Chapter 1: Still a Farmer in the Interstellar Era
Federal New Era Year 9710, the pan-star domain joint examination officially begins! Candidates, please select your preferred institutions. Countdown three minutes. 180 seconds, 179 seconds…
In the spacious classroom, individual cubicles were separated.
Hearing the countdown from the intelligent computer, the candidates in the cubicles hurriedly selected the institutions they wished to apply for.
Among the nervous candidates, one girl stood out.
She was thin and small, with a pale complexion, and her long, thick black hair was styled into a bun, making her face appear even smaller.
While other candidates were racing against time to select institutions and start reading questions, she remained motionless, her large eyes filled with a blank stare.
“What is Lin Xiaohe doing? Isn’t she planning to take the Mars Mechanical Academy exam? This is her last chance to turn her life around!” Teacher Li, the homeroom teacher monitoring the exam, wished he could rush into the exam hall and help Lin Xiaohe make her choice.
However, he didn't know that Lin Xiaohe had already undergone a 'core' change at that moment.
Lin Xiaohe, from Blue Star in the 21st century, had a splitting headache.
A vast stream of information flooded her mind.
The original owner's life flashed through her mind like a revolving lantern.
Lin Xiaohe rubbed her throbbing temples, a bitter smile on her face.
Born in a rural area, she had studied diligently for over a decade, finally getting into university. Although it was an agricultural college, it was at least a step out of the farming life.
Unexpectedly, just as she received an offer to stay and work at the university, she transmigrated.
Good news: The original owner's family owned fifty acres of land, making them a small landlord.
Bad news: All of this land was rated F, the lowest grade of wasteland! The yield was low, it was prone to producing mutated plants, and it couldn't be sold for a good price!
More crucially, these wastelands incurred a hefty annual tax!
The original owner's family included a disabled father, a seriously ill mother, elderly grandparents, a mentally ill elder brother, and a mute elder sister. The only healthy person, Lin Xiaohe, was the family's sole hope.
The family had used all the money meant for taxes to fund Lin Xiaohe's participation in this college entrance exam, betting on a chance to defy fate.
The intense pain in Lin Xiaohe's head finally subsided, and her previously blurry eyes could finally see clearly.
Before her was a 36-inch virtual screen, with flashing crimson numbers that made Lin Xiaohe's heart pound.
“Countdown: 1 second! 0 seconds!”
Lin Xiaohe opened her mouth wide, letting out a silent scream: “No! Please, give me another chance!”
The cold machine's words were utterly ruthless.
“Due to the candidate's failure to select an institution within the specified time, the Federal Central Military Academy is automatically chosen. Examination begins!”
Federal Central Military Academy?!
One of the four major military academies in the entire star domain, only elites among nobles and geniuses among geniuses could enter!
Lin Xiaohe felt numb. Well, if she really got into the Federal Central Military Academy, it wouldn't be defying fate, but an instant leap to success.
Unfortunately, hope was slim.
The original owner's mental strength, physical condition, and cultural subjects were not outstanding. The courage to apply for the Mechanical Academy came from spending money on training classes and cramming.
Now, the difficulty had increased dozens of times!
However, a candidate from China would never submit a blank paper!
Lin Xiaohe's gaze became determined. She picked up her electronic pen, ready to answer the questions.
Her confident demeanor made Teacher Li, who was watching her, feel a glimmer of anticipation.
Could Lin Xiaohe truly possess such ability?
“Question 1: What is the most economical tactic to combat a swarm of gold-eating ants?”
Lin Xiaohe's pupils constricted. Gold-eating ants? Never heard of them.
Can't do this question, skip!
“Question 2: The target planet is heavily contaminated with radiation, and the indigenous creature, the armored beast, can spray corrosive fluid. Your side's configuration: a mecha squad (standard crystal core energy), limited supplies. Mission: Establish a front-line base within 72 hours.”
Lin Xiaohe pressed her lips together tightly. Damn it, still can't do it!
Lin Xiaohe skipped questions one after another until she reached the end, realizing she hadn't answered a single one.
The Interstellar College Entrance Exam was terrifying!
“Sigh! So it was just giving up.” Teacher Li, who had been watching Lin Xiaohe, sighed inwardly.
“The Lin family is finished. They used all their money for the college entrance exam registration fee. If they can't pay the taxes next month, they'll have to sell their last fifty acres of land!”
The other teachers lamented, no longer paying attention to Lin Xiaohe.
After all, on this planet, only a minority could defy fate through the college entrance exam. Most people spent their entire lives on Wasteland Planet 7, never even leaving the planet.
Lin Xiaohe was unwilling to give up and continued to scroll down, seeing a bonus question.
The moment she saw this question, a look of pleasant surprise flashed across Lin Xiaohe's face.
Finally, a question she could answer!
A stalk of wheat appeared on the virtual screen: its leaves were yellow, the plant was stunted, and the sparse wheat ears were withered.
“Please diagnose the disease of this crop and provide prevention and control methods.”
With an excited heart and trembling hands, tears welled up in Lin Xiaohe's eyes. She took out her electronic pen and carefully wrote down the answer stroke by stroke.
“Diagnosis: This wheat is suffering from wheat aphid infestation. Wheat aphids usually gather on the leaves, stems, and ears of wheat to absorb sap. Biological control methods can be adopted, protecting natural enemies such as lacewings and ladybugs.”
After finishing this question, Lin Xiaohe began to stare blankly.
It wasn't that she wasn't trying, but after sifting through the original owner's memories, she couldn't find any content related to the other exam questions.
A clever housewife cannot cook without rice.
Lin Xiaohe sorted through the original owner's memories and found that farmers in the interstellar era were worse off than in China!
In China, farming could still receive government subsidies. Farmers could grow not only wheat and rice but also cash crops to increase their income.
By the interstellar era, technology had developed rapidly, but the star dust pollution accompanying interstellar travel was becoming increasingly severe.
Natural soil and natural seeds became scarce.
Crops produced from wastelands, however, became raw materials for low-grade nutrient solutions.
Based on the star dust content within crops, they were divided into six grades: A, B, C, D, E, and F, with F-grade containing the most star dust and being the lowest grade.
Unfortunately, Wasteland Planet 7, where Lin Xiaohe lived, was such a low-grade wasteland agricultural planet.
The income from Lin Xiaohe's family's year of farming, after various taxes, was barely enough to buy low-grade nutrient solutions for the family, just to fill their stomachs.
Time passed quickly. Lin Xiaohe hadn't finished sorting through her memories when the familiar voice sounded again.
“Exam over!”
As soon as Lin Xiaohe left the exam hall, she saw her homeroom teacher, Teacher Li, looking at her with a complex expression.
“Lin Xiaohe, how could you make such a basic mistake? Sigh, never mind. Staying on the planet as a farmer might not be bad; you can still take care of your family nearby.”
Lin Xiaohe felt a pang of guilt. If she hadn't transmigrated, the original owner might have gotten into the Mechanical Academy and led her family to a better life.
Teacher Li stuffed a waste station recruitment application form into Lin Xiaohe's hand: “No need to thank me. Since you can't get into university, go pick up trash. Try to earn back next month's taxes, otherwise, your family won't even have land to farm!”
“Thank you, Teacher,” Lin Xiaohe put the application form in her pocket.
An application form cost one star coin! It was expensive!