Zhao Linong bought a red, three-wheeled motorcycle. She spent 7,260 points to purchase a second-hand vehicle from the trading market. The seniors were about to graduate, and after the last semester, things had settled down. Some people were selling their tools.
Tong Tong didn’t buy a car. She said she was too afraid to drive. He Yuesheng got a second-hand black pickup truck and took Zhao Linong and Tong Tong for a few rounds around the area. Eventually, they ran into Wei Li on the road.
Wei Li’s car was famous throughout the entire base. Her van had been modified, and from a distance, it looked like a little yellow chicken. She even changed the horn, so whenever it was pressed, it would make a clucking sound, like a chicken.
“You bought a car?” Wei Li poked her head out. “Take me with you!”
“Senior sister, don’t you have a car?” Tong Tong, sitting in the backseat, looked up at Wei Li in the van.
Wei Li jumped out of her car, opened the pickup’s door, squeezed into the backseat, and said casually, “My car broke down.”
He Yuesheng turned around and asked, “Where are you headed?”
Wei Li scratched her face and replied, “Wherever you’re going, I’ll come along.”
“We’re just driving around,” Tong Tong smiled, pursing her lips. “We’ve already made a few rounds.”
“Then I’ll take you to the animal husbandry area; it’s pretty fun there,” Wei Li suggested after thinking for a moment. “There’s a small meadow and a flock of sheep.”
Sure enough, the three in the car turned to look at her.
A minute later, the black pickup truck turned around and headed for the East District.
On the way, Zhao Linong asked Wei Li, “With so much grass, could there be any mutated grass in that meadow?”
As far as Zhao Linong knew, animal husbandry now specialized in raising cattle and sheep, and the grass they ate was feed, not natural grass.
“I’ve never seen any mutated green grass in that meadow,” Wei Li said in a lowered voice. “The sheep there are all raised by Dean Zhou.”
The three others in the car were still thinking about it, realizing that only Dean Zhou would go so far as to experiment on sheep by feeding them special grass—after all, he was a researcher.
When they arrived at their destination and got out of the car, they all stood silently in front of a high wall.
“Is there a meadow here?” He Yuesheng asked, turning his head towards Wei Li.
Tong Tong reached out and touched the wall. “All I see is the wall.”
Before Zhao Linong could respond, Wei Li interrupted, crossing her arms. “The meadow is inside the wall. We can sneak in by taking a detour.”
They followed her along the wall for about ten minutes before finally stopping at a hole in the wall.
Zhao Linong looked at the small opening and remained uncharacteristically silent.
“This… this looks like a dog hole,” Tong Tong said, bending down to inspect it closely.
“Remove the ‘looks like’—it is one,” He Yuesheng said, crossing his arms. “I’m not crawling through a dog hole.”
In the end, with Wei Li’s promise that she wouldn’t tell anyone, all four of them crawled through.
Inside the wall was indeed a meadow, and the far wall was so distant that it almost seemed endless. A flock of sheep grazed peacefully, and when the wind blew, the green grass swayed gently, creating a harmonious, tranquil scene.
Zhao Linong stood frozen, staring at the landscape. For a brief moment, she felt as if she were back in her original world.
“It turns out that Dean Zhou used to bring the guard team here for patrols,” Wei Li said proudly as she walked on the slightly yellowed grass. “But Dean Zhou hasn’t been here recently, so the guards don’t come as often. It was me who chased a chicken in here the first time, and that’s how I found this place.”
Zhao Linong lowered her eyes. Dean Zhou still hadn’t returned.
“Come on, let me show you something,” Wei Li said knowingly. “There’s a stream behind the hill. I’ve roasted chicken there before.”
The other three: “…”
As expected, the chicken Wei Li chased in must have ended up roasted.
Wei Li didn’t think anything of it. She smacked her lips. “If I’d known, I would’ve brought two chickens from my coop before coming in.”
As they continued talking, the four of them made their way toward the hill. Some of the sheep paused their grazing and quietly observed the strangers.
“Look! There’s a stream down there!” Wei Li said excitedly as she rushed downhill. The stream wound its way across the meadow, eventually reaching the distant wall.
Zhao Linong followed, bending down to scoop up some of the cool, clear water in her hands, letting it slowly slip through her fingers.
Tong Tong and He Yuesheng copied her, crouching down to play in the water.
Even though they were in their early twenties and living in a world where plants could mutate at any moment, they still occasionally found joy in nature’s beauty.
“Linong, look! There’s green grass at the bottom of the stream,” Tong Tong pointed out as she spotted the grass swaying in the water.
“It’s water grass,” Zhao Linong explained as she stood up.
He Yuesheng, eyeing the white sheep drinking from the stream upstream, swallowed and said, “I’ve heard mutton is delicious.”
“Hand-pulled mutton rice is amazing,” Wei Li chimed in excitedly. Then, with a sigh, she added, “But only the first cafeteria has it.”
She hadn’t been to the first cafeteria in a long time.
“Next time, I’ll treat you all to a meal there,” Wei Li said, glancing at Zhao Linong and He Yuesheng. She figured she’d have better luck if she stuck around them.
“Shh—”
Zhao Linong suddenly motioned for them to be quiet. Tong Tong and Wei Li, still crouched by the stream, looked at her in confusion but didn’t say anything.
He Yuesheng followed Zhao Linong’s gaze and noticed she was staring at the sheep drinking upstream.
Suddenly, the meadow became silent. The only sounds were the occasional bleating of sheep and the gentle murmur of the stream.
