Chapter 89 - 88: Clever Probing and "Sprouting
Qin Xiaoxia was checking for the Nth time to see if his "Banker" had sprouted.
Amidst the lush greenery, the small hole he had projected down had long since been repaired by the Secret Realm.
He continued to pour his Magic Power downward. Although there seemed to be no progress, at least the Magic Power was being absorbed. He could only wait patiently, like an old farmer in his field.
Nearby, Doudou was pulling up swathes of rice plants, playfully making the field, which looked like a normal one from the outside world, patchy and uneven.
Then, Doudou tossed the rice seedlings into a nearby cage.
Inside the cage was a skinny rabbit.
The moment it saw the "grass" enter, the starving rabbit pounced on it and began to eat.
It quickly devoured the handful of rice plants Doudou had tossed in.
Qin Xiaoxia glanced speechlessly at Doudou, then looked sympathetically at the rabbit in the cage.
He wasn’t some fanatical animal lover, but being tormented by Doudou like this... the rabbit’s fate was a bit tragic.
"Doudou, how’s your academic research coming along? Are you about to produce some results?"
Doudou tossed the rice seedlings in his hand aside.
"Just about. It seems that unless it’s a special plant actually grown in the Secret Realm, eating the projected crops really has no effect."
Having eaten so many rice seedlings, the rabbit’s stomach was bulging. But this was a false sense of fullness. Once its stomach acid broke down the seedlings’ original structure, they would vanish from the Secret Realm. In other words, the rabbit hadn’t actually eaten a thing.
Hearing Doudou’s words, Qin Xiaoxia couldn’t help but feel indignant on the rabbit’s behalf.
"Then why are you still feeding it? Just put it out of its misery!"
"But I haven’t figured out how to make braised rabbit yet! I found a video this time and I’ve watched it a few times. I just need to get a feel for it!"
Qin Xiaoxia: "..."
’As expected,’ he thought. ’Doudou has no intention of letting this rabbit go...’
He couldn’t help but recall how, a few days ago, he had used his Magic Power to scan Doudou on a whim, only to discover the little rascal had secretly stashed away a Gold Coin.
As the "big cousin," he naturally had to supervise the "little kid’s" property, so he confiscated it directly.
After some thought, he used it to "get Doudou registered" and rid him of his undocumented status.
This rabbit was bought after that incident. Doudou was probably taking his anger out on it.
...
At that moment, the plane carrying Huang Jiutian had been in the air for about half an hour.
Qin Xiaoxia, who had been about to say something more, suddenly looked up, turning his head toward a seemingly empty direction.
’Jiutian has left Jia City? Why didn’t he tell me?’
Even from a great distance, Qin Xiaoxia could sense that the Magic Power he had placed on Jiutian’s arm had left the Jia City area.
The speed of movement was quite fast. Qin Xiaoxia naturally knew Jiutian couldn’t fly, so he had to be on some form of high-speed transport.
Knowing Huang Jiutian, he wouldn’t just leave without saying a word.
Qin Xiaoxia was also aware of the situation at the construction site. Although there were many restrictions, as long as no sensitive information was disclosed, normal communication and online entertainment were still permitted.
To avoid overthinking it, Qin Xiaoxia decided to call Huang Jiutian. It was possible something had come up with the project last minute.
"DING-A-LING-DONG, YOU’VE GOT A CALL... DING-A-LING-DONG, YOU’VE GOT A CALL..."
On the plane, Jiutian’s phone, which he had left with Tao Xingzhi, hadn’t been turned off. When Tao Xingzhi heard it ring, he picked it up and glanced at the screen.
"Little Hero? Oh, you mean your good friend Qin Xiaoxia, right?"
They had thoroughly investigated all of Huang Jiutian’s relatives and publicly known friends—who he was close to, who he wasn’t. For the most part, their files were clean. The only notable thing was that a few of them were quite wealthy.
Naturally, there was a record on Qin Xiaoxia as well.
Tao Xingzhi handed the phone to Jiutian.
"Go ahead and answer it. Just don’t mention what happened during the day or that you’re going to Kyoto."
On the other end, Qin Xiaoxia waited for a few rings before the call was answered.
A glint in his eye, Qin Xiaoxia handed the phone to Doudou.
"Hello, Mrs. Huang! Are you doing okay at the construction site? When do you get a day off? I want to eat barbeque, but Big Cousin is a total cheapskate and won’t take me! He says my appetite is too big, but it’s not that big!!! I just get hungry easily!! I haven’t seen you take a single day off lately! When are you coming to see me again~~~?"
Although the phone wasn’t on speaker, the private jet was quiet enough for everyone nearby to hear the conversation.
The moment Doudou started talking, Huang Jiutian broke into a smile, and the others on the plane also smiled warmly.
Jiutian gestured for everyone to be quiet, then spoke into the phone with a grin.
"Doudou, your big cousin hides all his spare cash in his computer desk drawer. If you really want to eat, just snatch a bill when he’s not looking. I’ll cover the difference for you later!"
Doudou’s face showed disdain as he boasted into the phone.
"Like I need you to tell me that! Hmph, I’ve been doing that for a... uh... That would be wrong... I’m a good kid!"
Having nearly said something fatal, Doudou, with a cold sweat on his brow, peeked at Qin Xiaoxia. He only relaxed and continued after seeing the latter had no reaction.
"Mrs. Huang, don’t change the subject! Don’t you want to treat me to barbeque anymore?"
Huang Jiutian laughed and said patiently.
"Alright, alright, you’re a good kid, okay? But it’s really busy at the construction site, and I’m not sure when I’ll get a day off. I can’t leave for now. I’ll try to ask the company for some time off another day. Okay, that’s all for now. I have to get back to work. You go have fun."
After saying that, Huang Jiutian decisively hung up the phone. Then, he turned to Tao Xingzhi and the others with a smile to explain.
"Couldn’t be helped. It’s the kid of a friend’s relative. A bit of a troublemaker."
"Hahaha, Mrs. Huang? Hahaha, Mrs. Huang!"
Xiaoliu laughed so hard he slapped the armrest of his chair. The others joined in the teasing, and the atmosphere in the cabin became much livelier and more congenial.
Jiutian just chuckled, not minding the teasing. Internally, besides feeling much more at ease than before, only one word remained in his mind: ’Impressive!’
...
Qin Xiaoxia took the phone back from Doudou and silently put it in his pocket, his expression now serious.
"Something’s happened to Jiutian."
Huang Jiutian didn’t have a show-off personality, so it was unlikely he had brought this upon himself.
He still had access to his phone, and his tone sounded relaxed, so it probably wasn’t a kidnapping. Besides, that construction site was heavily guarded. If some kidnapper could snatch a designer from there, what would that say about the nation’s prestige?
Furthermore, Huang Jiutian had Magic Power on his arm; he wouldn’t be so helpless.
Qin Xiaoxia couldn’t guess the specifics right now, but he believed Jiutian would find an opportunity.
At his side, Doudou was even more anxious than Qin Xiaoxia.
The barbeque talk just now wasn’t entirely a test—he couldn’t afford to lose Mrs. Huang, his meal ticket.
"Big Cousin, are we going to save Mrs. Huang? He’s not going to die, is he?"
"What the hell are you talking about? Is it always life or death with you? Just wait! He’ll be fine."
Then Qin Xiaoxia suddenly thought of a few less-than-normal possibilities.
"You never know, maybe your Mrs. Huang has climbed the social ladder~"
Just as he was joking, the Magic Crystal Ore deep beneath the Secret Realm trembled and began to extend crystalline tendrils.
A smile slowly spread across Qin Xiaoxia’s face.
"Oh, it really is sprouting like a seed!"
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