Chapter 4: Space Farm

“Space Farm program initializing. Connecting to the network. Network connection successful. Program normal. Host detected. Checking host status. Host status normal. Binding to host. Your current level is one. System rewards: five hundred gold coins, six bags of pasture seeds. Each bag can plant one acre of land. You currently have one plot of land reclaimed, with an area of ten acres, level zero. You may purchase the seeds you need in the shop and sell harvested crops to the shop in exchange for gold coins. Due to a network failure, you may enter the farm freely, but you can only communicate with the host and cannot contact any friends. We apologize for the inconvenience.”

Zhao Hai stood there foolishly, feeling as if he were in a dream; everything seemed so unreal.

But he had indeed just heard that voice. If he were on Earth, Zhao Hai would never have believed this, assuming it was just someone playing a prank. But here, it was different. He had even managed to experience transmigration, so what else was there to disbelieve?

Zhao Hai immediately said in his mind, “Enter farm.”

As soon as he finished speaking, his vision blurred. When he looked again, he was no longer in his castle, but in an open space. This clearing was quite large, about ten acres, all of which had already been reclaimed. A brand-new shovel was stuck into the edge of the field. Beside the land was a small spring, with a bucket placed by its side. There was a small thatched hut, and to the left of the hut sat a grass-woven doghouse. Under the window of the hut were two bottles; one was labeled “Pesticide” and the other “Herbicide.” Next to the two bottles was a basket labeled with the word “Harvest.” To the right of the hut was an even smaller thatched shed with the word “Warehouse” hanging on it. Beyond these, the surroundings were filled with thick fog, and nothing could be seen clearly. All he could see were the thatched huts and the open field.

Zhao Hai was all too familiar with this scene. Aside from the lack of a background, this was the game he knew best: the farm game!

Unlike other gaming geeks, Zhao Hai preferred reading, writing novels, and reading novels. Although he only earned a meager income from his writing, he never tired of it and never played games.

Later, a friend introduced Zhao Hai to a farm game. This game didn’t require much time and was simple to operate, so Zhao Hai had stuck with it. His farm level was now twenty-seven. Although not very high, he had reclaimed all his land and even opened a pasture, which he was currently playing.

Anyone who first starts the farm game knows that the system gives you a free scene and a thatched hut. The scene back then was the same as the one Zhao Hai saw now. The difference was that he had viewed it through a computer screen back then, but now he was seeing it within this space.

Zhao Hai stared blankly at all of this, not knowing what to do. He couldn't help but squat down and grab a handful of the soil on the ground.

But the moment he grabbed the soil, a voice suddenly rang out in his mind: “Space soil, level one. Already reclaimed. Can plant crops. Increases crop maturity speed by ten times. Can be taken out of the space for use. Can improve soil outside the space.”

Zhao Hai was stunned for a moment, then overjoyed. He knew too little about this space, and now was the perfect time. He immediately ran to the spring and touched the water with his hand. Sure enough, the prompt sounded again: “Space spring water, level one. Can be consumed; has the effect of improving the human body. Can be used for irrigation. Increases crop maturity speed by ten times. Can be taken out of the space for use. Can improve soil outside the space.”

Zhao Hai was completely dazed by this sudden stroke of good fortune. He kept one hand in the spring water, his eyes dull and silly, laughing to himself, forgetting even to pull his hand out.

After a long while, Zhao Hai stood up and laughed heartily: “You thieving heavens, I never expected you to be so generous to me. Hahaha, good, good, this is great!”

Zhao Hai was very clear that since he had come to the Ark Continent and become someone incapable of practicing any magic or battle qi, his life was destined to be ordinary, and Adam’s revenge would likely never be realized. But with this space, it was different. Even if he couldn't take revenge himself, he could ensure the Buda family survived and flourished. This could be considered a way to repay Adam.

After a while, Zhao Hai calmed down. He first ran to the shovel by the field, wanting to see if it was as magical as in the game.

When his hand touched the shovel, the prompt sounded again: “Shovel, tool, level one. Can automatically till the land. Work rate: ten acres/day. Can be taken out of the space for use.”

Zhao Hai smiled again. Then he walked to the bucket, touched it, and the prompt came again: “Bucket, tool, level one. Can automatically irrigate the land. Work rate: ten acres/day. Can be taken out of the space for use.”

“Pesticide, agricultural chemical, toxic, level one. Can automatically kill pests. Forbidden for consumption. Can be taken out of the space. Dosage: unlimited.”

“Herbicide, agricultural chemical, toxic, level one. Can automatically kill weeds. Forbidden for consumption. Can be taken out of the space. Dosage: unlimited.”

“Basket, tool, level one. Can automatically collect fruits and crops. Work rate: ten acres/day. Can be taken out of the space for use. Harvested items are automatically placed in the warehouse.”

After understanding everything outside the hut, Zhao Hai realized that this place was similar to the space in the game, yet not quite the same, but it was even more suitable for him.

With excitement in his heart, Zhao Hai walked into the thatched hut. It wasn't large, but it was fully equipped: a wooden bed covered with dried grass, a table, four chairs, a cabinet, a set of stove tools, and a full set of tableware. Most importantly, at the head of the bed, there was something that looked like a computer, though it only had a display screen.

Zhao Hai walked quickly to the screen and found it was lit up. There were only two icons on it: one labeled “Shop” and the other “Farm Introduction.”

Zhao Hai hurriedly clicked on the Farm Introduction. He really wanted to know why he had such a farm and what exactly was going on with it.

As soon as Zhao Hai’s hand touched the Farm Introduction icon, it turned into a beam of white light and shot into his head. A vast amount of information suddenly flooded his mind. After a while, he digested it all and roughly guessed how this farm had come to be.

Before Zhao Hai came to this world, he had been playing his farm game on his computer. For some unknown reason, he had arrived here, and the farm game had followed him. Perhaps during the transmigration process, the farm had mutated, preserving all its original functions while becoming even more powerful. This farm had become a system of its own, and this system was now bound to Zhao Hai.

In other words, although Zhao Hai could not contact the computer host on Earth through this farm, he could freely use all the functions within it, including the shop. He could use gold coins to buy things in the shop and sell his harvests to the shop. He could take things from the farm to the outside world and bring things from the outside in; everything was subject to his will.

However, the farm was currently only at level one, and many functions were unavailable. If he reached a higher level, he could even open a pasture and continuously expand his land. There was no limit to how much he could expand. To level up the farm, he could earn experience by tilling, watering, or killing pests, or by bringing items related to the space from the outside world. The space would evolve and level up through these items. Simply put, Zhao Hai had obtained a heaven-defying cheat.

Zhao Hai just wanted to laugh three times. With this heaven-defying space, it wouldn't be difficult for him to become wealthy. Moreover, it wasn't impossible to take revenge for Adam and the Buda family. A bold plan began to form in his mind.

He could use the space soil and space water to improve the land in the Black Soil Wasteland. This would mean he possessed an incredibly huge farm. Once this place developed, he could recruit more men and become a powerful force, at which point he could take revenge for the Buda family...

After a while, Zhao Hai came back to his senses and shook his head slightly, laughing at himself for thinking too far ahead. Nothing was set in stone yet; he should first understand this place thoroughly.

While thinking, Zhao Hai casually clicked on the icon labeled “Shop.” The prompt immediately sounded: “Welcome to the Space Shop. What would you like to buy?”

Zhao Hai glanced at the screen. It listed pictures of some crops from Earth, with prices and levels written below. Zhao Hai knew this must be the same as in the game, so he didn't look further and closed the shop page, then looked around.

Finally, he walked to the cabinet. He believed this cabinet couldn't just be for decoration. To his disappointment, when he touched it, there was no prompt. Zhao Hai was stunned, then opened the cabinet to find three items: a cloth pouch, a short staff with a bug carved on the head, and a short staff with a grass-shaped carving on the head. Seeing these, Zhao Hai knew exactly what they were for.

He first picked up the cloth pouch, and sure enough, the prompt sounded again: “Money bag, can hold gold coins, unlimited quantity. Current gold coins: five hundred. Due to your low level, gold coins cannot be taken out of the space.”

Zhao Hai was stunned, then overjoyed. Although the prompt was short, he understood a lot. This money bag was like a space bag, though it seemed it could only hold gold coins. But that wasn't what caught his attention; it was the latter part: because his level was low, the gold coins couldn't be taken out. Did that mean that once his level was high enough, he could take the gold coins from the space to use outside? My god, if that were true, that would be wonderful.

(End of chapter)