Chapter 39 - Thirty-Seven: The World Road

Chapter 39: Chapter Thirty-Seven: The World Road

The heartbeat continued.

BOOM.

The Golden Space trembled.

BOOM.

The pond rippled.

BOOM.

Every tree in the valley bent toward the sky.

Lin Yue stood beneath the ancient orchard tree, staring at the World Road.

It stretched between countless golden stars.

A road made of light.

A road that shouldn’t exist.

A road that apparently led—

everywhere.

The squirrel slowly lowered the apple in its paws.

"Should we..."

It swallowed.

"...perhaps stay home?"

Lumi shook her head.

Verde nodded enthusiastically.

Shen Rui looked at both Guardians.

Then at Lin Yue.

"They’re already excited."

Lin Yue sighed.

"I know."

The squirrel pointed toward the farmhouse.

"I vote for breakfast first."

Lin Yue nodded.

"For once, that’s an excellent idea."

Breakfast Before Saving the Worlds

The entire family gathered around the table.

Nobody was eating.

Everyone was staring at Lin Yue.

Her father finally spoke.

"So."

Lin Yue nodded.

"So."

"You found another world."

"Yes."

"Then another."

"Yes."

"Then apparently thirty-seven."

"Possibly more."

"And now something is trying to destroy all of them."

Lin Yue nodded.

Her father slowly picked up his tea.

"I miss when you only wanted to improve the irrigation."

Lin Yue smiled apologetically.

"So do I."

Her grandmother slapped a steamed bun onto Lin Yue’s plate.

"Eat."

"But—"

"Eat first. Save the worlds afterward."

Lin Yue obediently picked up the bun.

Shen Rui quietly pushed another dish toward her.

"More vegetables."

She looked at him.

"Are you joining Grandmother?"

"Yes."

"Traitor."

"You haven’t eaten properly for two days."

Lin Yue blinked.

"How do you know?"

He pointed toward her untouched meals.

She looked away.

"...I was busy."

Her grandmother nodded.

"Exactly why you need someone watching you."

Lin Yue’s cheeks warmed.

The squirrel whispered to Lumi:

"They’re getting worse."

Lumi nodded solemnly.

The Family Council

After breakfast, they held a proper meeting.

No magic.

No ancient prophecy.

No mysterious voices.

Just a large wooden table.

Maps.

Ledgers.

Supply lists.

And far too much tea.

Lin Yue explained everything.

The First Mother.

The World Road.

The multiple Worldseeds.

The unknown entity.

The approaching threat.

Her father listened carefully.

Then he asked:

"Can it reach our world?"

Eira answered.

"Yes."

The room became silent.

"Can we stop it?"

Eira shook her head.

"Not alone."

Lin Yue looked around the table.

"That is why the World Road matters."

Her mother nodded.

"If many worlds cooperate..."

"We may have a chance."

Her grandmother frowned.

"Chance?"

Lin Yue smiled.

"That’s enough to start."

The First Rule of the World Road

Lin Yue wrote three rules.

RULE ONE:

No world gives another world complete control over its Worldseed.

RULE TWO:

Knowledge may be shared, but dangerous technology must be tested and documented.

RULE THREE:

Every world remains responsible for its own land, people, and resources.

Shen Rui read them.

"Reasonable."

Eira nodded.

"These rules would have prevented the Red Root."

Lin Yue shook her head.

"Maybe."

She added a fourth.

RULE FOUR:

No one may decide for another world’s people without their consent.

Eira stared at it.

Then smiled.

"That rule would have prevented much more than the Red Root."

The First Delegates

The World Road opened at noon.

The first representatives arrived from the nearest Worldseed.

Mira came first.

Behind her came:

A farmer.

An engineer.

A healer.

A scholar.

A water specialist.

A builder.

And an elderly woman carrying a basket of seeds.

Lin Yue welcomed them personally.

The elderly farmer looked around.

"So this is your world."

"Yes."

She looked toward the fields.

"Your soil is healthy."

Lin Yue smiled.

"We’ve worked hard."

The woman nodded approvingly.

"Good."

Then she opened her basket.

Inside were seeds.

"Then perhaps we should exchange something useful."

Lin Yue’s eyes brightened.

"What kind?"

The farmer smiled.

"Beans."

Lin Yue immediately sat down.

"Tell me everything."

Shen Rui covered his face.

"We’ve lost her."

The Agricultural Summit

The meeting quickly became a farming discussion.

The desert world explained water-saving cultivation.

The mountain world explained terrace farming.

The wetland world demonstrated floating gardens.

Another world had developed highly efficient seed preservation.

One civilization had cultivated edible fungi on agricultural waste.

Another had perfected orchard systems.

Lin Yue filled page after page.

She asked questions.

Lots of questions.

Eventually, Mira laughed.

"You ask more questions than our scholars."

Lin Yue looked embarrassed.

"Sorry."

"Don’t apologize."

The old farmer smiled.

"Questions are how farmers survive."

Lin Yue paused.

That sentence stayed with her.

The Living Farm Grows

Within weeks, the Living Farm expanded.

Not through magical shortcuts.

Through experimentation.

Small plots were created.

Each new crop was quarantined.

Soil samples were tested.

Water requirements were measured.

Pests were monitored.

Yield was recorded.

Failure was documented.

Success was repeated.

Lin Yue refused to allow magical crops to be planted everywhere immediately.

Her father approved.

Her grandmother approved even more.

The squirrel did not approve.

It wanted the blueberries.

"No."

Lin Yue removed the berries from its paws.

"Why?"

"They haven’t been tested."

The squirrel looked heartbroken.

Verde quietly ate one.

Lin Yue stared.

"Verde!"

The little Guardian burped.

A flower appeared on its nose.

Everyone laughed.

The New Seed Bank

The interworld exchange created another opportunity.

Lin Yue built a massive seed bank.

Not merely for her household.

For the valley.

Each seed was labeled.

Origin.

Climate.

Soil requirements.

Water requirements.

Growth period.

Nutritional value.

Potential risks.

Storage conditions.

Ecological interactions.

Every variety had its own record.

The children helped.

They learned how to catalog.

How to preserve.

How to test.

How to observe.

Lin Yue watched them carefully.

She realized something.

The seed bank wasn’t merely storing seeds.

It was storing knowledge.

The Workshop District

The agricultural expansion required tools.

So Lin Yue expanded the workshops.

Carpenters built improved plows.

Blacksmiths created durable hoes.

Mechanics repaired pumps.

Engineers developed simple grain-processing equipment.

The printing house produced manuals.

Accountants recorded costs.

Merchants handled distribution.

The valley slowly developed a specialized economy.

Lin Yue insisted on one principle.

"Waste should become another industry’s resource whenever possible."

Crop residue became animal feed.

Animal waste became compost.

Wood scraps became fuel or tools.

Ash became useful in certain processes.

Broken tools were repaired.

Old containers were reused.

Nothing was discarded casually.

Her father looked around the growing workshop district.

"You’re building a town."

Lin Yue shook her head.

"No."

She smiled.

"I’m building a system."

The New School

Eventually, the children demanded a school.

Lin Yue couldn’t refuse.

The first classroom was tiny.

It had wooden benches.

A chalkboard.

A shelf of books.

A seed cabinet.

A water-testing station.

A small weather station.

And a garden outside.

The curriculum was unusual.

Reading.

Writing.

Arithmetic.

Natural science.

Agriculture.

First aid.

Navigation.

Basic engineering.

Household accounting.

Environmental stewardship.

Practical crafts.

The children loved it.

Especially the outdoor lessons.

One afternoon, Lin Yue watched a group of children measuring soil moisture.

A little girl raised her hand.

"Teacher!"

"Yes?"

"Why do plants need different soil?"

Lin Yue smiled.

"Excellent question."

The lesson lasted two hours.

Shen Rui watched from the doorway.

He whispered:

"She’ll turn the entire valley into scholars."

Her mother smiled.

"Perhaps that’s exactly what the valley needs."

The Quiet Romance

That evening, Lin Yue found Shen Rui repairing a wooden fence.

"You’re working again."

He looked up.

"So are you."

"I was teaching."

"You were working."

She smiled.

"Fair."

She handed him a cup of tea.

He accepted it.

They stood together quietly.

The sunset painted the fields gold.

Lin Yue looked toward the school.

"Do you think they’ll remember us?"

Shen Rui frowned.

"Who?"

"The children."

He smiled.

"I think they’ll remember the farm."

Lin Yue shook her head.

"Not the farm."

She looked at the people working together.

"The feeling."

Shen Rui understood.

"That they’re safe."

"Yes."

"That they belong."

"Yes."

He looked at her.

"You’ve done more than you realize."

Lin Yue smiled.

"So have you."

Their shoulders touched.

Neither moved away.

The First World Road Expedition

The World Road required exploration.

Before anyone traveled through it, Lin Yue insisted on unmanned probes.

Small mechanical devices were built.

They carried:

Temperature sensors.

Air-quality instruments.

Radiation detectors.

Water samplers.

Navigation beacons.

The first probe disappeared into the World Road.

Everyone waited.

One minute.

Five.

Ten.

Then—

a signal returned.

Lin Yue smiled.

"Environment stable."

The second probe returned.

"Gravity normal."

Third:

"Atmosphere breathable."

Fourth:

"Unknown biological signatures."

The room became quiet.

Lin Yue leaned forward.

"Life."

Mira nodded.

The road was safe enough for a short expedition.

The First Expedition Team

Lin Yue assembled a small team.

Herself.

Shen Rui.

Mira.

Eira.

Lumi.

Verde.

And two engineers.

Her father objected.

Her grandmother objected.

Her mother objected.

Lin Yue sighed.

"You knew this was coming."

Her grandmother pointed at Shen Rui.

"You."

He straightened.

"Yes?"

"Bring her back."

He nodded.

"I will."

"And yourself."

He paused.

"Yes."

"Good."

The squirrel raised its paw.

"Me too."

Everyone said:

"No."

The squirrel lowered its paw.

"Cruel."

Beyond the Road

The journey began.

They stepped into the golden light.

For one instant—

Lin Yue felt nothing.

Then—

everything changed.

The air smelled different.

The sky was violet.

Two moons hung overhead.

A vast forest stretched beneath them.

Silver rivers crossed the land.

Giant flowers opened beneath their feet.

Mira stared.

"This is World Twenty-One."

Lin Yue smiled.

"Beautiful."

Eira studied the sky.

"According to the records..."

She stopped.

"What?"

"This world was supposed to have no surviving life."

Lin Yue looked around.

"Then the records are wrong again."

Mira smiled.

"Perhaps that’s becoming our greatest discovery."

The Forgotten Farm

They explored for hours.

Then they found something unexpected.

A field.

Not wild.

Planted.

Rows of crops stretched across the valley.

Old irrigation channels remained.

A stone farmhouse stood at the center.

Lin Yue approached.

The door was broken.

Inside—

were tools.

Clay pots.

A wooden plow.

A collection of seeds.

And a journal.

Lin Yue carefully opened it.

The writing was old.

But readable.

The first page contained a single sentence.

WE WERE HERE.

She turned the page.

WE TRIED TO BUILD.

Another.

WE FAILED.

Lin Yue swallowed.

The next page was covered with drawings.

Machines.

Farms.

Water systems.

And finally—

a map.

Lin Yue unfolded it.

A red line crossed the continent.

At the end was a symbol.

The same symbol that had appeared in the Golden Space.

The unknown entity.

Shen Rui looked over her shoulder.

"What is that?"

Lin Yue whispered:

"A warning."

The Survivor

A noise came from outside.

Everyone froze.

Footsteps.

Slow.

Heavy.

Then a figure appeared in the doorway.

An old man.

He carried a wooden staff.

His clothes were worn.

His hair was white.

But his eyes were sharp.

He looked at Lin Yue.

Then at Lumi.

Then at Eira.

His face changed.

"You..."

He whispered.

"You have awakened the World Road."

Lin Yue slowly nodded.

"Who are you?"

The old man smiled sadly.

"The last farmer."

The Last Farmer

They gathered around the old man’s fire.

His name was Orin.

He explained that his civilization had once been prosperous.

They had built cities.

Factories.

Agricultural systems.

Energy networks.

Automated machines.

But their civilization became dependent on a single centralized system.

The system promised efficiency.

Security.

Abundance.

And eventually—

control.

Orin pointed toward the ruined fields.

"When the system failed, nobody remembered how to farm without it."

Lin Yue’s expression became serious.

"What happened?"

"We survived by learning again."

He looked at her.

"Slowly."

Lin Yue nodded.

"That’s what we’re doing."

Orin smiled.

"Yes."

He looked at her notebook.

"You understand."

The Real Threat

Orin finally explained the heartbeat.

It wasn’t an attack.

It was a signal.

Something was moving between Worldseeds.

A force that fed on centralized systems.

It infected networks.

It encouraged dependency.

It absorbed knowledge.

Then it destroyed the civilizations that became completely dependent upon it.

Lin Yue frowned.

"So the Red Root wasn’t the original enemy."

"No."

"Then what was it?"

Orin looked into the fire.

"A symptom."

The room became silent.

Eira whispered:

"Then what is the disease?"

Orin looked toward the sky.

"The Hollow."

The Hollow

The name sounded harmless.

It wasn’t.

The Hollow was not a creature.

Not a machine.

Not a civilization.

It was a phenomenon.

A force that consumed connection.

Where it passed—

systems became empty.

Knowledge disappeared.

Seeds failed.

Machines stopped.

Memories faded.

Even Guardians lost their identities.

Lin Yue’s face became pale.

"That’s why the Guardians were disappearing."

Orin nodded.

"The Hollow eats the connections between things."

Lumi trembled.

Lin Yue immediately picked her up.

"We’ll protect you."

Lumi looked at her.

"Promise?"

Lin Yue smiled.

"Promise."

A Different Kind of Weapon

Lin Yue spent the entire night thinking.

Weapons wouldn’t solve this.

More centralized power would make it worse.

A stronger Worldseed might simply become a larger target.

The answer had to be—

resilience.

Redundancy.

Knowledge distributed across communities.

Local agriculture.

Independent water systems.

Seed banks.

Education.

Repair skills.

Multiple energy sources.

Multiple communication methods.

No single point of failure.

She wrote one sentence.

THE STRONGEST WORLD IS NOT THE ONE THAT CANNOT FALL.

She paused.

Then finished it.

IT IS THE ONE THAT KNOWS HOW TO RISE AGAIN.

Shen Rui read it.

"I like that."

Lin Yue smiled.

"So do I."

The Choice

The World Road opened again.

Mira stood beside Lin Yue.

"We should return."

"Yes."

"To prepare."

"Yes."

"And warn the other worlds."

"Yes."

Shen Rui looked at Lin Yue.

"Ready?"

Lin Yue looked back at the abandoned farm.

At Orin.

At the fields.

At the old tools.

At the forgotten seeds.

"No."

Shen Rui smiled.

"Good."

She looked at him.

"Why is that good?"

"Because you never wait until you’re completely ready."

She laughed.

"That isn’t reassuring."

"It wasn’t supposed to be."

They stepped toward the World Road.

Behind them, Orin called out.

"Keeper!"

Lin Yue turned.

He threw her a small wooden box.

She caught it.

"What is this?"

"Seeds."

She opened it.

Inside were seven tiny black seeds.

Orin smiled.

"The last crop of our world."

Lin Yue stared.

"What does it grow?"

Orin’s eyes twinkled.

"Something your world has never seen."

The Return

They stepped through the World Road.

The valley appeared.

The farmhouse lights glowed.

The children were still awake.

The family was waiting.

Lin Yue held the wooden box tightly.

Her grandmother immediately noticed it.

"What did you bring back?"

Lin Yue smiled.

"Seeds."

Her grandmother sighed.

"Of course."

Shen Rui laughed.

The family gathered around.

Lumi flew overhead.

Verde danced through the flowers.

The squirrel tried to steal the box.

Lin Yue moved it away.

"No."

The squirrel protested.

"I haven’t even eaten one!"

"You’re not supposed to eat seeds from another world."

The squirrel crossed its arms.

"Unfair."

Everyone laughed.

For a brief moment—

everything felt normal.

Then the Golden Space flashed.

[NEW SPECIES DETECTED.]

Lin Yue opened the wooden box.

One of the black seeds moved.

A tiny green shoot emerged.

Then another.

Then another.

The Golden Space trembled.

A message appeared.

[UNKNOWN CROP: WORLD-TREE SEED.]

Lin Yue froze.

Eira appeared beside her.

Her face went white.

"Lin Yue..."

"What?"

Eira stared at the seed.

"That isn’t a crop."

Lin Yue looked at her.

"Then what is it?"

Eira whispered:

"It is the seed of a Worldseed."

The little sprout opened.

A pulse of golden light spread across the valley.

Far above them—

the golden stars answered.

One.

Two.

Ten.

Thirty.

Then hundreds.

And somewhere beyond the World Road—

the Hollow heard the call.

The heartbeat returned.

BOOM.

Lin Yue slowly closed her hand around the tiny seedling.

She looked toward Shen Rui.

He was already standing beside her.

The farm had begun with one empty courtyard.

Now—

it might become the birthplace of an entirely new world.

And the next harvest—

would determine whether that world survived.

To be continued...