Chapter 20: Experiment

As he watched the two acres of land being planted bit by bit, Zhao Hai couldn't help but sigh inwardly. He finally understood the meaning of the saying, "what you sow is hope"—wasn't what he was planting right now exactly that?

If the corn truly had the effect he imagined, he would never have to worry about the development of his territory again. However, the results wouldn't be visible for another dozen or so hours.

The two acres were quickly planted, but Zhao Hai did not leave the Space. Instead, he watched the radishes carefully, as he still didn't know how much longer they would take to mature.

Thinking of this, Zhao Hai had a sudden inspiration. He tapped his head and said, "That's right, I can ask the Space. I remember in farm games, there was always a notification function. Space, how much longer until the radishes are mature?"

A prompt from the Space came: "Radishes will officially mature in three minutes." It was blunt, without a single unnecessary word.

Zhao Hai nodded and muttered, "Three minutes. Three minutes is good. I can harvest the radishes in three minutes. Right, after harvesting, I have to plant more. I'll need to go buy another bag of radish seeds."

Acting on his thought, Zhao Hai immediately spent 150 gold coins to buy a bag of radish seeds, leaving him with only 350 gold coins in hand.

However, Zhao Hai didn't mind. He had already adjusted his development strategy. For now, he wouldn't develop the Black Soil Wasteland too quickly. Firstly, he lacked the necessary conditions, and secondly, if he developed too fast, he would certainly attract attention, and if that happened, they would all be dead. Therefore, his current focus should be on the Space.

As long as the level of the Space increased, all his development would become effortless. The Space was his foundation. He also didn't plan to sell too many radishes; as he had said at the very beginning, if he released too many at once, the radishes would lose their value, and he would be the one suffering the loss.

Unfortunately, he had no mobile phone to tell Green his thoughts. He could only hope that Green wouldn't take on too large an order this time.

Previously, Zhao Hai had always tried not to rely too heavily on the Space because its existence felt too illusory to him. He didn't know when it might disappear, and if it did, he would be finished if he didn't have a career established in the outside world.

But now, it seemed he had no choice but to rely on it. As the Space leveled up, he could obtain more things, allowing his territory to develop better.

However, he could not relax regarding the land reclamation outside the Space. If he couldn't improve the land outside, then if the Space truly disappeared one day, he would be left with nothing.

Now, every step he took had to be carefully calculated to ensure it was most beneficial to him—he had to develop the Space while simultaneously improving the external living environment.

Upgrading the Space required money, and Zhao Hai was well aware that since his Space had just leveled up once, every subsequent upgrade would require even more funds. Back when he played farm games, he had two accounts. One was his old account with over four hundred online friends; he could steal crops to his heart's content, eventually accumulating so much money that he lost interest.

His second account was a new one with no friends added, just himself. He started this account mainly to see what the consequences would be of playing a farm game entirely alone.

He learned the consequences, and they were severe. It was fine at first, but once the farm reached level twenty and he opened a ranch, everything fell apart. He simply didn't have enough game gold. He would upgrade the farm land but have no money to upgrade the ranch, and once the ranch was upgraded, he wouldn't have enough money to upgrade the farm. This cycle taught Zhao Hai how to be more calculating; he carefully calculated the income of both the farm and the ranch, figuring out which animals were most cost-effective, playing that online version of a single-player game bit by bit.

His situation with the small account was similar to his current situation—he had to upgrade everything bit by bit. He had some experience with this, but he mustn't forget that he also had to use items from the Space to transform his territory. This made his financial situation even tighter, so he had to calculate every step with extreme caution.

After a while of wandering thoughts, the Space's prompt sounded: "Radishes have matured. Please harvest as soon as possible." Zhao Hai snapped back to reality. He didn't call for the harvest immediately; instead, he looked at the radishes thoughtfully.

Last time he harvested the radishes, the leaves had disappeared. He assumed the Space had treated the radish leaves as waste. He certainly couldn't afford to be that wasteful now; he needed to keep them to feed the Blue-Eyed Rabbits.

Now that the radishes were mature, if he let the Space harvest them the old way, he still wouldn't get the leaves. But if he harvested them himself... Looking at the ten acres of radishes, Zhao Hai quickly dismissed the idea.

Zhao Hai could only hope that the Space was as magical as he imagined and could fulfill his specific requirements; otherwise, harvesting would truly become a problem.

Inside the Space, when plants matured, the automatic harvest function would only collect edible or usable parts. Things like corn stalks or radish leaves were treated as trash and cleared away. In a game, this was no issue, but now Zhao Hai needed these items to change his life, making them extremely important to him.

At this thought, Zhao Hai frowned. He was truly afraid that if the Space couldn't harvest the radishes according to his will, he would be in significant trouble.

Taking several deep breaths to calm himself, he said in a heavy voice, "Harvest the radishes. Collect the radish leaves and the radishes separately."

After saying this, Zhao Hai's heart began to pound uncontrollably. He was truly afraid of failing. If he failed, he would have to find another way, and the only way he could think of was to bring the slaves into the Space to harvest them, which would not only disrupt things but also increase the risk of the Space being exposed.

Following his command, the Space responded. One by one, the radishes flew into the collection basket. Once all the radishes were harvested, Zhao Hai took another deep breath and walked to the warehouse, touching it with his hand.

Soon, the contents of the warehouse were displayed before him. At the top were the radishes and the radish leaves, followed by the supplies he had previously stored.

Zhao Hai withdrew his hand, clenched his fist, and let out a cheer. He truly hadn't expected the Space to give him such a huge surprise. This success wasn't just about helping him harvest; it represented a deeper understanding of the Space. It turned out the Space truly obeyed him; he could command it to do anything.

Ever since the Space appeared, Zhao Hai had felt a sense of unreality, as if he were playing an incredibly realistic game, controlling the entire Space through game-like procedures.

But this success made Zhao Hai realize that the Space had truly mutated. He was not merely an operator within it. The rules he had learned from playing games did not necessarily apply here. One could say his control over the Space was even deeper than in a game; he might just be the god of this Space, a supreme existence.

It took a while for Zhao Hai to calm his emotions. He checked the status of the Space again; since there was nothing left to do, he finally left.

Upon leaving the Space, Zhao Hai couldn't help but smile. With the Space, the Black Soil Wasteland could eventually become the largest granary on the continent, just like his hometown. The "Great Northern Wilderness" would surely become the "Great Northern Granary." However, in the future, he would have to use the Space's abilities less in reality to force himself to adapt to the feeling of not having its help, because he always harbored a sense of insecurity.

Zhao Hai always feared the day the Space might disappear. Although he had shifted his focus to the Space, it was only so that it could provide him with more help and allow his territory to develop faster. Zhao Hai was a practical man; he didn't believe in things that were invisible and untouchable. He only believed that what was held in his own hands was truly his. A hundred birds in the forest are not as good as one bird in the hand.

To Zhao Hai, the Space was like the internet on Earth—too illusory. Although he was a shut-in, he never met his online friends because he didn't trust those virtual things.

It was precisely because of this mindset that Zhao Hai worked so hard to change his real-world circumstances; only then could he feel a sense of peace.

He did not believe in luck. Back on Earth, he never bought lottery tickets. Every cent he earned was through his own hard work. He didn't believe anyone would give him money for no reason; he only believed that one could only obtain everything they desired through their own efforts.

After exiting the Space, Zhao Hai did not go outside. There was too little he could do right now; he needed to think carefully about his future development and the development of the Black Soil Wasteland.

Zhao Hai realized that his land reclamation efforts today had been somewhat ill-considered—too rushed and reckless. No one could guarantee that people wouldn't come to the Black Soil Wasteland in the future. If they arrived one day and found a vast expanse of cultivated land right in front of their castle, it would surely arouse suspicion.

Thinking of this, Zhao Hai muttered to himself, "It seems I need to properly investigate the Black Soil Wasteland tomorrow." Having said that, he fell into a deep sleep.

(End of Chapter)