Interstellar to 80s: A Scientist's Farming Mission

An Ning couldn’t figure out Tao Quan.

She was leaning on her crutch, and before she could even turn, she heard him speak.

”I can’t do that. I haven’t gotten her permission yet.”

A chorus of impressed gasps rose from the girls at Tao Quan’s rejection.

They envied the person he spoke of, captivated by his thoughtfulness and attention to detail.

An Ning stopped walking. ’This is the first time I’ve felt a real sense of crisis.’

’Tao Quan is too good at manipulating people.’

She slipped away quietly, planning to contact Yin San and have him investigate Tao Quan.

An Ning didn’t like letting a threat grow. She preferred to nip it in the bud.

In the middle of the crowd, Tao Quan casually turned and urged everyone to disperse so they wouldn’t block other students.

In less than a second, Tao Quan had already withdrawn his gaze from An Ning. She was too perceptive; he couldn’t look for long.

The incident with the public confession to Tao Quan created a huge buzz, and everyone was talking about it.

Alongside the gossip, the upcoming New Year’s Gala was another major topic of conversation.

The biggest news was that a delegation from R Country would be attending this year’s gala.

In this day and age—and for decades, even centuries to come—the people of R Country were the sworn enemies of the Huaxia people.

A saying circulated on campus: Huaxia can lose, but not to R Country.

This sentiment was shared by everyone, even the teachers and professors.

The countdown to the New Year’s Gala began. Every act was rehearsed again and again. If they didn’t have costumes, they’d pay out of their own pockets to look presentable. If they didn’t have time, they’d skip meals to practice.

Everyone knew exactly why they were going to such lengths.

「Three days before the New Year’s Gala.」

In the dormitory hallway, several girls carrying washbasins or water kettles were eavesdropping outside An Ning’s room, exchanging confused glances.

”Luo Li, be gentle.”

”Don’t worry, I’ve done this countless times. Relax.”

”Aaaah—hey, hey—it’s itchy, so itchy—”

”Hey, just bear with it! It’s my first time, too.”

Hearing the suggestive exchange, the people in the hallway scurried away.

Gossiping about the formidable An Ning and the madwoman Luo Li was a bad idea. Overhearing the wrong thing could be fatal.

Inside the dorm, Luo Li, dressed in a white lab coat and safety goggles, was holding a long metal rod and sliding it through a gap into the cast on An Ning’s leg.

Luo Li struggled to maneuver the metal rod around the inside edge of the cast. An Ning, sitting in a chair, wore an expression of both agony and ecstasy.

A leg in a cast gets incredibly itchy after a while, and the smell from inside was ”refreshing”—the kind of refreshing that makes your eyes water.

A few days earlier, An Ning had acted as a brave test subject for a new bone fracture medicine developed by Luo Li’s second uncle. Now, Luo Li was checking to see if the cast could be removed ahead of schedule.

To test the medicine’s true efficacy, An Ning hadn’t used any of her spiritual power to heal.

”Mmm... Not bad. It’s cooked.”

Luo Li’s comment earned her a kick from An Ning’s good leg.

”What do you mean ’cooked’? Are you planning to eat me?”

”That’s not a bad idea. If only I could beat you...”

Luo Li made a strange, menacing face at An Ning, then withdrew the metal rod and swapped it for a small, honest-to-goodness axe.

”Wait!”

”You put that down.”

An Ning put her leg down and pointed a finger at the axe in Luo Li’s hand. ”What are you going to do?”

”Take off the cast, of course. Don’t you want it off early?”

An Ning sat up straight and declared sternly, ”There’s a difference between removing a cast and ending a life. You’re a top student in the medical department, and this is the kind of tool you use?”

Luo Li glanced at the axe in her hand and shrugged. ”Fine, what do you want to use? Pick one yourself.”

Then, An Ning looked inside Luo Li’s toolbox.

”Actually, this axe seems okay...”

An Ning’s change of heart made Luo Li pick up the axe again and warn, ”Don’t move. If you get hurt, I’m not responsible.”

”You quack—”

BANG!

A loud thud echoed through the dorm room.

An Ning and Luo Li fell silent. They both stared, dumbfounded, at the cast on An Ning’s leg as a bad feeling began to surface.

”Luo Li, what was that side effect your second uncle mentioned?”

”He said it might... reinforce the cast a little, making it difficult to remove.”

An Ning grabbed the edge of the cast and pulled. The very hand that could stop a wild boar couldn’t even make the plaster budge.

An Ning dusted off her hands and said thoughtfully, ”Luo Li, I should get your uncle a job in the building materials sector. This stuff is... incredible.”

”Heh heh... O—kay... So, what now? Want me to try the power drill?”

”Go for it.”

An Ning relaxed completely, stretching out as she watched Luo Li take out a power drill and plug it into the room’s outlet.

”BZZZZT—BZZT—BZZT—FIZZLE—”

The outlet started to smoke.

Luo Li yanked the plug with lightning speed. She stared at the cast, which now had only a single, tiny mark on it, and felt like crying.

’Uncle,’ she thought, ’this is what you call a ”minor” side effect?’

”Don’t worry, I’ll try again.”

Next, everything in Luo Li’s toolbox—a machete, a file, an electric saw, a sledgehammer, and more—took its turn. But aside from a few surface scratches, the cast remained without a single crack.

”Let me do it. Give me the axe.”

An Ning decided to take over. Otherwise, she’d be dragging this cast around for the rest of her life.

Luo Li was well aware of An Ning’s strength. She handed over the now-chipped axe and stepped back to a safe distance.

An Ning raised the axe high, calculating the force needed while simultaneously shielding her leg with her spiritual power. With a mighty swing, she smashed it down!

BANG!

BANG!

One bang was the axe striking the cast; the other was the door being kicked open from the outside.

”Don’t!”

”Look out!”

The people outside yelled, ”Don’t!” while An Ning yelled, ”Look out!” For a second, silence fell on both sides of the doorway.

”You’re alive! Oh, thank goodness.”

The student who had burst in gave an awkward laugh, and An Ning and Luo Li instantly understood what had happened.

Luo Li strolled over from the windowsill and announced with perfect diction, ”Everyone, please rest assured. As much as I enjoy dissection, I’m no match for An Ning in a fight.”

An Ning almost applauded the explanation.

’What a master of scaring the daylights out of people!’

Sure enough, the few classmates who had burst in didn’t dare make eye contact with Luo Li. They backed out of the room with sheepish smiles, and the last one even pulled the rickety door shut on their way out.

An Ning shook her head and chuckled, shouting after them, ”Thanks, everyone.”

After shouting, An Ning happened to see Luo Li rolling her eyes.

”What are you rolling your eyes for? With all that racket you were making, they all thought you were dismembering me.”

”Dismembering? How could I? The Luo Family has the utmost respect for corpses.”

Their conversation was still a bit terrifying, but at least one problem was solved: the cast was finally cracked.

Afterward, with An Ning’s miraculous strength, the cast was finally taken off.

An Ning watched Luo Li crouch down and start rummaging through the pile of plaster shards.

”What are you looking for?”

”Looking for a piece that fits my hand well. To use as a weapon for self-defense.”

When An Ning heard this, her eyes instantly widened.

”Great idea!”