Chapter Fifteen: The Blossom of Homeward Seeking

Chen Qi’s plan was straightforward and rather blunt: he intended to appease the Gluttonous Flower by offering it Earth’s finest cuisine.

According to the game’s lore, New Metropolis was a post-cataclysmic world. Despite granting its inhabitants extraordinary powers that defied all logic, its culinary standards likely weren’t high. The diary detailed countless bizarre foods fed to the Gluttonous Flower, yet none satisfied it. Of course, Chen Qi couldn’t be certain New Metropolis’s food was truly inferior to Earth’s—this was only a hypothesis, and success was far from guaranteed. After all, the diary’s owner had toiled away in the shadows, exhausting every coin, yet never succeeded in feeding the Gluttonous Flower.

Currently, Chen Qi was unable to bring items from Earth into the game. Thus, the only way to realize his plan was to bring the Gluttonous Flower into the real world—a prospect that first required him to obtain the flower.

He chose the first option.

[Inspired by the diary’s owner, you take a step forward and gently lift the Gluttonous Flower from the moss-covered dining chair.]

[You have acquired the Gluttonous Flower.]

He really could obtain it!

Chen Qi quickly checked the Gluttonous Flower’s status panel:

[Gluttonous Flower]

[Type: Flower]

[Description: A powerful blossom with an insatiable appetite for gourmet fare, brimming with terrifying power. Its soul has been lost, and it has become a mere object. Only a lingering craving for delicacies and faint memories remain within.]

[Note: This item retains its final desires and is not fully under your control. Beware its rampage.]

Chen Qi cautiously opened his inventory and tapped on the Gluttonous Flower.

Promising...

If it could be stored in his inventory, he could use [Manifest in the Mortal World] on the Gluttonous Flower.

It worked!

Chen Qi pondered for a moment. If he failed to satisfy the flower’s hunger, he’d likely be trapped in this underground chamber, with no idea when he’d ever escape. He’d be forced to dine on flowers alongside the Witch of Flowers—and who could say if that capricious witch, after feasting on petals for too long, wouldn’t develop a taste for flesh...

Realistically, even if someone wanted to rescue the Witch of Flowers and happened to save him as well, it would take ages. This would drastically slow his development.

There was risk involved, but it was worth attempting.

According to the diary, the Gluttonous Flower could remain outside for twenty minutes.

Chen Qi donned the Night Wanderer’s Garb to mask his presence, then pressed the button to summon the Gluttonous Flower into the real world.

In an instant, countless green motes whirled before him, and a flower taller than his waist materialized out of thin air!

Its gaping, crocodilian crimson maw opened wide, radiating a ravenous greed.

Chen Qi instinctively stepped back. Merely standing before it felt like staring up at a colossal mountain of flesh.

So this was the Gluttonous Flower...

He rested his finger on his phone, ready to send the flower back into the game at the first sign of danger.

The moment the Gluttonous Flower appeared, he sensed its overwhelming hunger and feverish energy. Its roots burrowed into the wooden floorboards of his bed.

Seeing that the initial attempt was promising, Chen Qi quickly sent the flower back, then decisively opened his food delivery app.

What should he order?

The diary mentioned the Gluttonous Flower turning red and spewing fire after eating. To the diary’s owner, it seemed the flower craved blood and flames.

Chen Qi wondered—was it possible the flower simply wanted spicy food?

It was early in the day; most stir-fry restaurants wouldn’t open for lunch for a while. Still, he was in luck—it was Sunday, and a few high-end establishments with modest monthly sales were already accepting orders. They were expensive, though: a large order of spicy offal hotpot cost eighty yuan...

Normally, Chen Qi would never splurge on such pricey takeout, but now that he’d abandoned dreams of buying a house or marriage, a lavish meal was no problem. Besides, if he really needed money, he now had more ways than ever to earn it. With the Night Wanderer’s Garb, making tens of thousands in a single night was no longer a fantasy.

He ordered spicy offal hotpot, husband-and-wife lung slices, fiery rabbit heads, dry-pot crayfish...

He placed six separate orders from four different restaurants, spending a total of 2,500 yuan, and marked them all as urgent.

As long as the money he’d worked so hard for could make a difference, it was worth it.

After ordering, Chen Qi sat at his dining table, nervously drumming his finger. Every second felt agonizingly slow.

...

Ding-dong.

“Hello, your food delivery is here.”

“Thank you, I’ll be right there.”

Heart pounding, Chen Qi dashed to the door and retrieved the food.

Three dishes had arrived: spicy offal hotpot, dry-pot crayfish, and husband-and-wife lung slices—all intensely spicy, oily fare.

Expensive, but worth it. Chen Qi first lifted the lid from the hotpot.

Tender beef, lamb, bean curd rolls, and bamboo shoots were piled high, mingling with aromatic spices. The heady aroma of chilies and peppercorns was almost intoxicating, stoking his appetite.

Such a rich scent...

He swallowed, donned the Night Wanderer’s Garb to hide his presence, and carefully summoned the Gluttonous Flower back into the real world.

Once again, motes of light coalesced into an enormous, menacing blossom.

Swish—

Before Chen Qi could act, the rich aroma seemed to drive the Gluttonous Flower wild. Like a crazed beast, it doubled in size; its root-like stalks stretched across the floor, and its gaping maw lunged straight for the table.

Crunch! Crunch!

The table toppled instantly.

Crimson fangs hidden within the petals tore into the spicy hotpot, devouring everything—including the takeout container—in one terrifying gulp.

Next came the dry-pot crayfish and the lung slices.

In seconds, all three massive dishes vanished.

Such voracity!

Protected by his Garb, Chen Qi cowered in the room’s corner, his eyes glued to the inventory panel in the New Sun game.

After the Gluttonous Flower polished off the three plates, it gradually calmed, shrinking back into a docile, helpless-looking scarlet bloom.

Was it satisfied?

Chen Qi wasn’t sure, but for now, he could send the flower back. He tapped the inventory button—this thing was not something he wanted to gaze at for long.

The Gluttonous Flower vanished, leaving behind only scraps of food that couldn’t be transported into the New Sun world.

[Notice: Your item “Gluttonous Flower” has broken free of your control.]

Did it work? Chen Qi’s heart was wound tight as a stretched rubber band.

[The Gluttonous Flower, at last content, grew tranquil and drifted back to its homeland. Its crimson petals began to wither, falling among the field of bones.]

[Its roots curled inward, releasing a floral scent. In that fragrance, you catch a fleeting glimpse of its memories.]

[When the white sun’s fire still blazed, the Land of Rare Light shone in glory. Back then, it boasted the richest black soil in New Metropolis, untouched by calamity—a beloved haven for seekers of home. Crimson blooms, succulent fruits, and delicacies unseen in any inner district abounded. At that time, it was not a flower, but a gifted seeker, a member of the Death Squad, who had sworn to reclaim their lost lands from disaster.]

[After each adventure, it would savor the local cuisine in these lands. The restaurateurs here cared nothing for power or profit—they devoted themselves to their craft. They used a special ingredient called chili pepper, which bestowed a wondrous flavor upon their dishes. It was his favorite. Gourmet food and smiles—these were the things that drew him back time and again.]

[But on one fateful expedition beyond New Metropolis, he encountered an unbeatable catastrophic beast. All his comrades perished. His own body was nearly destroyed, consumed by blossoms; memory fading, life ebbing away. In his final moments, only a sliver of recollection and an overwhelming yearning for home remained. He did not die, but crawled onward, inch by inch, toward the land of his memories.]

[When he finally returned, the sun’s fire no longer blazed. Deprived of its protection, the once-fertile land had become a hell ravaged by disaster. The fruit trees, flowers, chili peppers, and friendly smiles were all gone.]

[At last, he settled here, rooting himself in the earth beneath his favorite dining chair.]

[His will was lost, leaving only the flower’s instincts and its final desire—like a greedy child, waiting for the flavors of home.]

[Thank you, traveler, for listening to my tale.]

[The Gluttonous Flower, its desires spent, slowly withered.]

A homeland consumed by calamity...

From what Chen Qi had seen, disaster was spreading on Earth as well, though nowhere near the catastrophic scale of New Sun’s world—at least, not yet.

Would my own homeland end up like that? He gazed out the window; the sky had grown heavy and dark, as if an unprecedented storm was gathering.

This is bad. I wonder what the other Travelers are experiencing right now...

Chen Qi returned his attention to the game, curiosity burning—what exactly was the “treasure” the Gluttonous Flower had spoken of?

[In its final moment, the Gluttonous Flower bequeaths to you the item it recovered from the grasp of catastrophe.]

[White light bathes your scarred face once again. You have obtained the object countless people dream of—Bloodblade Feast Fruit.]