Chen Hao woke up in the morning with a stiff neck. He touched the back of his head; he had been sitting on the platform for too long last night, his head tilted back to look at the sky, and now it creaked when he looked down.

Nana was already standing next to the ladder, a robotic arm holding a bunch of resin flowerpots. She looked up at the platform, then at Chen Hao: "The first batch of planting containers is ready."

"I know." Chen Hao rubbed his shoulder. "It's just moving a few basins, I can do it."

After he finished speaking, he went to move the bags of nutrient soil from the ground. The bags were heavy, and his knee cracked as he bent over. He didn't say a word, but carried them to the ladder.

The first trip went smoothly. The flowerpots were neatly stacked on the platform, and as he came down, he gestured with his chin to Nana: "How was it? Steady, right?"

The second attempt was different. Halfway up, his hand suddenly trembled. The sack of dirt on his shoulder tilted and pressed down on his arm. He quickly used his other hand to hold onto the ladder, but his foot slipped, and he got stuck in the middle, unable to move.

Nana reached out to take it, but he shook his head: "Don't worry about me, I can do it myself."

He managed to straighten the bag and climbed up step by step. Reaching the edge of the platform, he put the bag down and, panting, went to get the flowerpots. He had just stacked three when his hands began to tremble again. He gritted his teeth and persevered, but the last one slipped and knocked over the ones in front of him.

The flowerpots rolled around, one after another, falling like dominoes.

"Oh no!" He reached out to stop it, but almost fell down himself.

Just as the flowerpots were about to hit the ground, they suddenly stopped in mid-air. Seven or eight flowerpots hung motionless in mid-air, less than half a meter off the ground.

Chen Hao, lying on the edge of the platform, stared wide-eyed: "What's going on?"

Nana stood below, the tip of her robotic arm gleaming with a faint blue light. "Anti-gravity field initial activation," she said. "Energy sustained for thirty seconds."

The flowerpots landed slowly, none of them breaking. Only the bottom one cracked, spilling soil that piled up beside the sheepfold fence.

Chen Hao slowly climbed down, his legs still a little weak. He looked at the intact flowerpot, then at Nana: "You just... used some kind of black technology?"

“Knowledge Base Unlock Project,” she said. “Low-energy levitation module, testing phase.”

"Can I use it one more time?"

"Battery remaining at 18%, only supports single short-term operation."

Chen Hao squatted down to look at the pile of spilled soil. It was mixed with withered leaves and bits of grass, and smelled slightly sour. "This soil is unusable," he said. "It's dirty, and it smells like sheep manure."

"The test results show abnormal microbial activity." Nana took out a small instrument and attached it to the surface of the soil mound. "The density of nitrogen-fixing bacteria is three times higher than the standard, and the coverage rate of root-promoting bacteria is 89 percent."

"What do you mean?"

"It is more effective than artificially added microbial agents."

"Impossible." Chen Hao shook his head. "I just dug this batch of soil randomly; it wasn't fermented or treated."

“Source tracing complete.” Nana pulled up the data. “Taken from Chapter 358, organic fertilizer pile, with a natural evolution cycle of 127 days, it has formed a stable symbiotic system.”

Chen Hao was stunned: "That pile of rotten vegetable leaves... have they come to life?"

“It’s not that it has become a spirit,” she said. “It’s that ecological balance has been achieved.”

He stared at the pile of soil for a long time, then suddenly reached out and grabbed a handful: "You're saying it can make plants grow faster?"

"The theoretical increase in production rate is over 40 percent."

"Then why are you still throwing it away?" He stood up. "Quickly, put it away!"

"Some soil has come into contact with sheep manure, posing a risk of contamination."

"Then test it! Use it if it works, throw it away if it doesn't!"

Nana scanned for a few minutes and demarcated a safe area. "The central soil sample is usable," she said. "The edges need to be sterilized at high temperatures."

The two started cleaning up. Chen Hao used a shovel to fill a bucket with good soil, muttering to himself as he did so, "I should have known better than to fall. This fall has actually unearthed a treasure."

"The probability of triggering an error is 6.3 percent," Nana said. "Your contribution value meets the target this time."

"You still remember contribution points?"

"All behaviors are included in the system evaluation."

"Does that mean I'll get a promotion?"

"Job permissions have not been updated".

"...I really need to change my password."

After clearing away the dirt, they resumed moving things. This time, Chen Hao moved more slowly, making sure he was firmly planted before taking each step. Nana watched from below, the blue light flashing intermittently, as if ready to activate levitation at any moment.

The flowerpots on the platform were arranged in two rows, leaving a walkway in the middle. Chen Hao laid out the drip irrigation pipes, connecting one end to the water tank and inserting the other end into the soil. After inserting the last one, he straightened up and patted his back a couple of times.

"What should we plant?" he asked.

"Cucumber seedlings." Nana handed over a box of seedlings. "Twenty-four seedlings in total."

"In two batches?"

“It was a controlled experimental design,” she said. “Twelve plants were planted in soil rich in bacteria, and twelve plants were planted in ordinary soil.”

As Chen Hao planted the seedlings, he muttered, "Why make it so complicated? Can't we just use all the good quality ones?"

"Data is needed to support this."

"You robots just love to talk about evidence."

"Humans are easily misled by their feelings."

"This isn't a feeling, it's an intuition!"

"The error rate of intuition is 73%."

How do you know everything?!

"The knowledge base includes psychological statistical reports."

He grunted and buried the last seedling. As soon as the soil was covered, the seedling suddenly swayed, its leaves slightly unfurling.

"Huh?" He leaned closer to look. "It moved?"

“Environmental adaptation response,” Nana said. “The root activity of the group with enriched soil increased.”

"So fast?"

"Within a three-hour observation window, the leaf expansion rate increased by 41 percent."

Chen Hao stared at the leaf, finding it increasingly vibrant. The ordinary seedling beside it drooped listlessly, showing no sign of life.

He turned around and started dismantling the drip irrigation pipes from the flowerpots next to him: "Quickly replace the rest too! Use bacteria-rich soil for everything!"

“The irrigation flow rate needs to be adjusted.” Nana stopped him. “The current parameters are suitable for ordinary soil. Soil rich in bacteria has a strong water retention capacity. Too much water will cause root rot.”

"Then adjust it!"

"Under optimization."

She tapped her finger, and a string of numbers popped up in the air. A few seconds later, the drip irrigation rhythm changed, and the water flow became finer and slower.

Chen Hao squatted in front of the experimental area, watching the cucumber seedlings gradually unfurl. He reached out and touched the leaves; they were cool and thick.

"What's this thing called?" he asked.

"No name yet."

“I’ll give it a name.” He thought for a moment, “Let’s call it ‘Nana No. 1’.”

"The naming logic does not conform to scientific norms."

"Why do you care so much? You'll get used to it."

"It is recommended to use a numbering system."

“Numbering is so boring,” he said. “From now on, all our crops will be called like this: ‘Chen Hao’s Special Selection’ ‘The Universe’s Strongest Cucumber’.”

“Naming confusion will affect data archiving.”

"Can't you just make an exception this once?"

"cannot."

"Sigh." He sighed, but a smile played on his lips. "But tell me, if we got all of this vertical farm up and running, how high would the yield be?"

"Based on current efficiency, the output per unit area can reach 3.8 times that of the traditional model."

"So that means we won't have to worry about food anymore?"

"The premise is that the system is running stably."

“With you here, things will definitely be stable.” He patted the platform. “This place is starting to resemble a base more and more.”

Nana didn't speak. The robotic arm turned and began inspecting the bracket connection points. Her optical lens scanned every screw to confirm that nothing was loose.

Chen Hao sat on the side, swinging his legs back and forth. He looked down at the entire breeding area; the sheep were grazing, Xiao Yang was chasing Xiao Guang, and the sunlight by the water trough was dazzling.

“You said I was afraid of heights yesterday,” he suddenly said. “Actually, it wasn’t that I was afraid of falling.”

"What is that?"

"I was afraid I wouldn't be able to control myself," he said. "My hands would shake, my heart would race, and my mind would go blank. I felt like if I let go, it would all be over."

"You have now completed two high-altitude operations."

"But I'm still nervous."

But you didn't stop.

Chen Hao chuckled: "If I stop, who's going to move the flowerpots?"

“I can do it alone.”

“That won’t do,” he said. “I’m the zookeeper and also the chief supervisor. Even though the authority hasn’t changed, I still have to do the work.”

“The logical contradiction has been resolved,” Nana said. “The consistency between behavior and identity has increased.”

"You're quite good at summarizing."

"This is data analysis."

He chuckled again, stood up, and stretched. The sun shone on the platform, making the metal poles a little hot to the touch.

"What's the next step?" he asked.

“The automated irrigation main control valve has been installed,” she said. “The pipeline pre-laying has been completed, and the interface is on the west side of the platform.”

"Then let's do it now."

He bent down to get his toolbox, but after taking only two steps, his foot slipped and he stepped on some dirt that had been scattered earlier. He swayed to the side, and his hand instinctively reached forward to brace himself.

His palm pressed against the edge of the newly planted "Nana No. 1" experimental area, his fingertips sinking into the soft, bacteria-rich soil.