HLM – Chapter 866 Emo Chickens

After handing over the police dogs, Wang Bo had nothing else pressing to do.

By now, Sunset Town had plenty of places for leisure and entertainment, so even in his free time, he never felt bored.

During work hours, he would handle administrative matters around town. At noon, he’d stroll around looking for something tasty to eat. After work in the evening, he either accompanied Eva for a jog along the lakeside and watched the sunset, or went to check on the restoration of the Path of Birth Flowers.

During this time, he approached Charlie to help him find a drug that could make someone sleep for thirty hours without harming the body. Charlie asked him why he needed it, but Wang Bo refused to explain, only insisting that Charlie must find it.

On top of that, his luck remained good. In mid-December, he drew another Garden Heart.

Normally, having already owned one, drawing a second should have been frustrating. But when he tried it, he found that this Garden Heart could be placed in the Birth Flower plot, and it could extend its influence to the entire plot.

With the magical spring providing irrigation and the Garden Heart providing nourishment, the Birth Flowers, which had been heavily damaged by storms, recovered quickly. Now the roadside was once again a riot of blooms.

With this experience, Wang Bo decided to create a garden. The Garden Heart had been in use for some time, and if he didn’t make a garden now, it would likely become a paradise for weeds and wildflowers.

However, the garden design provided by Leyton Group was impractical—it required enormous investment. Throwing ten million NZD into it would be wasted, and it also required a powerful maintenance system.

So Wang Bo gritted his teeth and decided, “To hell with a world-class garden! We’re planting lavender—let’s make a lavender field here!”

The project was relatively simple. Machines would till the land, removing weeds and wildflowers, then divide the garden into plots and sow lavender seeds.

After sowing, Wang Bo summoned the fire-fighting truck. Marion drove it, accompanied by two subordinate employees, spraying the magical spring water across the field.

While working, Marion said, “Boss, I think you should dig several wells here. Using well water for irrigation would be more efficient—spraying with the water cannon is such a waste.”

The truck was heavy machinery that consumed diesel at a high rate—one ton of water meant ten NZD in diesel costs.

Wang Bo shook his head. “The lavender field isn’t far from Lake Haweya, and we get rain throughout the year. Frequent irrigation isn’t necessary. Later, these lavenders will thrive on groundwater alone. Using the magical spring is just to accelerate growth.”

By late December, tender lavender shoots began to sprout. With the Garden Heart providing energy, they grew quickly.

One day, while checking the garden in the office, Wang Bo noticed some unfamiliar birds appearing in the field.

These birds were large—some nearly half a meter in length—with strikingly colorful feathers.

The blue duck was beautiful, and New Zealand wild chickens were also colorful, but their plumage paled in comparison.

These birds had gray-brown heads and necks tinged with purple. Their forehead shields were broad and flat at the rear, colored reddish-orange. From their backs to their tails, the feathers changed from lighter purple-blue to deeper shades.

Their wing coverts and primary flight feathers were blue-green, with the inner flight feathers brown-black, tipped with blue-green. The sides of their heads were gray-white with a hint of blue-green. Their upper chests were light blue-green, while the sides, lower chest, and flanks mirrored the back in purple-blue.

The abdomen was dark brown with a hint of purple, feather tips gray-white. Legs feathered blue-green. Tail feathers brown-black, with white undertail coverts.

Looking at the model, Wang Bo blinked in surprise. “Damn, did someone spill a fuel box?”

He recognized the birds—they were not rare in New Zealand and were called Purple Swamphens, nicknamed the “emo chickens” among birds.

Purple Swamphens were unique and numerous, spread across both the North and South Islands—from the densely populated Auckland in the north to the sparsely populated Canterbury farms in the south.

Although New Zealand emphasizes the protection of wildlife, Purple Swamphens were not on the protected list.

They were highly adaptable. Though they naturally inhabited wetlands, they thrived even in urban environments.

The meat of Purple Swamphens was tasty, resembling beef or lamb rather than regular chicken, which made them popular targets for hunting.

Despite hunting, they weren’t at risk of extinction because they were highly alert, had long legs for running like ostriches, and could take off quickly when necessary. Their wings also enabled fast, long-distance flight.

With such mobility and strong reproductive abilities, they weren’t considered rare or in need of protection.

In fact, in some parts of New Zealand, their numbers had to be controlled. They were aggressive, especially toward the chicks of smaller bird species. For example, on Great Barrier Island, conservation efforts for wild ducks included managing Purple Swamphens to prevent them from harming newly hatched ducklings.

Wang Bo also had to control them because the birds were descending on his lavender field, devouring the tender shoots.

This was partly why they weren’t endangered—they were omnivorous but mainly herbivorous, feeding on plant shoots, leaves, roots, stems, flowers, and seeds.

Now, they were feasting happily on his lavender shoots.

Seeing this, Wang Bo quickly mobilized people to chase them away. As soon as the vehicle appeared, the Purple Swamphens bolted, running rapidly toward the lake. Upon reaching the shore, they plunged into the water and swam far away, gathering together and blinking at Wang Bo and the others.

Even in the lake, some of the Purple Swamphens continued hunting. They targeted small fish, shrimp, and crabs along the shore.

As previously mentioned, they were omnivorous: soft-bodied animals, leeches, small crabs, spiders, fish and fish eggs, frogs and frog eggs, lizards, snakes, birds and bird eggs including chicks, small rodents, and carrion—all fair game.

Remarkably, they were skilled hunters. Their claws were far more dexterous than typical birds, able to grasp and tear food. Even crabs hiding under rocks couldn’t escape their search—they knew how to flip stones using their beaks and claws.