Chapter 2646 - 2647: Taking Precautions

Feng Yuan thought about this for a long time and ultimately decided not to get involved. He even just informed Liao Yu about this possibility without bothering to explain, because regarding the Qi Realm, humanity currently has no effective means to deal with it.

Due to the secretive nature of the Qi Realm, even Feng Yuan, without employing special means, couldn’t easily find it. Even if they knew, there was nothing they could do. They couldn’t just evacuate everyone into Data City because of such a possibility, right?

It’s not that it’s impossible, but doing so would significantly disrupt the now recovering production order. Is human life more important, or is survival material more important? Feng Yuan didn’t want to ponder over such a dilemma, not even a little.

Informing them of this was already the utmost Feng Yuan could do.

Veronia didn’t ask Feng Yuan if he would do anything else either because she knew that unless Feng Yuan used special means to directly deal with the Qi Realm, it would be better to pretend to know nothing.

As to whether Feng Yuan could change anything by taking action, even Veronia wasn’t that confident because the Qi Realm is too unusual, or rather, it doesn’t follow common sense. Thus, whatever action Feng Yuan takes might lead to worse outcomes.

Staying still might be the best option because no one can guarantee that acting against the Qi Realm won’t cause even worse changes. Regarding potential safety hazards, it all comes down to choice and compromise.

Much like what Feng Yuan thought, after the intelligence was passed up, the authorities in Maomu City didn’t take any targeted measures. They couldn’t act against the Qi Realm, not for any other reason than simply not having the ability. As for prevention?

Too many factors are involved, and they’ve already made their choice, even if it means some will be discontent.

"Indeed, as I thought, given the chance, they’ll definitely come out and get busy."

Watching the busy light-yellow figures on the hillside, Feng Yuan smiled and said. The Bilu Mushroom’s cap was light yellow with spots. Having no hands, it retrieved items with telekinesis, its pair of little oval feet running swiftly. It loved scattering spores in the fields.

Bilu Mushroom spores don’t have the ability to reproduce mushrooms. Or rather, the spores of Bilu Mushrooms serve as excellent fertilizer for most plants.

This is why Bilu Mushrooms often appear in fields. Compared to other wild Spirit Beasts, Bilu Mushrooms are almost universally protected by locals wherever they appear. Anyone daring to harm Bilu Mushrooms would incur the community’s wrath.

Normally, with the current unclear situation, these Bilu Mushrooms should be hiding in relatively safe places with other wild Spirit Beasts. But for Bilu Mushrooms, lack of farmland makes them very uncomfortable.

Indeed, although Bilu Mushrooms weren’t Spirit Beasts born from humans, they are closely related to humanity. Even without special laws for protection, no one dares bully Bilu Mushrooms randomly.

If the habitat of Bilu Mushrooms wasn’t so restricted, generally only mountains suffice, it’s likely they’d be active in fields worldwide.

Now that Bian Shui Fort’s production has temporarily resumed, Feng Yuan estimated those little ones who were bored to death would be frolicking here, and it turned out to be true.

Watching the group of Bilu Mushrooms darting back and forth in the fields, even Veronia couldn’t help but smile a little.

"Speaking of which, these should be seedlings of Mountain Rice. But I remember the data mentioning Bian Shui Fort primarily cultivates Red Mulberry for silkworms, right?"

Looking at the seedlings in the field, Veronia, recalling something, asked with a bit of confusion. Feng Yuan thought for a moment and said,

"Not sure, but perhaps they switched to Mountain Rice because they temporarily couldn’t manage the fields?"

Though called rice, Mountain Rice does indeed produce rice but isn’t a conventional staple crop due to its low yield. Mountain Rice is actually a native plant quite common in mountainous environments and hasn’t undergone much selective breeding.

Contrary to its yield is its adaptability. As long as it’s not desert or utterly barren rocky terrain, Mountain Rice can tenaciously grow. Even on rocky shores, as long as there’s enough soil underneath and it’s not submerged by water long-term, it can grow from crevices.

Furthermore, as a native plant, Mountain Rice has excellent adaptability to Spirit Beasts’ ultimate skills. Almost any ultimate skill that promotes plant growth works exceptionally well on it.

Unfortunately, yield is its major flaw. Even with Bilu Mushrooms hastening maturity, its yield remains unsatisfactory. However, if it’s about preventing starvation, it’s still somewhat feasible.

Combined with its poor taste, Mountain Rice lacks economic value, being almost solely adapted to its environment. Its tenacious life force, akin to that of wild grass, might be its sole redeeming feature.

In contrast, Red Mulberry Silkworm breeding is different. Red Mulberry is a special mulberry tree with fiery red leaves containing small amounts of fire, wood, and water energy, which allow silkworms fed with it to produce special silk.

Though perhaps not suitable as armor, Red Mulberry Silk, warm in winter, cool in summer, soft and light, remains a costly silk material.

Given the prior wartime evacuation, Feng Yuan reasonably believes the switch to Mountain Rice here was to prevent abandonment due to lack of care.

After all, while Red Mulberry isn’t particularly delicate, in the absence of regular maintenance, it can easily wither.

In such a scenario, switching to Mountain Rice isn’t surprising. In this area, Bilu Mushrooms are active; despite wild Spirit Beasts being in hiding, they’re not avoiding disaster like humans.

However, this seemingly rational explanation still left Feng Yuan puzzled because Red Mulberry is a tree, whereas Mountain Rice, if not for producing rice, might be classified as wild grass.

Even if they didn’t want to let the land go fallow, this seems excessive.

"There’s someone over there, why don’t I just ask?"

At this point, Veronia noticed someone approaching and immediately suggested, and Feng Yuan didn’t stop her, also curious about the truth.

After a while, Veronia returned with a respectful demeanor, which puzzled Feng Yuan into asking,

"What’s up with you? Didn’t get the answer?"

"No, they didn’t hide anything. I didn’t expect them to make such a choice."

Looking at the Mountain Rice fields, Veronia sighed, scratching her head, and Feng Yuan didn’t understand the situation. Veronia chuckled and said,

"Their idea is quite simple. Even though Mountain Rice’s yield is low, if it can save people in certain times, it’s worth it."

"Huh?"

Stunned for a moment, Feng Yuan quickly realized that unlike Maomu City, Cha Mu Town is mountainous. Even with the power of Spirit Beasts, it’s hard to ensure Beastmasters never go hungry outdoors, but this doesn’t mean it never happens.

Moreover, not everyone is prepared as such, and reaching this condition requires prior preparation before travel.

Mountain Rice isn’t meant for them but is there in case of emergencies where unprepared people might pass through and find sustenance.

As to who these people might be, Feng Yuan could guess—they were preparing for the worst case.

Not just Bian Shui Fort, the entire Cha Mu Town, except areas gathered for defense, had similar actions. Other than the persisting fruit trees and Yun tea trees that couldn’t easily be replaced, most other crops switched to Mountain Rice.

"Taking precautions against the unforeseen, is it? Indeed, hopefully, there will never be a need for these preparations."

Feng Yuan sighed, saying that even now in the midst of a great counterattack, he couldn’t be certain about the future. The power of the Beast Tamers meant that even when the Imperial Timeline was at a disadvantage, it still had the ability to cause significant damage to the Main World.

No choice, without disregarding everything and using the most powerful ultimate moves, it’s hard to withstand them, especially in surprise attacks, where gathering enough Beastmasters isn’t feasible.

Therefore, these Mountain Rice might have their uses, though Feng Yuan hoped that day would never come.

"Who can say for sure? Perhaps it’ll truly be as you hope."

Veronia nonchalantly remarked, just like the cities vanished due to surprise attacks from the Imperial Timeline; once the battle starts, casualties are inevitable.

But she didn’t believe there was anything wrong with Agunas and their planned counterattack. Fear of sacrifice and avoiding battle would only drag them into the enemy’s rhythm, worsening the current situation.

As for those who sacrificed because of this, they couldn’t do anything about it. Caring too much about this would make it impossible to fight, which was also why Dou Yanlan no longer pursued the path of a Commander. She... ultimately couldn’t harden her heart.