Gardener of Eden

Chapter 184: Chapter 184: Further Expansion

Inside the soundproof executive lounge of the Imperial flagship, thousands of feet above a sea of clouds, the heavy hum of runic engines was reduced to a soft, soothing vibration. Emperor Aurelius poured a glass of aged spirit, pushing a crystal tumbler across the dark mahogany table toward Rowan.

Rowan adjusted the brim of his Enchanted Straw Hat, a calm, discerning smirk playing on his lips as he digested the Emperor’s offer.

Doubling Sunny Vale from 25 acres to 50 acres was a stroke of absolute strategic perfection. He had just acquired the Fragment of the Origin Earth Pulse, a legendary relic capable of purging toxicity and radiating primordial earth vitality across a ten-mile radius. Expanding to fifty acres meant he wouldn’t have to crowd his existing crops or sacrifice soil quality; he could immediately design specialized, high-density cultivation zones back at the estate.

”Your Majesty’s timing is immaculate,” Rowan replied smoothly, accepting the glass with a polite nod. ”With the Fragment of the Origin Earth Pulse resting in my spatial storage, fifty acres can be completely transformed into a slag-free primordial sanctuary within days of our return.”

Aurelius leaned back, his sharp eyes flashing with keen interest. ”So you intend to anchor the Swiss pulse stone directly beneath Sunny Vale’s central ley-line?”

”Precisely,” Rowan said, his golden-amber eyes gleaming with quiet ambition. ”The pulse stone will continuously scrub the soil and atmosphere across the entire expanded estate. With fifty acres, I can allocate twenty acres strictly for commercial high-yield crops—our Sun-Dappled Tomatoes, Primordial Dew Lettuce, and high-grade grains—while reserving the remaining thirty acres for specialized medicinal herbs, high-purity animal feed, and rare ancestral relics like our new Silphium Seedling.”

Addressing the Emperor’s point regarding foreign allies, Rowan set his glass down gently, his tone turning crisp and business-minded.

”As for supplying our international allies,” Rowan continued, ”Eden International will gladly honor those requests, provided all transactions flow through our official storefront and diplomatic quotas. We won’t just sell them food, Your Majesty. By supplying allied realms with uncorrupted produce, we are giving their elite cultivators, court mages, and royals something modern alchemy can never offer: permanent meridian health and core longevity. We earn generous compensation, and in return, their strategic survival becomes entirely dependent on Sol-Aethel’s agricultural output.”

Emperor Aurelius let out a rich, booming laugh, swirling the amber liquid in his glass with immense satisfaction.

”You truly are a mastermind, Rowan,” Aurelius chuckled, shaking his head in delight. ”Most young men coming off a global championship win would demand military titles, grand estates, or vaults of gold. You take fifty acres of dirt and turn it into a geopolitical leash that binds sovereign nations to our realm.”

”Gold dries up, and war titles fade, Your Majesty,” Rowan smiled softly, a calm confidence radiating from his posture. ”But as long as the world hungers for vitality and purity, the earth will always rule.”

”Consider the imperial land deeds finalized before our ship even touches down in Sol-Aethel City,” Emperor Aurelius declared, his expression warming with complete trust. ”Sunny Vale is officially fifty acres. Expand your domain, Grand Champion—the Crown will stand firmly behind every single harvest you plant.”

***

Excusing himself with a polite bow, Rowan stepped out of the executive suite, the soundproof doors closing smoothly behind him with a soft pneumatic click.

Returning to his seat in the main cabin, he passed by Jeremy and the tactical team, who were quietly reviewing combat logs from the tournament. Sliding into his window seat, Rowan leaned back against the plush leather headrest and gently pulled the brim of his Enchanted Straw Hat low over his eyes to block out the high-altitude sunlight filtering through the clouds.

Closing his eyes, he let his mind map out the blueprint for Eden International’s next phase of growth.

Fifty acres...

Doubling the size of Sunny Vale meant doubling their agricultural footprint, but it also meant a total overhaul of the estate’s underlying infrastructure. The first and most critical task upon landing would be adjusting the domain’s spirit arrays. Covering a full fifty acres meant expanding the defensive and environmental containment barriers to ensure every square foot received the exact same density of uncorrupted vitality.

Fortunately, the key to powering that massive expansion was already resting inside his spatial storage: the Fragment of the Origin Earth Pulse.

By anchoring the ancient petrified slab directly into the central ley-line beneath Sunny Vale, its natural spirit-veins would act as the beating heart of the enlarged territory. It would amplify his [Breath of Eden - Lv. 5], continuously scrubbing the soil and atmosphere across all fifty acres without straining his personal core energy.

However, a fifty-acre primordial sanctuary brought new operational challenges.

”We can’t rely on our current small staff to manage fifty acres of high-tier crops on a commercial scale,” Rowan thought silently, a calculating smirk playing on his lips.

He would need to hire a fresh wave of farmhands. But unlike standard agricultural operations, Eden International couldn’t just hire anyone off the street. Every worker would need to undergo strict background checks and mana purity screening. A single worker carrying contaminated body-refining slag or attempting to sneak in synthetic chemical growth agents could ruin an entire plot of sensitive herbs like the Silphium. He would likely have to ask Senior Jeremy and Chef Julian to help vet candidate harvesters through trusted, high-grade Imperial channels.

Then there was the matter of security.

Winning the global stage meant every covert syndicate, foreign intelligence network, and envious noble house on Earth now had their eyes locked on Sunny Vale. A simple perimeter fence and standard estate guards were no longer enough to protect fifty acres of legendary, slag-free produce. Squad 07 would need to be integrated into a permanent, high-tier defensive grid surrounding the expanded property, combining tactical runic turrets with domain monitoring arrays to instantly catch any uninvited guests.

The road ahead was demanding, but as the private flagship smoothly cut through the sky toward Sol-Aethel City, Rowan felt a deep, steady sense of satisfaction. The foundation was built, the global authority was established, and the land was expanding.

Breathing in the calm, rhythmic hum of the airship’s engines, Rowan allowed his mind to grow quiet, drifting into a peaceful, well-deserved rest as the imperial vessel brought them ever closer to home.