The True Heiress Farms for Survival in the Stars

by Usui Takumii

not mine, asia novel. Beware edited mtl.

4. 31 to 40

Chapter 31

Miao Miao won over Yun Wan, finally getting her to move past her absence for a few days.

Just as she was starting to relax, her nerves tensed up again.

Miao Miao turned her head and stared at the window, freezing for a moment.

Why was there a massive dog head at the window?

And a slender snake?

"What's wrong?"

Yun Wan noticed Miao Miao's daze and followed her gaze to see what was there, but Miao Miao, snapping out of it, interrupted her.

Miao Miao let out a soft, delicate "meow," sprang up from the couch, and her tail curled around Yun Wan's wrist.

"Meow~"

Yun Wan looked curiously at Miao Miao, who had returned to her usual self, remembering someone once said that animals can see things humans can't...

Creepy!

She decided not to look back—some things are better left unseen!

But does the universe really have ghosts or gods?

Yun Wan asked the system, but it couldn't give a clear answer.

Should she take a peek to check?

Yun Wan's heart was in turmoil at that moment.

In her entire dragon life, she had never seen a ghost; the more forbidden it was, the more she wanted to investigate.

But she was also a little scared of ghosts because she had no way to handle them. What if the ghost was malicious and killed her?!

Seeing that Yun Wan seemed about to look back again, Miao Miao glanced at her companions, their faces pressed against the window, watching intently, and felt a pang of anxiety.

She didn't know why they had come, but she didn't want to expose them—being seen by humans meant more danger.

She leaped into the room, successfully distracting Yun Wan from what was outside.

"Why'd you suddenly run off?" Yun Wan felt that Miao Miao, who had just returned home, was a bit strange.

But animals always have their quirks, which humans can't quite understand.

When Yun Wan and Yun Ge were sound asleep, Miao Miao quietly went out and easily found her companions hiding in the grass.

Woof Woof was shivering in the grass, his speech slightly slurred from the cold: "Miao Miao, is it really... you? We just... thought it was a fake you..."

"Brr! So cold!"

"You all saw it?" Miao Miao's gaze swept over the two of them.

The two who were looked at nodded.

"Don't tell anyone what you saw!"

Miao Miao has always been tough and commanding, and she can't let her cute act ruin her image!

After they both said yes, Miao Miao asked, "What are you guys doing here? It's not safe outside, we can't risk being seen."

"We came to help you," said Woof Woof.

Seeing Woof Woof only speak halfway, Se Se continued, "To help you haul sweet potatoes."

Miao Miao gave them a look and snorted.

"You're not here to help me. You just want to come out and play! Watch out or Grandma will catch you!"

"Don't worry, YaYa's got it covered!"

"Where's Ah Huang?" Miao Miao frowned.

Mentioning Ah Huang, Se Se got worried, "Ah Huang came too, but she disappeared near the house. We heard her at first, but then she went silent. I don't know what happened!"

Hearing this, Miao Miao recalled what the female had said and the jade pendant hanging around her neck.

It's probably some kind of security system.

"Then how did you get in?"

"We dug a tunnel!"

Miao Miao went with them to check out the tunnel and finally understood why Woof Woof had come.

Fortunately, the tunnel was in a remote location, so she wouldn't notice.

They grabbed some weeds and branches to hide the tunnel, and Miao Miao reminded them, "I'll handle Ah Huang. You two hide well and don't expose yourselves."

They nodded eagerly, and Miao Miao glanced at them with some unease before returning to the safe house and going to bed feeling uneasy.

Making Spicy Dried Radish is pretty simple. The most important ingredients are chili peppers and radishes.

The Spirit Peppers she'd planted earlier were ready, turning from deep green to black-red, fully mature.

Yun Wan first picked some Spirit Peppers and put them into a heating device to dry. Then she pulled out five white radishes from the ground.

The white radishes were round and plump, two to three times larger than the radishes Yun Wan had seen before, covered in mud. She washed them in the river, and the radishes were white and chubby, exceptionally cute.

Once everything was ready, she went live.

This was the first step of her food street plan. It might not blow up right away, but the necessary publicity and groundwork should be laid out.

[Huh? Is the host not farming today? What is this? Radishes?]

[The host's radishes are cuter than others!]

[Good morning host!]

[Wow! The host's younger brother is here too! He looks so cute with sleepy eyes!]

Yun Wan also saw Yun Ge getting up and ruffled his hair even more.

"Yun Ge, today we're going to make a delicious side dish. Do you want to eat it?"

"I want to eat it!" Yun Ge's sleepiness instantly disappeared, and he jumped in to help Yun Wan get things ready.

At this moment, the chat was blowing up.

[I'm craving that!]

[I'm craving that too!]

[Want to eat, want to eat, want to eat!]

[Wait, what's a side dish? I've never heard of it...]

"Haha, a side dish is a dish that can be eaten with rice. Rice is a new crop, a new variety we're rolling out."

After explaining, Yun Wan jumped right in, "Alright, looks like everyone's excited about the side dish. Today, the side dish we're going to make is called Spicy Dried Radish. This is chili, also a new crop, but it's not usually eaten on its own; it's mostly used as a seasoning."

"Dried chili has a strong, fragrant smell, and its taste is quite intense. Some people might not be used to its flavor. If you feel uncomfortable after eating it, stop eating it right away!"

"Alright, now let's prepare the radish! First, dice the radish, then it needs to be dried. If it's left to air-dry, it takes one to two days, but that takes too long. Today, we'll use the heater to speed it up!"

"The heater takes twenty minutes to dry. While we wait, let's try the cherry tomatoes together!"

[This is amazing!]

[I thought buying land on Shennong Star was a bad idea, but now I see I was mistaken! I'd love to go to Shennong Star and eat all the natural food I want!]

[I'm so jealous the host gets to eat her own homegrown food every day! It's so delicious. If I could eat like this every day, I'd even put up with my picky manager's scolding!]

[Are cherry tomatoes going to be in stock? Looking forward to it!]

"We didn't grow a lot of cherry tomatoes. If everyone likes them, I can plant more next time."

After eating the cherry tomatoes, the radish cubes were ready.

Yun Wan poured the semi-dried radish cubes from the heater into a large bowl. At this moment, the radish cubes didn't look very appetizing—dry and pale, with a yellowish tint. However, the dried radish already had a special aroma.

Then, Yun Wan took another bowl, ground the dried chili into powder, added five-spice powder and sugar powder, and poured hot oil over it. The spices' aroma really came through, filling the air.

Yun Ge smelled this intense aroma for the first time and sneezed.

"It's a weird smell, but it's so good!" Yun Ge said.

[Wow, what exactly does it smell like? So curious.]

[The host's got all the seasonings! So many seasonings look great!]

[I often cook, but I can only recognize a few seasonings. Is this the host's secret recipe?]

[The host is so versatile! She can farm and cook! Can I just take the host home with me?]

[You have no chance! Haha, I'm totally stealing the host tonight!]

[Take the host away, upstairs, no deal!]

[The host belongs to everyone, no stealing! Let me do it!]

"Alright, the chili sauce is ready. Next, we'll marinate the radish cubes with salt for ten minutes, then pour in the chili sauce, add soy sauce and other seasonings, mix well, and it's ready to eat!"

Actually, although she has quite a few seasonings, compared to the modern era where there are often ten or twenty types of seasonings, hers is pretty basic.

But for this interstellar world lacking seasonings, such complex seasoning is already rare.

Yun Wan mixed the Spicy Dried Radish and, as usual, turned on the sensory sharing feature.

She tasted a piece; it was quite spicy, just as good as the ones sold in modern malls.

However, she was a bit worried whether the space-faring folks, who had never eaten spicy food before, could adapt.

[Whoa! What is this flavor! My mouth is on fire! ]

[Is this the spicy and tingly flavor? I think it's delicious! After eating one, I can't stop salivating! Host, please eat more, eat more! ]

[The first bite was a bit uncomfortable, but the more I eat, the more I want to eat, the more I enjoy it. What's going on? Am I some kind of glutton for punishment? ]

[Delicious, delicious, begging the host to stock it! ]

[Stock it, stock it! ]

"Spicy Dried Radish is indeed our new product. Once the new batch of radishes is ready, we will release it. Everyone, please look forward to it!"

Yun Wan ate a lot herself, while Yun Ge, who was curious to try, was so spicy he kept sticking out his tongue but couldn't help wanting to eat more.

"Don't overdo it, or you might get a stomachache."

Yun Wan finally gave Yun Ge a piece and then packed the Spicy Dried Radish into jars.

Yun Ge didn't push his luck; when his sister said he couldn't eat anymore, he obediently cleaned his hands.

"Meow~"

Miao Miao had been enticed by the aroma for a while. Seeing the female making delicious food again, she circled around her a few times but got no attention.

Watching the female continuously putting pieces into her own mouth and not forgetting to feed Yun Ge, she was left waiting, unnoticed.

This is total exclusion, isn't it? Isn't it?

"Meow~" She walked to the pot and rubbed against it, her hint was clear.

Finally, Yun Wan noticed her.

"Does the kitty want some?" Yun Wan picked up the ginger cat into her arms, "Is this safe for cats?"

Although fans said that interstellar kittens have cast-iron stomachs, she was still a bit unsure.

But the ginger cat's tail was wagging enthusiastically, responding eagerly, and Yun Wan couldn't resist feeding her a piece.

As soon as the dried radish entered her mouth, Miao Miao instinctively pushed it out with her tongue.

What is this? Her tongue felt like it was on fire! It hurt!

After recovering, she couldn't stop salivating and wanted to taste that flavor again.

She lowered her head and scooped the radish she had spit onto the table back into her mouth.

"Ah! The one on the table is dirty, spit it out!" Yun Wan tried to open the cat's mouth, but the cat, who had just been so picky, now refused to spit it out, chewing and swallowing it.

"Alright, next time, don't do that!" Yun Wan helplessly let go.

Seeing that the cat had no discomfort after eating the dried radish, she gave her a few more pieces.

After bottling the prepared dried radish, Yun Wan planned to purchase a batch of equipment for making Spicy Dried Radish: a vegetable cutter that can slice, shred, and dice, very practical; a large heating device to process the dried radish in batches.

These two items would essentially give Yun Wan a small Spicy Dried Radish workshop!

To set up the small workshop, seasonings are crucial. That is to say, from now on, she needs to make good use of the daily refresh mechanism of the FiveSpice Jar, storing the seasonings in it, accumulating bit by bit, which will be enough for her future use, and also the Spirit Pepper, which she will need to plant more of in the future.

Chapter 32

Miao Miao had been thinking all morning about how to get Yun Wan to open the Mountain Gate Grand Array. She first lured Yun Wan over and then stayed at the spot where Ah Huang had disappeared.

Yun Wan picked her up, but she kept running back. When Yun Wan tried to leave, she used her tail to hook Yun Wan's ankle.

After several attempts, Yun Wan finally understood her intention.

"Is it because of the Mountain Gate Grand Array?" Yun Wan asked.

"Meow~" Miao Miao flicked her tail, as if responding.

Yun Wan wasn't sure if Miao Miao's meow was accidental or intentional, but she made a hand gesture and opened the Mountain Gate Grand Array. A small chick appeared on the ground, the Yellow Chick.

The Yellow Chick lay unconscious, so tiny it was almost unnoticeable.

Seeing the Yellow Chick, Yun Wan's eyes lit up.

A chicken! Once it grows up, we can have eggs and make fried chicken!

Unfortunately, there was only one. If there were two, one male and one female, we could have a continuous supply of chicken meat, eggs, and more.

Thinking of modern fried chicken paired with soda, she couldn't help but drool at the thought!

Yun Wan was about to pick up the chick when Miao Miao suddenly leaped and grabbed the chick in her mouth.

Ah! It's not grown yet, we can't eat it yet!

Luckily, Miao Miao only held it gently in her mouth and didn't bite down.

The bloody scene Yun Wan had feared didn't happen.

We finally have a chicken! She wanted to search other places on Shennong Star; there must be more chickens out there.

This chick was so small and fluffy, clearly just hatched and accidentally separated from its flock, wandering into the Mountain Gate Grand Array.

Miao Miao had really outdone herself this time!

Yun Wan squatted in front of Miao Miao, reaching her hand under the cat's mouth, coaxing her like a child, "Miao Miao, give the chick to sister, and sister will give you some dried radish!"

Miao Miao didn't budge, her tail tapping the ground.

Yun Wan increased the offer, "Miao Miao, do you know what this is? It's a chick. We can raise it, and then you can have chicken legs to eat!"

Eat chicken legs?

Miao Miao was so startled she nearly dropped the chick, her pupils shrinking as she glanced at Yun Wan, then leaped and ran away.

She had been hesitating whether to let Ah Huang also become Yun Wan's pet, but now that plan was ruined.

Yun Wan didn't seem to consider Ah Huang as a pet but rather as food.

Miao Miao sensed danger and immediately fled.

She knew the terrain like the back of her paw and soon disappeared from Yun Wan's sight.

Yun Wan's hand stayed outstretched, still processing the suddenness of Miao Miao running off with the chick.

"Kitty!"

Yun Wan cried out in pain: "Fried chicken! Sautéed chicken! Stewed chicken! Salt-roasted chicken..."

She had lost all of them!

After recovering from the emotional ups and downs of getting and then losing the chicken, Yun Wan tidied up the vegetable patch.

The old vegetable patch still had a patch of cabbage, which was ready for harvest. She carefully harvested each cabbage, deciding not to sell them but to keep them for herself.

After storing the cabbage in the temporary lord's mansion, Yun Wan passed by the pigpen. Professor Luo, who was usually there, was absent today.

"Busy, huh? Where's Professor Luo today?" Yun Wan greeted.

"Professor Luo is working on improving breeds."

Yun Wan didn't know much about scientific research and quickly forgot about it.

Later, she continued to water the new vegetable patch.

The system's Spirit Soil and Spirit Fields were incredibly efficient, hardly any weeds grew, and looking around, there were neat rows of small green leaves at different heights.

The sweet potato seedlings had already begun to vine, covering the surrounding soil. Their leaves were much larger than those grown in regular Spirit Soil, and Yun Wan was eager to see if the sweet potatoes would also change.

If the sweet potatoes grew bigger, their price could naturally go up.

The Spirit Peppers were fully mature. Yun Wan had harvested some in the morning and now gathered the rest, filling a basket. The deep red color was particularly attractive.

This time, she chose to air-dry the peppers naturally instead of using technology.

She wondered if it was just her imagination, but she felt that this more natural method preserved the flavor of the peppers better, as if the sunlight gave them a hint of brightness, making them more aromatic and spicier.

On the other side, the cabbage and radishes were also thriving. The cabbage looked tall and sturdy, even taller than before, and the part of the radishes sticking out of the soil showed that they were much larger than those harvested in the morning.

After switching to Spirit Soil, the crops seemed to have grown bigger, and Yun Wan was curious if there would be any change in taste.

She was really looking forward to harvesting this batch of crops, feeling that the new Spirit Soil would bring her some unexpected surprises.

Finally, she glanced at the Spirit Rice.

The Spirit Rice had started to form ears at the center, and since it was planted in the Spirit Field, it was hard to adjust the spacing, so the rice plants were unevenly spaced, looking somewhat messy.

This didn't affect the growth of the rice. According to Yun Wan's observations, the rice had stopped growing taller, and she could barely see the outline of the ears, suggesting they might mature overnight.

After watering the vegetable patch, Yun Wan ended her day's work.

She strolled along the ridge, the golden glow of the setting sun covering everything, dyeing her and the entire Shennong Star in a golden light.

Yun Wan was ready to finish work and have dinner when, halfway there, she encountered a familiar figure.

It was the delivery robot.

Her combat robot had arrived!

There were three boxes, the smallest the size of a palm, the largest as tall as Yun Ge.

There were quite a few packages, so Yun Wan called Yun Ge to help carry them back to the safe house.

She opened the largest box first, which contained black and red stones, likely obsidian energy. The second box held five buttons, probably the robot's starters.

Pressing the button, the robots assembled one by one from it, and soon, five tall and sturdy robots stood in a row in front of Yun Wan, giving off a strong sense of safety.

The combat robots can load maps and set up patrol zones.

After loading the map of the area around the lord's mansion, Yun Wan assigned two low-end combat robots to patrol the spaceship landing site, two to handle security within a 500-meter radius, and the last military robot to guard the most important asset on Shennong Star—the vegetable patch.

Once she was done with these tasks, Yun Wan took out a chip and a device shaped like an umbrella from the second box, which were the foreign visitor system and the bird repellent device, respectively. Both items needed to be loaded into the smart brain.

Once the foreign visitor system was installed, its detection range could cover the entire planet. Visitors to Shennong Star could apply and would only be allowed access after obtaining permission. If permission was not granted, the system would sound an alarm.

She placed the bird repellent device next to the vegetable field. This device releases a smell that animals hate, which only animals can detect, thus achieving the effect of repelling them.

The last small palm-sized box contained Yun Ge's learning smart brain.

Yun Ge was thrilled to get the smart brain. He kept turning it over, hesitant to use it.

Yun Wan helped him strap the smart brain to his wrist and taught him how to use it. Together, they downloaded a bunch of learning apps and saved lots of educational videos.

The learning smart brain has the same functions as an adult's smart brain, but some features are locked until he's older.

Therefore, Yun Ge could also use the smart brain to watch TV. He saved a really cool animated series and watched it with great interest.

Yun Wan glanced over and saw it was a mecha battle story.

The animation had a strong space theme, unlike the world she came from, where such stories were used to teach lessons, telling heartwarming tales.

"Sis, can I add someone to the smart brain?" Yun Ge asked, staring at the mecha on the screen, seemingly casual.

"Of course, is it a good friend of yours?"

"Yes! His name is Little Bean! He's a great friend!"

...

With the planet's basic defenses set up and the vegetable field thriving, Yun Wan was pretty happy with how things were. If only life could stay this calm and steady!

Unfortunately, she still had many things to do.

She'd been slacking off lately. The pigs didn't need her attention, and the vegetable field didn't require much care, yet she still hadn't made time to explore Shennong Star, staying at home for several days.

This had to stop! She set a small goal: she had to go out and explore the map tomorrow! She still didn't even have a complete map of Shennong Star!

With that thought, Yun Wan drifted into a sweet dream.

She had no idea danger was creeping closer.

Miao Miao brought Ah Huang to meet with the other two. Ah Huang had been unconscious, and they took her to the river, splashing some water on her until she slowly woke up.

"Huh? Why are you all here?"

After speaking, she looked around, "Where are my sweet potatoes? I told you, I just went to a place with so many sweet potatoes! I picked them all up! Did you see them? I was sleeping on them..."

"That was fake," Miao Miao said.

"There were no sweet potatoes, you were unconscious."

"Fake?!" Ah Huang's voice rose, sharp and disbelieving.

She looked at Miao Miao in disbelief, who nodded in confirmation.

When Ah Huang found out the truth, she was on the verge of tears.

"But I spent so much time picking them!" she said with grievance.

Worried that Ah Huang might break down, the three took turns comforting her until she finally accepted the truth. Suddenly, there was a loud noise.

Miao Miao looked up, her ears twitching slightly, and determined that the sound was coming from far away.

"Something's coming—it sounds like a fight."

"What's going on?"

Miao Miao stood up, told her three friends to stay put, and went to check it out.

The sound of fighting grew closer, crackling like bursts of energy. Soon, there was a huge explosion.

This time, the sound was close enough for Miao Miao to see what was causing it.

It was four robots fighting.

All four robots were black, though they varied in size and design. The two larger robots, with their bulky frames, were more aggressive and quickly reduced the smaller ones to scrap metal.

Then, they pressed on.

Miao Miao recognized these robots—she'd seen them in the lab before. They were the patrol robots from the old lab, identical in appearance but smaller.

Seeing the direction the robots were headed, Miao Miao's alarm bells went off.

"Oh no! They're heading for the vegetable field!"

Luckily, a black robot appeared out of nowhere, blocking the larger robots and engaging them in battle.

The new robot was clearly stronger than the two that had been destroyed, but under the relentless attacks of its enemies, it began to lose ground.

Miao Miao watched as a laser ball skimmed the stones around the vegetable field, instantly reducing them to powder.

If this kept up, the robots' fight could destroy the vegetable field.

Before Miao Miao could do anything, her three friends joined her.

"Didn't I tell you to stay put?" Miao Miao said.

The three didn't respond, their eyes fixed on the intense robot battle.

"That's... the patrol robot!"

"Did the lab find us?"

"Probably not," Miao Miao said calmly. "These two robots are definitely after the vegetable field."

"The vegetable field? The sweet potatoes?" Ah Huang asked.

There was no time to explain much, so Miao Miao nodded by default.

Another light ball flew by, exploding a deep pit beside the vegetable field.

The two robots seemed to intentionally avoid the vegetable field, indicating they didn't want to destroy it but rather wanted the plants inside.

Miao Miao shared her theory, and Ah Huang was the most excited to hear it.

"The vegetable patch! My sweet potatoes are in there! Those junk robots! How dare they!"

"..." Right now, although the situation wasn't right, Miao Miao was tempted to say that those weren't her sweet potatoes.

Before she could say it, she saw an energy ball nearly hit the vegetable patch. She jumped up, kicked the energy ball away, and it struck a tree on the other side.

The tree trunk snapped loudly.

Everyone joined the fray.

Wang Wang charged in and knocked down one of the robots. Se Se's tail wrapped around the attacking arm of the robot and twisted it, shattering its outer shell. Miao Miao clawed through the robot's mechanical core, disabled it, and it collapsed in a heap.

After dealing with this robot, the other one was also destroyed by the allied black robot.

Just when they thought the crisis was over, the two disabled robots activated their emergency power, merged together, grew even bigger, and their color turned into a dangerous red.

The red robot was incredibly tough, completely ignoring the attacks from the three and the black robot, and marched straight toward the vegetable patch.

Seeing the red robot open its belly and extend its mechanical claws, ready to pull out the vegetables, Miao Miao shouted, "Ah Huang, cry!"

Immediately, a heart-wrenching wail came.

"Waaah... put down my vegetables! My sweet potatoes!"

The wail made the red robot freeze momentarily, but it continued its action.

The crying grew louder, and the red robot seemed to be glitching, moving and stopping intermittently, jerking like a broken video. Finally, its mechanical core flickered uncontrollably, and an electronic voice came out:

"Detecting unknown interference! Detecting... unknown... interference..."

Without much effort, the red robot shut down.

The black robot didn't escape its fate either, also falling to the ground, looping the same message.

Miao Miao glanced at Ah Huang, who was still crying, and felt a headache.

Ah Huang's crying could make all machinery stop working, but once she started crying, it was hard to tell when she would stop.

"Stop crying, the vegetable patch is fine."

"We need to hide now, don't let the females find us!"

They grabbed Ah Huang by the wings and took her away from the scene, leaving behind a mess that showed a big battle had just taken place.

Chapter 33

Yun Wan, inside the safe house, had no idea about the commotion outside, so when she opened the door that morning, she was stunned by the chaos in front of her.

Several robots were sprawled haphazardly on the ground, one of them a striking red robot, which wasn't hers.

Dirt was scattered everywhere, with deep craters dotting the area, and the stones near the vegetable patch were damaged, many of them shattered.

Yun Wan immediately realized what had happened.

Professor Luo and the other mentors emerging from the temporary lord's residence were equally shocked.

The soundproofing between the lord's residence and the safe house was top-notch, so they'd barely heard any strange noises overnight.

"What happened?" Professor Luo frowned.

It was obvious someone had exploited the lord's absence to break in and steal vegetables, more likely aiming to snatch the original seeds and planting techniques.

"It's the Ji Clan," Yun Wan said.

She filled Professor Luo in on the incidents with the Ji Clan, and the mentors kept gasping in shock.

"The Ji Clan is really something else! They tried to steal the teacher's work before, but thankfully, we're backed by the Imperial Military Academy, so no one dares to mess with us."

"But the lord has no backing—how's he supposed to handle this?"

Professor Luo's mustache twitched as he said, "Hmph! The Ji Clan, always pulling these underhanded stunts! Lord, don't worry—I'll see what kind of nonsense they try to pull in front of this old man!"

Yun Wan thanked Professor Luo for his reassurance. She had anticipated that the Ji Clan wouldn't let go so easily, but fortunately, she had prepared in advance.

Since robots were the intruders, the visitor system didn't alert them. Of the five robots, four were damaged, leaving only one military robot still operational.

After rebooting the military robot, Yun Wan stood before the red robot for a moment.

The red robot's surface was intact, showing wear but no damage, and it didn't appear broken. The mechanical surface was smeared with unknown white fur—some resembling a cat's, and some long strands of uncertain origin.

Just as she reached out to touch it, Professor Luo stopped her.

"Wait, this robot… it seems to be merely shut down, not broken!"

Yun Wan's thoughts were confirmed, and she turned her gaze back to the robot, smiling.

An intact robot would return to its owner after rebooting, so this time the Ji Clan might not get off scot-free!

They probably never imagined the robot they sent would shut down on the spot!

But why?

Yun Wan felt puzzled.

She was sure that what she currently possessed wasn't enough to produce such an effect.

Was it struck by lightning and short-circuited? Even the heavens couldn't stand the Ji Clan's actions?

Professor Luo was also pondering this question, and finally he concluded, "You're very lucky, this robot might have malfunctioned, misrecognized the command, and shut down."

The possibility of such a malfunction was slim, but there was no other explanation.

Yun Wan nodded, but in her heart, she felt that things weren't that simple.

It seems something managed to stay completely hidden during this incident.

But that's not the main concern at the moment.

What's important is—

Yun Wan pulled out her phone and called the police.

After waiting over two hours, the interstellar police finally showed up on Shennong Star.

Two officers arrived—a man and a woman.

"Is this the robot that attacked your planet?"

The officers asked, and after getting a yes, they pressed for more details and asked if Yun Wan had any enemies.

Yun Wan answered honestly, and only then did they reboot the robot.

Once rebooted, the red robot slowly got up and headed outside.

Yun Wan and the officers followed right behind.

"Lord, you can go about your business—we'll handle the culprit," the female officer said.

"It's fine, I'm not busy," Yun Wan said, wanting to see the culprit's face for herself.

Besides, since they'd messed with her so many times, it'd be unfair if she didn't even know what they looked like.

The three trailed the robot all the way to a residential building on the capital planet.

After showing their badges, they moved straight to a specific door without any trouble.

When it reached the destination, the robot halted, "Destination reached. Obstacle detected. Initiating attack."

Without anyone lifting a finger, the robot blasted the door open on its own.

Interstellar robots seemed pretty underwhelming—clumsy and a bit dumb.

But its dumbness worked in their favor!

The robot marched into the room, and Yun Wan heard the people inside shout:

"The robot is back!"

"What's going on?!"

Before they could say a word, the officers deployed portable prisons, trapping the two inside with no way out.

Yun Wan thought, no wonder the officers were confident bringing a civilian along—they had such handy gear.

This was the first time Yun Wan and the manager met face-to-face, separated by a metal-barred door, but both instantly recognized each other—and the manager's defeat.

Earlier, the manager and his nephew Zhou Ye had been toasting their successful acquisition of Shennong Star's original seeds, dreaming of a bright future, when suddenly the door was blasted open, and two officers appeared to lock them up, followed by a young girl.

The second he saw her, he knew who she was.

The Shennong Star Lord—a beautiful woman with especially lively eyes.

It was obvious at a glance that she was sharp.

At this moment, the smile on her face was particularly unsettling.

The robot had finished its mission, and now the male police officer took out its chip for analysis. After extracting the evidence, he confronted the two men.

"The robot's chip contains images of Shennong Star's plants and seeds. As the robot's owners, you are now suspected of trespassing on Shennong Star and stealing agricultural technology. Do you have anything to say?"

"Uncle! What do we do now? We..."

"Quiet!" Seeing that Zhou Ye was about to spill everything, the manager shouted harshly.

His voice was so loud it felt like the entire room shook.

Zhou Ye was so scared he fell to the floor.

"Uncle, what..."

The manager ignored Zhou Ye and turned to the police. "Where's my lawyer? I'm not saying anything until my lawyer gets here!"

He had programmed the robot to self-destruct. Even if discovered, it couldn't be traced back to him unless it was rebooted, resetting all commands.

He had underestimated Shennong Star's capabilities! He thought they were here to offer benefits, but it turned out he was the one walking into a trap!

How did she manage to power down and restart the robot?

The manager racked his brain but couldn't figure out how she did it.

All he could do now was wait for his lawyer to get him out.

Yun Wan arched an eyebrow. The manager's years of experience paid off—he was as cunning as they come.

But Yun Wan wasn't a fool either. Last time, her kindness cost her an opportunity. This time, she'd make sure they paid the price and knew she wasn't to be messed with!

"Officer, I've got an idea!" Yun Wan leaned in and whispered into the female police officer's ear.

"Alright, no problem. We'll keep them apart."

Yun Wan suggested that each officer guard one suspect to keep them from coordinating their stories.

At this, the manager's face slowly darkened.

He knew his nephew well—he was a total liability and would definitely sink him!

His thoughts were correct.

With the lawyer's help, this could have been swept under the rug. But Zhou Ye cracked under pressure and confessed to save his own skin.

In that case, he couldn't blame him for being ruthless!

The manager flipped his story and pinned it all on Zhou Ye, claiming he only wanted to prevent his nephew from going to prison and advised him to turn himself in.

In his account, he was nothing but a loving uncle who doted on his nephew.

Just as the manager was about to escape, Zhou Ye produced crucial evidence—he had saved their chat records.

Since it was a conversation with his nephew, the manager hadn't been subtle and had spoken plainly. This evidence was enough to convict him.

The verdict was announced: the manager was sentenced to thirty years in prison, Zhou Ye to five years, and they were ordered to compensate Shennong Star for all losses, including emotional damages, totaling five million.

The manager sat in the defendant's seat, as if mourning a great loss, his peripheral vision catching the woman walking out gracefully. Meanwhile, he faced thirty years of imprisonment—a lifetime for him!

He's gonna spend the rest of his life rotting in a dark, damp prison, never seeing daylight again!

Can you believe he got taken down by a woman?

No way! His own nephew too!

Seeing his nephew practically jumping for joy at the verdict, the manager finally snapped and started cussing him out.

After watching the manager and Zhou Ye tear into each other, and seeing the instigator get what was coming to him, Yun Wan felt pretty darn good, especially with the hefty compensation and a red robot the police didn't want.

Her anxiety about the planet's defense finally started to ease up.

However, she still had one question about the matter.

"Is the Ji Clan involved at all?" Yun Wan asked the police.

"No direct evidence ties them to the Ji Clan."

Yun Wan nodded, deep in thought.

Back on Shennong Star, Yun Wan got a message from Ji Lian.

[Lord, did you hear our manager got locked up? I don't know what he did, but now you can breathe a little easier. He's the one who stole our deal and was after your tech. He finally got what he deserved. If I had proof, I'd have taken him to court myself!]

[Lord, I'm sorry, this whole thing blew up because of me, causing you so much trouble. How about I buy you dinner to make it up to you? Please come, I'm not asking for forgiveness, but don't block me on the stream! I'm desperate!]

After some thought, Yun Wan replied.

[Yeah, I'm the one who took him down.]

Ji Lian immediately responded with a long, excited message.

[The Lord actually replied to me?!]

[Oh man, I was scared you'd ignore me!]

[Seriously? Lord, you're incredible! You're my hero! The person I look up to most in the world! How'd you pull it off? That's so awesome!]

[He totally had it coming. I nearly burst out laughing when I heard he got busted!]

[But, Lord, if you're aiming for the high-end market, you should steer clear of the Ji Clan. I just found out that for some very expensive big collaborations, they have another way of doing things. I'm really sorry, I didn't know before, I only handled small collaborations, not qualified to know, and only found out this time, causing you so much trouble.]

[I've already quit the Ji Clan, and you should definitely cut ties with them.]

Yun Wan looked at the messages, thinking her fan was a decent guy.

He was just a small figure struggling alone, and he could have easily turned a blind eye to Shennong Star's plight, staying uninvolved and unnoticed.

But he didn't, not only coming to warn her but also apologizing repeatedly, even unwilling to be complicit, resigning directly.

Doing these things not only requires courage but also a conscience.

His character is reliable, and his professional experience is rich, making him a valuable person.

After some thought, Yun Wan replied again:

[Thanks for the heads-up. I'm still aiming for the high-end market. How about you? What's next for you?]

Chapter 34

Ji Lian looked at the message with a bitter smile.

After leaving the Ji Clan, finding a new job proved to be quite challenging. Although he had closed the most deals at the Ji Clan, none stood out as particularly impressive.

Ultimately, even if there were any successes, they wouldn't be attributed to him.

Moreover, having left a top-tier company, other firms were curious about his departure, suspecting he might have been let go and were hesitant to hire him.

As a result, all the resumes he sent out seemed to disappear without a trace.

However, Ji Lian was relieved that the Lord didn't hold a grudge and continued to chat with him.

[No plans yet, Lord. Do you have any suggestions?]

[If job hunting isn't panning out, have you thought about starting your own venture?]

Ji Lian was taken aback when he read this message.

Starting his own business? He'd definitely thought about it!

Countless times under that unethical manager, he'd wanted to quit and strike out on his own, but he lacked the connections!

A major reason he closed those deals was the Ji Clan's reputation, which gave him a platform to prove himself. Without the Ji Clan's name, people might not even give him the time of day.

Moreover, with the Ji Clan dominating, his backing wasn't strong enough, and his resources were limited. Competing with the Ji Clan for market share was out of the question.

Without enough capital, how could he even think of starting his own business?

[I've considered it.]

Ji Lian laid out the pros and cons to Yun Wan, feeling a bit disheartened.

Every time he realized that background and capital dictate a person's start and finish, he could only stay silent.

Because he lacked both.

Actually, he was somewhat lucky, at least having a distant connection to the Ji Family. Other true commoners had no chance whatsoever to rise.

Such was the harsh reality of interstellar society.

What's more terrifying than a life with a predictable end?

[The Ji Clan is formidable and might go to great lengths to crush rivals, but if you don't try, how will you know you can't succeed?]

Yun Wan replied.

Her words were as much for Ji Lian as they were for herself.

She refused to remain passive, waiting for danger to strike, only to either take the blow or fight back, always at the enemy's mercy.

If one day those with hidden agendas covet what's hers, then let the storm rage even fiercer!

The outcome will hinge on each one's skills!

Why should the underdog fear those in power?!

Besides, they can't control everything; this interstellar world isn't ruled by just one noble family!

[This world isn't just home to one noble family! …And who says the power of commoners isn't strong? Commoners' power is just too scattered and fragmented, making it seem weak. But when they unite, where would mere nobles stand?!]

Yun Wan's words hit Ji Lian like a bolt of lightning, snapping him out of it.

He had never been more clear-headed than he was today!

Indeed, they only see the wealth and power of the nobles, but if they are so powerful, why do commoners still exist?

Why haven't the commoners been wiped out?

Commoners are far stronger than they realize. Think about it—how many nobles are actually doing real work? How many have real influence in the galaxy? And how many could survive without the commoners' financial support?

These nobles exploit the commoners while acting all high and mighty, constantly using underhanded tactics to clear obstacles and maintain their current status!

Why couldn't he outdo the nobles?

He has experience and some resources. The lord's already started selling vegetables, building a solid base among the people. Wouldn't it be a breeze for him to break into the high-end market?

This is his comfort zone. Why not trust himself and take the leap?

If he wins, the sky's the limit; if he loses, he'll live to fight another day, resumes and all. At worst, he'll just go back to the same old grind. What can he lose?!

Compared to what he's putting in, the lord's taking a massive gamble with this venture. If it fails, the lord could even lose Shennong Star.

A young girl straight out of college has this kind of guts, and he, a seasoned player, can he really claim to be scared?!

For a moment, Ji Lian's heart raced with excitement.

A path he'd long dreamed of but lacked the guts to take—today, he finally took that first step, ready to explore a whole new world.

He was sure the journey ahead would be nothing short of amazing!

[Lord, can we continue to cooperate?]

Once it clicked, Ji Lian was fired up and ready to go. He got what Yun Wan was hinting at and jumped at the chance to collaborate.

Now, his head was buzzing with dozens of ideas, all ready to roll out right away.

[Of course! I'll sell you the produce at cost, and the rest is up to you. Are you satisfied with these terms?]

Satisfied? Ji Lian was more than satisfied!

The deal was so good he was ready to hit the ground running!

He'd figured the lord would set the price and cut him a share, just like in the Ji Clan, but with a boss who actually cared.

To his surprise, the lord did set a price—but it was the floor price! As long as he could sell high, every penny of profit was his to keep!

The lord wasn't skimming a single credit off the top!

Ji Lian, fearing the lord was too young to understand the importance of profit-sharing, patiently explained it for a long time.

[Haha, you've passed my test! Mr. Ji, you are indeed a great partner.]

[No need for profit-sharing, but there's one condition: your company must be established on Shennong Star. Can you accept that?]

Yun Wan had thought a lot about it. Previously, she had indeed wanted to tap into the high-end market to make money, but now the situation was different. Since Ji Lian wanted to start his own business, it would be better for him to set up his company on Shennong Star. This way, it would be like adding another money-making machine, not only boosting employment on Shennong Star but also increasing tax revenue.

As a planet lord, one must consider more than just petty gains.

Keeping talent is what really matters.

With her team and products, making money shouldn't be a concern.

Ji Lian didn't hesitate and agreed right away.

The lord gave him a break, and he knew to return the favor.

It's just starting a company—location doesn't matter!

Ji Lian didn't grasp Yun Wan's deeper motives; he just felt grateful for her help.

For once in his life, he'd found a true benefactor.

Ji Lian quickly rallied friends, set up a company, and got to work.

For the underdogs, every second counts—this was their hard-won chance to breathe.

Business is cutthroat—they had to keep pushing to stay ahead.

With the deal sealed, Yun Wan felt a weight off her shoulders.

For her, it was a no-risk deal—the crops were already meant for sale. The only cost was taking on the risk of Shennong Star's competition with the nobles.

But it was her responsibility anyway—just sooner than expected.

Ji Lian was gambling his future, and Yun Wan was happy to reward him generously.

Now it was on Ji Lian to deliver something impressive.

With her tasks done, Yun Wan got ready to explore Shennong Star.

This time, she just planned to map resource points—a quick scouting trip.

With Yun Ge along for the ride, they zoomed past countless mines, including obsidian and Purple Gold Ore.

These valuable minerals were still untouched—how deep were they buried?

After a long flight, the heat hit them—likely another hemisphere of Shennong Star. The system flagged a massive nuclear pollution zone.

Yun Wan was shocked—she'd thought Shennong Star was just a mining wasteland, but it had pollution too.

She circled the area, gauging its size.

It spanned several acres.

Luckily, it was far from the lord's mansion—otherwise, she'd think twice about eating her own crops.

The nuclear pollution had seeped out, staining the land with sickly yellow and green ooze, while some patches turned a menacing red, like a prankster's paint job.

This land could've been beautiful, but now it was a grotesque, hazardous mess.

The system flagged it as a red zone—maximum danger.

Yun Wan's expression turned grave.

How many more of these zones were out there, waiting to be found?

She'd thought Shennong Star just needed time to heal, but now it was clear—it was sick and needed treatment, or it would never be livable. After these days of interaction, she had developed feelings for this land.

This is a land that has suffered great harm, previously abandoned by everyone, but she refuses to give up on it.

They are in the same boat, having met during their humble beginnings and witnessed each other's growth.

She has even drawn up a planet development map—how could she quit now!

After beginning with one polluted area, Yun Wan encountered many more, varying in size but all severely polluted.

"Is there a way to clean up this pollution?"

Yun Wan had no choice but to ask the system for help.

For the first time, she felt the overwhelming insignificance of humanity, with many burdens pressing down on them like a colossal beast. They can only flee, not fight.

She thought the system must have a solution!

If not, she would find a way herself—she would never run away.

Perhaps she could use her spiritual energy to separate the pollutants, though it would be labor-intensive and require costly protective gear. But little by little, it could be solved!

There's always a way around a problem.

However, the system was reliable and didn't leave Yun Wan to clean up the pollution on her own.

[Detected mutated species—Desert Rose, whose purification ability has increased hundreds of times after mutation, effectively purifying land and air.]

"Great!"

Yun Wan couldn't help but exclaim, startling Yun Ge, who was looking at the scenery outside the window.

"Where is the Desert Rose?"

Following the system's prompt, Yun Wan found the Desert Roses growing on the edge of the polluted area. The blend of industrial waste and natural flowers was strangely harmonious, occupying both sides of the land, clearly demarcated.

The pollutants no longer spread outward, and the roses could not touch the soil or take root in the pollutants, only growing around the edge of the polluted area.

The sea of rose-colored flowers, like spilled blood, thrived and shimmered, especially in the harshest conditions.

Yun Wan's heart was deeply moved!

What remarkable functions and excellent qualities these flowers have!

She decided: this would be the star flower of Shennong Star!

Chapter 35

The system also seemed interested in the desert rose, and after the pig, it re-enabled the exchange feature.

[Host, two desert roses can be exchanged for one system-enhanced plant. Would you like to make the exchange?]

Yun Wan didn't know how the system judged whether something could be exchanged. It seemed to have high authority and could make decisions on many things independently.

She couldn't spot any pattern.

Since the system was willing to make the exchange, she was more than happy to take advantage. Anything enhanced by the system is bound to be extraordinary.

"What are the advantages of the enhancement?"

[Enhanced plants can thrive in extreme environments and boast stronger purification abilities.]

Yun Wan thought it was feasible. Eventually, the desert rose might even grow directly in polluted zones.

"First, I'll grab a protective suit—maybe tomorrow or the day after..."

[No need, host. The system can briefly activate a protective shield, so you can just go down and pick it.]

?

A protective shield? Does that even exist?

Also, why does the system seem so eager?

"This protective shield..."

[It can only be used once.]

The system added.

"Save it for next time, don't waste it..."

[It expires and won't be available.]

"..."

What the heck! So the protective shield is for the desert rose, not for me!

Yun Wan had to land the flying car nearby. Yun Ge noticed and wanted to join her, but she stopped him.

"You can't go out. Did you see that mess? It's a polluted zone with radiation—it'll turn people into idiots!"

Hearing this, Yun Ge immediately went quiet, ducked his head, and looked at her nervously.

"Sis, then why are you going out?"

"I have a protective shield; you don't. Keep yourself covered, got it?"

Yun Ge nodded obediently, but after watching for a while, he didn't see any protective shield around his sister.

He leaned against the front of the flying car, anxiously watching Yun Wan's retreating figure.

Will Sis be alright?

Yun Wan didn't notice any protective shield as she approached the polluted area, her heart rate quickened.

Seeing the polluted area firsthand made her uneasy.

People can marvel at beauty or disasters, and Yun Wan really hoped her awe at this moment wasn't the latter.

The word "devastation" fit this land perfectly, and anyone who had seen it would find it hard to forget.

After calming her mixed emotions, Yun Wan began collecting desert roses.

The desert roses had thick, gourd-shaped roots, dark green in color with long root hairs at the bottom. The loose soil made them easy to pull out.

She harvested 56 desert roses, exchanged for 28 enhanced versions. Yun Wan scattered them over the polluted area, but it wasn't enough, with several polluted areas still untreated.

Yun Wan glanced back, checked the red mark on the map, and left in her spacecraft.

Hours later, she had nearly circled Shennong Star, exploring large areas.

Over the next few days, Yun Wan kept mapping, and the map of Shennong Star was nearly complete, with just a few gaps left to explore.

She discovered 532 polluted areas and 200,000 resource zones, and found wild combat chickens, trading for chicks with the system.

During this time, Yun Wan bought four more robots. This time, she splurged on the priciest military robots. Adding the surviving one and the one from Zhou Ye's house, she now had six robots.

The red robot had a built-in collector for harvesting, easing her workload.

Yun Wan kept up with her cultivation.

The robot invasions and pollution on Shennong Star made her feel small. She had to grow stronger to protect what mattered.

She'd repaired her upper body's meridians, letting spiritual energy flow freely.

She noticed the Flower of Life turned greener as spiritual energy flowed through it, though the energy decreased.

Yun Wan guessed the Flower of Life needed spiritual energy to grow.

She focused spiritual energy around her waist, and in days, the sprout grew two new leaves.

Things were looking up!

Today, Yun Wan opened her live broadcast again, and the vegetables in the new field were mature and ready for harvest.

Seeing the lush crops on the screen, Yun Wan's fans cheered.

[Great! Finally, it's here!]

[Ready! Ready!]

[I've already clicked into the purchase interface, host, please update.]

The fans' support made Yun Wan very happy. She gave instructions to the red robot, and instantly the robot extended four claws from its abdomen, quickly collecting the crops, leaving no room for Yun Wan to intervene.

After harvesting a batch, the robot could automatically count and transport them to the designated warehouse.

When it came to harvesting Spirit Rice, the robot paused for a moment before cutting the rice stalks and quickly plucking the rice grains.

The Spirit Rice had no husks, and the plump white rice was exposed, making the rice field look like a sea of white cotton.

[It looks like pearls, is this rice?]

Each grain of Spirit Rice is palm-sized, and one grain can cook a bowl of rice.

"Yes, this is the rice."

"Why hasn't the host added new products yet? I'm so impatient!"

After the red robot completed the harvest, Yun Wan checked the quantity and quality of various crops, which were indeed much larger than the last time, so the price could be raised.

After setting aside her own share and the sweet potatoes Yun Shuang had reserved, she quickly updated the inventory, adding prices and quantities for the new products.

3500 sweet potatoes, 100 cabbages, 10,000 Spirit Rice, and she planned to make all the radishes into Spicy Dried Radish, not selling them now.

Spirit Rice is a staple food, after all, and doesn't have a unique flavor, so she set the price at 500 star coins for 10 grains, and raised the price of sweet potatoes and cabbages by 100 star coins each.

"Since no one has tried Spirit Rice before, please buy cautiously!" Yun Wan reminded, "You can store the rice and pair it with Spicy Dried Radish when it's available."

"Don't worry, host, we've got your back!"

"It's got to be delicious!"

"I can't believe it's not tasty if the host is still growing it!"

"I got the sweet potatoes—can someone share two grains of rice with me? I want to try it!"

"Trading cabbage for rice, anyone?"

Within ten minutes, all the crops were sold out. Yun Wan made 1.61 million star coins, a pittance compared to what she earned from selling land.

Who would've guessed that Yun Wan, who once prized tens of thousands of star coins, now finds millions insufficient!

After a hectic afternoon, Yun Wan finally packed and shipped the goods, and then received congratulations from Ji Lian.

"Congratulations to the lord for prosperous business!"

Yun Wan wasn't surprised by her business partner's attention and responded:

"Thank you."

"Lord, I've closed three deals, all with natural food restaurants. I showed them the livestream, and they're planning to buy a batch of our products to try. However, they're unfamiliar with some ingredients and unsure how to cook them, so I was wondering if we could offer some basic recipes and samples for them to try?"

"Of course, I'll post the recipes later, and the corresponding samples will be sent to you."

"Lord, honestly, I was worried the products wouldn't sell before, but now I'm worried you can't keep up with demand—your retail sales are already maxed out! They're ordering a lot—are you sure you can fulfill the orders?"

"Don't worry, I can handle supplying three restaurants."

"Alright, lord, keep up the great work with the farm!"

Yun Wan stretched her stiff joints after spending the entire afternoon packing without a break.

With her current land and seeds, supplying three restaurants was definitely not enough. The reason she dared to promise was that in the next few days, she planned to explore the resource points on Shennong Star, exchange some land and seeds with the system, and further expand the farm.

Also, the Spicy Dried Radish workshop had to officially start operating.

Thinking about it, she felt like one person divided into several, and still couldn't finish the work at hand.

After some thought, Yun Wan decided to post the job advertisement first to see if anyone would apply.

She really couldn't handle it alone, and some things couldn't be done by robots.

We're understaffed!

Her offer was average, including three meals and housing, paying five thousand Starnet coins a month.

Considering Shennong Star's remote location, it's unlikely anyone will apply.

But there's still hope, right? Maybe someone won't mind the location!

She also picked up a few red robots to help with farming.

After dinner, Yun Wan strolled around the lord's mansion, thinking about how much she planned to plant.

At first, she didn't notice, but as she approached, a Green Snake darted out of the grass.

Huh?!

Logically, snakes shouldn't be here—they haven't been seen in ages.

A Green Snake! Its color was stunning, with smooth, silvery scales like a suit of armor—definitely venomous!

Yun Wan leapt back. She and the snake stared at each other.

The snake seemed startled, froze for a moment, then kept moving.

The snake twisted its tail, tilted its neck, and rolled on the ground.

Yun Wan was stunned by its bizarre behavior.

Did it just pop out to put on a show for her?

She stared at the snake, its vertical pupils and forked tongue oozing danger.

The thought sent a chill down her spine.

Better keep her distance! She's just a fragile human—one wrong move and she's done for!

Yun Wan took a detour, wondering why the raptor repeller didn't work.

Doesn't a snake count as a raptor?

She decided to check Starnet for realgar powder and remind Yun Ge to stay indoors.

After a few steps, a big dog burst from the grass, charging and knocking her down.

She thought the dog was attacking and reached for her gun, but it just nuzzled her face, pinning her down and panting.

"Get off me, you're crushing me!"

Yun Wan finally felt what it was like to be pinned by a big dog.

She pushed the silly dog away, caught her breath, and saw the silly dog sticking out its tongue, looking at her obediently.

The big dog was mainly brown, with some white long hair in the middle, presenting a mask-like appearance on its face.

Its ears were perky, its eyes lively, like a little sun that never runs out of energy.

It curiously moved its nose, familiarizing itself with Yun Wan's scent, and after confirming something, it rolled on the ground in a round manner.

This action looked oddly familiar...

That Green Snake just did the same thing.

Did the animals on Shennong Planet go through some weird training program? Were they former members of a circus?

It feels familiar, like I've seen this somewhere before.

I remember now!

Isn't this Miao Miao's signature move for asking for pets?

No wonder it felt so familiar!

This is getting weirder by the minute... How did they even get in? Is the Mountain Gate Grand Array even working? Is the raptor repellent just for show?

Yun Wan decided to head back to avoid running into more weird stuff.

The big yellow dog trailed after her, like it was planning to stick around.

Yun Wan was kind of happy—if it followed her home, she'd have both a cat and a dog!

After walking a bit, the same thing happened again, this time with a Yellow Chick, which looked like the one Miao Miao had taken away.

Looking at the inconspicuous grass by the roadside, Yun Wan thought somewhat resignedly:

What else is hiding in this grass? Just come out all at once, alright?

Chapter 36

Se Se, Wang Wang, and Ah Huang approached Yun Wan without Miao Miao's knowledge.

Having seen how luxurious Miao Miao's life was, and with her bringing back plenty of delicious cabbage these past two days, they simply refused to return with the supplies first.

Ah Huang suggested, "Since Miao Miao can do it, why can't we?!"

So, the three of them took turns trying to charm Yun Wan.

Se Se went first, but the Female was startled and left quickly.

Se Se was discouraged, and Wang Wang comforted her, "It's okay, maybe she doesn't like animals without fur. Both Miao Miao and I have fur, she's sure to like me!"

Se Se: If you can't comfort, maybe don't try! It's even more heartbreaking!

Wang Wang went next, rolling around and being cute, and sure enough, the Female wasn't angry and even petted his head.

Wang Wang followed her, and she didn't refuse.

This just confirmed Wang Wang's theory that the Female prefers furry animals.

Ah Huang, confident that she was also furry, with smoother, softer fur, and even smelled nice, thought that even the silly Ah Huang could gain the Female's favor, so she surely had no problem.

Thus, she followed Wang Wang's successful path and was cradled in Yun Wan's hand.

...

Yun Wan, holding the Yellow Chick, was now delighted.

She didn't expect the chick to still be alive, she thought it had been eaten by the cat!

She planned to raise the chick alongside the one from the system, to see if there were any differences.

The chick was strange too, lay still in Yun Wan's hand, instead seeming to enjoy it.

It was surprisingly calm.

...

Se Se was very sad, hiding in the bushes, watching the two leave her behind.

Really, wouldn't you consider liking a smooth Se Se? Cool and adorable!

Se Se was disheartened, watching the three walk in a line, and with determination, she trailed far behind the group.

Maybe she could fit in!

Maybe the Female would later see her worth!

...

Yun Wan, holding the chick, returned home and saw Miao Miao confused, guarding the chicken coop and meowing incessantly. Hearing her return, Miao Miao immediately turned to look at her, her eyes glued to her hand.

"Meow?"

Miao Miao felt that what was happening now was a bit surreal.

First, she saw a bunch of Ah Huangs locked in the fence, she went up to ask, and the chicks replied to her:

"Chirp chirp chirp."

"You've been treated as backup food by the female, you know that?"

"Chirp chirp chirp."

"I'll figure out a way to save you!"

"Chirp chirp chirp."

"...You're in great danger right now, I'm not joking!"

"Chirp chirp chirp."

Chirp chirp chirp! Chirp chirp chirp! They're totally clueless!

Miao Miao was fuming, pacing around the wooden fence a couple of times. The creatures inside had no clue what she was saying, and neither did she.

Just like those two dumb pigs.

Turns out they're not Ah Huang's siblings, but real animals.

Weird! She's been on this barren planet for ages and has never seen animals that look like Ah Huang. Where'd the female even get them?

Plus, she's been busy lately transporting food for her companions. How'd there suddenly be so many chickens at home when she got back?

As she wondered why, she looked up and saw the female clutching a chicken.

When it saw her, its yellow wings flapped hard.

Good, the one the female's holding is her friend Ah Huang.

Behind the female were Se Se and Ah Huang.

Who could explain how, after barely being apart, they all strutted back with the female?

Miao Miao felt like she'd been hit, her head throbbing.

She shot Ah Huang a glare, mostly because he was closer.

Miao Miao grimaced, "Whose bright idea was this?"

Ah Huang stuck out his tongue and plopped down, blinking his eyes, "Wasn't me."

Yun Wan plopped Ah Huang right into the chicken coop. Noticing the eye contact between the two little ones, she looked around, her gaze sweeping over the four little ones, and saw obedience in each of their varied expressions. A wild idea popped into her head.

Could these little guys have been behind the robots sent by the Ji Clan manager?!

She pushed her doubts aside and decided to keep an eye on the four little ones.

Miao Miao watched Ah Huang frolicking in the coop and snuggling with the other chicks, her head hurting even more.

What's there to be happy about, fool! She's treating you as backup food! Do you even get what that means?

Ah Huang obviously didn't understand and even puffed out her chest proudly.

She said the female would like her! Look at how many substitute chicks the female has raised.

Ah Huang scrutinized the chicks that looked similar to her with a critical eye.

This one's fur is kinda messy.

That one's too short.

This one's a little stinky.

That one's way too dirty.

…

Long story short, none of them measure up to her, so they can all back off!

She flapped around the chicken coop, hoping the woman would pet her again.

The woman noticed her but didn't pay much attention and walked away.

Ah Huang felt a bit let down.

She watched her buddies follow Yun Wan into the house one by one, even Se Se sneaked in.

Stuck alone in the chicken coop, Ah Huang finally figured something was wrong.

Why couldn't she go inside and had to hang out with these noisy chicks?!

The silvery moonlight covered the earth in a hazy veil, making Ah Huang look even more lonely.

Wang Wang and Se Se, who followed into the safe house, weren't as down, looking around curiously.

There were big tables and small chairs on the left, a sofa on the right, and a potted plant by the window, just like the "home" they'd seen on TV.

The warm yellow light made them feel out of place, unsure where to put their hands and feet.

Yun Ge bounded out of the room, beaming.

"Sis, you're back! I watered the peach tree today!"

He looked at Yun Wan eagerly, his eyes begging for praise.

"Yun Ge, you're awesome! So, you're in charge of watering the peach tree, okay?"

Yun Ge, thrilled to help and get praised, agreed in a tiny voice.

"Great job! When the peach tree grows fruit, you'll get the first bite!"

Yun Wan's promise made Yun Ge overjoyed. He forgot about the new animals and ran to the peach tree, gently wiping the leaves like Yun Wan patted his head.

"Little peach, I'll water you every day, so you better grow up strong!"

Yun Wan watched Yun Ge's cute antics with a big smile.

The newcomers watched their interaction with curiosity and envy.

Yun Wan soon remembered them and turned to the three little ones, thinking for a moment.

The Green Snake seemed pretty tame, not hurting anyone or biting randomly.

But Yun Wan wasn't sure if it was venomous, so she shooed it out.

She kept Wang Wang and Miao Miao inside.

She couldn't figure out how these animals had gotten through the Mountain Gate Grand Array before she fell asleep.

Didn't the Yellow Chick get stopped last time?

The next day, Yun Wan made another discovery.

She noticed sparrows flying in and out near the Mountain Gate Grand Array without being stopped.

?

She checked the Mountain Gate Grand Array's description again and easily connected it to the earlier robot invasion.

The Mountain Gate Grand Array seemed to target humans, leaving animals and non-living things unaffected.

But that raised another question.

The Yellow Chick was pulled into the Mountain Gate Grand Array, so was it even an animal?

Yun Wan tested two Yellow Chicks, and they weren't stopped.

Even though her theory sounded crazy, after ruling out everything else, the impossible had to be true.

That Yellow Chick wasn't an animal at all!

The cat might not be one either!

And the new dog and Green Snake too!

No wonder they acted so human!

Yun Wan looked at the Yellow Chick snoozing in the coop and the Green Snake curled up like a spiral at the door.

She knew they weren't dangerous, but why'd they follow her home? Just for food? Did they actually take care of the robots?

Yun Wan needed to process this and planned to talk to the animals tonight.

If they were humans, she hoped the cat she loved to cuddle wasn't some bearded, burly guy...

Ugh! No way!

Yun Wan shuddered at the thought and shook it off.

She hopped into her flying car; her main goal for the day was gathering ores, trading for greening points and seeds, and expanding the farm.

She followed the marked resource points, checking out the polluted area as she went.

The desert roses' roots pierced through the pollution, turning waste into nutrients to grow and spread.

Yun Wan spotted new sprouts next to some desert roses, and the older ones were budding again.

A fiery red life force spread across the wasteland, unstoppable and all-consuming.

Yun Wan was thrilled.

Her star flowers were amazing! Gorgeous and hardworking! They grow and purify on command! Shennong Star's restoration was within reach!

After assessing the purification, she gathered resources, making a loop and scoring big.

Back home, she found Yun Ge in the living room, studying on his smart brain, with two animals on either side, including the Yellow Chick from the coop, nibbling on a cabbage leaf.

Yun Ge was doodling on the table with his hand, occasionally reaching out to pet the cat next to him.

The cat kept its eyes glued to the screen, smugly avoiding Yun Ge's hand.

Yun Ge didn't give up, repeatedly trying to sneak in a pet, but always failing.

The five little ones were like attentive students in a classroom, focused on the robot teacher on the smart computer, soaking up knowledge, occasionally fidgeting.

Yun Wan hesitated to disrupt such a cozy moment.

Maybe she should wait a little longer, observe a bit more; there was no hurry to reveal the truth...

She stepped back outside and cleared her throat intentionally.

"Ahem!"

Inside, there was a flurry of hurried footsteps, followed by silence.

Yun Wan walked back in, and the room had settled back to normal.

The cat lazily rose from the living room table, stretched, and sauntered over to Yun Wan.

Yun Wan instinctively raised her hand, stopping just before touching the cat's head, then casually pulled it back.

Miao Miao had already closed her eyes, waiting for the female's gentle touch, but after a long wait, it never came. When she opened her eyes, she saw the female had already taken a seat on the sofa.

Miao Miao felt strange.

Normally, the female would scoop her up as soon as she returned. What was different today?

She hopped onto the sofa, sat obediently beside Yun Wan, and gazed at her with soft, affectionate eyes.

The female adored this look; every time Miao Miao gazed at her like that, she'd smile and cuddle her.

But today, no matter what she tried, even leaping onto the female's lap, she was coldly brushed off.

Why?

Miao Miao felt like she was about to cry.

Was it because there were more pets at home now, making her less important?!

Chapter 37

Yun Wan did not immediately confront the situation, but after realizing that the cat possessed human-like awareness, she could no longer maintain the same attitude as before.

She made an effort to avoid the cat's gaze and its affectionate behavior and began to inventory her resources.

The most abundant resource she collected was Blue Crystal Ore, along with a small amount of Obsidian Energy, Purple Gold Ore, and Gold Crystal Ore, among other rare resources. Yun Wan painstakingly gathered these from the mines, haphazardly stuffed into a large bag.

Once the system recycled all these resources, Yun Wan received five million Greening Points.

Once again, she reveled in the thrill of being rich!

Scavenging really does pay off! Farming is just a steady but (for now) low-paying gig.

After her Greening Points topped a million, the system updated the store again, adding three new crops.

[Porcini: 10 Greening Points per seed

Cherry Tomato: 10 Greening Points per seed

Soybean: 10 Greening Points per seed]

Awesome! The cherry tomatoes everyone's been craving are finally here!

Plus, there's porcini and soybeans! Porcini, an incredibly tasty mushroom, can be whipped up into all sorts of dishes and even turned into various sauces.

Yun Wan's first thought was to add another side dish. Besides Spicy Dried Radish, she could throw in some spicy mushroom bits.

As for soybeans, there are endless ways to prepare them. Soy milk, tofu pudding, tofu, tofu skin… they can all be turned into something special!

This time, the system's actually being thoughtful and didn't try to trick her into splurging on some overpriced item. All the crops are practical and delicious.

Another day, another reason to love the system!

"System, if you leave, how will I live?"

Yun Wan couldn't help feeling a little down.

[You'll grow, and one day you won't need me anymore.]

"No way, I'm totally into you! If that day comes, can you tell me in advance?"

[…Host, don't love me, this has no result… can…]

The system's stern warning had Yun Wan picturing a little machine figure looking worriedly at the human who fell in love with it, sighing, with a bubble above its head:

I don't have an emotional module loaded!

Yun Wan burst out laughing.

"Although you're just a machine, you're really a bit cute!"

Yun Wan's gloom vanished, and she energetically calculated the supplies to be purchased.

Seeing the backpack filled with dozens of times more Spirit Soil, Spirit Fields, and various seeds, she gleefully rolled around on her bed.

Come on! Let the orders come more fiercely!

At this moment, as she drifted into sleep, she was unaware that the crops she sold yesterday had caused a big problem.

Midnight.

A food blogger on Starnet suddenly published an article accusing Shennong Star's natural food of using illegal additives that make the food more delicious but addictive, damaging the nerves and affecting the mental strength of consumers.

This blogger isn't particularly popular, with just a few million followers.

As soon as the post went up, fans piled up comments under her article.

Seeing their favorite blogger being attacked, they were outraged, with many making extreme comments.

[Shennong Star? What is that? Never heard of it!]

[This is ridiculous! Using illegal additives? They clearly don't care about the law! Interstellar Police]

[ Interstellar Police, lock them up! People like this should be thrown into The Swarm—they don't deserve to be human!]

[Just look at what's happened to our Jiajia! Dark circles, sagging skin, almost driven to depression after eating Shennong Star's dishes!]

[Sisters, I found it—Shennong Star's live broadcast account.]

[How dare they mess with Jiajia! Sisters, let's go after them!]

The backlash spread like wildfire, taking root everywhere, and by 9 a.m., it was already boiling online, even angering uninformed bystanders.

Yun Wan noticed something was off when she started her broadcast that morning. Today's comment section was eerily quiet.

After expanding her vegetable field, she gazed at the vast farm and felt a bit relieved she'd spent a fortune on two more red robots.

If it were all manual labor, she'd be worked to death in the fields.

Once preparations were done, she went live.

Normally, her fans would banter and interact playfully, but today the chat was dead silent.

Yun Wan grew concerned. She checked her follower count in the backend, and it confirmed her suspicions.

She was losing followers at an alarming rate. Every two seconds, she'd lose five or six.

What's going on?

There were no negative reviews in the product comments.

She was sure she hadn't done anything to provoke public outrage.

Yun Wan wasn't in the mood for farming. She scoured the internet, letting the red robots handle the tilling and planting.

Soon, a flood of new viewers poured into the live stream, followed by a barrage of insults and accusations.

That's when she found out what had happened.

Capital Star Prison.

After clearing security, the manager entered the visitation room, eyes on the door, waiting for his scheduled visitor.

Shortly after, the person showed up late.

It was the lawyer he'd hired, who'd gone through great lengths to contact the new manager of the Ji Clan—Ji Jian, a cousin of the Ji Family's patriarch.

Ji Jian was dressed in a black suit, his hair slicked back. He gave the visiting room a disdainful look before arrogantly picking up the phone.

"Why did you call me here? You've got five minutes, so make it quick!"

Ji Jian had no desire to deal with the former manager who was now in prison; dealing with someone like that made him feel embarrassed. But this man kept pestering him through his lawyer, saying he had something that could impact the Ji Clan's future.

What a load of nonsense! What could possibly affect the Ji Clan's future? If he actually knew anything important, why's he stuck in prison?

Ji Jian didn't believe the former manager had any real capability, but being pestered like this was getting on his nerves. He decided to go himself and see what this guy had to say.

The manager, now the former manager, ignored Ji Jian's attitude and picked up the phone to speak.

His voice was raspy, like nails on a chalkboard. He had also lost a lot of weight and looked very haggard.

"Manager Ji, it's been a while..."

Ji Jian frowned, annoyed that he wasn't getting to the point.

The former manager, afraid he might leave impatiently, cut to the chase.

"...I know you don't want to catch up with me, and honestly, I don't want to see you either... But I don't want to see someone else succeed either... Do you know why I called you here?"

"Your lawyer already told me. If you've got something to say, spit it out. I'm in a rush."

As he spoke, Ji Jian checked his smartwatch.

The former manager's mouth twitched, and he cursed inwardly: What a show-off!

But outwardly, he remained polite.

"You know why I'm in here, right?"

Ji Jian listened to a few questions without hearing anything substantial and ran out of patience.

"Listen, if you keep asking questions, I'm done here! I didn't come here to answer your questions!"

The former manager's face stiffened.

In the past, this guy wouldn't have dared to mouth off to him, but now he dared to be so rude!

Well, the Zhou family had abandoned him, otherwise, he wouldn't have had to spill this secret to an outsider!

"Alright, alright, I'll get to the point. It's because of a small planet called Shennong Star. The lord there has a planting technique, and her plants are way better than the Ji Clan's... And, that lord's no ordinary person either..."

The former manager held back, not elaborating on how the Shennong Star Lord was not simple, and abruptly stopped.

Ji Jian didn't notice and instead seized the former manager's weak point, mocking him: "Hah, that's rich, so you tried to hog it all and got busted, huh?"

"You weren't exactly loyal to the Ji Clan, were you? Serves you right, ending up in prison!"

With that, Ji Jian walked away, leaving the former manager seething.

However, the former manager knew that the look in Ji Jian's eyes before he left meant he was intrigued.

...

Back at the Ji Clan, Ji Jian immediately searched for Shennong Star and indeed found a live stream with a significant number of followers.

Shennong Star was a newly registered planet this year, and its lord was a seemingly ordinary girl. No one knew where she got her planting technique, but she had managed to thrive by growing and selling vegetables.

Her plants hadn't officially entered the offline market yet, which is why the Ji Clan hadn't caught onto this dark horse yet.

However, after glancing at the income and expenditure details, Ji Jian noticed that the Ji Clan's profits had actually seen a slight decline over the past few months.

He immediately summoned the market operations department and gave them a harsh reprimand.

If it weren't for the intelligence gathered from other sources, allowing Shennong Star to develop, the profit decline would have been even greater.

What does it mean for all the vegetables sold to receive five-star reviews? Even the Ji Clan couldn't imagine such evaluations. It's as if they were divinely favored to produce such universally loved natural food!

Suddenly, a sharp glint flashed in Ji Jian's eyes.

Shennong Star, is it?

It could either be a stumbling block or a stepping stone for the Ji Clan's progress!

Most rising stars like Shennong Star ended up as the latter, and Shennong Star was even more exceptional than those ordinary upstarts. Its excellence could catapult the Ji Clan to new heights after its acquisition, truly monopolizing the interstellar market.

Without hesitation, Ji Jian relayed the news to his cousin. The two of them whispered together and quickly devised a plan.

Shennong Star had already garnered some fame, so it naturally couldn't be treated like those obscure entities.

They planned to leverage public opinion to constrict Shennong Star's survival space. With product overstock, its operations would inevitably face issues, and then the owner would be forced to sell!

Of course, if the Shennong Star Lord buckled under the pressure and faced life-threatening risks, that would be even better! They could then maneuver to effortlessly acquire Shennong Star, securing a treasure that would propel the Ji Clan to new heights!

Seeing the unfounded accusations in the chat, Yun Wan fell silent, but this wasn't the time for silence.

She composed herself and responded earnestly, "I can assure everyone that the natural food produced by Shennong Star contains no additives. Everything is organic, pollution-free, and fresh produce. There is no such thing as addictive substances."

"I don't know where you got this information, but please refrain from launching personal attacks against me and Shennong Star in the live stream without evidence. Otherwise, you will be permanently banned."

[Oh no, I'm late! Friends, come back quickly, stop commenting on the food blog. Our home base has been attacked! ]

[Jia fans, retreat immediately and protect our streamer! ]

[Wow! I'm here! I'm here! Who are these brainless fans spouting nonsense... ]

[Who's better at cursing? ! Which third-rate blogger is trying to slander our streamer? Not interested! ]

[Jia fans, if you keep cursing, don't blame me for cursing your ancestors! ]

Seeing the live stream's fans become active again, Yun Wan's previously anxious heart now felt completely at ease.

As long as there was even one person supporting her and believing in her, she would persist to the end!

She wasn't afraid of rumors and slander, only that in the end, no one would support her or continue to purchase Shennong Star's products.

Chapter 38

Although many fans supported Yun Wan, there were still some who believed that where there's smoke, there's fire. The glaring example of the Gourmet Blogger was right there, making it hard for them not to believe.

Most of them unfollowed, and some even turned into haters.

There was also a portion of more rational fans who remained neutral or silent until evidence was presented, trying to mediate in the live chat.

[Honestly, I think there's something wrong with Shennong Star's vegetables! Fans, don't attack me, you can see my level 5 fan badge, I'm a fan of the hostess, bought a lot of Shennong Star vegetables, I was always there to grab them... My feeling is that Shennong Star's vegetables are indeed addictive, you eat them and want more, isn't that a problem?]

[Yeah, yeah, if it weren't for the Gourmet Blogger speaking out, we wouldn't have thought about it this way! After eating Shennong Star's vegetables, even Ji's Fresh doesn't appeal to me anymore! Does a lord of a barren star have that much capability?]

[You can't just label something because it's delicious, let's see what the officials say!]

There were also trolls muddying the waters.

[The Shennong Star Lord is too despicable, deceiving consumers, everyone should stop buying her vegetables, let her die-hard fans buy them! If they die from eating, it serves them right!]

[Ji's is still reliable, after all, it's a big company, trustworthy, such unregulated vegetables should be quickly eliminated from the market!]

More were the slanders and defamations from the Gourmet Blogger's fans.

The remaining fans of Yun Wan struggled to manage the comments, and upon seeing negative comments, they couldn't help but fight back.

Seeing this, Yun Wan comforted her fans, "Fans, don't worry, don't care about others' slanders, let's do our best, don't curse online, I will submit Shennong Star's vegetables to the relevant authorities for testing, and the test results will speak for themselves."

[Did you hear that? Haters! If the Lord dares to test, it means there's no problem with the vegetables!]

[Cut it, who knows if she's using substitutes to fool people!]

[The person above is telling the truth!]

[You guys are just trying to pin the blame on the hostess! If you want to accuse, you'll find a reason!]

[Laughing, you guys are the ones with the problem.]

[They're anxious, they're anxious! They've been exposed, can't whitewash it anymore!]

[I want to ask, can those who bought vegetables before get a refund? It's so expensive, now I don't dare to eat it, it's a pity to throw it away!]

[Yeah, Shennong Star refund, Shennong Star is blacklisted, okay!]

Looking at some netizens' unreasonable behavior, Yun Wan laughed in anger.

"Everyone, don't worry, we have always aimed for a win-win situation, now if you don't want Shennong Star's vegetables, that's fine, we can refund. But you'll have to understand, natural produce may get damaged during the return process, so we can't refund the full amount, only 85% of the original price will be refunded, and you'll cover the shipping costs, is that okay?"

[That's fine, it's better than throwing them away.]

[I think it's okay too.]

The chat agreed unanimously with Yun Wan's after-sales solution, she nodded, "Then everyone first submit the application in the background, then send the vegetables back, once the items are received, I'll process your refund immediately, and this refund will ban you from purchasing any vegetables in the live room in the future."

Although some fans were just misled by troublemakers, they indirectly stabbed Shennong Star in the back, Yun Wan couldn't blame them, but people have to be responsible for their actions.

She didn't want to hold a grudge and not be able to sleep at night!

Anyway, if you mess with her, don't think about buying vegetables from her again!

[Heh, the Lord is pretty ridiculous, who would want to buy your vegetables! Even if they rot, I wouldn't give them a second glance, okay!]

[That's pretty funny!]

[You can't really say it like that, I'm returning it just because I don't know who to trust…]

"Also, since everyone doesn't trust me to do the testing myself, we'll randomly pick a few customers who have previously purchased Shennong Star vegetables to undergo hospital check-ups, and we'll live-stream the whole thing of sending the returned vegetables for testing, with cops monitoring the entire process, totally transparent, with no room for manipulation. If anything's wrong, it's straight to jail, no questions asked, right?"

[...]

The chat suddenly went quiet.

[No way, is the host being too hard on herself?]

[I don't see any room for manipulation anyway, I was planning to return it, but now I want to believe the host, nothing else, she's a real tough cookie.]

[Having cops monitor the whole thing is pretty gutsy, I have to believe her! She's so badass when she talks!]

[Sending hugs to the host, waking up early to farm and then dealing with this.]

[Host, don't worry, there are still people here who want to buy vegetables, I've missed out a few times, I wanna see what the hype is about!]

[Host, just block those people, block them and no one will compete with me, hahaha (I'm not crazy!)]

Yun Wan's move totally blindsided the trolls and the food blogger's fans, they couldn't find any weak spots to attack.

However, they're the kings of being stubborn.

[It's all for show!]

[Anyone can talk big! Don't come back later saying the cops are too busy, or the live stream device malfunctions or something!]

Yun Wan just smirked at that.

It seems that the person who wants to mess with her has spent a lot of effort to deal with her, what a privilege to be taken so seriously.

Not only did they hire a marketing account to step in, but they also hired a bunch of trolls to muddy the waters.

However, the more the enemy values her, the more it shows that her strength is seen as a real threat.

When she drew up the planet development map and made the decision to actively attack the high-end market, she was already fearless!

The interstellar world, huh? If the dragon doesn't roar, you think it's a lazy snake!

There's nothing wrong with Shennong Star's vegetables, the truth will come out sooner or later, the opponent must have thought of this.

From the very beginning, they didn't intend to bring her down with rumors, they want to wage a psychological war with her, step by step breaking down her psychological defenses.

Yun Wan is not that fragile.

She survived such hardships when she was a child, would she be afraid of this kind of thing that doesn't involve real weapons? !

Obviously, they also plan to use this method to cause Shennong Star's goods to pile up, break the capital chain, and over time, Shennong Star will collapse on its own.

Time is too important for a developing planet, its importance far exceeds money.

But to think that this alone can bring her down, that's underestimating her too much.

The returned rice can be dried and stored, the cabbage can be put in the fridge for priority consumption, and the sweet potatoes can be made into noodles.

It's a good time to figure out how to make noodles.

Yun Wan was well aware that the fallout from the rampant rumors was far more than this.

Perhaps Professor Luo and Liu Tang would change their minds about building the hotel, and the cooperation with Ji Lian would also be affected.

Yun Wan first sent a message to Ji Lian to reassure him.

[Sorry, this is a PR issue of Shennong Star itself. Do you still want to continue the cooperation? If so, I can give you a 20% discount on the first order.]

[Boss, am I the kind of person who abandons a partner? You didn't look down on me before, so why would I run away now! Boss, I believe in you!]

[You really trust me? Aren't you afraid I might trick you?]

[Mainly because my friend told me Ji Clan has made a move, haha...]

[I'll hold you to that 20% discount! This time you'd better thank me properly, two out of three orders have already run away! Wahhh...]

[Don't worry! I won't let you down! I'll have a surprise for you then!]

[Then we'll be waiting to see your performance, Boss!]

Ji Lian's side was surprisingly reassuring and even brought Yun Wan an important piece of news:

Ji Clan has finally made their move.

And their methods were quite vicious.

On the other hand, Professor Luo and Liu Tang didn't cause any trouble either.

Liu Tang proactively sent a message to Yun Wan, telling her not to worry.

[I, Liu Tang, a natural food tester, have never been able to eat food with any additives since I was a kid. I've eaten Shennong Star's vegetables and had no problems, I'm in great shape! I'm definitely building this hotel, don't worry, Boss. If it weren't for construction team being available only tomorrow, my hotel would have been built already!]

[If the vegetables don't sell, just sell them to me, don't be afraid! I think someone's just causing trouble! It's not the first or second time, every time we get something good, it's snatched away, I don't know what's going on!]

Yun Wan thanked him for his support and then went to find Professor Luo.

He was so focused on his research that he was out of the loop and didn't know about the news online. When Yun Wan told him, he was a bit surprised.

"Huh? Someone's saying the vegetables have illegal additives?" Professor Luo looked puzzled.

Yun Wan thought he was skeptical after hearing this news.

It was human nature; most people would follow the crowd and fall into the trap of hearsay. The more people say it, the more it seems true.

Yun Wan nodded in response, feeling a bit disappointed that even a seasoned expert like him would make such a hasty decision.

"Wait, really?" Professor Luo repeated, and when Yun Wan mentioned someone had developed depression from eating the vegetables, his expression became even more peculiar.

"What's wrong, Professor Luo?" Yun Wan found his expression a bit strange.

Shouldn't he be angry? Why does he look so hard to judge?

"Well, there's something I don't know if I should say... but I'll say it anyway! Last time you sent me some cherry tomatoes, right? I saved one and did a little analysis, not to reverse-engineer the planting technology, I was just curious why it was so delicious..."

"Hmm, it's fine, you can use these plants for research." Yun Wan knew that the plants produced by the system could alleviate genetic defects, and she had never hidden anything.

As the saying goes, planting technology is the soil; even if you study the seed to death, it won't work. If the direction is wrong, no matter how far you go, it's still wrong.

Moreover, even if it's the seeds produced by the system, she doesn't hide them. If they can figure something out, that's their skill!

But these words carried great weight for Professor Luo.

He was nearly brought to tears.

Unlike those who hoard planting techniques like misers with their money, Yun Wan is as noble as a fairy!

She actually agreed to let us use plants for research!

Professor Luo analyzed the cherry tomato not with the intention of conducting research, as it involves trade secrets; testing the cherry tomato was purely to satisfy his personal curiosity.

"Leader, are you sure we can use plants for research... Never mind, let's discuss this later. First, let me share my findings! There is indeed an unknown substance in the plants from Shennong Star, but it is completely harmless to the body and even has great benefits! It boosts cellular activity, enhances physical fitness, and even clears brain impurities, which means it can nourish mental strength... Accumulated to a certain extent, it might even enhance the level of mental strength!"

"This is a once-in-a-lifetime discovery! And depression? Even someone with depression could be cured by eating Shennong Star vegetables!"

"It's just a shame I didn't save the data back then..."

Hearing this, Yun Wan grew even more confident about her vegetables.

Backed by her collaborators, she felt no rush.

Now, not only did she not blame the Ji Clan for initiating the public opinion war, but she was also grateful that they had invested so much money to give her free publicity!

Boosting cellular activity! Enhancing mental strength! Which of these functions isn't coveted by people across the stars? !

She aimed to seize this opportunity to make Shennong Star famous overnight, ensuring that the entire star system remembers its name!

Yun Wan couldn't wait to see the Ji Clan's faces after their double loss!

Chapter 39

Ji Jian and his brother Ji Wei had been closely monitoring the situation on Shennong Star. They didn't dare to leave such an important matter to others.

Seeing the orders on Shennong Star plummet, they were thrilled, strutting around like they'd just won a battle.

However, the number of orders stopped decreasing after reaching a certain point.

Ji Wei frowned.

The number of returns wasn't as high as he'd hoped.

He wanted to turn up the heat, dealing Shennong Star a blow they couldn't recover from.

So, he told Ji Jian to reach out to more influencers, creating a wave of fake "victims," and even got some minor celebrities to post vague criticisms of Shennong Star.

This move sparked a firestorm of rumors online, with nearly everyone piling on Shennong Star. Even some on-the-fence fans were convinced to unfollow.

Ji Wei clapped his hands and laughed uncontrollably at the flood of bad press targeting Shennong Star.

He wasn't worried about the countermeasures Yun Wan had hinted at in her livestream!

By the time she got the tests set up and the results back, it'd be too late—Shennong Star would already be done for.

Who'd care about a planet with a tarnished reputation?

Now, the Shennong Star Lord must be freaking out, with returns piling up and no one to turn to!

So, he'd reluctantly offer her a hand—out of the goodness of his heart, of course.

Ji Wei smirked, kicking back in his chair with his legs crossed.

"Now it's time to talk 'cooperation' with Shennong Star!"

Ji Jian jumped into Shennong Star's livestream and sent a private message as soon as his cousin gave the word.

[Hi, Shennong Star Lord! I'm the Ji Clan's manager. We've noticed your business is struggling, and we'd like to help. If you agree to our terms, we'll take all the returns and pay the original price. What do you say?]

Yun Wan had been tracking the online buzz, and when she saw the surge of new "victims," she smiled knowingly.

She must be tougher than she thought if the Ji Clan was doubling down on her.

She'd expected the Ji Clan to make a move.

Sure enough, as the pressure mounted, they caved and reached out.

Yun Wan had the resources to turn things around and was ready to play their game.

[What's the deal?]

The reply came fast, like it was already typed up.

[Look, we're not a charity. We're businesspeople, and we can't lose money. Shennong Star's already a lost cause, and your rep in the natural food world is shot. Why not hand over the planet and its tech to us? We'll give you a fair deal.]

[What's your offer?]

Ji Jian was thrilled when Yun Wan asked for the price.

Just like his cousin said, she was desperate to bail! The moment someone offered to take it off her hands, she asked for the price.

Not so tough after all! I can't believe the former manager ended up in jail!

He's not the sharpest tool in the shed, yet he makes excuses about the opponent being strong. What a joke!

Now that my cousin and I are on the scene, we can get as much planting technology as we want. Does the lord even dare to refuse?

As for the price, ha! It's already a win if it can be sold for money, and you still want to sell it at a high price? We're only giving her some money out of pity!

[10 million star coins, we'll take everything, and we'll also clear your planet's debts. Not a bad offer, huh, Lord?]

Looking at this message, Yun Wan almost laughed out loud.

How dare the Ji Clan act all high and mighty with such a measly offer!

Ten million? She wouldn't even consider selling a piece of land for that amount! And they want to buy her planting technology? Keep dreaming!

[Oh.]

Yun Wan deliberately gave a cold response.

Seeing her vague reply, the other side immediately got agitated and started accusing her of being greedy.

[Things have changed, Lord. You need to think carefully. Besides us, no one will cooperate with you. If you can't sell your produce and can't pay off the planet's debts, and if the planet fails the annual assessment, it will be confiscated. That would be a disaster!]

[Hmm.]

[...Lord, don't push your luck! We're trying to work with you, and you're just playing with us, right? Fine, we don't necessarily have to buy your stuff. Let's see how you manage without us! Don't come crying to us later!]

[Oh.]

[Lord, you better think carefully! Once this chance is gone, it's gone...]

[You're right.]

Yun Wan's nonchalant replies infuriated Ji Jian so much that he almost smashed his smart device.

His face turned beet red with anger, and his irritable behavior caught Ji Wei's attention.

"What's up? No deal?" Ji Wei asked.

"Don't even mention it! That woman! What an idiot! All she says is 'oh' or 'hmm'! Has she lost her mind?"

Hearing this, Ji Wei glanced at their conversation on the smart device, his expression dark and gloomy.

"A bit of arrogance... Hmph, let's see if that pride holds up when she's cornered!" Ji Wei commented, then turned to Ji Jian and said:

"Look at you, all worked up! We have the upper hand, yet you can't keep your cool! What's the rush? Take it slow, we have plenty of time, we can afford to wait!"

After ending the conversation with the Ji Clan, Yun Wan looked at the chat box filled with the other side's furious remarks and thought that this supposedly strong opponent wasn't much after all.

So easily provoked, that won't do! This is just the appetizer!

Just as she was about to close her smart device and get to some real work, an unfamiliar call came in.

The smart device showed that the call was from the Capital Star.

Yun Wan, puzzled, pressed the answer button.

"Hello? Who is this?"

"I'm your mother!"

Yun Wan raised an eyebrow, her first thought was that a hater had tracked her down and was looking for a fight!

She almost shot back: I'm your mother, you ungrateful brat!

But the other party didn't give her a chance to speak, bombarding her with a barrage of accusations.

"What have you been doing? I didn't stop you from heading to that barren planet to start over! Your sister even sent you supplies to help you out! And this is how you repay us?! Not only are you stirring up trouble on that barren planet, but you've also caused a huge scandal! Do you have to make money by being shady?!"

At this moment, Yun Wan realized it really was "her" mother.

Listening to the other person's voice rising in anger, she just found it funny.

Why did they call? Just to yell at her? Just to lecture her?

Sigh, this was the original owner's mother, a woman with a heart of stone.

Hearing Qin Yan's comforting words, "Mom, don't get too angry, it's bad for your health," and the mother's soft response, "It's okay," Yun Wan retracted her earlier statement.

She's a woman who's only hard-hearted toward her own daughter.

"Listen…" Yun Wan gathered her emotions and interrupted the mother-daughter bonding on the other end, "Did you buy my produce? Are you even my customer?"

"What are you trying to say?" the mother asked sternly.

"Just answer the question."

"No."

Yun Wan sneered, "If you didn't buy anything, what gives you the right to accuse me of making shady money! Besides, did you raise me? You say I'm restless, but do you know your daughter has a genetic defect? Do you know the medicine for genetic defects is expensive? With the paltry 500,000 you gave her to survive, it's a miracle she didn't end up on the wrong path!"

"Also, I don't have a sister, only a brother. As for the so-called support, if you think I can survive on that barren planet by drinking perfume and eating handbags, then you're just… out of your mind!"

Yun Wan's sharp retort caught the other party off guard, leaving them momentarily speechless.

Then came the rebound of anger.

"How did I end up with a monster like you! I gave birth to you, and even gave you 500,000 to attend a prestigious school! None of this was stuff you could've had in that dump you came from! Not only are you ungrateful, but you're also blaming me for not giving you enough! How could someone as greedy as you even exist! How could I have ended up with such a greedy daughter!"

"Because I want to live." Yun Wan suddenly switched pronouns, no longer using "she," but "I."

She suddenly felt a bond with the original owner.

Yes, the original owner just wanted to live. She was vain, but she never asked too much from the Qin family. Yet, the Qin family, who could have supported her and treated her illness, thought she was insatiable.

Isn't that just ridiculous!

The mother, knowing she was in the wrong, paused for a moment and then said, "No matter what you do or what happens, don't drag the Qin family into it, and don't expect us to have your back…"

"I never expected you to! You can't even cover my medical bills, what's there to expect?"

"…Fine! Don't forget what you said!"

The other party was about to hang up, but Yun Wan stopped her, "Wait! You've had your say, now it's my turn."

"First, don't call me again—I'm blocking this number!

Second, I was never acknowledged by the Qin family, and I don't share their last name. No one will think we're related, so don't sweat it!"

Third, I personally don't want to have any relationship with the Qin family either. You don't need to get paranoid, nor do you need to get my number from who knows where and call me just to yell at me. If you do this again, don't blame me for cursing at you!"

"That's it. Don't make things worse for yourself. Your Qin family isn't everyone's favorite. Thank you, old lady!"

With that, Yun Wan hung up the phone and blocked the number in one go.

...

Mrs. Qin stared at the disconnected call, suppressing the anger in her heart, and turned to Qin Yan beside her. "She actually hung up on me! Yan Yan, did you hear what she said?! How dare she say she has nothing to do with the Qin family!"

"Let's see how she handles this mess!"

"Mom, don't be angry. Maybe my sister can clear her name."

"Look at how everyone is criticizing her now! Being broke doesn't excuse this behavior! And dragging the Qin family into it! What a shame for our family! Yan Yan... I'm really glad we had that mix-up back then. It's good that you're our daughter, the true young lady of the Qin family!"

"Mom, don't say that. My sister is just still young..."

"Hmph, don't make excuses for her! She's in her twenties—that's not a kid anymore! I was already a mother at your age! Yan Yan, you're too soft-hearted. If Yun Wan comes to you for help, you must not agree!"

"...I understand, Mom."

"She has no connection to our family at all! No, we need to strike first to prevent her from being desperate later and throwing mud at the Qin family!"

Mrs. Qin opened her smart device and directly posted a blog condemning the irresponsible actions of Shennong Star, even tagging the interstellar police.

This triggered another wave of online frenzy, with many people positioning themselves as righteous crusaders, relentlessly criticizing Shennong Star's actions.

Meanwhile, Yun Wan was preparing for her counterattack.

She'd already reached out to the testing agency and the police, but the earliest she could start the live-streamed testing was in five days.

Chapter 40

Yun Wan had no choice but to handle the situation calmly for five days, then she turned her attention to preparing a noodle-making experiment.

She took three sweet potatoes, sliced them into a paste using a slicer, wrapped them in cloth, and rinsed them several times to filter out all the starch.

The basin was filled with a thick, pure white slurry, and after letting it settle for two hours, the starch and water separated.

Yun Wan carefully poured out the clear water, let it settle further, and then poured the moist starch into a heating apparatus for processing.

She remembered that under high temperatures, sweet potato starch would gradually solidify.

Sure enough, as the temperature gradually increased, the sweet potato starch changed from a crumbly powder to a sticky, elastic mass.

After heating it for more than ten minutes, the sweet potato starch solidified into a dough.

Once cooled, Yun Wan kneaded the dough.

The dough was soft, much like regular flour dough.

She used the shredding attachment of a vegetable cutter to press the dough, and round noodles emerged from the small holes of the mold, successfully creating long noodles. Once dried, they looked just like the sweet potato noodles she remembered.

The simplicity of the noodle-making process provided Yun Wan with a lot of positive vibes amidst the continuous public opinion attacks.

In the afternoon, she prepared several bowls of sour and spicy noodles and shared some with Professor Luo and others.

The sour and spicy noodles were served in small bowls, half soup and half noodles, barely enough for a few people.

"Just made it, not much, but enough for everyone to taste. Thank you for your support, everyone."

Yun Wan spoke eloquently, and Professor Luo and the others smiled as they accepted it.

They had never heard of sour and spicy noodles before, but seeing the steaming hot noodles, with the red oil and vinegar mixed together, creating a mouth-watering aroma that instantly excited their taste buds.

From the taste and color alone, they knew this sour and spicy noodle dish was extraordinary.

Professor Luo, who was usually focused on research, found himself indulging in food cravings on Shennong Star.

He was the first to grab his chopsticks, and as the noodles entered his mouth, they were smooth and delicate, each strand soaked in the sour and spicy broth, absorbing all the flavors. The sourness was like a fragrant hand, teasing his stomach, while the spiciness was like a fire, igniting his esophagus.

With one bite of noodles in his stomach, the whole person seemed to come alive and shine.

This was... the essence of life!

"This taste is absolutely amazing!"

Unconsciously, a tear rolled down Professor Luo's cheek, moved by the deliciousness, but he kept eating.

In no time, the small bowl of sour and spicy noodles was completely devoured.

Looking at the empty bowl with only the broth left, he reluctantly drank it all, then savored the aftertaste, feeling completely satisfied.

"Leader, you must sell this sour and spicy noodle dish! It's hard for an old man like me to find such a delight!"

Yun Wan was amused by his pitiful tone and quickly agreed, then went back to enjoy her own bowl of sour and spicy noodles.

No matter how tough things get, one must not neglect the palate, otherwise, what's the point of all the struggle!

Wiping the corner of his mouth with a tissue, Professor Luo solidified his inner resolve.

He noticed that his students' sour and spicy rice noodles were barely touched, as they were eating extremely slowly, savoring each strand for half an hour. He directly asked for a bowl for himself.

"Teacher, I've already eaten this!"

"I'm not trying to steal your food!"

Professor Luo said, slightly annoyed.

He opened his smart device, took a photo, and uploaded it to Starnet with the caption:

[Sour and spicy rice noodles from Shennong Star—someone's missing out on this!]

He also included a few papers discussing the relationship between addiction and pleasure.

Addiction stimulates the brain to release dopamine, thereby making people feel pleasure, while doing what you love or eating what you enjoy can also trigger this.

Though Professor Luo didn't directly defend Shennong Star, both his food choice and the papers subtly supported it.

Professor Luo didn't have a huge following on Starnet, mostly followed by industry insiders and friends.

So, the comments were pretty friendly.

[Where's Old Luo off to now? Have you published your paper? All you ever do is eat! Send me a bowl, quick!]

[Not sharing something tasty with old friends? Not cool!]

[Shennong Star, isn't that the one with recent issues? Is Professor Luo saying their vegetables are safe?]

[Professor Luo's getting old; don't be fooled. Their veggies are no good!]

[Come on, didn't you see the papers Professor Luo posted? He's clearly saying Shennong Star's vegetables are fine!]

Yun Wan's fans quickly found this gem of a post after Professor Luo published it and actively shared it.

Rumors had been spreading for ages, yet no one had spoken up for Shennong Star. With only their word, no one believed them.

Now, finally, a heavyweight figure had spoken up for Shennong Star.

Yun Wan's fans were moved to tears, finally seeing hope, and realized they couldn't let this message be suppressed.

Shares slowly brought attention to Professor Luo's post, but the fans' efforts were no match for corporate manipulation. Soon, Professor Luo's post got buried.

The more this happened, the more Yun Wan's fans believed that Shennong Star's vegetables were absolutely fine; otherwise, Professor Luo's post wouldn't have been suppressed within just a few hours.

There was an unseen force manipulating the narrative!

This discovery made them even more determined to protect Shennong Star.

Without proof, they wouldn't buy into those rumors, and no one should be allowed to spread lies with just words!

The fans were very angry; they wouldn't let anyone prevent them from eating natural food!

Soon, another message supporting Shennong Star popped up.

This time, it was from a very famous food blogger—Who drinks nutrient solution when there's natural food? This blogger's reputation in the food circle far surpassed that of Gourmet Jia.

She posted:

[I am a fan of Shennong Star, the following fan tag is proof.]

I've been following this girl for a long time. Actually, it wasn't me who first noticed her; my husband saw her struggling as a girl trying to start farming and bought some cabbage from her. Unexpectedly, the cabbage tasted amazingly good. I don't want to put down other brands here, but it's indeed much better than some vegetables on the market.

Like everyone else, I was very curious about how Yun Wan managed to grow such vegetables, so I kept watching her livestreams... It was very ordinary, just regular farming, without even using fertilizers... Naturally, I also wondered if there was something off with Shennong Star's vegetables.

Those who know me well understand that food is everything to me; no one can cheat me in this area! So, I had Shennong Star's vegetables tested. Below are the test results from A Testing Center, which is authoritative and credible.

Any literate person will understand! Shennong Star's vegetables are perfectly fine, and their nutritional value beats any brand out there. Anyway, I'm sold, do what you want.

As soon as the blog post was published, it immediately sparked a big controversy.

Blog posts from celebrities naturally generate buzz and couldn't be suppressed, with discussions heating up fast.

[What kind of blogger is this? Speaking so highly of Shennong Star! How much did they pay her?!]

[Upstairs, as everyone knows, our Sister Li is very rich, never takes orders, only shares great finds.]

[Hmph, you fans are gullible enough to buy into everything! She says she doesn't take money, so she doesn't? Then why didn't she post before, but now at this crucial time! Ridiculous!]

Even the blogger's fans couldn't explain this, and seeing no response, netizens piled on with wild guesses.

"Who drinks nutrient solution when there's natural food" is actually the administrator's wife, her name is Li Xinxin. Because of her husband, she has been following Shennong Star and eventually became a loyal fan.

She indeed had done the testing long ago, which is why she jumped right in and also spoke up for Yun Wan.

Now seeing some haters questioning, she immediately hit back with a reply.

[Guess why I didn't post before! Shennong Star fans, speak up!]

She took a screenshot of Yun Wan's shopping interface, then her own follower count, and posted both images, continuing to reply.

[My dear babies, it's not that I'm keeping it to myself, see the comparison for the truth! Look at my follower count, then at the vegetable quantity, my followers would be lucky to get a leaf each! And, I can't even grab any, how dare I tell you! Babies, understand, it's all because the lord has too few vegetables, not that I'm heartless!]

Yun Wan's fans had already been keenly observing the blogger's comment section, and now seeing the blogger calling out, they immediately came out to testify.

[Understand, we've also had to dissuade people, didn't expect it to keep them instead!]

[It's really hard to grab! But now it's better, surely it's easier now!]

[Not necessarily, I feel after the debunking, Shennong Star's popularity will be even higher.]

[...]

Yun Wan's fans fell silent.

Suddenly, they felt like letting the rumors continue to spread, what's going on?

Maybe it's better to let the misunderstanding persist!

Of course, they were just thinking mischievously, not really planning to do nothing.

It's really unpleasant when something you like is misunderstood!

Li Xinxin's post brought a significant shift to the public opinion about Shennong Star, and many people changed their views on Shennong Star because of her.

[Believing Sister Li can't be wrong!]

[Sister Li is hiding something, it must be good stuff!]

Li Xinxin also took the opportunity to shout out to Yun Wan across the space:

[Shennong Star Lord, I heard someone returned their order. Since I've helped you so much, I don't want money, but how about selling me some of the sweet potatoes?]

Yun Wan quickly replied upon receiving the message:

[Sweet potatoes can't be sold, but I'll send you some sour and spicy rice noodles in two days.]

Seeing Yun Wan's reply, the netizens became curious about what sour and spicy rice noodles were, and soon Professor Luo's post was found.

[Sour and spicy rice noodles, found it!]

[Oh my! This is the first time I've seen natural food that looks so delicious!]

[Is the Lord only giving it to Sister Liquid? That won't do, we're all about fairness and sharing!]

[Exactly! Lord, hook me up with a bowl of sour and spicy rice noodles, and I'll help debunk the rumors for free!]

The tide of public opinion began to turn, but while Yun Wan remained unmoved, calm as a mountain, the Ji Clan was getting restless.

What kind of divine intervention is Shennong Star benefiting from?!

Ji Wei knew that Yun Wan had just contacted the testing center. Under his pressure, the testing center delayed the testing by five days. He thought the Shennong Star Lord would be anxious, but she hadn't taken any action yet, and people kept stepping forward to speak for her.

And each one was proving harder to silence than the last!

What about her is worth these people taking such big risks to speak up for her?!

Is Shennong Star's produce truly that irresistible?

Ji Wei wanted to buy some vegetables from Shennong Star to taste, but the shopping page still displayed 'out of stock.'

He didn't understand. With the tide of public opinion turning, the Shennong Star Lord could have taken the opportunity to sell the returned goods. Why wasn't she seizing the opportunity?