"Is this a more advanced model of the Life Radar?"
"The boss is amazing, as expected. You even managed to get your hands on something monopolized by middle-tier powers."
After opening the first box, Leiteri recognized the device inside at a glance.
He recalled how the boss had first seen a Life Radar through their Hummingbird Squad.
But now, he was able to buy an even more advanced and better Life Radar. The change was truly immense.
"It’s a good piece of equipment, but it’s a shame it arrived a little late!"
"I’ll hand this over to the Hummingbird Squad. Consider it a reward for your contributions in the Blood Salt Case!"
Chen Qi used his Spirituality to inspect the Life Radar inside and out.
Aside from a slight increase in the use of Extraordinary Metal in its core components, its other functions were only a limited improvement over the previous model.
Its detection range reached three kilometers and its precision had improved, but that was about it.
With his Compass and Spiritual Eye, Chen Qi really had no use for this big hunk of metal anymore.
It could only be said that Chen Qi’s power had grown too quickly. While this model of the Life Radar wasn’t obsolete, it was no longer indispensable to him.
Now, he could only hope that the "surprise" Westin Kuta had mentioned wouldn’t be a disappointment.
With a sense of anticipation, Chen Qi opened the other box.
...
"Uh... an Automatic Lawn Mower?"
’What the hell is this thing?’
Inside the box, a shimmering, iridescent, broom-shaped vacuum cleaner that looked very high-tech appeared before Chen Qi’s eyes.
Perhaps worried that Chen Qi wouldn’t recognize it, someone had thoughtfully hung a tag on the vacuum cleaner.
’But why is it called an Automatic Lawn Mower?’
Curious, Chen Qi took off the tag. Its purpose was detailed in a universal script.
He wouldn’t have known if he hadn’t looked, but after reading it, Chen Qi was stunned.
The thing was actually used for mowing lawns, but its method was rather... special.
"Where nearby are the weeds thick and the plant life abundant?"
Chen Qi looked at Leiteri. Though a bit confused, he answered immediately.
"Boss, there’s a small hill in the South District. The vegetation there is very lush!"
"Plus, few people go there, so it’s perfect for an experiment."
After a moment’s thought, Leiteri had found a suitable location.
Chen Qi nodded and went there by car with his men.
After a drive of just over ten minutes, Chen Qi arrived at the hill.
It was the middle of summer, and the hillside was covered in all sorts of vibrant weeds and shrubs, perfectly matching Chen Qi’s requirements.
...
’According to the instruction manual, you just have to point the vacuum’s intake at the weeds!’
’Due to a certain level of danger, do not point it at any human!’
’Hmm, it really is idiot-proof.’
Chen Qi aimed the vacuum cleaner—all right, the Automatic Lawn Mower—at the grassy area in front of him.
Then he casually pressed the red button.
WHIRRR!
The Automatic Lawn Mower whirred, but before Chen Qi could even feel a vibration in his hand, the device stopped running.
The entire process lasted only a second, making Chen Qi wonder if the thing was broken.
"Boss, all the plants in front of us have withered."
"Incredible! How is that possible?"
Leiteri was the first to notice the anomaly. Chen Qi followed his gaze and saw that the green vegetation in the several-hundred-square-meter area ahead had turned a withered yellow.
However, that was only the beginning. In the next instant, the withered yellow vegetation turned grayish-black.
A gust of wind blew past, scattering gray dust, and a bare patch of empty ground appeared before everyone.
"This... this lawn mower is a little too effective."
Chen Qi stared in shock at the broom-shaped Automatic Lawn Mower in his hands. ’This thing can actually mow lawns?’
’How did it turn several hundred square meters of vegetation to dust in an instant?’
"Everyone, stand back. I’m going to expand the range."
Chen Qi’s curiosity and desire for research were thoroughly piqued.
Seeing their big boss about to expand the test’s scope, the members of the Hummingbird Squad, who had just witnessed the incredible scene, immediately scrambled far away.
In their eyes, that was no Automatic Lawn Mower; it was clearly a terrifying weapon.
That tag must have been just a disguise.
...
’Interesting. Very interesting.’
’Let me see just how you do it.’
Chen Qi tried to use his Spirituality to probe the internal structure of the Automatic Lawn Mower, only to be surprised when he found his Spirituality was blocked.
Quite literally, the moment his Spirituality touched the Automatic Lawn Mower, a soft glow materialized on its surface and pushed his Spirituality away.
’This thing uses Spiritual Energy?’
Within that soft, misty light, Chen Qi sensed the fluctuations of Spiritual Energy.
’As expected of a product from a major power. This really is high-tech.’
Chen Qi had originally thought the device pulverized vegetation using some kind of ultrasound.
It seemed he had underestimated it!
...
"Open!"
Light flickered in Chen Qi’s right eye as three Spells began to rotate clockwise.
In his field of vision, dotted Life Magnet Fields flickered unsteadily.
Chen Qi had selected a new patch of vegetation and activated his Spiritual Eye.
He wanted to see exactly how the plants were dying.
WHIRRR!
Chen Qi pressed the red button again. From start to finish, he hadn’t used any of his special powers.
It was one thing not to know it used Spiritual Energy before.
But now, it seemed this gadget was probably developed for ordinary people after all.
’What’s this?’
’The plants’ Life Magnet Fields were extinguished... no, they were converted into a special kind of energy.’
’Damn, it’s too fast.’
’But I think I’ve figured out the basic principle.’
’Incredible. Truly incredible!’
To confirm his theory, Chen Qi didn’t hesitate to conduct a dozen more experiments.
In just half a minute, the once lush and densely vegetated hillside had turned into a barren, dead land.
Fortunately, Chen Qi got the answer he was looking for, so he didn’t need to wreak havoc elsewhere.
’This thing is really something else!’
’If I understand correctly, when the Automatic Lawn Mower is activated, it releases a unique type of Spiritual Energy radiation.’
’This radiation doesn’t kill the surrounding vegetation. Quite the opposite, it’s a very beneficial force for plants, and can even catalyze their evolution.’
’Under its influence, the plants’ Life Magnet Fields ignite their own life force, causing it to burn.’
’This process is remarkably similar to the Red Falcon King’s current state.’
’But just like the Red Falcon King, the plants don’t have any Special Gene, so they die from genetic disintegration.’
’If that were all, this thing could only be considered a lawn mower.’
’But in the instant the plants’ life burns out, the device collects the energy generated by their sublimation.’
’It must be a very special kind of life energy.’
’So, in essence, the device destroys the plants by devouring their life energy.’
’And that devoured life energy is condensed into a special product.’
Chen Qi pressed a blue button on the Automatic Lawn Mower, and a green pill appeared in his hand.
Hundred Herbs Pill was the name of this product, taken from the instructions on the tag.
Coincidentally, Chen Qi had also seen a detailed description of the Hundred Herbs Pill in *Inner World General Knowledge*.
...
After a human becomes a Transcendent, ordinary food becomes increasingly insufficient to meet their energy needs.
Even Soldier’s Rations Pills become inadequate for a Middle Tier Transcendent.
And that was with the new methods not even taking into account the effects of Body Refinement; otherwise, the consumption would be even greater.
The ancient legacies of old, in order to solve this problem of insufficient food energy, developed Alchemy and the Fusion Technique.
For example, the original version of the Soldier’s Rations Pill came from the Fusion Technique.
This "fusion" involved extracting nutrients from a thousand catties of grain.
As for Alchemy, it involved extracting energy and nutrients from different substances, then combining them in various ways to achieve more powerful effects.
The Hundred Herbs Pill was a type of Pill created by refining the essence of a hundred herbs. Long-term consumption could not only satisfy a Transcendent’s energy needs but also enhance cellular activity and prevent all illnesses.
What Chen Qi wondered now was whether the Hundred Herbs Pill in his hand was the same kind as the one recorded in *Inner World General Knowledge*.