In the afternoon, dozens of wizards from the Iyeta School had gathered in the spacious magic laboratory, pondering the profound implications of the words spoken by the "Star of Magic."
However, the energetic and young Ailoke had less hesitation and immediately replied, "Food, of course, consists of wheat, beans, and corn..."
Lydia also raised her hand high and answered, "We need to plant the seeds in the ground, then water them, fertilize them, and keep repeating the process, until they grow out of the soil!"
"That's right, you could say that!" Lynn nodded, then continued with a smile, "So, do you know how plants convert various elements into nutrients that we can absorb?"
Ailoke and Lydia suddenly found themselves speechless, even Philip, a three-ring wizard focused on element studies, was stumped by Lynn's question.
They indeed had not paid attention to how wheat absorbed various elements from the soil during its growth and eventually turned into edible food.
Luckily, Lynn didn't expect them to come up with an answer and directly revealed it.
"It relies on photosynthesis!"
This was common knowledge known by everyone in the previous world's federation!
As the base of the entire ecosystem, plants convert carbon dioxide and water into energy-storing organic matter through photosynthesis, which is the source of bioenergy!
In the ancient past, humans gathered and hunted for food like wild beasts, greatly influenced by the environment, weather, and luck, hugely unstable, and struggling with hunger was a common occurrence.
It was not until the skills of farming and animal husbandry were developed, enabling the stable acquisition of food, that the basis for later large-scale community living and nation-building was established.
However, this stability was also limited; perhaps a drought or a massive conflict could destroy everything!
Not until the twenty-first century did humans in a laboratory use carbon dioxide, water, electricity (light), and a special catalyst to directly synthesize starch!
This achievement was undoubtedly revolutionary!
It meant that from then on, food production could be completely independent from land, sunlight, and environmental conditions, and could be mass-produced like an assembly line!
The efficiency was enhanced by several magnitudes!
You see, natural photosynthesis, where plants convert inorganic substances into organic materials, requires dozens of extremely complex biochemical reactions and months of time, with an energy conversion efficiency of about 2%.
Artificial starch synthesis only needs eleven steps, and the energy conversion rate was also increased to 7%.
Entering the twenty-second century, due to the needs of interstellar travel and the establishment of fusion reactors, artificial starch synthesis once again experienced a technological surge, with the energy use rate soaring to about 20%, and the steps reduced to six!
Besides, there were techniques for artificially synthesizing wheat flour, cornmeal, etc., in the smart brain, as these were essentially just syntheses of inorganic substances, although the technical difficulty was higher, the principle remained the same!
Lynn explained the principles of magic while extending his right hand.
The water vapor and carbon dioxide in the air were quickly stripped away, followed by intense lightning, and various trace elements were integrated into it under the control of spiritual power.
Using the void as a pot, magic power as a spatula, converting inorganic into organic...
There, Lynn demonstrated his artificial bread-making technique in front of dozens of wizards!
About fifteen seconds later, particles of fine powder began to appear in the void, floating and accumulating together, forming into a spherical shape.
This scene, akin to creating substances from the void, amazed all the wizards of the Iyeta School!
Lynn spoke again, and more water vapor transformed into liquid water, pouring into the powder. Then, with the "Mage's Hand," he quickly kneaded the dough. The sphere rapidly deformed and twisted under pressure and was directly baked using microwave technology.
The dough, initially only an inch thick, immediately expanded upon heating, turning into a bread loaf four inches thick and square in shape!
The whole process took just over three minutes!
"This is my magic bread!"
Lynn manipulated the "Mage's Hand" to place the bread loaf on the table.
Ailoke, Kevin, Philip, and others immediately gathered around, dozens of eyes fixed on the bread loaf on the table, amazed at the magic Lynn had performed...
"Can it be eaten?" Lydia poked it with her hand, felt it was soft, unlike the bread she bought at the market, which was hard enough to be used as a shield and weapon.
"Of course you can!" Lynn replied amusedly; otherwise, why would he produce such things.
Upon hearing Lynn's affirmative answer, Lydia immediately tore off a piece and put it in her mouth.
"How is it, does it taste alright?" Lynn quickly asked, although he had added many trace elements to enhance its nutrition, he was not sure about the exact taste.
Lydia furrowed her brows and pondered for a while before finding an adjective.
"It tastes like a cloud!"
The girl's comment certainly piqued the curiosity of Philip and the others, who also took turns trying it, and then understood why Lydia had described it that way.