OFTLHFRO C140

Chapter 140: The Unknown and Change

At the end of February, the sun rose and much of the snow had melted.

Luo Mingchen dragged Huo Yan into the space to work, digging up the new mutated vegetable seedlings.

After they finished digging, Luo Mingchen noticed Huo Yan lowering his rolled-up sleeves, and suddenly remembered something.

Sensing his spouse’s gaze, Huo Yan paused and lifted his eyes. “What is it? Still something left undone?”

“Not exactly. Come with me.”

Luo Mingchen pulled Huo Yan toward the storage area.

Huo Yan glanced at their joined hands and quietly squeezed tighter.

But Luo Mingchen, preoccupied with his thoughts, didn’t notice.

When they reached the empty area, Luo Mingchen pointed at the newly expanded space. “You’ve got a good memory. When we brought Mother’s dowry in here, there wasn’t any empty area left, was there?”

Huo Yan gazed thoughtfully at the stretch of ground.

After a while, he spoke: “Yes, it has expanded quite a bit. And over there—it looks greener.”

The entire boundary of the space had once been a blank whiteness, like a glazed screen to the touch.

Now, in that white mist, faint colors appeared, as if a beautiful landscape was gradually emerging from heavy fog. It seemed endless—without stretching out a hand to touch, one could mistake it for a mist-shrouded world.

“So it wasn’t my illusion.”

Luo Mingchen had brought Huo Yan here not to explain anything, but simply to confirm whether it looked the same to him.

But Huo Yan caught on the key word: “Illusion?”

“Mm.”

Luo Mingchen explained: “Back in my world, this looks very much like spatial ability. But if someone awakens spatial ability, according to what I’ve heard, it’s just an empty square room. No fields, no way to grow crops, not even living things could be stored.”

Huo Yan listened quietly.

“I first entered this space in a very dangerous moment. In my dazed state, I saw… well, something like a Peach Blossom Spring. But when I came to, it was just a few acres of barren land and an empty storage area. I always thought that was just a hallucination.”

He turned his gaze to the faintly colored barrier. “So I wanted you to see it too.”

Back in the apocalypse, Luo Mingchen never had the time to dwell on such things—every day was a struggle for meat, for reliable leaders, for survival.

Here, he had time. And only because the space had changed did he even think of it.

Huo Yan considered for a while. “So others get an empty shell, but you obtained a living world. Is that correct?”

“Exactly. And I don’t even seem like a spatial ability user, you get me? Spatial users don’t just store things or plant food. They can teleport, they can cut space itself—usually by level three, at the latest level four. I’m already level five.”

Luo Mingchen grew serious and paused. “Once, I fought a zombie with spatial powers—the kind of monster I told you about. After that fight, I was certain my space is different from theirs.”

If the space hadn’t changed, he could have ignored it—just a few extra fields. But now that the barrier itself was shifting, the nature of it was different.

The unknown always brings unease.

Sensing Luo Mingchen’s agitation, Huo Yan leaned closer, shoulder to shoulder. “Has this change been happening only since you came here, or did it occur before too?”

With someone leaning against him, Luo Mingchen relaxed. “It’s happened before, but not this big, not this obvious, and not so frequent.”

Huo Yan recalled the first time Luo Mingchen mentioned changes, compared it with the timing of his ability upgrades, and formed a vague suspicion. But since it was only a guess, he didn’t voice it. Instead, he comforted him: “Let’s observe for now.”

“Fine. I just worry the space might change drastically and everything will vanish.”

Luo Mingchen said: “Why don’t you build a hidden chamber outside, and we’ll store things there?”

Huo Yan gave a slight nod. “Alright.”

They reorganized the storage area, then brought the seedlings out in baskets.

Huo Yan had three rooms in the courtyard cleared and fitted with large locks.

Once Luo Mingchen emptied some of the space, they locked them up.

Eyeing the locks, Luo Mingchen asked: “Isn’t this too simple?”

Huo Yan replied calmly: “The simpler, the less suspicious.”

Luo Mingchen thought about it—it did make sense. He let it go.

The next day, the two of them hired a group of older men and women skilled in farming to work the fields.

The soldiers had already plowed the soil, waiting only for the seeds.

Plenty of soldiers knew farming, but after war, blizzards, and plague, most people in Han City had no hope left for life. They had to be put to work—only with tasks would they stop brooding and wandering aimlessly.

That was why they first hired these villagers. Once their lives improved, those still watching on the sidelines would trust them, and it would be easier to rally everyone.

One had to admit—professionals far surpassed an amateur like Luo Mingchen. They worked fast, and their agricultural knowledge was solid.

Certainly better than Luo Mingchen’s “dig a hole, stick the plant in, pour water.” Their technique was skillful and precise.

Luo Mingchen watched and learned. He figured if he mastered their methods, he could increase yields inside the space too.

An uncle teaching him how to transplant rice seedlings laughed. “Here in Han City, growing crops isn’t easy. Especially rice—it’s delicate! Pinch here with two fingers, slide the roots into the soil.”

Listening carefully, Luo Mingchen used his index and middle finger to pinch the roots, trying to follow.

Before, he had just shoved them into the dirt, figuring the soil was soft enough anyway.

Looking at it now, it was a miracle his plants had survived at all. Without mutated crops, survival would’ve been impossible.

“This soil can’t be too soft or too hard. Too soft, and the seedlings sink. Too hard, and they float.”

“…Got it. Thank you, uncle.”

After rice, Luo Mingchen learned cabbage planting.

Only then did he realize cabbages needed space between them—about thirty centimeters. He used to plant them side by side…

By the end of the day, when he returned home, Luo Mingchen was dazed.

Huo Yan brought foot-washing water. As they soaked together, he noticed Luo Mingchen looking stricken and asked: “What’s wrong?”

“I always knew farming had its techniques, but today I realized most of my methods were wrong.”

Luo Mingchen was dejected. Under such conditions, the fact that crops had grown in his space was nothing short of miraculous.

Huo Yan’s lips curved slightly. “Tomorrow I’ll go learn too. From now on, I’ll do the planting.”

“That works.”

Luo Mingchen wasn’t shy. “I’m the harvesting professional.”

Huo Yan handed him a packet. “Alright.”

“What’s this?”

Luo Mingchen opened it—seeds.

Huo Yan said: “Some herbs for stopping bleeding, and some for treating sudden illness. They might be useful later.”

Taking the seeds, Luo Mingchen sighed. “Tch, I thought it was candy.”

The moment he said it, something small and bead-like was popped into his mouth—sweet, with a hint of citrus.

Setting the candy wrapper aside, Huo Yan asked: “Good?”

With the candy in his mouth, Luo Mingchen said: “Not bad. Where’d it come from?”

“Hong Xing made them for Yueyue. I just took one.”

Hearing this, Luo Mingchen laughed helplessly. “Even stealing candy from your daughter…”

Huo Yan, calm as ever, said: “I didn’t eat it.”

Luo Mingchen, chewing candy: “…”

To drag Huo Yan into “sharing the guilt,” Luo Mingchen cupped his face and kissed him, the citrus-sweet candy melting between their lips…