The rain drizzled on for the entire day.

It wasn’t until the morning of the fourth day that the thick, dark clouds in the sky finally began to part.

Faint light pierced through the clouds and the gradually thinning white mist, shining down upon the land.

Han Ning stood at the dormitory window with Yin Yi and Egg Pancake, gazing at the scene before them.

Yellow-brown floodwaters filled every corner of their vision, and the faint, rank smell of mud hung in the air.

Although the wind and rain had ceased, the floodwaters would not recede in a matter of hours.

"The rain finally stopped. Thank goodness it didn’t keep going..." Han Ning let out a long sigh of relief, put on his protective gear, and turned to leave the dorm room.

The flood had receded slightly, revealing the fourth-floor hallway, which had previously been submerged.

Slimy yellow mud covered the walls and floor.

The waterlogged rooms were uninhabitable. But circumstances had changed. Whether to prevent the spread of disease, search for useful items, or simply make the floor livable again, they had to clear out the thick sludge piled up in the hallway.

The ninety-some students living in Building C, each holding all sorts of strange and makeshift cleaning tools, gathered at the top of the fifth-floor stairwell.

Teacher Fang stopped a student who was about to go down and start clearing the sludge. "Not so fast," he warned. "Be careful. There could be dangerous Soul Beasts in the mud. Let the Silver Lotus Woods go down first."

Nearby, Han Ning stroked Yin Yi’s flower. "Yin Yi, I’m counting on you."

"Ling~"

Yin Yi floated out lightly and plunged its dense roots into the sludge, which was a good dozen centimeters thick.

Three seconds later, it pulled its roots out.

SPLAT. SPLAT. SPLAT.

A dozen or so large, black leeches with slick, dark skin wriggled nonstop, clinging tightly to Yin Yi’s roots.

"Crap!"

The pupils of the student Teacher Fang had stopped contracted sharply. As if burned by fire, he scrambled back with a WHOOSH.

"Ling!"

A verdant green light glowed around Yin Yi’s body, and its plant-like form trembled once!

The leeches clinging to its roots were all instantly turned into fragments.

At the same time, the system’s emotionless voice echoed in Han Ning’s mind:

[Energy +0.01]

[Energy +0.009]

[Energy +0.01]

...

’This is...’

’I can absorb the Energy from their bodies now... without having to touch the Soul Beasts’ corpses?’

’Could it be an effect of breaking through to Tier One Spiritual Power?’

A look of surprise appeared on Han Ning’s face. He thought for a moment and figured it was most likely because of his Spiritual Power.

In any case, it was definitely a good thing.

’I won’t have to take the risk of bending down to touch corpses every time anymore.’

Nearby, Teacher Fang gave orders. "Everyone, send your Silver Lotus Woods down first! Kill as many leeches in the mud as possible, then we’ll go down to clean."

"Jiji!"

Egg Pancake, who had been hiding in Han Ning’s collar, suddenly poked its head out. It tumbled onto his shoulder, pointed toward the sludge, and chirped a few times.

"You want to go down and clear out the leeches with Yin Yi?"

"Ji!"

Considering Egg Pancake was about due for an Attribute enhancement, Han Ning didn’t refuse its request.

"Alright then. Be careful."

’Perfect. I can use the Energy I collect to enhance Egg Pancake.’

SPLASH. SPLASH.

Like dumplings being dropped into a pot, the students’ Silver Lotus Woods leaped into the mud one after another.

They vigorously swung the Vine Whips on their sides, forcefully pushing the mud on the floor deeper into the hallway.

The commotion caused some of the hidden leeches to leap out of the sludge and attach themselves to the Silver Lotus Woods’ roots and bodies, only to be quickly smashed to bits by the Vine Whips.

Lena’s Little Tree Spirit also followed behind the main group.

Thanks to the help from Dean Wu and others, her Little Tree Spirit had already reached a level close to a once-mutated Silver Lotus Wood, right after she formed the contract.

Its body had grown to just over 30 centimeters tall.

After some experiments yesterday, everyone was amazed to discover that the breast milk Lena produced after her own body grew stronger could actually help stabilize her baby’s life-draining symptoms.

Although the baby was still just barely hanging on, it undoubtedly brought hope to Lena’s family.

"Jiji!"

Upon entering the sludge, Egg Pancake practically transformed into a little tyrant churning the seas.

Like a dragon entering the sea, it dove into the sludge. With a twitch of its earth-yellow back, it shot forward several meters like a swimming fish.

Then, Egg Pancake’s sharp gaze swept over a patch of mud, and it thrust out a claw to snatch something.

"Ji!"

A black leech struggled endlessly in its grasp.

"Jiji!"

Egg Pancake let out a cold "ji," crushed the leech in its grip, and dove back into the sludge to hunt for more.

Witnessing this "chuunibyou" moment from Egg Pancake, the corner of Han Ning’s eye couldn’t help but twitch.

’Just who did this little guy learn this "mighty warrior pose" from?’

’It definitely wasn’t me.’

He considered himself a low-key person who would never strike such a chuunibyou pose.

’Could it be that it’s been secretly watching shonen anime with Yin Yi late at night and is starting to act out?’

Han Ning felt it was increasingly likely. He had several hundred gigs of hot-blooded anime stored on his phone and tablet; the little guy was probably just copying what it saw.

As he watched Yin Yi and Egg Pancake continuously slay the leeches,

the remaining Energy on his system panel began to tick upward nonstop.

[Energy +0.01]

[Energy +0.01]

[Energy +0.009]

...

Although each leech contained little Energy, every bit added up. Killing a hundred, or even a thousand, would yield a decent harvest.

...

Thanks to the combined efforts of everyone and nearly a hundred Silver Lotus Woods, the entire fourth floor was cleared of sludge in just one hour. The collected muck was piled up near the various windows—black-and-yellow sludge mixed with a huge number of leech corpses.

The remaining Energy on his panel had also increased from just over 8 points to 18.35.

This wasn’t gained from hunting Soul Beasts, but entirely from the piles of leech corpses.

Looking at the Energy on his panel, Han Ning’s eyes lit up. He instantly thought of that old green train that had rushed off to some unknown destination.

’I didn’t have the means before, but once the floodwaters recede, I can go to where that green train is and kill leeches on a massive scale.’

’There’s no need to touch the corpses. I’ll just have to let Yin Yi and Egg Pancake go in while I wait outside.’

"Han Ning, do you think having the Silver Lotus Woods root themselves in there will nourish them?" Teacher Fang asked, staring at the strange-smelling piles of sludge.

Han Ning smiled. "Theoretically, yes. Might as well give it a try... it’s not like there’s anything to lose."

"You’re more of an expert in this area, so it’s best to ask you first." Teacher Fang then turned to the others. "Everyone, hurry and have your Silver Lotus Woods root themselves in the sludge to test it out."

The tall sludge was divided into five piles, all gathered near the windows.

Hearing Teacher Fang’s words, the students directed their respective Silver Lotus Woods to plunge into the sludge and absorb nutrients.

As the Silver Lotus Woods rooted themselves in the mud one by one, their leaves immediately unfurled, much like a person stretching. Just watching them, you could tell they must feel very comfortable.

About ten minutes passed.

Verdant green glimmers of Spiritual Energy began to flash frequently throughout the fourth-floor hallway.

One of the relatively taller Silver Lotus Woods was suddenly enveloped in a dense light, and its body began to grow inch by inch.

’A Fourth Mutation. Has someone’s Silver Lotus Wood finally broken through to Entry Level IV...?’

Han Ning watched the evolving Silver Lotus Wood and the ecstatic boy standing before it, a faint smile gracing his own lips.

At the same time, he called up his panel, pulled up Egg Pancake’s data, and converted his Energy into Attribute Points, preparing to allocate them to Egg Pancake for the first time.