The next day, at dawn, Lin Chen left Anping Driving School, still choosing to travel alone.
Before noon, he arrived at the northern part of Green Mountain Town. Ahead was an expressway leading directly to Binhai City.
Looking out from a small hill by the roadside, the wide expressway was dotted with wandering zombies, clearly not a good place to be.
The northern part of Green Mountain Town was still a long way from the seed market in the Southern Suburbs of Binhai City. He only remembered the scenery along the expressway for this stretch of road.
Worried about taking the wrong path, he walked in the mountain forest alongside the expressway, always keeping it in sight.
The forest was his home ground. Even if he encountered zombies, he could use his Woodland Stride skill to move quickly through the woods, easily shaking off the slow and stiff-moving zombies.
Besides that, he also encountered many different plants, and his professional experience soared.
[Profession: Druid Lv2 (128/300)]
Of this, only 56 points were from killing experience; the rest came from caring for plants and sorting out Nature's power along the way.
By this time, he had firmly secured the top spot on the level ranking, significantly ahead of the second-place holder.
In contrast to the level ranking, he was only lingering at the bottom of the combat achievement ranking.
Although many people had reached the kill experience cap for level 1, this did not prevent them from killing zombies to accumulate combat achievements.
Someone like Lin Chen, who avoided zombies whenever possible, was truly an anomaly.
He had his territory to earn money, and his professional cultivation was also exceptionally convenient, so he didn't place much importance on the meager income from killing zombies.
After all, his mana consumption was fast and recovery slow. He was already held up by various plants. If he frequently killed zombies as well, he wouldn't know when he would reach the seed market.
Despite this, he still wandered in the mountain forest for three days before reaching the Southern Suburbs.
The Southern Suburbs gathered agricultural markets, seed markets, and logistics centers, surrounded by several large farms and orchards.
Now, there was an orchard between him and the seed market.
Lin Chen had visited this orchard during a high school field trip. It had a wide variety of fruits; almost any fruit that could be grown around Binhai City could be found there to some extent.
For Lin Chen now, these trees were treasures, all of them absent from the mountain forest. He wished he could move them all back to his territory.
This month was the season when a large number of fruits ripened, so there were probably many people coming to the orchard to pick fruits, which meant there were also many zombies.
Lin Chen cautiously led Old Yellow Ox into the orchard. As soon as he entered, he saw several zombies gathered under a few peach trees ahead, half of them short in stature, appearing to have been children in their past lives.
He had developed a handy method for killing zombies, and in a short while, he had dispatched these few zombies.
With no more zombies in sight, Lin Chen eagerly walked into the peach grove, to an old peach tree that wasn't bearing fruit.
The old peach tree was covered with red ribbons. This was a wishing tree, the star tree of the orchard.
Lin Chen remembered the story of this tree very clearly.
It was said that this tree was a true ancient tree, hundreds of years old, bearing many peaches every year that were crisp and sweet. The owner of the orchard bought the surrounding land to build the orchard because of this tree.
Unfortunately, after the orchard was built, despite the owner's careful cultivation, the tree bore fewer and fewer fruits, and their taste became increasingly bitter. Later, it became a wishing tree, where a wish-ribbon sold for 10 yuan, which was much more expensive than peaches.
Lin Chen's perception probed into the tree, and a rich power of Nature unfolded before him. This was the densest power of Nature Lin Chen had ever seen; not only was its color deep, but its flow was also very slow, giving a sense of suppression, especially in the areas where the red ribbons were tied.
Understanding the problem, Lin Chen began to untie the red ribbons one by one.
Perhaps to make their wishes more secure, these red ribbons were tied particularly tightly. People don't like to be constrained, let alone a tree?
He was busy with this tree for a whole day before he managed to untie all the red ribbons.
Thinking that such an old tree was rare and precious, Lin Chen poured all of today's spring of recovery onto this tree.
[You have completed a professional cultivation, gaining Spirit Peach × 1, Professional Experience × 10]
"Spirit Peach?" Lin Chen looked at the tree curiously, only to see a green light emerge from a branch in front of him. The light spot grew larger and larger, finally turning into a palm-sized peach. A sweet aroma filled his nostrils, stimulating his salivary glands.
He reached out to pick the peach and appraised it.
[Spirit Peach]
[Quality: Blue Rare]
[Effect: Constitution +1 after consumption, repeated use ineffective]
[Note: The old tree has spirit, and spirit fruit is only given to those with affinity]
After reading the information, Lin Chen decisively ignored the eager eyes and suspicious liquid at the corners of Yuan Gun Gun's and Old Yellow Ox's mouths, and bit into the Spirit Peach.
He felt a burst of deliciousness from his mouth to his chest and then to his abdomen, leaving only an endless aftertaste of fruit. His hand, however, was already empty, without even a peach pit.
"This Spirit Peach is too magical," Lin Chen finally understood what it felt like for Pigsy to eat a ginseng fruit. It seemed to be over before it even began, which was infuriating.
He checked his attribute panel.
[Health: 170/170]
...
[Attributes: Strength 8, Constitution 10+1, Agility 11, Intelligence 12, Perception 16, Charisma 11]
...
His Constitution increased, and his Health also increased by 10 points. A huge gain!
"That's too kind, thank you!"
Lin Chen happily patted the old peach tree. He loved this generous tree that knew how to repay kindness. It, like Nature, disliked taking advantage and was unwilling to shortchange those who treated them well.
A familiar sensation came from his wrist, and Lin Chen excitedly raised his wrist.
[bracelet of nature]
[Quality: Orange Mythical]
[Effect 1: spring of recovery: (omitted)]
[Effect 2: Claw of Feedback: As a loyal protector of Nature, having learned the way of Nature's feedback in the process of protecting Nature, you can borrow a trace of Nature's feedback power, attach it to your hand, and use the Claw of Feedback to obtain materials without harming animals or plants.]
[Note: A mythical equipment whose full power has yet to be revealed, it can only be wielded by the owner it recognizes]
Today was full of good news. The bracelet of nature actually unlocked its second function. Lin Chen strongly suspected that the old peach tree was more suited to be a lucky tree than a wishing tree.
He extended his Magic Claw towards the old peach tree. In the ethereal realm, he sensed a bunch of peach blossoms, a section of a peach branch, and a peach pit. He thought for a moment and pulled out the peach pit.
The peach pit from the old peach tree should be of good quality, right?
Lin Chen carefully put the peach pit into his backpack.
Each tree can only be 'sheared' once. Compared to peach blossoms, which are only for ornamental purposes, and peach branches, whose use is unknown, peach pits are easier to preserve.
However, the peach pits from other peach trees were noticeably smaller than that of the old peach tree, making the old peach tree's pit seem extraordinary.
Previously, he regretted that he couldn't take away so many fruit trees. With the Claw of Feedback, he finally had a way. He could even get some seeds from many plants that weren't in their fruiting season.
Compared to branches and saplings, seeds are naturally easier to store and carry.