Chapter 148: Breeding Center

After finishing it, he stood up and began performing heavy physical work.

However, he hadn’t even worked for long before dizziness suddenly swept over him.

He staggered and collapsed to the ground, breathing heavily.

More clips followed, and different people.

The same gradual decline in physical strength after eating processed food.

When the video finally ended, the farming spirit clasped his hands behind his back.

"Now that you’ve seen what happens when people rely entirely on dry rations, you should take this seriously."

He looked at her sternly.

"Think about the long term. Processed and compressed food might keep people alive for now, but if they continue eating it for years, their physical condition will gradually deteriorate."

"A weaker body will eventually affect their ability to improve their superpowers as well."

Ni Mengxue nodded. She agreed with that point.

In her previous life, there had been research showing that people who consumed fresh, nutritious food had a greater chance of improving their superpower levels compared with those who relied primarily on nutrient liquids and processed rations.

’The farming spirit isn’t wrong.’

’If Fair Shallow Land is going to become a true sanctuary, food production cannot remain an afterthought.’

The farming spirit continued.

"In the long term, if you don’t start planning now and begin growing food, it will only create more chaos later. Even if you realise the problem afterwards, you’ll still have to wait days for the crops to grow. That’s why I think my suggestion is the most practical solution."

His argument was indeed logical.

However, Ni Mengxue shook her head.

"The new features that have been unlocked offer many other important facilities as well. I would show them to you, but with your obsession with agriculture, I think you’re overlooking some of the bigger problems."

She paused before continuing.

"For example, this base will soon be hit by a heat wave. At that point, food won’t be our biggest concern; surviving the extreme temperatures outside will be."

The farming spirit frowned. "Don’t you have an industrial workshop? You can make something there."

Ni Mengxue smiled at his naivety.

"Do you really think the industrial workshop is omnipotent? Do you think I can simply conjure anything out of thin air?"

She shook her head.

"That’s not how it works. Even if I have the necessary materials, mass-producing a single item requires a huge amount of resources, Merit Points, and System Points. Just producing a single item in large quantities could drain my Merit Points completely."

The farming spirit fell silent.

From Ni Mengxue’s perspective, it was rather amusing.

The spirit had been lecturing her about being cost-effective while completely ignoring how expensive mass production could be.

After a moment, the farming spirit glared at her.

"Then, according to you, what is the biggest concern for this entire base?"

Ni Mengxue thought for a moment.

"This base may look livable, and it’s already much better than many other bases. But apart from providing people with a proper place to live and decent food, there is another major problem."

She pointed around them. "There is no electricity."

The farming spirit fell silent.

"Did you notice that?"

Ni Mengxue continued, "Without electricity, we won’t be able to use electronic equipment. In fact, this base doesn’t even have basic electrical infrastructure."

"Once the heat wave arrives, we will need solar panels, cooling systems, air conditioners, temperature-regulating clothing, and other equipment. If I want to manufacture those things on a large scale, I’ll need enormous amounts of materials and manual labor. I’d probably have to spend all day inside the industrial workshop just producing them."

The farming spirit narrowed his eyes. "I still don’t understand what this has to do with saving Merit Points."

Ni Mengxue shrugged, taking a lecturing stance. "That’s because I haven’t told you my actual plan."

She opened her system interface. "A new feature has appeared in the system: Space Assimilation."

The farming spirit’s eyes widened. "Space Assimilation?"

His expression suggested that the name had triggered some distant memory.

Ni Mengxue noticed his expression with a strange smile.

"Exactly. As long as I unlock certain facilities inside my space, I can eventually assimilate them into the real world at a much lower Merit Point cost."

"For example, farmland. If I unlock farmland inside my space first, the Merit Shop will offer it at a lower cost than if I were to directly unlock and construct the same farmland in the real world. So I’m going to unlock Space Assimilation first. That will cost ten thousand Merit Points."

The farming spirit remained silent for a moment.

"All right. I understand. That’s actually a good plan."

Ni Mengxue nodded.

"Once Space Assimilation is unlocked, I can purchase farmland for another ten thousand Merit Points and designate an agricultural area inside the base."

She continued, "That leaves thirty thousand Merit Points. I originally planned to use those to unlock the Animal Breeding Center."

"I read its description in the Merit Shop. It doesn’t require ordinary animals. Most normal animals have already gone extinct, but there are various mutated animals in the apocalypse, such as pink three-winged chickens and blue pigs."

"If they’re suitable for consumption, they could be raised and eventually become another stable source of food."

The farming spirit nodded.

Ni Mengxue continued, "However, it requires more planning than that."

"Once we have animals that can be eaten, vegetables won’t be our only food source. Some vegetables are seasonal, difficult to grow, or dependent on irrigation and weather conditions. I don’t want the base to rely entirely on the crops in my space. I’d rather establish a stable and diversified food supply."

The farming spirit nodded before asking sarcastically,

"Those mutated animals still need food, you know. Are you planning to feed them air?"

Ni Mengxue, amused by his human-like expression, laughed. "You certainly have a sharp tongue."

She continued, "But that’s exactly why I’m not planning to spend those thirty thousand Merit Points yet."

"First, I need to determine whether these mutated animals are actually safe to eat."

"Second, I need to observe whether eating plants from outside changes their mutations, makes them more aggressive, or causes other side effects."