Zhao Linong was able to think rationally when she suddenly found herself in a strange new world, but she was completely devastated upon learning that she was a new student at an agricultural base.
The world had changed, yet she still had to learn how to farm.
Feeling hopeless, Zhao Linong stood in line with a blank expression.
He Yuesheng, oblivious to her distress, was making small talk with the students in front and behind him. He greeted them, asked them to save a spot for him, and then slipped out of the line.
A few minutes later, he returned with a bottle of water.
“Here,” He Yuesheng said, handing the bottle to Zhao Linong. “Use this.”
Zhao Linong, momentarily stunned, took the bottle. “Thank you.”
“We’re all classmates,” He Yuesheng said, waving off her thanks. “I asked around in the freshman group, and someone happened to have brought extra water.”
“There’s a group for new students?” several people in the line asked, intrigued.
“Yes,” He Yuesheng replied, swiping his thumb across his bracelet. A light blue screen appeared, and he instructed them to scan the code. The students in front and behind him quickly joined the group.
Zhao Linong unscrewed the bottle cap and used half of it to rinse the blood from her eyes and face. She then poured some water to wash her hands. Observing the others, she closed the bottle cap, wiped her hands on her clothes, and imitated their actions by swiping her thumb across her own silver ring. A light blue screen popped up.
“I also want to join the group,” Zhao Linong said calmly.
“Scan me,” He Yuesheng said, holding out the light screen for her.
Zhao Linong scanned the code and was added to the group, which was named “Ninth Agricultural Base 41st Grade Freshmen (1173).” Her nickname in the group was “Farmer Xiao Zhao.”
The group chat was filled with messages about recent events.
[There were mutated plants on the base post road. What are those patrolmen doing? Why didn’t they spray protective fluid regularly? So many people died before we even reported it to the base.]
[I heard from the conductor that there’s a shortage of protective fluid, so the road reduction was postponed for two days. I didn’t expect something to actually happen.]
[It’s not just the protective fluid. I was in coach 1, and the police there were even slower to react. They couldn’t even hold their guns steady. They’ve had it too easy.]
[Okay, let’s not discuss this here. [Mistakes were made by the patrol and railway police, and someone from the Central Base will deal with them.]
[Did you see Luo Fanxue? Her guardian is Ye Changming.]
[Luo Fanxue is out collecting samples of the mutated plants. We were lucky they passed by; otherwise, we’d be finished.]
[I wish I had a guardian too, so I could be safe in the future.]
Zhao Linong understood some of the discussions but not entirely. It seemed that Luo Fanxue was a researcher and had guards, which provided her with a level of safety.
“I’ve asked around,” He Yuesheng said, continuing his conversation with those around him. “There are about 3,000 freshmen this year. With a 10% mortality rate and a 30% elimination rate, around 1,800 will advance to sophomore year. The elimination rate in sophomore year is only 15%. If you graduate successfully, you can at least become a planter.”
The girl in front of He Yuesheng said longingly, “It would be great if I could become a researcher.”
“Researchers? It would be great if I could become a planting officer,” said the boy behind. “At least if I leave the Ninth Base alive.”
Zhao Linong listened quietly and asked, “Is being a researcher very good?”
“Of course,” He Yuesheng explained. “Researchers have special status. Graduates from the Ninth Agricultural Base become planters. When assigned to work in other bases, they get 20% off food and 10% off other items. If you graduate with good grades and are selected as a planting officer, you get 50% off food and 30% off other items.”
He continued, “Researchers get a 10% discount on food and a 50% discount on other items. In addition to their salary, they receive a monthly subsidy of up to 100,000 points. Most importantly, the Central Base assigns a dedicated guard to each researcher for their safety.”
Zhao Linong thought about the guardian named Ye Changming and asked slowly, “Do planters and planting officers not have dedicated guards?”
“They have a guard team, but not dedicated guards,” He Yuesheng replied. “Planting officers have the benefit of the guard team’s protection during work and can apply for a guard for emergencies. Outside of work, they are just ordinary people.”
The researcher’s salary sounded appealing. Zhao Linong thought that if she graduated successfully, she could become a planter or a planting officer. She wondered what the requirements were to become a researcher.
He Yuesheng sighed, “Basically, only those who have made significant contributions to the planting field can become researchers at the Central Agricultural Research Institute.”
Zhao Linong considered this and thought, “That’s why students can become researchers after graduation.”
“Not necessarily,” He Yuesheng said, pointing to where the heavy armored off-road vehicles had left. “Talented individuals who achieve results early, like Luo Fanxue, can bypass the Ninth Agricultural Base and directly apply to become researchers.”
Zhao Linong absorbed the information and decided to focus on moving forward.
“Look, the patrol police are here!” someone shouted, pointing upward.
Everyone looked up to see two military green helicopters hovering above the tracks. The wind they created made the pebbles near the tracks roll.
At the same time, the line in front started moving.
He Yuesheng jumped up and said, “The rescue vehicle is here.”
The rescue vehicles, which included buses and military transport vehicles, arrived quickly.
“The danger in the carriage has been dealt with. All freshmen can return to the carriage to retrieve their luggage,” the conductor announced after speaking with several patrolmen. “You have fifteen minutes; hurry up.”
The carriage where Zhao Linong was located was tilted at a considerable angle, making it difficult to retrieve her luggage.
She decided to wait until everyone had collected their things before attempting to retrieve her own.
After a while, He Yuesheng, who had been recruiting new students for the group, noticed Zhao Linong still standing aside. “Why haven’t you gone in yet?”
“…I’m a little scared and don’t dare to go in,” Zhao Linong made up an excuse.
He Yuesheng observed her carefully and suddenly realized, “Student Zhao, do you have facial paralysis?”
“No wonder you showed no fear on your face but seemed too weak to walk,” He Yuesheng concluded.
“Let’s go in together,” he said enthusiastically.
In the carriage, some people had yet to retrieve their luggage. Zhao Linong walked to her seat, but she had no idea which suitcase was hers.
“Yours,” He Yuesheng said, reaching out to take down a 20-inch brown diamond-chequered suitcase and handing it to Zhao Linong.
Seeing the surprise in her eyes, he added, “I saw you carrying this when you got on the coach earlier.”
Zhao Linong was relieved to have someone as kind and attentive as He Yuesheng by her side. Without him, she might have struggled even more.
After retrieving their luggage, Zhao Linong and He Yuesheng lined up for the military transport vehicle waiting for them. There were no seats, so everyone had to sit on the floor, and the vehicle had no back door, leaving it completely open.
Those who had boarded earlier had taken most of the available space, leaving only two seats on the outer edge.
With her lack of attachment to this new world, Zhao Linong was less apprehensive than others. She settled into one of the outer seats without hesitation.
He Yuesheng sat opposite her and soon struck up lively conversations with others in the vehicle.
Zhao Linong, feeling somewhat detached, turned on the light screen of her optical brain, which was similar to a mobile phone. She explored the features and found a camera. Looking at her reflection, she noticed that her face in this world was almost identical to her face from her original world, though it was paler and more delicate, and her fingers were free of calluses.
In the optical brain’s album, she saw her admission photos. Remarkably, her name in this world was also Zhao Linong, and her home address was indeed in the Central Base.
Reflecting on her recent experiences, Zhao Linong felt a sense of surrealism. Understanding this new world was her top priority.
She accessed the search engine on her optical brain and typed “base” into the search box. A flat circular diagram appeared on the light blue screen.
The center of the circle displayed “Central Base,” with lines radiating outward, each marked with a number. The directions were numbered as follows: North (1), South (2), East (3), West (4), North by West (5), North by East (7), West by South (8), and East by South (6). There was also a number 9 between 1 and 8.
The diagram connected the Central Base to the Ninth Agricultural Base with a dotted line, while solid lines linked the Central Base to the other numbered bases. There were no additional annotations.
Continuing to browse, Zhao Linong discovered that the Ninth Agricultural Base was the most recently established. The high walls between it and the Central Base were still under construction, marked with dotted lines, likely intended to block giant mutated plants like the one they had encountered.
The document explained that this world resembled a post-apocalyptic scenario, but without zombies. Plants mutated easily and often preyed on living things, especially human blood. As plants and animals evolved, humans were left behind, struggling for survival and food.
In response, humanity formed ten bases. Except for the Central Base and the Ninth Agricultural Base, the other bases had specific agricultural roles. They provided crops to the Central Base, which, in turn, provided crop seeds that had been thoroughly screened to reduce mutation rates.
The Ninth Agricultural Base, on the other hand, recruited agricultural students aged 20 and above for a four-year program, preparing reserve forces for each base. Despite receiving seeds from the Central Agricultural Research Institute, plant mutations remained a significant challenge, making agronomy a high-risk field.
People at the Ninth Agricultural Base were either ambitious, aiming to become planting officers or researchers, or they were extremely poor, hoping to improve their future prospects.
Zhao Linong pondered this information and decided to search for “researcher.”
In this world, researchers were the highest-ranking and most respected professionals. Zhao Linong turned off the optical brain, reflecting on her decision to continue studying agriculture. Becoming a researcher could bring honor to her family and offer excellent benefits. Her parents would surely be pleased if they knew.
She wondered about her family in her original world. When she fell off the ridge, it felt like falling into a deep sleep, with no pain at the moment of unconsciousness.
“Hey, look over there,” He Yuesheng said, nudging Zhao Linong with his shoe. “They’ve started spraying the protective liquid.”
Zhao Linong looked outside and saw that all the freshmen had boarded the bus. The two planes that had been circling began dispersing misty liquid, filling the air with a pungent, sour smell.
Rescue vehicles formed a long queue, moving slowly along the gravel road. The military planes continued to spray protective fluid as they moved farther away, leaving the derailed train behind.
In the sunlight, the scene seemed orderly yet incredibly strange.
