Chapter 125: Arrival

"We are approaching Boundary Line Y304. The ship will dock for maintenance and inspection. Passengers, please prepare."

Hearing the announcement, Yu Jia pulled her gaze away from the stars and looked toward the interior of the ship, which was shifting from quiet to bustling. There were about a dozen passengers on this small spacecraft, all of them operations specialists sent by Qiyou to the Goose Farm. Of course, they were not the only ones; the specialists on this ship were strictly from the Sichuan region, while those from other star systems were traveling on their own dedicated vessels.

The ship soon docked at the space station. Yu Jia followed instructions and disembarked with the others. The border area was notoriously dangerous, frequently subjected to raids by enemies from other star systems. Civilians were only permitted to operate here if they had secured prior approval and were escorted by special departments—a safety measure enforced by the state.

As soon as she stepped off the ship, Yu Jia saw a heroic-looking female officer standing on a high platform, observing the newly arrived specialists.

"So beautiful."

The moment Yu Jia saw Lan Tao, she was captivated by her unique charisma. Her dark, bright eyes were glued to the woman, unable to look away. If she, a girl herself, felt this way, the men present were even more so—their eyes practically fixed on Lan Tao.

"Are all the beauties at the frontier this stunning?"
"I regret not listening to my parents and joining the military to serve the country back then."
"I wonder if she has a boyfriend."

Hearing the chatter below, Lan Tao cast a side-long glance at the group. A faint, chilling aura of murderous intent radiated from her, piercing straight into their hearts. These specialists were ordinary people who had never experienced such a battlefield presence. With just that one look, their backs were drenched in cold sweat. They immediately lowered their heads, not daring to look at her again.

Yu Jia was startled, but fortunately, her father, Yu Zheng, possessed a similar stern, murderous aura, which gave her some immunity. Even so, she knew that staring was impolite. Just as she was about to avert her eyes, she saw Lan Tao leap over the railing and land directly on the tarmac. Although the drop from the platform was ten meters, this was a space station with low gravity, making the height trivial.

Yu Jia was visibly surprised, noticing that the female officer’s gaze had never once left her.

*Is she someone sent by Uncle Yin?* Yu Jia thought to herself. She walked up politely and asked, "Hello, my name is Yu Jia. Are you the person Uncle Yin sent?"

"Not bad, not bad." Lan Tao didn't answer immediately but looked her up and down. Aside from her chest being a bit small, she was quite satisfied.

"Uh... may I ask how I should address you?" Yu Jia felt a strange, ominous feeling, but she asked anyway. After all, like her father, this person was a pioneer and deserved her respect.

Hearing the question, Lan Tao reached out and pulled her into a hug with practiced familiarity. "Just call me Auntie Lan. I served on the battlefield with your father back in the day. We’re all family, no need to be formal."

Lan Tao squinted and rubbed Yu Jia's skin. *So smooth.* If her grandson could inherit this skin, she could play with it for a year.

Yu Jia widened her eyes, stunned for a long moment before she finally reacted, her expression stiffening. "Hello, Auntie Lan." Saying that felt wrong—Lan Tao looked far too young, easily passing for an older sister. "Auntie Lan, you don't look much older than me. I remember my father retired when I was young. How old were you when you went to the battlefield?"

"You certainly have a silver tongue." Lan Tao patted Yu Jia's smooth scalp. "My son is as old as you are. You do the math." She paused, "By the way, do you have a boyfriend? My boy is a decent catch. Should we set you two up?"

"Huh?!" Yu Jia’s eyes widened.

***

Half a day later, a spaceship docked at an aerial platform on a planet. This was the planet where the Goose Farm's "reality game" was based—the so-called game server.

"Goodbye!"

On the platform, Yu Jia waved frantically at Lan Tao, who was about to leave on the ship. If she could, she wished that "goodbye" would last a lifetime. It was too much. In just one afternoon, this "Auntie Lan" had managed to get her to reveal what style of underwear she liked to wear. It was terrifying. The older generation, like Uncle Yin and now Auntie Lan, were simply unfathomable.

After sending Lan Tao off, Yu Jia followed the Goose Farm staff to their assigned living quarters. "Stay here for the night. Specific work arrangements will be made tomorrow," the staff member said before hurrying off.

Yu Jia turned her attention to her temporary residence: a corridor lined with rooms like a college dormitory, though here, everyone had their own private room. As she finished setting her things down, someone knocked on the door. It was Tian Yi, a fellow trainee from the Baiqiao branch. He was a thin, twenty-two-year-old man with short hair and a prominent black mole on his right cheek. Through their time on the ship, Yu Jia had come to know him as an honest, hardworking man.

"Is something wrong?" Yu Jia asked.

Tian Yi looked at her calmly, his eyes seemingly filled only with work. "A brief meeting. I’m going to explain the flow of the Goose Farm training. Meet in my room, A107." He didn't wait for a response before moving to the next door.

Yu Jia followed the others to his room. Though the rooms were decent, the space became quite crowded with a dozen people squeezed inside. Once everyone arrived, Tian Yi went straight to the point. "Many batches of trainees from Qiyou headquarters have already been here. We are from the Baiqiao branch, somewhere in the middle. The training lasts three days: the first day is an up-close look at the game, the second is game production, and the third is operational practice."

"Brother Tian, what is the real purpose of this training? Our boss said headquarters is starting a new department, but with so many people coming, I have my doubts," one specialist asked.

Tian Yi didn't hide anything. "That’s what I gathered you here to discuss. The Goose Farm staff will be grading us during these three days. Headquarters will select the top performers; those with lower scores are just here to broaden their horizons. However, I must warn you: don't perform too poorly. Even if none of us get selected, the fact that you were sent here means your bosses have high expectations. As long as you don't embarrass yourselves, your future paths will be much smoother."

"Thank you for the advice, Brother Tian." The group nodded solemnly.

Yu Jia didn't care much about promotions; she only wanted to improve her professional skills. After the meeting, she returned to her room to rest, feeling mentally exhausted despite having been on the ship all day. After a quick wash, she lay on the bed and opened the meal box delivered via the transport device.

Inside were small, green, orb-like spheres the size of eyeballs, drizzled with a bright red sauce. The moment she opened the box, a sweet, lotus-like fragrance wafted out. Hesitant, she took a spoonful and put one in her mouth.

The first sensation was a burst of sweet sauce. The green sphere wasn't mushy as expected; it had a thin, crispy outer membrane. Once bitten through, a chewy, sticky texture filled her mouth. It was like rice, but a thousand times better. She could eat bowls of it.

After a few more bites, she plated the remaining spheres, took a few photos with her light-computer, and posted the best one to their group chat.

*Stone: [Image] The first meal at the Goose Farm Reality Game Control Department.*
*Divine Phoenix: What is that?*
*Egg-Egg: Don't know, but anything you haven't seen before must be expensive.*
*Happy Afro: Is it good?*
*Stone: It's delicious.*
*You’re Forcing Me: Those are the eyes of the Positive Raccoon-Worm [Image]. Although the creature isn't pretty, it tastes great. Because its eyes regenerate rapidly, they were a staple food for soldiers during a campaign and made an indelible contribution to the country.*

Yu Jia, enjoying her meal, clicked on the image sent by "Uncle Yin." A virtual model of the creature appeared: a soft-bodied worm shaped like a sea anemone, covered in countless tentacles, each dotted with dense, green, eyeball-like spheres.

"Ugh!"

The moment she saw the image, the green sphere she had just swallowed surged back up her throat. She dashed to the bathroom. After vomiting and cleaning her mouth, she returned to her room, feeling weak. She couldn't bring herself to touch the meal again. The mere thought of the creature made her retch.

After her stomach settled, she saw another message in the group from "Uncle Yin."

*You’re Forcing Me: But biologists later discovered that the green spheres on the Positive Raccoon-Worm aren't eyes, but the fruit of a plant. They grow on the worm due to a symbiotic relationship, which has since been broken. The 'eyes' we eat now are all artificially cultivated [Image].*

The new image showed a cluster of fruit that looked like grapes.

"..." Yu Jia clenched her fists, but... she couldn't afford to offend the older generation.

*Sect Leader of Sword-Rise: Silly stone.*
*Sect Leader of Sword-Rise: Awesome, you vegetable dog!*
*(‘Sect Leader of Sword-Rise’ has been muted by administrator ‘Stone’ for ten minutes.)*
*You’re Forcing Me: Stone is awesome!*

...

After muting him, Yu Jia felt a little better. Although she knew the green spheres weren't from the worm, she had developed a psychological shadow; seeing them made the image of the creature flash before her eyes. Reluctantly, she contacted the staff to swap for a normal dinner.

After eating, she felt tired and turned off the lights to sleep.

The next day, 6:00 AM.

Yu Jia woke up to her alarm. After a quick wash and breakfast, she opened her door. Tian Yi was already in the corridor. He seemed surprised to see her up so early but quickly recovered. "Good morning. How did you sleep? Are you adjusting well?"

"I'm fine," Yu Jia replied politely.

Tian Yi nodded and pointed in a direction. "The tour doesn't start until seven. If you're free, you can head to the suspension platform. We’ll be gathering there shortly."

Yu Jia nodded and headed toward the platform. She was genuinely curious about how the staff maintained the reality game.