Chapter 133

"Esteemed Mr. Fairy, this is a gift for our first meeting." Li Zhiyuan pushed several sugar beans through the gaps in the cage.

The fairy eyed the beans with suspicion and retorted, "Foolish human, I will not fall for your tricks! Take your hypocritical smile and get these out of my sight!"

"What must I do for you to believe me?" Li Zhiyuan asked, his expression filled with sincerity.

His demeanor was impeccable; it was as if he genuinely wished to earn the creature's trust. The fairy could not detect a shred of malice from the human before him. The only thing he could perceive was a sense of concern—a deep care for his physical well-being. A fairy’s intuition did not lie; this human truly bore no ill will. Perhaps this human could be trusted.

"Let me out of here, and I will trust you," the fairy suggested tentatively.

"I cannot; I do not have that authority," Li Zhiyuan replied with a shake of his head.

The fairy was not in the least bit surprised, responding with disdain, "You can't even manage such a small thing, yet you want my trust? Stay away from me! Don't think you're getting anything out of me!"

The fairy bared his teeth and clawed at the air toward the surrounding researchers. A few of the researchers lowered their heads and began recording data.

[Strong on the outside but weak on the inside; bullies the soft-hearted and fears the tough.]

"Although I cannot set you free, I still wish to lighten your burden." Li Zhiyuan reached his finger into the cage, picked up one of the sugar beans he had just placed there, and, under the fairy's puzzled gaze, popped it into his mouth and began to chew gently.

"Do you know? When humans are under stress, we secrete stress hormones, specifically glucocorticoids. These act directly on certain taste receptor cells. Under stressful conditions, it affects how these cells respond to sweetness or other tastes. Among them, sweetness is the most affected by stress; eating sweets when mentally tense provides significant relief."

"What are you talking about?" The fairy frowned, completely unable to grasp what the human was saying. Although they were speaking in the common tongue, many of the words sounded incredibly awkward.

"Do you know what sweetness is?" Li Zhiyuan smiled slightly.

High-intelligence creatures share a common trait: curiosity—the desire to explore unknown things and information. Though he was unclear about the anatomy and habits of magical creatures like fairies, as long as their intelligence was equal to or greater than that of humans, the impulse to explore the unknown would naturally exist.

"Of course I know. It’s the taste of nectar," the fairy nodded.

Nearby researchers immediately recorded this information.

[Possesses a sense of taste; confirmed capable of perceiving sweetness.]

"This item is called a sugar bean. It is a food that requires an extremely complex production process, involving ten steps including pressing, clarification, evaporation, boiling, crystallization, separation, drying, screening, packaging, and storage," Li Zhiyuan explained with a straight face, pointing at the beans scattered in the cage. "In this land, it is something only human nobles can afford to eat."

*So precious?*

The fairy looked suspicious, staring at a sugar bean on the floor that was half the size of his own head. He had already been led astray.

Li Zhiyuan wore a kind smile and pushed a sugar bean toward the fairy. "You can try one. It isn't poisoned." As he spoke, he took another bean and popped it into his mouth to show there was nothing wrong with them.

Eventually, the fairy could not resist the temptation. He picked up a sugar bean and took a small bite. It was as if he had crossed a point of no return.

"Delicious! It truly is something only human nobles deserve to eat."

[Possesses no excretory organs, yet is capable of consuming food.]

Li Zhiyuan smiled and explained, "Do you feel a little less tense now?"

"I suppose I do," the fairy said, nibbling on the bean while looking at the kind human before him with wonder.

Li Zhiyuan continued, "Stress stems from survival, and the most basic requirement for survival is food, which provides energy. The most direct way for the body to monitor whether it has sufficient energy is by checking blood glucose levels. Sweets are the most efficient at raising blood glucose. Therefore, when the tongue tastes sweetness, it can predict and alert the brain that blood sugar is about to rise."

The sweetness was only part of the reason; more importantly, the exchange between the two had effectively eliminated the unknown.

"You speak very strangely," the fairy said, his guard gradually lowering. Although the human before him was still keeping him locked up, he had at least refrained from plucking his wings like the others had. "You always come out with such odd words."

"They aren't strange; they are simply our human exploration of objective reality." Li Zhiyuan shook his head slightly, then asked in an almost imperceptible tone, "Do you usually need to eat? I mean, consume food? You haven't eaten anything for the past few days."

According to the information provided by Aimeiya and the rumors collected from various sources, fairies were magical creatures born of heaven and earth, possessing intelligence equal to humans, a generally kind disposition, and an extremely high affinity for spirituality. Using supernatural power was second nature to them; they had no need to construct the so-called "spell corridors."

Of course, what drew the most attention from Xuanlü was their human-level intelligence and their capacity for communication. This was the very reason Xuanlü had not subjected the fairy to dissection experiments, but had instead attempted to communicate.

The ability to communicate meant the possibility of cooperation and coexistence. For a new species—one with intelligence, the ability to communicate, and a tendency toward kindness—the correct approach was mutually beneficial cooperation. As for studying their bodies, there were plenty of ways to do so without resorting to the most extreme measures.

Of course, if they ever encountered a species with an evil tendency that could not be communicated or cooperated with, Xuanlü would resort to the harshest methods. For example, dissection experiments, studying weaknesses, and attempting to create targeted genetic weapons (including but not limited to viruses or lethal fungi). They would learn as much as possible to ensure that, should the species become an enemy in the future, they would not suffer from a lack of intelligence.

When conflict erupted, they would use the most ruthless means to destroy the opponent. In the face of hostile non-human species, Xuanlü would have few qualms; they would certainly strike to kill. Unless the other party possessed an appearance and values highly similar to humans, like the elves, they would be exterminated or sent to the lab if they resembled something like a green goblin.

They could hardly be expected to seek peaceful coexistence if the other side was already shouting for blood, could they?

"Hmph! Of course I don't need to."