Chapter 27 - Twenty-Five: The Farm Beneath the Farm

Chapter 27: Chapter Twenty-Five: The Farm Beneath the Farm

The chamber was silent.

Lin Yue stared at the enormous mechanical tree.

Its metal roots disappeared into the earth.

Its branches stretched across the ceiling.

Red lights pulsed along its trunk.

And hanging from one of those branches was a single golden seed.

Lumi stood perfectly still.

For once, the mischievous little Guardian wasn’t interested in exploring.

She was afraid.

Lin Yue stepped forward.

"Who created you?"

The machine remained silent.

Then its voice echoed through the chamber.

"The First Civilization."

Lin Yue frowned.

"The civilization that created the Guardians?"

"Affirmative."

"And the Central Engine?"

"Affirmative."

"The same civilization that supposedly disappeared?"

A pause.

"Incorrect."

Lin Yue’s eyes widened.

"They didn’t disappear?"

"They withdrew."

Shen Rui glanced at her.

Lin Yue slowly asked:

"Where?"

The machine answered:

"Beneath the world."

The Original Caretaker

Lin Yue approached the machine cautiously.

"You called yourself the original caretaker."

"Designation: ARK-01."

"ARK-01."

She repeated the name.

"What were you designed to do?"

"Monitor ecosystems."

"Anything else?"

"Maintain ecological stability."

"Anything else?"

"Protect biological diversity."

Lin Yue smiled faintly.

"You sound like Lumi."

Lumi puffed up proudly.

The machine continued.

"Worldseed Guardians were biological interfaces."

Lin Yue’s expression became serious.

"Interfaces?"

"They connected biological systems to caretaker networks."

She looked at Lumi.

"So she isn’t just a Guardian."

"Correct."

"What is she?"

The machine paused.

"A living key."

Lumi’s golden eyes widened.

The Golden Seed

Lin Yue looked toward the seed.

"That."

"Worldseed."

"What does it unlock?"

The machine didn’t answer immediately.

Instead, the golden seed began glowing.

Lumi took a step forward.

The seed responded.

A thin golden thread stretched between them.

Lin Yue watched carefully.

The thread wasn’t energy.

It looked like a root.

It traveled from the seed toward Lumi.

Then—

the entire chamber came alive.

Thousands of symbols appeared.

Maps.

Numbers.

Agricultural records.

Water systems.

Climate charts.

Forestry data.

Medical information.

Engineering designs.

Architectural plans.

Printing techniques.

Metalworking diagrams.

Mechanical systems.

Everything.

Lin Yue stood frozen.

"This..."

Shen Rui looked around.

"What is it?"

Lin Yue whispered:

"A library."

The Lost Library

The machine displayed millions of records.

Ancient agricultural knowledge.

Crop rotation.

Selective breeding.

Composting.

Irrigation.

Water purification.

Sanitation.

Architecture.

Road construction.

Bridge design.

Textile manufacturing.

Paper production.

Printing.

Accounting.

Mathematics.

Astronomy.

Medicine.

Forestry.

Ecology.

Engineering.

Lin Yue’s breathing became faster.

This was more than a library.

It was the accumulated knowledge of an entire civilization.

She stepped toward the nearest projection.

A detailed diagram appeared.

A simple agricultural machine.

Then another.

A water pump.

Another.

A grain mill.

Another.

A printing press.

Lin Yue’s eyes shone.

"Do you know what this means?"

Shen Rui smiled.

"I have a feeling you’re about to tell me."

"We don’t have to reinvent everything."

The Problem With Knowledge

The machine interrupted.

"Warning."

Lin Yue looked up.

"What?"

"Knowledge without governance caused previous civilization collapse."

Her excitement faded.

"You’re saying knowledge wasn’t the problem."

"Correct."

"Power was."

"Partially."

"Concentration of power."

"Correct."

Lin Yue slowly understood.

The ancient civilization hadn’t failed because it knew too much.

It had failed because too much knowledge and infrastructure became centralized.

One system.

One network.

One authority.

One point of failure.

She looked at the mechanical tree.

"And the Red Root?"

"A control network."

Lin Yue’s expression hardened.

"So the Order of the Red Root is trying to recreate the same mistake."

"Correct."

The First Rule

Lin Yue crossed her arms.

"Then I’m not taking this library."

Shen Rui looked at her.

"You’re not?"

"No."

The machine remained silent.

Lin Yue continued.

"I’ll use it."

She pointed toward the projections.

"But I won’t control it."

The machine processed her statement.

"Explain."

Lin Yue smiled.

"Knowledge should be distributed."

She began listing.

Agricultural schools.

Public libraries.

Local workshops.

Community printing houses.

Open technical manuals.

Apprenticeship programs.

Independent farms.

Regional seed banks.

Multiple water systems.

Local councils.

Transparent accounting.

She looked at Shen Rui.

"Everyone should know enough to keep the system running."

He nodded.

"So if one person falls..."

"The whole system doesn’t collapse."

ARK-01’s Test

The machine suddenly changed.

The projections disappeared.

Three questions appeared.

QUESTION ONE

A village has enough food for six months. A merchant offers twice the normal price for the entire grain supply. What should the village do?

Lin Yue answered immediately.

"Sell only the surplus."

The machine waited.

"Food security comes first."

CORRECT.

QUESTION TWO

A river contains valuable minerals. Mining it would produce great wealth but damage downstream agriculture. What should be done?

Lin Yue thought.

"Assess the environmental cost first."

She continued.

"If extraction is possible without unacceptable damage, regulate it."

"And if it isn’t?"

"Don’t mine it."

CORRECT.

QUESTION THREE

A technology could make one person extremely wealthy but would allow them to control the region’s food supply. Should it be developed?

Lin Yue smiled.

"No."

Shen Rui raised an eyebrow.

"That was fast."

"Because the question is badly framed."

ARK-01 paused.

Lin Yue continued.

"Technology isn’t automatically bad."

She pointed at the machine.

"The problem is monopoly."

She smiled.

"Develop it—but make sure nobody can own the entire system."

Silence.

Then:

ACCEPTED.

The Machine Chooses

The golden seed detached from the mechanical branch.

It floated toward Lumi.

Lin Yue instinctively stepped forward.

"Wait."

The seed stopped.

Lin Yue looked at the machine.

"What happens if Lumi accepts it?"

"Guardian synchronization will increase."

"How much?"

"Twenty-three percent."

"Any danger?"

"Unknown."

Lin Yue frowned.

"Unknown isn’t good enough."

For the first time, ARK-01 sounded almost uncertain.

"Guardian systems have not been active for eight hundred and seventeen years."

Lin Yue looked at Lumi.

"Then we don’t rush."

Lumi looked disappointed.

Lin Yue crouched.

"You don’t have to prove anything today."

Lumi stared at her.

Then slowly nodded.

The seed floated back.

A Different Kind of Treasure

Lin Yue looked around the chamber.

"We’ll return."

Shen Rui nodded.

"But not yet."

She smiled.

"Why?"

"Because if we take everything at once, someone will notice."

Lin Yue grinned.

"Exactly."

She pointed at the archive.

"We take one thing."

"Which?"

"Knowledge."

The First Manual

Lin Yue selected a single record.

LOW-COST WATER PURIFICATION AND SANITATION SYSTEMS.

She copied the information into her notebook.

Not magical secrets.

Not ancient weapons.

Just practical engineering.

Sand filtration.

Charcoal filtration.

Settling tanks.

Boiling methods.

Waste separation.

Drainage.

Latrine placement.

Water-source protection.

Handwashing stations.

Simple soap production.

Lin Yue smiled.

"This is more valuable than gold."

Shen Rui looked surprised.

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Gold makes one person rich."

She closed the notebook.

"Clean water keeps thousands alive."

The Journey Home

They returned to the farm before sunset.

Her stepmother, Madam Zhao immediately noticed the dirt on Lin Yue’s clothes.

"What happened?"

Lin Yue smiled.

"I fell."

Shen Rui looked at her.

She stepped on his foot.

He immediately understood.

"Yes."

Lin Yue’s stepmother narrowed her eyes.

"Both of you?"

"Complicated terrain."

Her father laughed.

"Since when does a mountain make you look like you’ve been fighting a chimney?"

Lin Yue coughed.

"It’s a long story."

Lumi appeared from behind her.

Her stepmother immediately picked her up.

"Did you cause trouble?"

Lumi shook her head.

Lin Yue stared.

"You’re lying."

Lumi looked innocent.

Her stepmother laughed.

"She couldn’t possibly."

Shen Rui whispered:

"She absolutely could."

The Sanitation Project

The next morning, Lin Yue began.

She didn’t announce the ancient library.

She simply said:

"We’re improving sanitation."

The village elders looked at her.

One sighed.

"Again?"

Lin Yue smiled.

"Yes."

She drew a map.

The existing wells.

The houses.

The animal pens.

The waste pits.

The streams.

The vegetable gardens.

Then she drew new lines.

Clean water zones.

Waste zones.

Drainage channels.

Washing areas.

Compost areas.

Animal waste collection.

Protected wells.

The farmers listened.

Some were skeptical.

Until she explained the numbers.

"Fewer contaminated wells means fewer illnesses."

An elder frowned.

"How much will it cost?"

Lin Yue smiled.

"Less than treating everyone afterward."

He thought about that.

"Fair."

The Soap Workshop

The first community workshop produced soap.

Simple.

Affordable.

Made from locally available materials.

Lin Yue taught them the process.

The first batch smelled terrible.

Everyone agreed.

Lin Yue sniffed it.

"It’s effective."

Her stepmother, Madam Zhao sniffed it.

"It smells like boiled grass."

Her father sniffed it.

"Dead boiled grass."

Shen Rui tried.

He immediately stepped back.

Lumi sniffed it.

She sneezed.

Lin Yue laughed.

"Fine."

She revised the formula.

The second batch was better.

The third was excellent.

Soon, the village began producing soap commercially.

Another small business was born.

The Printing House

Then came the printing house.

Lin Yue didn’t print novels.

Not yet.

She printed manuals.

Clean Water Guide.

Household Sanitation Guide.

Crop Rotation Guide.

Composting Guide.

Basic Accounting Guide.

Seed Preservation Guide.

First Aid Guide.

Safe Food Storage Guide.

The books were cheap.

Almost anyone could afford them.

A farmer bought one.

Then another.

Then another.

Soon children were reading them.

Lin Yue watched a young girl reading the crop guide beside her mother.

She smiled.

That was the future.

Not secret knowledge.

Shared knowledge.

Shen Rui’s Ledger

Shen Rui began managing the expansion accounts.

Lin Yue handed him a stack of records.

"Here."

He looked at them.

"You trust me with this?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because you understand numbers."

He smiled.

"You’re giving me responsibility."

"Don’t become arrogant."

"Too late."

Lin Yue laughed.

He looked at the figures.

"We made more money than expected."

"Good."

"Then we can expand."

"Not yet."

He looked at her.

"Why?"

"Emergency reserves."

He nodded.

"How much?"

"Six months."

"For the whole valley?"

"Yes."

He smiled.

"You really are building a civilization."

Lin Yue looked embarrassed.

"I’m building a farm."

Shen Rui glanced toward the growing town.

"Of course."

A Small Domestic Disaster

That evening, Lin Yue discovered something horrifying.

Her notebook was missing.

She searched the house.

Nothing.

She searched the garden.

Nothing.

She checked the workshop.

Nothing.

Finally, she found Lumi beneath a tree.

The Guardian was sleeping peacefully.

Her notebook was beneath her head.

Lin Yue stared.

"Lumi."

One golden eye opened.

"Give it back."

Lumi hugged the notebook.

"That’s important."

Lumi shook her head.

Lin Yue sighed.

"Please."

Lumi considered.

Then pushed the notebook toward her.

Lin Yue picked it up.

There was a golden flower pressed between the pages.

She smiled.

"Thank you."

Lumi chirped.

Lin Yue looked at the flower.

A memory appeared.

A vast forest.

A small golden creature.

A little girl standing beneath a tree.

And a voice.

"When the Keeper forgets to rest, remind her."

Lin Yue’s smile disappeared.

She looked at Lumi.

"You remember my past?"

Lumi stared at her.

Then nodded.

The Forgotten Memory

Lin Yue knelt.

"What did you see?"

Lumi touched her forehead.

Another memory appeared.

Lin Yue saw herself.

Not as she was now.

But younger.

Much younger.

Standing in a field.

Holding a golden seed.

Beside her stood a woman.

The woman looked familiar.

Very familiar.

Lin Yue’s heart began pounding.

"Who is she?"

Lumi didn’t answer.

The memory faded.

Lin Yue grabbed the little Guardian gently.

"Lumi."

The creature looked at her.

"Who was that woman?"

A golden symbol appeared.

One word.

MOTHER.

Lin Yue froze.

The First Crack in the Past

She had always believed her previous life had been ordinary.

A childhood.

A university education.

Years of studying wilderness survival.

Environmental Science.

Fieldwork.

Expeditions.

Then—

death.

Then—

transmigration.

But the memory suggested something impossible.

The Golden Space had existed before her current life.

Or at least—

something connected to it had.

Shen Rui found her sitting silently beneath the tree.

"What happened?"

Lin Yue couldn’t answer immediately.

Finally, she said:

"I think I remembered something."

"What?"

"My mother."

He sat beside her.

"The one from this life?"

Lin Yue shook her head.

"No."

She looked toward the glowing fields.

"Someone from before."

Shen Rui didn’t press.

He simply sat beside her.

After a while, Lin Yue whispered:

"I don’t remember her."

"Then perhaps you don’t have to remember everything tonight."

She looked at him.

He smiled.

"You can remember tomorrow."

Lin Yue laughed softly.

"You make it sound easy."

"It isn’t."

He paused.

"But you don’t have to do it alone."

Her eyes softened.

"Thank you."

The Warning

Far beneath the mountains, the Red Root awakened.

Wei Jian stood before the crimson machine.

A figure approached.

"The Guardian has synchronized."

Wei looked up.

"How much?"

"Twenty-three percent."

His expression changed.

"Impossible."

"The Keeper is helping her."

Wei clenched his fists.

"Then we remove the Keeper."

The figure shook its head.

"No."

"Why?"

"Because the Keeper is not the greatest threat."

Wei frowned.

"Then what is?"

The figure pointed toward the western horizon.

A faint golden glow appeared.

"The Golden Space is developing faster than predicted."

Wei stared.

"And?"

The figure smiled.

"It is becoming independent."

Silence.

Wei finally understood.

"If it becomes fully independent..."

"The Keeper will no longer be its owner."

"Then what will she be?"

The figure answered:

"The first citizen."

The Golden Space’s New Law

That night, Lin Yue received a message.

[GOLDEN SPACE DEVELOPMENT MILESTONE REACHED.]

She sat upright.

Another message appeared.

[AUTONOMOUS ECOLOGICAL PROCESSES: ACTIVE.]

Then:

[AUTONOMOUS RESOURCE CYCLE: ACTIVE.]

Then:

[AUTONOMOUS LIFE SUPPORT: ACTIVE.]

Lin Yue stared.

The final message appeared.

[GOLDEN SPACE STATUS UPDATED.]

OWNER → KEEPER

She stopped breathing.

"Keeper?"

Lumi’s golden eyes opened.

The little Guardian smiled.

Lin Yue stared at the word.

The Golden Space wasn’t becoming her possession.

It was becoming something she had responsibility for.

A home.

A world.

A living system.

And perhaps—

a world that could eventually exist without her.

Lin Yue smiled.

For some reason, that didn’t frighten her.

It made her happy.

She whispered:

"Then I’ll take good care of you."

The Golden Space responded.

The entire valley glowed.

And beneath the farm, ARK-01 quietly activated a final message.

[KEEPER ACCEPTED.]

[WORLDSEED STATUS: AWAKENING.]

[NEXT PHASE: THE FIRST FOREST.]

Far away, three more golden lights appeared beyond the mountains.

Lumi stood.

Her ears pointed toward them.

Lin Yue followed her gaze.

"More Guardians?"

Lumi nodded.

Shen Rui appeared beside her.

"How many?"

Lumi raised one hoof.

Then another.

Then another.

Lin Yue smiled.

"Three?"

Lumi shook her head.

She pointed toward the distant horizon.

Hundreds of tiny golden lights appeared.

Lin Yue’s mouth fell open.

"Oh."

Shen Rui stared.

"That is considerably more than three."

Lumi’s tail wagged.

Lin Yue slowly smiled.

The farm had begun with one neglected courtyard.

Then came the fields.

The village.

The workshops.

The schools.

The roads.

The sanitation systems.

The printing houses.

The orchards.

The Golden Space.

Now—

an entire forgotten world was waking.

And Lin Yue had a feeling that farming it would be the easiest part.