Lord: Starting with Biological Modification

Chapter 288: Chapter 283: Fast-Growing Red Leaf Tree

Velin walked down the stone steps leading to the underground laboratory.

Light fell upon the enormous oak workbench in the center, its surface mottled and scarred from corrosion by various reagents.

To the left of the workbench, a massive glass tank was filled with seawater, a freshly cut branch of a Red Leaf Tree soaking within.

Its bark was dark red and as rough as rock. Despite the high-salinity environment that would cause any ordinary plant to wither, it still spread its leaves and branches, showing no signs of decay.

To the right was a segment of one of Velin’s own creations—a Stone Skin Soft Vine.

Its skin was grayish-white and hard, like natural rock, yet one could feel the flexibility of the vine’s core within.

Velin’s goal this time was to create a marine-adapted engineering plant that combined the Red Leaf Tree’s ocean adaptability, deep-rooting ability, and tall, tough nature with the Stone Skin Soft Vine’s rapid growth.

It would be a kind of botanical seawall, capable of taking root and growing on the ocean floor.

The grafting began.

Cutting the vine, slitting the stock, inserting the scion, applying the adhesive—the movements were fluid and seamless.

He extended his palm and pressed it against the graft.

[Extraordinary Grafting]

A soft, emerald-green light surged forth, enveloping both plants.

Within the light, the graft suddenly began to convulse.

The dark red bark of the Red Leaf Tree burst open inch by inch, while the rocky shell of the Stone Skin Soft Vine rapidly broke down into sand, falling away as a grayish-white powder.

In just a few seconds, the entire graft disintegrated with a SIZZLE, melting into a viscous, black-smoking liquid that corroded the oak workbench, leaving bubbling pits in its wake.

"Tsk, the genetic rejection is even worse than I thought." Velin pursed his lips, skillfully neutralizing the pool of waste liquid with an alchemical solvent.

It was to be expected. After all, Extraordinary Grafting required a bit of luck.

For his second attempt, he adjusted the formula of the alchemical adhesive.

The green light flared, and a brand-new plant began to grow at a visible rate.

It looked like a success.

Velin reached out and picked up a section of the vine. The feeling in his hand was wrong—it was too light, lacking the proper substance.

He gave it a light squeeze between his thumb and forefinger.

CRACK.

The vine snapped in two, the break as dry as rotted wood that had been air-dried for decades.

...

He sat down on a chair to rest. The continuous expenditure of Spiritual Power had caused beads of sweat to form on his temples.

’Is my luck just too bad...?’

Over a dozen experiments, and all had ended in failure.

’Too bad this is the real world, otherwise I’d be about due for a pity drop...’

Velin shook his head with a wry smile.

He had to admit he had been a bit too optimistic.

The randomness of Extraordinary Grafting was extremely high. The probability of perfectly fusing two Extraordinary plants—along with four completely different desirable traits—in a single graft and having them be genetically stable was indeed quite low.

His gaze returned to the workbench.

He looked at the glass tank holding the Red Leaf Tree branch, at its rough, tough bark.

An idea struck him like a bolt of lightning.

’My approach is all wrong!’

’Why was I so fixated on using the Stone Skin Soft Vine as the base?’

The Red Leaf Tree itself was already a perfect base, honed by thousands of years of natural evolution.

It was naturally adapted to the ocean, its roots could pierce rock formations, and it grew to be tall and sturdy.

Its only flaw was that its growth rate was too slow.

’I don’t need to go from 0 to 1, I just need to optimize it from 1 to 1.1!’

Velin picked up a scalpel. This time, his objective was much simpler.

All he had to do was graft the single trait of [Rapid Growth] from the Stone Skin Soft Vine’s bloodline into the Red Leaf Tree’s.

He took a new Red Leaf Tree branch and a tendril from the Stone Skin Soft Vine, repeating the earlier process. This time, however, his movements were more focused, and his Spiritual Power was more concentrated than ever before.

[Extraordinary Grafting]

The green light enveloped them.

This time, the fusion process was unexpectedly smooth.

The bloodlines of the two plants no longer clashed violently. Under Velin’s guidance, they slowly converged and finally became one.

The light dissipated. On the branch of the Red Leaf Tree on the workbench, a small fruit had formed.

Inside were several seeds.

Velin cupped it in his palm and activated his ability.

[Inspect]

Lines of data appeared clearly before his eyes.

[Fast-Growing Red Leaf Tree (Seed)]

[Level: 4]

[Abilities: High Salinity Resistance, Bedrock Penetration, Rock-Armor Hardening, Rapid Growth (Under conditions of sufficient water, nutrients, and aether concentration, growth speed can increase by up to 1000%).]

[Overall Assessment: An engineered creation born for environmental modification. Its bloodline potential is suppressed by the low-aether environment.]

’Success!’

Clutching the seed, Velin strode out of the underground laboratory and headed straight for the brightly lit Alchemy Workshop next door.

Inside the workshop, Master Valerius and Elvin the Mage were arguing heatedly over a formula.

"No! The stability of the polymer gel drops drastically under high pressure! We have to add powdered Sea Dragon Tendon as a stabilizer!" Elvin insisted, shaking his head.

"Nonsense! The Sea Dragon Tendon will interfere with the Original Blood Crystal’s slow-release energy curve! This is murder! The murder of art!" Valerius retorted, his eyes wide and his salt-and-pepper beard practically bristling.

Velin ignored their academic debate. He walked straight to a workbench and slapped a seed and a sheet of parchment covered in requirements down between them.

"The requirements for the gel fertilizer have been updated."

The argument stopped abruptly.

Valerius adjusted the alchemical glasses on his nose and snatched up the parchment.

"Use powdered Original Blood Crystal as the core energy source to create a semi-solid gel. The energy release must be slow and stable, capable of simulating an aether-rich environment under the high-pressure, low-temperature conditions of the seabed." Velin tapped his fingers on the table. "As for the deadline... as soon as possible."

Valerius stared at the formula requirements on the parchment and the seed beside it, which emanated a peculiar life force. His eyes grew wider and wider, and his breathing became heavy.

He shoved Elvin aside and completely ignored Velin. Like a child who had just received a priceless treasure, he began rapidly muttering phrases like "Solid-state aether simulation... pressure neutralization... directed energy supply..." as he grabbed a few materials and rushed to his personal alchemy station.

Elvin looked at the snatched parchment, then back at Velin, and finally followed with a helpless sigh, trying to get involved in what was destined to be a history-making alchemical experiment.

Night had fully fallen by the time Velin returned to his study in the Lord’s Mansion.

He dealt with the day’s backlogged official duties, approved the construction plans for temporary housing for new immigrants, and signed off on the latest order for military procurement.

After finishing all this, he put down his quill and walked to the window.

The sea breeze flooded the room. In the distance, the port was brightly lit as the Golden Sail Commerce Association’s fleet worked through the night, loading supplies in final preparation for the upcoming "Newly Cultivated Land Plan."

Everything was proceeding in an orderly fashion, just as planned.

Now, only the last and most crucial piece of the puzzle remained.

His gaze traveled past the brilliant lights of the port toward the more distant southern sea, shrouded in the darkness of night.

That was the direction of the Dawn Territory.

Velin had already arranged for Caroline’s albatross to deliver his letter.

Now, he just had to wait for a reply.

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