“Huh?”
“Hold on tight!”
Although Xue Kai was utterly confused while driving, he immediately slammed the accelerator to the floor. He yanked the steering wheel hard, grazing abandoned cars along the roadside before his vehicle “crashed” through the guardrail with a loud bang.
Instantly, the entire car seemed to take flight, soaring from the mid-slope and landing heavily with a thunderous “thud.”
Even though the jolt felt like it was about to shake their internal organs loose, Xue Kai kept his foot glued to the gas pedal. Ignoring all obstacles ahead and the fields that couldn’t even be called roads, he continued to drive forward desperately.
Almost as soon as they drove away from that stretch of road, an earth-shattering sound erupted from behind.
The three of them, having recovered slightly, instinctively looked into the rearview mirror.
They saw the cars originally parked on the road sliding down one after another, kicking up massive clouds of dust. Vaguely, they could see several mutants struggling to emerge from the wreckage. Some crawled back onto the highway, while others, hearing the sound of the engine, chased directly after them.
Among them, a long-legged mutant moved with incredible speed, reaching the back of the car in the blink of an eye.
Ye Mian glanced at the other mutants being left far behind and said without a second thought, “Turn around. Hit it!”
“!!!” She’s asking the impossible!
Xue Kai gritted his teeth and turned the steering wheel to its limit, making the car drift across the barren land. Then, closing his eyes, he slammed into the long-legged mutant.
CRASH—THUD—
Hearing two massive impacts in succession, Xue Kai dazedly opened his eyes to see the front hood of the car severely dented. Then, he heard Ye Mian calmly issue the next command.
“Stop the car.”
He quickly released the accelerator and slammed on the brakes, coming to a shaky halt with a piercing screech of friction.
Then came the sound of doors opening and closing, followed by several thumping sounds of fists hitting flesh. When Xue Kai looked out the window in disbelief, he found that not only had the long-legged mutant completely collapsed, but the others following behind had also fallen into the weeds, motionless.
He first turned to look at the empty passenger and back seats, then looked out at Ye Mian and Lu Ning, who were already inspecting the mutant corpses. His mouth drifted open.
They didn’t even discuss what to do, did they?
How do they have such perfect chemistry after only meeting today?
For the two women outside, it wasn’t so much chemistry as it was a shared thought the moment they saw the mutants catching up: Kill them.
Being chased constantly made them too passive, and a long pursuit might attract the attention of even more mutants, leading to greater trouble. It was better to end it quickly. Moreover, the combined strength of these few mutants wasn’t even equal to that of the one-armed creature in the supermarket; there was no need for a complex strategy.
“They’re all low-level mutants…” Ye Mian glanced at the five Lustrous Stones she had just picked up and closed the storage interface before standing up.
Lu Ning walked over. “Nothing else is following us.”
She paused, then looked toward the highway obscured by trees in the distance. “Did you not encounter this many when you entered the city?”
“No,” Ye Mian shook her head. “They seem to have been intentionally lured together.”
She just didn’t know if they were actively hunting something or being lured into a trap.
“Is everything settled?”
Ye Mian turned to look at Xue Kai, whose face was pale. He seemed to have a delayed reaction to the adrenaline and looked like he wanted to vomit.
“Yes. Are you okay?”
“I’m… fine…” Xue Kai waved a hand, though the other was involuntarily leaning against the car to hide his trembling legs.
Seeing this, Lu Ning said, “I’ll drive for the rest of the way.”
Although Xue Kai felt a bit unwell, he was perfectly capable of sitting in the passenger seat to give directions. After bumping across the wasteland for about an hour, they successfully reached their destination.
Since the land on the farm needed to be cleared for planting, Xue Kai had Lu Ning park the car outside. He quickly got out and entered the farm’s boundaries. Breathing in the air, which was much fresher and more comfortable than outside, he let out a long sigh of relief.
Ye Mian didn’t rush inside after getting out of the car. Instead, she looked at the nearly totaled vehicle, considering the possibility of dismantling it completely and then restoring it.
Then, she noticed Lu Ning, who was standing still.
Ye Mian followed her gaze into the farm. Although the cornfield was completely barren and the other vegetable plots hadn’t been replanted after the harvest, the wheat Xue Kai had planted yesterday had just entered its ripening stage. The golden wheat field swayed with the wind, looking beautiful and filled with the joy of harvest under the sunlight.
In the past, this would have been an ordinary sight, but in times like these, it was nothing short of a miracle.
“Looks like there’s no time to rest.”
Seeing Xue Kai enter the wheat field to inspect the crop as soon as he caught his breath, Ye Mian raised her hand to gather her loose long hair, tying it casually behind her head, and stepped into the farm.
Lu Ning finally snapped out of it. She realized that Xue Kai’s claim of “enough food” was no exaggeration. With a complex heart, she followed behind them, but after a few steps, she felt as though she had been blocked by an invisible wall.
“Uh…”
“?” Ye Mian turned back. Seeing Lu Ning trying to walk forward again but unable to advance even half a step, she remembered something. “Come in.”
As soon as she spoke, Lu Ning finally successfully stepped into the farm, feeling the air and breeze that were distinctly different from the outside.
It seems outsiders need my permission to enter the farm, Ye Mian thought. She opened the quiet system interface and looked at it before speaking again: “Are you willing to stay here?”
Back at the supermarket, when Lu Ning heard Ye Mian ask if she wanted to come along, she thought she was needed to help deal with mutants. Now, it was clear that wasn’t the case.
“Is there anything I can do?”
“Of course,” Ye Mian said without hesitation. “And it’s something only you can do.”
Hearing such a certain answer, Lu Ning’s heart stirred slightly, as if something broken was knitting itself back together.
“Okay.”
[Employee 2: Lu Ning (Evolutionary). Initial Skill: Absolute Strength. Specialty: Boxing. Loyalty: 92] (Details can be viewed in [Farm] – [Employees])
Hmm? Her loyalty is that high from the start?
Ye Mian raised an eyebrow and instinctively jumped to the employee interface. She found that after these few days together, Xue Kai’s loyalty had also risen from its initial 78 to 89.
This meant she no longer had to worry about anything; they could happily plant crops and vegetables together on the farm.
Closing the interface, Ye Mian smiled at Lu Ning. “Follow me.”
The two crossed the vegetable plots and circled the house to the kitchen side. The carcass of the giant gray rabbit from yesterday was still exactly as it had been when it died, though the scent of blood had long since dissipated.
“I’ll leave this to you.”
“Woof~”
Big Black, who had been dutifully guarding the house, trotted over when he saw Ye Mian. He wagged his tails to show affection while occasionally sniffing toward Lu Ning to get used to her scent.
Ye Mian patted his head and introduced him to Lu Ning, who had gone quiet. “His name is Big Black. He’s also a member of the farm. Don’t be afraid of him.”
“…” Lu Ning looked at the gray rabbit carcass, then at Big Black with his three heads. For a moment, she was confused. “Can you eat the meat of mutated beasts?”
“Yes. Some low-level, non-toxic ones are edible. If you want to gain weight, you should be eating more meat anyway, right?”
While that was true, Lu Ning still hadn’t expected they could actually eat mutated beast meat.
After taking a moment to accept this fact, she understood Ye Mian’s meaning. “What I need to do is separate the fur from the meat and process it into ingredients for cooking?”
“Exactly!”
Xue Kai, having checked the wheat field, leaned over. “You’re strong, so you should be able to handle it easily. As for what to do afterward, don’t worry about it; just leave it to me.”
After speaking, he helpfully informed Lu Ning where the tool room was, told her the kitchen water was usable and drinkable, and said she could find an empty room on the second floor if she needed to rest.
As for hunger, she would have to bear with it for a bit, as they would be having a rabbit feast tonight.
Lu Ning listened silently, the chaos in her mind gradually becoming clear and organized. Here, she didn’t have to worry about mutants appearing at any moment; she could eat and sleep well. The only thing to worry about was whether she could finish processing this massive beast before dark.
Seeing that she understood but just needed time to digest everything, Ye Mian said kindly, “Take your time, no rush.”
She then called to Xue Kai, “Let’s go harvest the wheat.”
“Okay! Oh, by the way, the peach and olive trees have sprouted. They should probably bear fruit in a day or two.”
“Really?”
“Hehe. Now that we have water pipes, I’ll soak the rice seeds tonight. We should be able to transplant the seedlings tomorrow.”
“Good.”
Listening to their voices fade into the distance, a flicker of complex emotion passed through Lu Ning’s eyes, followed by a faint smile.
She really didn’t know which was more surreal: the broken world outside or the haven here.
But since she was already here, she might as well make the best of it.
Lu Ning walked into the house, found suitable tools in the storage room and kitchen, and officially began working on the gray rabbit.
On the other side, since they were using sickles to harvest the wheat, Big Black also joined the labor force.
Because of this, Ye Mian only needed to be responsible for bundling the cut wheat and transporting it into the warehouse.
Thanks to her 10 points of Spirit Essence, the text boxes began popping up almost as soon as the harvest began.
Extra Reward: “Wheat Seed” x100!
Extra Reward: “Mysterious Seed” x1!
Obtained 20 Special Harvests (20/20). Experience +20, Points +20!
Successfully completed three Main Quests. Stage Reward automatically claimed (Contains Seed Gift Pack x1, Common Mystery Box x1, 100 Points).
New Main Quest is now available!
Stage Reward?
Does that mean after completing a set of main quests, I get an extra reward?
This was a pleasant surprise for Ye Mian.
Before checking the rewards, Ye Mian first opened the farm information to check her current points—425. She suddenly felt quite wealthy.
“That wasn’t easy,” she sighed.
Ye Mian then switched to the warehouse and looked first at the “Mysterious Seed” she had just received.