How Am I Still Alive?
Chapter 78 - 78 64 The Advancing Gardener

78: Chapter 64: The Advancing Gardener 78: Chapter 64: The Advancing Gardener “…Did it fail?”

Looking at the black ashes on the ground, Lu Ping’an was somewhat helpless, and even more so, heartbroken.

A module requires ten fragments, which means at least ten life-points to start with.

Every failed attempt made him feel heartache.

“…

Surely, something is still missing.”

This was the botanical garden in the “Courtyard” and also Lu Ping’an’s experimental field.

Unlike the previous shabby fields, this place had been extensively renovated by Big Cat.

Beneath the neatly arranged stone pillars were square experimental fields.

Various pipelines, including but not limited to “Pollution Pipeline,” “Nutrient Pipeline,” and “Water Pipe,” were present in the subdivided walkways between the fields.

On a shelf nearby, there were various “Lamps” that provided different natural environments, such as “Sunlight,” “Pollution Light Source,” and “Shadow Source.”

After acquiring the ability to accelerate, Lu Ping’an did not indulge in the simplicity and convenience of his power.

On the contrary, he invested a lot of money and effort into this plantation and followed the path of a “Regular Gardener”…

Of course, just this piece of land surpassing the Forest Secret Realm was enough to have nothing to do with the so-called “regular” or “ordinary gardeners.”

After clarifying his abilities and distinguishing his strengths and weaknesses, Lu Ping’an did not intend to skip classes but make up for his basics step by step as he decided to follow the “Gardener’s path.”

He knew that whatever he skipped at the starting stage would eventually come back to him at a multiple cost.

“To understand why the fusion failed, I’m afraid I’ll have to start with why the fusion was successful and analyze how my ability operates…”

Finally, after another failed “Gambling Dog” attempt, Lu Ping’an came to his senses and returned to the fundamentals of the experiment – re-analyzing the principles.

“A trade, after all, is a combination of ‘giving’ and ‘receiving’…”

The upgrade of his talent’s ability was not illogical; on the contrary, it could be seen from the system prompt of Lu Ping’an’s ability upgrade.

The sublimation of the concept of “Life Trading” is more like a combination of “Gift of Life” and “Receiving (Feedback).”

“I give the Magic Plants a life force beyond normal, they complete the instant growth and evolution, and as a price, their essence is left behind after they die.”

This is also similar to the essence of being a Gardener: planting plants, waiting for them to mature, and harvesting the fruits.

The “fruit” they obtain, the concentrated life force of a Magic Plant throughout its life, is the so-called Life Essence Fragment.

It is intangible, or only the “Life Bank” can fully preserve this conceptual level of “essence.”

Then, the bank conceptualizes the fusion and processes the complete essence, which is gifted to another Magic Plant.

“The more I understand the ‘Gardener’ profession, the more I realize how perfect this ‘fusion’ is, which is completely incomprehensible.”

Two and two come together to create a new Magic Plant species, which seems logical, but is still due to the might of the Life Bank.

First is the “essence acquisition,” then the “harmless gifting,” and finally, the successful fusion of the two, giving birth to a new species.

In theory, it makes sense, but at the technical operation level, any Gardener would just laugh in your face.

It’s like a cat meets a dog, and they directly fuse into a creature that combines the advantages of both…

what about species isolation?

The rejection reaction?

The process of fusion/mating to obtain offspring?

Can’t you talk about some DNA and science!

Or, more bluntly, draw a cat and a dog, put them together, and it becomes a new species…

why not draw antlers, snake bodies, eagle claws, etc., and piece together a dragon.

“Perhaps, this is the essence of my power, the concept of trade as a beneficial exchange between both parties…”

Only by understanding the concept, can a so-called “cat-dog” be created by combining a “cat” and a “dog,” allowing a Magic Plant to inherit another Magic Plant’s advantages completely.

Reinvesting for a new species is a much more outrageous life concept ability than instant maturing.

The other day, those Gardening Professors were genuinely frightened because they knew how difficult it was to develop a new species and couldn’t understand how this student had succeeded.

“Damn, did I scare them…never mind, it doesn’t matter.”

Lu Ping’an continued to develop his abilities and had a lot of harvest along the way.

The only problem was that this ability was too expensive.

Ten Essence Fragments require ten life-points, and one failure means a total loss.

If the loss is too significant, shortening his life by a month is unacceptable to Lu Ping’an.

Lu Ping’an had tried to accelerate the growth of 2-tier Magic Plants, but they still gave him Fragments, ten per group as usual.

Also, since all 2-tier fusions completely failed (and failed spectacularly, turning to ash on the spot), there seemed to be no difference.

2-tier Magic Plant Seeds were not only expensive and difficult to obtain, but their growth would also be out of control almost instantly after accelerating, leading to ultimate abandonment.

Strangely enough, the 2-tier Magic Plants that Lu Ping’an fused himself had a high affinity for him and would not attack him at least.

It’s worth mentioning that using seeds of a Fusion Magic Plant to speed up the growth of a 2-tier Magic Plant can result in the plant biting back instantly.

So, perhaps during the “trading” process, a natural trust is formed between both parties?

This clear double standard gave Lu Ping’an a headache, as it meant he might not be able to use magic plants across different tiers freely.

High-level Gardeners have abilities like plant communication and affinity which can make up for this deficiency, but Lu Ping’an obviously doesn’t have time for that.

Third-tier Magic Plants?

The failures are even more complete, just like investing in third-tier professionals with a 100% failure rate.

In the end, a first-tier Gardener can only go back to first-tier Magic Plants.

Unfortunately, even fusing first-tier magic plants resulted in continuous failures…

even the previously stable “formula” had a very high failure rate!

“What am I missing?

Why do they keep failing?

Wasn’t it successful the first time?”

Even if the magic plants crave a certain component, the final outcome is still fusion failure, with both returning to the earth.

Knowing how to succeed and how to fail, Lu Ping’an felt like he was still missing something – the “Glue Fusion Agent” needed for “fusing life.”

Lu Ping’an had a vague understanding that perhaps the temporary buff provided in the Secret Realm was actually something more important.

“So, Magic Plants Affinity and control are essential for higher levels of the Gardener’s path?”

Maybe this short-term buff is just as valuable as a permanent passive buff because it allows professionals to “try out” high-level abilities in advance.

Not only does this guide the professional towards their future direction, but it can also provide inspiration for breakthroughs.

With Lu Ping’an’s “Abnormal Ability experience-fragments” as proof, trying it out might actually make it become something you can have.

Lu Ping’an asked the big cat if there was anything else he was missing, but the answer he received was quite subtle.

“I don’t know, I really don’t understand the specifics of the Gardener’s path.”

“Some professions are absolutely incompatible; trying to juggle them would result in the strong instantly swallowing the weaker.

The Gardener series of Magic Plants is one, compared to the Beast Tamer/Healer series of Demonized Animals.”

Helpless, Lu Ping’an could only rely on himself to explore the path.

He actually sneaked into the Forest Secret Realm to brush up on the buff, but twice he came out with low ratings and didn’t even have the option to obtain a “Blessing.”

There wasn’t much time left, and he couldn’t afford to waste any more of it.

He started spending his points to force military expansion, hoping that the final ranking reward would offset his consumption.

As time and points were gradually consumed, the field in front of him and the ashes on the ground became his total harvest.

Aside from Twisted Poison Whiskers and Boom Thunder, he developed a new hybrid magic plant along the way and integrated it into his fighting style during his training.

Of course, there was also the rapid increase in “Planting” and “Grafting” skill experience, so this time, Lu Ping’an wasn’t creating something from nothing.

For Lu Ping’an, the statement “gamblers will have a bad end” held true.

“One last time, one last time…

Come on, my SSR!”

With another 10 Life-points spent, Lu Ping’an closed his eyes, not daring to look at the result.

“…

Finally, another successful one.”

This time it seemed luck was on his side as a brand new Magic Plant appeared on the ground.

“Although the fusion isn’t as perfect as the previous two, it’s still usable…

At least I have another way to deal with my opponents.”

With four 2-tier Fusion Magic Plants, as well as a variety of first-tier and 0-tier Magic Plants, he had enough surprises for his opponents.

Unlike the newly awakened Gardener he met in the Secret Realm that day, Lu Ping’an had now transformed all the available resources into combat power, and his seed bag was full.

“Now, I should be stronger than I was in the Knight’s Secret Realm…”

But as a price, the 90 Life-points used in the experiment had surpassed his total consumption for survival and investment during these days.

The continuous decrease in Life-points made his heart ache, forcing him to stop all “gambler’s behavior.”

“Once I’ve made up for my weaknesses and improved my fusion success rate, I’ll give it another go…

This is a matter of life and death; with such a high failure rate, I can’t afford to keep playing.”

Finally, it was time for the last round of tests.