Chapter 76

“Where was this filmed?”

…

Amid the current global crisis, Longxia does have specialized wheat and rice fields, but most are monoculture. Yet in the video, wheat and rice are growing side by side—completely against conventional farming practices!

“Is it CGI?” many netizens speculated. The fields in the video stretched endlessly, and even if it was digitally altered, the scene was breathtaking.

Travel blogger ID: Tomato Burger. He replied: Not CGI. [Stunned emoji]

A week ago, Tomato Burger had driven himself to Changyuan County in Gan Province. This area lies on the border between residential zones and the Uninhabited Zone. Hoping to capture the perfect shot, he ventured into the Shallow Uninhabited Zone. His plan was to snap a few photos and leave, but the deeper he drove, the more off-course he became. By the time he realized it, he was completely lost.

With no choice but to rely on instinct, he kept driving. His bottled water ran out, and the desert stretched endlessly in every direction. Just when he thought he was done for, the car crested a small hill—and beyond it, he saw vast rice fields.

The sun was blazing, and for a moment, he thought he was hallucinating a desert utopia. He couldn’t believe his eyes. Reflexively, he snapped two photos. After repeatedly confirming what he saw, he realized the farmland was real—clearly well-maintained and cultivated.

There was some distance between the hill and the fields. He scrambled down, hoping to find help. But just as he started the car, three off-road vehicles emerged from the direction of the farm. What followed was the most surreal day of his life…

He was taken to a camouflaged tent, where his phone and ID were confiscated. After a thorough identity check, a man in military uniform appeared.

The man looked at his ID and asked, “From Luo’an District, Jinghe?”

“Yes.”

“What are you doing in the Northwest?”

“Outdoor travel…”

“How’d you end up here?”

“Got lost.”

…

The two exchanged questions and answers. Tomato Burger felt an unprecedented pressure.

Half an hour later, the interrogation ended. The man in uniform waved his hand. “Grab something to eat. Someone will drive you back soon.”

Tomato Burger, usually thick-skinned, now realized he had likely stumbled into a state-level facility. He quickly promised, “I’ll delete the video right away! I won’t leak a single detail!”

The man didn’t respond. Instead, he turned to a young man standing behind him and asked, “Delete it or not?”

Tomato Burger noticed the youth for the first time—refined features, calm demeanor, and clearly much younger, yet composed.

The two men exchanged a few casual words. Then the officer turned back. “It’s good that young people understand the importance of confidentiality. If you want to delete the video, delete it. If you want to keep it, keep it.”

Tomato Burger caught the subtext: “I can post it online?”

The officer chuckled. “If you want to post it, post it.”

He wanted to ask more, but at that moment, two military police appeared. They blindfolded him, and when he opened his eyes again, he was back at the entrance to Changyuan County. His car was parked safely by the roadside. He returned to his hotel, washed his face, and pieced things together. Based on the environment and the situation, he guessed that the farm in the Uninhabited Zone had to be the now-famous Fengshan Farm. That it had ties with Longxia was practically confirmed…

The next morning, Tomato Burger returned to Jinghe. By then, Fengshan’s grain exports were dominating national headlines.

He followed the news for two days, and finally couldn’t hold it in anymore. Nervously, he made a post.

“Was this really filmed in the Uninhabited Zone?”

“Could it be an old photo?”

…

Netizens focused their attention on the unmanned farmland.

They watched the video carefully. And the more they watched, the more two keywords stood out: Uninhabited Zone. Farm.

Excited speculation erupted: “Fengshan Farm?!”

Fengshan Farm is located in the Uninhabited Zone—it’s a newly developed farm. If the massive fields really belonged to Fengshan, it wouldn’t be impossible…

As nationwide discussions surged, on May 30th, Long Xia Broadcast released the following:

1. The Longxia Academy of Sciences has developed an Aseptic Storage Technology for crops, allowing grain to be stored for up to twenty years without spoilage.

2. Fengshan Farm made outstanding contributions from 3027 to 3029, and has been awarded the Medal of Distinguished Contribution by the Ministry of Agriculture.

3. The Longxia Agricultural Institute has entered a pilot cooperation agreement with Fengshan Farm.

…

Alongside the written announcement, Long Xia Broadcast aired a video interview.

In the footage, a researcher from the Longxia Academy appeared inside a massive underground warehouse. Nearly a hundred enormous grain silos lined the facility. The researcher held a shoebox-sized device and explained its function in detail. After the underground segment, the video cut to surface-level footage.

Above ground, a sleek high-tech lab stood in front of lush green fields. The shot was brief, but it matched Tomato Burger’s footage exactly.

“This is Fengshan Farm?”

“This is incredible.”

Modern agriculture emphasizes science, but most netizens are still more familiar with traditional methods. Though the clip was short, from the underground storage to the lab, everything radiated cutting-edge technology. Unsatisfied, viewers searched for other farm videos. While none matched Fengshan’s scale, they still featured tablets in every hand and brand-new farming machinery.

For the past fifty years, Longxia has been undergoing an agricultural revolution. Though slow, the progress has been steady and upward.

“I’m actually kind of proud,” netizens praised without reservation.

They used to think food was food—as long as you had it, you could eat. But after a year of food crises, they realized just how much Longxia had silently sacrificed to keep everyone fed.

After the discussion, attention turned back to the core of the Long Xia Broadcast:

Aseptic Storage Technology. High-tech farmland. Pilot cooperation…

“I have a theory…”

“So do I!”

Netizens were getting excited. According to the broadcast, Aseptic Storage Technology is a new method of preserving crops. The principle: when stored in a specific environment, farm products don’t rot or spoil—offering more stability than freezing.

The hottest topic online: How do you grow 100 million tons of grain?

Fengshan Farm was founded in July 3027. It’s impossible to grow 100 million tons in just two years. But after analyzing the data, people realized—one or two years, no. But five or ten years? Totally possible.

Secret cultivation at Fengshan Farm, combined with aseptic storage—these two factors perfectly explain the source of the 100 million tons of grain! And it all aligns with real-world logic!

“No way, right?” Netizens were stunned by the analysis.

“Totally possible. A year ago, would you have believed the Northwest could grow crops?”

“True.” Not only can the Northwest grow crops—it can grow rice. When you think about it like that, 100 million tons doesn’t sound so crazy…

As more and more people joined the discussion, the hashtag #FengshanTenYears shot to the top of trending. During this time, neither Longxia nor the farm issued any official response. But netizens became increasingly convinced: even if Fengshan Grains hadn’t been stored for ten years, it had to be at least five!

…

“How did this turn into a ten-year plan…” Inside Fengshan Farm, Liu Wensheng was both amused and exasperated by the netizens’ wild theories.

For the past two weeks, the farm’s main task had been selecting new zones.

Gan Province has 1,000 square kilometers of Uninhabited Zone—about 1.5 million mu of land. Since the farm was established, Longxia had been extremely cautious in selecting its area, mostly choosing land on the border between Shallow and Deep Uninhabited Zones. The surrounding areas were also monitored by national satellites to prevent unauthorized entry.

After upgrading the farm, Longxia allocated 500,000 mu of Uninhabited Zone to Qin Yun. These zones were as far from civilian activity as possible. Despite all the precautions, 100,000 mu is still a vast area—and Tomato Burger’s visit was an unexpected incident during this expansion.

The day Tomato Burger ventured into the Uninhabited Zone, the 100,000 mu of land had just been finalized. Once his identity was confirmed, Longxia held a team meeting to discuss the situation. Some researchers suggested having him delete the footage—but then again, after Tomato Burger, there might be a Cucumber Burger or a Potato Burger.

Simply deleting things won’t solve the problem. The real issue isn’t the Tomato Burger—it’s how one hundred million tons of grain were grown!

The Farm System is part of a higher-level interstellar civilization. To avoid unnecessary speculation, the farm has no intention of revealing the system. After internal discussions, the team settled on two main explanations: 1) the farm had previously stockpiled a massive amount of grain; 2) Fengshan Grains has been cultivating large-scale crops not only in the Northwest but also in other Uninhabited Zones. As for the exact locations… that’s a state secret!

The Longxia Team was in the process of constructing a logical narrative and preparing to make a public announcement when the tech group made a major breakthrough.

The tech group’s Aseptic Storage Technology isn’t just a smokescreen—it was developed based on the grain storage principles of the System Granary. Currently, the world relies mainly on freezing and vacuum-sealing for food preservation. While these methods do keep food fresh, they have a limited shelf life.

Aseptic storage, however, can dramatically extend food preservation, with experimental validation showing it can last up to twenty years. The tech team is now preparing to expand their research into applications of aseptic storage. Unexpectedly, netizens ran wild with speculation and essentially fast-forwarded the technology by a decade…

“I’ll get in touch with the team,” Liu Wensheng said after chatting with Qin Yun, then dialed the phone.

The hundred million tons of grain were primarily for the system’s Starlight Points. To avoid unnecessary suspicion, some explanation was still necessary.

On May 31st, Longxia News published an article titled “Technological Innovations at Fengshan Farm.”

The article mainly recounted the hardships faced during research in the Fengshan Uninhabited Zone and subtly hinted at the end that Fengshan Farm is a technology-driven agricultural base, where crops are cultivated using advanced techniques to ensure abundant growth. To prevent technological leaks, the Fengshan Uninhabited Zone has been designated a national-level protected area, strictly off-limits to unauthorized personnel.

“Haha, with ads that flashy, I knew it had to be a government project.”

“Only the state could pull off something this massive.”

“Calling it now—there must be other ‘Fengshan Farms’ across the country!”

…

Netizens felt their suspicions were confirmed.

Though the Longxia article didn’t spell it out, the combination of new seed research, tech-based cultivation, and aseptic storage made it entirely plausible to store one hundred million tons of grain.

With today’s advanced technology, even rice can be grown in the Northwest. Storing that much grain? Totally doable.

The more people speculated, the more sense it made.

And it wasn’t just Longxia netizens—some foreign media outlets also picked up on the domestic theories. Longxia’s aseptic storage technology has already been patented internationally, and according to patent tests, it’s a groundbreaking achievement.

Riding the wave of Fengshan Farm’s popularity, some daring netizens tried to sneak into the Uninhabited Zone. But they didn’t even make it to the Shallow Uninhabited Zone before being driven back by wild wolves. And it wasn’t just wolves—the area was now teeming with wild cattle and eagles. At this point, not even a stray fly could get in, let alone an ordinary civilian.

The animals in the Shallow Uninhabited Zone had become the farm’s natural bodyguards.

As for why they’re guarding it… the Uninhabited Zone is becoming increasingly arid. Besides the Heart of Animals BUFF, they also need the farm’s protection when necessary.

Several netizens and foreign agents made repeated attempts to get in, only to be promptly apprehended by patrolling soldiers before they could even act.

Fengshan Farm has now been officially designated a first-level protected base by Longxia. And this isn’t just a symbolic title—it’s enforced with real action.

Some clout-chasing netizens began to panic, but Longxia’s laws are no joke. After the police issued a public statement, even the onlookers realized that national legal boundaries are not to be crossed. Influencers who illegally entered the Uninhabited Zone will face the harshest legal consequences.

“We told you not to go—what, you thought becoming a viral influencer was worth it?”

“International tensions are already high, and you’re out there snapping photos to show off to foreign media?”

“Protecting our national environment is everyone’s responsibility.”

…

Some influencers’ families tried to gain sympathy online, but many netizens clapped back hard.

In today’s global crisis, only Longxia possesses Acid Rain Seeds. While other nations may appear calm on the surface, they’ve been applying considerable pressure on Longxia behind the scenes.

The farm interviews were meant to boost domestic morale—not to be taken for granted.

It’s like a wealthy neighbor living among a bunch of poor ones. Everyone maintains a polite façade, but then the rich neighbor’s kid decides to open the vault and flaunt the gold bars to everyone else.

Having strength is one thing—flaunting it meaninglessly is just plain stupid.

Longxia people prefer to keep a low profile. As more and more brainless netizens tried to ride the hype, others began calling out: “We know the farm exists! Focus on research! We have faith! No more interviews! Stop talking about how much grain we have! As long as we have food, that’s enough—we don’t need the details!”

In short: keep everything low-key. Low-key, low-key, and more low-key. As for the foolish attention-seekers—they can rot in jail.

Thanks to the cooperation of citizens across the country, Fengshan Farm’s Fortress BUFF maxed out instantly.