Interstellar Farming: I Make Potions and Climb to the Top

"Of course. This way, please," Xu Tao answered excitedly. Xu Tao was young, and the other soldiers weren’t much older. Their supply point was in a remote location, poor in resources and surrounded by several dangerous zones. This made expansion difficult, resulting in very poor conditions.

Lin Mo turned to look at Ning Xuan. Only when she nodded did Lin Mo walk ahead.

Led by Xu Tao, they soon arrived at their destination: Supply Point No. 7, under the jurisdiction of the Second Legion.

Supply Point No. 7 was nestled among barren, reddish-brown rocky hills. Jagged formations of basalt created a natural barrier, partially concealing the crude military outpost within the rugged landscape.

The location had clearly been chosen after precise calculations—the cliffs embracing it on three sides formed a natural defensive line. The sole entrance lay across a dry riverbed, and this type of sandy channel made it difficult for creatures to build nests, effectively preventing surprise attacks from underground creatures.

The exteriors of the main surface buildings were pieced together from granite and fractured alloy plates. The plates reflected the light, making the base difficult to spot from afar.

Soldiers stood guard at the entrance to the main gate, and a wide, deep trench encircled the perimeter as a defensive fortification.

With Xu Tao’s party leading the way, the soldiers on duty lowered the drawbridge. Two mechanized vehicles of a similar style drove into the supply point, one after the other. The vehicle used by Xu Tao and his men was also a temporarily assembled machine, and it looked less refined than the one Wang Yue had put together. As it was only meant for temporary travel, the vehicle Wang Yue was driving wasn’t equipped with a mobile single-shot cannon, so it didn’t stand out.

The vehicles’ entry through the gates of Supply Point No. 7 attracted the attention of the garrisoned soldiers. They had been stationed here for three months, and the only traffic they ever saw was dust-covered comrades or ferocious, terrifying Exotic Beasts. It had been a long time since they’d seen any new faces. With two women among Ning Xuan’s party, in particular, many of the soldiers couldn’t help but sneak glances at them.

Xu Tao led Lin Mo and his party directly to the command center of Supply Point No. 7. As they proceeded inward, Ning Xuan noticed several watchtowers inside the base, ranging from ten to twenty meters in height, as well as numerous underground passages. It appeared that the true main body of Supply Point No. 7 was concealed underground.

The officer presiding over Supply Point No. 7 was a Major General, Fang Qian. He was also a graduate of the Central Star Military Academy and boasted both an impressive family background and considerable personal talent.

Among the stationed forces, the roles of supreme commander for a safe zone or supply point, as well as liaisons and inspectors between zones, required powerful officers with extensive combat experience. There were no age restrictions for these positions.

Fang Qian was thirty-six years old this year. However, despite being older, he still had to stand and salute Lin Mo. While saluting Lin Mo, Fang Qian remained somewhat relaxed. But when he saw Yun Han enter behind Lin Mo, his whole body went rigid. ’The Commander of the Heavenly Might Independent Corps... what’s he doing here? Is some grave danger about to befall Supply Point No. 7?’

It was no wonder Fang Qian would think so. He knew that Lin Mo was an officer from the Second Legion and was currently on leave to be matched with a Contractor. As for Yun Han, Fang Qian didn’t know much, having only heard that some time ago on the Insect Hole Battlefield, Yun Han had led a reinforcement squad and held out for over a month with outstanding results.

Now, he had shown up on the New Star Body. ’With his rank, he should be the commander of a large-scale safe zone at the very least. Why would he come to our remote little Supply Point No. 7?’

"Commander Yun, what brings you here?" Fang Qian asked, his voice a mixture of respect and nervousness.

Xu Tao’s eyes widened when he saw that Major General Fang was even more deferential to Yun Han than he was to Lin Mo. Yun Han hadn’t been featured much in the Military Department’s various promotional videos over the past few years, so a rising newcomer like Xu Tao wasn’t familiar with him.

Yun Han gave a slight nod, then moved aside. He bowed his head deeply to Ning Xuan, who had just walked in.

The moment Fang Qian saw Ning Xuan, he understood instantly. ’Such a beautiful young woman... she must be the Contractor General Lin is matched with.’

"Hello, Commander Fang. I’m Ning Xuan, a student at the Central Star Military Academy, here for the Federation University joint graduate examination," Ning Xuan said to Fang Qian. "These are my teammates. I’ve come to activate my locator and consult some data."

"A very warm welcome to you, Miss Ning! I’ll help you activate your locator right away. Has the joint examination already begun? You’re the first candidate we’ve received at our supply point. Um, do you have any other requests?" Fang Qian asked, flustered. He was so nervous he was rambling.

’Judging by Commander Yun’s attitude toward Ning Xuan, is this Miss Ning his employer or his Contractor? With Yun Han’s status as Commander of the Heavenly Might Corps and heir to the Seven Star Divine Mountain, who could possibly afford to hire him?’

’Or... is Ning Xuan also Yun Han’s Contractor?’ At this thought, the way Fang Qian looked at Ning Xuan changed completely.

"We’ve only just arrived. We may need to stay here for a few days. What would be required of us in return?" Ning Xuan asked.

"No, nothing at all! Miss Ning, you can stay for as long as you wish." With both Yun Han and Lin Mo in her retinue, Fang Qian secretly wished Ning Xuan would stay here indefinitely.

"I need to review the publicly released information collected by the military so far," Ning Xuan said. "We hunted some creatures on our way here and I’d like to see if they’re of any value."

"Of course. This way, please," Fang Qian said at once.

Fang Qian personally led Ning Xuan and her group to the underground Information and Registration Hall. Inside, cool white light cascaded from the ceiling, illuminating rows of neatly arranged holographic projection screens. Dozens of these floating displays slowly revolved around a central data processor, with faint blue light patterns streaming across their surfaces, constantly refreshing the military database’s encryption signatures.

Fang Qian stopped in front of a scanner at the entrance. A beam of light for an iris scan flashed across his eyes. "Commander, Supply Point No. 7, Sector Three. Standard clearance authenticated," a mechanical female voice announced. The hall’s reinforced door slid open.

The central data processor was encased in a transparent Protective Shield. The shield’s Level was very high, making it impossible to approach. However, since Ning Xuan and her team were only looking for publicly available information, they could access it from any of the terminals.

As they looked up the information, the locator on Ning Xuan’s hand was successfully activated. She glanced down at it and saw the current coordinates were "15.3, 72.9." Chen Nan, Lan Xin, and Zhang Nan began mapping the known terrain of the New Star Body using the information released by the military. Yun Han and Lin Mo took on the task of recording the publicly listed known species on the New Star Body, while Wang Yue and Wang Teng focused on noting resource nodes, dangerous areas, and other locations of interest.

"Miss Ning," Fang Qian began with a sigh, "our Supply Point No. 7 currently has a garrison of six hundred sixty-seven personnel, including thirty-seven technicians. Most of our soldiers have Spiritual Power Levels of A-level or S-Class. However, because we haven’t received any support from headquarters for a long time, we’re facing a severe energy shortage, and much of our equipment has become inoperable."