Dimensional Codex System: I'm really not a cultist!

Chapter 166: Chapter 165 Unexpected Development Direction

Wanting to construct a greenhouse actually wasn’t difficult using alchemy from Another World, but the problem was finding something to substitute for plastic film. Initially, Fang Zheng had placed his hopes on Nanali, but soon he realized he had made a mistake.

“Deep Sea Giant Monster… Dragon Wings… Underground Spider Queen…”

Looking at the list before him, Fang Zheng was speechless.

“Miss Nanali, I thought I made my requirements very clear. We need a transparent film that can keep in warmth and moisture, and provide insulation against the cold… What is this… Are you planning to create some kind of Divine Artifact?”

Even Fang Zheng knew that most of the items on the list were Legendary creatures. Not to mention whether they could obtain them or not, even if they did… What use would they be?

“But, but, based on what you said sir, I thought these were the best!”

...

“But they are not enough!”

Helplessly, Fang Zheng put down the list in his hand and gestured towards the brunette girl in front of him.

“Take Dragon Wings for example. Even if we successfully slay a dragon, how much area can one Dragon Wing turned into a film cover? More importantly, we’re not just making a one-time deal here! This is supposed to be a sustainable business! We might need to sell thousands or even more eventually. Where will we find another dragon then? Not to mention the cost of these things… I’m not even talking about how much time and money it would take to hunt a dragon, but even once brought back, Dragonhide isn’t something you can just craft willy-nilly, right?”

Fang Zheng originally thought the girl’s business was not thriving just due to bad luck, but after starting to actually work, he realized that Nanali and her mother suffered from the same issue. No matter what invention or creation it was, their immediate thought went to the best materials, completely ignoring other issues… But the problem was, those precious materials simply couldn’t be mass-produced!

Besides, I’m just making a greenhouse. Why does your list make it seem like we’re trying to colonize Mars?

“I’m very sorry…”

Hearing Fang Zheng’s response, Nanali finally understood where her problem lay and dejectedly took back the list. Fang Zheng sighed and then turned to the Little Angel beside him.

“Nymph, do you have any good suggestions?”

“How about this, Master?”

Nymph, who was perusing the Encyclopedia of Magic, blinked at Fang Zheng’s question and then flipped the book she was holding. Both Fang Zheng and Nanali were stunned by the information they saw.

“…Slime?”

“Can such a low-Ranked Demon Creature actually be useful?”

Nanali’s first reaction was skepticism, simply because Slimes were considered very low-Ranked in the Main World’s food chain. They generally resided in the dim corners of forests and caves. These Slimes weren’t very strong and posed limited threats. Moreover, since they weren’t useful for much, even mercenaries weren’t interested in hunting them.

But for Fang Zheng, this was no issue.

“Surviving by consuming moss and decaying matter, their outer skin is soft and elastic… Ordinary blades can hardly hurt them… Only found in areas with dense vegetation…”

Reading the description of Slimes from the encyclopedia, Fang Zheng pondered for a moment.

“In any case, let’s go have a look.”

Locating Slimes was easy. In fact, they could be seen in the caves around the town. There were many Slimes, but they were not very dangerous. Their attacks were weak, and they moved slowly, so ordinary villagers were not particularly driven to bother them. As such, without much effort, Fang Zheng and his group found the “legendary” Slimes.

“So it’s these things, huh.”

Looking at the Slimes in front of him, Fang Zheng slightly furrowed his brows. The Slimes of the Main World looked very different from the cute little creatures he remembered from the game. They looked more like a lump of wriggling mud. These Slimes ate pretty much anything, but their slow movement made hunting animals and humans practically out of the question. Thus, Slimes mostly fed on plants and decaying corpses, and since they were not animals, they lacked fur and were covered in slimy mud, which made their appearance even less appealing.

However, this does not mean that slimes are as harmless as little bunnies, because these slimes release a venom to paralyze their opponent’s nerves when attacked, leaving them in a paralyzed state before slowly digesting them. The process is somewhat similar to how pythons or spiders feed, only the venom of the slimes is not very potent, effective mostly on small creatures like rabbits.

For Fang Zheng, this was, of course, no trouble at all; in fact, even the weak fighting Little Angel could easily handle it, only an alchemist like Nanali who had no strength could not manage it.

“Splash!”

With a casual wave of his hand, Fang Zheng quickly conjured a water sphere out of thin air, then smashed it onto the slime, washing away all the muck on its body thoroughly. After washing off the muck that covered the slime’s body, Fang Zheng could finally see their true form—these slimes looked a bit like translucent jellyfish, but without tentacles, appearing more like a wiggling water balloon.

The slimes did not have eyes or other such organs, and the Encyclopedia of Magic did not mention how these creatures sensed their surroundings. However, Fang Zheng did not care, he went forward and stabbed the slime’s body, then saw the slime’s originally swollen body suddenly tremble and immediately became paralyzed.

The life core of the slime was a small orb inside their body; as long as that was punctured, the slime would be killed instantly.

“Nymph, come and see what use these things might have.”

“Yes, Master.”

Hearing Fang Zheng’s command, Nymph also knelt down, extended her hand, and placed it on the corpse of the slime, her eyes then began to emit a bright radiance.

“… Scanning biological surface… Analyzing core… Performing reanalysis…”

After a moment, Nymph blinked her eyes, stood up, and looked back at Fang Zheng with a joyful smile.

“Master, it’s done!”

“It looks like the results are good?”

Seeing the Little Angel’s exhilarated demeanor, Fang Zheng raised his eyebrows. Nymph was always respectful in front of him, and the things she handled on a day-to-day basis—if not almost certain—would not be shown so obviously.

“Yes.”

Indeed, hearing Fang Zheng’s inquiry, the Little Angel nodded happily.

“According to the analysis, these slimes perfectly meet your requirements, Master. Their outer skin is very suitable to replace plastic films; furthermore, I have found that the liquid inside these slimes has high nutritional value and can be used as fertilizer.”

“Oh?”

Hearing this, Fang Zheng immediately became interested. He really hadn’t expected to receive such an unexpected bonus!

Fertilizer is indeed a good thing, no one would complain about having too much food, and the fact that Nanali’s mother’s chemical fertilizers passed the Alchemists’ Association’s assessment speaks volumes. However, Nanali’s mother committed the biggest mistake of researchers; she didn’t care about the cost… If the costs can’t be lowered, then naturally there’s nothing to be said.

But slimes are different!

These creatures are easily killed and are numerous; moreover, they are easy to breed… Yes, after learning about the slimes’ utility from Nymph, Fang Zheng had decided to set up a slime farm when he returned.

But before that, he still had one very important thing to do.

“I’ll leave it to you next, Miss Nanali.”

Fang Zheng needed to raise Nanali’s alchemist level; if he just handed over the utility of these slimes to the Alchemists’ Association, it would only be a matter of supplying raw materials, and these items would only truly be alchemy products after they had undergone an alchemic process.

Although Fang Zheng was somewhat interested in alchemy, neither he nor Nymph knew much about it, so for now… he had to rely on Nanali.