Chapter 593: Chapter 592: Fertile Seed

“These are ‘Mushroom Puddings’…”

Ichise Hui led the observation group, gradually approaching the glass room.

Here, no longer was there a jungle-like vista, the surrounding area was planted with leafless crops.

The rich, sweet aroma of pudding lingered in the air.

“Wow, it’s ‘Mushroom Pudding’!”

A female researcher’s eyes lit up immediately.

Luther stopped in front of the area’s fence, gazing intently at the ground where unique mushrooms grew in clusters, their tops dipped in coffee color and giving off a strong cocoa scent. The elder professor bent down, his fingertips gently brushing over the stems, then brought his fingers to his nose to savor the adhering scent. His usually stern face couldn’t help but reveal a trace of joyous smile.

“Yes, this is genuine ‘Mushroom Pudding’.”

“The key to these fantasy ingredients isn’t in how intense the cap tastes,” Luther explained, “The essence lies in the stem, that inconceivable and delightful taste…”

“That’s not right!”

The girl with smoky makeup and chewing gum retorted, “It’s the upper part that contains the flavor that astonishingly delights through a lifetime!”

“A lifetime of astonishment?” Luther chuckled, “That may have been true of the original ‘Mushroom Pudding’, but these mass-cultivated fantasy ingredients have already lost many genetic segments. In other words, their quality has permanently deteriorated.”

“What a pity!”

Luther sighed, “Aren’t we culinary researchers working hard precisely to preserve the original quality and flavor of the ingredients to the greatest extent? To cultivate them on a large scale while keeping their quality intact so that all can taste the most authentic fantasy ingredients… But there are too few such successful cases!”

Upon hearing this, Ichise Hui held him in high respect.

Truly the soul of the IGO Research Headquarters!

He praised silently.

“May I try?”

The smoky makeup girl, Cecilia, suddenly pointed.

“Um…”

Ichise Hui hesitated briefly, then smiled and said, “But you alone!”

The other female researchers immediately felt disappointed.

Cecilia, apparently used to such privilege, showed no embarrassment and confidently pulled a mushroom out of the ground.

Clean and unwashed, Cecilia leaned in to smell it, then opened her mouth baring her fangs.

Crunch!

She swallowed the cap in one bite and gently chewed, the mushroom stem breaking crisply.

Chew!

Her cheeks puffed up, her face displaying surprise.

Saliva threatened to spill from her mouth, and as she chewed, her tender cherry-red lips became moist. Cecilia, all the while chewing, extended her cute little tongue to lick her lips, but it only became more wet.

After quite some time.

“Um!”

A lump of food went down her throat, the girl tilted her head back and patted her chest, “I almost choked to death!”

Her eyes sparkled beautifully.

“I… think I might understand why that female hunter, the chef who first discovered ‘Mushroom Pudding’, said that its upper part had a flavor astonishing enough to delight one’s entire life!”

Saliva continued to form abundantly. She swallowed several times as she spoke.

“Hey!”

“What’s inside the glass room?!”

Finally, a researcher pointed to the core building where a rainbow light shimmered.

Luther and Cecilia looked up.

“This tree has grown so much?”

The Chiben sisters and Takai Masashi, who had visited the farm a fortnight ago, were astonished.

Shinohara Shigetaro was quite surprised.

In the past two months, he had been busy with the competition. He didn’t expect to come back in November and see the sapling had turned into a large, leafy tree.

“Can we visit there?”

Luther, gazing intently from a dozen steps away, felt a sense of familiarity and his breathing became rapid.

Ichise Hui was about to agree but then remembered Xia Yu’s instructions from half an hour earlier.

“Currently, only two people are authorized to go in.” Ichise Hui pursed his lips, “Besides me, it’s Instructor Xia.”

But the smoky makeup girl had already walked briskly over.

She didn’t rashly smash through the password door but stood still outside the glass wall, breathlessly admiring the stunning fantasy tree in the view.

“So, so beautiful! Dreamy!”

“What kind of tree is this?”

The trees twisted upward, their stems not straight, and their broad leaves splayed out around them.

Luther, Shinohara, and the girl with smoky makeup fixed their gaze on the treetop.

The tree crown bloomed like a petal, with the flower stalks softly hanging down.

Colored rainbow light lingered in the half-space of the glasshouse.

Focusing his eyes, Luther exclaimed in stark shock, “Are there seven-colored rainbows in the air?!”

“Yes, seven colors!” Cecilia said.

“Indeed! This, this is definitely a fantasy fruit!”

Luther was excited.

“The fantastic Rainbow Tree!”

Upon hearing this, the researchers at the IGO research institute were stunned.

“According to the research data, the fantasy Rainbow Tree is a rare species that cannot be planted…” Cecilia mechanically chewed her gum, “Currently, the Rainbow Fruits in the hands of chefs are all wild, and moreover, wild Rainbow Trees often have only 1 to 2 fruits, which die and wither within minutes of being picked and cannot be transplanted…”

Shinohara Shigetaro’s emotions were equally unsettled.

Being an IGO staff member, not of low rank, he knew that decades ago, when the initial signs of fantasy invasions appeared, the IGO headquarters’ Miracle Garden had tried to keep alive an original Rainbow Tree seedling. Back then, the entire IGO research institute’s elite threw themselves into research and cultivation but despite their efforts, after half a year, the progenitor tree had withered.

If one were to visit the IGO headquarters, they would find a withered tree in a very conspicuous position in that “Miracle Garden.”

“Blooming, bearing fruit!” Luther murmured, “Judging from its growth, it’s about to produce fruit!”

Trouble!

Ichise Hui watched the disorderly expedition and inwardly cursed the bad omen.

He knew the “Rainbow Tree” was extraordinary, but limited by his knowledge and level, he did not yet grasp how shocking and astounding it was to keep a fantasy tree alive. This was an attempt even the IGO headquarters’ Miracle Garden had failed at.

Suddenly, a figure flashed in the glasshouse.

Someone placed several pots filled with black soil onto a small shelf on the outside of the glasshouse.

With a small trowel in hand, they dug holes, buried a tiny black seed, and covered it with soil.

After that, they watered and fertilized.

This process lasted at least ten minutes or more, while a group of people watched through the glass wall.

“All set!”

After recording the crop data and seeing the successful planting of several pots of “Rich Seeds,” the boy finally dusted off his hands.

When he realized the light in front of him was dim and looked up, he met a sea of eyes and faces.

Thud, thud!

The hot-tempered Chiben Natsuka, after a moment of shock, was filled with excitement and rushed forward to bang on the glass, “Instructor Xia, Chef Xia, when did you come over? Come out, we need to talk about a business collaboration!”

Of course, Xia Yu could not hear because of the soundproofing, but he could roughly guess what the woman was saying by watching her lips.

His face darkened.

He had avoided showing himself for fear of being entangled.

He glared at Ichise Hui, who helplessly spread his hands.

He didn’t expect Xia Yu to be there either.

Opening the door, Xia Yu was immediately surrounded.

“Instructor Xia, let’s collaborate—” Chiben Natsuka said.

Takai Masashi said, “Our Takai Group will also launch a ‘Fantasy Restaurant’ project soon, planning to open three fantasy restaurants in Tokyo, specifically providing high-end Fantasy Ingredients cuisine. As such, Takai Group needs a stable supplier who can provide high-quality fantasy ingredients!”

Xia Yu’s lips twitched.

“President Takai, isn’t it inappropriate to say this in front of a crowd at IGO?” he pointed to Luther and Shinohara Shigetaro.

IGO had always played the role of ingredient supplier for many years, stable and secure.

Takai Masashi didn’t care and laughed heartily, “If there are higher quality ingredients available, as the owner of the restaurant, as a chef, it’s natural to pursue the best. One of Takai Group’s mottos is to provide the best and highest quality cuisine we can offer to our customers!”

Xia Yu gave a thumbs up.

“All business and management matters, as well as further services, I’ve entrusted to the director of Xia’s Farm, which is Student Ichise. Regarding this aspect, you can go to him—” Xia Yu offloaded the burden without any sense of guilt.

Student Ichise’s smile stiffened slightly.

This instructor and boss sure was adept at business!

He silently complained.

“Professor Luther, this is our first encounter outside of the competition!” Xia Yu nodded and greeted the research authority.

“Regarding the fantasy Rainbow Tree, we have a lot to discuss.”

Luther looked at him intently.

But a voice interrupted at this moment:

“What did you just plant?!”

The girl with smoky makeup stared at him intently.