Ball of Nothing

Zero inhaled his food quickly almost without tasting. On the other hand, a certain vampire ate with gusto. Ruth took his time to savour every new dish placed in front of him. As per Zero's instructions, Coux used everything in her disposal to create all sorts of food that the vampire couldn't eat before. There were entrees made from hearts, tails, roots all cooked using unheard of spices in the abyss. Ruth seemed as lively as ever even after the fifth plate so Zero decided to let the warrior enjoy his newly acquired ability a little longer.

Hua Tuo was staring at Ruth with both worry and astonishment. Zero noticed that look and dragged his teacher away into one of the guest rooms before placing some simple soundproofing spells.

"What was that?" he asked his apprentice. He never saw a vampire inhaling food the way Ruth did. Honestly, it was unnerving. It only made the physician nervous to know how great Ruth's actual appetite was. What if he used too much power and goes into a bloodthirsty frenzy? How many people in the village would be able to escape unscathed? Perhaps it was safer to leave him with lord Baal.

Zero grinned. "It's a reward from the system after completing the quest. I can't say the same for other vampires but Ruth is now able to eat just about anything without getting allergic reactions. The skill's name is "Strong Stomach" and it allows him to digest anything he eats. I heard his clan got wiped out because they ate cooked food."

Hua Tuo blinked and shook his head. "Vampires are not naturally allergic to cooked food of any sort. I did some researching and discovered something that may be of advantage to your business."

"Business? Shouldn't you be telling Coux that?"

Hua Tuo shook his head. "It's easier for me to explain it to you. Have you seen how the abyss is like outside of the domains?"

"No," Zero shook his head. "Baal and everyone wouldn't allow me out until the trials are over. There is still the Redemption event before the trial is truly over. Why? Is there a problem with what's outside of the domain?"

Hua Tuo sighed. It was a good thing he had the intergalactic communicator for times like this. Really, Steve has outdone himself once again. Cameras were very useful things. Back in those days when he was still a physician during the warring period, they had to paint what they saw. How accurate the image was depended on the artist.

Needless to say, Zero was fairly impressed when his teacher brought out the familiar looking device to show him some pictures.

"This is what caused the poisoning. It's not so much about the allergy although I tested some of Ruth's blood for adverse reactions against many types of food. He is allergic to some food but they're not commonly found in the abyss."

The young doctor squinted at the blurry image. "That doesn't look very good. Why are all the dead creatures turning black? Is that moss?"

The physician shook his head. While fungi tended to grow on the decomposing bodies of dead creatures back on Earth, the same didn't happen in Hell. There was simply no way ordinary plants could survive in this harsh environment.

"Do you see that black fog? That's the cause of it. It's called miasma, a collection of negative energy that spreads like poison, killing and corrupting any living thing. The stronger creatures, plants and demons outside of the domain's protection can withstand breathing it. However, once they die and their bodies become unable to resist the miasma it takes over their bodies and corrupt it."

Zero frowned. "Why doesn't this miasma affect domains? I didn't see anything like that in town or at the Academy."

"That's because of the Demon Lord's protection. Mana counters miasma for some mysterious reason. Nobody has a way to confirm what this miasma is but it slowly turns a person insane and chips away at the soul. Buddha suspects that miasma is actually chaos energy seeping through the cracks in the abyss' plane from the void."

The brunet studied the picture closely. "Is there as a sample? I would like to confirm it. Mii can appraise it if there is a sample."

The doctor looked apprehensive. Knowing that it would be tough to convince his teacher, Zero smiled and pointed out that Buddha could watch just in case something went wrong.

"Alright, I'll talk to lord Baal and arrange for a sample to be collected. What will you do if it is caused by the chaos energy leaking through the void?"

Zero thought over it for a while. Truth be told, he had an idea the moment Hua Tuo shared with him about the problem. However, he didn't know if it would be a good solution. After all, scarcity creates demand. On the other hand, Zero truly wanted to help those living outside of domains. Even though he couldn't help Ruth's clan, he could still help Qin Yun's. There were many clans that would benefit from Zero's creation if his idea worked. The only problem was that it took a lot of resources to create that special Lotus he gave Buddha. If mana countered chaos energy, he would need a lot of mana generators that didn't run out quickly, if at all.

"You mentioned that mana counters chaos energy?"

The physician nodded. "Do you have any ideas? It's not possible to create any more domains or extend the territory."

Zero shook his head. "That wouldn't be necessary. If we can confirm it, I'll need to discuss it with Wiser and Coux."

"Wiser? Are you planning on inventing something again?"

The smile Zero gave his teacher made Hua Tuo go into code red again.

"Don't worry," he told his teacher. "I have the perfect job for the perfect person if things are what they really are."

***

"He wants to what?" Baal nearly fell out of his chair.

Coux didn't comment about his undignified behaviour. In fact, if she was hearing it for the first time, she might have done the same.

"Zero wants to use this as a card against Mammon to write off his loans and gain investments for the business."

"He's crazy! This is beyond risky... if Uriel knows about it or any of the archangels... it will be another war. The Spring of Vitality belongs to nobody."

The half-succubus didn't comment. It was true. She understood the severity of the situation but she also saw how Zero's plan could benefit a lot of people while raking in that money. In fact, as a business person, she was all for the idea. What's rarer was how Hua Tuo was willing to put away his distaste for the Wizard God and discuss for better terms.

With two very renowned Sage Gods backing Zero, the outcome of the discussion was anyone's guess.

"Mass producing lotus flowers... wouldn't Buddha complain?"

"Not really," Coux shrugged. "He's giving Buddha copyright fees for doing so. Also, Buddha will be in charge of logistics. The flowers need to be changed and replaced once every hundred years. Merlin will take care of production. Apparently, his long lost magical golem was recently recovered. Zero is returning Robo Mike to its rightful owner under the terms of having Robo Mike contribute to the farming and housekeeping at the Spring as a part-time worker. Hua Tuo intends to regularly visit Hell to expand his medical horizons and record the effects of the mana generating flowers against miasma."

No, scratch that. It isn't two but three Sage Gods. If Buddha meddled, it would be challenging for Heaven to intervene. Zero planned it well and as a Demon Lord, Baal had no reasons to object. In fact, he'd have to support Zero's proposal even if it meant another war against Heaven. Baal hated troublesome things with his existence. Zero was making him contemplate pretending his friend doesn't exist or taking another hundred-year long nap.

"Zero also said that if the negotiation is successful, Merlin will lend Robo Mike to help you with your work on the days he has to check on the mana flowers."

Baal was sold immediately. Like a fish chasing after the bait, Baal fell hard for Zero's trap. Despite knowing that his crafty friend had planned this deliberately, it was an offer the Demon Lord couldn't say no to. Oh how he loved and hated Zero!

"He has to sign a magic contract for this! I'm going to nail this stupid negotiation. Fix an appointment with Mammon for me and let's get this done. Call Gabriel or Raphael or whoever, we're going to start this farm."

***

"And...?"

Zero smiled and held out a victory sign. "He said yes!"

Hua Tuo laughed at the cheeky grin and gave his apprentice a pat on the head. "All that's left would be to handle the angels coming over."

Zero blinked. "I made plans for that too... Heaven isn't managed by the Angels, right? Mana flowers will be useful for any Gods who are managing a growing planet. Sedna and Gaia require a lot of mana to maintain an ecosystem. They're often unable to leave their planets because of it and it's not very effective to use Isis' time freezing for long because of the side effects. Mana flowers solve that problem. With such a huge demand for these flowers, how can the angels refuse? in fact, I'm leaving the price negotiations to Mammon. they would be arguing over the prices more than if starting a farm should be allowed. Buddha doesn't sell his lotus seeds to anyone in Heaven, they have no leads but they're free to experiment farming other plants if they wish to."

Wiser looked exhausted. They worked hard to press for this business deal just in time before the Redemption Day. While the rest of them busied away with the Redemption event at Belles and Begonia, the higher-ups would be taking care of the new farm negotiations.

"I'm too tired to even eat now... we haven't tested the prototype properly. Would they be alright at the demonstration without me?"

Zero nodded with all the seriousness he could. "We need you more at the Redemption Event. There is nobody more capable of crowd control. You have to be our coordinator. Once the first group leaves, the next has to come in. The paths shouldn't be blocked for smooth traffic and if it is, I'll be counting on you to inform Sekkin or whoever is on patrol duty. Ruth will help out so we should be fine."

Wiser groaned. Ever since he came to the abyss, it had been true Hell for him. The work was difficult and never-ending. The culture was shockingly different, the food sometimes didn't sit well with his human stomach and not to mention, his sleep cycle was out of whack. He had long grown numb to the obvious power difference between him and the demons. If he thought that Half Moon village was a place for ridiculously strong monsters to gather at, he was wrong. Just in the past few days living with Baal, he'd seen a good number of Gods. Many humans didn't have the opportunity to see any God until they die. Even so, they would probably only see King Yama.

Hua Tuo gave Wiser a pat on the shoulder and a thumbs up for encouragement before leaving to get some sleep. He would be there helping redeemed demons get to Earth. His shift partner was no other than Buddha who was actually happy to receive the gate greeter role. As strange as it sounded, the customer service job suited the Sage God of Enlightenment to a tee.

Once everyone was out for the night, Zero secretly went to his table and studied the blueprint that Wiser had done up. It wasn't perfect but Zero was extremely pleased with it. If only Raj and the other lab members were present, they would have made it into something terrifying. Compared to the Pigeon Cannon, Wiser's "All-Year-Round Harvester" lacked the oomph he was looking for.

The logic of growing mana flowers was fairly simple. Zero had some first-hand experience with it. The only tricky part was the timing. You throw the magic seeds into the pond and wait. Once the lotus blooms, you pull the whole plant out by the roots. If it wasn't pulled it out when the flower has fully bloomed, it will wither and turn into a fruit.

Wiser's invention uses the mana generated by the Spring and flowers to power up. It proceeds to measure the mana in the surrounding to decide when a batch should be harvested. There was a lot of mathematics involved that Zero didn't want to get into. The strategist-scientist spent many hours in the library counting things Zero didn't understand before he came up with the perfect formula. It was tested in a simulated ground and the harvester reacted to the fluctuating mana levels as it should but Wiser wasn't too sure if it would work as accurately when the flowers came into play. Using Buddha's one and only mana generating Lotus as a guide wasn't an accurate measure according to Wiser. Zero could only nod in agreement pretending he understood what the scientist was complaining about.

Well, it wasn't going to be his problem soon. Baal and Coux will be taking it to Mammon in the morning and once that passes the pitch, it's going to be used as a weapon in the war zone called boardroom meeting.