Chapter 10: 010
After catalyzing the Daisies, Zhu Ran slept for a while to replenish his spiritual power, only waking up at 10 PM.
Having slept for the better part of the day, Zhu Ran was both hungry and thirsty. Now that he had Daisies, he naturally wouldn’t mistreat himself.
He plucked three Daisy flowers and brewed a cup of water with hot water.
The fresh Daisies bloomed immediately upon contact with the hot water, and the unique fragrance of the plant, mixed with its slightly bitter notes, quickly diffused into the air.
It was fresh, warm, and refreshing.
The tea was too hot to drink just yet. While waiting for it to cool, Zhu Ran took the opportunity to separate cuttings from the small Daisy, catalyzed their growth, and then separated three more stalks.
He placed the three cuttings, which only had two or three flower buds each, into test tubes and nourished them with water infused with his spiritual power.
This way, they should grow into complete plants by tomorrow.
As for the other Daisies, Zhu Ran planned to list one for sale and give the other to his first customer, ‘Qin Ke is Very Reliable.’
That customer’s forum post had led many people to find his shop, causing his Freesias to sell exceptionally fast.
Zhu Ran wanted to thank him.
By the time he finished separating the Daisies, the Daisy tea had cooled sufficiently.
Zhu Ran first drank a tube of nutrient solution without changing his expression, then took two sips of Daisy tea to wash away the viscous, tasteless, and strange texture of the nutrient solution.
The subtle plant fragrance, carrying a hint of bitterness, slowly glided over his taste buds.
The fragrance lingered in his mouth.
Delicious~
Zhu Ran’s eyes crinkled into crescents as he smiled.
After so many days in the interstellar era, he finally had something flavorful to eat.
Zhu Ran drained the Daisy tea in one go.
His taste buds were satisfied, his body was filled with energy from the nutrient solution, and his mood was pleasant.
“First, get the certificate for the Daisies, then go to the shop to list them.”
With the experience of obtaining the Freesia certificate, Zhu Ran quickly secured the Daisy certificate after scanning them with the Xinggou APP.
[Item Category]: Living creature, Natural Plant
[Rarity]: Ultra Rare
[Note]: Extremely delicate natural plant, please handle with care.
Except for the ID and species, the Daisy certificate was almost identical to the Freesia one.
Once he had the certificate, Zhu Ran logged into his Xinggou shop to list two items.
Zhu Ran’s shop only had one display case. When he listed three pots of Freesias yesterday, they wouldn’t all fit, so he simply placed them on the floor to sell.
While selling goods on the floor might seem strange in other shops, Zhu Ran’s shop was decorated in a realistic wooden style; the wooden floors paired with potted plants looked very harmonious and didn’t feel out of place at all.
Today, Zhu Ran listed the new product, the Daisy. He placed it in the display case, with the price still set at the original 30,000 (crossed out) with a 20% discount, selling for 24,000 Star Coins.
Meanwhile, the Freesia was placed on the floor and sold at the original price of 30,000.
After arranging the goods and confirming ‘Open for Business,’ Zhu Ran was about to log off when he saw someone enter just as the shop doors opened.
The newcomer was tall and slender, with a slightly cold temperament and beautiful phoenix-like eyes. This eye shape was usually overly seductive, but because of his overall cold, snow-like aura, that vividness was diminished.
He was clean and sharp, as if wrapped in frost.
The person nodded to Zhu Ran upon seeing him, as a way of greeting.
Zhu Ran nodded back: “Welcome. I just listed the Freesia and the new Daisy today. Feel free to browse.”
“Daisy?”
Mu Qingzhou said, his gaze lingering on the new natural plant in the center display case.
The plant was held in a tender green vase; above the key-shaped green leaves, flowers with red stamens and white petals were in full bloom.
The flowers were circular, about 3cm in diameter, very small and cute, looking a bit like flushed cheeks.
“Yes, it’s a Daisy.”
Zhu Ran introduced: “It’s a relatively cold-resistant flower with a light scent that smells a bit like the atmosphere of an open field.”
“Its flowers can be used to brew tea.”
Mu Qingzhou leaned down and sniffed; the scent was indeed completely different from the Freesia.
The Freesia had a sweet fragrance, while the Daisy’s scent was much lighter and leaned more toward the smell of vegetation.
He liked it too.
After learning from Qin Ke that the online shop selling Freesias was called [Zhuying Anxiang], Mu Qingzhou had specially pushed aside his daily training today. He had waited outside the shop for over three hours without doing anything else, just to wait for the shop to open.
He felt he might be crazy; otherwise, why would he impulsively engage in such a time-consuming and meaningless act?
However, once he waited for the shop to open and saw the Daisies and the shop owner, Mu Qingzhou felt that the three-hour wait seemed worth it.
“I like both it and the Freesia.”
With that, Mu Qingzhou bought both the newly listed Freesia and the Daisy, paying very promptly.
After paying, Mu Qingzhou sent a ‘Friend Request’ to Zhu Ran.
“Can we add each other as Xinggou friends? I’d like to consult you about natural plant care. I’m Mu Qingzhou.”
Zhu Ran was surprised.
He hadn’t expected this person, who looked very cold and aloof, to proactively suggest adding him as a friend.
Zhu Ran had no reason to refuse; the other party was a customer who had just paid over 50,000 Star Coins in one go.
“Of course. You can call me Zhu.”
After exchanging Xinggou IDs with Mu Qingzhou, the other party said he ‘needed to sleep before 12’ and hurriedly logged off.
Zhu Ran was slightly amazed by this.
Were there actually people with normal sleep schedules in the interstellar era?
In his memory, many interstellar people only slept three hours a day, and their routines were incredibly unconventional.
“Thanks to him, I can close the shop again.”
And so, because the shop’s inventory had been sold out, the doors that had just opened were closed once more.
Zhu-Feels-Like-There’s-Never-Enough-Stock-Ran logged off again with a sigh.
He felt he needed to expand production.
However, just as he returned to reality, Zhu Ran heard strange noises from outside his door.
A very excited voice said: “Boss, Boss, this is the place! This afternoon, I saw an airdrop package delivered here. The one who took the airdrop was a scrawny little kid, not even enough to fill the gaps between our teeth.”
Another rougher voice replied: “Well done. Rob everything from this house! As for the person… kill him if there’s any sign of resistance.”
“Got it, Boss.”
As an Awakened, even though his spiritual sea was currently injured, Zhu Ran’s senses were much sharper than an average person’s.
The plotting voices from outside reached his ears clearly through the poorly soundproofed exterior walls.
Zhu Ran wasn’t afraid at all; instead, he was eager to try: “To think I’d run into a home invasion robbery. Interesting.”
Interstellar laws were strict; for home invasion robberies that endangered the property and lives of interstellar citizens, sentences ranged from 20 to 100 years.
Not only that, if the circumstances were severe, the robbers would be stripped of their residency rights for D-grade planets and above and exiled to F-grade planets.
Given the harsh environment of F-grade planets, humans simply couldn’t survive long-term.
This exile was no different from a suspended death sentence.
Under such strict regulations, there were very few interstellar robbers.
However, Zhu Ran was currently living in the lower district of a D-grade planet, where the people were a mixed bag and security was chaotic.
Many people died indoors every day for various reasons; the local government officially announced the cause as natural death due to lack of adaptation to the environment, but the real reason… was most likely murder.
In such an environment, Zhu Ran’s high-profile retrieval of the airdrop today had, unsurprisingly, made him the top target for the local thugs.
Zhu Ran thought to himself:
His spiritual power hadn’t recovered, and the strength he could mobilize wasn’t much. He also didn’t have any weapons on him.
But…
Zhu Ran’s lips curled up into a confident smile.
Based on the two people’s blatant ‘conspiracy’ outside, they didn’t seem very bright.
Judging by their breathing, their breath was cluttered with noise, so their combat power shouldn’t be high.
Zhu Ran estimated they were only slightly stronger than an ordinary person who exercised regularly.
If that was all, he was quite confident in taking them down.
Thinking this, Zhu Ran walked lightly to the side of the door.
He made no sound during the process, as if merging with the tranquil night.
The rough voice: “The little sheep inside fell asleep long ago, let’s just break in!”
With a ‘thud,’ the flimsy door was kicked open.
Two burly men entered the residence grandly, smiling maliciously.
But as their gaze swept the room, they became confused: “Huh, where’s the—”
Before he could finish, Zhu Ran, who had been hiding behind the door, charged out low.
He swept their legs, struck their knees, and elbowed the opponent’s temples several times.
He was as swift as a strong wind, his strikes ruthless and leaving no room for error.
Having survived the apocalypse, Zhu Ran never had a concept of holding back; once he acted, he went straight for the vitals.
Zhu Ran’s movements were simply too fast—so fast that one robber only felt pain in his feet, knees, and head before his eyes went dark and he fell to the ground with a ‘thud.’
He didn’t even realize what had happened, nor did he see what the attacker looked like before losing consciousness.
After taking one down, Zhu Ran kept the momentum going, first using a hand-knife to strike the other robber’s hand as he prepared to draw a gun.
The burly wrist emitted a crisp ‘crack’ upon being hit by the fair hand.
That was the sound of bone fracturing.
“Argh!”
Accompanied by a scream, the robber’s wrist drooped at a distorted angle.
And the gun he had just drawn was caught steadily by Zhu Ran.
After spinning the gun twice, Zhu Ran pressed the cold muzzle against the robber’s temple.
He quickly kicked the back of the other’s knees a few times.
Dazed by the pain from his wrist, the robber offered no resistance and knelt heavily on the ground with two ‘thuds.’
The robber was covered in cold sweat, his face pale, and his features contorted in pain.
Damn it, it hurt so much!
He had really hit a wall this time!
How was this a little lamb? This was clearly a wolf!
“Spare… spare me…”
“Oh?”
Zhu Ran held the gun from a superior position, his green eyes appearing like a pool of unerasable ink in the deep night.
“Give me a reason.”
He pulled back the gun’s safety, making a slight metallic sound.
“I… I know Zou Xing, the Chief of the Aispu Planet Police Bureau. I can have him get you a better place to live, send you money every month, and even give you access to the restricted archives.”
“Sounds decent.”
Zhu Ran’s voice betrayed no emotion, his tone very calm.
“But I don’t believe you. What now?”
Zhu Ran pressed the muzzle hard against the robber’s temple; the robber could feel that the skin was probably broken.
“I’m serious! Just, as long as you’re willing to spare me, anything’s negotiable.”
He spoke tremulously, his very voice shaking.
“I can message him right now, you have to believe me…”
Zhu Ran: “Doesn’t sound like a lie.”
The robber was excited: “Right, right! My life is in your hands now, I wouldn’t dare lie to you even a bit.”
Just when he thought there was hope for his miserable life, he heard Zhu Ran say coldly.
“But what if I’m not interested?”
Zhu Ran’s cold words were like a death warrant, making the robber, who had just thought he had a chance, feel as if he were in an ice cellar.
A ‘click,’ the sound of the trigger being pulled, rang by his ear.
“No!!”
The robber wailed, and a foul smell suddenly emanated from beneath him.
“Sigh…”
The next moment, a sigh sounded by the robber’s ear.
“Being so cowardly, don’t be a robber in the future.”
With that, ‘thud’ ‘thud,’ the cold gun barrel heavily struck the robber’s temple.
The robber lost consciousness and fell to the ground in a daze.
The capabilities of interstellar robbers were concerning; they were so weak that even he, with his frail body, could easily handle them.
Zhu Ran spun the silver gun once, his expression calm.
The door had been broken by the robbers and couldn’t be closed, so the cold winter wind, mixed with yellow sand, blew into the room as if it were free.
Zhu Ran felt a bit cold, wrapped the tattered blanket around himself, and then called the police…
Wait, the robber said he knew the Chief of this planet’s Police Bureau.
Whether what he said was true or false, calling the police didn’t seem very reliable.
Zhu Ran instead reported directly to the Planet Governor’s hotline: “I encountered a home invasion robbery. The robbers are knocked out, but they said they have a good relationship with the Chief. I don’t dare call the police.”
Soon, the AI assistant replied to Zhu Ran: “Professionals will arrive at the scene within 10 minutes. Please wait patiently.”
After receiving the reply, Zhu Ran huddled in a corner wrapped in his blanket.
He placed the several plants in the blanket with him to prevent them from being blown over by the cold wind.
Soon, the sound of a hovercar approached from far to near.
Accompanied by the sound of orderly footsteps, someone stopped in front of his room.
Zhu Ran could tell there were five people.
Their breathing was steady, and their footsteps were powerful and orderly, clearly the result of professional training.
“Hello, are you Mr. Zhu Ran? We just received your call for help. May we enter now?”
“Please come in.”
The well-trained soldiers entered the room, and the five physically fit, tall men instantly filled the cramped space.
A sense of oppression spread inadvertently.
Zhu Ran’s guard was raised to the maximum the moment the soldiers entered.
His nerves suddenly tensed, and his eyes focused unblinkingly on the leader of the group.
The man wore a uniform, black gloves, and a military cap.
Although he didn’t wear any medals on his chest, the respect from the others was plain to see.
Not only that, his turbulent aura, which seemed like a mix of blood and storm, made the sensitive Zhu Ran instinctively want to strike back.
Zhu Ran looked like a leopard whose territory had been encroached upon, warily watching the person who made him feel endangered.
Likely sensing Zhu Ran’s gaze, the other party glanced sideways at Zhu Ran, revealing those sea-blue eyes hidden beneath the cap’s brim.
The pupils were clean and clear without a single impurity, shining with a cold light.
Upon contact with those eyes, Zhu Ran was momentarily stunned.
These eyes looked a bit like… a Ragdoll cat?
Zhu Ran tilted his head, and half of his vigilance vanished.
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