The scene before her was entirely expected.
Sheng An remained perfectly calm. She ruffled Jiang Yu's hair and smiled. "Little Yu, what's wrong?"
Jiang Yu's eyes brimmed with tears. "Sister Sheng, I don't want to study anymore..."
It was so fucking painful.
Wasn't she supposed to be the chosen one? Why was this even harder than college before her rebirth?
Sheng An comforted her. "You've had it rough, but what can we do? You're the only one who can enter your space. Study hard. Academician Zhou and the others aim to train you into a cultivation specialist within fifteen days."
Jiang Yu: "..."
Once again, she lamented that she had really shot herself in the foot!
Jiang Yu had spent her college years busy dating, barely scraping together a diploma before leaving school.
Her major hadn't been particularly demanding, either.
But now, a group of academicians and experts were trying to cram her full of knowledge and turn her into a professional as quickly as possible.
In just one night, she had stuffed far too much into her head.
Her head spun, and her vision blurred.
This wasn't how a chosen one was treated. This was the miserable life of a student.
Jiang Yu gritted her teeth. "No, I can't do this. It's really not that I won't cooperate. It's just-"
She quit!
What could the government possibly do to her?
Sheng An remained utterly calm at that.
A smile slowly spread across her face, and she said softly, "I'm afraid that's not an option."
Jiang Yu's eyes widened in disbelief. "Why not? What, can the government force me to do something against my will?!"
Sheng An said, "Of course not."
Her smile never changed. "But the government might decide not to hand Yu Litian and Chen Jiaojiao over to you. Oh, they are citizens, after all. The government might provide for them and keep them safe through the apocalypse.
"Of course, if they work hard, they might even have enough food and warm clothing, and enjoy-"
"Aaaah!" Jiang Yu exploded. "No! Absolutely not!"
That was a knife straight to the heart!
Every word was killing her.
She clenched her fists and ground her teeth.
"I'll. Study!"
Letting those two bastards, Yu Litian and Chen Jiaojiao, live comfortably would hurt her more than being killed!
Behind Sheng An, Hao Jingye gave Jiang Yu a sympathetic look.
Was she kidding?
Did she really think Sister Sheng had taken Yu Litian and Chen Jiaojiao into custody for no reason?
They were Jiang Yu's Achilles' heel.
This girl was already in Sister Sheng's hands, and she still hoped to do whatever she pleased?
Ha. Did she think Sister Sheng was just some sympathetic big sister?
Still grinding her teeth, Jiang Yu was dragged away again by the impatient academicians and experts.
Sheng An didn't see Jiang Yu again until the next morning.
Like a wandering ghost, Jiang Yu drifted into the temporary camp's cafeteria, dark circles beneath her eyes. She muttered to herself as though reciting something.
Sheng An waved her over. "Little Yu, come eat."
Jiang Yu looked at her with resentful eyes.
She "floated" over and asked hoarsely, "Did you sleep well last night?"
"Pretty well," Sheng An replied. "What happened to your voice?"
Jiang Yu said, "Reciting textbooks."
She sounded deeply aggrieved. "I didn't sleep well. They only gave me two and a half hours to sleep, and they even played recordings beside me. They said sleeping shouldn't get in the way of studying..."
Sheng An said, "Be good and put up with a little hardship. You're the only one who can enter your space, after all."
Every time Sheng An comforted Jiang Yu, she used that same line.
She said it meaningfully, but with Jiang Yu's brain, the girl had never once thought any further into it.
Jiang Yu opened her mouth, then hesitated.
Sheng An watched her expectantly.
Jiang Yu gritted her teeth. "Fine. I'll take it. I can take this hardship."
I have to keep my cheat a secret!
Beside them, Hao Jingye pushed up his glasses, looking rather speechless.
"Isn't it just learning how to farm? Do you really need to look like you'd rather be dead?"
Jiang Yu didn't dare get angry with Sheng An. Hearing that, she immediately found an outlet.
She roared at Hao Jingye.
"Do you have any fucking idea how much there is to farming?! Do you think farming just means sticking seeds in the ground?!
"That's what I thought before, too. How hard could farming be?
"But damn it, Academician Zhou and the others actually said that lots of research plants are precious and need special cultivation methods! Every single one is different, and I have to memorize them all!
"And there's all that stuff about my space being an experimental field, and I have to learn how to compare those-"
Hao Jingye finished expressionlessly, "Compare the growth of different grain varieties under the same conditions, the same grain varieties under different conditions, and different grain varieties under different conditions. Weed out the inferior ones and even intervene artificially to cultivate the plants we need."
Jiang Yu: "???"
She looked utterly bewildered. "How do you know that?"
Hao Jingye raised a hand and pushed up his glasses again, his expression calm. "I got bored during my PhD, so I studied applied biological sciences on the side."
At that moment, those glasses suddenly seemed to sparkle.
Jiang Yu murmured blankly, "Bored? On the side?"
Hao Jingye said, "Yes. I studied quite a few subjects..."
As he drank his congee, he remarked casually, "Twenty-something, I think. Later, the government specially recruited me, so I focused on a few fields. I also learned over ten languages."
He sighed. "But with the apocalypse coming, those languages were all a waste."
Jiang Yu: "???"
Her head tilted, her face filled with bafflement and confusion, and the corner of her mouth twitched.
She suspected she had misheard.
Sheng An added, "Don't compare yourself to him. He has a photographic memory."
Jiang Yu thought, What the hell?
People really had photographic memories?
"What else did you think? If I didn't have some special talents, how could I have been assigned as Sister Sheng's assistant to help manage something as critical as the Doomsday Special Affairs Office?" Hao Jingye rolled his eyes.
Jiang Yu: "..."
Before today, she truly hadn't had the slightest idea Hao Jingye was this incredible!
She looked at Hao Jingye, then at Sheng An, and thought back to that group of researchers who disliked her for not having an IQ of 120...
Seriously, what kind of monsters were these people?
Wasn't she the chosen one who had been reborn?
Why did she suddenly feel so mediocre and ordinary?
This made no sense!
Jiang Yu sank into self-doubt.
The blow left her thoroughly deflated.
Sheng An tipped her chin toward the food. "Eat. Academician Zhou specifically asked them to prepare this breakfast for you. Order whatever you want for lunch."
At that, Jiang Yu looked at the meal in front of her.
There was a bowl of rice and several bowls of beautifully prepared dishes, both meat and vegetables, including some expensive ingredients. They looked freshly cooked, steam still rising from them.
One glance told her a professional chef had made them. They looked and smelled delicious.
Jiang Yu swallowed.
She felt strangely touched. "At least he has a conscience!"
Had he realized he'd put her through too much and come to make amends?
She still wouldn't forgive him!
Sheng An swallowed her food and said casually, "He said you're too dumb and should eat more to nourish your brain."
Jiang Yu: "..."
Ah, just let the world end!
No one understood her breakdown.
Hao Jingye had already finished eating. He swiped through his tablet, then looked at Sheng An.
"Sister Sheng, Li Wanyun boarded a plane first thing this morning. She's already on her way to the northeast. Zhao and the others are following her."
Sheng An nodded with a soft chuckle. "A wasted trip."
Hao Jingye asked, "Should we follow her?"
Sheng An said, "No need. Take control of her phone and access the surveillance footage from each location. With Zhao and the others there, we only need to make sure nothing happens to her. We'll wait here in the Capital City for her to return empty-handed."
Unable to contain her curiosity, Jiang Yu asked, "What are you talking about?"
Sheng An said, "Another future colleague of yours. The Space Esper, Li Wanyun."
Yes, they could already count her as a future member of their team.
Jiang Yu: "!!"
There was already a Space Esper!
Jiang Yu felt a strange twinge of jealousy.
As though something had occurred to her, she asked, "Why will she come back empty-handed?"
Hao Jingye gave a mischievous smile and glanced sidelong at Jiang Yu. "Because before the machinery of the state, every individual's actions are futile and powerless."
Jiang Yu: "???"
Couldn't he say something she could understand?
"Can I come with you?" Jiang Yu asked hopefully.
Sheng An smiled faintly. "No. You should focus on studying how to preserve Hope Seedlings and experiment with Experimental Hope Seeds."
Jiang Yu wanted to cry. "Just call farming farming! Stop making it sound so grand!"
Hao Jingye asked in puzzlement, "What are you doing this morning?"
Jiang Yu looked at him expressionlessly.
"Learning to drive a tractor."
Before you continue