Many Children, Many Blessings

*Hiss...* Yu Lei took a drag from his cigarette, staring blankly at July perched atop the office desk, and the heat dissipating from the tip of its wing... He had already told him—pet beasts weren't allowed on the desk! No, wait—why did your Ground Penguin know a fire ability? What was going on here?! No, no, no, that wasn't even the point! It wasn't particularly bizarre for a pet beast to develop an ability outside its own element, provided someone was willing to pour resources into it and the beast had the knack. As a biological researcher, Luo Yu naturally had the ability to help his pet beast develop new abilities... What Yu Lei truly wanted to ask was: in this Great Navigation Era, why on earth would you have your pet beast develop a fire ability?! An Earth-system paired with fire—was it born to be a rebel? Completely crazy! "What on earth have you been training it in!" the director asked, thoroughly bewildered. Why did young people these days refuse to walk the beaten path? Luo Yu replied, "Oh, that... Everything was planned according to its personal interests and talents. Aside from fire, there's also fishing, I suppose?" *Right, right, sure...* Yu Lei understood even less now. Fishing and lighting cigarettes—weren't those quintessential skills for a low-level lackey serving his superior? Did this kid want to climb the ranks or something?! Director Yu Lei envisioned a scene in his mind: Luo Yu fishing by the riverbank while the little penguin stood beside him holding the creel, occasionally lighting a cigarette for him... The kid put on airs even greater than an official's. *** Jingyue Island, Qingxi Village, outskirts, Honey-Water Bee farm. A young woman of eighteen or nineteen, dressed casually in a tank top and shorts with chef's oversleeves, was carrying a wooden basket. She scattered feed from it, feeding a group of wild mutated beasts. Before long, however, the mutated beasts that ate the food gagged in alarm. After flinging a few abilities at the woman, they fled in a panic. "Huh..." Watching the dissatisfied mutated beasts, Lin Li tasted the food she had made. "It doesn't taste bad, though... But I guess it really doesn't suit mutated beasts' palates. Developing a new dish failed again." She turned around dejectedly. Just then, two figures—one old, one young—walked over from the distance. Spotting Director Yu Lei from afar, the young woman hurried forward to greet him, but nearly tripped over a vine along the way. "Director Yu, you're here! My father told me to wait for you here." "Little Lin, why are you still so clumsy? You were just like this in the past!" Yu Lei shook his head. Back in school, this girl had left everyone in the dust with top academic marks, yet her motor skills were abysmal, and she was always daydreaming. As a result, Boss Lin hadn't dared let her go out to sea, terrified she might tumble into the ocean one day. "Hehe..." Lin Li laughed sheepishly. "The last time we met was at your graduation ceremony, wasn't it? Time flies. I still remember you getting a perfect score on the theory exam and taking first place by a mile. Ah, right, this is Luo Yu. He's the one who discovered the special abilities in certain mutated individuals among the Honey-Water Bees," Yu Lei introduced to Lin Li. "Hello." Luo Yu extended his hand, though he thought to himself, *Why does she look like an airhead? Can someone like this actually pass the Breeding Qualification Examination?* "Hello, hello." Lin Li also extended her hand, and the two shook politely. "My father already told me about this. I never imagined Honey-Water Bees had individuals like that..." Lin Li looked up at Luo Yu, who stood a head taller than her. "You're really amazing. May I ask..." "Curious about the enhancement effects of the Honey-Water Bees, right?" Luo Yu said. Lin Li blinked. "How did you know?" "It's only natural. How about I give you a demonstration?" Luo Yu offered. "Yes, please!" Lin Li said eagerly. "July." At Luo Yu's command, dust kicked up, and July's figure appeared upon the ground. The little penguin looked left and right before glancing up at Luo Yu. "Enhanced by the power of three bees, its strength, defense, and five senses have all seen remarkable improvements." "The five senses manifest in detailed combat control, which isn't easy to display here." "As for strength and defense... to put it simply, it's an enhancement of physical constitution." *A Ground Penguin...* Lin Li's gaze turned serious. Although she had also contracted a Lower-tier Species, backed by her family's Honey-Water Bee farm, her Honey-Water Bee Queen was by no means weak. Yet why would Luo Yu contract a pet beast like a Ground Penguin? This kind of mutated beast was thoroughly mediocre in strength, defense, speed, and abilities. Precisely because its species was so ordinary, she wanted to see just how far the Honey-Water Bees had enhanced it... "An increase in physical constitution means it can withstand more violent elemental power..." Luo Yu pointed toward a wild tree in the distance and said, "July, show this chef lady what you can do." "Unleash the maximum power you can muster right now." "Goo-goo-ga-ga!" The next instant, July raised its wings. *What is this?* If Lin Li remembered correctly, a Ground Penguin's ability was Burrowing. Yet what followed wasn't Burrowing at all. The ambient temperature began to spike rapidly, and a scalding red glow suffused its wings. "A fire ability?!" An Earth-system mutated beast had actually learned a fire ability... Now Lin Li understood what Luo Yu meant. A Ground Penguin was not a fire-type creature; to channel the elemental power of fire required exceptional physical constitution. In other words, the sheer power of this Ground Penguin's fire ability directly reflected the degree to which its body had been developed! The next instant, as July swung its wings, a scorching heatwave exploded outward—it was none other than Blazing Blade! Compared to when it had just awakened the talent at Level 2, its body could now endure far higher temperatures. Driven by the motion of its limbs, the heat even churned together with the airflow, whipping up a sweltering wave! *Boom!* Wherever the heatwave swept, the wild grass before July instantly charred black. Immediately after, the blast slammed into the wild tree's trunk, leaving behind a massive scorch mark! "Goo-ga..." A moment later, the little penguin blew on its steaming wing and gave it a shake. Compared to water, elemental forces like fire and lightning were far more violent, yet the little penguin commanded them with ease. "How was that performance?" Luo Yu asked Lin Li. Lin Li stood frozen in place. Was this still a Lower-tier Species Ground Penguin? Feeling the heat radiating from the air, her face turned bright red. "..." Not only her, but Director Yu Lei beside them had a twitching mouth. Back then, he had thought the little penguin's fire ability was meant for lighting cigarettes—he had clearly been too hasty in his judgment. *Damn it all, ordinary Water-system mutated beasts of the same tier might not even be able to withstand temperatures this high!* *Just how on earth did he breed and train it?!* "I understand..." Lin Li swallowed hard. "Scholar Luo Yu, let me take you to see the bee farm... You can pick whatever Honey-Water Bees you like. Any individual you think has talent, feel free to take it back for research." "Thank you." Luo Yu recalled July and let it rest. In truth, while the Sting Training Method certainly contributed to that heatwave, the boost from the top-tier talent had played an even bigger role. Still, there was no need to offer extra explanations; it only served to make the Sting Training Method seem all the more formidable. *** Lin Yue Xuan's Honey-Water Bee farm. The number of Honey-Water Bees here was astonishing, totaling tens of thousands. While incomparable to ordinary bee farms before the apocalypse, one had to remember that a single Honey-Water Bee was the size of a fist... Raising them was vastly more expensive. Observing them, Luo Yu realized it would likely take him a long time to inspect the talent of every single bee. "Director, this might take me quite a while..." "Alright, then I'll head out first. You and Lin Li can take your time talking." Director Yu Lei nodded. He had plenty of matters to attend to and couldn't stay here helping Luo Yu pick bees. Accompanying Luo Yu in person was already his way of backing him up and ensuring Lin Yue Xuan wouldn't push him around. Then again, seeing that Lin Yue Xuan had sent Lin Li to receive him, it would be lucky if she wasn't the one getting pushed around by Luo Yu. After Director Yu Lei left, Lin Li said, "It's getting late. I'll go prepare some food for you." "Thanks." Luo Yu didn't refuse, glad to sample her cooking. Next, Luo Yu began searching for the individuals he needed within this massive Honey-Water Bee farm. Before long, his eyes were glued to the task, completely unwilling to pull himself away. That evening, he enjoyed a honey-themed feast prepared by Lin Li: honey-glazed chicken wings, honey grilled squid, honey fried rice... Delicious as it was—in fact, practically heavenly, ten thousand times better than what Yuwan cooked, ensuring he was determined to secure this chef—it was just too sweet! Eating this every day would give anyone diabetes sooner or later. Luo Yu still preferred savory and spicy dishes... *** Luo Yu Research Institute. "Not coming back tonight?" Yuwan gazed at the stars outside the window, lost in thought. Before leaving, Luo Yu had mentioned that he was going to the farm to select Honey-Water Bees and might stay overnight, telling her to look after the research institute. To think the Sting Training Method was so effective that it had even earned her uncle's approval... Once might be a fluke, but twice... Could this kid really be a genius? Taking advantage of the night, Yuwan cast another divination, calculating Luo Yu's future potential. "There's no light here either." The star-shell pearl remained pitch-black, its color like an abyss. *** By the next morning, Luo Yu had only inspected half of the Honey-Water Bees, his eyes strained almost to the point of developing styes. It wasn't until the afternoon that Luo Yu finally finished appraising the talents of every Honey-Water Bee in the farm. Compared to wild swarms, the average quality of the Honey-Water Bees here was indeed somewhat superior. Out of sixteen thousand Honey-Water Bees, there were roughly one hundred and ten with advanced talents. Most importantly, for the Honey-Water Bee species, ordinary talents weren't entirely useless. After all, Strength Enhancement and Defense Enhancement were both ordinary talents. This time, Luo Yu found a total of sixteen Honey-Water Bees with ordinary enhancement talents and three with advanced enhancement talents. Specifically: Three with the "Strength Enhancement talent." Four with the "Defense Enhancement talent." Three with the "Speed Enhancement talent"—this was a newly discovered enhancement talent that could boost the recipient's reaction speed through the poison sting. Four with the "Endurance Enhancement talent," which could bolster the stung target's ability to resist fatigue. Two with the "Poison Resistance Enhancement talent," capable of strengthening an organism's resistance to toxins. As for the three Honey-Water Bees with advanced enhancement talents, they were: One with the "Water Element Enhancement talent," which could enhance water elemental control. One with the "Spirit Enhancement talent," which could boost spiritual power. One with the "Life Enhancement talent," which could promote growth. Counting the three Honey-Water Bees back at the research institute, that made eighteen Honey-Water Bees with ordinary enhancement talents and four with advanced enhancement talents. Among them were both males and females—unlike the original three, which were all female. He now possessed a solid foundation for breeding, where both parents could be individuals with enhancement talents! Of course, what made Luo Yu happiest wasn't discovering these nineteen Honey-Water Bees with enhancement talents. Rather, within the swarm, he had uncovered an advanced talent similar to "Breeding Exemplar." [Individual Talent]: Many Children, Many Blessings (Advanced talent: as the number of offspring produced increases, the aptitude of subsequent progeny will grow progressively stronger...)