“He should arrive tomorrow, right?” Yuan Yuepeng asked.

Without mentioning the name, Devil King instantly understood, his furrowed brow easing slightly. “Mhm.”

When Tong Zhanyan rushed up the stairs in one breath, Tian Xinqing was just coming out of the room across the hall, belonging to their other classmate, Ning Langdong.

Seeing Tong Zhanyan panting heavily, he looked puzzled. ”What’s wrong?“

”I went to the cafeteria,“ Tong Zhanyan said. ”Then I ran into the Devil King.”

At the mention of the Devil King, Tian Xinqing’s eyes immediately filled with sympathy.

Tong Zhanyan slowly caught his breath, chatted with him for a couple more minutes, then returned to his room.

It was almost lights-out time, and most people were busy washing up.

After washing up, Tong Zhanyan went to bed.

Early morning.

Alliance Cultivation Headquarters, Second Branch.

After finishing his observation log, Gu Yunyang stretched lazily and habitually opened his terminal to browse live streams.

Deep into the night, few streamers were online. Yet unlike other genres, cultivation streams captivated viewers simply with their vibrant, lush visuals brimming with life, prompting many to broadcast 24/7.

After checking his usual popular streams and finding no changes, Gu Yunyang habitually scrolled through newly started broadcasts.

Planting was currently trending—eight out of ten streams featured it. Gu Yunyang wasn’t expecting to find anything special; it was simply a habit to relieve stress.

As a member of the Alliance Planting Headquarters, his pressure was immense.

His current research subject was tomatoes. From sowing seeds to sprouting and growth, under his meticulous care—he practically lived in the lab these past two months—they had finally reached the flowering stage.

Watching the flower buds differentiate and blossoms open, he’d thought success was assured. He’d even drafted his report, ready for submission. Yet just three days ago, the flowers he’d longed for began falling en masse.

Blossom Drop.

A common affliction among most fruiting crops.

Currently, there is no known cure.

Just as Gu Yunyang was idly scrolling, a familiar flash of green caught the corner of his eye.

His finger paused mid-swipe. The next moment, he slid back to the previous livestream.

Under the faint moonlight, tucked away in some corner, five small tomato plants were planted in a battered little flowerpot.

They were clearly malnourished, and worse, they had suffered severe damage before. Not only were all the branches and shoots near the bottom soil broken off, but many flower buds were gone too.

They were five poor little things.

What caught Gu Yunyang’s attention wasn’t their pitiful state, but a streak of white in the potting soil.

Gu Yunyang zoomed in to examine closely. Sure enough, these five tomato plants also exhibited blossom drop signs.

“Sigh…” Gu Yunyang let out a sigh, not in the lab this time, but right in the livestream.

The next morning, Tong Zhanyan, still half-asleep after washing up, turned on the grow light as usual and instinctively glanced at the five tomato plants.

Several days had passed. The flower buds had long since differentiated into flowers buds, and the two healthiest ones had even bloomed yesterday.

The two flowers were nowhere to be seen.

Tong Zhanyan froze for a moment, then looked down. Sure enough, he spotted the fallen blossoms in the pot.

Tong Zhanyan felt helpless, but then shrugged it off.

He was barely surviving himself—how could he possibly have the nutrients to bloom and bear fruit?

Tong Zhanyan wasn’t anxious. After turning on the lights, he checked the livestream room again.

Half a month into streaming, the total views hadn’t even hit a hundred. Tong Zhanyan had given up hope; checking was just a habit.

Glancing over, he discovered the livestream room had unexpectedly received its first comment since he started broadcasting.

Comment: “Sigh…”

Posted by: Melancholic Research Dog

Whether the commenter was truly melancholic or not, Tong Zhanyan couldn’t say. But seeing such a comment first thing in the morning certainly left him feeling rather gloomy.

Unable to make sense of it, Tong Zhanyan decided to ignore it and headed out.

Morning was the Devil King’s class, but the Devil King still hadn’t shown up. Tong Zhanyan suspected he’d gotten drunk last night, though he certainly wouldn’t dare say that out loud.

After finally enduring until noon, Tong Zhanyan followed Tian Xinqing and Su Yanran back to the dorm after lunch, then secretly slipped downstairs again.

Before leaving, he made sure to bring an extra plastic bag—more than usual.

Tong Zhanyan’s destination remained behind the cafeteria, but this time it wasn’t the small grove from before—it was the trash bins behind the Sixth Cafeteria.

The Sixth Cafeteria differed from the others; it sold “other food.”

Half of this “other food” was synthetic sustenance, similar to nutrient solutions, while the other half was meat—real meat.

Animals could consume synthetic food like humans, making their situation relatively less severe than plants. Even so, production remained low, making it unaffordable for ordinary people to consume long-term.

When Tong Zhanyan first arrived, he simply couldn’t stomach the nutrient solutions. He tried eating meat once.

The texture and taste were passable, but a piece of meat barely half the size of his palm cost him over three hundred yuan. The average person’s salary here was only three to five thousand yuan.

The Sixth Cafeteria was located about a hundred meters to the right of the forest, near a side gate that led out of the campus—primarily used by the cafeteria.

By the time Tong Zhanyan arrived, the cafeteria was already nearly empty.

Under the intense training regimen, most people preferred to catch some sleep during their lunch break.

There were three trash bins in total, each nearly waist-high.

Tong Zhanyan didn’t approach rashly. First, he slipped a smaller plastic bag over his hand to serve as a makeshift glove. Then he unfolded another bag, ready to use it, before stepping forward.

The moment the lid opened, the stench of blood, entrails, and rotting flesh assaulted his nostrils. Even with mental preparation, Tong Zhanyan felt nauseated.

After opening all three lids to let the air circulate for a bit, Tong Zhanyan steeled himself and approached again.

One trash bin was empty, but the other two were already filled to the brim. They contained blood-soaked animal hides, bones, and various packaging boxes and bags.

Tong Zhanyan fought back the nausea as he rummaged through the contents, searching for eggshells.

During the flowering and fruiting stages, plants require substantial fertilizer, primarily phosphorus, potassium, nitrogen, and calcium.

Eggshells contain abundant trace elements, including phosphorus and calcium.

Bones are actually more effective and more plentiful in the trash bins, but Tong Zhanyan currently had no way to grind them into powder.

While Tong Zhanyan was busy, he heard the side door open not far behind him, followed by footsteps and voices.

“…Then I’ll go with you to register this afternoon?”

“Mhm.”

Hearing the voices, Tong Zhanyan turned to look.

There were five or six people in total, likely all students from their school.

The two leading the group were the youngest and most eye-catching.

Both stood over six feet tall, their figures tall and slender.

The one in front wore waist-length hair pulled high into a ponytail. His high, straight nose and sharp, masculine features radiated an innate edge. Combined with the snow-white spear behind him—longer than any other—he resembled a gleaming, icy blade, dazzling and intimidating.

The other also had long hair, but his was casually swept back in two strands from his ears. His features leaned toward androgyny, strikingly beautiful, and his smile radiated infinite gentleness.

One cold, one warm—two extremes, yet inexplicably harmonious.

As Tong Zhanyan observed them, the group noticed him in turn.

Their gazes met, and upon seeing what Tong Zhanyan was doing, the group froze momentarily.

What was Tong Zhanyan doing…

The group averted their eyes and continued onward.

Qing Jiyue couldn’t help but glance back.

As a member of one of the four major families stationed at the outer perimeter year-round, he was long accustomed to the chaos of the outer city. Yet he never imagined such destitute individuals would exist within the grounds of Sidi Military Academy.

Tong Zhanyan grasped the situation almost instantly, leaving him both amused and exasperated.

In his former world, many gardeners and plant enthusiasts with limited resources would collect kitchen scraps to make their own fertilizer. Some even rummaged through trash. If they occasionally found discarded flower pots or plants, it was something worth posting online to show off.

But here, such practices seemed somewhat unconventional.

Tong Zhanyan felt an urge to rush over and explain, but after a moment’s hesitation, he chose to abandon the idea. He certainly didn’t want to be dragged away by the Devil King and expelled.

If expelled, he’d truly have to scavenge through trash to survive.

After walking a distance, Gu Yinfeng glanced back. That person looked like a freshman, too.

Gu Yinfeng recalled the dorm situation. He’d already checked in at the start of the semester, but this was Qing Jiyue’s first visit. “Want to upgrade to a single room? The room next to mine is still empty.”

Qing Jiyue glanced over, a faint trace of confusion in his eyes.

“Standard dorms are double rooms…” Gu Yinfeng explained briefly.

By the time they spoke, they had reached the base of Building 12, where Qing Jiyue had been assigned.

“I’ll see how it is,” Qing Jiyue said, heading upstairs.

Gu Yinfeng said nothing. Even if he was in a hurry, it wasn’t urgent now—they still had to register that afternoon.

Gu Yinfeng smiled at the others beside him. “Well, I’ll head back to rest first.”

“Alright.”

“Bye.”

With that, Gu Yinfeng walked toward a building behind them.

Watching him leave, the remaining group members all exhaled long sighs. Qing Jiyue was even harder to get along with than they’d anticipated—besides Gu Yinfeng, he hadn’t spoken to anyone else the entire journey.

“Well, he is the rising star. A bit of pride is only natural,” remarked the leader.

The others exchanged glances, neither confirming nor denying the statement.

Climbing the stairs, Qing Jiyue located his assigned room number. He waved his terminal over the door lock, and it sprang open.

The moment he took in the room’s layout, Qing Jiyue’s brow instinctively furrowed.

The dorm room itself was a fairly regular rectangle. Two beds were positioned against the walls on either side, flanked by wardrobes and desks respectively.

Opposite the main door was the balcony door, flanked by windows on either side. The bathroom and sink were located on the balcony, making it quite spacious.

The dorm came furnished with basic daily necessities. The right side remained untouched, while the left showed clear signs of habitation.

He still preferred living alone.

After pausing briefly by the door, Qing Jiyue walked toward the balcony.

As he moved, he pondered Gu Yinfeng’s suggestion about upgrading the dorm. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of a moving camera and several malnourished plants in pots tucked into the left corner against the balcony wall.

Qing Jiyue didn’t recognize the plants, but the nearby camera made it easy to guess they were crops.

He watched live streams about cultivation, too.

If anyone hoped the research institute would crack the cultivation puzzle soon, it was definitely him.

“Click.”

Qing Jiyue was lost in thought when the half-open dorm door swung inward, and someone stepped inside.

Qing Jiyue turned to look.

Recognizing the figure, he froze momentarily.

Tong Zhanyan, who had been puzzled about the door being open despite closing it himself, was also visibly startled at the unexpected presence.

Qing Jiyue glanced at the bag in Tong Zhanyan’s hand, already detecting the scent of blood.

Tong Zhanyan’s mouth twitched again.

“…It’s not for eating.”

Tong Zhanyan suspected his roommate was about to pack up and flee overnight…