The soil of the planet where the empire stood was very rich and fertile. Throughout the planet, there were many types of soil that almost anything could be planted there. Because of this advantage, the empire's main income came from their rich variety of plantations. From fruits, vegetables, spices, and even herbs.
The empire transformed a very large piece of land into a plantation facility where they regulate which plant to grow in a cycle. It didn't even need to be tended personally by humans.
The empire made machines specialized in planting and gardening to tend for it.
It was practically a gold factory.
But, the focus on natural food caused the empire's technological advancement less progressive than other countries. The production of those technologies often affected the planet's fertility and they also lacked material resources.
The incompetent king wanted to trade with other countries. Their food resource in exchange for their technology. There was no problem with that idea itself. But the king overvalued the empire's plantation thinking that the countries on other planets would want the empire's food resource whatever the price was.
As result, the king priced the food source with a sky-high value on the negotiation. The exchange proposal wasn't balanced and didn't benefit the other party at all. Some of his advisors advised him to revise the requirement but the king didn't listen.
In this interstellar age, people from other planets were used to drink nutrient packs and eat nutrient bars. They didn't really care about the taste and natural food, though it wasn't very scarce or rare, was too expensive for average people.
The king, who never went out from the planet or sent any diplomat outside, didn't know this. His thought was only that the soil at other countries' planets was spoiled because of their industrial and technological advancement and thus they couldn't produce any natural food.
In the end, things didn't work out and the relationship between countries only continued between the merchants just as before.
Now, what would happen if the soil that they value so much became a wasteland where nothing could be grown?
Lixue stood at the entrance of the greenhouse. Behind him, the ground was scorched in four patches. The only proof that there were 4 guards who were burned there.
He took off his gloves before spreading open his palms and his hands were set ablaze. He wondered how his demonic energy was chilling to the bone, yet it produced a fire as hot as a star. It was truly peculiar.
With his blazing hands, he leisurely strolled around the plantation row after row and burned them one by one while he hummed out a tune. He also didn't forget to burn all the machines which instantly melted like ice.
The plants bloomed into a sea of red flaming flowers. The soil on the ground was charred and scorched as the flame spread as if there was fuel on the ground. In addition, every time he landed a step, he would leave blazing footprints.
The fire didn't only burn the soil on the surface. Like water being absorbed, the fire entered deep into the ground until it reached the more solid soil where, even without being burned, wouldn't be able to be used.
Slowly, the walls and ceiling of the facility heated up. If there was a normal human inside now, that person would already be cooked well-done.
Lixue spread out his wings and flew up. When he was close to the ceiling, the ceiling melted and made a hole big enough for him to fly out.
He looked down at the storage house of the plantation which they kept the seed stock and other equipment and unhesitatingly burned it down.
Now that he was done here, it was time to visit STRC. Though it wasn't as important as the plantation, it was still important for the empire's development.
STRC facility was quite large, and it was almost dawn. He decided to do it quickly.
He first entered the Technology Research and Development facility through the roof. He chose this first because there would be many chemicals in the Science Research and Development facility. Explosions would occur and it would alarm the people there.
Another reason was that the security system centralized here and when he interfered with it, it would also cause problems with all the security systems in the entire facility.
He burned down every floor quickly and systematically. However heat-resistant the material of the machines was, it couldn't withstand the fire and melted one by one.
Because he was still a low-level demon, he couldn't control his fire telekinetically yet and the output was also not that large. The technique to imbue his demonic energy and combust it could only work with living beings. He would need another 910 sacrifices to reach mid-level and gain the ability to control his fire telekinetically.
He met several security guards, but they were quickly burned before they could report it to their colleagues.
He finished in one hour and let the last security guard who found him call his colleagues before burning him. So, when he went to the Science R&D building, the security guards' focus was on the Tech R&D building.
In the Science R&D building, he also started from the top. When he reached the ground floor, he found a path leading to the basement with his demonic sense.
He melted the security door and went down where there was a single elevator. He couldn't enter it without an ID card, like every door in this facility. Thus, he melted the elevator door and floor before jumping down.
He landed with a loud bang and the sound echoed up in the narrow space. While he was free-falling, he didn't see any other door, so the elevator only has one destination at the very bottom.
He didn't immediately melt the door. He sensed many people were inside. The space was also very large. He smiled excitedly.
What's this? Did he find some big secret? He didn't even know the existence of this underground facility in his past life.
When he melted down the door, the people inside quickly noticed and were stunned when they looked at the elevator door. The door was specially made using a reinforced metal that could hold against the highest-grade plasma bomb, yet it melted so easily?!
Then, they saw a youth with silver hair walking into the lab. The sound of his steps echoed clearly throughout the underground lab.
Lixue looked around the room and saw a bunch of people wearing lab coats looking at him. Around them, many large glass tubes were containing an unknown blue liquid. And floating inside this liquid was children of various gender and age, one in each tube.
He already 'saw' it when he was using his demonic sense but seeing it directly with his own eyes still gave him a slight surprise.
"Who are you?! How did you get here?!" an old man, probably the leader, shouted to Lixue. He called one of the scientists and told him to call security.
"Who am I? I don't think you have any need to know. I got here of course through the elevator as you can see." Lixue spoke as he walked down the stairs to where the scientists gathered.
Suddenly, one of the tablets held by a scientist flew out of his hand.
"Ah–!" the scientist was caught off guard and tried to catch it back. On the screen was still the data of their experiment subject!
It came to Lixue just as he arrived on the ground. He grabbed it and was about to search through it when the old man shouted again.
"We can't let him read it! Shoot him!!"
The scientist promptly took energy guns out of their coat simultaneously. They rapidly shot at Lixue not knowing whether they hit him or not. Although they carried guns and could shoot them, they weren't trained.
The bullets hit the platform walls and stairs behind Lixue. With his demonic energy as a barrier, those bullets won't be capable of touching him. Lixue didn't move from his spot while he read and swept through all the data and files inside the tablet. The more he read the more surprised he was.
"You! Take 4 people and secure the experiments! You! Did you call the security guards?! Where are–!!"
The old scientist abruptly fell before finishing his sentence. The scientist he was talking to shriek in horror as he saw the team leader died with his neck snapped in half.
"Shouting this, shouting that. Your voice gives me a headache." Lixue complained as he clicked his tongue in annoyance.