Chapter 79: Sprout’s Changes

Lily carefully considered her current situation.

Compared to other Survivors, her living conditions were leaps and bounds ahead. She didn’t need to reinforce her safety or daily necessities. That left only one priority: the land.

Following Lily’s confirmation, Shelly’s body began to change, growing larger and larger. The soil beneath her feet glowed, and the air filled with a nostalgic scent—rich, damp earth mixed with fresh grass, just like her childhood hometown after a heavy rain.

[Upgrade complete. Land enhancement complete. The growth rate and yield of all plants cultivated on this soil are doubled. Future upgrades will continue to increase both growth rate and yield for every Level gained. More surprises await the Survivor’s exploration.]

Seeing this, Lily sprinted toward the planting area.

About ten minutes later, her eyes widened in shock at the sight before her. The previously unripe vegetables had matured instantly. They had doubled in size, plump and vibrant with moisture. As far as the eye could see, a lush sea of green cabbages covered the field.

Cabbage was already a high-yield crop, but after several rounds of enhancements, the output had multiplied over tenfold. Lily snapped off a piece of a cabbage leaf and took a bite without even washing it.

CRUNCH.

It was incredibly crisp with a faint, refreshing sweetness. Forget stir-frying; it was delicious enough to eat raw.

She then inspected the other zones. Every single vegetable had matured and doubled in size. In the crop section, the sweet potatoes, potatoes, rice, wheat, corn, sorghum, and millet were all ripe, their heavy yields drooping from the stalks. The fruit trees were similarly laden with heavy fruits, painting a perfect picture of a bountiful harvest.

An unparalleled sense of satisfaction swelled in Lily’s chest. Look at all of this. It was all hers.

However, she needed to harvest all the ripe grains, vegetables, and fruits immediately. Otherwise, their texture and flavor would degrade within the hour.

With a mere thought, a beautiful, iridescent glow materialized in the sky above. Beauty came at a price, though—this radiant light was manifested entirely from Crystal Cores. The colorful light drifted down, enveloping all the mature crops. It extracted their seeds before transporting the harvest straight into the warehouse. Once categorized, these crops would be listed for sale in The Supreme Shop.

Following the harvest, the vibrant planting area was reduced to barren soil. Lily didn’t mind at all. She knew the crops had simply taken another form to fill her inventory. Besides, the bare patches would sprout again in no time. With the new enhancement buffs, the crop growth rate would be faster than ever.

On her way back, Lily passed the Mushroom field. One side was completely bare. This was where she grew shaggy ink caps; they had just been harvested, and the new batch hadn’t sprouted yet. The other section, however, was teeming with colorful, exquisite mushrooms.

In the fungal world, vibrant colors usually meant potent toxins. Indeed, these were not meant for consumption. They were explosive mushrooms. Different colors dictated different detonation effects: red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, and purple corresponded respectively to standard blasts, extreme heat, foul stench, poison gas, gale-force winds, freezing ice, and lightning strikes.

Lily had acquired this Mushroom field a long time ago. Due to limited quantities, she priced them high and exclusively sold them to VIP customers who had reached a specific spending threshold in The Supreme Shop. If one looked closely, they would notice a mushroom vanishing into thin air every so often—a sign that another purchase had just been made.

Returning to Shelly’s head, Lily noticed that the turtle hadn’t eaten anything while she was gone. She initially thought Shelly was waiting for her orders, but then she saw the turtle’s eyes half-closed, nodding off in a sleepy daze.

"I’m full... so sleepy."

Hearing Shelly mumble this, Lily didn’t know whether to laugh or be annoyed.

"Food coma already? Alright, get some sleep."

The Scarlet Anemones would just have to wait until Shelly woke up.

Once the turtle was sound asleep, Lily checked on Sprout’s growth. To her surprise, she found numerous red veins spreading across Sprout’s body. They had been hidden beneath the leaves, which was why she hadn’t noticed them earlier.

"What’s this?"

Lily brushed her fingers against the patterns on the underside of a leaf. The red veins were actually glowing and felt warm to the touch.

"What did you eat this time?" Lily asked, gently grabbing a vine that reached out to wrap around her wrist.

Did it eat a Scarlet Anemone? No, that couldn’t be right. Shelly had devoured the small cluster of Scarlet Anemones nearby, leaving no scraps behind, and Sprout couldn’t reach the ones farther away.

The slender vine twitched slightly in her grasp. A moment later, Lily froze, her expression turning utterly bizarre. She had assumed the Scarlet Anemones caused this mutation, but it turned out Sprout had gorged on the Volcanic Venom-Snails from earlier! Sprout had secretly collected all the crushed snail remains left behind by Shelly and treated itself to a little midnight snack.

Sprout had the ability to evolve based on Lily’s thoughts, which essentially gave it limitless potential. This new state was highly likely another form of evolution. Judging by Sprout’s energetic demeanor, the red veins weren’t causing it any harm.

"No more eating random garbage without my permission, do you hear me?" Lily scolded lightly. It was a stroke of luck this time—a blessing in disguise—but they might not be so fortunate the next time.

Just as Lily turned to leave, Sprout didn’t release her wrist like it usually did.

"What’s wrong?" Lily asked.

Sprout tightened its grip slightly, then extended a new, slender vine to point toward the Scarlet Anemones in the distance.

"You want to eat a Scarlet Anemone?" Lily asked in surprise.

At those words, Sprout’s leaves fluttered wildly in excitement, looking completely impatient.

"I mean, you can, but Shelly is asleep right now." The nearest Scarlet Anemone was quite a distance away. Plus, given Sprout’s appetite, just one clearly wouldn’t be enough to satisfy it. But seeing Sprout’s frantic wiggling, it obviously couldn’t wait.

"Alright, alright, I’ll go get you some," Lily sighed helplessly. She was always too soft-hearted when it came to them.

Lily steered her sailboat out of the protective range of the Absolute Defense, heading straight for the Scarlet Anemones.