, looked at Big Steel Tooth's cargo container, and said:
"These people... after we take them back to Blazewood to interrogate them, do you want to see the intel we get?"
Faced with Caesar's question, Andrew nodded without hesitation and agreed:
"Just remember to send me a copy later."
They were the previous tenants, after all. Understanding their intelligence would help him guard against any potential surprise attacks.
At the very least, he needed to know what their situation was.
Caesar gave an 'OK' sign, then pulled Piper and Burnice along to prepare for their departure.
And with that, the ownership of this building complex temporarily belonged to Andrew.
Wise prepared to head back and open the shop, while Belle got ready to take the rest of the Silver Squad to pick out daily necessities.
To avoid attracting attention, Andrew once again asked Nicole to help take the other half of the Silver Squad.
As for Andrew himself, he was already heading eagerly toward the greenhouse where he could begin cultivating.
The Outer Ring, a place where everything around was Gobi desert.
Sand and dust constantly swirled in the wind. Without a greenhouse over the farmland, anything would be buried in sand in less than half a day.
But even inside the greenhouse, the soil wasn't much better.
Rainfall in the Outer Ring was scarce. The water needed for irrigation was all piped in from the water tower in Blazewood.
All of this made cultivation here extremely difficult.
What made it even tougher was this:
This plot of land hadn't been separated from the surrounding earth, and its fertility was severely lacking.
Growing things on this vast expanse of arid, nutrient-poor land would dramatically increase costs across the board.
But for Andrew, none of this was a problem.
The plants from the world of Monster Hunter, if nothing else, were survivors. Growing in the wilderness was practically second nature to them.
Andrew went into the greenhouse and took out all the seeds stored in his system space.
For the sake of this planting session, Andrew had even held back the energy he was supposed to feed to Larle today.
He buried the most needed seeds—Herb seeds, Might seeds, and Adamant seeds—separately in the soil. Andrew then raised his hand and began continuously infusing them with Dragon Element energy.
As the Dragon Element energy was infused, some of it would occasionally dissipate into the air, inexplicably lending a sense of vibrant life to the originally barren atmosphere.
With the continuous infusion of energy, the seeds began to sprout in just a few short minutes. When the new shoots poked out from the soil, Andrew knew this method would work.
But while it worked, whether it was sustainable depended on what happened next.
The plants he had previously grown in pots required Andrew to infuse them with energy individually like this for each stage of growth; otherwise, their growth rate would be extremely slow.
If he couldn't create an environment where they could grow on their own, then large-scale cultivation would remain a pipe dream.
After all, Andrew didn't have time to come here every day just to infuse them with energy. The most crucial thing to figure out was how they could grow normally without his direct intervention.
Just as the plants officially took root and sprouted, Andrew made an exciting discovery.
Once they became established plants, they began to absorb the surrounding Ether energy and convert it into Dragon Element energy.
This change was so sudden that Andrew couldn't figure out what caused such a difference compared to growing them in pots.
Could it be because they were planted directly in the earth, whereas the pots had insulated them from it?
It couldn't be that Ether ley lines are also a type of ley line, right?
Andrew couldn't figure it out, but he knew one thing.
When a piece of code starts running based on principles you can't understand, don't mess with it.
At least for the current Andrew, the fact that they could grow on their own was enough.
And once they could produce their own Dragon Element energy, the energized medicinal plants would maintain a high growth rate.
And with the continuous production and use of this energy, a small amount would always dissipate, subtly improving the surrounding environment.
Even the once lifeless soil gradually began to grow fertile.
At this rate, future plantings, fueled by this dissipated energy, would no longer even need Andrew to manually kickstart their germination.
The plants' growth was like an engine; after Andrew started it, it would only spin faster and faster.
It was as if a parched planet had found an elixir of life, as if a world ravaged by the Hollows had finally found a way to heal itself.
By Andrew's estimate, at the current growth rate, the first wave would be ready for harvest in just seven days.
One thing was certain: as the crops continued to grow and the energy became more concentrated, their growth rate would only accelerate until it reached its original, intended speed.
Now that he had confirmed that cultivation was possible and seemingly without any issues, Andrew didn't hesitate any longer and immediately got busy in the field.
Loosening the soil, turning it over, and making sure there were no pebbles, trash, or other debris, Andrew then planted all the seeds he had on hand one by one in their designated sections.
Then, he gently covered them with a layer of soil.
He also had to make sure the soil wasn't too thick, which could suffocate the seeds that were currently in very short supply.
Although given the vitality of these plants it was almost impossible for anything to go wrong, Andrew still managed the planting process meticulously, just in case.
After all, any accident with even a single seed would be a huge loss for Andrew right now.
Finally, he sprinkled a suitable amount of water on the planted seeds. Now, all that was left was to see how they would fare in this large-scale cultivation.
"Hmm... let's see. The ones suitable for planting right now are Herbs, Might Seeds, Adamant Seeds, Antidote Herbs, Nulberries, and most importantly, Blue Mushrooms."
These particular plants were also famously easy to grow; you could find them in almost any kind of terrain.
But their uses were also absolutely essential.
_____
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