Chapter 95

Over the next three days, every department on the farm conducted a thorough study of the Purification Gem, followed by a full-scale analysis meeting.

At the meeting, Liu Wensheng got straight to the point. “What are your thoughts?”

“The Agriculture Group advises against using it.”

“The Biology Group advises against using it.”

“The Technology Group advises against using it…”

…

The farm had twelve groups in total—Agriculture, Biology, Humanities, Technology, and others. One after another, each group leader gave the same conclusion: they did not recommend using the Purification Gem.

Liu Wensheng turned to look at Song Yueshan.

As one of the project leads for the farm, Song Yueshan stood up and said, “Here is the research data from each department…”

She activated the conference projection screen. The first slide displayed the properties of the Purification Gem: it resets the ecosystem of a given area, restoring it to peak condition. Coverage: 1 to 10 million square kilometers.

Although the Purification Gem was not a seed, when placed in the lab’s testing equipment, it emitted a faint reaction.

Based on the analysis, the surface of the Purification Gem contained a unique substance not native to Shuilan Star. This substance could purify dead soil, but because it was foreign to Shuilan, it could also trigger mutations in native flora and fauna during the purification process.

In simulated mutation experiments, rats grew fangs, peanuts sprouted to three feet tall, and pika developed wings… These were all potential mutations caused by the Purification Gem. Due to being technologically behind the Gem, the Seed Laboratory could only produce a thirty-second simulation.

After presenting the data, Song Yueshan turned off the screen and looked at Liu Wensheng. Since the farm reported the discovery of the Purification Gem, the Longxia leadership had convened three top-level meetings. Now, everyone was waiting for Longxia’s final decision.

Liu Wensheng didn’t hold anything back. “The official decision is to not use the Gem for now.”

Over the past three days, while Longxia’s top brass was in meetings, they also quietly gauged public opinion through online polls and radio interactions. The main question posed was: If the world were to undergo mutations—restoring the ecosystem but also producing mutated cockroaches, rats, trees—would people prefer to live in the current world or the mutated one?

In today’s digital age, such bizarre questions weren’t unusual online. Longxia had expected people to be curious and opt for the mutated world. However, the results were surprising: only 7% chose the mutated world, while 93% preferred the current one.

“Mutated locusts are disgusting enough. We don’t need any more mutant animals.”

“We’ve got rice and noodles now. If a giant mutant python shows up… we’re done for.”

“Who came up with this dumb question? Of course the current world is better.”

…

A year ago, people might’ve chosen the mutated world out of despair. But now, with food on the table and the memory of July’s locust plague still fresh, there was only one prevailing thought: no more mutations!

Toward the end of the discussion, one netizen asked, “Would the mutated world still be Shuilan?”

The idea of a mutated world might sound intriguing, but reality isn’t a sci-fi movie. People want a real world, not one spiraling out of control because of their own actions.

“If it weren’t for the heavy metal pollution, we wouldn’t have had mutated locusts in the first place,” one user commented, recalling the Acid Rain locusts. Though they had turned waste into treasure, compared to the ten-centimeter armored insects, the old locusts were much easier on the eyes.

The people didn’t want their world to change. After strategic analysis, Longxia made its decision: the Purification Gem would be treated as a last-resort survival tool. Unless there was absolutely no other way, it would not be used.

Liu Wensheng announced Longxia’s decision, then added, “Longxia will be forming a Gemstone Research Team.”

The Purification Gem’s effective range was 1 to 10 million square kilometers—equivalent to the size of five provinces. A small-scale trial was out of the question. The research team’s goal would be to understand the Gem’s principles and uncover its purification mechanisms.

According to feedback from the Seed Laboratory, the Purification Gem might be a special kind of seed. And if it’s a seed, there might be a path to unlocking its potential…

Half an hour later, the meeting ended.

As everyone discussed among themselves, Liu Wensheng walked over to Qin Yun and solemnly said, “On behalf of the higher-ups, as the Military Commander of Longxia’s 226th District, I convey their gratitude: thank you, Comrade Qin Yun, for your tremendous contribution to the farm’s research.” The Purification Gem had been a relic left by Qin Yun’s grandfather. That Qin Yun had reported it without hesitation was a remarkable act of selflessness.

Qin Yun returned a military salute. “To serve the people.”

He didn’t see it as a tremendous contribution. Compared to the horrors of his past life, the farm’s researchers had sacrificed far more than he had.

After chatting for a bit, Qin Yun returned to the Tulou. The Tulou had 180 rooms, which had been repurposed into dorms for researchers. Zhao Zhishun had previously been in charge of meals, but with the growing team, the farm now had a professional kitchen staff.

Qin Yun greeted Zhao Zhishun and the others before heading back to his room.

Due to special circumstances, Qin Yun had a room to himself. Lying there, staring at the ceiling, he pondered the meaning behind Qin Hai leaving him the Purification Gem.

The Farm System had already improved survival chances during the Acid Rain crisis. Qin Yun had often wondered if Qin Hai had foreseen the Shuilan Crisis and left him the Farm System for that reason. Now, with the Purification Gem… did that mean Qin Hai believed Shuilan’s ecosystem was beyond repair and needed to be broken down and rebuilt?

His thoughts wandered aimlessly. Then he sat up and looked at the map of Shuilan on his desk. The map showed a clean, orderly image of blue-green land and cloud-dotted seas—a pristine, beautiful scene.

He recalled the screenshot from the meeting—a netizen’s question: “Would the mutated world still be Shuilan?”

Shuilan Star didn’t have high-level cultivators flying through the skies, nor did it have interstellar mechs and spaceships. But it was the planet where everyone had lived for twenty-five years. It was their real Shuilan.

Qin Yun opened his phone. The third image was a current photo of Shuilan Star: plants in decline, global desertification, oceans choked by industrial pollution and dead algae, the water murky and filled with floating waste…

The real Shuilan was scarred and broken. The Purification Gem could forcibly restructure it—but that might be even worse for the planet. It would be unfair to the world itself.

Qin Yun asked himself honestly: between a new, mutated world and this one, he still preferred the Shuilan he knew.

…

The next morning, after a brief rest, Qin Yun returned to the farm. The main research projects currently included: Acid Rain Seeds, Acid Rain Soil, Algal Trees, Amir Workshop, the plantation, the farm lake, and agricultural tech…

Qin Yun moved like a spinning top, bouncing between project teams. After a week of rest, he was finally back in the thick of things, and every cell in his body felt alive again.

Amid this flurry of activity, on October 31st, Qin Yun joined the team heading to the Longnan Sweet Potato Base.

Longnan was at a lower elevation, and it was now sweet potato planting season. Qin Yun’s goal was to verify a previous hypothesis: whether the order of planting tasks was related to the sequence of farm research. For example, Longfeng 001 was the first crop studied on the farm, so Qin Yun needed to plant Longfeng 001 first, followed by Zhongzhi 002, then Fengshuang 003…

This trip was led by Song Yueshan, and besides Qin Yun, members of the agriculture subgroup also joined.

On December 1st, the group arrived at the Yunshan Planting Base. Sweet potatoes were typically planted by inserting seedlings into ridged soil. At 10:20 AM, Qin Yun held a handful of sweet potato seedlings in his hand. In front of him stretched an endless field of brown soil, and behind him stood Song Yueshan and the other farm researchers.

It had been six months since the twenty planting tasks were issued—this was the longest mission the Farm System had ever given. They were now on step two of the task, and both Qin Yun and the staff were feeling the pressure.

“Shall we begin?” Qin Yun looked toward Song Yueshan.

“Let’s do it,” Song Yueshan replied, holding her breath.

Qin Yun then began planting following the method used for sweet potatoes. Half a minute later, the planting was complete. He straightened up.

“How did it go?” Song Yueshan asked nervously.

Qin Yun looked around at everyone, then finally spoke three words: “It worked!”

The moment he planted the crop, the system refreshed—

Host Name: Qin Yun

Current Mission: Participate in twenty types of planting labor

Mission Reward: Mysterious Planting Package

Mission Progress: 10%

…

“That’s great!” Song Yueshan looked at the system interface, feeling as if a weight had been lifted from her chest.

“Next up are Frostwind Corn, Longfeng Oil Lettuce…” a researcher muttered, calculating the upcoming planting schedule. Based on research priorities and seasonal planting windows, the remaining tasks were expected to be completed within three months.

Everyone chatted for a bit in the sweet potato field before preparing to board the private jet back to the farm. But after just a few steps, they all felt a damp chill on their noses.

Looking up, they saw white snowflakes drifting down.

It was snowing in Longnan.

With vegetation in decline and the global greenhouse effect intensifying, the weather should, in theory, be getting warmer. But due to erratic ocean currents caused by climate change, the world had begun experiencing extreme polar weather—scorching summers and bitterly cold winters.

According to the forecast, this winter would be even colder than the last.