Chapter Fifteen

Half an hour later, Liu Wensheng studied the latest task. The system required both brand registration and points redemption.

After reviewing everything, Liu Wensheng concluded, “It’s not too difficult—just too time-consuming.”

“Agreed.”

Qin Yun nodded. The farm currently had 2.2 million points. According to the [Buy Seeds – Plant – Buy Again] process, they would need to repeat it three times to complete the task. Besides, the farm’s maximum monthly output was 9,000 tons, which, in the face of disaster, was a mere drop in the bucket.

“Beep beep—” While they chatted, the satellite phone on the desk rang.

“Hold on a moment.” Liu Wensheng gestured to Qin Yun before picking up the phone. Half a minute later, he looked over and said, “The inspection team is coming to Fengshan.”

“So suddenly?” Qin Yun was surprised. There had been plans for a farm inspection by Longxia, but the original schedule had the visit set for the end of December. Now they were arriving a full month early.

“It’s probably related to [Huangtu Yaoqing],” Liu Wensheng guessed. According to the government’s arrangement, the Longxia team would arrive the next morning.

Liu Wensheng informed the other staff of the inspection team’s visit, and soon everyone got busy organizing the farm.

…

“Academician Zhou.”

“Professor Song!”

…

While Qin Yun was hard at work tidying up, at the Longxia Military District Airport, Zhou Yuanheng and Song Yueshan had gathered. Nearly a hundred researchers were waiting at the airport. Besides agricultural experts, there were also biologists, geneticists, and cosmologists—top talents from all fields in Longxia.

After exchanging greetings, a slightly plump expert remarked, “This is a multidimensional discovery that spans universes.”

This expert, named Cheng Jin, was a renowned physicist in Longxia, known for scientific works like The Multiverse Hypothesis and The Progression of Time. For the past three months, Cheng Jin and others had been researching the Farm System. With the bizarre array of task types, a more three-dimensional theory of the universe had begun to take shape among physicists.

“The lake water on the farm contains 22% active agents, which can effectively neutralize human pathogens. The lab is preparing experiments with white mice…”

As Cheng Jin finished speaking, another biologist chimed in. Although technology had advanced, viruses like H2 and bacteria like Salmonella remained major challenges in medicine. If the farm’s lake water could truly neutralize human pathogens, it would represent a vital breakthrough for Longxia’s medical field.

Half an hour later, two mid-sized aircraft approached from the distance. The scientists gathered their belongings and headed for boarding.

At 6 a.m., the two planes landed in a wide expanse of desert twenty li east of the farm. The terrain of the Fengshan Uninhabited Zone was complex, shaped by a combination of geological and climatic factors. The scientists switched to military off-road vehicles. Thirty off-road vehicles formed a grand convoy heading toward Fengshan Farm.

“There really isn’t a soul around…” It was Song Yueshan’s first time in the Uninhabited Zone, and he looked out at the desert with curiosity.

“This is a human-restricted zone. Without a professional convoy, it’s impossible to get here.”

Zhou Yuanheng shifted in his seat. He had visited Fengshan back in July. Back then, there were still a few scattered shrubs in the desert. Now it was all bare loess, and faint patches of snow could be seen in the distance. The Uninhabited Zone was a haven for wild animals, and they only dared venture in thanks to military-grade off-road vehicles and satellite guidance.

By 9 a.m., the convoy reached the outskirts of the farm.

“Academician Zhou!” Liu Wensheng was waiting at the farm entrance. This time, the inspection team, including support staff, totaled over two hundred people. Zhou Yuanheng was the lead for the mission.

“Commander Liu.” Zhou Yuanheng greeted Liu Wensheng and then turned to Qin Yun. “We meet again.”

“Academician Zhou.” Qin Yun greeted him respectfully.

Zhou Yuanheng patted Qin Yun on the shoulder. “You’ve gotten darker.”

Qin Yun was upright and handsome. Zhou remembered their first meeting three months ago—Qin Yun had looked like a fresh-faced college student. Now he was lean and tanned, his complexion several shades darker.

“Fengshan’s got great sunshine,” Qin Yun replied with a shy smile. There was no sun protection BUFF at Fengshan Farm, and not just Qin Yun—Liu Wensheng and the others had all tanned as well. But tan or not, with the support of the Heart of the Farm, everyone’s physical resilience had improved significantly.

“This is Huangtu Yaoqing?” After some small talk, Zhou Yuanheng looked at the structure before them. A massive circular earthen building stood tall and imposing, radiating a powerful presence.

“Activated two days ago. A system building,” Liu Wensheng explained.

He invited the group inside. The scientists looked around in amazement. It was October, and the temperature outside in Fengshan was minus three degrees. Everyone had switched to light down jackets for the trip. But the moment they stepped inside the earth building, they felt only one thing: warmth.

Song Yueshan felt cozy from the temperature and turned to Qin Yun in curiosity. “Is this the Eternal Spring BUFF?”

“Yes,” Qin Yun admitted without hesitation.

Song Yueshan placed both hands on the earth wall. They had all watched the video of Huangtu Yaoqing being generated. Even though they were mentally prepared, seeing it in person felt even more fantastical than a high-budget sci-fi movie.

Over the next three hours, the group toured Huangtu Yaoqing, then continued to the farm and the system lake.

Seeds had been sown the day before, and the wheat seedlings had already grown to ankle height. From afar, the farmland looked like a vast green oasis in the desert. Song Yueshan crouched down and picked up a handful of loose soil. “The soil is soft and fluffy, very well-suited to the Uninhabited Zone’s climate.”

As an academician from the agricultural institute, he had been researching the farm’s soil and wheat. Based on various comparisons, the farmland’s soil structure and moisture content were the best in the Uninhabited Zone.

“The wheat seedlings look great too,” Zhou Yuanheng added as he gazed at the field. He had watched countless videos of the farmland in recent months, but never had he felt such a complex mix of emotions. It was exhilarating and humbling at once.

“It matches the lab’s water quality analysis.”

“There’s a recirculating water system under the lake…”

While Song Yueshan and Zhou studied the wheat, other scientists examined the lake. The energy for learning and discovery at the farm reached a peak.

Over the next three days, the scientists continued their research, with many expressing plans to relocate their labs to Huangtu Yaoqing. But starting from the third day at dawn, something strange began to happen—

“Do you have a rash?”

“There’s a big patch on my arm.”

“Mine’s on my leg…”

…

The scientists lifted their clothes and saw tiny red spots all over their arms and legs. The spots itched—and the more they scratched, the itchier it got.

“This shouldn’t be happening.” Liu Wensheng rolled up his own sleeve, but he showed no abnormal reaction. The team’s meals and bedding had all been arranged by the government—there should have been no issue…

“Do you have anything?” Liu Wensheng turned to Zhao Zhishun.

“No,” Zhao Zhishun replied blankly.

Qin Yun was the first to react and opened the island sand table.

The Huangtu Yaoqing structure appeared on the sand table, showing over two hundred yellow dots inside.

Qin Yun clicked—

[Infected]: Non-farm personnel who enter the farm will be subject to random DEBUFFs, which intensify over time. (Refresh cycle: 50 days.)

Liu Wensheng: … Clearly, the inspection team was the [Infected] indicated on the sand table.

Liu Wensheng informed the team of this situation.

“Old Liu, once the farm permissions upgrade, you must reserve me a permanent slot,” Song Yueshan grumbled.

The Fengshan Farm report had mentioned personnel restrictions. But given how vast and sparsely populated the Uninhabited Zone was, they had assumed it was just a system gimmick—never expecting these bizarre DEBUFFs.

“That’s up to the state,” Liu Wensheng laughed it off. Song Yueshan wasn’t the first scientist to request permanent residency in the past few days…

As the [Infected] DEBUFF intensified, on the afternoon of the fourth day, the wheat matured. After helping with the harvest, the team prepared to return.

The scientists had stayed for four days. Though they lacked full laboratory equipment, they hadn’t come away empty-handed: the inspection team theorized that the farm’s materials were not created from nothing, but rather drawn into a multidimensional space due to unknown causes—this space being the system itself.

For example, the [Huangtu Yaoqing] had once existed on Planet A. A certain being or force had created a [Huangtu Yaoqing Card]. Now, Qin Yun had completed a mission and gained the right to release that card.

The system farm resembled a multidimensional space; such structures could only exist within the farm. However, materials like wheat and lake water were portable and could be used elsewhere.

These were only the team’s preliminary hypotheses. Further validation was ongoing.

“Mr. Qin is truly remarkable,” Song Yueshan said, patting Qin Yun on the shoulder. Though they knew little about the laws beyond their universe, the Farm System’s capabilities alone made it worthy of Longxia’s full investment in research.

Qin Yun’s thoughts drifted briefly—he recalled Qin Hai’s memorial photo.

At 5 p.m., the Longxia inspection team departed. Besides their evaluation of the farm, they also reinstalled the farm’s electrical system, which would make daily life more convenient.

Additionally, they left behind a key item: the [Running Hoe].

This was the farm’s first system tool. It had previously been kept at a Longxia research lab and, due to timing and transportation issues, had never been retrieved. Now, the inspection team had brought it back.

Qin Yun opened the hoe’s details.

[Running Hoe]: Automatically harvests farm crops. (Price: 100,000 per unit)

The [Running Hoe] was a basic farming tool with sickle functionality. Efficiency: 3 hours per mu.

Though a bit slow, it was better than nothing. The next morning, Baisheng Agricultural Market once again purchased their wheat. Total points: 9 million. Adding the previous 200,000, the farm now had 9.2 million points.

Qin Yun allocated 2 million to preorder seeds. After discussing with Liu Wensheng, he decided to use the remaining points to purchase hoes.

Qin Yun clicked the quantity option next to the Running Hoe. When he increased the number to 50, the system alerted him:

[This is the current maximum hoe limit. Please exercise discretion, Host.]

Qin Yun: …

…

“Old Lu, more packages?”

“The last one.”

While Qin Yun was silently grumbling, in the Xingfu Li residential complex in Jinghe, Lu Guogang was making yet another run on his e-bike. Now that the Double Eleven shopping festival had ended, his packages were arriving in waves. After merchants split the orders and he made additional purchases, logistics showed he had bought 42 items during the sale. Including packages for his wife and son, the total was 67.

On November 18, he strapped the final package to his bike, thinking only one thing: he had way too much time on his hands.