Interstellar to 80s: A Scientist's Farming Mission

’Tao Quan took a bullet for me.’

”Why?”

It was An Ning’s question, and Jiang Xia’s as well.

When Jiang Xia visited the hospital, he had asked Tao Quan, but Tao Quan had only smiled mysteriously, not saying a single word.

An Ning’s head ached.

’This Tao Quan... I can never understand his motives or his goals. This feeling of powerlessness is goddammit frustrating!’

”Let’s focus on the competition. I’ll get to the bottom of this when we get back.”

”Okay.”

An Ning and Jiang Xia said no more. They boarded the bus and rested with their eyes closed, arriving safely at the competition venue after an uneventful trip.

As everyone stepped off the bus and stood before the entrance, they were filled with rage.

’So *this* is the kind of hotel the other teams are staying in.’

A high-rise of over twenty stories, with transparent glass, a modern design, a clean environment, and secure protection.

And them?

Their rooms weren’t even as large as a single bathroom here.

Many of them hadn’t even dared to lie down on their beds the first night—partly to adjust to the time difference, and partly because the questionable color of the sheets made it impossible to bring themselves to lie down.

”Are you angry?”

Yu the Elder’s question was met with a firm, unified nod from everyone.

”Remember this anger. There will be plenty more where that came from.”

Yu the Elder walked ahead, carrying himself with the air of kings and nobles.

In that instant, the students behind him understood. They followed Yu the Elder, heads held high and chests puffed out, their presence overwhelming.

’They wanted us to sleep poorly? Do we look like we’re in bad shape?’

’They wanted us to eat badly? Do we look like we’re starving?’

The group strode into the competition hall, their presence imposing and their energy at its peak. They took their designated seats and waited for the event to begin.

Today was the preliminary round. Six teams would be chosen to advance to the finals.

An Ning, without a shred of modesty, took her place as a starter.

Her confidence was so palpable it practically radiated off the screen, no effort required.

”So, how many points do you want to let the other team score?”

The team members exchanged a look and answered in unison, ”Zero.”

’If we’re going to win, we’ll win so decisively they’re left speechless.’

A smile spread across An Ning’s face. ”No problem.”

Everyone reached a silent agreement. An Ning was the core; even if the rest of them didn’t say a word or solve a single problem, all that mattered was that she won.

’Our goal is simple: win.’

As the Huaxia Team settled in, the other competing teams filed into the venue one by one. They were energetic, enthusiastic, and arrogant—all of them, as if by unspoken agreement.

After a brief opening speech from the organizers, the competition officially began.

The first round was problem-solving.

A whiteboard was wheeled out. A white cloth covering it was removed, revealing a math problem to the competing teams.

”You have three hours to solve this problem.”

”After three hours, the team that solves it perfectly wins. If no one provides a perfect solution, the team with the most complete problem-solving process—”

DING!

A sudden, loud ring echoed through the venue. The announcer who was speaking and all the competitors turned toward the sound.

The host on stage said politely, ”Please refrain from ringing the bell without reason, otherwise—”

”We didn’t ring it without reason. We’ve solved the problem.”

Jiang Xia of the Huaxia Team stood up and faced the crowd. He spoke with perfect pronunciation, delivering a statement so unbelievable that no one could quite process it.

’Finished already?’

’Is this a joke? Many of us haven’t even finished copying down the problem!’

”Do you know the price for lying?”

”I don’t, nor do I need to. We simply finished our answer. What does that have to do with lying?”

Jiang Xia’s confident retort infuriated the judges.

’Such shameless boasting!’

”Since you’ve finished, submit your answer. If it is wildly incorrect, you will be disqualified for disrupting the competition.”

”As you wish.”

Jiang Xia took the answer sheet An Ning had written, strode confidently to the stage, and placed the paper, covered in a slightly hurried scrawl, on the judges’ table.

”If there’s anything you don’t understand, feel free to ask. We skipped a few steps... after all, the problem was a bit simple.”

This time, Jiang Xia’s words were met not with scorn or argument, but with the judges who were reading the answer exclaiming in unison, ”This is impossible!”

’It defies all logic!’

Jiang Xia clasped his hands behind his back, waiting patiently without a word.

TICK TOCK... Time seemed to slow. In that moment, the theory of relativity exerted its full power as ten minutes stretched into an eternity.

”Oh—my god, they got it right.”

”How is that possible?”

”Did you already have the answer? Or have you seen this problem before?”

The judges were in disbelief, and the other teams refused to accept the result. ’They hadn’t even properly started, and the other side was already finished?’

With his hands still clasped behind his back, Jiang Xia gave a confident smile. ”I anticipated you would say that. So, allow me to ask, how many known solutions are there for this problem?”

”Two. But what does that have to do with anything?”

A chief judge asked on behalf of the others. Just then, Jiang Xia walked back to the Huaxia Team. He held out his hand, and one teammate passed him a sheet of paper. Another passed him a second, and then a third. Jiang Xia now held three more sheets, covered front and back with writing.

”These three are our other methods of solving it.”

Jiang Xia slapped the three sheets down on the judges’ table, one after another.

”This is impossible! There are only two known solutions.”

”That’s right, only two,” another judge echoed.

Jiang Xia made an inviting gesture with an open palm.

”Please, review them. We are open to any and all corrections.”

His impeccable attitude left them at a loss for words. They could only pick up the papers from the table and begin to read through them, bit by bit.

As time passed, the commotion drew the attention of the other teams. They hadn’t even started the problem, and the Huaxia Team had already produced four different solutions.

’Fine, even if you are that good, isn’t providing four solutions a bit much?’

”This section here is correct!”

”Heavens—to think the problem could be solved this way. It’s simply magnificent!”

”I feel my very soul trembling!”

”My god, this solution has given me an idea! I think I finally know how to solve *that* other problem!”

One by one, the judges erupted into an endless stream of praise.

Their earlier contempt may have been genuine, but their current admiration was just as real.

Faced with such an overwhelming display of skill, they couldn’t utter a single harsh word. Even if the Huaxia Team *had* seen this problem before, providing four different solutions was utterly unprecedented.

Round one: Huaxia wins.

While the other teams were still hunched over their desks, working on the problem, the Huaxia Team was in the competition’s hotel, enjoying their first truly satisfying meal.

Their leader, Yu the Elder, paid out of his own pocket to move them to a new hotel and treated everyone to a feast. While it wasn’t Chinese food, the quality of the dining was clearly a world away from that roadside motel.

With full stomachs, everyone could finally get a peaceful night’s sleep.

As for tomorrow’s competition? There was no need to worry. They had An Ning.