I cultivate mushrooms in warhammer

Chapter 76: Identifying People by "Scent" (3.4k, Third Update 13)

The water replacement work is progressing steadily.

White Fruit Manor has an underground liquid recovery system.

Water, pesticides, liquid fertilizers, and other liquids used to irrigate the farmland are classified, recovered, and reused through this system.

After deducting the recycled irrigation water, the manor's average daily net water consumption is 8,000 cubic meters.

White Ridge Tobacco consumes a lot of water during its vigorous growth and development stage, but less during the rooting and maturity stages, with a growth cycle of about 45 days.

White Fruit Manor has a complete crop rotation plan, with White Ridge Tobacco being harvested and seedlings planted every day.

This staggers the different rotations of White Ridge Tobacco, keeping the daily water consumption stable.

Considering the possibility of future expansion, Li Nuo initially agreed with Elena that the total daily replacement volume would be 20,000 cubic meters.

Every 24 hours, Li Nuo needs to transport 20,000 cubic meters of water from the Eighth District of the Under-Nest to Elena's reservoir, while also providing some credit points as a commission for the water replacement.

After receiving the water and credit points, Elena will, in the next 24 hours, transport water from her reservoir in the Second District to Li Nuo's water company established in the Second District, which will then sell the water to White Fruit Manor at 0.8 credit points per cubic meter.

White Fruit Manor needs as much water as Elena supplies to Li Nuo's water company.

The excess will be sold by Elena to other merchants of the Water Guild, with all the income going to Li Nuo, and Elena only charging the most basic intermediary fee.

As the saying goes, the greater the wind and waves, the more expensive the fish.

If Li Nuo had the guts to increase the daily water sales to one million cubic meters, he would soon be sitting on a mountain of gold and silver.

Of course, he would also die quickly.

The more water there is, the less scarce it becomes.

The less scarce the water, the less valuable it becomes.

When water becomes worthless, the water merchants' wealth shrinks, and the desire to kill increases.

Li Nuo has no doubt that the major water guilds would take turns sending fully armed assassins, wearing custom-made powered armor, to deal with him in order to protect their cash flow.

Assassination has always been a part of the cruel games of the nobles.

So, huh.

For his own life, it's better to keep a low profile.

Li Nuo decisively reduced the daily water replacement volume to 10,000 cubic meters, and would consider increasing the replacement volume when White Fruit Manor expands in the future.

Elena didn't care; whatever Li Nuo said was what she did.

Her father, Godwin, handed over the work entirely to Elena and never appeared again, so naturally, he wouldn't express any opinions.

Just like that, the water replacement was settled.

The planting cost of White Fruit Manor has been greatly reduced, the elimination of diseases and disasters has also been basically completed, and the manor's production is gradually getting back on track.

The planting, harvesting, drying, and fermentation of White Ridge Tobacco are carried out within the manor, so Li Nuo doesn't have to worry.

The sales of White Ridge Tobacco are handled by the family of Manor Manager Pamir's sister, who were previously specializing in running business outside and are very familiar with the Upper, Middle, and Lower Nests.

No matter how much White Ridge Tobacco is produced in the manor, Pamir's sister and brother-in-law can guarantee that it will be sold out completely.

With the entire production and sales chain connected, Li Nuo expressed his satisfaction and affirmation of White Fruit Manor's professionalism, proving that it was worth spending most of his fortune to take over this essentially bankrupt manor.

Li Nuo is now worried about the production of water.

Currently, he has two ways to produce water.

The first way is to be a water porter, taking pure water out of the system, adding some pollutants to reduce the water quality, and turning pure water into irrigation water.

The second way is to use Water Orb Bacteria to purify the sewage provided free of charge by the Lower Nest.

Both of these methods can be used for water replacement.

To ensure the water supply of White Fruit Manor, Li Nuo spends an average of four hours a day in the factory.

Now that it's the holidays, spending four hours a day in the factory is only a small problem.

But what should he do when he goes on missions in the future?

He can't possibly raise his hand and report before the battle, saying that he needs to leave temporarily for several hours.

To solve the problem of being unable to be in two places at once, Li Nuo is considering whether to buy the surrounding factories to store enough water for several days at a time.

But after calculating the price of buying the factories and looking at his severely shrinking account, Li Nuo can't help but worry.

Before the first batch of White Ridge Tobacco is sold, he probably won't have that much money to buy land and factories.

"Should I take out a loan?"

Li Nuo secretly pondered the feasibility of increasing financial leverage.

"Di Di Di…"

A communication prompt sounded.

Li Nuo pressed the answer button.

Leia's voice came:

"Hello? Is this Li Nuo?"

"Yes, it's me."

"Great! Thank you for being willing to help me. I've been helping Ratty clean up the camp in the ruins for the past two days, and I only had time to come to the Eighth District to receive your message now. I'm at the old place now, are you coming? Or should we talk on the phone?"

Li Nuo stood up and calculated the time it would take to get there:

"Let's talk in person, I happen to have some things to ask you."

"Okay, come on, I'll wait for you."

Hanging up the communication, Li Nuo set off from the water purification plant for the appointment.

Twenty minutes later, he jogged into the alley and met Leia in the shaded area.

Leia handed the data pad containing the new information to Li Nuo to transfer the data.

Li Nuo took the data pad and asked:

"Why did you come alone? Where are Da Zhuang and Xiao Zhuang?"

A wry smile appeared on Leia's lips:

"They left yesterday to go to the clan's shelter. That shelter is not suitable for human survival, so I stayed in the ruins alone. But, don't worry. The two of them dug a hole for me before they left, and I will hide in it and come out after the cleanup operation is over."

Li Nuo shook his head slightly:

"The hole can't protect you. Handheld devices that scan mutants can penetrate ten meters of soil."

"Ten meters…" Leia was lost in thought for a moment, and a faint despair surged in her eyes.

The atmosphere in the alley became silent.

Li Nuo repeatedly weighed whether to tell Leia that password.

Assuming the password is valid, Leia may be able to freely control the Silver Scales.

She will have scales like Cadore that can resist bolter rounds, and her combat power will skyrocket.

At that time, will she still be under his command like she is now?

During this time, Li Nuo reflected on his bond with Leia, which was nothing more than providing clean food.

When her combat power is sufficient, food will no longer be a problem, and avoiding the cleanup operation will be even easier.

My importance to her will plummet, and the cooperative relationship will collapse.

If only I were cunning enough… Li Nuo chuckled self-deprecatingly.

If I were cunning enough, I could completely control Leia's lifeline and make her obey my every command.

Unfortunately, the Warhammer world hasn't corrupted me to that extent.

Li Nuo returned the data pad, stared at the gloomy Leia, and slowly said:

"Repeat a sentence after me."

"A sentence? What sentence?" Leia tilted her head in confusion.

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"Listen carefully." Li Nuo repeated the incantation for Kardoli to summon the silver scale armor in a steady tone:

"Lorica…"

"Lorica…"

Leia repeated each word, then connected each syllable and said it fluently:

"Lorica pectoralis argentea, quinque nummis una."

As soon as she finished speaking, a sudden change occurred!

Silver scales grew frantically!

Leia looked at herself covered in silver scales with extreme horror, almost letting out a desperate scream.

"Calm down! Leia, calm down."

Li Nuo raised his hand to hold her arm, his eyes gleaming:

"Don't panic, look into my eyes, look at me."

"Li Nuo, what, what, what is going on… How did I become a monster…" Leia's body trembled violently, her pupils shrinking to the size of needles, barely controlling the tremor of her head and looking at Li Nuo.

"Calm down. Repeat the sentence just now. Lorica pectoralis…"

Li Nuo started, and Leia repeated with a trembling voice.

"Crackling…"

The silver scales stood up one by one and quickly receded into Leia's body.

Leia trembled as she stroked her arms, neck, and head.

The silver scales, like a nightmare, disappeared for the most part, leaving only a few at the ends of her hair.

At this moment, Leia felt like she was dreaming, an extremely dreamy and extremely terrifying dream.

"What is… going on? Why are those scales all gone at once?" Leia rolled up her sleeves, looking incredulously at her snow-white arms.

Li Nuo released her arms and asked:

"Leia, can your silver scales block bullets?"

"Yes." Leia raised her hand and gestured around her head:

"Except for my exposed eyes, other parts of my head have some silver scales. They have blocked many bullets for me. It is a secret I have always kept hidden. Only Da Zhuang discovered this secret during a battle to defend the settlement. How did you know? What is that incantation? Can you make the scales disappear completely?"

Faced with Leia's series of questions, Li Nuo raised his hands and pressed down, helping her calm her inner excitement, and娓娓道来 the information he knew.

The scales on Leia's body are actually an immune response to biological armor.

After she comes into contact with factors that cause mutations, the dormant biological armor automatically responds, using scales to protect her from illness and mutation.

That is to say, she is not a mutant.

She was never one from the beginning.

The truth is completely the opposite.

She is a lucky person who has mastered biological armor for unknown reasons, which is very likely related to the explosion that destroyed the Seventh District a few years ago.

This truth made Leia dizzy, with mixed feelings of sadness and joy.

She showed her emotional side when she tasted the sample-grade mushroom for the first time, and now it is even more so.

She covered her face and wept, seeking support from Li Nuo with tears in her eyes.

Li Nuo did not refuse inappropriately, but acted as an emotionless pillar, allowing Leia to rest.

After a while, the excitement subsided.

Leia wiped away her tears, regained her composure, and said words that moved Li Nuo:

"Everything has a price, Li Nuo. Ever since I struggled in the ruins, I have been well aware of this. If you need me to do anything, just say it. For that incantation, even if you ask me to risk my life to assassinate someone, I am willing."

Li Nuo smiled and said:

"It's not that serious. I do have something I need your help with, but it has nothing to do with fighting. How about this? You go back and pack your luggage first, and I will wait for you here. Let's talk somewhere else."

"Okay, I'll be right back."

Leia didn't even ask where she was going, turned around and ran into the shadows.

Li Nuo felt a sense of relief in his heart, and the candidate to help him make water had been found.

The water ball fungus has strong adaptability and is not easy to be killed.

As long as Leia masters the cultivation essentials, she should be able to easily learn to use water ball fungus to purify sewage and obtain water for irrigation.

With Leia's help, my productivity and time can be freed up for other things.

Li Nuo was imagining the future when he suddenly heard footsteps approaching quickly.

Huh?

Leia is back?

So fast?

"Da da, da da, da da…"

The footsteps were a little overlapping, as if two people were approaching, mixed with faint sobs.

Li Nuo became alert and suddenly saw someone walking out of the shadows holding Leia's neck.

The person controlling Leia was as strong as an ox, with thick lips, big ears, and an ugly face.

He was wearing a black jacket and tight-fitting outer pants that were obviously too small, tightly outlining his muscle lines, like a thug with exhibitionism and transvestism.

Compared to this strong man, Leia was just a little chick.

She was held in the air by the other party, unable to break free from the restraint at all.

Behind Leia and the strong man, a person with two heads walked out of the shadows.

A strong stench permeated the alley, and its source was the two-headed man.

Li Nuo smelled this smell, his heart shuddered, and he instantly recalled the identity of the two-headed man.

The other party was the second Father he encountered at the promethium refinery a few days ago, Oka Lin.