Amid the lush orchard, Chang Qing Teng moistened his dry lips and held down the sun hat on his head to keep the scorching sunlight from licking at him.
Although his name resembled that of certain famous foreign university leagues, Chang Qing Teng had nothing to do with academia.
After finishing high school, he had inherited his father's trade, facing the earth with his back to the sky as he began scraping out a living from the land.
Over the past twenty-odd years, Chang Qing Teng had accumulated quite a bit of wealth.
Then, seven months ago, he had taken a desperate gamble, liquidating all his assets to acquire ownership of this orchard.
Starfruit Orchard.
His daughter loved starfruit, especially the star shape it made when sliced open.
Chang Qing Teng had thought it was a good omen, too.
But lately, things had seemed less than ideal...
Never mind rain—the air itself had become incredibly dry.
Chang Qing Teng could not afford a complete groundwater irrigation system and could only rely on manual water hauling.
Judging by the current temperature and conditions, the nearest water source was probably close to drying up.
Whether because the groundwater had been overused in a short period or for some other reason, several faucets in the orchard had already stopped producing water.
He unscrewed the green water bottle he carried and took two gulps.
"Ha..."
Chang Qing Teng let out a relieved sigh, his face full of worry.
From childhood to adulthood, he had never thought water was all that precious.
Only after managing an orchard himself did he understand what moisture meant to life.
Starfruit was not as drought-resistant as sweet potatoes, soybeans, potatoes, peanuts, or edamame, but it was still fairly hardy. If he worked harder every day and hauled water in from afar, it could barely survive.
But...
"This can't go on forever..."
Chang Qing Teng sighed.
At middle age, his strength was nowhere near what it used to be. Manually hauling water for a day or two was manageable, but over time, his body would easily develop problems.
As he stood there with furrowed brows, he suddenly felt the world before him grow dim.
When he looked up at the sky, dark clouds had joined together overhead, blotting out the sun. Strands of coolness wrapped around him, driving away the heat in his heart.
Splash, splash, splash...
Heavenly rain fell.
Raindrops the size of beans struck the ground, nourishing the parched soil and chasing away the scorching heat. Breathing in the moist air, he felt exceptionally refreshed.
At that moment, Chang Qing Teng suddenly wondered—did some great being truly exist in this world, one capable of hearing the cries of ordinary people and offering them aid?
Yan Anqing could not hear everyone's specific thoughts, but the sudden gathering of dark clouds in a clear sky beneath blazing sunlight was indeed his handiwork.
By altering weather satellite images, he had caused rain clouds to appear over Jibei Province, Su, southern Min, and eastern Guangdong.
He ensured that the rainfall would not be too little, nor would it cause flooding.
Yan Anqing had made this country...
Blessed with favorable winds and timely rains.
No one knew of his actions.
No one noticed his achievements.
The Art of War said—those skilled in battle have neither a reputation for wisdom nor achievements of valor.
That was because the victories of those skilled in battle always came naturally. They did not require many stormy twists and turns, so they appeared ordinary and unworthy of mention.
A round Black and White Dumpling appeared at the edge of his vision, dawdled its way to the center, and slowly spat out a string of text bubbles.
"Congratulations, Host, for obtaining the achievement—Dragon King!"
"Replace Heaven's will with your own!"
"You freely altered celestial phenomena, regulated the seasons, summoned clouds, and spread rain, bearing the responsibilities of the Dragon King!"
"Congratulations, Host, for obtaining the achievement—Madonna."
"If you had waited until the drought developed to a certain point before acting, you might have gained more."
"Out of compassion for all living things, you chose to act early and strangle the natural disaster in its cradle. You fully deserve the title of Madonna."
"Current Main Quest 3 completion progress: 13/30."
The appearance of two achievements at once left Yan Anqing stunned.
This was the first time it had ever happened.
Dragon King was understandable, but the other achievement...
"Stop making me sound so noble."
Yan Anqing's eye twitched slightly.
Yan Anqing, who conducted a self-analysis every year, had a clear understanding of exactly what kind of person he was.
After resolving the problems in Jibei Province, Su, southern Min, and eastern Guangdong, Yan Anqing's life returned to its normal track.
In Yan Anqing's consciousness database, there was an image file filled with text.
Long-term goal: World Remastered.
Possible future threat: The End of the Solar System's Sphere. (Note: According to Shang Yin's prediction, there are still nine years left. There is no sense of urgency for now. Let the future Yan Anqing handle future matters.)
Short-term goals: 1. Create a Tier 2 Supernatural life-form. 2. Raise social status. 3. Gradually acclimate Human Society to the existence of superhumans.
Yan Anqing's energy was mainly invested in short-term goal one.
The three smaller options within his short-term goals were all somewhat interconnected.
However, once the infection rate of Limitless Cell reached 10%, it seemed to have hit some sort of limit.
Whether he increased the training load, supplied additional nutrients, or practiced meditation to enter a tranquil state, none of it had much effect.
"Based on the current situation, at least at this stage, the greatest limiting factor for supernatural life-forms is the strength of their muscle fibers..."
"Then could high-strength artificial muscles be used as replacements? That would be the simplest and most direct method..."
"I have no idea which artificial material would have a higher compatibility with Limitless Cell. I'll have to test them one by one."
Yan Anqing pondered the issue as he headed toward the laboratory.
Suddenly, he stopped.
A young researcher in a white lab coat blocked his path.
"Please move aside."
Yan Anqing did not even raise his head. "I have work to take care of."
"You're a Level 4 Researcher, right?"
The young man's voice seemed slightly twisted, brewing with complicated emotions—part satisfaction, part mockery. "Come with me."
"Come with you?"
Sensing the other man's hostility, Yan Anqing slowly raised his head and looked at his face.
"Heh... I see."
The person blocking his path was Huang Zhaolan, the man who had badmouthed him behind his back and been labeled with red-eyed sickness by that hot-tempered guy.
What a man who never let revenge wait overnight...
Yan Anqing found it rather amusing.
If he wanted to, he could devise a hundred ways for Huang Zhaolan to die and ensure that no one could trace Huang Zhaolan's death back to him.
How Huang Zhaolan's story ended would depend on just how far he went—
Honestly, after spending several months in the Zhaofu Well Underground Secret Base, Yan Anqing had thought those arrogant face-slapping scenarios were completely unrelated to him.
He had not expected to run into someone so eager to die now.
Yan Anqing's calm composure made Huang Zhaolan particularly uncomfortable.
He knew that Yan Anqing was someone the upper ranks were focused on cultivating, a man specifically designated to receive preferential resource allocation. He had even become China's first officially promoted and crafted Star Scientist.
Huang Zhaolan understood all of that.
Yet he still could not resist rushing out to stomp on Yan Anqing.
Deep in Huang Zhaolan's heart, there were still certain fantasies and hopes.
If Yan Anqing was the timid, trouble-avoiding sort, and if Yan Anqing was willing to conduct research under him, then when a new project came out, could he perhaps secure a credit?
Maybe even first authorship?
The scientific community was not a perfectly blank sheet of paper.
Back then, how astonishing had Nikola Tesla's talent been? How terrifying had his brilliance been?
That bastard had produced groundbreaking research results every year, practically like an alien.
But what happened later? Hadn't Thomas Edison, a major capitalist with higher emotional intelligence, still taken everything from him?
Wealth!
Fame!
Status!
All of it had been seized, completely suppressed, not a single thing spared!
When God opened a door for someone, he was bound to close a window.
The phenomenon of bad money driving out good was not confined to financial circles alone...
"Why are you asking so many questions? My rank is higher than yours. Follow the rules and behave yourself!"
Huang Zhaolan had run out of patience.
After saying only two sentences, impatience surfaced on his face as he reached out to grab Yan Anqing.
"What are you doing?"
A cold male voice rang out from nearby, stopping Huang Zhaolan's movement.
Flowers! The protagonist has appeared! Emmmm, just kidding... Everyone, guess who it is?
Huang Zhaolan's setup has its own plot significance. In reality, people like him might do quite well, but here—
He's done for.
Also,
I still have plenty of wild ideas!
Using altered images to project onto reality and achieve the goal of altering celestial phenomena is not limited to regulating wind and rain!
Ah... saying that feels so embarrassing...
Before you continue