Chapter 213
Shi Qi focused completely on gathering the spirit soil, while Professor Cong watched him, eyes alight with fascination. Shen Yutong glanced at Chu Feng, who stood with his arms crossed, and felt a trace of puzzlement.
Where on earth had Chu Feng found all these ability-users? Each one was remarkably capable.
She subtly checked the ability-detection device in her hand—a new model that could pick up power fluctuations when an ability-user was going all out, thus determining their rank.
The screen displayed two ability readings: one at C-rank, the other at S-rank.
Her brow twitched. Chu Feng wasn’t using his powers, which meant the S-rank reading had to be Illya.
She took a deep breath. Illya’s rank rose from A to S? Two S-rank ability-users—this is terrifying.
One S-rank user could already summon storms; two working together? Who could possibly oppose them?
Chu Feng noticed her expression, “Miss Shen, what’s wrong?”
Shen Yutong shook her head stiffly, “Nothing. Young Master Chu, you certainly have a remarkable team.”
Chu Feng chuckled, “Flattered.”
Shi Qi continued guiding soil into the trucks—until a sharp vine suddenly shot out from the earth toward her.
Chu Feng moved instantly, slicing it clean through. The severed vine recoiled into the ground with a whoosh. Its speed had been blinding, but Chu Feng was faster.
He looked at Shi Qi, “You alright?”
Shi Qi, still shaken, nodded, “I’m fine.”
Her eyes stung, and she blinked rapidly. When that vine lunged, it felt as if her heart had been pierced. Having just brushed past death, she was still unsettled.
“That’s enough. Stop.”
Shi Qi frowned, “Boss—”
Chu Feng furrowed his brow, “There seems to be some kind of creature living beneath this ground. Let’s move to another spot.”
“Something underneath? Is it dangerous?” Shen Yutong asked.
Chu Feng raised an eyebrow, “With me here, danger isn’t a big deal. But there’s no need to shear all the wool from the same sheep. If we anger the ‘sheep,’ it could get messy.”
Professor Cong nodded, “There are other nutrient-rich areas nearby.”
Chu Feng glanced at the trucks already full of soil, “Perfect. We’ll take these back, swap trucks, and go to the next location.”
Using the same method, Chu Feng collected soil until they had six full trucks, splitting half with the National Bureau of Paranormal Abilities.
Professor Cong hadn’t expected it to be so easy to get three truckloads of nutrient soil—he was thrilled.
The National Bureau of Paranormal Abilities had done plenty of research on nutrient soil, but it usually came from deep within mountains, where danger was high and trucks couldn’t reach. That made collecting it far harder than most imagined.
“To think we actually brought back three full trucks—Professor Cong, you’re amazing!” someone said.
He gave a wry smile, “Not really…”
Upon returning to the research institute, he was mobbed with praise. The truth was, all he’d done was point the way—Chu Feng’s people had done everything else. When ability-users’ powers were fully utilized, the results could be overwhelming.
With three trucks of soil in hand, Chu Feng transported them to the otherworld.
Jocelyn’s eyes widened in astonishment, “This much? Boss, your efficiency is incredible!”
He had only casually mentioned the idea before, not expecting Chu Feng to deliver so quickly. He couldn’t help but see him in a new light.
Chu Feng smiled, “Glad to help. Will this soil aid the Tree of Life’s growth?”
“Of course,” Jocelyn replied.
“Good,” Chu Feng said. If it benefited the Tree of Life, then all the effort to gather and transport it had been worth it.
Jocelyn picked up a handful, feeling its texture, “This spirit soil is excellent—better quality than what I’ve seen at the National Bureau of Paranormal Abilities.”
Chu Feng smiled and said, “As long as it works well, that’s what matters.”
Inwardly, Chu Feng thought: The first few truckloads of spirit soil were easy enough to obtain, but the last two were riskier—he had ventured into Mount Hua to get them. That area was now overrun with ferocious beasts, extremely dangerous. As soon as the three truckloads of nutrient soil arrived at the National Bureau of Paranormal Abilities, all kinds of people swarmed in to claim credit.
“Linlang, didn’t you say you wanted nutrient soil to grow flowers? Before, there wasn’t enough, so it wasn’t possible. Now, there might be a chance,” Qian Jiajia said.
Mu Linlang nodded. “Mm, I might be able to apply for some. I wonder how they managed to get it.”
“You don’t know?” Qian Jiajia asked, glancing at her.
“Know what?” Mu Linlang asked in confusion.
Qian Jiajia frowned. “It was Chu Feng and an earth-type ability-user. There’s video footage.”
“What video?”
Qian Jiajia opened a device. “Here. I got it from Queyu after begging her for a long time. It’s confidential, not for public release.”
Queyu was an ability-user who could control birds. With all the new mountains appearing lately, full of both danger and opportunity, deep-mountain intelligence had become extremely valuable—though venturing in was risky. Queyu had bought a batch of miniature cameras and strapped them to birds, sending them deep into the wilderness to gather information for profit. She had released many birds in the mountains around the capital, and by chance, one had captured footage of Chu Feng’s group collecting nutrient soil.
“Is this earth-type ability-user from our National Bureau of Paranormal Abilities?” Mu Linlang asked.
Qian Jiajia shook her head. “No. If we had someone like that, they wouldn’t be an unknown nobody.”
“That’s true,” Mu Linlang admitted, realizing she’d asked a silly question.
“She’s outside help Chu Feng brought in.”
“Shame,” Mu Linlang muttered, frowning.
Qian Jiajia nodded. “I heard Chu Feng can teleport with a whole truck. That’s insane.”
Mu Linlang gave a wry smile. “Of course Chu Feng is impressive.” Previously, the National Bureau of Paranormal Abilities had spent tremendous effort to haul out just a few hundred jin of nutrient soil. Chu Feng, on the other hand, had brought back three full truckloads in under three hours. With teleportation, everything was easier.
“I also heard that Professor Cong went out with him once and came back acting a little crazy, insisting the National Bureau of Paranormal Abilities recruit and train earth-type ability-users,” Qian Jiajia added.
“Don’t we already have earth-types in the National Bureau of Paranormal Abilities?” Mu Linlang asked.
“Yeah, more than one. But ours aren’t very impressive.”
In fact, the National Bureau of Paranormal Abilities had four earth-type users, but they had formed a construction team, helping people build houses and repair roads. After the earthquake, much land and many buildings had been damaged, so the four made good money with their high efficiency—still, compared to Chu Feng’s recruit, they were nothing. The gap between earth-type users could be huge.
…
Zhuang Zhenhua watched the news, lowering his arm with a dark expression.
“What’s wrong? In a bad mood?” Sun Yi asked.
Zhuang Zhenhua shook his head. “Chu Feng really does have capable people around him. First a wood-type, now an earth-type.”
It seemed that whatever Chu Feng did, he stirred up a storm.
“Looks like the old master might be softening,” Sun Yi said bitterly. For years, their first branch and the second branch of the Zhuang family had competed for the family business, evenly matched—until now. They were now completely suppressed.
Chu Feng couldn’t be ordered around. Not long ago, the old master had even gone to the Crescent Group in person, only to be thrown out by the security guards.
Days later, those same guards were still at their posts, and Chu Feng hadn’t pursued the matter at all. It was like trampling the old master’s dignity underfoot.
Zhuang Zhenhua shook his head. “Chu Feng’s cold-faced and cold-hearted. It seems he doesn’t even want to deal with my second brother.”
After the earthquake, the Zhuang Group had suffered heavy losses, with many accounts in disarray. From what he knew, the Yangfan Group wasn’t doing well either. Still, Chu Feng was Zhuang Zhenyang’s son—an unusual relationship—so many people were willing to do Zhuang Zhenyang favors for Chu Feng’s sake. But not for him.
The business world probably already suspected something. Seeing them down on their luck, they were just glad not to step on them further.
“I heard the Crescent Group has a new manager named Lin Zhihao, whose authority is almost on par with Feixue,” Sun Yi said.
Zhuang Zhenhua nodded. “Seems so. He’s got considerable power, and Chu Feng looks after him closely.”
Chu Feng seemed to act entirely on whim. He treated Feixue well, was lukewarm toward Zhuang Cheng, but was generous toward this cousin by marriage with no blood relation.
The Crescent Group’s managers wielded significant influence. Who knew how Chu Feng chose them? Feixue was understandable—though inexperienced and an outsider to business, she was his real sister and well-connected. But Lin Zhihao was just some country boy—what gave him the right?
Shi Qi’s actions had once again put Chu Feng on the trending searches.
Jin Jie watched the video in surprise. “This Shi Qi is an earth-type ability-user?”
Zheng Xue gave a wry smile. “Yes.”
She had once thought that, with her abilities and some effort, she could establish herself in the Crescent Group. Now, it didn’t seem so easy.
“When the boss acts, he either does nothing or moves like thunder. That’s the mark of a true master,” Ji Ping said.
Zheng Xue nodded in agreement. “Yes.”
Jin Jie took a deep breath. “I wonder what Shi Qi’s level is. Online rumors say at least A-rank.”
Zheng Xue shrugged. “No idea.”
Huang Wei hesitated. “Seems like C-rank.”
Jin Jie glanced at Huang Wei and said, “You must be mistaken.”
Huang Wei shook his head and said, “I pestered Miss Shen Yuxing for a long time before she told me — Shi Qi’s own ability isn’t actually that strong. It was Boss Illya who transferred spiritual power to Shi Qi, temporarily boosting Shi Qi’s ability.”
Jin Jie took a deep breath and said, “So that’s it. That explains everything.”
Zheng Xue looked at Jin Jie and asked, “Explains what?”
Jin Jie looked back at Zheng Xue and said, “Illya and Shi Qi were holding hands!”
Zheng Xue blinked and said, “You’re right!”
“I told you, with the boss standing right there, under normal circumstances Shi Qi wouldn’t be holding Illya’s hand. Wouldn’t they be afraid the boss would cut them down?”
Delice bounced over and said, “What are you guys talking about?”
Zheng Xue smiled and said, “Talking about the nutrient soil.”
Delice pouted and said, “Dirt? I don’t even know what’s so special about it, but the boss went to all that trouble to gather it.”
“High-grade nutrient soil is extremely valuable. If you use it to grow flowers, it greatly improves the success rate. I don’t know what the boss is planning to do with it,” Jin Jie said.
Delice tilted her head and said, “Probably to plant a tree.”
Zheng Xue was a little surprised. “A tree? What kind of tree is worth all that effort from the boss?”
Delice exhaled and said, “The Tree of Life, of course!”
“What’s the Tree of Life?” Ji Ping asked curiously.
Delice gave them a slightly disdainful look. “The Tree of Life is… well, even if I told you, you wouldn’t understand.”
“Could it be like that jujube tree we saw at the National Bureau of Paranormal Abilities?”
Delice flicked her sleeves dismissively. “That jujube tree at the National Bureau of Paranormal Abilities is nothing!” The jujube fruits it bore did taste good, but compared to the value of Life Essence, they were far inferior. The Tree of Life was the sacred tree of the Elf race.
Delice skipped away, leaving the group of ability-users looking at each other in confusion. Jin Jie thought to herself: If that jujube tree at the National Bureau of Paranormal Abilities was considered nothing, then the Tree of Life must be unimaginably precious. No wonder the boss personally went to get the nutrient soil.
