Thanks to GreenKiTea for the kofis! Enjoy the bonus chapters!

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As a management-focused player, Jian Xingyi was naturally more curious about the farm and the breeding grounds.

Jian Xingyi crouched low and cautiously skirted around the zombies, heading in the direction indicated by the road sign. Fortunately, the zombies here were focused on reaching the black hole, so as long as he didn’t get too close to them or deliberately draw their aggro, he wouldn’t be noticed.

On the way to the farm, Jian Xingyi couldn’t help but feel a bit troubled.

Since the Unity Anchor Point is out of commission, how is he… supposed to get out? Does that mean he’ll have to use up his rare items?

Shanhai: 【How’s it going?】

Xinghe: 【No problem. I’ll go check the surroundings, but what do we do about getting out later?】

Shanhai: 【Wait half an hour.】

Jian Xingyi blinked.

Does Shanhai have a solution?

Xinghe: 【Alright!】

Earlier, it seemed like he’d been inside the air wall for nearly an hour before his form started to fade, so half an hour should definitely be fine.

When Jian Xingyi arrived at the so-called farm and breeding ground, he saw abandoned fields surrounded by fences. The fences had successfully kept the zombies out, so the farm had been preserved, but the crops had withered and died because no one had harvested or tended to them.

In the nearby livestock area, the animals locked inside had all mutated after starving to death.

The gate to the fence was locked, so Jian Xingyi took out his pistol and shot the chain to break it before he could enter.

Looking at the empty, abandoned fields all around him, Jian Xingyi felt his heart ache.

What a waste…!

Unfortunately, he couldn’t use these fields…

Wait a minute?

Although this was “reality,” it wasn’t the real world—it was merely the reality defined by the game. So…

Jian Xingyi tentatively used a redemption voucher.

【Grade C Farmland】

【Points: 20】

【Price: 50,000】

Huh??

It really works?!

Jian Xingyi’s eyes widened in delight.

You can actually buy land here in the Air Wall!

But perhaps because it’s abandoned, the score is very low. This is the lowest score he’s ever encountered. Previously, the land he bought in the Shengqi Mountain dungeon had a score of 270, but that was because the land was sacred, and the price was 12 million—already a huge sum.

The land before him has a pitiful score, but the price is also very low.

Jian Xingyi was eager to give it a try. 50,000 wasn’t much for him. Although the harvest from this land might not be great, it was better than nothing, right? Plus, the plot was huge. Jian Xingyi did a rough calculation—it covered about 200 plots. After upgrading it to Grade B farmland, that would be 100 plots.

Although using a synthesis agent to upgrade to Grade B would cost an additional 500,000, it might improve the quality and increase the harvest.

So Jian Xingyi bought it.

【Player 【Xinghe】 has used 1 exchange voucher to redeem 1 Land Development Permit. Ownership of the fields in 【Volcano Farm】 now belongs to player 【Xinghe】.】

In the past, Jian Xingyi needed two exchange vouchers—one Land Development Permit and one Farmland Development Permit—to buy land and cultivate it. But since this plot had already been developed into farmland, Jian Xingyi even saved one exchange voucher.

Jian Xingyi was overjoyed.

Hehe!!

Jian Xingyi used some synthesis agents to upgrade all the fields to Grade B and was about to plant snow lotus on them.

【There are still infected crops on the field that haven’t been cleared; planting is not possible.】

Jian Xingyi: “……”

No more hehe.

Jian Xingyi recalled that the fields he encountered earlier at Shengqi Mountain were in the same condition, but he was able to use them after clearing them with a shovel. Although clearing 100 fields sounds daunting, but… there’s no other way right now.

After Jian Xingyi tried using a shovel to remove the abandoned crops, he planted the snow lotus again.

【The field has been contaminated by infected crops and cannot be planted】

Jian Xingyi: “…………”

Oh man, it doesn’t work even after cleaning it up!

Jian Xingyi sat down in despair.

Damn it… I’ve been scammed out of 550,000 dawn coins!!

Jian Xingyi sent a message to Shanhai.

Xinghe: 【QAQ】

Shanhai: 【?】

Shanhai: 【What’s wrong? Is there danger?】

Xinghe: 【The system ripped me off for 550,000!!!!!!】

Shanhai: 【.】

Jian Xingyi was heartbroken. He briefly explained the situation to Shanhai.

Xinghe: 【I actually thought I could build my own farm behind the Air Wall…】

Xinghe: 【Please comfort me QAQ】

Xinghe: 【I’m losing it QAQ】

Yes, if the fields behind the Air Wall were usable, Jian Xingyi really could have built a farm there. After all, there are no people, beasts, or natural disasters behind the Air Wall—zombies just rush headlong toward the black hole. Any open plot of land could be bought, and it wasn’t even expensive.

Jian Xingyi waited for ages, but Shanhai didn’t offer any comfort; instead, he replied earnestly.

Shanhai: 【I don’t think so. The system doesn’t have bugs when it comes to quests, rewards, and items. It wouldn’t let you buy land you can’t use for any reason. Maybe you need certain items or a specific method.】

Shanhai: 【You can give it a try. If it doesn’t work, wait until I get there, and we’ll figure it out together.】

Jian Xingyi thought to himself, That makes sense.

All the items the system had given him before had been useful. If they weren’t useful now, it just meant the time hadn’t come yet—like the Blue Vine, the Hardening Potion, and the Vines. He already knew about the Vines and the Hardening Potion; that left only the Blue Vine.

Jian Xingyi opened the VIP Store, his backpack, and various manuals and system tutorials, hoping to see if any new descriptions had been unlocked or if there were any usable items.

The fields were unusable now because they were infected. No wonder the scores were so low—after all, the scores for Jian Xingyi’s land were based on purity.

Perhaps he needed a purification item. If that didn’t work, he’d have no choice but to use a Wish.

As Jian Xingyi was flipping through the pages, he suddenly paused.

She noticed that the Green Vine, which previously had no description, now had two additional lines of text when he tapped on it.

Huh…?

Jian Xingyi’s heart began to race.

Could this be it?

Afraid of being disappointed, Jian Xingyi took several deep breaths before tentatively tapping on it.

【Green Vine: When planted in a field, its roots grow deep and climb upward, while its leaves spread out to absorb harmful substances from the soil. After it dies, it decomposes and becomes nutrients for the land. Can be used on damaged or contaminated fields】

Jian Xingyi: “……!!!”

Oh my god!!

It really is this one!

So… so this A-grade seed that had been sitting in his backpack for so long, the one he had no idea what it was for—this is what it does!

He didn’t have many Green Vine seeds, so Jian Xingyi opened the Synthesis Machine and used the Multiplier Synthesis to increase the number of Green Vines he could plant.

Jian Xingyi happily planted all the Green Vines.

Hopefully this works…

This is 100 plots of B-grade farmland! The most he’d ever seen before was 50 B-grade plots for 3 million or 20 A-grade plots for 12 million.

If the Green Vine really can save the farmland, then factoring in all costs, he’d have bought 100 B-grade plots for just 500,000—that’s definitely a massive breakthrough.

If this really works, he’ll have to keep buying land at the air walls of Peace Mountain and Lava Volcano—setting up a farm isn’t just a dream!

And… although this is a game, the system classifies it as reality, so it possesses real-world characteristics. In that case, what difference would there be in the crops grown here?

Jian Xingyi had no way of knowing.

Whether the Green Vine could be purified, and when that might happen—Jian Xingyi didn’t know the answers to these questions either; he could only do his best.

After finishing all this, Jian Xingyi headed over to the livestock area to take a look.

The cattle pens, pigsties, and sheep pens were all filled with infected animals. Jian Xingyi took out his bow and arrows to put them out of their misery, harvesting a fair amount of meat to pack into his backpack.

After all, he wasn’t short on meat.

Jian Xingyi currently has 21 exchange vouchers left, so he tried using the Livestock Development Permit here.

【Player 【Xinghe】 has not fully unlocked the Homestead Farming Zone and cannot establish a farming zone outside the homestead】

Alright then…

Jian Xingyi’s homestead currently only had six livestock zones and one pond—indeed, not many.

Jian Xingyi thought to himself, Is this why he didn’t want to unlock the homestead’s expansion areas…? The essential requirements are just too high!

Jian Xingyi could afford the 500,000 required to expand the pond and livestock zones, but the essence needed to upgrade them to produce high-quality meat after expansion was no small amount. Upgrading from the initial D grade to C required 500 points, and upgrading to B required 1,000 points.

Thanks to his journey to the Fire God’s Belly, he had barely managed to scrape together 2,000 points.

With no other choice, Jian Xingyi had to give up.

After leaving, Jian Xingyi was about to head elsewhere to look around, but along the way, he discovered that there wasn’t just one so-called farm here…!

Farmhouses surrounded him on all sides; this was clearly a small town that relied on farming for its livelihood. The place Jian Xingyi had just visited was merely the first household in this town. Stepping out the back door, he could see the other buildings that had previously been hidden by the woods.

In other words, the fields Jian Xingyi had purchased originally belonged to a single household. However, since the town had now become a ghost town, those fields were ownerless and available for him to buy.

And every household here owns a large plot of farmland and a livestock pen.

In other words, if the Green Vine really works, then Jian Xingyi could buy up all the farmland in this town!

Now this is a real farm…!

Just thinking about it made Jian Xingyi feel elated.

“Cluck-cluck-cluck—”

Just as he was lost in his wonderful daydream, Jian Xingyi was startled by a sudden… crowing.

Chickens?!

Jian Xingyi stopped in his tracks and discovered that in the chicken coop of one of the households… There were actually quite a few live chickens!

It wasn’t just this one household; there were also live animals in quite a few of the farms. The numbers weren’t large, but… they were definitely there!

Jian Xingyi was somewhat surprised—so not every farm in the area was filled with infected animals!

After observing for a while, Jian Xingyi realized it depended on whether the animals were kept confined. The ones still alive were either free-range or had broken through the gates and escaped on their own.

In other words, they were able to find food once they got out.

But Jian Xingyi still didn’t understand—with the fields all infected, where were these animals finding food…?

This was just too strange.

Jian Xingyi looked at the lively chickens hopping around before him and swallowed hard.

He was about to go in and grab one, but suddenly stopped in his tracks.

No.

He can’t catch them!

If he takes one, he’ll only get to eat it once—it’s like killing the goose that lays the golden eggs. And even if he uses his skill system on the chickens, there’s no guarantee it’ll give him any. But if he comes back here in the future and buys up all these farms, won’t the animals inside come along as part of the deal?

Then he’ll have an endless supply of chickens! And not just chickens—he’ll own all the other animals on the farms too.

But what if these animals are all dead by the time he returns? And what if, next time he enters the air wall, he doesn’t end up here?

Jian Xingyi was torn.

It was like a high-stakes gamble.

Either take a chance for a richer reward in the future, or catch all these animals now and enjoy the moment.

Just as Jian Xingyi was hesitating, the chicken he hadn’t caught suddenly flapped its wings and flew up, clucking as it hopped into a well nearby.

Jian Xingyi: “??!”

After Jian Xingyi cast a skill on the well, he discovered that inside… it was filled with specks of light.

Huh?