However, Wen Qi still had one task to complete.
He needed to harvest the tree fruits growing in the small world. He was eager to know whether the energy cubes made from these fruits would contain more life energy. If the tree fruits from the outside world carried life energy, it was likely thanks to the Torterra. It seemed Torterra wasn’t just outstanding in battle—it was also a "money tree" when it came to planting!
Energy cubes made from tree fruits infused with life energy would fetch a higher price, and Wen Qi felt he was on the verge of a fortune.
The small world accelerated the growth of tree fruits. When he first bought them, they were just saplings. He hadn’t expected them to grow into large trees and bear fruit so quickly. Unlike the fruit trees on the farm, which took at least a decade to mature and now yielded fruit once a year, these saplings had grown and fruited in a short time. The small world’s growth acceleration was probably around tenfold.
Soon, Wen Qi used his control over the small world to gather all the tree fruits. This ability was incredibly convenient. The small world had more tree fruits than the outside—though its area was only about a hundred acres, fifty more than outside, the harvest was roughly six times greater. Comparing equal quantities, the yield was nearly three times that of the outside.
Not only was the yield higher, but there were no defective fruits. Every single one was of top quality—that was the magic of the small world.
In no time, a mountain of tree fruits piled up around Wen Qi. He used some wood to build a few simple huts and stored all the fruits inside. Under his control, the fruits wouldn’t spoil, and their energy wouldn’t dissipate. There was truly no better place to preserve them.
Outside, if tree fruits were left in the open after picking, they’d last at most a month or two. Even with the best current technology, they could be preserved for about a year at most. Beyond that, even if they didn’t rot, their energy would gradually fade.
After handling everything, Wen Qi took out some tree fruits and began making energy cubes. Soon, three sets of Grass-type energy cubes—basic, intermediate, and advanced—appeared before him, identical to before. The system confirmed they were all perfect quality.
However, each cube now contained ten times the life energy of the previous ones. If the life energy in the old cubes was one, now it was ten. In terms of life essence, you’d need to eat twenty thousand of the outside energy cubes to match the life energy in a single piece of life essence.
Though eating them slowly wasn’t as effective as using life essence all at once, it was still impressive. Life essence required points to exchange and was expensive, so it couldn’t be used often. This was like having a budget alternative, especially with the cubes made from small world tree fruits—ten times stronger, so maybe only two thousand would suffice.
But Wen Qi knew that while these energy cubes with life essence had higher energy and were easier to absorb, the absorption rate was slower than before. Previously, he might eat five cubes; now, he could probably manage only two or three at most.
Thinking this over, he suddenly considered giving these to Haakron. Haakron had a strong absorption ability, making these cubes more suitable for it. This way, Haakron’s growth rate would likely accelerate, matching that of ordinary Pokémon.
While Wen Qi was busy making energy cubes, the forest was buzzing with activity.
Last night, the leaders had brought back a huge haul of tree fruits, and the Pokémon were ecstatic. Since it was late, they decided to distribute the fruits the next day. This morning, at the crack of dawn, everyone eagerly began the distribution.
They’d thought the fight over the fruits would be the hard part, but dividing them turned out to be even more troublesome. All the leaders gathered around the mountain of tree fruits, their enticing aroma wafting through the air, captivating every Pokémon present.
The biggest issue now was how to split them. Beside the pile of fragrant fruits, the leaders argued fiercely.
Butterfree fluttered its wings and declared loudly, “I think we should divide them by numbers. Our group is large, and we put in a lot of effort, so we deserve more.”
Beedrill buzzed in agreement, “Right, more numbers mean more share—that’s fair.”
Raticate and Swellow nodded in support of Butterfree’s proposal.
Talonflame let out a disdainful cry, “Dividing by strength is the most appropriate! The strong should naturally get more resources to become even stronger and better protect our home.”
Primeape waved its fists and roared, “Yeah! Only the strong get more; the weak shouldn’t even dream of it!”
Arbok hissed sinisterly, “I agree with dividing by strength. The weak have no right to compete with us.”
Honchkrow cawed in support of the strength-based plan.
Then, a leader suggested dividing based on contributions in the recent battle. But most leaders were reluctant—only three had participated, making the scope too narrow. Still, everyone agreed those three could get a little extra.
“No way! Divide by numbers! Our group is huge—we can’t let everyone go hungry!” Butterfree stubbornly held its ground.
“Strength is key! Without it, having tree fruits is a waste!” Talonflame refused to budge.
Both sides stuck to their positions, refusing to yield, and the noise grew louder. Primeape scratched its head in frustration, jumping up and shouting, “Stop arguing! Strength-based division is right!”
Beedrile countered, “Numbers-based! So many of our friends are counting on it!”
Arbok slithered its massive body and threatened, “Keep this up, and no one gets anything!”
But the threat had no effect; the argument raged on. Swellow circled in the air, shouting at the top of its lungs, “Everyone, calm down and talk it out peacefully!”
Its voice was instantly drowned out by the fierce debate. Raticate paced anxiously on the ground, chattering nonstop, trying to get everyone to settle down, but no one paid it any mind.
The scene was utter chaos. The sweet scent of tree fruits hung in the air, but the leaders couldn’t agree on the distribution. The clamor echoed through the forest, showing no signs of stopping.