After taking a look around the second laboratory, Su Yang did not find the second experimental subject. Hence, he looked at Martha curiously.
Martha then led him to a closet-sized lab case in the middle of the lab. “This is test subject number two,” she said, holding out her hand.
Su Yang looked in the direction of Martha’s hand. There was a box made of glass, and inside was a vine plant that looked like a snake that could move freely.
It was green, and its leaves looked like maple leaves. Under each leaf, there were two tender plant claws.
This plant was also collected by Su Yang a few days ago. At that time, it was inconspicuous. However, he did not expect that Martha would study it thoroughly first.
While Su Yang was sizing up the plant, Martha whispered into his ear, “We named this plant Blood Cotton.”
“Among all the mutants we’ve collected, it has the strongest attack and vitality.
“In fact, without special equipment, even a normal adult might not be its match.”
Perhaps she was afraid that Su Yang would not believe her, Martha gestured to the researcher beside her and the researcher made an OK gesture. Clearly, they wanted to show Su Yang the capabilities of this plant.
After that, the researcher opened the preservation cabinet and took out a piece of pork from it. Then he placed it on the transmission belt of the experiment box.
Then, he pressed a button and activated the transmission belt. A small glass opening on the lab box opened, and the piece of pork was sent inside.
However, as soon as the piece of pork entered the box, the plant called Blood Cotton “crawled” towards the pork as if it had a sense of smell. The tender little plant claws at the bottom of its leaves also extended and wrapped around the pork.
In just a moment, the plant had completely wrapped itself around the pork, and the tender plant’s claws had firmly grabbed the pork.
Small holes could even be seen on the surface of the pork.
As the holes grew bigger and bigger, the pork started to shrink. In the end, there was only a pool of blood that dyed the green vine the color of blood.
Looking at the scene before him, Su Yang opened his mouth in shock. Martha also explained to Su Yang, “This is why we named it the Blood Cotton.
“It’s very aggressive. Those claws will secrete corrosive solvent that can easily corrode the flesh and fur of animals.
“Therefore, every time it starts to hunt, it would leave behind a pool of blood. However, because it is tied to its prey when it’s hunting, its body would turn bright red.
Su Yang nodded slightly.
Seeing that Su Yang was interested, Martha pointed at the paw of Blood Cotton and continued to explain, “According to our research, this kind of creature is similar to plants like the pitcher plants and catcher vines, or Nepenthes. They are all parasitic plants.
“However, unlike those plants, its hunting organs are its roots, which are the small claws. When it comes into contact with its prey, its roots will hold onto them tightly and release the corrosive liquid to grow inside its body. Finally, it will kill its prey and turn it into nutrients for itself.
“This kind of feeding method is similar to the legendary middle class parasitic plant, but the difference is that the Nepenthes’s hunting organs are its cyst leaves, while the Blood Cotton’s hunting organs are its roots.
“In addition, the legendary man-eating flower does not actually exist. Currently, the biggest insect-eating plant known in the world is a type of pigpen grass that grows in Indus Java. Its cyst leaves can contain volumes as much as eight liters, and it is said to be able to capture mice.
“Therefore, after we discovered Blood Cotton, it has become the most powerful plant in the world.”
At the mention of the man-eating plant, Su Yang glanced at Martha.
‘Martha’s monster form is the man-eating flower, or rather, its original form, the Rafflesia.’
Su Yang still remembered that when he revived Martha, he saw a flower blooming between her legs. When she was agitated, the flower would sway along with her.
Other than the “real flower” between her thighs, arms, and cheeks, Martha also had a tattoo that symbolized the man-eating flower as well.
That was why Su Yang said that Martha’s monster features made her look even more alluring…
As if she did not notice Su Yang’s gaze, Martha looked at the Blood Cotton in the glass cabinet and explained, “Actually, if this plant is only aggressive and dangerous, we might not have been so cautious of it. Its other characteristic is its strong vitality.”
At this point, Martha signaled the researcher who had just done the experiment.
The researcher nodded before he proceeded to put on his protective suit and gloves. After he was done, he opened the cupboard and reached in with both hands.
Just like the previous scene, the moment his hand reached in, the Blood Cotton quickly wrapped around his hand.
The researcher had obviously done this kind of experiment many times before because of how calm he seemed. Instead, he grabbed the Blood Cotton and reached for the hammer that the other researcher handed to him before he swung it madly at the Blood Cotton.
“Bam! Bam! Bam!” The Blood Cotton seemed to have been angered. Not only was it uninjured, but it also started to resist violently. Its small claws crawled madly into the researcher’s glove.
The researcher was not intimidated by Blood Cotton’s stubbornness. He continued to hit it with his hammer, banging it a few dozen times. The Blood Cotton then trembled before releasing its grip. It laid in the lab box like it was dying.
When Su Yang saw this, he was shocked. He thought that the researcher had killed the Blood Cotton. However, after taking a closer look, he realized that it was still trembling slightly. Its tender little claws were hidden under the leaves, opening and closing as if waiting for an opportunity. It was obvious that it was afraid of being beaten and did not suffer much damage…
After beating the Blood Cotton, the researcher picked up another piece of pork and tossed it into the experiment box before closing it.
As expected, the Blood Cotton was only pretending to be dead. As soon as the researcher closed the experiment box, it reached out its small claws and wrapped around the pork.
Soon, the piece of pork was completely corroded, leaving only a pool of blood…
After watching the entire process, Su Yang had an intuitive understanding of the Blood Cotton’s aggressiveness, the danger it posed, and its vitality.
‘If I were to use this plant to protect my home, it should be a powerful weapon. However, the prerequisite is that I’ve to find a way to control it. Otherwise, forget protecting my home, it might even end up taking over…’
Martha seemed to have guessed Su Yang’s thoughts, but at the same time, she seemed to have explained it to him. She said, “When we were researching Blood Cotton, we also used various substances to experiment on it. In our experiments, we found that Blood Cotton has almost no natural enemies, but it’s not something that can’t be restrained.
“First of all, its hunting methods are only targeted at animals and not plants. In other words, plants are not within the scope of its prey. Secondly, in the experiment, we found that it had no resistance to aluminum after heating.
“Therefore, if we want to use it reasonably, we can plant a circle of weeds at the boundary where it grows. With the weeds as a barrier, it will not slip out of the circle.
“And, if we think it’s reproducing too much, we can also harvest it with heated aluminum, or even pour liquid aluminum water on it. As long as it touches the aluminum, its body will curl up, and it might even lose its life.
Su Yang asked curiously, “Why is it afraid of aluminum?”
Martha corrected him. “It’s not actually afraid of aluminum. It’s only afraid of aluminum when it’s heated.
“This should be because of the solution in its body and the many high atomic price metal compounds it contains. Once the heated aluminum comes into contact with its body, there will be a replacement reaction, causing the cells in its body to collapse and directly threatening its life.”
As for the damage caused by the heated aluminum… Martha only explained it to Su Yang and did not show it to him. Su Yang guessed that it might be because there was not much Blood Cotton left, so it was being treasured.
After all, the Blood Cotton was not like the Gold Coconut Tree. As long as gold was buried in its roots, it could continuously produce the gold coconut, and then further reproduce and be conducted experiments on.
After Su Yang was done with the research subject number 2, he praised Martha for her work. In less than a month after the research institute opened, their results had truly exceeded Su Yang’s.
This made him miss the Clown Sea Serpent even more.
After all, like the Clown Sea Serpent, who knew what he needed and did everything he could to get it done, Su Yang had too few subordinates like him.
Sanque, on the other hand, was another prime example. As long as he talks to Su Yang, he would not say anything funny. Everyday, he would only say one word at a time.
Su Yang then thought of Little Hus, who even though was very useful, its personality was also infuriating! This made Su Yang feel that if Little Hus was not actually that useful, he might just sew its mouth shut one day out of anger.
Then, Su Yang thought of Fei Fei, who had never treated Su Yang as its master. It only knew how to bully Su Yang every day. If Su Yang did not have the Lightning Palm at the time, he might not have been able to control it.
Thinking about it this way, the Clown Sea Serpent was really a loyal subordinate!
However, it was useless even if he missed the Clown Sea Serpent. According to Sanque’s estimation, based on his injuries, it would take at least half a year for it to recover and crawl out of the ground.
Hence, Su Yang could only wait quietly…
While Su Yang was touring the research center, Qu Xuan finally found his precious girlfriend, Xue Ya, at Qu Xuan’s house in the city center of Shanghai.
It was obviously Xue Ya’s first time at Qu Xuan’s house, so even though Qu Xuan said that there was no one at home, she still looked around like a frightened bird when she changed her shoes.
She looked like a woman hiding in a secret corner of Qu Xuan’s house. A woman who would jump out when the blood crows weren’t looking…
Hence, seeing Xue Ya’s cute look, Qu Xuan smiled as he walked to the kitchen and said, “This is your first time at a boy’s house, isn’t it? You’re being so careful.”
Xue Ya and Qu Xuan had been together for a long time, so she was obviously livelier. As she secretly sized them up, she retorted, “No, I’ve been to other boys’ houses.”
Qu Xuan poked his head out of the kitchen and asked curiously, “Which family have you been to?”
Xue Ya said proudly, “Guo Xiaoying’s family.”
Qu Xuan was stunned for a moment before laughing out loud. He retracted his head, but his laughter still passed through the kitchen. “I can’t believe I just accepted what you said.”
Xue Ya shuddered and was overjoyed. She changed her shoes and walked around the living room. After confirming that no one was hiding, she politely stopped looking and went to the kitchen to look for Qu Xuan.
In the kitchen, Qu Xuan was cooking with an apron around his waist.
Seeing Xue Ya enter, Qu Xuan looked up and asked, “How about eating pine nuts corn and braised eels tonight?”
Xue Ya nodded obediently. “Sure. I love those two dishes the most.”
Qu Xuan looked at her and smiled. A hint of slyness flashed across his eyes as he said, “Since you like the dishes tonight so much, why don’t we celebrate with a “bang”?”
Xue Ya was stunned for a moment, but she immediately understood what Qu Xuan meant. Her face turned red and she stomped her feet. “Jerk!”
Qu Xuan smirked. “What’s there to hate? How can we not celebrate such a joyous occasion?”
Xue Ya said angrily, “You have too many happy days! You’d celebrate with a bang when you manage to score during a soccer match. You’d celebrate with a bang when you bumped into me. You’d even celebrate with a bang by just eating ice cream!
“I’ve only heard of fields that got destroyed by oxes, but I’ve never heard of foe;ds that got destroyed through plowing. I feel that if this continues, you really are going to plow my field till it all breaks!”
Seeing Xue Ya’s shyness, Qu Xuan laughed. His smile was always so bright, and his seven shining teeth were like seven suns.
After laughing, Qu Xuan leaned close to Xue Ya’s ear and whispered, “Look at you. What’s the use of being angry? Since you can’t handle being angry, why don’t you put your focus on tiring me out!
“After all…” he drawled, then winked at Xue Ya. “I wish I could die by your hands.”
Xue Ya was speechless.
“Qu Xuan!” Xue Ya was so embarrassed that her voice went up an octave.
But then her words were caught in her mouth by Qu Xuan, and then… She was lifted up in a princess carry all the way to the bedroom…
For a moment, as the guns and cannons were ablaze, the room was filled with a joyous “celebration”, causing others to feel good to be young…
However…
The dishes in the kitchen were still being cooked at that moment…
In the middle of the night, Su Yang received a call from Qu Xuan…
In fact, when he received Qu Xuan’s call, Su Yang was still awake and reading a book.
Qu Xuan’s voice was low when he picked up the call. “President, are you asleep?”