Hua Mi quickly moved thirty beehives into position.
Traversing back and forth didn't cause much discomfort, but he felt a bit dizzy and queasy. After a short rest and a few spoonfuls of honey, he felt better.
The thirty beehives were neatly arranged in the backyard, and most of the bees stayed inside the boxes initially.
Hua Mi didn't use his will to command them to come out. He believed that this technique could be used but should not be used lightly. Experience had taught him not to go against the natural instincts of the bees; it could lead to undesirable consequences and not be worth the trouble.
This was an ideal honey-collecting spot, and the young bees would discover it on their own.
After a while, several "scout bees" flew out of each hive and hovered in the air before heading straight for the vast field of Moon Slumber flowers.
The scout bees that found the nectar source returned to the hives, performed intricate dances in the air, a means of communicating information. The precise angles and directions of their movements conveyed the location and distance of the nectar source, even the taste and quality of the honey.
Do not underestimate the intelligence of a bee colony. While individual bees may not be very smart, as a collective, they operated with remarkable efficiency. Many beekeepers considered the hive as a single organism, with each bee inside being like individual cells.
For instance, the hexagonal design of their hives – the angles of the base of the cells were always 109°28', and the angles at the tips were always 70°32', minimizing material use while maximizing space. It was like the work of a genius designer.
The bees that received the information streamed out of their hives, flying toward the Moon Slumber flower field.
This was probably the first time this world had heard the collective buzzing of a bee swarm, much like a baby's first cry.
"I will make the bees fly to every corner of the world," Hua Mi declared, his ambitions soaring.
But the road ahead would be a long one.
Although the motivation of the bees had improved thanks to the new nectar source and excellent environment, some habits couldn't change overnight. It would take time for these relatively weak bee colonies to adapt even to a better environment.
Essentially, they were still thirty weak bee colonies.
Observing the young bees working diligently, Hua Mi smiled contentedly, much like a capitalist. He went back inside, fetched a reclining chair, and lay under the eaves, relaxed, while reading his notes.
Under normal circumstances, it would take about a week for bees to fill an entire hive with nectar. Considering these were weak colonies, it might take up to ten days. After sealing the wax cells and aging, it would take another ten days or so.
The aging process involved bees flapping their wings to evaporate moisture, increasing the honey's concentration, and using digestive enzymes to convert sucrose into glucose and fructose, among other sugars.
Altogether, it would take more than 20 days to complete the production of this batch of Moon Slumber flower honey. Patience was key.
...
The alchemical notebook was filled with unfamiliar things – magical creatures, materials, and various terrains from all over the world. Mountains, lakes, forests, swamps, canyons, deserts, plateaus, and icy tundras. It was mentally exhausting, and his brain quickly turned to mush.
Reading and memorizing these things seemed impossible. He'd look them up when he needed them, treating the book as a reference guide.
"Let's do some cleaning," Hua Mi decided.
He planned to alternate between mental and physical labor. This place had likely been untouched for many years and was quite dirty.
The previous owner of the small cabin had either moved elsewhere or might not even be alive anymore. Most of the supplies were gone, leaving the room empty of everyday items.
Moving seemed likely, but what was strange was that the alchemical notebook, which contained his life's work, hadn't been taken. Was it simply forgotten, or was there some other reason?
Hua Mi returned to his home, fetched a broom, a bucket, and other cleaning tools, and put on cleaning clothes. He even made a makeshift hat out of newspaper to wear. He started cleaning, and despite the small size of the cabin, it took a while to clean every nook and cranny.
He started by removing the accumulated dust, gradually revealing the natural wood underneath. The cabin was constructed using hardwood, possibly treated to resist rot and pests. Cleaning it wasn't too troublesome.
The main task was to clear the grime from the gaps between the wooden planks. This work didn't require special skills but was tiring.
Fortunately, the cabin wasn't too large.
While cleaning next to the wooden bed, a plank suddenly made a cracking sound, and Hua Mi realized it was a hinged door. It had been hidden beneath layers of dirt and grime, making it almost invisible.
Hua Mi moved a shovel along the gap, found the best point to apply force, and pried it open. It revealed a door large enough for one person to pass through.
As he lifted it, a cold draft blew in, and a stone staircase led down. A meter away, everything was shrouded in darkness.
There was more space below.
Hua Mi went back to his home and grabbed a flashlight. Shining it down the stairs, the darkness didn't reveal much.
"Could there be any danger?" Hua Mi wondered.
This magical world was still mostly unknown to him, and he didn't want to take unnecessary risks.
What if there were lurking magical spiders down there?
This also reminded him that he should carry some weapons for self-defense. There were many useful items available in online wilderness survival shops.
However, he had no weapons with him at the moment, so he didn't dare venture down. But his curiosity got the better of him.
He thought for a moment, then released a group of worker bees to pause their honey collection and fly into the cabin. They circled in the air briefly, and he tried to coordinate their flight to serve as his eyes.
In reality, he could only control the bees and sense their status, but he couldn't see through their eyes. So this was more of an experiment in his mind.
He did this just to scout the path. If there were dangerous magical creatures below, the bees' entry would undoubtedly cause a commotion.
He wasn't too worried about losing this particular group of bees. While individual bees were weak, as a collective, they were formidable. They could chase off a honey-stealing bear.
With Hua Mi assisting from above, the worst that could happen would be the loss of some bees, not their complete annihilation.
The buzzing sounds gradually echoed in the cabin. Soon, the bees reached a larger space, probably the end of the passage.
After circling around for a while, they roughly gauged the size of the lower space, which was slightly smaller than the wooden cabin above. There didn't seem to be any living creatures.
Hua Mi breathed a sigh of relief and descended with his flashlight.
"Alchemy Workshop," Hua Mi thought the moment he saw the scene below.
The setup was relatively simple, with a shelf against the wall holding scattered glass bottles. An old, dusty black robe hung from a nearby coatrack.
In the center of the room, there was an odd-looking, large, pot-bellied black cauldron. It had inscriptions that resembled some kind of foreign script.
"Semiautomatic Alchemical Cauldron – Crafted by Mr. M, a Gift to the Lazy Alchemists.
Note: Capable of crafting alchemical creations of average quality. When crafting high-tier alchemical concoctions, there is a possibility of failure."
"Semiautomatic..." Hua Mi mused. If it meant the same as a semiautomatic washing machine, it might imply that all you needed to do was load the alchemical ingredients, press a button, and the cauldron would handle the alchemical process automatically.
Although there were many limitations, for an Earthling with absolutely no knowledge of alchemy, this was an amazing find.
The question was, where was the button?
Hua Mi examined the area more closely, and his eyes settled on a groove in the cauldron. Numerous lines extended from the groove, covering the entire pot's surface.
"Is this where the battery goes?" he wondered.
It seemed like a place to insert a substance that could release energy, similar to a battery from his old world. However, he scanned the entire underground chamber and didn't find anything resembling a power source.
But even if he had a battery, it would be useless without alchemical recipes. There was no point in getting stuck on this now.
Hua Mi shifted his focus to the shelf.
Most of the bottles were empty, but tucked away in the corner was a small bottle, about the size of his palm, containing a partially transparent liquid.
Hua Mi examined the label and read, "Beginner Mutagenic Elixir (Regular Version)."
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