Xu An remained unwilling to give up and continued to ask, "Could it be that you guys are mistaken, and this is all just a coincidence?"
"Xu An, everything that has happened is a fact before our eyes. It's impossible for so many coincidences to converge."
"Then are you planning to make this plant public? What about that mummified corpse then?"
He Ci pondered for a long time. "The growth of this plant requires human vital energy."
As if fearing Xu An wouldn't understand, He Ci slowly explained, "We tried isolating it for vacuum planting, but the plant's growth immediately stagnated. It only shows signs of life when a person is nearby. However, if it stays near a person for too long, it will drain them into a mummified corpse..."
He Ci's words were interrupted by Xu An, "So you came up with this method of collective planting?"
There was a long silence on the other end of the phone, and then He Ci's voice slowly emerged, "Yes, as long as there are enough people, and they don't have prolonged one-on-one contact with the plant, there won't be any life-threatening danger. They will just feel dizzy. We will send them nutrient solutions daily to ensure they have the sustenance they need for life. Xu An, we've done our best!"
"You..." Xu An's myriad of words turned into a sigh. She actually wanted to scold them, to ask them why they treated human lives so carelessly, but the words caught in her throat.
Xu An suddenly realized, since when did she start criticizing others from a moral high ground?
When she first heard about the miraculous effect of rejuvenation this plant had, she had secretly rejoiced, wishing this medicine could be used for her mother.
After realizing her own thoughts, Xu An could no longer utter any accusations. Human nature has always been like this.
"It's none of my business, so I'll stay out of it."
"What about the photos? Why did that person still die?"
"We are truly wronged in this matter. To prevent being drained by this plant, we specifically arranged strict duty standards. Each shift would not exceed 30 minutes. That person was being lazy and insisted on staying in the greenhouse for a nap, resulting in him being drained. There were at least tens of thousands of plants in that greenhouse."
"When there were many people, the plants had plenty to feed on, so it wasn't noticeable. But when everyone left, he was the only one left, and in less than a minute, that person died."
"Are there surveillance cameras installed in the greenhouse?" Xu An asked. When He Ci mentioned that the person was drained to death in less than a minute, Xu An had already guessed.
"Yes," He Ci said dejectedly.
"Then are you planning to fully disclose the plant's effects?" Xu An finally voiced her doubts.
"We will announce to the public that it is a drug for treating diseases, and it will not be sold on a large scale."
"Then, then how will you explain the death of that mummified corpse?"
"We'll say he had a rare disease."
Xu An was silent for a moment. Xu Yan had already gone out, and she was alone in the room. That inexplicable sense of powerlessness swept over her again. She took a deep breath to calm her emotions.
"You mentioned before that you wanted me and my mother to work in the experimental field?"
"No, no, believe me, I wouldn't harm you. I told you from the beginning that it was for logistical support, office work, not for planting in the greenhouses."
He Ci's explanation was rushed, but Xu An didn't want to continue talking to him.
"I'm a bit tired," Xu An said, bid farewell to He Ci, and hung up the phone.
Hearing the sound in the room stop, Xu Yan put down the half-cracked sunflower seeds she was holding and walked in.
"Want some sunflower seeds?"
Seeing her mother leaning against the doorframe, Xu An smiled with relief.
"Mom, do you believe in rejuvenation?"
Xu Yan thought Xu An was joking, her face beaming with a smile, a playful smirk on her lips.
"I do. If there's really such a good thing as rejuvenation, I'd really want to try it."
Hearing her mother's words, although Xu An knew Xu Yan was joking, she herself had taken it to heart.
Ever since He Ci revealed the plant's effects, Xu An had started to harbor intentions.
She wanted to get her hands on it before it was officially announced. Although it would be a small-scale public sale, anyone who paid close attention to this thing would eventually discover its true purpose.
At that time, even if this plant drained human essence and blood, or even if it ate people, it would likely become an object of desire that everyone would compete for.
This was also why Xu An couldn't scold them just now; she couldn't be hypocritical. Initially, upon hearing that this plant required human essence and blood for nourishment, she herself felt uncomfortable.
But human nature is often selfish, and Xu An was no exception.
As she spoke, Xu An added He Ci's contact information to her communicator, realizing that for some matters, it would be more convenient to communicate with him directly.
"What's wrong? Why are you suddenly talking about this? Did He Ci say something to you?"
"It's nothing, let's go to bed. I have training tomorrow," Xu An said, handing her communicator back to Xu Yan.
Everything was still uncertain. Xu An hadn't figured out the specific dosage of this plant or whether it would have side effects.
For now, she decided not to tell her mother until everything was settled.
Xu An soon fell asleep, and the night passed without incident.
Opening her eyes again, Xu An looked at the alarm clock on her bedside table. The hands pointed to 6:30.
Not a minute off.
She had this routine every day and was already used to it.
Zhou Haimei was scheduled to come at 7:30, so she still had time. Xu An went to the bathroom and took a shower.
Although she had fallen asleep quickly yesterday, she hadn't slept soundly. She had woken up many times during the night, but her biological clock was deeply ingrained.
So she still woke up on time.
After Xu An finished showering and came out of the bathroom, her mother had already gotten up.
Seeing Xu An emerge, she immediately asked, "Does your friend have a heavy palate?"
"I don't know," Xu An said, drying her hair, looking bewildered. She really didn't know. Yesterday, she was so focused on inviting Zhou Haimei over for dinner that she forgot to ask about her taste preferences.
"You child," Xu Yan muttered, walking into the kitchen and starting to get busy.
Xu An didn't stand idly either. She began to tidy up the room, putting away anything that shouldn't be on the lighthouse into her space.
Finally, she went into her room and put her tablet and power bank on the bed into her space. She took out a few common books and placed them on her bedside table as a facade.
Xu An discovered after arriving on the lighthouse that the books sold there were quite cheap, and they had everything from classic literary works to popular online novels.
The few books placed on her bedside table were bought by Xu An while she was wandering around the garden plaza.