Chapter 32: What Happens If Natural Blessing Is Used on Plants?

"Tsk..."

Seeing the cost of Natural Blessing, Han Ning couldn't help but click his tongue. Just a single cast had drained three whole points of his Spiritual Power. That was nearly 1.5 times the cost of the Intermediate Vine Technique, and about twice that of Middle Level Accelerated Growth.

[Natural Blessing Skill Level (Basic Level) +1, Current: 1/200]

"It consumes so much... I hope the effect is worth the effort," Han Ning murmured, suppressing his surprise as he carefully observed the potato seedling enveloped in green light.

The emerald radiance slowly seeped into every leaf and stem of the potato seedling. Visibly, the leaves became a more vibrant, dripping green, as if freshly washed by rain. Even the veins grew somewhat clearer. The stems seemed to straighten slightly, exuding a vigorous vitality overall.

A few seconds later, the green light gradually scattered.

Han Ning immediately leaned in for a closer look. Had the stem gotten slightly thicker? The color hadn't changed much. He reached out and carefully touched a leaf, but the texture didn't seem to have undergone any special changes either. After thoroughly inspecting the stem and the soil near the roots, he found no unusual signs.

"It seems... it just became healthier and more vibrant?"

He shifted his focus to the adjacent tomato seedling. An equally rich beam of emerald light flared up again, enveloping the plant.

[Spiritual Power: 12/25 → 9/25]

[Natural Blessing (Basic Level) Skill Level +1, Current: 2/200]

The tomato leaves greedily absorbed the Energy, similarly turning a bright, vibrant green as the plant quivered slightly despite the windless environment.

Soon, the green light scattered.

The result was exactly the same as the potato seedling. The leaves were greener, and the plant had more Spirit, but other than that, there were no peculiar mutations.

"As expected, it's either a low-probability event, or accumulation will eventually lead to a qualitative change?" he wondered.

The two ineffective attempts didn't discourage Han Ning in the slightest. In apocalyptic survival, the one thing he didn't lack was patience. When he first practiced the Vine Technique, didn't it start as a soft, flimsy little vine? It took hundreds, even thousands of practice casts to achieve its current power.

He locked his target on the potato seedling once more. The green light flashed.

[Spiritual Power: 9/25 → 6/25]

[Skill Level +1, Current: 3/200]

The potato seedling's leaves deepened in green. Then came the tomato plant.

[Spiritual Power: 6/25 → 3/25]

[Skill Level +1, Current: 4/200]

Four consecutive casts drained a full twelve points of Spiritual Power, raising the Skill Level of Natural Blessing to four. Still, the two plants showed no special anomalies.

The slight dizziness from depleting his Spiritual Power made Han Ning shake his head. Since he had lent the cassette stove to Xu Ming, he simply ate some chocolate, bread, and biscuits washed down with milk, hastily finishing his lunch.

After resting for a while, he got up, went out, and knocked on the door of Room 801.

"Come in."

In the living room, Xu Ming was carefully wiping the furniture with a dry rag. Xu Yinyin sat quietly on the sofa, holding a small piece of chocolate Han Ning had given her and taking tiny licks.

Hearing footsteps, Xu Ming immediately turned around and greeted, "Mr. Han."

"Mhm, how's the cleaning coming along?" Han Ning nodded, his gaze sweeping across the relatively tidy living room. Xu Ming worked quickly; most of the dust and clutter on the floor had already been cleared away.

"Just about done, Mr. Han."

Han Ning walked over to Xu Yinyin and crouched down. When the little girl saw him, she blinked and called out, "Uncle Han."

Han Ning rubbed her head. "Yinyin, is the chocolate good?"

Xu Yinyin nodded timidly and whispered, "It's good... Thank you, Uncle Han."

Han Ning didn't say anything more to her. Instead, he casually asked Xu Ming, "Where is your wife? Was she not with you?"

Xu Ming's mood immediately shifted. "She... Before the transmigration, she went back to her hometown in the countryside to attend a relative's wedding banquet. She wasn't with us."

Han Ning fell silent for a moment. He wasn't one who was good at comforting others, so he could only offer a dry, "At least your family is still alive."

"Yeah, just being alive and being able to protect Yinyin is already good enough."

The atmosphere grew heavy. Han Ning sat on the sofa, gesturing for Xu Ming to sit down as well, and smoothly changed the subject.

"Old Xu, I want to talk to you about business.

"Would Bailu Port have any boats we could use? Also, sailboats... aren't those relics from hundreds of years ago? Do people still use them nowadays?"

Hearing Han Ning ask about his area of expertise, Xu Ming opened up.

"Mr. Han, don't underestimate sailboats. They've never actually become obsolete. With the advancement of technology, their materials and designs underwent earth-shattering changes long ago."

He paused, organizing his words as he explained. "Modern sailboats, especially mid-to-high-end recreational ones or ocean-going vessels, are completely different from the antiques you're imagining.

"The hulls are made of carbon fiber, Kevlar, or high-strength fiberglass. They're lightweight, sturdy, and vastly superior to wooden structures.

"The sails aren't made of mere rags, either. They're crafted from high-tech composite materials and can automatically adjust their angles according to the wind, making them highly efficient.

"Moreover," Xu Ming gestured animatedly, "modern sailboats are basically all equipped with Support power systems—small diesel or electric engines used for entering and leaving ports, navigating on windless days, or executing emergency maneuvers.

"The boats also come with seawater desalination equipment, solar panels, and wind turbines to guarantee basic power and freshwater supplies.

"For navigation, there's GPS, radar, and autopilot... Inside the cabin, there's a fully equipped kitchen, bathroom, and bedroom. Some even feature a small living room with interior decorating that rivals onshore apartments."

Han Ning was somewhat surprised. "That advanced? How much would one cost? Would Bailu Port even have boats like that?"

Xu Ming nodded in affirmation. "Definitely! Although Bailu Port can't compare to giant freight ports, it's specifically positioned for coastal tourism and serves as a yacht marina.

"Many wealthy people, particularly foreigners, as well as middle-to-upper-class domestic sailing enthusiasts, buy small-to-medium-sized sailboats.

"To them, it's not just a means of transportation, but a mobile home on the sea. During holidays, they take their families and friends out to sea for vacations or even travel the world."

He made a quick estimation. "A forty to fifty-foot—about twelve to fifteen meters long—monohull or catamaran sailboat typically costs anywhere from a few million to tens of millions.

"With a well-designed interior, a boat of that size can comfortably accommodate five or six people, and squeezing in ten isn't impossible.

"The freshwater and food reserves on board, along with all that equipment, are enough to sustain a voyage for quite some time."

"As for Bailu Port," Xu Ming's tone was confident, "there's definitely a dedicated yacht marina and berths there.

"In this kind of weather, large freighters and passenger ships might not be able to sail or might have flooded. But the sailboats docked at the marina—with their relatively shallow drafts, especially the high-quality ones—have a high probability of still being intact, or perhaps only having their lower cabins partially flooded.

"As long as the hull hasn't been completely destroyed and key components like the mast and sails remain undamaged, we have a chance!"

"Oh?" Han Ning's eyes lit up.