“Are you sure you want that meteorite? Don’t you want to look at the others? If you like rocks, how about trying that liquid alloy? It has strong repair capabilities and high malleability—it’s a core material for high-end custom mechas.”
Cassian was trying his best to sell it.
Lin Xiaohe was holding a box. Inside the box was a palm-sized, ordinary-looking meteorite that resembled a piece of coal.
She had already tested it with her mental energy.
Her mental energy could seep into other rocks, but when it came to this meteorite, it was like mud sinking into the ocean—no response at all.
“Thank you, Principal, but I’ll take this one.”
Cassian helplessly pressed his hand to his forehead. Sometimes, he really couldn’t figure out what was going on in Lin Xiaohe’s mind.
Was this what they often called the generation gap on the StarNet?
Seeing that Lin Xiaohe had made up her mind, Cassian sighed in resignation and started walking toward the door while explaining, “We’ve done an elemental analysis on this meteorite. It’s a very typical stony-iron meteorite—mostly iron, with small amounts of nickel, gold, and silicate minerals. No rare or unknown elements.”
Cassian stopped in his tracks, looked at Lin Xiaohe seriously, and said, “The reason we put it in the resource library is that some scholars believe this meteorite came from Theia.”
Back when the home planet hadn’t yet given birth to life, a massive planetesimal collided with it.
That planetesimal was called Theia. It broke into three parts. Two of them merged into the home planet’s mantle, influencing its crustal movements, ocean currents, and volcanoes.
The other part drifted into space and was eventually captured by the home planet’s gravity, becoming a satellite.
Some scholars believe that the origin of life on the home planet came from single-nucleus organisms carried by Theia.
Cassian might as well have said outright that this meteorite had no value other than its historical significance.
Lin Xiaohe smiled and said, “Thank you for your concern, Principal. This is just one of my hobbies.”
Cassian knew Lin Xiaohe wasn’t telling the truth, but who didn’t have their secrets?
“Alright. Try to win next year’s internal school competition, and you’ll get another chance to pick something. Our school has plenty of good stuff.”
Cassian covered his mouth and whispered, “Chu Huaizhi also has a lot of good things stashed away. When you have time, go rummage through his stuff. You’re the only student in the Agriculture Department. If he doesn’t give them to you, who else would he give them to?”
Lin Xiaohe completely agreed and gave Cassian a knowing look, like they were old buddies. “Don’t worry, I get it. I won’t rat you out.”
After picking up the meteorite and downloading the materials from the library, Lin Xiaohe decided to take a spaceship back to Satellite 3.
Even though she had left the Central Military Academy, the campus was still filled with legends about her.
The news that Lin Xiaohe wanted to create a colonization mecha was posted on the campus network.
Most people were skeptical about it.
A person with no background in mecha design wanting to take on something even Starlight Life hadn’t accomplished—it was practically a joke.
But because the person saying this was Lin Xiaohe, the champion of the school competition, the students didn’t say anything harsh. They simply expressed their respect and offered their best wishes.
As soon as Lin Xiaohe got home, she saw her second sister holding a tube of pink reagent, about to dilute it with water.
“Second Sister, what’s that?”
Lin Jingqiu smiled brightly, more delicate than a flower. She patted her own chest, then pointed at Lin Xiaohe’s heart.
Lin Xiaohe: “Fertilizer nutrient? Second Sister, you’re way too efficient. I thought it would take at least half a month.”
Lin Jingqiu pressed her lips together and smiled, a hint of pride and confidence shining in her eyes.
Lin Xiaohe glanced around but didn’t see Mori. “Is Mori still studying that mysterious liquid?”
Lin Jingqiu nodded.
Mori firmly believed that the mysterious liquid, which the Deep Space Barrier cared so much about, must hold some secret.
Ever since he arrived at Satellite 3, he had locked himself in the lab and rarely came out.
Lin Jingqiu needed to test the effects of the fertilizer reagent in the fields, so she didn’t follow Lin Xiaohe back inside.
Lin Xiaohe put away the meteorite, changed her clothes, and went to the fields to help.
Even though the Lin family had years of farming experience, that was on F-class soil on the Wasteland Star.
Facing expensive natural soil, they worked cautiously and didn’t dare to use machines.
When Lin Xiaohe reached the edge of the field, she saw her eldest brother standing there, holding a small hoe, gently turning the soil.
Tiny beads of sweat formed on his forehead, and his expression was visibly tense.
Lin Grandpa and Lin Grandma were even more extreme. They squatted down, using small hoes to dig holes, moving so gently it looked like they were scratching an itch.
“You don’t have to be like this. Soil isn’t that delicate.” Lin Xiaohe took off her shoes, stepped into the field, hoisted a hoe, and dug in with force.
Her movements were clean, crisp, and powerful.
The Lin family watched in horror.
“Little sister, this is natural soil after all… maybe take it easy?”
“Oh dear, oh dear!” Lin Grandma winced every time the hoe came down hard and kicked up clumps of dirt. She didn’t have the heart to scold Lin Xiaohe, so she just kept sighing.
Lin Xiaohe didn’t care at all.
At the rate the Lin family was working, by the time the seeds arrived, they probably wouldn’t even have half the field turned.
Under her supervision, the Lin family went to work in the fields like they were visiting a grave, enduring the heartache as they manually tilled the land.
More than half a month later, Dong Yuxuan and the others arrived.
Lin Grandma and the rest shooed Lin Xiaohe away like she was a plague, urging her to go entertain the guests. They said they could handle the little bit of work left.
Lin Xiaohe rinsed the dirt off her feet, put on her shoes, and went to the farm gate to greet them.
“Brother Pili! Brother Lao Hei! Apprentice!”
Dong Yuxuan was practically plastered against the gate, staring eagerly down the small path. The moment he saw Lin Xiaohe, his eyes lit up like a switch had been flipped.
He waved his hand high in the air, bouncing up and down with joy. “Master, I’ve come to seek refuge with you!”
Brother Pili wasn’t wearing his signature pink suit. Instead, he had on a low-key black T-shirt, hands in his pockets, the corners of his lips turned up, and his eyes sparkling like they held stars.
Beside him, Brother Lao Hei still had his usual expressionless, cold look, but his gaze never left Lin Xiaohe.
Lin Xiaohe flung the farm gate open with a swish, spread her arms wide, and said proudly, “Come, come, come! This is the empire I’ve built!”
Dong Yuxuan clapped enthusiastically, his face flushing with excitement. “Master is mighty, Master is awesome, Master lives as long as the heavens!”
Staring at the vast expanse of natural soil before him, Brother Pili’s mouth gaped open wide enough to fit a goose egg.
“Xiaohe, you’ve really made it. This isn’t just flying high—this is shooting straight into outer space!”
A flicker of surprise and admiration crossed Brother Lao Hei’s eyes, and he nodded reservedly. “Not bad at all.”
“Hehe.” Lin Xiaohe looked at the two of them and said cockily, “Do you regret not agreeing to work with me back then?”
Brother Pili rolled his eyes. “If regret medicine existed, there wouldn’t be so many regrets in the world.”
Lin Xiaohe said solemnly, “Other people don’t have regret medicine, but I do. I’m giving you another chance to be my sidekicks. Are you in or not?”
“As long as I have food to eat, I won’t let you go hungry. Don’t believe those unreliable rumors. I know my own mental strength better than anyone. I’m way more reliable than the Iron Meteor Plunder Group!”
“Opportunities like this don’t come twice. If you say no this time, there absolutely won’t be a next time!”
