HLM -Chapter 1300 The Giant Forest Maze

When Sheriff Smith came again, Wang Bo greeted him enthusiastically. “I’m giving you two police dogs, buddy. After you left, I talked to Eva about your request. She criticized me for being selfish.”

“Huh?” The sheriff looked completely confused.

Wang Bo continued, “Really. Eva said you’ve helped me so much—you’re practically my mentor on the path of policing—so I absolutely have to thank you. Giving you two dogs is nothing.”

“Eva truly is a virtuous wife!” The sheriff was overjoyed.

Wang Bo nodded. “Isn’t she? We’re planning to keep only two Rottweilers as companions for our daughter. The rest will be sent to the ranch. That way, if they can become police dogs, it’ll be a better future for them.”

The little Rottweilers had entered their hyperactive stage. They all looked about the same now, bursting with endless energy, yet they hadn’t developed the calm, imposing presence of adult Rottweilers.

Under these circumstances, keeping more than a dozen Rottweilers at home was practically a sin.

Worse still, they loved to chew. Giving them bones was useless—these little devils gnawed on furniture, appliances, anything they could get their teeth on. The villa was in constant chaos, like chickens flying and dogs jumping all day long.

However, these two dogs weren’t sent away immediately. Instead, Gerald took them to the animal training grounds for training.

And that was when the training grounds became lively again, because the two Rottweilers that Williams was taking away were also there. Once the four little troublemakers got together, they somehow created an uproar even bigger than the ten brothers back in the villa district.

At the villas, they only messed around by themselves. But at the training grounds, they saw groups of dwarf animals about their own size—and promptly started tormenting them.

When Wang Bo went to check on the training of the “rich-gold” unit, he had barely gotten out of the car when he saw a dwarf donkey charging toward him, screaming pitifully as it ran.

Close behind it was a Rottweiler, its short legs pumping furiously as it tumbled and scrambled in pursuit.

Right on the path leading to Wang Bo, another Rottweiler suddenly leapt out of the bushes.

The little donkey was terrified. It slammed on the brakes and turned to run the other way, only to see a chubby Rottweiler pop out in front of it after just a few steps. Completely out of options, its brain failing to keep up, it thought it had fallen into an encirclement of thousands of troops. Terrified, it collapsed flat onto the ground.

Another Rottweiler appeared from behind. Seeing this, Sheriff Smith, who was watching the training, said smugly, “Well? Aren’t they smart? They already know how to set up ambushes.”

Watching his dwarf animals being bullied so miserably, Wang Bo was furious. “Smart? This is nonsense! Is this how you train them?”

The sheriff walked over and sat down. When the two Rottweilers saw Wang Bo’s fierce expression, they immediately turned around and burrowed into the sheriff’s arms, sneaking glances at him out of the corners of their eyes.

Pointing at them, Wang Bo threatened, “If you dare bully other little animals again, I’ll call your mother over to deal with you.”

The sheriff said unhappily, “Wang, you’re a father now. Your educational approach is wrong. You can’t scare children—you have to encourage them. You should be encouraging them.”

“Dream on. I’m a strict father. I will never spoil my kids!”

The sheriff replied, “See? You lack experience as a father, and even more so in education. Kids are the naughtiest at this stage—that’s their nature. You need to protect their nature.”

The little Rottweilers wagged their tails happily, squirming around in his arms. Now they weren’t even afraid of Wang Bo’s cold face anymore.

Seeing this, Wang Bo felt utterly depressed. “Hurry up and take them away. You’ll suffer for it later. Let me tell you an eternal truth—spoiling a child is like killing a child!”

Sheriff Smith was smug. “This is respecting nature! Shit—stop chewing my hand!”

In late September, Wang Bo drew a Heart of the Jungle. He thought it would be like the Heart of the Mountains and planned to use it up in the mountains.

But it turned out this heart couldn’t be placed there. He found an open area on the western side of his territory and put it down instead. That worked—the item activated, and a vast region quickly turned a pale green.

With the Heart of the Jungle in place, and it being spring, Wang Bo decided to plant some trees.

When Bowen heard about his plan, he said oddly, “Boss, why do you jump from one idea to another? Arbor Day has already passed—why plant trees now?”

Arbor Day in Sunset Town was in mid-July. Aside from the first year, when large numbers of trees were planted along the roads, the festival hadn’t really served any purpose since.

Wang Bo said, “It takes ten years to grow a tree and a hundred years to cultivate a person. The earlier you plant trees, the better. It’s never too late.”

Bowen said, “But the environment in Sunset Town is already great. Do we really need to plant trees to improve it?”

Wang Bo replied, “There’s no best—only better. The environment is the foundation of life for future generations. We should put in more effort and leave them a beautiful world.”

Bowen sighed. “Boss, speak human language.”

Wang Bo snapped back, “Cut the crap. Go buy saplings and get to work!”

After activating the Heart of the Jungle, he began considering what trees to plant. After some research, he decided on paulownia trees.

Paulownia is one of the most popular and versatile timbers in the European and Asian markets. It can be used to make structural components for houses, aircraft parts, plywood, solid wood furniture, musical instruments, model-making materials, barrels, beehives, handicrafts, gift boxes, storage boxes—or, after preliminary processing, turned into charcoal, pulp, and more.

In New Zealand, this tree can also be used to make watercraft equipment, surfboards, and furniture.

Wang Bo chose paulownia partly because it grows extremely fast. Poplar trees are already considered fast-growing, but a paulownia that’s only a little over ten years old is thicker and sturdier than a poplar of the same age.

He had seen pictures online—towering trunks with leaves as big as giant fans, perfect for providing shade in summer.

And when it blooms, the crown of the tree becomes a vast expanse of purple. In autumn, when the wind blows, from afar it looks as if purple blossoms are drifting down like falling words of flowers.

Besides paulownia, he also chose kōwhai.

Kōwhai flowers are also very beautiful and are widely regarded as one of New Zealand’s national flowers—though this is a folk belief rather than an official designation. Officially, New Zealand has never declared a national flower.

Another point was that kōwhai has high economic value. Its wood is extremely hard. Historically, the Māori used its trunks to make canoe paddles and axe handles. The sap extracted from the trunk can be applied to wounds to reduce swelling, relieve pain, and prevent inflammation.

Thus, in late September, large batches of saplings arrived, and Wang Bo led his people to start digging holes and planting trees.

When Wendy heard that he was opening up a woodland area, he came over to join the fun. “Wang, if you’re just planting trees, what’s the point? You should use the trees to create a maze—like the giant forest mazes of the Amazon.”

The Amazon Basin contains one of the world’s most expansive tropical rainforests. “Giant forest maze” is a nickname some explorers give to certain woodland areas.

Such forests often have towering trees and dense growth. Inside, the environment is dark and humid, and people who enter find it hard to distinguish direction—natural labyrinths.