“Captain Mi, what are you doing?”
Mi Tang spread out the corn seeds in his hand, motioning for Gu Xiaomai to look.
“According to what the training class teacher taught us, the corn should have sprouted by now. But right now, there are only two or three scattered seedlings.”
Gu Xiaomai scooped up a handful of soil, squeezed it into a clump, then released it. The soil broke apart quickly.
“This land is too dry. If humans can’t survive without water, then seeds probably can’t either.”
And on top of that, the soil didn’t seem fertile enough.
Thinking of this, a possibility flashed through Gu Xiaomai’s mind—that she still couldn’t freely condense the special water because her body wasn’t strong enough.
Just like when soil is too dry and lacks nutrients, corn seedlings grow weak and limp, looking like they’ll never grow properly—or might not even sprout at all.
Because of the damage her body had suffered from previous blood draws and bone marrow extraction, she still hadn’t fully recovered. If the special water appeared, it would naturally prioritize repairing her body first.
And the previous two times the special water had overflowed, it was likely due to danger, bodily stress responses, and intense emotional fluctuations—accidental occurrences.
After this internally consistent reasoning, Gu Xiaomai felt she finally had clarity.
“Lack of water?” Mi Tang recalled what he had learned. “But the teachers didn’t say we needed to water before sprouting.”
Is it possible the people who taught you didn’t expect the land to be this dry?
“I think it lacks water—and nutrients too. Humans need water and nutrient supplements to survive; plants probably do as well.”
Mi Tang nodded, feeling that what she said made sense.
However, fertilizer could be put aside for now. Water, on the other hand, was easier to solve.
It wasn’t that he didn’t want fertilizer—it simply didn’t exist. In recent years, the planting department relied on wood-type ability users for hydroponics or direct forced growth to maturity.
Fertilizer research only began at the end of last year after the outside exploration plan was confirmed. According to reports, it was still in the early experimental stage and couldn’t be used in fields anytime soon.
All camps planting outside the base this time were essentially conducting experiments. The base couldn’t provide much support; each camp could only rely on itself and its own ability.
Mi Tang went to ask several older members of the reclamation team for advice, then returned to camp.
When he reappeared, he brought Jiao Yang with him and distributed gray metal buckets and ladles to everyone in the reclamation team.
“For the next few days, we won’t be searching for purified plants. Our task is to water the fields.”
“Small amounts of water, multiple times, at the spots where corn seeds were planted…”
“Each group is responsible for its own original plot…”
Mi Tang went on at length, the core message being: every corn seed had to be watered, but no water could be wasted.
Gu Xiaomai held her ladle, carrying the bucket filled with water collected from Jiao Yang, and walked with Jiang Chenan and Yumi toward their Group 7 field.
When they arrived, Gu Xiaomai still couldn’t determine exactly where all her corn seeds were, so she could only estimate the locations and pour a ladle of water down.
“Why don’t we find a water-type ability user and have them water the fields like rain? That would be faster, more convenient, and wouldn’t waste water.”
Jiang Chenan estimated the position of a corn seed and poured water from his ladle.
“Water-type ability users have to ensure the entire base’s water supply. They usually don’t leave the base.”
“I see.”
Gu Xiaomai sighed, slightly disappointed. She had thought she might get to see the rare water-type ability users this time.
After watering in the morning, Gu Xiaomai carried her bucket back, only to suddenly trip and nearly fall.
The woman walking beside her, Wei Xiaoqin, immediately grabbed her arm.
“Are you okay?”
Gu Xiaomai quickly looked at her right hand—completely dry, nothing there. Slightly disappointed, she shook her head.
Wei Xiaoqin looked at Jiang Chenan, who still had his long leg casually stretched out, and said unhappily:
“You brat, why did you suddenly stick your leg out? Xiaomai was lucky she didn’t fall.”
Jiang Chenan smiled. “I didn’t notice Sister Xiaoqin and Xiaomai coming by.”
Later that afternoon, Yumi suddenly appeared behind Gu Xiaomai and Meng Xue, who were talking, and said in a low, eerie voice:
“You’re slacking off~~”
Meng Xue immediately crouched down, covering her head.
“I didn’t! I didn’t slack off! Don’t hit me!”
Yumi froze, at a loss, and looked at Gu Xiaomai for help: Sister, what do I do?
Gu Xiaomai immediately held Meng Xue’s hand, feeling guilty, and gently comforted her.
“Sister Meng Xue, no one here is going to hit you! It was Yumi—it was Yumi speaking! Turn around and look!”
She hadn’t expected Yumi’s joke to startle her—but instead trigger Meng Xue’s reflexive fear response.
Yumi quickly apologized. “Sister Meng Xue, it was me, Yumi. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.”
Meng Xue didn’t feel any pain, and after hearing their voices, she slowly lowered her hands. Her eyes were slightly red as she forced a strained smile.
“I… I…”
Gu Xiaomai gently patted her hand.
“Sister Meng Xue, if you don’t want to say anything, you don’t have to.”
Yumi also sincerely apologized again.
“It’s my fault. I just wanted to joke with Xiaomai. I didn’t mean to scare you. I’m sorry.”
“It’s my problem,” Meng Xue shook her head softly. “I’ll go fetch water first.”
She tightened her grip on the bucket and turned away.
Hearing the same voice, Gu Xiaomai didn’t react like that—but Meng Xue knew her reaction had been excessive.
She pressed her lips together, feeling a mix of frustration and self-loathing at how she always instinctively braced for being hit instead of resisting.
Gu Xiaomai watched her back, her thoughts complicated.
The girl was about the same age as her in her previous life—but she was often beaten. Sigh.
Yumi also watched her leave and reluctantly asked, “Xiaomai, do we still follow the plan? I scared Sister Meng Xue…”
Gu Xiaomai immediately said, “Continue!”
After several days, both of their reputations had taken a serious hit.
Gu Xiaomai smiled sweetly and kept praising them.
“Two dear brothers, thank you for your hard work!”
“Little sister can only rely on you two brothers!”
“I will never forget your great kindness!”
What could they do?
They couldn’t understand what she was planning, so they could only continue following the plan.
For several days, they watered the fields—and for just as many days, Jiang Chenan and Yumi followed the plan to “scare” Gu Xiaomai.
Not once did they succeed in scaring her. Instead, the people around her were frequently startled.
At night, Gu Xiaomai lay in bed tossing and turning, unable to sleep.
Her theory made sense—so why wasn’t the special water appearing?
Was the scare not enough? Did it need a life-or-death level crisis?
On Mountain No. 1, the red-bellied golden pheasant that was waiting to trade with Gu Xiaomai was growing increasingly anxious. It stood on a treetop, staring toward the reclamation team’s direction.
【Did that woman forget about exchanging tasty water with me?】
【Should I go find her tomorrow?】