I told you to plant peas, and you summon Mordekaiser?

......

......

Soren's gaze passed through the floor-to-ceiling windows as he watched the train carrying the last batch of Ascended slowly depart.

The train's taillights gradually disappeared into the twilight, but his gaze remained fixed on the distance.

“Mr. Soren…”

The secretary beside him spoke in a low voice, breaking the silence.

Her posture exuded the competence of a soldier, but the confusion in her eyes made her appear less cold and hard.

Why involve that 'Chen Yang' in the operation?

Over the years, she had come to admire the man before her wholeheartedly and knew some of his secrets.

Her tone carried a hint of hesitation:

"According to the information, Chen Yang's talent is only a kind of plant fusion talent."

"Historically, there has never been a record of a fusion-type plant reaching the eighth rank. In comparison, Zhao Changming's plant enhancement talent is more likely to reach the eighth rank, or even the ninth rank."

"Your decision today is truly incomprehensible."

Soren chuckled softly, glanced back at her, his gaze carrying a hint of something unfathomable.

Do you think I care more about the current strong players, or the possibilities of the future?

His words did not directly address her question, but they did give the secretary a slight pause.

“The possibilities of the future…” she repeated softly, trying to find Soren’s thoughts, but she still couldn’t figure out his true intentions.

“I’m asking you,” Soren said, walking slowly to the window with his hands behind his back, “what is the principle behind plant advancement?”

She was taken aback, not expecting Soren to suddenly bring up this question.

After a moment's thought, she answered seriously:

"energy."

"Like all living organisms, these heterogeneous plants can transform into the next stage as long as they acquire enough energy."

"Sunlight is the most primitive form of energy. After being processed through storage technology, it can be converted into upgrade cards for plants to use."

"Another form of processing is energy beans, which can also cause plants to evolve in a certain direction in a short period of time..."

She stopped there, waiting for Soren's instructions.

However, Soren raised another question: "So, besides relying on upgrade cards, are there any other ways for plants to upgrade?"

The question wasn't difficult to answer, but she still hesitated for a few seconds before speaking:

"Generally speaking, plants can evolve from level one to level six using upgrade cards."

"But further on, plants can no longer advance in rank by processing energy."

"To break through to the seventh rank or even higher, they must use the most primitive methods to absorb nutrients and evolve on their own."

Upon hearing this, Soren nodded slightly in satisfaction: "That's right."

"This is why the seventh rank has become an insurmountable barrier."

"In this world, fifth and sixth-tier plants are as common as hairs on a cow, but seventh-tier plants are rare..."

"One in a hundred million."

The secretary nodded. She was familiar with these theories, but she hadn't expected Soren to mention them so solemnly.

“The reason is simple,” Soren continued.

"The most primitive way to obtain nutrients is by predation."

"Throw it into the wild and let the plants prey on it."

"Not to mention the enormous amount of resources consumed by artificially raised seventh-tier plants, their combat power is no match for plants that truly reach the seventh tier through autonomous predation."

“Those wild plants grow in the midst of battle from the first stage, surviving by devouring their natural enemies. But once artificially cultivated plants are thrown into the wild, most of them have only one fate—death.”

"Wild, higher-order plants cannot be tamed, and artificially cultivated plants do not have the ability to prey on animals in the wild. This is why humans currently possess very few seventh-order plants."

The secretary nodded slightly upon hearing this, about to agree, but was interrupted by Soren's next words.

"But Chen Yang is different."

"Didn't you carefully review his information?"

The secretary paused for a moment, then subconsciously asked, "Is there anything special about him?"

“He has a plant,” Soren said with a subtle lift in his voice, “which allows him to hunt for food in the wild on his own starting from the fourth rank.”

The secretary's expression froze.

"To this day, this plant has grown to the sixth level."

"Sixth rank? Without relying on upgrade cards?" The secretary's voice unconsciously rose a few decibels, his eyes filled with disbelief.

“That’s right.” Soren chuckled, then his tone became slightly serious: “During an ascension trial, his plant was accidentally left in the wild.”

"I thought it was going to die, so I didn't record or report it."

"However, to my surprise, it not only survived, but also demonstrated the ability to survive and hunt on its own."

Soren glanced sideways, staring into his secretary's eyes. "However, I kept this a secret from everyone."

"There are probably no more than three people who know about the existence of this plant."

The secretary's pupils contracted slightly; she understood Soren's intention.

"In other words, there is no information about this plant in the military records," she confirmed in a low voice.

“Exactly.” Soren’s voice was cold and resolute. “The potential of this plant far exceeds our expectations.”

He turned around, put his hands behind his back, and once again cast his gaze toward the southern horizon outside the window.

After a moment of silence, a meaningful smile appeared on his lips: "At this point in time..."

"It's time for Chen Yang to take back the plants that belong to him."

Outside the window, the sound of wind began to rise.

......

......

Two armored vehicles sped over, kicking up clouds of dust, and finally came to a stop in front of the heavy iron gates of the Southern Theater Command headquarters.

The headquarters before us is imposing, surrounded by towering city walls.

The walls were heavily fortified.

Corn-cannons were neatly arranged on the city wall, their muzzles raised high.

The two sides of the gate were planted with menacing bigmouth flowers.

With each gust of wind, their sharp teeth open and close slightly, producing a low, grinding sound.

Chen Yang's vehicle was parked at the entrance.

The armored vehicle in front slowly drove into the gate.

Inside the car were the bearded man and his entourage.

As soon as he got out of the vehicle, a communications soldier rushed towards the bearded man, saluted, and whispered his report:

"Lieutenant, a small town in the south has been attacked by zombies. The evacuation of refugees is being hindered, and the stationed company is short of firepower. Requesting backup!"

The bearded man frowned and asked, "What's the highest level of attack against zombies?"

"Currently, the highest level zombie encountered is Tier 4! Offensive rating: C!"

The bearded man pondered for a few seconds and made a decision: "Rank C? Perfect, let's send the newly formed rapid deployment force there."

A sergeant nearby spoke up: "But...they have no combat experience whatsoever..."

"Real combat is the best teacher. If we can't even handle small situations like this, this rapid mobility unit doesn't deserve to exist."

The bearded man paused, his gaze turning cold: "It would be best if a few died, so they could understand the cruelty of war in advance."

The sergeant looked up and asked cautiously:

"To prevent them from rioting, should we send another mobile unit to secretly monitor them?"

"Need not."

The bearded man waved his hand, his tone confident, "They're all smart people; they know what's best for them."