Chapter 309 – Florida Man Deviously Tricks Teens into Auditioning as Gourmet Cuisine for His Pampered Pet
As the alchemy workshops operated 24/7, pills and the sweet, bitter scent of medical pills flooded this area, which was suitable for a plant monster to take as a nest. Cat had been living in this shopping mall since she had reached the deity stage. By inhaling the medical scent and pollution from the alchemy cauldrons, her physique grew stronger. Each day, she condensed a new star in her dantian universe, enhancing her foundation and getting ready to challenge the sage realm.
In addition, the automatons occasionally discarded bad pills and expired pills from the supermarket. Most of the discarded medicines were thrown into the workshops so that the local workers could refine them into low-graded pills. That was Cat's greatest opportunity. She stole those pills and devoured everything regardless of their expiry dates. Furthermore, she also plundered expired food and junk from the restaurants. In short, this shopping mall was her paradise. She no longer wandered outside to find prey.
As a plant, Cat always slept standing or sitting. Even when she was in her human transformation, her habits never changed. In addition, this workshop regularly produced Floridian Dantian Pills, so the Qi in this room was denser than in other places. She chose this place as her favorite bedroom.
From the onlooker's perspective, she was meditating with her eyes closed. Cat dozed off while she waited for the supermarket mannequin to fetch her another batch of expired pills. Meanwhile, Tang San was entranced by the girl's unique beauty. Even Kishin inwardly whistled in admiration.
Wu Buyi spotted Cat. He brightly grinned, "I'm glad I always visit FFC first. Hey, this one is on me. Next time, you pay for the tax, okay?"
"Huh?" Tang San was confused, "What tax?"
"This tax!" Wu Buyi fetched 10 pieces of chicken that he had bought earlier. He walked toward Cat and placed the food next to her seat. Then, he left her alone.
Tang San was baffled. "Why did you do that?! She's not an animal! If you want to give her food, you should at least put it on a plate or something clean! That's disrespectful!"
"Heh. You know nothing. Anyway, you shouldn't be staying here for too long. The Qi in this room is the thickest. I doubt your mortal foundation can last 10 minutes."
Again, Tang San couldn't understand anything. Frustrated, he walked toward Cat and brought out a wooden plate to use as a container. He reached out to grab a fried chicken.
Suddenly, Cat's arm moved. She grabbed Tang San's arm while she gradually opened her eyes.
"No Nom-Nom My food, Meow!"
"????"
Tang San raised his eyebrows and looked at the small hand of Cat. Because Tang San could not react or utter a word, Cat strengthened her grip and warned him again.
"Let go of my Nom-Nom, Meow!"
"OWWW!"
Tang San screamed in pain as Cat suddenly clenched her hand to the point that his bone cracked. Only then, did he release the chicken that he was holding.
Upon the release, Cat freed Tang San's arm and gently picked up the fried chickens. Without hesitation or etiquette, she widened her jaws like a snake and swallowed them whole.
BURP
Cat hiccupped and wiped her mouth. She glanced at Wu Buyi who waved at her.
"You're welcome, kiddo." Wu Buyi laughed.
Cat grinned and nodded at him. Repaying the favor, she opened her palm and sprouted a rainbow leaf. She plucked it and flickered it at the elder.
Wu Buyi gleefully received the rainbow leaf and stored it in his spatial ring. Their interactions didn't escape Kishin Douji's sense. He exclaimed.
'THAT WAS THE PRIMORDIAL LEAF OF THE VOID TREE! HOW DOES IT APPEAR HERE!?'
Tang San was stunned, "Primordial Leaf of Void Tree?"
Because Tang San suddenly uttered it out loud, Wu Buyi heard it. He smacked his lips, "As expected of a main character, you know a lot for a mortal. Anyway, an advice from a senior, you shouldn't disclose today's event anywhere if you value your life."
Tang San closed his mouth. Afraid to be left out, he secretly asked Kishin.
'Master, what's the primordial leaf? What's it for?'
Kishin had a heartache. He couldn't believe that the elusive void tree of legends had been hiding here.
'Void Trees are the origin of our universe. From the rumor, it is said that it's key to enter the higher dimension or the upper universe.'
'A-A higher dimension?'
'This matter is too early for you. Let's say this. I need that leaf. If you can get your hands on one, I'll teach you everything I know. I'll also guide you to my hidden stash in my star sector. Right, have you been begging me for a good weapon? I have a thousand good blades at home.'
'…M-Master?'
'Just get me a primordial leaf of the void tree, and I'll do everything in my power to repay you! Don't ask too much!'
'…'
Tang San was skeptical about this. He reluctantly sat next to Wu Buyi and asked him.
"Senior, if I bring fried chickens to her, will I get the same leaf?"
Wu Buyi scoffed as he could see through Tang San's intention, "Probably not. I've been paying taxes every day for half a year. Also, without me, she wouldn't have learned about this place. In a way, I'm her guardian, and she's my daughter. Well, she's actually the lord's daughter though. Hey, for your sake, do not attempt to woo her or you'll be eaten."
"…Eh? T-Then, how can I win her trust?"
Wu Buyi smirked as he had an inspiration. Since the guy was down bad for the leaf, he might as well scam him.
"Well, kid. Since you wish to get your hands on the leaf so bad, I'll tell you how. First, you must keep feeding her and follow her instructions. In my case, I've been with her since she was young. But in your case, it might take longer to win her trust. For a starter, how about working here as her servant?"
"…S-Servant? Me?"
"Well, yes! Normally, someone like you would have been promoted to an elite worker because of your natural talent and cultivation base. But you know, nobody has ever obtained the right to be the princess's personal servant, even me."
Tang San's eyes spun. He was bad at turning down offers, especially seniors who showed him goodwill.
Wu Buyi continued, "Since I'm generous, I'll use my connection with the lord to get you assigned to his daughter. How about it? Wanna work for our lord and become her servant?"
"Wait a second!" Tang San took a step back. Escaping from the conversation, he changed the topic, "You said 'Princess'? Is she… a real princess?!"
"Well," Wu Buyi shrugged. "As I said: She's our lord's daughter. If you mess with her, your head will fly. But if you are good to her, you get rewarded for your loyalty. THE LEAF, well, is one of them."
"…"
Tang San wanted to reject the offer. However, Kishin urged him again.
'Do everything necessary to get your hands on it. Even if you need to kill him, you must!'
'M-Master?!'
'It's that important!'
'…'
Sometimes, Tang San doubted his master because he was too ruthless. Without a choice, Tang San agreed.
"Senior, I agree. Please allow me to work here. Also, could I know your name?"
Wu Buyi burst into laughter and stroked his beard.
"I am Wu Buyi, an aspiring Florida Man!"
"F-Florida…Man?"
.
.
Leo hovered over his new shopping complex. He gazed at the waterpark, which he had installed last night.
"Heh, what an unnecessary facility. Anyway, time to invest in other stores."
He checked the list of facilities that he had recently built on the shopping complex's fifth floor. Leo kept 10 alchemy workshops, blacksmiths, and gunsmiths as the basic facilities. The rest was upgraded into factories, such as metallurgical factories, alchemy factories, and firearm factories.
After adding new system buildings, Leo got 10 factories of each type. The other slots were allocated to a different field. Five car manufacturing factories, five aerospace manufacturer factories, and ten spaceship factories took up more space on the fifth floor.
There were 450 slots available on the fifth floor, but Leo kept them empty for now. After all, he needed rooms to build Qi generators, and he planned to build them on this floor.
At the moment, most of the factories didn't have enough power supply. Leo deeply sighed and checked the number of fate crystals he had.
350 Earth Fate Crystals
111 Sky Fate Crystals
41 Heavenly Fate Crystals
2 Entity Fate Crystals
Leo tilted his head as he didn't remember when he acquired all of them. He could only recall that he killed so many entities when he confronted Sieg.
"I guess some of the crystals entered my soul back then. Welp, thanks for the loot."
350 earth fate crystals turned into 50 true earth fate crystals. Using them as a foundation for his shopping complex, he opened his system and purchased 50 Qi generators.
RUMBLE
50 generators occupied 50 slots on the fifth floor. At the same time, they filled the building with thick yin-yang essence. Leo visited one of the generator's rooms to see the interior.
Upon entering, he wasn't disappointed. Inside the room was a barren brown planet in another dimension. The same pylon tower stood tall, producing holy water nonstop. The purified water leaked into the ground. Then, black grasses sprouted from the barren land. Within a few minutes, the brown planet was painted black because of the surging immortal grasses. Some of them even bloomed flowers.
Looking at the field of immortal grasses reminded him of his early days here. He reminisced about the past.
"It all started because of these grasses. This takes me back."
