Chapter 234: Chapter 153: Making It So Complicated Despite Being So Close

In terms of appearance, Shu Yao wasn’t as eye-catching as Lin Zhenxiang, but she had an approachable aura that naturally drew people to her.

Her team members gathered around her.

"Sister Yao, we’ve discussed the tree seed further and came up with a few more questions for you."

"You said before that the seed’s hard outer shell is digested by an animal’s gastric fluids, allowing it to grow and reproduce through the animal’s waste. But at the time, we didn’t know the seed was poisonous."

"If the ingested seed releases its toxins after being digested in the animal’s stomach, wouldn’t that just kill the animal? How could it reproduce and grow then?"

Shu Yao explained patiently:

"We can’t rule out the possibility of animals with heartier appetites. An animal that co-evolved with this seed and has fed on it for generations would likely develop a resistance to its toxins.

Also, even if the seed does kill the animal, the animal’s decaying corpse would become fertilizer, still providing the right conditions for the seed to grow.

Frankly, my hypotheses about the seed are just inferences based on its external characteristics. To know what’s really going on, we’d have to investigate its native environment."

"Are you guys talking about the Poisonous Tree Seeds?" Lin Zhenxiang chimed in. "Actually, when I heard the special admissions students couldn’t open the seed, I found it pretty strange. Why didn’t you just use a laser cutter?"

Song Xiaoxing explained:

"First, when we special admissions students got the seed from the Agricultural College, we had no idea what it was, just like them. It was only after Sister Yao told us that we learned it was likely a tree seed. And we all agreed with her theory.

Second, during our group discussions, we guessed that the outer layer was a protective shell. A seed protected by such a hard shell must be very fragile inside. Using a cutter could easily damage it, and no group was willing to risk sacrificing their seed to find out. That’s why we’ve been looking for a safe way to open it.

Third, getting a seed to grow is a long process. We’ve tried many cultivation techniques, but none of them made the seed sprout. If we adopted a reckless attitude and just cracked it open by force, all our previous research could have been for nothing, and we’d be left with no specimen to study. After all, each group only has one seed."

Lin Zhenxiang smirked. "Isn’t your father the dean of the Agricultural College? Your group must have more than one seed, right?"

Song Xiaoxing gave her a serious look. "The last person who said something like that to me got kicked out of my group. And he had only just joined from another team, anyway."

The special admissions student group he led was full of official members who followed the rules and focused on their research; none of them had ever considered taking that kind of advantage.

Lin Zhenxiang’s expression stiffened, but she quickly followed it with a faint, apologetic smile. Inwardly, however, she was thinking, ’Song Xiaoxing is such a blockhead. He has a clear inside advantage but insists on making things so complicated.’

Suddenly, a commotion broke out at the entrance to the Agricultural College’s market.

A student from the Agricultural College ran over, shouting, "Our Dean Song is fighting with Dean Si from the Military Academy!"

Li Hancheng and the others looked at Song Xiaoxing in surprise.

"Mr. Song, is your dad that tough!?"

Song Xiaoxing’s mouth twitched. "No way!"

’The father he remembered only ever buried his head in research, not even paying much attention to his own son. How could he possibly be a match for the dean of the Military Academy!’

Everyone knew.

That Dean Si was the former Commander-in-Chief of the Federation!

"Let’s go, let’s go see!" Li Hancheng held up a sign. "Maybe your dad has a hidden skill!"

Song Xiaoxing almost laughed.

’His dad poured all of his life’s skills into researching cultivation techniques!’

’What’s he going to fight Dean Si with? Cabbage leaves?’

「Outside the Agricultural College’s market.」

From a distance, the group saw Dean Song Yinghe of the Agricultural College and Dean Si Jingping of the Military Academy grappling with each other.

Dean Song seemed to be in a hurry, a frustrated look on his face. Dean Si, looking agitated, was blocking him and refusing to let him leave.

During the struggle, Dean Song gave him a push.

Then, they watched as Dean Si’s eyes went wide and his mouth fell open. He clutched his chest and collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath as if he were having a heart attack.

Seeing this, Dean Song panicked.

Just then, a man by the name of Gan, who had been watching from the sidelines, rushed to Dean Si’s side and began to shout frantically.

"Dean! Are you alright!? Dean, what’s happened!?"

Dean Si, still on the ground and panting, pointed a trembling hand at the stunned Dean Song and rasped out:

"The slots! Give me the slots!"

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