Interstellar Farming: I Make Potions and Climb to the Top

Besides mechanical manufacturing, the team was also short on talent in communications and reconnaissance.

In complex mission environments, communication is crucial for teamwork and information exchange. An expert in communications technology and secure information transfer could ensure the team maintains efficient contact throughout a mission.

Reconnaissance, along with intelligence gathering and analysis, was also very important. While Chen Nan had taken electives on the subject, he wasn’t particularly skilled.

As she thought about communications and reconnaissance, one person came to mind: Lan Xin. He was one of the two Half-beastman slaves the Controller Protection Association had sent her, a member of the Fire Snake Tribe. During the banquet at the villa, he had demonstrated the Water Mirror Technique. This ability, somewhere between an Illusion Technique and a real-time view, was highly practical for surveillance, reconnaissance, and defense. Lan Xin also seemed quite clever, and his personal Combat Power was decent. The only problem was that Half-beastman slaves apparently didn’t have the right to study at a Federation University. He hadn’t graduated within the last three years, couldn’t enroll anytime soon, and thus couldn’t participate in the joint graduation exam.

Ning Xuan sighed. She decided to summon Yan Fuzhen, Di Youlin, Yun Han, and the others to the study to discuss the matter of team selection.

Ning Xuan began by explaining all the factors she had been considering. Yun Han raised his hand. "Contractor, I also graduated within the last three years. I can participate in the joint graduation exam as external support. Lan Xin can take the spot that opens up."

"Didn’t you go to the battlefield when you were seventeen? You hadn’t graduated yet?" Ning Xuan asked in surprise.

"No. My graduation was delayed by several years precisely because I spent so much time on the battlefield," Yun Han replied.

"In that case, send Lan Xin to school to take some courses in reconnaissance and communications. Housekeeper Yan, please make the arrangements," Ning Xuan said to Yan Fuzhen.

It was true that Half-beastman slaves had no right to enroll in institutions of higher learning, but he wouldn’t need official student status. As long as the money was right, nothing was impossible.

As she watched Yan Fuzhen leave to make the arrangements, Ning Xuan sighed. "If Lan Xin goes with us, Nine-tailed will be sad being left home alone." Ning Xuan was quite fond of the Little Fox, who was also very powerful.

"I’ve laid out my thoughts. Do any of you have someone to recommend for the team?" Ning Xuan asked.

"For a mechanical manufacturing specialist, I know someone who’s skilled at building and modifying Flying Cars. He also graduated within the last three years. He’s not only an expert with Flying Cars but has also done extensive research on land and sea vehicles. If you’d like, I can bring him here to meet you," Yun Han answered.

"Contractor, I know someone who excels at creating and modifying firearms," Lin Mo added. "He originally majored in Mecha manufacturing, but his grades were only average, so he’s been held back a few years and still hasn’t graduated. But the guns he builds are incredibly powerful and highly accurate."

"I do, Contractor!" Chen Nan couldn’t help but chime in. "When I was taking a reconnaissance elective, I met a real master of the subject. He’s incredibly skilled. I went on a mission with him once. He can analyze any trace left on the ground to extract information. He also studies geology and topography. Based on a small patch of earth, he can deduce the terrain and weather for hundreds of miles around."

’It seems I’m the only one with no connections,’ Ning Xuan thought. ’Yun Han and the others are so exceptional; it’s no surprise the people they met during school are just as impressive.’

While Ning Xuan was busy selecting her teammates, she was unaware that the one Contractor matched to her by the Main Brain who had yet to appear, Yu Mingche, had contacted Ying Yaoshi.

In the hologram before Ying Yaoshi, a silver-haired man lounged on a large, ornate chair. "Grand Marshal, I never imagined we’d end up serving the same Contractor. According to Federation rules, that makes us contract-brothers, doesn’t it? I’m willing to call you big brother, so hurry up and tell me about our Lord Contract Master." Yu Mingche’s innately alluring eyes were filled with curiosity about Ning Xuan.

"What’s there to tell? I’ve only met her once, for less than two minutes," Ying Yaoshi said mischievously. "Since you can contact the outside world now, your mission over there must be almost finished, right? If you’re so curious, why don’t you go see her for yourself?"

He had finalized their contract by snatching Ning Xuan’s Light Computer and forcibly preventing her from breaking it. Despite his best efforts to make amends, Ning Xuan was still furious with him. She had remained cold and distant this whole time, and the memory was a source of constant torment for Ying Yaoshi.

Yun Han, Marshal of the Heavenly Might Corps and the strongest, most promising talent of the younger generation, had been demoted to a Contracted Slave all because of his father’s transgressions.

As the Seven-Star Governor of the Star Sky Chaos Domain, Yu Mingche had been perpetually on assignment, leaving Ning Xuan unable to get rid of him or do anything about him. However, once Yu Mingche’s term ended and his active-duty status was lifted, there would be nothing stopping Ning Xuan from doing whatever she wanted.

He was dying to know: how would Ning Xuan deal with Yu Mingche?

"I wouldn’t dare go see her now," Yu Mingche drawled. "Did you think I wouldn’t know just because you won’t tell me? You’re clearly not in her good graces. Women of the same age tend to have much lower spiritual power than men, so Controllers always prefer someone younger. Ning Xuan is only eighteen... Aigh, I’ve waited nearly twenty years, and the Main Brain pairs me with a Contractor this young. What am I supposed to do?"

"If you’re not happy about it, you can just tell her. She won’t force you," Ying Yaoshi said, raising an eyebrow.

Hearing this, Yu Mingche shot upright. "An eighteen-year-old Quasi-S-Class Controller whose Companion Spirit is the Fire Spirit Vermilion Bird? Would I have to be insane not to want her? My problem is figuring out how to get her to accept me." His beautiful eyes darted about as he seriously pondered a plan.

"Figure it out yourself. I have work to do." A surge of irritation washed over Ying Yaoshi as he looked at Yu Mingche’s devastatingly handsome face. Not wanting to see it any longer, he shut off the projection without another word.

Over in the Star Sky Chaos Domain, Yu Mingche frowned in annoyance at the blank projection. His term wasn’t completely over; he was still in the handover phase. Although he had a certain amount of freedom with communications, he couldn’t physically leave his post yet.

Once his five-year term was over, he would have a three-year break to use as he pleased. He planned to spend those three years accompanying Ning Xuan.

Meanwhile, back with Ning Xuan, the people recommended by Yun Han, Lin Mo, and Chen Nan were all outstanding and willing to join the team. However, just as they were discussing what supplies to bring, a woman started causing a scene outside the villa, shouting for them to release her Contractor.

When an Attendant brought the report, the reconnaissance expert Chen Nan had recommended instantly flushed beet-red. He apologized to Ning Xuan and the others, then rushed outside.