Chapter 3: A Brand New World

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"Ding ding ding—" The rhythmic sound of a machine woke Shen An up. The last question from Lin Jia Sheng, which she had just found her seat on the spacecraft, lingered in her mind.

"Have you ever kept any pets at home? Have you ever planted crops or flowers?"

Shen An didn't have time to answer as a burst of white smoke sprayed out, causing her to fall asleep.

It felt like she had a soft and lengthy dream. When Shen An opened her eyes, she was momentarily blinded by the bright white light. Once she adjusted, she realized she was lying on a simple metal bed, not the reclining chair in the spacecraft.

Shen An sat up.

And then she saw everything in front of her.

It was a square room, brightly lit, and she could see everything inside without any effort. The bed she was sitting on was a simple single bed with a color resembling stainless steel. The bedsheets and duvet were pure white. The floor was incredibly smooth and extended seamlessly to the walls, forming a flawless and seamless surface. Ahead was a large table and a sleek, uncomplicated chair.

There was only a small door not far from her left. Shen An stood up to open the door, but just as her feet touched the floor, she heard the familiar and warm yet devoid of any temperature mechanical female voice from above.

"Hello, Shen An. Welcome to the New World Wind Domain Alliance's No. 112 Feeding Base. You are currently in Room No. 86, and your code name is Feeder 86. During your feeding internship, you will complete your tasks in this feeding room. Please familiarize yourself with the work process at the console first. You can also say 'Voice Playback Mode,' and I will read out the work process for you."

Shen An didn't move; instead, she took a few steps and opened the door on her left. Inside was a compact bathroom with a sink, toilet, and shower.

Shen An then observed the room. The overhead lights were made up of two long strips, and there were no visible seams, blending with the floor and walls to form a seamless whole. The room had no windows, except for one entire wall made of glass. The outside was dim, and it was only when Shen An approached that she realized it wasn't completely dark, as she could make out a dense forest beyond the glass.

She was... above the forest?

Shen An gently touched the glass, but there were no gaps, making it impossible to leave through here.

Finally, Shen An approached the large table in the middle. On the white tabletop, there were three screen-sized displays embedded into it, becoming one with the surface. In the middle screen, there was a rotating icon resembling a book, and she could vaguely see the words "Feeder's Handbook" on the book.

Was this the feeding process she had to learn, as mentioned by the computer earlier?

Puzzled, Shen An tapped it, and suddenly, a white light flashed from the screen, followed by a row of light beams appearing from above, forming a cute and white projection of a rabbit on the screen.

"Hi! Feeder 86, nice to meet you! My name is Mengtu. Welcome to Room No. 86," the rabbit greeted, making a graceful gesture and trying its best to perk up its short tail, looking quite adorable.

Shen An smiled slightly; she, a teenage girl, found it cute, but she wondered how those men in their thirties or forties would react.

"Hello," Shen An replied, her voice a little hoarse from just waking up.

Seeing five buttons near the rabbit's feet, she could choose from "Introduction," "Insect Selection," "Feeding Process," "Feeding Guide," and "Wind Domain Marketplace."

Insects? She was going to feed insects?

When she first entered the spacecraft, she overheard others discussing that what they would feed would be randomly selected, and it could be insects, plants, flowers, trees—any living being capable of producing clouds.

"Feeder 86, let me tell you secretly, as your guide in the Wind Domain Alliance, I'll be here for you 24/7," the little rabbit said, sitting on the screen and covering the other four buttons. It extended its short paws and pointed at the first button.

"First of all, we need to learn the Introduction," said the rabbit, touching the screen with its short paws. The Introduction page opened up, resembling a usual computer screen but with some differences.

Shen An thought that since she was here, she should first understand these things thoroughly and then plan her time to find some spare moments for studying.

Shen An refocused her attention and looked at the Introduction.

Introduction:

1. During the internship, please do not leave the Feeding Area No. 86. All feeding activities should be completed within Area No. 86.

2. As insects are the latest species cultivated by the Wind Domain Alliance and are currently in the experimental stage, each specimen is extremely precious. Please ensure the safety of the insect's life.

3. The feed required for feeding insects needs to be kept fresh. Common feeds can be found within the Feeding Area. Each insect has its unique tastes and preferences; please make sure to keep the feed fresh.

Shen An understood it; in simple terms, the Introduction had three points: don't leave Area No. 86, take good care of the insects, and make sure to use fresh feed.

Shen An swiped the screen, and indeed, the next page appeared, automatically shifting to the Insect Selection section.

So, she could choose!

However, only one cute golden-colored insect appeared on the screen, and when Shen An tried to slide for other choices, the screen remained still.

At this moment, the rabbit appeared, hopping around cheerfully.

"Feeder 86, due to the fact that our research on insects is still in the early stages, the assignment of insects is currently random," the rabbit said with a slightly embarrassed scratch of its head.

"No other options?" Shen An instinctively asked.

"For now, no, oh dear, it seems the system hasn't updated this part yet," the rabbit continued, looking embarrassed.

"Silkworm?" Shen An furrowed her brows. The insect on the screen looked like a big caterpillar, but its color was golden. Below, there was a line of introduction:

"Silver Moon Leopard Phoenix Butterfly Larva, water attribute expectation 30%, grown individuals can produce 200 cubic clouds."

Without a comparison, Shen An didn't know whether this Silver Moon... Leopard... Phoenix Butterfly Larva had good or bad attributes. However, it seemed she had no other choices.

In her mind, Shen An immediately pictured herself taking care of a group of insects, which should be similar to scenes of raising silkworms in the countryside.

"So, for the next three months, I'll be taking care of this Silver... Oh, no, the Silver Moon Leopard Phoenix Butterfly Larva?" Shen An asked concisely.

"Yes, yes, you're very clever! Look, ding ding ding—" The rabbit exaggeratedly made a gesture, and a softly glowing white light appeared on the wall to Shen An's left. A rectangular box, about the size of a suitcase, slowly materialized before her.

Shen An walked over, and a real insect came into her sight. However, this insect was only the size of her little finger, lying asleep on a piece of dried tree branch. Two black dots on its head resembled eyes, and its appearance, lying "airplane-style" on the branch with a row of small, sparkling feet, was utterly adorable.

"This is the Silver... Worm... Insect," Shen An said.

The rabbit heard Shen An's name for the insect and helplessly rubbed its forehead. Alright, it admitted that the name wasn't that easy to remember.

"Feeder 86, you can give it a new name," the rabbit said, standing at the edge of the screen. Shen An gazed at the little creature in the glass box—only one?

She thought...

Oh, right, she forgot that these creatures were precious, so the quantity couldn't be abundant.

Shen An turned back to the screen, and the little rabbit stood there, one hand on its hip and the other leaning on a cane.

"Now comes the most crucial part—how to raise such a cute and obedient creature?" The rabbit asked in a mystical manner, making exaggerated expressions. Feeling like it might have overdone it, it coughed twice and tapped the button for insect care on the screen with its cane.

"Click on this button, and inside is the most important work you'll be doing in Area 86 for the next three months. Please make sure to read it carefully."

As advised, Shen An clicked on it, expecting it to be a brief introduction or instructions like the previous two pages, but to her surprise, it contained around forty to fifty pages. Moreover, the contents included several subsections such as feeding, cleaning, washing, scooping waste, exercising, exposure to light, and more.

"Cough cough, you can read it slowly, and if you have any questions, you can wake me up anytime. Spirit Rabbit is online 24/7 to answer any of your queries!"

Shen An looked up at the virtual rabbit; was it already over? It seemed much simpler and straightforward than she had imagined...

But something still felt off.

"Oh, by the way, let me remind you kindly, the Wind Domain Marketplace offers a wide range of items. You can access the corresponding marketplace when you reach a certain level. Also, in the future, every time you wake me up, there will be a fee of one hundred yuan for the awakening service. Mengtu is here to serve you anytime."

After saying that, the virtual image of the rabbit did an elegant backflip in the air and disappeared, leaving Shen An in place.

The corners of Shen An's mouth twitched; one hundred yuan. With the money she had, she could only wake up this rabbit thirty times. Realizing this, she subconsciously wanted to protect her money pouch.

It seemed she needed to take her time to go through these forty pages.

It took Shen An an hour to finish reading the Feeding Handbook. Her first thought after finishing was:

The tasks were much simpler than she had imagined.

Feeding was not complicated at all, twice a day at 8 AM and 8 PM, with the possibility of adjusting the time by an hour or two based on specific circumstances. The only requirement was that the feed had to be fresh, stored for no more than eight hours. Shen An simply referred to it as the "Three-Eight" schedule.

The food was also straightforward—some leaves of plants. It even thoughtfully provided the areas where these plants would appear and the time needed for the round trip. Cleaning was once a day.

Shen An glanced outside; the large floor-to-ceiling window on the entire wall was faintly showing a yellowish light and shadows. The screen displayed the time as 5:20.

It seemed that the time on this planet was similar to Earth's, and the sun was about to rise.

The first meal for this insect was already prepared and stored in a food storage box located below the insect container, just like the feeding box, embedded in the wall.

The feed was a palm-sized leaf that resembled mulberry leaves, entirely white with delicate vein patterns like a beautiful painting.

Shen An decided to freshen up first. From her earlier observation of the room, she had already noticed a single-door wardrobe next to the single bed, which had the same color as the walls. When she opened it, she saw four sets of light gray sportswear hanging inside. This should be the work uniform mentioned in the handbook, capable of protecting against UV rays, rain, and moisture while maintaining temperature balance.

Shen An picked up one set and headed to the bathroom, silently starting to freshen up. At the same time, she needed some quiet time to regain her wits and think about more distant questions.

Although the brief encounter confirmed Shen An's previous judgment, this job was repetitive and easily replaceable, in simpler terms, it required no technical skill and had no competitiveness.

Her judgment was correct, and she had no advantage in such a job.

What Shen An didn't know was that during her bath time, the chat box on the screen exploded with messages, one after another.

"Oh my, I'm raising an insect..."

"This creature is the latest scientific research result? It can collect cloud vapor with minimal energy consumption?"

"Is this ranking based on talent value? This is too hurtful."

"Ah! This is unfair. Why is the quality of the Feeding Rooms also divided by talent value, and even the talent value of the insects is ranked? Are they trying to make life difficult for us..."

Lin Jia Sheng was also in his own room, and he silently opened the ranking on his screen. The information of Feeder 1 to 100 appeared clearly before him, showing only simple data like the person's name and talent value. He began to search for people he knew.

Zhong Han, Feeder 12, talent value 88, Feeder Intern.

Liu Siyan, Feeder 35, talent value 71, Feeder Intern.

Shen An, Feeder 86, talent value 37, Feeder Intern.

Lin Jia Sheng silently looked at his own number plate—Feeder 9, talent value 93.

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