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Xia Putao leaned over and asked, "Well? Well?"

Lü Shunshun also stared at him with wide eyes.

Feng Yiqiao felt a thousand words crowding into his throat, but in the end, all he could do was sigh softly. "She has a Limit Physique. She's a Heavenly Chosen among Heavenly Chosen. She's probably already been chosen."

Xia Putao said, "I see..."

The light in Lü Shunshun's eyes went out too. Growing sleepy again, she said, "I'm going to bed. Don't call me for dinner."

Feng Yiqiao's lips moved, but he still couldn't bring himself to tell them the devastating news.

The agronomy department might be shut down...

He couldn't say it... He just couldn't...

All three of them were orphans. Without the agronomy department, they didn't know where they could go.

Only after exhausting the power in all her Star Apertures did Li Yang reluctantly stop working.

Three hundred years of life.

Heavens, she had gained a whole three hundred years in a single day!

Suddenly finding herself with so much life, Li Yang didn't even know how to spend it.

Hmm, there's no rush. I'll save up five hundred years first!

Feng Yiqiao asked her to stay for dinner. Li Yang noticed that their spirits were very low, and Senior Sister Lü hadn't come to eat either.

After eating in silence for a while, Li Yang spoke up softly. "Teacher..."

Feng Yiqiao held a steamed bun without taking a bite for a long time. He looked at her. "What is it?"

Li Yang said, "Can I come again tomorrow?"

Feng Yiqiao said, "..."

Li Yang said, "I mean, if you're going to post another task, could you send it directly to me?"

Feng Yiqiao stared at her for quite a while before asking in disbelief, "You want to come harvest wheat again tomorrow?"

Li Yang nodded solemnly. "Yes!"

Feng Yiqiao said, "Just for that one merit point..."

Li Yang said, "Not just the merit point. There are delicious steamed buns too."

Feng Yiqiao said, "..."

Xia Putao's ears perked up. He had a feeling something was off. Had the Zhong Family really already chosen this girl?

Although they were in the Central Capital, they knew which major families held sway in the other provinces.

The Zhong Family certainly wasn't short of money!

If Li Yang had really been chosen by the Zhong Family, why would she care about a single merit point?

Xia Putao couldn't let it go and insisted on asking, "Li Yang, department selection is the day after tomorrow. Have you decided which department you want to join?"

Li Yang said, "!"

Feng Yiqiao sighed softly and explained honestly, "The three major combat departments are all dominated by powerful families, but relatively speaking, the star combat department would suit you better. After all, the Zhong Family has a lot of influence there..."

Li Yang hadn't known any of this, but she wasn't interested in it either. Star combat, Star Magic, the mental department—her goal was crystal clear.

"Teacher..." Li Yang spoke up bluntly. "I want to join the agronomy department."

Clatter.

It was the sound of chopsticks hitting the table.

Crack.

Xia Putao fell right off his stool.

With a bang, Lü Shunshun, who was supposed to be asleep, stumbled in through the doorway and fell.

The three cried in unison, "Y-you want to join the agronomy department?"

Li Yang was a little nervous. People could only remain composed about things they didn't care about. When it came to things they cared about, even if success was practically guaranteed, they couldn't help feeling nervous.

Her throat tightened. "Can I?"

"..."

Li Yang said softly, "I was the top scorer in Donghua Province. By rights, I should be able to choose my department..."

It took Feng Yiqiao a while to find his voice. "Li Yang, there's something I owe you an apology for."

Li Yang's heart lurched.

Feng Yiqiao said shamefacedly, "I'm not actually a 'teacher.' I'm a student in the agronomy department too... My name is Feng Yiqiao."

Li Yang said, "???"

Feng Yiqiao's old face flushed bright red. He said stiffly, "Don't call me teacher anymore... Just call me senior brother."

Li Yang couldn't hold back and asked, "Senior Brother, your age..."

Xia Putao said, "Come on, it's not like you don't know our academy's rules. You can't graduate until you reach Third Grade, so Senior Brother... ahem, he just hasn't graduated yet."

Li Yang said, "..." She had been naive and ignorant.

Feng Yiqiao decided it was best not to pursue the subject and hurriedly changed it. "Do you really want to join the agronomy department?"

Li Yang answered without hesitation, "Yes."

"Why?"

When Feng Yiqiao asked, he thought he would hear something like, "The three major combat departments are full of powerful families and factional disputes, making it hard for ordinary people to get ahead."

Instead, Li Yang gave him a very simple answer. "Because I like crops!"

Crops were wonderful. They were all "domesticated" plants, safe and full of "life." How could she not love them?

The agronomy department trio said, "..."

All three were stunned. On average, they had each spent a year or two in the agronomy department, yet none of them had ever thought about it.

Liking crops.

Liking agronomy.

It was such a pure answer, yet coming from Li Yang, it struck them as perfectly natural.

At that moment, the three seasoned veteran students of the agronomy department found their hearts and minds cleansed by a little freshman.

After a long while, Feng Yiqiao said, "Since you were the top scorer in your province... naturally, you can join whichever department you want."

Li Yang was delighted. "Once department selection opens the day after tomorrow, I'll come report to the agronomy department!"

Feng Yiqiao said, "...All right."

Finally, Li Yang added, "Then I'll come back and harvest wheat tomorrow!"

Feng Yiqiao reminded her, "Tomorrow is the opening ceremony."

"Oh, right..." Li Yang had forgotten all about it. "There's the opening ceremony..."

Her thoughts were on the wheat, and she was afraid someone would harvest it. She asked, "Will the wheat be all right if it's left for a day?"

When he said that, the trio were moved again. Xia Putao even volunteered, "Don't worry, Junior Sister. I'll harvest it tomorrow..."

Li Yang's heart leaped into her throat. "It can't wait even one day?"

Xia Putao said, "Uh... it can. Never mind one day, even three days would be fine..."

Li Yang immediately said, "Then can I harvest it the day after tomorrow? Leave it to me. Sorry to trouble you, Sen... ahem, Senior Brother!" She changed how she addressed him on the spot, afraid Xia Putao would harvest her precious wheat.

Hearing her call him senior brother, Xia Putao gradually lost himself. "All right... all right..."

Li Yang added, "I really like wheat! I especially like harvesting wheat!"

Xia Putao said, "Well, from now on, all the wheat in our agronomy department is yours to harvest..."

Li Yang smiled brightly. "It's a deal."

Xia Putao immediately said, "It's a deal!"

Feng Yiqiao and Lü Shunshun watched, feeling somewhat bewildered.

Feng Yiqiao pulled Xia Putao, who was taking advantage of the girl, aside and cleared his throat. "Here's the situation... You have to attend the opening ceremony, and I won't stop you. But our agronomy department won't have a teacher there recruiting students, and as the top scorer in your province, you'll probably catch the eye of the other departments' recruiting teachers..."

Li Yang said, "Don't worry, Senior Brother. The agronomy department is the only one in my heart."

"They might offer you excellent terms..." Feng Yiqiao said. "But don't worry, our teacher is formidable too. Whatever they can give you, she can as well. Understand?"

Li Yang said, "!"

She hadn't expected that, but she quickly shook her head. "Senior Brother, I simply like the agronomy department. I don't have any other intentions. Don't worry, no matter what the other departments' teachers promise me, I'll only choose the agronomy department."

Feng Yiqiao said, "..." Tears were streaming down his old face.

Xia Putao said, "..." She really loved agronomy.

Lü Shunshun said, "..." Why did she feel strangely fired up?

Yu Hongyuan spent the entire day searching the forum, all to find out what the agronomy department was about.

He searched high and low and found jack shit.

The most popular post was: "Warning about the task office! Whatever you do, don't take tasks from the agronomy department. Harvesting wheat is a massive trap. Whoever goes is in for a miserable time!"

The thread was full of victims from past years, each railing about how grueling the agronomy department's farmwork was, how cunning Feng Yiqiao was, how difficult Lü Shunshun was, and how devious Xia Putao was...

In short, there wasn't a single good word-just curses and complaints.

The more Yu Hongyuan searched, the more confused he became. Had he imagined hearing it? Had Li Yang never mentioned the agronomy department at all?

Just then, his phone rang. Yu Zhiying was making an expensive cross-province call.

Yu Hongyuan said, "Mom..."

Because wilderness zones were everywhere, cross-province calls were extremely expensive, costing a hundred yuan per second. Even Yu Zhiying couldn't afford to waste time, so she got straight to the point. "Well? Did you find out which department Li Yang chose?"

Yu Hongyuan said, "..."

"What are you dawdling for? Speak!"

"The agronomy department..."

"?"

"Mom, she chose the agronomy department! She chose a department that other schools have shut down, that only Zhongdu Military Academy has barely kept open, and that not even a dog would join!"

"That's good. You can apply too."

"???"

"Follow Li Yang the day after tomorrow. As long as she applies to the agronomy department, you apply to the agronomy department too."

"Mom, have you gone crazy? I finally managed to get into Zhongdu Military Academy. Why would I go to the agronomy department and ruin my future..."

"Li Yang has great fortune on her side. You'd better stick close to her!"

"What are you talking about? That agronomy department..."

"How did I give birth to an idiot like you? I won't waste words on you. Either follow Li Yang into the agronomy department, or sever our mother-son relationship!"

Yu Hongyuan said, "..."

Afraid her son would do something stupid, Yu Zhiying explained a little more. "This is Zhongdu Military Academy. Could it have a weak department? The little money I have counts for something in Huangcheng, but it's worth jack shit in the Central Capital. You have no backing and no outstanding talent. Even if you joined a strong department, you wouldn't get ahead. You'd be better off following Li Yang. You might come across some opportunity, and even if you don't, Li Yang will help you out here and there for the sake of your shared hometown..."

Yu Hongyuan gradually began to listen and slowly followed his mother's train of thought.