Lin Xiaohe became famous among the military academy students.
Almost all the students knew that a young female kitchen helper had arrived at the Fourth Cafeteria—her knife skills were incredible, and she could slice fish so thin you could see through it.
The key thing was, she actually managed to grow things in the cafeteria’s backyard—though she was a bit… mystifying about it.
“Oh my god, the contrast is really obvious.”
A group of cadets gathered in the backyard, pointing and commenting on the vegetable seedlings in the open plot.
The vegetable garden was clearly divided into two sections.
One section took up two-thirds of the area, and the seedlings there were thriving—bright green and full of life.
The other section took up one-third and was completely bare—nothing at all.
The logistics uncles and aunties looked baffled. They crouched down, constantly turning over the soil, muttering to themselves: “This doesn’t make sense! Why does Xiaohe grow things so well, but we can’t grow anything? We watered at the same times, fertilized the same way—it’s just bizarre.”
Old Li stood nearby with his lunch bowl, watching the fun. Seeing the uncles’ and aunties’ expressions of existential doubt, he couldn’t help but laugh: “Xiaohe is a top graduate from an agriculture program! Before she turned the soil, she said something about driving away neutrinos or whatever. Right?”
The uncles and aunties stared at the obviously contrasting garden plots and had to humbly ask: “Chef Li, what exactly are these neutrinos? How are they so amazing?”
Chef Li guiltily looked away—he didn’t know what neutrinos were either! It sounded incredibly profound!
“Haha, neutrinos are particles that can’t be seen, have ghost-like penetrating power, are extremely hard to detect, and are everywhere.” Ye Qingxuan, dressed in military uniform, strode over and appeared beside Lin Xiaohe.
Lin Xiaohe didn’t hesitate to boss him around: “Go pull the weeds over there.”
“Got it!” Ye Qingxuan obediently went to pull weeds.
As his roommate and good brother, Wen Mingzhe silently joined him in the work.
The uncles and aunties still didn’t understand what neutrinos were, and they couldn’t be bothered to figure it out.
They gave up on farming in the yard—this plot would be left to Lin Xiaohe.
While pulling weeds, Ye Qingxuan kept sneaking glances at Lin Xiaohe’s shoulder bag: “How come you didn’t bring your precious Doudou today?”
He’d seen people keep cats, dogs, and snakes as pets, but this was the first time he’d seen someone keep a pea plant as a pet.
Lin Xiaohe carefully inserted a small seedling into the soil: “I’ve propagated it. Letting it rest for a few days.”
Doudou grew extremely fast—other peas took ten days to sprout, but Doudou had matured long ago.
Lin Xiaohe had planted Doudou’s descendants in both the professor’s wife’s courtyard and the cafeteria’s backyard.
Ye Qingxuan stretched his muscles.
Clearing his mind and mechanically pulling weeds was actually a way to relax.
“Xiaohe, are neutrinos really ghosts?”
Lin Xiaohe glanced at him and picked up the watering can. When planting peas, the first watering had to soak the soil completely.
“The end of science is metaphysics. Whatever you think neutrinos are, that’s what they are.”
Ye Qingxuan’s eyes darkened slightly. He rubbed the goosebumps on his arms and put on a cheerful face: “You can’t say things like that! We’re all highly educated people here—we’ve received materialist education. What you’re saying is way too idealistic.”
Lin Xiaohe smiled faintly and said nothing.
The farm work in the small yard wasn’t much—two strong young men finished it in no time.
Ye Qingxuan was the friendly type. He leaned close to Lin Xiaohe, extended his right hand, and opened his palm: “Your Doudou has already propagated. Giving me one pod isn’t too much to ask, right?”
Lin Xiaohe: “What, do you want to join our Star Grain Party?”
“What? What party? Does our country even have a Star Grain Party?” Ye Qingxuan looked uncertainly at his friend Wen Mingzhe.
Wen Mingzhe firmly shook his head: “No, there isn’t.”
Lin Xiaohe said matter-of-factly: “We haven’t registered yet, so of course you can’t find it.”
Ye Qingxuan was speechless: “Who founded it?”
“Me!”
“How many members?”
“On Blue Star, just me.”
Ye Qingxuan’s mouth twitched. He said grumpily: “You really can BS. Forget it—I wouldn’t dare take your pea pod. I worked so hard to get into the military academy and I’m about to head toward a bright future. I don’t want to get investigated because of you. If I got charged with joining a cult, wouldn’t that be unfair?”
“Don’t talk nonsense. The Star Grain Party is a proper, respectable party. It’s highly respected.”
“Respected by whom?”
“By all the Stardust humans.”
Ye Qingxuan rolled his eyes dramatically: “Why don’t you just say Transformers or Superman? You’re a literary genius wasted on an agriculture degree!”
Lin Xiaohe smiled helplessly. She was such an honest person—every word she said was the truth, yet no one believed her.
Ye Qingxuan brushed the dirt off his hands and clothes: “Anything else you need us to do?”
“Nope. Hold out your hand.”
“What for?” Ye Qingxuan honestly held out his hand.
A portable hard drive landed in his palm.
Lin Xiaohe: “Young man, your disguise techniques still need work. Next time, if you want to get close to a target, don’t be so stiff about it.”
Ye Qingxuan’s pupils contracted, his throat tightening: “I don’t understand what you’re saying.”
“If you don’t understand, then you don’t understand. A small gift—just a token of respect. Tell your superiors that there’s no one behind me, and I mean no harm. Don’t waste manpower and resources on me—go focus on what you should be focusing on.” Lin Xiaohe turned and walked away.
It was almost 7 PM—easy to miss the bus.
Watching her retreating figure, Ye Qingxuan clutched the hard drive tightly and exchanged a glance with Wen Mingzhe. The two nodded imperceptibly and left the yard together to see the principal.
Old Chen happened to be teaching at the school that day. When he heard about this, he came along too.
“Is that what Lin Xiaohe said? Xiao Ye, Xiao Wen, your skills are a bit lacking—she probably saw right through you at first glance, didn’t she?”
Ye Qingxuan and Wen Mingzhe lowered their heads in shame. They’d thought their disguises were perfect.
The principal looked at his two top students and shook his head.
Old Chen took the hard drive and found a brand-new laptop that wasn’t connected to the internet: “Let’s see what Lin Xiaohe wants to show us.”
“Pfft!” Old Chen had just taken a sip of water, but when he opened the file, he sprayed it all out in one go.
“Old Chen, what are you doing?!” The principal nearly got sprayed in the face and was furious. “Show some composure in front of the students!”
“I really can’t show any composure!!” Old Chen’s face was almost pressed against the screen.
My god!
“How did Lin Xiaohe do this?! Her every move was under our surveillance. Where did she get all this material?”
The principal was puzzled by Old Chen’s dramatic reaction. He leaned over to look—and his jaw hit the floor so hard he couldn’t pick it up.
The files contained design blueprints for the United States’ Nimitz-class and Ford-class nuclear-powered aircraft carriers—including blueprints for three Ford-class carriers currently under construction: the John F. Kennedy, the Enterprise, and the Doris Miller!
This had to be classified beyond classified, right?!
Old Chen’s eyes shone like stars, his whole body trembling: “That’s not all!”
