CHAPTER 484: 043 SOIL EATING SILKWORMS AND FLOWER BOAT ILLUSION CITY

John arrived at the inner city’s core area and respectfully bowed towards the place where Divine Envoy Bo Wen once resided. He then said, "Divine Envoy Carl, I have come."

"Come in!"

"Yes."

John complied, pushing open the stone door, which was somewhat heavy for him, and approached Carl, who was seated on a stone platform.

The empty room was filled with drifting dust. Upon closer inspection, the dust swirled like vortices and galaxies, circling in an orderly fashion in the air and occasionally sprinkling onto the ground.

This is... God Stone powder! John’s eyes flickered. Uncle Chim from the mines said that the God Stones mined in the past half-month were all ground into powder. Was it for Divine Envoy Carl’s use?

"How goes your study of the breeding technique?"

The inquiry brought John back to his senses.

"Reporting to the Divine Envoy," he spoke in a muffled voice, "I have only just begun. However, without any meat worms for experimentation, I am unclear to what extent I’ve mastered it."

"Heh..." Carl chuckled lightly. "You are quite clever. If you hadn’t given those meat worms to your beloved back then, you might have succeeded already."

"Enough!" With a wave of his hand, Carl flung something at him. "This is a Soil-Eating Fat Silkworm that I have improved. It utilizes the genes of meat worms, queen ants, and several other creatures. You wouldn’t understand if I explained. Just try to raise it well."

"This is the Magic Door!" Carl flicked his finger, and a streak of light entered John’s forehead, infusing fragments of operational experience into his memory.

"Hm!"

John felt a weight in his head as if a mallet had struck him, and he involuntarily leaned backward. When he recovered, his mind suddenly contained new knowledge.

This is... Such a miraculous method!

"Yes." After steadying himself, he nodded earnestly. "I will definitely raise it well."

Void City was currently in a severe state of food shortage. The meat worms produced by the broodmother creatures were all minced and mixed into the mud for communal consumption. Even with the enhanced digestive capabilities of the city’s populace, it was impossible to draw nutrients from soil. Eating soil merely gave the sensation of a full stomach.

The Soil-Eating Fat Silkworm was the size of a palm. According to the experience transmitted by Carl, this creature was quite delicate. It could only survive in a specific temperature and humidity environment, and its movement was dreadfully slow. Therefore, someone had to prepare its food.

Fortunately, as its name implied, the Soil-Eating Fat Silkworm’s main diet was soil. The Soil-Eating Fat Silkworms, currently in their juvenile stage, needed finely sifted soil. This soil, mixed with water at a specific ratio to form a slurry, was their food.

Carrying the Soil-Eating Fat Silkworm, John hurried to the city’s nurturing chambers and adjusted the humidity and temperature. He then mixed water with the soil and carefully poured the slurry into the nest.

"GURGLE, GURGLE..." Bubbles rose in the muddy water as the plump, pinkish Soil-Eating Fat Silkworm rolled over and rapidly contracted its body. It had no mouth. Instead, its skin was covered in many tiny pores, like numerous oral orifices, which devoured the muddy water.

Soon, half of the prepared slurry had been consumed.

"What an appetite!" John was not alarmed but pleased. A good appetite meant it was healthy. In just a short while, the Soil-Eating Fat Silkworm had visibly grown larger.

Over the next several days, John tirelessly cared for the Soil-Eating Fat Silkworm, not daring to be negligent for even a moment.

One day, the Soil-Eating Fat Silkworm, now the size of a human head, gently wriggled its body, and a gelatinous substance appeared on its surface.

"Nutritional jelly!" John’s eyes brightened. This gelatinous substance was the nourishment that humans could consume, which Carl called nutritional jelly.

Carefully scraping off the nutritional jelly, the first harvest yielded a full large bowl.

According to the knowledge in my mind, a mature Soil-Eating Fat Silkworm can secrete nutritional jelly four times a day,

John thought. That’s four large bowls, enough to provide over a dozen people with the energy they need to survive for a day. And as it grows larger, the yield of nutritional jelly will be even higher.

John scraped off a bit of the nutritional jelly with his finger, placed it in his mouth, and tasted it carefully before speaking slowly, "It has a slight taste of meat. No wonder it’s called nutritional jelly."

A few days later, with an ample supply of muddy water, the Soil-Eating Fat Silkworm grew as if inflated, now comparable in size to a two-year-old child. The harvest of nutritional jelly now reached a staggering twenty bowls each time! While this was far from sufficient to feed the entire populace of Void City, it was already comparable to the nutrient yield from breeding meat worms.

John, carving knife in hand, was writing and drawing on a stone slab.

Half a month, he recorded. For the first three to four days, it requires constant vigilance, and no jelly is produced. This is the juvenile stage. The maturity stage lasts seven to eight days. During this time, its body rapidly expands, and the yield of jelly significantly increases. Next... it’s the decline phase!

Looking at the Soil-Eating Fat Silkworm before him, John’s eyes flashed with complex emotions. Days of nonstop care from dawn to dusk had forged a bond between him and the creature. But he knew. The decline phase of the Soil-Eating Fat Silkworm came swiftly; its brief lifespan was the fundamental reason it avoided mutation. Its once plump and pinkish skin had now become rough and taut, and it no longer produced the gelatinous substance.

"PUFF!" Suddenly, a crack appeared on the surface of the Soil-Eating Fat Silkworm’s flesh. Then, as if deflating, the chubby, round creature began to collapse inward, its body breaking apart and scattering.

Without succumbing to sorrow, John roused his spirits, brushed aside the remains of the Soil-Eating Fat Silkworm’s flesh, and carefully picked up three tiny larvae from within. The newborn Soil-Eating Fat Silkworms were only slightly larger than ants; if not examined closely, they could easily be overlooked.

Three days later, the surviving Soil-Eating Fat Silkworms had once again reached the size they were when Carl had handed the first one to him. However, the newborn creatures were exceedingly delicate; even with John’s meticulous care, one still died.

Another four days later, they began to secrete the gelatinous substance.

After ten more days, the two mature Soil-Eating Fat Silkworms died, leaving behind five offspring. This time, John, having gained experience, managed to keep four of them alive.

John stepped out of the cultivation room. The long stretch of sleeplessness had left him mentally exhausted and unsteady on his feet. He stood at the door, dazed for a long while, before slowly regaining his senses. Rubbing his somewhat throbbing head, he walked towards the reservoir.

"Mr. John!"

"John!"

Along the way, residents of the city greeted him warmly, some even with a touch of flattery. They all knew who was to thank for Void City’s recent abundance of food. Besides Divine Envoy Carl, it was John!

"Qiao!"

"Aunt Enpei!"

"Hello."

John genuinely enjoyed the attitude everyone showed him, smiling and waving back at each person. His weary spirit received a boost.

"HEY!"

"YO!"

"ONE MORE TIME!"

Shouts came from up ahead. John’s eyes brightened, and he quickened his pace.

"Abei!" He nodded to a man in the center of the activity. "Are you building another reservoir?"

"Yes." Abei, who was tall and had an honest face, grinned and nodded. "Including this one, the city will have five reservoirs. There are plans to build a few more. Then, drinking water will never be a problem again."

"Great!" John rubbed his hands together, his face alight with excitement. "That’s fantastic! I wonder if you could build one near my cultivation room? You know the Soil-Eating Fat Silkworms require a lot of water."

"The next one is planned for near your area," Abei said. "Uncle Makin said your cultivation room needs to be expanded, so it’s very likely to be relocated. Once the new location is confirmed, we’ll build the reservoir there."

"Is that so?" John grinned, his face beaming. "With water and food, we can survive here in Void City without ever having to leave."

"Yes!" Abei nodded, his gaze drifting toward the heart of Void City, filled with admiration. "It’s all thanks to Divine Envoy Carl’s gifts!"

"Indeed." John nodded emphatically. He was now incredibly grateful for having met Carl in the wastelands. Otherwise, Void City wouldn’t be where it was today.

There was no need to say more about the Soil-Eating Fat Silkworms, which were already providing a steady supply of nutrients for the city’s residents. As for the water reservoirs... in the past, they could only afford to have others build them at great expense. But now, Divine Envoy Carl had imparted the Magic Door for construction. The new water reservoirs retained water better and were more convenient than before.

"Look!" At that moment, someone suddenly looked up at the sky, pointed, and exclaimed with excitement, "It’s a Flower Boat! The Flower Boat of a mobile Void City! They’ve come to us!"

A Flower Boat? John’s heart skipped a beat. He had heard the city’s elders say that in this world, there was a type of Void City that could move through the sky, called Flower Boat Illusion Cities. They were populated solely by women, who would travel to various other Void Cities, trading the women on their boats for resources. The last time a Flower Boat Illusion City came to their Void City was over twenty years ago, before John was born.

"I’ve heard the women on the Flower Boats are very fertile, and they have methods to reduce the gestation period to within three months."

"Their offspring are also said to be much healthier."

Someone murmured, "Will the Flower Boat Illusion City strike a deal with us?"