Chapter 51: Luring Monsters?

Because the people on the continent did not place much importance on agricultural production, there were always places that suffered from crop failures due to pest infestations, and many places had experienced famine. These events left a deep impression on Green.

However, Green also had to admit that the natural conditions of the Ark Continent were truly excellent. They had the highly productive white rice tree, which, like bamboo, could grow up to ten meters tall and produce rice twice a year. Therefore, most people on the continent did not starve to death.

The rice produced by these trees was the most common food for slaves, and the trees did not have very high soil requirements. Many places on the continent had these trees planted, so food shortages were not easily encountered.

However, Green did not buy the seeds of the rice tree because he was very clear that although the rice tree did not have high soil requirements, it was impossible to grow them on Iron Mountain. The rice tree had a significant drawback: it was highly sensitive to metal.

Someone conducted an experiment by placing a 100-pound piece of iron in a ten-acre rice tree field. Within ten days, all the rice trees in the field died.

Due to this characteristic of the rice tree, Green did not buy its seeds. The place they were going to was once the Dwarven Iron Mountain. Although the iron ore in the mountain had been mined, the iron content in the soil was still much higher than in other places. Growing rice trees here would be like a dreamer's fantasy.

Therefore, Green chose the oil tree as the main planting object. The oil tree had very low soil requirements, could benefit for many years, and was suitable for mountainous areas. These were the answers he got after consulting some experienced old farmers, so he chose the oil tree.

However, like the rice tree, the oil tree also had a fatal flaw: it was highly susceptible to pest infestations.

Compared to the rice tree, the oil tree was much more prone to pest infestations. On the continent, a large-scale pest infestation of rice trees occurred on average every five years, while the oil tree was almost affected by pests every year. Fortunately, this plant was easy to grow and could thrive almost anywhere, so its production could keep up.

However, this flaw was extremely fatal for the Buda family. They needed to plant a large area of oil trees to make it a major source of income for the Buda family. If the oil trees were always affected by pests, they would be in trouble.

Green had been troubled by this issue for a long time. When he heard Zhao Hai say that there were special pesticides, a heavy burden was finally lifted from his heart.

Seeing Green's happy expression, Zhao Hai smiled and said, "However, I don't quite agree with using these two things. Both are toxic, and using them on crops will make the crops carry trace amounts of toxins. Although these toxins do not have a significant impact on the human body, long-term consumption can accumulate a large amount of toxins in the body, affecting health."

Green was taken aback and then frowned, saying, "This is indeed a problem. It seems we can't use this for the food we eat ourselves."

When Green said this, Zhao Hai was speechless. He never thought that Green, such a serious person, had a dark side.

However, what Zhao Hai did not expect was that Merlin and the others actually nodded in agreement, as if they thought Green's words made sense.

In fact, Zhao Hai did not know that since Merlin and the others were driven to this place, they had developed a grudge against the world. In their view, everyone had betrayed them, and they were the ones who had brought the Buda family to this state. This was why Green said such things, and Merlin agreed.

Zhao Hai shook his head and said, "Grandpa Green, let's go inside and look at the screen to see how many undead are outside, and then think of a way to catch them."

Green nodded, and they all went into the house. To be honest, Green felt that the screen was very convenient, allowing them to know the situation outside while sitting in the space. The only drawback was that the range was too small.

After entering the house, Zhao Hai looked at the screen again. The green dots did not seem to have increased, still only a dozen or so. However, to his surprise, another green dot appeared in the living room.

Zhao Hai tapped the living room area, and a skeleton rat appeared. Zhao Hai was taken aback and then looked at the smaller 3D map. Indeed, the green dot on the upper floor was gone, indicating that the skeleton rat from upstairs had moved to the living room.

Zhao Hai was puzzled. Was the living room so attractive? He remembered that the living room was where magical beasts and undead appeared most frequently.

Green also looked at the skeleton rat on the screen and said, "It seems this thing has smelled the scent of humans. It's strange, these undead are really sensitive to fresh flesh and blood."

Hearing Green say this, Zhao Hai immediately understood. It must have been when they caught the alien that the space crack leaked the scent of humans, which the skeleton rat detected, causing it to move to the living room.

Once he understood this, Zhao Hai was delighted because he thought of a way to catch the skeletons. Using a term from Earth's games, it should be called "luring monsters."

Zhao Hai did not like playing games on Earth, but he had some knowledge of games, all of which came from online novels.

It had to be admitted that on Earth, those online novels covered a wide range of topics. Zhao Hai did not like football, but he knew all about the stars. He played a little basketball but was only a pseudo-fan, yet he knew all about basketball. All this was thanks to online novels.

Zhao Hai turned to Green and said, "Grandpa Green, do you think we can use this method to catch the undead? The living room is not very large, so not too many undead can enter at once. We can catch this one, and it might attract another one. If it doesn't, we can send someone out, which will definitely attract more undead. This way, we don't have to go far, and we can catch more undead in the castle without worrying about attracting magical beasts."

Zhao Hai knew that the undead were very sensitive to living beings, while the magical beasts were not. He did not want to attract too many magical beasts. If the magical beasts were all attracted to the castle and stayed, they would have even more trouble going out.

Green thought for a moment and said, "This method is not bad. This way, we can sit here and slowly catch the undead. By the way, Young Master, do you think this attack by the magical beasts and the undead is because the undead sensed our presence?"

Zhao Hai was taken aback and his expression changed. He could not determine if this was the reason, but it was his greatest concern. If the undead really sensed their presence and came out, the castle would be even less safe in the future.

Merlin shook his head and said, "I don't think it's because of that. Don't forget, we've been here for quite some time. Young Master was unconscious for over a month, and we've been here all along. If the undead came out because of us, they would have come out long ago, not wait this long. Moreover, the first to come out were the magical beasts, not the undead."

Hearing Merlin say this, Green and Zhao Hai both breathed a sigh of relief. However, Green then frowned and said, "That's strange. I remember people saying that the magical beasts in the Black Earth Wasteland only erupt every ten to twenty years. The last eruption was about three or four years ago. How could it erupt again so soon? If they erupt so frequently, we'll be in trouble."

Merlin smiled and said, "Forget it. Can you trust the information you heard outside? Do you know how many years it has been since anyone came to the Black Earth Wasteland? How can they truly understand the situation here?"

Green patted his head and nodded, "Yes, how could I forget that? There's nothing in the Black Earth Wasteland that attracts people, so no one comes. I must have been overthinking it. Let's take it one step at a time. After all, we have Young Master's space. If things get really bad, we can hide in the space."

It had to be said that Green's mindset was much better now than before. In the past, Green had a sense of despair, a feeling of losing hope in life but still struggling. This made him very serious and eager to do everything to the best of his ability, which put a lot of pressure on him.

However, since he learned about Zhao Hai's space, Green's mindset completely changed. He relaxed because he believed that as long as Zhao Hai's space existed, the Buda family would continue. Even if they could not restore their former glory, ensuring the continuation of the Buda family was not a problem. In a sense, he had put down the heaviest burden in his heart.

Hearing Green say this, Zhao Hai could not help but smile slightly and said, "This is a good method, but Grandpa Green, the space can still be upgraded. As long as we transfer some rare and exotic plants from the continent to the space and get the space's recognition, the space can continue to grow, giving us more help."

Green was taken aback, then his eyes lit up, and he said, "Really? Young Master, is this true? The space can really grow larger?"

Zhao Hai nodded and said, "Of course, it's true. In fact, the space has already been upgraded twice and has grown by four acres. Grandma Merlin knows this. The second upgrade happened when we were in the space."