Five months later, the convoy finally crossed the border of the Maslow Alliance, bidding farewell to the desolate Visasa Wasteland. As the terrain changed, the vegetation gradually became lush. It was the transition from summer to autumn, with pleasant weather and gentle breezes that were truly refreshing.
Along the border, the caravan encountered several other groups also heading to the port of Elendal, mostly minor nobles who had fled from the Kingdom of Lodin. Through conversations, Green gathered information about the port of Elendal from them.
Over the past six months, Green's physique has improved significantly. The continuous practice of his breathing technique has pushed him to his limits. As a formal knight, Green is now able to control the life energy within his body and release it externally. Although the caravan's conditions are rudimentary, Green still set aside a carriage and converted it into his own laboratory.
This marks Green's first in-depth exploration of the nature of the world. Previously, due to a lack of research tools and harsh living conditions, he had to set aside his thirst for knowledge. Now, with the ability to protect himself, Green can finally return to his role as a scientist and explore the mysteries of this world.
Despite extremely limited knowledge about this world, Green was able to modify existing knowledge by altering models to adapt to its environment, thanks to his memories from his previous life. Coupled with the extraordinary memory and analytical capabilities granted by the chip, Green's research was highly efficient and error-free from the outset.
On a vast green plain, a caravan was moving slowly forward. What stood out among the twenty or thirty carriages was one particular carriage. It always lagged behind, maintaining a certain distance from the ones in front, and its appearance was also unusual. This carriage was completely enclosed, with only two specific windows and a tightly locked door connecting it to the outside world. This was Green's laboratory.
The laboratory was divided in two. The left side was filled with flowerpots containing all sorts of exotic plants; the right side was filled with bottles and jars containing all sorts of creatures.
At the rear of the carriage, in a secluded space, Green was holding a bottle, carefully observing the creature inside.
"The effects of life force on animals and plants are completely different," Green pondered, rubbing his head. Since he gained the ability to manipulate life force, he had begun to explore its mechanisms and had collected a large number of plants, insects, and animals for experiments.
In the bottle before him, a giant centipede, half a meter long, was slowly wriggling. Its flat body was dark red, and its exoskeleton was as hard as armor. Its legs were covered with tiny, sharp sickles, its head was flat and broad, its compound eyes gleamed with an eerie light, and its mouthparts were exceptionally sharp, like sickles. The bony protuberances on its exoskeleton secreted a sticky fluid, undoubtedly teeming with venom.
"Sigh, another failure." Looking at the centipede in front of him, Green was somewhat annoyed. Although the centipede was enormous, it actually had very little time left to live. Under Green's catalysis, although it grew rapidly, it had reached the limit of its own cells and would soon die.
As soon as Green finished speaking, the centipede began to lose its vitality and eventually collapsed in the bottle, no longer moving.
[The chip recorded the results of five experiments and compared them with the quality inspection results for analysis.]
[Research Finding 1: After receiving life force, plants tend to extend their overall lifespan, exhibit less heterogeneity, and rarely undergo evolutionary mutations. Flowering plants tend to prolong their flowering period to disperse more seeds.]
[Research Finding 2: Insects, after receiving life force, tend to increase their body size, drastically enhance their attack organs, and experience a significant shortening of their lifespan. Even if their growth is disrupted, the insects will still choose to increase their body size after the disruptive factors disappear.]
[Research Finding 3: After receiving life force, mammals experience an overall improvement in their abilities. However, because they cannot sustain the generation of life force, this improvement reverts to its initial state once the exogenous life force is exhausted.]
Green took out a specially prepared liquid from the side and poured it directly onto the centipede's corpse. This was a potion Green had specially concocted to treat failed experiments. The liquid began to corrode the centipede's body upon contact, quickly dissolving its hard exoskeleton like paper. The originally transparent liquid also became murky due to the leakage of the centipede's internal organs.
[Based on the fifth experiment, a new interference method was developed for the chip.]
[Under Construction]
[View the internal and external energy conversion analysis model]
[Model development progress 7%, significant data missing, please supplement with information on the properties of external energy.] Still not working? It seems that once we arrive in Allendale, we must find instruments capable of studying external energy.
He glanced at it again, noticing the chip starting its experimental simulation and the stillness emanating from the carriage. Green opened the laboratory door, or rather, the carriage door. As soon as the door opened, Green heard a voice.
"Brother Green, you're out! Butler Ward has prepared the food. Come with me to the front to eat!" It was Ashville who spoke. Ever since Ashville helped Green write the slave contract, she had been assisting Green in managing the Candia caravan. Ashville herself was quite capable, managing the caravan very well. Seeing Ashville's enthusiasm, Green was happy to have some free time and entrusted all the management affairs to her.
Eichwell was greatly encouraged by this, and became more attentive to management, frequently using his authority to contact Green.
The six-month journey through the wilderness had changed Asheville's demeanor. Her appearance, however, hadn't changed much, because during the journey, almost all the girls wrapped themselves up tightly, unwilling to take them off even in the sweltering heat, for fear of their skin being harmed by the sun and sand.
Ashville's changes are more noticeable in her demeanor. What was once somewhat naive has now become more composed. However, combined with her youthful voice and voluptuous figure, Green always felt something was off.
"Let's go," Green replied to Ashville, then stepped down from the carriage. Ashville immediately leaned in, took Green's hand, and pulled it towards her chest. Feeling the softness, Green glanced at Ashville but said nothing more.
On the open ground nearby, the Green team had already prepared food and laid it out on a carpet. Several people were already seated on the carpet. Green turned to look at the food on the carpet; although it consisted of only a few pieces of white bread, it was quite a precious meal during the six-month journey.
Green couldn't help but sigh, thankful for the "delivery" sent by Baron Candia; otherwise, the people in the caravan might have been eating black bread halfway through the journey.
After sitting down at the table, Ashville sat next to Green, casting a provocative glance at the two people beside her—Lyra and Mia. Green had initially thought the two would give up, but they had been relentlessly competing with Ashville, never relinquishing their grip.
Grimm could understand Mia's situation. Given her low status in the original castle, it was highly likely that the Baron would no longer support her after she arrived in Elendal, and she would have to fend for herself. Grimm was the best place for her, even if it was just as a maid.
Lyra never gave up, which initially puzzled Green, but he later learned that the Baron had decided that once they settled in the port of Elendal, he would marry Lyra off to a local nobleman to secure his position.
In this situation, Lyra naturally wanted to resist, but this time, even Lyra's mother couldn't stop the Baron. In the entire group, only one person could stop the Baron: Green.
Green felt that if Ashville hadn't been watching closely, Lyra would have already run to his carriage and offered herself to him.
Green, who had already made up his mind, had been silently observing without interfering. As long as Green remained silent, the three continued to circle around him. Green glanced at the grinning Old Green beside him; the shrewd Old Green had already seen through the situation, but he was simply happy to see it.
"How much longer until we reach the port of Elendall?" Green asked with a helpless expression, looking at Old Green's grinning face.
"It won't be long, at most half a month. Once we enter the territory of the Maslow Alliance, the roads will get better and better, and the travel speed will be much faster." Upon hearing Green's question, Old Green immediately lowered his head and began to estimate.
"Half a month? That's not enough time for one experiment. It seems we need to consider life in Allendale." Green lowered his head, making arrangements for life after arriving at the port based on the information he had gathered.