When the GF9 Test Subject Became His Obsession novel Chapter 52

Chapter 52 The Last Seed

Chapter 52 The Last Seed

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Olivia chose double roses, Lebron picked a sensitive plant, while Thanos had no interest in flowers. “Dad, I want to grow grapes!”

Arbor nearly couldn’t stop himself from kicking him.

“Mom,” Thanos said, “I’ve got that fitness test next week for the athletic scholarship. What should I plant?”

“Oh, right-I almost forgot!” Olivia rummaged through the seedling tray and pulled out a snowdrop. “Snowdrops mean hope. They’ll push you to keep going. You’ve got this, Thanos.”

Thanos’s eyes lit up. This one was perfect.

Then she grabbed a few more-hydrangeas, morning glories, ferns-anything that symbolized hope or a happy ending ended up in the pile for her son to plant. Even Lebron came over to help.

On the other side of the greenhouse, Arbor was preparing to plant herbs. Serena had little interest in ordinary flowers, so she wandered over to see what he was working on.

Lavender, peppermint, rosemary, sage-common enough medicinal herbs.

“Dad, you’re planting these in the greenhouse?” They were nice enough, but putting them here seemed like a waste.

“Your mom wants to make Serenity Blend. These will all be used, so it’s convenient to grow them at home. Saves me a trip up the mountain if Kelly comes asking again.”

That jogged Serena’s memory. “What does she need so much Serenity Blend for?”

“Something about a friend who can’t sleep. Beyond that, I don’t know.”

They both knew Kelly was just making excuses. No friend could possibly need that much. But if she wanted to keep it secret, the elders wouldn’t push. It wasn’t rare or hard to make, and if someone truly needed it, helping them was no big deal.

In the end, Serena chose a genetically modified century plant, figuring it suited her personality better.

Arbor, however, carefully opened a box and took out a single seed.

This was the last chance. If it failed this time…

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11:33 Sat, Mar 14

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Chapter 52 The Last Seed

Serena, just finishing with her century plant, noticed the intensity and gravity in his expression. She glanced at the seed and froze.

Netherbloom.

“Serena, come give it a little magic breath.”

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She could feel his tension. Without protest, she stepped forward, blew gently over the seed, and then asked, “Dad, what is it?”

“Netherbloom, the main ingredient in GoldCure.” He made no attempt to hide its value, even managing a light tone. “If I can grow it, I can trade it for GoldCure without a problem.”

Even he probably didn’t believe it would succeed.

GoldCure was so valuable because Netherbloom had been extinct for a thousand years. If not for the ancient medical texts and herb seeds unearthed from an ancient tomb on Shadowridge Mountain over a decade ago, no one would have ever seen it again.

But the seeds were limited, and today’s environment was nothing like it was in ancient times. Even Shadowridge Mountain struggled to grow them.

Ten years ago, the Horizon Research Institute had managed to cultivate a small batch. They’d invested heavily into research, only for the cultivation method to mysteriously vanish. No matter how much money or manpower they threw at it, they never produced a second batch.

Netherbloom was a ten-year herb. If no second generation could be grown, it would vanish again, and the second run of GoldCure would become the final one,

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Arbor had always known that buying GoldCure wasn’t a matter of money-it was about the cultivation method. He’d managed to obtain ten seeds through vast expense and connections, along with his own knowledge of growing rare plants, But he’d already failed nine times.

Serena slipped her hand into the soil. The composition, temperature, and humidity were all ideal, but…

Netherbloom wasn’t the saprophytic plant people thought it was-it was a hemiparasite, and one that could only attach to a few specific hosts. Even among those, the host species determined the bloom’s quality,

The Horizon Research Institute’s batch had been her earliest work-she’d been inexperienced then. At best, those were third-grade blooms.

“Dad, I want to plant another flower.”

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11:33 Sat, Mar 14

Chapter 52 The Last Seed

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She ran to her room and came back with a bag of seeds, scattering them casually over the soil in Arbor’s Netherbloom planter.

“This is Bonebloom. It’s perfect for supporting seed growth. Try it-you’ll be able to make it work.”

After nine failures, with only three sprouts that all eventually died, Arbor suspected there was a missing key in the process. Maybe this was it.

Seeing her plant the seeds, he figured it couldn’t hurt to try.

The next morning, Arbor personally drove the two kids to school. Lebron insisted on escorting Serena in, but seeing the busy, crowded campus made him look uneasy and out of place.

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11:33 Sat, Mar 14