Chapter 13: High-risk

Only authorized personnel could enter the 300th floor of the tower. Under normal circumstances, the elevator would only stop at the 299th floor, regardless of whether you pressed the 300th floor.

Also, I just found out that when someone goes up to the 300th floor, people going to other floors are automatically barred from riding that same elevator going up. They can only use other elevators or wait until the elevator comes back from the 300th floor. So no one can really sneak a peak in that area of the tower without any special access.

It makes sense, though. They have good reason to tighten security, given the presence of rare flowers in the reception area.

Then I remembered Mr. Handsome Guy waltzing in like he owned the place. 'So that means that guy has special access to this place too.' I wonder what the criteria are to get special access to this place.

"So as a caretaker, your job is to analyze plant data. Later, I'll show you how to control the weather system in each section of the garden. By the way, you have to wear certain suits in certain areas," Rebecca explained as I stood beside her, perplexed.

I thought it was a caretaking job? Why is there some plant analysis to do?

"Don't worry, I'll be supervising and teaching you everything, so it won't really be that hard. The basic rules for entering the garden are all that you need to remember right now. One, respect the plants. The majority of the plants in this garden are among the rarest of the rare. Some are even believed to have gone extinct eons ago and have only been revived thanks to Professor Palmer's painstaking effort. Second, the plants are the masters of this place. This is their habitat, and you are only a lowly visitor, or, in your case, a lowly caretaker."

Not gonna lie, the word "lowly" kinda hurt. It appeared that I had a lower standing in this tower than a plant.

"Third, you can't kill any of the bugs inside—even the mosquitoes, as they are very essential parts of the plant's ecosystem. And lastly, do not bring anything that may contaminate the natural environment of the plants. That means no phones, bug sprays, cosmetics, nail polish, food, etc. You also have to wear specially made, environmentally friendly clothing when going inside. Don't worry, I've already prepared some customized pieces for you."

We headed to another door next to the reception area. It was a small and narrow hallway. We walked in the hallway for about a minute before we reached its end. The hallway opened to a stone path with Bermuda grass on each side.

"The hallway is filled with molecular chemicals that sterilize our clothing and remove every remnant of pollution we carried in our bodies," Rebecca explained.

I looked back onto the hallway. It looked like any other normal hallway, with a stone wall on each side. I didn't notice any chemical odors or other indications that we were surrounded by chemicals.

Amazing!

As we walked further down the stone path, I could see various common plants around. Yet, I couldn't see any of the rare plants she was talking about.

There are benches scattered all over the place. It's more like a picnic area than a botanical garden.

"This is the resting area. Professor Palmer often comes here to rest between work. Of course, you can also come here to rest in between your work. There is a table over there in case you come here to savor some tea. You can use those tea plants near the table to brew some," she said, pointing towards the southern direction of the resting area.

"And this is the office," she said as she opened the only door to our left.

The first thing I saw were four beanbags scattered all over the place. There are four single beds, two on the left side of the room and two on the right. At the center is a wooden table surrounded by comfy-looking sofas.

A giant idea board was plastered on the wall, with various notes and calculations written on it. Lastly, four L-shaped office desks, each with three computer monitors sitting on top, are placed across from each other.

"There are two other students who work here aside from you. However, Max and Landon left for an assignment a few months ago and haven't returned yet. Thankfully, you came, or I would have gone crazy from the silence."

Max and Landon. So those are the other students that passed the trial. I wonder what kind of people they are.

"By the way, the second table on the left is your work area. The one in front of yours is Landon's. I have uploaded some data you might need when working here. It includes information about all the plants inside the garden. You should check and study it later."

I took a closer look at my work area. Seeing it made me feel like I'm really already working in the industry and am no longer studying.

"And that door behind our desks is Professor Palmer's lab. Come, I'll introduce you to him."

I followed behind Rebecca as she went inside. Behind that seemingly normal-looking door was a giant lab with various plant specimens placed inside lines and lines of glass. You could see various scientific research instruments all over.

The entire place smelled like a mixture of earthy plants and various chemicals.

On one side of the lab, a man with his back facing us was looking inside a microscope. After a minute, he looked up and wrote something on the reversible whiteboard beside him, then went to look at something on the microscope again.

The man was wearing a white lab coat, and his hair was a mixture of white and black and extremely messy.

"Professor Palmer!" Rebecca called. The professor simply waved his hand in response, not bothering to look at us.

Rebecca tugged on my arm. "Come, let's wait for him outside. He won't talk to us unless he's done with what he's doing. I'll explain the system of the botanical garden while we're at it."

We went out of the professor's lab and waited on the sofa outside his office. Rebecca took the time to explain the botanical garden's controlled weather system to me.

Each part of the garden is sectioned based on a different weather system. That is why there are certain sections where you need to wear specific gear.

I'm pretty sure that Rebecca could see my eyes twinkling as I listened to her explanation. I can't wait to go and explore this botanical garden Rebecca is talking about!

"So she's the one who passed the trial." The two of us turned toward the direction of the voice. A man, probably in his late 40s, came out from inside the laboratory.

The man was tall. He's probably as tall as Mr. Handsome Guy. He had tan skin and a fit build. He was wearing glasses with an extremely thick rim. Dark circles are visible under his eyes. He looked like what a sleep-deprived scientist would look like.

"So you did pull an all-nighter last night even when I told you to take some rest." Rebecca had a stern look on her face as she looked at the haggard-looking professor.

"Before you get angry, I really was planning to sleep, but I suddenly made progress with the St. Helena Olive," the professor said defensively, while raising his hands as if in defense.

There is visible fear in his eyes as he looks at Rebecca, whose eyes are turning to a slit.

"I was filled with excitement and forgot the time. However, with my research now complete, when I present it to the association, I'm sure they will beg me to take the two remaining seeds of the St. Helena Olive that they have been keeping, hehe." The smile on the professor's face looked extremely creepy.

"Yeah, yeah, you've completed your research. Took you long enough, by the way. Now you're barred from stepping inside your lab until all the bags under your eyes are gone," Rebecca said dryly, as if the professor hadn't just done something essential to humanities innovation!

The look on the professor's and my faces is just full of utter disbelief. It's official: This woman is as weird as Genevieve and Erin!

"Anyways, Professor Palmer, this is Lizelle Laurier, our new hired caretaker. Lizelle, meet Professor Roger Palmer, the genius behind the existence of the Dragon's Garden, the only botanical garden with five different controlled weather systems in the entire world," she said, completely ignoring our reaction.

"It's nice to meet you, Professor Palmer," I said with extreme reverence and awe after composing myself.

I have finally understood why a lot of students idolize him. To have such achievements at his age, one could only be called a genius!

The professor faked a cough to compose himself as well. "Ehem! The pleasure is mine," he said in a business tone.

The two of us shook hands. I could feel the thick callous in his hands from handling soil and various plants. It's the result of extreme hard work and dedication in his field.

I have so much respect for such hands.

The professor stared at me for a few minutes after we let go of each other's hands. It made me feel uncomfortable, so I began to fidget from where I was standing.

"How many books related to plants and botany have you read?" he suddenly asked.

"Including e-books?" I asked back.

"Yes."

"50 789 books," I replied.

Professor Palmer did not respond for a few seconds. He was scratching his chin as if in deep thought.

I suddenly sensed an impending doom as the hairs on my neck suddenly began to rise.

"Rebecca, give her full authority on section four. Tell her how to use the system. After that, you are not to help her take care of that place."

"Huh!" Rebecca and I exclaimed in synchrony.

"Little girl, you did well reading that much. But the lack of callous in your hand tells me you lack practical experience. Let's see if you'll be able to utilize that vast knowledge stuck in your brain and put it to practical use," he chuckled. "Rebecca, remember to give her the relevant data for Section 4 and have her start tomorrow. I'm sure a night will be enough for you to memorize all those data, right?" he added meaningfully.

I fell silent for a moment and studied the eccentric professor.

"What if I fail?" I asked.

"Then those rare plants will die, and it will be your fault," he said, laughing maniacally. "Oh, and by the way, most of those plants are ones that have long gone extinct in the wild. If they die, their species will become completely extinct," he said calmly as he walked back into his lab.

"Hey! " screamed Rebecca. "Didn't I tell you, you old hardheaded man, that you're barred from your lab?" She said this while grabbing Professor Palmer's collar. "If you overworked yourself, you'd really die young! That would pose a big problem for the academy and the field of botany. "So you need to sleep and live longer so you can serve the plant research until you're old!" Rebecca nags the professor as she drags him somewhere.

Meanwhile, I remained standing there, questioning my existence. Gone was my joy at receiving a gold coin for completing the tower. If I kill any of those rare plants, one gold coin would probably not be enough to pay as compensation.

This is literally a high-risk job! Now I want to give up before I even started T.T.