Interstellar to 80s: A Scientist's Farming Mission

An Ning, the mystic, took the lead. Big Beard followed right behind her like a loyal guardian. An uneasy An Guoping tagged along, mixing in with several police officers as they all headed toward Car 13.

An Ning reached Car 13 without any obstruction. Her eyes immediately landed on the canvas bags scattered sparsely on the luggage rack.

The canvas bags weren’t large. They were the cheap, durable, hand-carried type—a common choice of luggage for many travelers.

”That one.”

An Ning pointed to a canvas bag. Big Beard stepped forward from behind her and carefully retrieved it. ”Really?” he asked, his voice uncertain, as if hoping he was wrong.

”Open it.”

Big Beard took down the canvas bag. It felt a little heavy, and his heart began to sink.

”Whose bag is this?”

”Whose bag is this?”

He asked twice, but no one answered. Even more suspicious.

Big Beard quickly placed the bag on a table and unzipped it.

The first thing he saw was a few pieces of ragged clothing. He was about to breathe a sigh of relief, but as he moved them aside, the sensation against his fingers made him quicken his actions.

”Bastards!”

Inside the canvas bag, three newborn infants had been stuffed, curled into horrifying positions, reminiscent of the folklore practice of creating ”vengeful spirits” by sealing babies in jars.

”Quick, quick! Save them! Save them!”

Following Big Beard’s shouts and An Ning’s directions, they checked five canvas bags in total and found sixteen infants.

Of the sixteen infants, six had already stopped breathing. The remaining ten were also on the brink of death.

The onlookers and the police officers involved in the operation were consumed with a towering rage.

”How could they? How could they dare? These are people, living, breathing people!”

Big Beard’s gut-wrenching cry was filled with an irrepressible rage that threatened to shatter his composure.

”Saving them is the priority.”

A police officer who had been coordinating the scene pulled over a doctor they’d found among the passengers to examine every infant that was still breathing.

As the examinations were underway, the train slowly pulled into the station.

As the train entered the station, An Ning saw several doctors in white coats on the platform outside. They were approaching with rescue equipment and gurneys.

The train’s whistle blew a mournful cry as it pulled into the station, lamenting for the infants who would never get to see the world.

The train came to a stop. One by one, the infants were passed through the open windows to the rescuers outside in a race against time.

”Sis—”

”Watch. Watch with your eyes wide open. This is what it means to be a doctor.”

”Mm.”

An Guoping forced himself to watch, searing every moment of the rescue effort into his mind, into his very soul.

’A doctor doesn’t just heal the sick and save the dying,’ he thought. ’They save entire families, mend broken souls.’

Big Beard stood beside An Ning and gave her a respectful salute.

”Thank you for everything you’ve done. But—”

”I know. I’ll cooperate with your investigation.”

An Ning took An Guoping to retrieve their luggage, and the two of them followed Big Beard and his men off the train to assist with the investigation.

When they arrived at the police station, their treatment was a world apart from that of the traffickers.

An Ning and An Guoping didn’t have to explain much. They just presented their university acceptance letters, and the police were ninety-nine percent convinced. The last one percent was just a matter of verification.

The verification was quick, especially when the president of Beijing University personally called to offer his full cooperation upon hearing they were verifying An Ning’s identity.

Upon learning of An Ning’s heroic actions, the president was even more thrilled than her own parents would have been.

’The child isn’t just a top student and brilliant. Most importantly, her character is excellent. That’s rare, truly rare.’

Once the verification was complete, Big Beard personally drove the pair back to the train station. He couldn’t let them be late for the start of school.

In the police car, Big Beard remarked with feeling, ”I can’t believe you’re this year’s national top scholar.”

”You can thank my classmates for providing a good contrast.”

The unexpected answer made Big Beard finally laugh out loud.

”It’s been so long since I’ve laughed, I almost forgot how.”

”You all work very hard.”

An Ning’s tone was sincere and serious now, a stark contrast to her previous witty remark. Big Beard, sitting in the front seat, turned around, his curiosity piqued. ”I have to wonder,” he asked, ”did you use today’s fortune-telling skills on your college entrance exam?”

”Hm? I forgot to use them. Maybe I’ll try it next time.”

Every one of An Ning’s answers was completely unexpected, leaving Big Beard at a loss for whether to laugh or cry.

”You’re quite a character, kid.”

”Thank you for the compliment.”

After her half-joking reply, An Ning asked a question.

”Those people from today, how many years will they be sentenced to?”

”Probably three or four years.”

”What?”

An Guoping, sitting beside An Ning, spoke with a voice laced with disbelief and anger. ”That was six lives, six shattered families, and they’ll only get three or four years? Even thirty or forty years wouldn’t be enough! I think those people deserve the death penalty.”

Big Beard turned back around with a bitter smile. ”Who knows.”

’There’s nothing I can do.’

’In the back seat, An Ning also felt the sentence was far too light. In the interstellar age, anyone who dared to harm human cubs would face a mandatory death sentence. There was no room for negotiation.’

The car fell silent.

A few minutes later, An Ning and An Guoping got out of the car with their luggage and entered the train station as Big Beard watched them go.

Big Beard ground out his cigarette butt under his heel, let out a long sigh, and murmured, ”The future is in your hands now.”

Big Beard opened the door, got in, and drove away. He had to go back to an all-night interrogation and more exhausting work, but he did it willingly. He had no desire to stop.

’His favorite thing was seeing the look on parents’ faces the moment their child was found.’

Moments like those were the motivation that kept them going.

Meanwhile, the brother and sister had boarded their train and were sitting in silence.

”Sis, do you think I should study law?”

”No.”

An Ning turned her head.

”An Guoping, a person’s energy is finite. It’s hard enough to reach the pinnacle of one field. You know the saying about biting off more than you can chew.”

”I know... What about you, Sis?”

”I don’t know. In the end, one person’s power is just too meager.”

An Guoping nodded silently. He had indeed been getting carried away.

What he didn’t know was that An Ning was thinking much further ahead. ’One person’s power is indeed meager,’ she thought, ’but the power of the interstellar collective is immense.’

’Thinking of the interstellar age made An Ning a little nostalgic. Lately, aside from teleporting a few designated seeds, she hadn’t been in contact with them for a long time.’

The rest of their journey was smooth. The siblings changed trains once midway without any further incident.

When they next disembarked, the two had arrived in Beijing.

The Beijing train station was noticeably larger, and the flow of people was immense. They had arrived a little after five in the morning, and the famished siblings decided to eat first before heading to the university.

They walked toward the small eateries next to the station, found one specializing in Old Beijing cuisine, ordered some local specialties, and prepared to dig in.

”Sis, here’s your soy milk.”

”It’s called *douzhi*.”

”Same difference.”

The two siblings raised their bowls of *douzhi*. Before their noses even had time to process the smell, they had both taken a large gulp.

Two elegant streams of the white liquid trickled from the corners of An Ning’s mouth. An Guoping, on the other hand, spat his out with gusto.