Zombie Bodyguard
Chapter 377 - 376: Strange Flowers and Unusual Herbs

Chapter 377: Chapter 376: Strange Flowers and Unusual Herbs

Lin Tian understood the Miss; if she wasn’t dealing with someone trustworthy, she would never casually show such an important item to Professor Xue, and considering he was also the person in charge of this particular laboratory, it proved that Professor Xue was a reliable man.

Moreover, based on the way he greeted others, Lin Tian had a very good impression of the professor, who lacked the pretentiousness and stiffness often associated with his title.

"Ha-ha, Professor Xue, compared to your unconstrained style, us juniors have a long way to go. When I first met you, I thought I had seen Einstein." Lin Tian pointed at his disheveled hair and laughed heartily.

The Miss’s complexion went a bit abnormal, worried that Lin Tian’s manner of speaking might offend Professor Xue. In the laboratory, Professor Xue only had eyes for his various plants, beakers, and flasks, and even her authority as President Xiao’s daughter was not very effective.

If he took offense at Lin Tian and insisted on kicking him out, the following matters would become troublesome.

However, Professor Xue’s reaction was beyond everyone’s expectations. His eyes widened as he shouted, "Nonsense, do you think I want my hair to be a mess? It damages my image, but I have no choice because I’m too busy with work. Still, you young man have quite a sense of humor, I like it. Not like your President Xiao, always with a stern face, so prim and proper that it’s dull."

The old man actually dared to say in front of the Miss that she was dull, and it was peculiar for an elderly professor to call a young and beautiful woman prim and proper. Lin Tian looked at the Miss with amusement and saw that her face also bore a look of helplessness.

Xiao Manxue, of course, felt helpless and even speechless. She believed that a professor of such age deserved sufficient respect, which was why she was somewhat solemn at work. Little did she know she would receive such a comment, and now Lin Tian, that scoundrel, had witnessed her embarrassment.

"Grandpa Xue, did you plant all these plants here? They’re so pretty," said Xiao Manxuan when facing an elder, her words were always sweeter than anyone else’s, and she started calling him "Grandpa Xue" right away. Moreover, she genuinely liked the plants in the greenhouse.

When the little girl was well-behaved, she was like an angel, and Lin Tian was all too familiar with that. Flattered by the compliment from an angel, Professor Xue immediately lit up with a smile.

"Ha-ha, you two young people are really fun. Since you like it, I’ll give you a tour. Let’s see what defines exotic and unusual flora—come, follow me." Professor Xue was in high spirits and ready to show them his masterpieces.

Lin Tian glanced at the Miss, though. Hadn’t they come today for a medicinal formula? How had it turned into a tour of the laboratory?

The Miss understood the meaning behind his glance and responded with one of her own: just follow along for now, since they were already here.

The two exchanged glances, communicating without words, but to their surprise, Professor Xue noticed. Despite his seemingly jovial demeanor, his insight was incredibly sharp. He immediately reassured Lin Tian and Xiao Manxue: "Don’t worry. Once you’ve seen the plants here, you’ll have a direction for your medicinal formula."

Since he put it that way, Lin Tian could only go along with the tour first, curious about what exactly was being grown here.

"Wow, this mushroom is so pretty, can it be eaten?" Xiao Manxuan exclaimed loudly upon seeing the first greenhouse, unable to take her eyes off it, and even revealing her foodie nature.

The greenhouse was filled with a lot of mushrooms, which were purely white. The caps were fully opened, and at a glance, it looked like countless delicate white umbrellas in full bloom. The faint light reflected off them, casting an enchanting glow, and indeed they were very pretty.

But Lin Tian knew a principle: in nature, the prettier the mushroom, the more toxic it is, especially those with bright colors are almost always poisonous.

As expected, Professor Xue laughed and said, "Young lady, that’s not something you can eat. Do you know its name?"

"I don’t know, but it’s such a shame that something so pretty isn’t edible," Xiao Manxuan said regretfully.

To be honest, Lin Tian also didn’t know what it was called. To the eyes of a non-professional, all mushrooms look more or less the same, and even the common mushrooms seen in the market might not be clearly distinguishable.

"Its name is Death Angel. Hearing this name, would you still dare to eat it?" Professor Xue said.

"Death Angel! Such a beautiful thing, how can it have such a poignant name?" Xiao Manxuan curiously remarked, describing Death Angel as poignant, showcasing the unique aesthetics of a beautiful woman.

"For those who have eaten the Death Angel, the tragedy is indeed real," Professor Xue became serious again when discussing the topic professionally.

He explained, "The Death Angel is highly toxic and also well-camouflaged. Those who accidentally consume it appear fine on the surface, but once the few days of incubation period pass, the poison erupts. By that time, the toxin will have infiltrated the vital organs, especially the liver and kidneys. Doctors without experience in resuscitation face almost no solutions when dealing with such poisoning, resulting in an extremely high fatality rate."

"How terrifying," Xiao Manxuan said, frightened, and subconsciously took two steps back.

"Heh, there are even scarier things you haven’t seen yet. We cultivate these things in hopes of finding more effective antidotes," chuckled Professor Xue, not lingering any longer, he moved towards the next glasshouse.

"What do you think this looks like?" Professor Xue asked, pointing to the glasshouse.

The glasshouse was quite large, but it only contained three flowers, which were exceedingly big, taking up about half the space, and were almost one meter tall.

These three giant flowers, without leaves or stems, had purple petals that were very large, at least forty centimeters each. Most peculiar was the gigantic pistil growing at the center of the petals.

"Corpse Flower!" Lin Tian exclaimed, he could scarcely believe that such a bizarre flower truly existed.

On the face of it, this flower didn’t seem like a terrestrial organism at all, rather like an invasive alien creature. According to legend, the Corpse Flower can create illusions, form death traps, and is cultivated by the evil spirits guarding Solomon’s treasure.

"Young man, you are right, but this flower isn’t as magical as the legends say. It has been cultivated by people around the world, but indeed, the scent it emits does have hallucinogenic effects," he added.

"Through my research, I have found that the older the flower, the more distinctive its hallucinogenic effects, and more importantly, the hallucination is related to the growing environment. If one day you come across this flower in a dark and damp graveyard, then you should be very careful," Professor Xue said ominously.

Xiao Manxuan, frightened, clung to Lin Tian’s side, gripping his arm tightly as if the huge flower might consume her.

"Miss, are all the plants you grow here so dangerous?" Lin Tian asked curiously.

"Not all, but these rare plants are the ones with research value. Otherwise, what’s the use of carelessly growing grass," Xiao Manxue answered naturally.

Professor Xue also followed up with an explanation, "Young man, the reason I’m showing you these is that they are related to your prescription, because in it are several herbs with strong toxicity and hallucinogenic narcotic effects, such as that..."

Before he could finish his example, a lab-coated staff member ran over in panic, interrupting him. The newcomer was a young woman, probably an assistant or something of the sort. As soon as she saw Professor Xue and the Miss, she called out, "President Xiao, Professor Xue, there’s been an emergency, come quickly!"

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