“Brother Jiang, who are these two?” Mao Xiaofei swallowed a mouthful of rice and asked, his lips glistening with oil. 

“Your future coworkers,” Jiang Le replied.

The lighting wasn’t great, but as Mao Xiaofei stepped closer, he could make out Luo Mian and Kong Shuya’s gaunt figures. A wave of empathy washed over him, and suddenly his takeout meal lost its appeal. “Um, well… you haven’t had dinner yet, have you? I’ll go buy them two meals!”

He turned to run toward the vending machine.

But Jiang Le called him back: “They don’t eat that. I’ll cook them a separate meal later.”

People who have been in a state of prolonged starvation cannot immediately return to a normal diet, nor can they eat too much at once. They should focus on light, easily digestible foods, avoid greasy dishes, and recover gradually. Otherwise, at best, they’ll feel unwell; at worst, it could be life-threatening.

Although Kong Shuya and the others were also desperately craving the boxed meals in Mao Xiaofei’s hands—the emptiness in their stomachs was almost enough to make their legs give way—Jiang Le was right: the food in those boxes wasn’t suitable for them right now.

However, upon seeing the farm and what Mao Xiaofei was eating, the unease they’d felt on the way there gradually faded. Although they’d only briefly experienced the taste of food scarcity, the fear that hunger instills is deeply ingrained in one’s bones. Seeing the farm’s bountiful produce with their own eyes, even if Jiang Le hadn’t asked them to stay and work, the two of them were determined to stick around no matter what, just to survive.

Jiang Le led the two back to the old Jiang family house. Xiao Lang had already returned ahead of them and was lying on the pineapple-shaped pet bed in the courtyard. During the day, it stayed under the veranda, but at night, when it was time to sleep, it would carry the mattress into the bedroom on its own and sleep by Jiang Le’s bedside.

Whether it was because he’d been held by Jiang Le in his sleep a few times when he was younger, or because he believed sleeping on the same level as Jiang Le signified equality, Xiao Lang would sometimes try to jump onto the bed and sleep beside Jiang Le. But Jiang Le wouldn’t allow it, and they’d have to wrestle over it for a while every time.

Now, seeing Jiang Le return with two frail humans, the little wolf turned its head away, adopting an attitude of “out of sight, out of mind.”

Jiang Le had Kong Shuya and Luo Mian sit down at the octagonal table in the main room, then went into the kitchen to light the stove. He boiled a pot of water and prepared a bowl of light vegetarian noodle soup for each of them, topped with a poached egg and greens.

When the noodles were served, steam rose from the steaming bowl. The two picked up their chopsticks and slurped the noodles, nearly burying their heads in their bowls.

As she ate, Kong Shuya found tears falling uncontrollably. While the taste of the food could soothe their long-starved stomachs, it was the liberation from pressure and the sight of hope for the future that truly brought relief to their spirits.

Having spent so long hiding in a cramped space under the shadow of fear—their freedom restricted, their rights stripped away—they had believed they would never regain a normal life. Even now, a faint fear lingered that this bowl of hot noodle soup was merely a hallucination before death. They feared that the moment they opened their eyes again, the two of them would still be in a situation where they were surrounded by zombies and besieged by mutated plants.

After finishing every last drop of the soup, the two set down their bowls and chopsticks one after the other, looking at Jiang Le somewhat at a loss, as if awaiting judgment.

It wasn’t until Jiang Le produced the employee handbook he had once given to Mao Xiaofei and asked them to sign it that they hurriedly skimmed through it, each signing their own name. Only when they saw Jiang Le smile did their unease finally settle, if only for a moment.

“Alright, come back to the farm with me. The staff dormitory is over there. You’ll start work officially tomorrow. Since Mao Xiaofei is currently handling most of the farm work, there won’t be much left for you to do. If you have any questions while working, feel free to ask Mao Xiaofei.”

Kong Shuya and Luo Mian followed Jiang Le back to the farm once more. It was already completely dark, and the only light on the farm came from an oil lamp glowing under the eaves of the staff dormitory, serving as a faint guide in the darkness.

Jiang Le led the two upstairs. The doors of two previously vacant staff rooms now bore the names of Kong Shuya and Luo Mian. Upon opening the door, they found a thin blanket suitable for the mountain weather on the small bed inside; everything looked neat and warm.

Jiang Le didn’t linger there long, instead asking Mao Xiaofei to guide the two of them further.

Mao Xiaofei led the pair down to the first floor, lit the oil lamp in the bathroom, pumped a bucket of water from the hand-pump well, and pointed to a makeshift stove in the corner, built from stacked stones: “It’s been getting chilly at night lately. If you want to wash up, you can heat some water there.”

At the mention of washing up, Kong Shuya and Luo Mian both blushed. They hadn’t bathed in a long time, and their bodies inevitably carried an odor.

Mao Xiaofei, however, remained completely unfazed. He first helped them stoke the fire and heat the water, then went to the supply vending machine to buy them towels, toothbrushes, and toothpaste, and instructed them, “Wages at our farm are paid daily. By tomorrow night, you’ll have money to buy things here.”

The hot water washed away the grime and fatigue and restored their sense of human dignity. Mao Xiaofei didn’t go to sleep right away; he waited until he heard the sound of them going upstairs.

Though he didn’t ask about their ordeal, Mao Xiaofei could probably guess some of it. At the same time, he realized that if it weren’t for Jiang Le, he might very well have ended up just like them—or perhaps not even made it this far.

Mao Xiaofei walked to the doorway and spoke his final words of the night: “Sleep soundly. It’s safe here.”

Jiang Le ignored the sound of Xiao Lang shuffling back and forth on the floor with a mattress in his mouth and told him, “I’m going into the space now. Are you coming in with me, or staying out here on your own?”

Upon hearing this, the little wolf dropped the mattress and raised its neck, indicating it would follow.

The last time he hadn’t asked, the cub had nearly torn the bed apart when it saw Jiang Le vanish right before its eyes. The master and pet entered the space.

As usual, Jiang Le checked the current status of various aspects of the farm.

The biggest change today was that he’d hired two more employees. With the farm now fully staffed at three people, the previously locked employee cafeteria finally displayed

“Available for Placement,” but Jiang Le wasn’t in a hurry to set that up just yet.

The farm’s experience was nearly full enough to upgrade to Level 3. Once that happened, there would be no shortage of new buildings or expansion opportunities, so it would be better to build the staff cafeteria and other facilities all at once then.

However, even before the farm could be upgraded, Jiang Le and Xiao Lang would first level up to Level 4 and Level 3, respectively.

Jiang Le had already reached his personal experience cap a few days ago, while Xiao Lang was still a little short, but he’d reach it within the next couple of days.

Jiang Le didn’t know exactly how long this upgrade would take, but it certainly wouldn’t be less than three days. Xiao Lang couldn’t stand staying cooped up in the space right now. If Jiang Le’s upgrade took several days and there was no one to keep Xiao Lang in check during that time, Jiang Le was afraid it would get into trouble outside.

Although Xiao Lang no longer bared its teeth at Mao Xiaofei on a whim, Jiang Le felt that wasn’t because it had stopped disliking him—it was simply that Xiao Lang couldn’t be bothered to waste its energy baring its teeth at someone who was bound to keep popping up in its life.

Having Mao Xiaofei feed Xiao Lang while he was leveling up was nothing short of a pipe dream. If it weren’t for Jiang Le being there, Xiao Lang would have loved to devour Mao Xiaofei on the spot.

So, after weighing all the factors, Jiang Le decided to level up with the little wolf. That way, even if the little wolf woke up before him, at least he’d be there with it in the spatial realm.

And the method to ensure Xiao Lang could level up within these two days was—Blood Vine Nucleus Crystals. Xiao Lang had been coveting them for a long time; surely the energy within would be of great benefit to him.

Early the next morning, Jiang Le went to the farm first to tell the staff that he would be temporarily away from the farm for the next few days. His return date was uncertain, but it should be within a week.

Mao Xiaofei was already used to this. “Go ahead, Brother Jiang. I’ve got this covered.”

With Mao Xiaofei around, Jiang Le felt much more at ease. Although he didn’t yet have that level of trust in Kong Shuya and Luo Mian, he wasn’t worried they’d do anything to harm the farm.

Once everything was ready, Jiang Le took Xiao Lang with him and entered the spatial realm from the Jiang family’s old house.

The little wolf had initially shown little interest in entering the spatial realm during the day, but when he saw Jiang Le take out that blood vine nucleus crystal from the warehouse, his eyes immediately widened in fascination.

Jiang Le waved the nucleus crystal at the little wolf. “Want a bite?”

The little wolf demonstrated its eagerness with action, charging straight toward Jiang Le and burrowing into his legs. If not for the pride of a mutated beast, it would have probably wagged its tail.

Jiang Le placed the nucleus crystal in the palm of his hand, letting the cub roll its tongue out to take it.

He had assumed that with the experience he’d gained and his enhanced physique over this period, it wouldn’t be difficult for Xiao Lang to swallow this nucleus crystal. But to his surprise, although the nucleus crystal wasn’t scalding hot and untouchable as it had been during his first attempt, the deep green nucleus crystal still wouldn’t budge in his mouth no matter how long he chewed.

It shifted it from left to right, front to back, until the nucleus crystal suddenly shot out of the little wolf’s mouth with a whoosh, slamming heavily against the wall of the nearby hut.

The nucleus crystal shattered into four or five pieces right where it landed, and a pale golden object fell out from the center.

The little wolf let out an angry growl and charged forward, ready to fight again, but Jiang Le beat it to it and picked up the small, pale-gold object. The system’s description of this golden object read, “Level 2 Blood Vine Seed.”

So the blood vine seed had been hidden inside its nucleus crystal—no wonder the nucleus crystal had been so difficult to swallow at first.

Jiang Le watched as the little wolf swept the remaining shards of the nucleus crystal into its mouth. This time, there was no reaction of a burning sensation or being bitten by the nucleus crystal, and it showed little interest in the blood vine seed in Jiang Le’s hand.

Although the blood vine nucleus crystal was shattered, its energy remained abundant. Within minutes of swallowing it, the little wolf showed signs of leveling up. Though it tried its best to stay alert, it couldn’t resist its body’s natural response. A wave of intense drowsiness washed over it, and the little wolf slowly lay down where it stood, entering a dormant state of leveling up.

Seeing this, Jiang Le temporarily put the blood vine seeds away. He carried Xiao Lang into the small hut and placed him at the foot of the bed. He then sat cross-legged on the bed himself and actively initiated the evolution process to Level 4.

A full five days later, after enduring the familiar process of tearing and reshaping, Jiang Le opened his eyes. Beside him, the little wolf—who had woken up at some point—stared at him without blinking.

But calling it “Little Wolf” might no longer be accurate. As a Level 3 Mutant Beast, it had completely shed its mutated wolf cub appearance. With aqua-blue eyes and glossy, dark-gray fur, its shoulder height and body length now rivaled the largest North American gray wolves Jiang Le had ever seen. When it leaned its head toward him, it was several times larger than Jiang Le’s own, and even its demeanor seemed to have grown calm and aloof.

Seeing Jiang Le awake, the young wolf stood up. With every step it took forward, the aura of dominance radiating from its body grew more pronounced. Until it stopped beside Jiang Le, extended its massive wolf claws, and then—

It tapped the edge of the bed impatiently a few times.

This familiar gesture of begging for milk instantly dispelled all traces of its previous domineering aura.

Jiang Le fell silent, unsure what exactly he had been imagining or anticipating just moments before.