You want me, a reborn woman, to farm?

Sheng An answered that question.

"-I asked for Qi Lingwu, captain of Team 0. All three Aberrants go to Group A."

Team 0!

There was that name again.

Then Jiang Yu remembered Hao Jingye saying that Sheng An and Qiu Yu had both come from Team 0.

Her eyes widened in confusion. "What exactly is Team 0? Are they really that good?"

"Very good." Hao Jingye looked awestruck. "Back when I was in the Information Group, working with Team 0 was what I looked forward to most. Put it this way: they're a group of people capable of anything, tasked with carrying out the nation's most secret and difficult missions."

He paused, then summed them up in a single line. "National Humanoid Weapons. Fighter jets of flesh and blood."

Jiang Yu's breath caught.

Humanoid weapons. Fighter jets of flesh and blood...

What a terrifying assessment.

She instinctively looked at Sheng An, seeing only her cool, sharp profile.

Jiang Yu was skeptical.

Sister Sheng looked pretty frail. Was she really that strong too?

Hao Jingye saw her doubt and rolled his eyes. "Jiang Yu, never doubt Sister Sheng. Give it time, and you'll understand."

Jiang Yu nodded hesitantly.

Really?

Still half-convinced, she stopped dwelling on that question and asked another:

"Team 0 is incredible, and Captain Qi is their leader. That means he must be unbelievably strong, right?"

Hao Jingye nodded, lifting his chin proudly.

"Of course. Captain Qi is a legend himself. He's a Top Sniper. In private, we describe him like this: 'Sight limits the eyes, but range doesn't limit a sniper.' Captain Qi has no limits."

Jiang Yu felt an inexplicable awe.

Hao Jingye rubbed his hands together, looking rather pleased. "With Captain Qi joining Group B, Sister Sheng can command all of Team 0. Tell me, did she lose out on this deal?"

Jiang Yu instinctively shook her head.

Sheng An drove, her voice languid. "I've met those two water and fire espers. Forget now-even if they become powerful in the future, they still won't be a match for Team 0."

Espers could become strong, but Team 0 was already strong.

They were a lovable yet utterly terrifying group of people.

-and she had come from their ranks.

Jiang Yu had another question.

She leaned her head toward Hao Jingye, eyes sparkling. "If Captain Qi is that powerful, and he represents Team 0, would Qiu Yu, Group A's leader, really agree?"

Group B wanted to keep Group A down, but Group A wanted to keep Group B down too.

A mischievous grin suddenly spread over Hao Jingye's face, but he quickly suppressed it and solemnly adjusted his glasses-

"She has no choice. Captain Qi is our Sister Sheng's lover. Even if Qiu Yu snatched him up, she'd worry about him sabotaging her."

Jiang Yu: "!!"

She instinctively looked at Sheng An, hardly able to believe this woman actually had someone.

Wait!

Jiang Yu asked, "Why 'lover' and not 'boyfriend'?"

Hao Jingye looked helpless. "You'll have to ask Sister Sheng that."

Jiang Yu turned to Sheng An, blinking at her with starry eyes.

Sheng An glanced at her through the rearview mirror and smiled. "Stop prying. Don't fill your head with romance. Keep it wholesome."

Jiang Yu pouted. "Dating isn't wholesome?"

She rested her head on the seatback in front of her and gazed at Sheng An. "Sister Sheng is so pretty. The more I look, the prettier you get. I can't imagine anyone good enough for you."

Hao Jingye gave her a disdainful look.

-Seriously, it was only her first day, and she was already Sheng An's little fangirl.

-Hey, had she forgotten when Sister Sheng pointed a gun at her?

The three returned to their workplace as they chatted.

Their so-called "workplace" was actually an entire camp temporarily cleared out halfway up a mountain. It was secluded but heavily guarded, with several experimental facilities and office buildings nearby.

With espers around, after all, a small space wouldn't give them enough room to work.

Jiang Yu kept looking around, marveling. "I've lived in the capital for so many years, and I never knew there was a mountain here, let alone what was inside..."

Hao Jingye said, "Of course. How could ordinary people enter a classified site?"

Sheng An led them straight inside.

"Group A and Group B share this building. Upstairs are several laboratories and some researchers, so you might run into people from Group A here at any time," Hao Jingye said quietly.

Jiang Yu instinctively craned her neck to look.

Hao Jingye tugged her back. "Stop looking. Leader Qiu took Group A's three members out to find other Aberrants. They won't be here now. You might see them tonight."

Jiang Yu drew back her gaze. "There are more Aberrants?"

Hao Jingye said, "Of course. Every person showing anomalies has to be screened. You're the third we screened today. The first two were false alarms, but you're a genuine Aberrant."

And a very rare one at that.

Jiang Yu was a little disappointed. Realizing she wasn't the one and only chosen heroine was rather discouraging.

But she was also curious. "So we still need to keep screening other Aberrants? Do we have any leads?"

Hao Jingye nodded. "A few."

Sheng An swiped her card, led them into the elevator, and pressed a floor button.

"Logistics started preparing while we were on our way. First, register and get examined. Then come with us to load things into your space. We have some other arrangements for you too," Sheng An said.

Jiang Yu forgot her curiosity and grew excited.

She had only stored supplies herself, and vast stretches of her space were still empty. Even if things would expire, filling it to the brim would still be great.

If they filled it with weapons and restricted medications... that would be amazing!

She'd feel so safe.

Upstairs, Jiang Yu was examined inside and out. They took several scans, drew blood, had her put things into her space and take them out, and even had her dig out a pot of black soil... only then did they respectfully see her out.

She was terrified of being "dissected," so Sheng An stayed with her throughout.

Looking at Sheng An gave Jiang Yu an inexplicable sense of security.

Once everything was over, Jiang Yu breathed a sigh of relief.

She said excitedly, "Let's go load everything up now!"

Sheng An nodded and spoke as they walked:

"You can take the things in your space out. The country is stockpiling grain. You won't go hungry even during the apocalypse."

She paused, remembering that Jiang Yu had only just joined the Special Affairs Office and might not fully trust the state...

Sheng An said, "Never mind. Leave them there. You haven't stockpiled much anyway, and keeping it inside will put you at ease."

Jiang Yu nodded frantically, like a chick pecking at grain.

-Wonderful!

-The country was definitely going to give her tons and tons of supplies!

Otherwise, why ask her to clear out space?

Sister Sheng had even thoughtfully let her keep her supplies...

Jiang Yu was a little touched.

But at the same time, she also felt a little guilty.

Sheng An glanced back and immediately noticed Jiang Yu's mixture of excitement and guilt.

The corners of her mouth curved upward.

Jiang Yu's thoughts were easy to read.

She had lied. She definitely wasn't the only person who could enter her space.

It was her special advantage, after all. Keeping something hidden was normal.

Sheng An could understand that little bit of self-interest.

But...

Amusement shone in her eyes, and her steps were light and unhurried.

Sheng An brought Jiang Yu to a warehouse beside the camp.

As she looked at its enormous doors, Jiang Yu's eyes grew brighter and brighter. She practically wanted to jump up and cheer.

The two approached.

A middle-aged man emerged from the warehouse, his expression solemn. "Chief Sheng, everything is ready. It's all inside the warehouse, and all the researchers are here."

Sheng An nodded.

Jiang Yu was puzzled. Researchers?

As they drew closer, Jiang Yu finally made out the contents of the enormous warehouse...

Tractors, tilling machines, seeders, sprinklers, fertilizer spreaders, fertilizer, seeds... along with all kinds of seedlings and strange plants.

Beside them stood a group of old men in white coats, tending to everything with great care.

"Oh, someone's finally here! These things all need careful tending. Hurry up and get them planted!" One old man jumped up and beckoned to them.

Jiang Yu: "?"

She looked at Sheng An.

What did this mean?

Where were the supplies she was supposed to load?

Sheng An met her gaze and smiled:

"These are the things you'll be putting into your space. Your assignment now is to preserve the Hope Seedlings and test the Experimental Hope Seeds. Make your space bear abundant fruit, so that even if Earth becomes a barren wasteland, your space will still brim with life."

It was a little convoluted, leaving Jiang Yu dazed.

She murmured, "Seedlings, seeds, fruit, brimming with life..."

As if something had occurred to her, her pupils trembled.

She pointed at herself and looked at Sheng An in disbelief:

"So you want me to-farm?!"

Sheng An smiled brightly. "It's called cultivating Hope Seedlings."

That vast stretch of black soil had to be put to use.

Although it didn't compare to Shi Xiao's space, with its mountains, water, and entire world, that was fine. They could make do.

Jiang Yu: Wasn't that still farming?!

Just then, an old man came over, visibly excited-

"Is this young lady the Space Esper? Oh, you're finally here! After we received notice of the apocalypse, we old fellows were worried sick. Thank goodness we found you. Once the world turns into a barren wasteland, that space of yours will be our last hope. Come on, I'll teach you how to plant these."

"Who are you?" Jiang Yu asked impatiently.

Sheng An smiled faintly. "Academician Zhou of the Academy of Sciences, one of the world's foremost botanists. You don't know how to farm, so from now on, they'll all be your teachers. They'll teach you how to sow the seeds."

Jiang Yu: "?"

She almost thought she had misheard.

Sheng An took her hand, smiling brightly:

"They're all experts in this field. Future research into Barren Land Cultivation, Apocalypse Cultivation, and so on will depend on your space. They're your teachers, but they'll also be relying on you."

Jiang Yu: "??"

She was a little bewildered. "What does that mean? I'm responsible for them?"

Sheng An said, "Don't worry. As an outstanding contributor, you'll definitely receive enough food to feed them."

Jiang Yu: "???"

Was that what I was fucking asking?!

Wait!

-So she'd work herself to the bone farming, just to feed a bunch of people who would tell her how to farm?

Sheng An spread her hands, looking regretful. "There's no other choice. You're the only one who can enter your space, after all."

Jiang Yu: "..."

She suddenly understood, with painful clarity, what it meant to shoot herself in the foot.