52: Personal Assessment

My name is Li Wen, and I always believed that the Harvest Worm was just a legend. If the entrance to the Secret Realm hadn't appeared right in front of me, I almost would have kept believing it.

Looking at the legend of the Harvest Worm from a believing perspective, it doesn't seem as much like 'God Creating the World in Seven Days'; it's simply a cycle of agricultural reincarnation.

It's just that the symbolic meanings are somewhat different. The first time symbolized 'slash-and-burn agriculture.' In the earliest times, there wasn't a great demand for agriculture.

This could provide the land with a twenty-year recovery period. After twenty years, the trees in the previously burned areas would grow back, and then the second cycle would begin.

The second time symbolized 'irrigation culture.' As the population increased, the tribe's demand for farming also increased, and the main agricultural terrain shifted to plains.

Irrigation became an important agricultural method.

The third time symbolized 'returning farmland to forest.' Over-exploitation of forests led to the destruction of water resources and soil, making people aware of the importance of the environment.

The fourth time symbolized 'photosynthesis.' After long-term cultivation, people gradually discovered that plant Growth was related to sunlight.

The fifth time symbolized 'photoperiodism.' Through some people's recording and comparison of daylight hours, as well as experiments, it was finally discovered that flowering was not related to daylight hours, but rather to the duration of dark treatment at night.

The sixth time symbolized 'hybrid pollination.' As the demand for different species increased, people began to artificially pollinate, replacing insect and wind pollination.

The seventh time symbolized 'straw returning to fields.' To improve the energy utilization efficiency of agricultural activities, people began to reuse agricultural waste, saving resources.

Thinking of this, Li Wen felt that something seemed off. How could the symbolic attribute of the first time be the same as the seventh time? It wasn't quite logical... He realized! The first time's symbol wasn't 'slash-and-burn agriculture' but 'natural nitrogen fixation.' Compared to biological nitrogen fixation by rhizobia, natural nitrogen fixation was even more miraculous.

Thunder, Water, Earth, Light, Dark, Insect, Fire... This was correct; it perfectly corresponded to all of Qingyan's attributes. The changing appearance of this Harvest Worm represented the Illusion Faction.

There must be some connection between the two. Perhaps Qingyan could gain some benefits from the Secret Realm, but these were all matters for later. For now, they seemed to have been forced to leave.

The incident happened suddenly. Due to the appearance of the Secret Realm, relevant personnel from the Exploration Bureau sealed off the site that day, even clearing out Senior Zhu Ling.

“We are just following routine procedures. Once the preliminary investigation is complete, you can enter,” the man in the snake-patterned uniform said helplessly.

Zhu Ling had no choice. After all, rules were rules. The investigation and exploration of this Secret Realm were the responsibility of the Snake Faction. If she were from the same faction, she could have stayed to help.

Now, she could only leave first, but there was no loss. After all, the Exploration Bureau had strict discipline, and it was impossible for them to directly embezzle anything; they just had priority in using some resources.

“Since there's nothing else, shouldn't we leave quickly?”

Su Chen uncharacteristically suggested to Senior Zhu Ling.

On the way out, Senior Zhu Ling realized something was wrong.

“This isn't like you. Don't you usually believe that 'it's better to have more trouble than less'? Why are you holding back today?”

Lu Chen: “What do you think happened to that statue that made it crack?”

Su Chen: ...May informants die a terrible death!

（╯‵□′）╯︵┴─┴

“What exactly happened?” Zhu Ling's expression instantly turned serious.

Knowing that Senior Zhu Ling was indeed very serious about this matter, Su Chen, who usually joked around, didn't dare to continue his antics and honestly recounted the story of the Harvest Worm he learned from Li Wen, as well as his own ill-fated complaint.

Li Wen, seeing Senior Zhu Ling's gaze turn towards him, quickly added, “I heard it from Senior Lin Bufan.”

Lin Bufan: Is this about me too?

“It's okay, you did very well. I'm going to report it to the Rat Faction. Conquering this Secret Realm will be Su Chen's probation assessment, and we'll directly and legitimately take over here.”

Senior Lin Bufan was beside them, looking somewhat amused.

“He cracked someone's statue with a single sentence.”

“Are you sure Su Chen is suitable for your Rat Faction? I feel like the Snake Faction would suit him better.”

Zhu Ling: I'm speechless.

But she didn't care about that. In any case, Su Chen was already the next chosen one for forced labor.

A moment later, an old woman's voice came from the other end of the phone.

“Hello, is that little Zhu? Is something the matter?”

“Teacher, I told you not to call me that. Oh well, let's get to the point.”

“Oh~ the point?”

“Just today, Su Chen successfully triggered a Secret Realm. For some reason, the Secret Realm is currently being investigated by people from the Snake Faction.”

“So, I hope you can send some people over to make this Secret Realm Su Chen's probation assessment.”

There was a 'thump' sound, and the voice on the other end of the phone briefly disappeared.

“Old man, your granddaughter is being bullied.”

The call ended... Heading back again, she was both justified and confident.

“Luoyu, you can get off work now.”

The original man in the snake-patterned uniform merely responded faintly, “Even if you didn't say it, I was going to get off work. I'm not idle; I wouldn't have come if there wasn't a mission.”

“The preliminary investigation has been completed. This is a training-type Secret Realm, possibly a place where the local tribe cultivated entry-level Beastmasters when the original statue totem was still here.”

“The remaining troublesome tasks of deciphering its history are up to your Rat Faction. I'm going home to sleep.”

Luoyu and Lin Bufan had some common ground. If Lin Bufan was lazy, Luoyu was purely lazy.

Others might think about solving the Secret Realm and getting some resources while they were at it, but for him, even if Zhu Ling didn't come back, he would have invited her back.

Otherwise, organizing subsequent explorations might take him some time, and his sleep time for today hadn't even met the standard!

Zhu Ling hadn't expected this Senior Lin Bufan to be so easy to talk to, but the reinforcements weren't called for nothing; it was also to maintain subsequent activities.

Lin Bufan recalled the School Team captain's evaluation of this Senior Luoyu: no effort at all, purely talent.

When Lin Bufan was in his second year, Luoyu was in his fourth year, but for some reason, he didn't participate in that year's national competition. Otherwise, Tiannan University might not even have had a chance to reach the finals.

In his third year, as the School Team captain, he led Imperial Capital University to win the championship of that competition. The problem was that the Jingdao University's fourth-year School Team captain at the time was a reserve Tiger Faction member.

Defeating the Tiger Faction, known as the strongest single entity, even if only a reserve, was enough to show that this Snake Faction member's entry was legitimate.

His teacher's evaluation of him was that the only person in the younger generation who might be able to defeat him was a Dragon Faction member, but where in the younger generation could one find such a 'py' monster capable of having a deep bond with an Overlord-level pet beast?

So, in front of him, there was no way not to be honest, even with Zhu Ling's temper.