Chapter 110 The progress of the second district of the Divine Team is like riding a tractor...
A week after Xinglin left, the pet activity room in Zone 2 finally took shape.
Shi Wan stood in front of the nearly completed building and nodded in satisfaction.
The building was even more lovely than she had imagined.
The overall color scheme is warm cream tones, with a light mint green roof and rounded eaves, resembling a giant cream cake.
The exterior walls are decorated with natural wood-colored strips that outline the windows and doors, and several pots of blooming flowers have been placed on the windowsills.
Pushing open the door and stepping inside, the interior is even more impressive.
The ground is covered with light gray non-slip matting, which is soft and elastic, so even if pets run and jump, they are not likely to get injured.
The lower half of the wall is covered with warm yellow upholstery, while the upper half is painted a soft off-white.
A cloud-shaped chandelier hangs from the ceiling. It's not powered on at the moment, but you can imagine how dreamy it would be when it's lit up at night.
The activity room is divided into three main areas.
On the far left is the cat paradise, where staggered wooden cat trees extend from the ground to the ceiling, designed in the shape of treehouses, observation decks, and suspension bridges.
There are also several transparent acrylic tubes in the middle, making it easy for cats to crawl through.
Along the wall is a row of padded viewing windows, facing the hydrangea flowerbed in Zone 2.
Similar to many of the cat activity facilities in Zone 1, it was indeed Shi Wan who got her inspiration from there.
In the center is a comprehensive interactive area with removable pet safety mats on the floor. These mats can be used for training and games on ordinary days, and small tables and chairs can be set up on event days for owners and their pets to do crafts and have tea and snacks together.
On the far right is the rest and care area, which has a dedicated pet water station, a simple grooming table for easy inspection of paw pads and grooming, and several small, private cubicles with doors.
This was specially designed by Shi Wan, so that it could be used in case a pet needs a quiet rest, or if the animals have a small conflict and need to "calm down".
The entire space is well-lit, with large windows facing south and east, adorned with white sheer curtains.
The afternoon sun slanted in, casting warm dappled light on the floor.
The pet kitchen next door is in the same style, only slightly smaller than the activity room.
"How is it?" Old Zhao, the foreman in charge of the renovation, walked over wiping his sweat. "Boss Shi, as you requested, all the materials are environmentally friendly, and the edges and corners have been rounded to ensure safety."
"Excellent!" Shi Wan gave a thumbs up. "Master Zhao, you guys are so professional!"
Old Zhao chuckled, "That's because you designed it so well. I've been in the renovation business for so many years, and this is the first time I've made such a lovely house. My daughter saw the photos and kept asking me to get her a cat tree at home too."
Shi Wan was a little embarrassed by the praise, and on the surface she still said modestly, "Oh, not at all," but in her heart she was already dancing with joy.
Yes, yes, I am a genius designer!
It was thanks to how adorable the system had made Zone 1 that she had so many strange and wonderful ideas.
Thinking of the system inevitably brought Xing Lin to mind, and the smile on her lips faded slightly.
The feeling of my heart pounding from the burning bracelet that day never returned, but that unease lingered in my heart.
She could only work harder to manage the farm, accumulating lots and lots of energy, just as Xinglin had said.
Although she wasn't sure if this would actually help him.
"Mr. Shi," Chen Xi said, walking over with a tablet, "the interior furnishings and furniture will all be in place next week. Also, the pet toys and disinfection supplies you ordered have arrived at the warehouse. Do you need to take inventory?"
"Take inventory! We must take inventory!" Shi Wan immediately perked up. "Also, I'd like to lay artificial turf in the open space outside the activity room and put in some pet-friendly play equipment. Chen Xi, what do you think?"
“Yes, but we need to plan the drainage.” Chen Xi took notes carefully. “I will contact the supplier to get samples.”
As the two were talking, a familiar silver sedan slowly drove into the farm.
The car door opened, and Isabella stepped out.
Today she was wearing a light apricot-colored knitted suit, her long hair loosely tied up, looking as elegant as if she had stepped out of a magazine. Seeing Shi Wan, she smiled and waved, "Wanwan, long time no see."
"Isabella!" Shi Wan greeted her happily. "Why didn't you tell me you were coming!"
“I wanted to give you a surprise.” Isabella blinked, her gaze falling on the brand-new activity room. “This is the new venue for Zone 2? It’s so cute, like a cottage from a fairy tale.”
"Want to go in and take a look?" Shi Wan pulled her along for a tour, as if showing off a treasure.
Isabella carefully examined each area, nodding occasionally. "The design is very thoughtful. Ventilation, lighting, and safety details have all been taken into consideration. It's bigger, more beautiful, and more practical than before. Wanwan, you're a natural-born businesswoman."
Shi Wan was flattered by the praise, but she still said modestly, "It's all thanks to everyone's help."
After the tour, the two sat down on the terrace outside the activity room.
Chen Xi quickly brought over mint tea and snacks baked in the cafeteria.
"So, you didn't come here just to see the new house, did you?" Shi Wan asked with a smile, taking a sip of tea.
Isabella put down her teacup and took out a beautifully crafted proposal from her handbag. "Actually, it's for this: the plan to restart our 'Farm Pet Season - Phase One' event."
Shi Wan took the book and began to read it, her eyes widening in disbelief.
The plan was very detailed, including everything from the tentative theme of "A Furry Spring Date", the schedule, the number of participants, the activity flow of pet interactive games in the morning, picnic at noon, and DIY crafts in the afternoon, to the publicity plan, materials list, and emergency plan.
There's even a list of partner brands.
In addition to Isabella's own connections, she also secured sponsorships from several pet supply brands.
"This...this is so professional!" Shi Wan exclaimed in shock. "When did you do this?"
“When I’ve had some free time lately,” Isabella said casually, “I think now is a good time to restart the event. The new venue in Zone 2 is finished, the farm’s reputation is on the rise, and…”
She paused, looking at Shi Wan, "Have you been working too hard lately? Su Qing told me that you stayed up three nights a week last week working on new product development."
Shi Wan touched her nose. "I wasn't working that hard... I just felt like I could do more things while I still could."
Isabella didn't press for details, but simply said gently, "Regarding the event, if you agree, I can take charge of the overall coordination. You only need to oversee the general direction and make the final confirmation; the specific execution can be left to the professional team."
"I can't accept this..."
“Consider it an added service to our collaboration,” Isabella laughed. “Besides, I really like this place; I always feel particularly therapeutic when I come here.”
As she spoke, her gaze fell into the distance.
Tangyuan was trying to teach Shanfeng how to play with a cat toy. Shanfeng had a helpless expression on his face, as if to say, "Why should I, a mature and steady military dog, play with this?" But he still cooperated by stretching out his paw and scratching at it, which amused Tangyuan so much that he jumped around excitedly.
Shi Wan felt a warm glow in her heart.
She knew that Isabella genuinely wanted to help her.
"Then I'll leave it to you!" she said earnestly. "But I can't just sit back and do nothing. I'll personally prepare the pet treats and refreshments for the owners on the day of the event! I'll use the freshest ingredients from the farm!"
“That’s exactly what I wanted to say,” Isabella’s eyes lit up. “Su Qing mentioned an idea to me yesterday. She wants to launch a farm pet souvenir gift box, which includes pet biscuits, handmade jerky, and small bottles of jam. It can be given away as souvenirs at events or sold separately.”
Shi Wan slapped her thigh. "That's a great idea! Wait, I'll call Su Qing over right now!"
Ten minutes later, a small meeting was held on the activity room terrace.
The attendees were Shi Wan, Isabella, Chen Xi, Su Qing, and informal members Tang Yuan (squatting on Shi Wan's lap) and Shan Feng (lying at Chen Xi's feet).
The samples that Su Qing brought were a real eye-opener.
The light green cardboard box is printed with simple line drawings of cats, dogs, and farm scenery, and it has two layers when opened.
The top layer contains pet treats, including bone-shaped teething biscuits, star-shaped chicken jerky, and dried small fish.
The lower tier contains gifts for the host, including small jars of jam and herbal tea bags.
They look quite heavy when placed together.
"I asked a friend to help with the packaging design; she's a freelance illustrator," Su Qing said somewhat embarrassedly. "I also made the sample last night; all the ingredients were available on the farm."
Shi Wan picked up a small dried fish and smelled it. "It smells so good! Tangyuan, would you like to try some?"
Tangyuan had been eyeing the snacks with drooling in her eyes. Upon hearing this, she immediately meowed and rubbed her head against Shi Wan's hand.
Shi Wan broke off a small piece for him. Tangyuan ate with his eyes narrowed, and after finishing, he licked his paws with a look that he wanted more.
"It seems the master has approved it," Isabella said with a smile.
"It's not just passing, it's a perfect score!" Shi Wan said excitedly. "Su Qing, how much does this gift box cost approximately? What's the price?"
Su Qing was prepared and handed over a calculation sheet. "If we mass-produce it, the cost of a single gift box can be controlled at around 75 yuan. As for the price... I think 128 yuan is more appropriate."
"128?" Shi Wan thought for a moment. "Isn't that a bit high?"
“No,” Isabella chimed in. “With this quality and design, people would buy it for 198 in a boutique. 128 is the farm’s direct price, which is very reasonable. Moreover, we can make limited-edition items for events. For example, during this pet season, we can release special edition merchandise, including a pet bib or a custom name tag. After the event, all limited-edition merchandise will never be reprinted.”
Chen Xi also spoke up, "The warehouse currently has idle packaging equipment that can be used with a little modification. I have already prepared a preliminary list of raw material purchases."
Looking at her three reliable companions, Shi Wan was so moved that she almost burst into tears.
What an amazing team!
I hit the jackpot!
She took a deep breath and made the decision, "It's settled then! The Pet Season event will be restarted, and the schedule will follow Isabella's plan. The gift box project will be officially launched. Su Qing will be in charge of product development and quality control, Chen Xi will be in charge of materials and production line preparation, Isabella will be in charge of overall planning and distribution channels, and I... I'll be in charge of cheering you all on!"
Everyone laughed.
“Oh, right,” Shi Wan remembered something, “On the day of the event, I’d like to hire a photographer to take some nice photos and videos, not only for publicity, but also as a memento.”
“Leave this to me,” Isabella said. “I know some great independent photographers.”
The meeting concluded in a relaxed and pleasant atmosphere.
Su Qing and Chen Xi went about their business, while Isabella stayed a little longer to discuss some details with Shi Wan.
After seeing Isabella off, Shi Wan sat alone on the terrace, watching the sunset gild the activity room.
The cat head bracelet on my wrist was quiet and still, without getting hot or showing any abnormalities.
But her unease did not completely dissipate.
She touched the bracelet and said softly, "The farm is getting better and better. The activity room has been built, new products are about to be launched, and the pet season is about to restart. I will definitely save up a lot of energy for you."
So... you must come back safely.
She stood up, stretched, and said to Tangyuan, who was squatting beside her waiting to be fed, "Come on, Tangyuan, let's go see Little Orange Baby~"
A highly hidden redundant buffer somewhere in the data world.
Xinglin's consciousness floated in the darkness, much dimmer than before, with tiny amounts of data dissipating from its edges.
Forcibly breaking through the Nightmare's blockade and the main system's encirclement consumed far more resources than expected.
His ability to survive largely depends on the continuous flow of energy from the farm.
Even so, his condition cannot be described as good.
The self-destruct protocol has been suspended. Since we have successfully escaped, there is no need to execute this final option for the time being.
But almost all other emergency procedures were exhausted, the disguise program was damaged, the data bombs were used up, and even the encrypted one-way channel became thinner and more fragile than before because he had to make multiple jumps and interferences during his escape.
He needs time to recover.
There are also some things that need to be clarified.
After resting for an integer number of hours in the buffer, Starfall confirmed that the main system's tracking had not yet extended to this area.
The nightmare's frantic search gradually subsided after thirty-six standard hours.
Perhaps the main system determined that the intruder had been completely eliminated, or perhaps there are other reasons.
Xinglin did not act immediately, but waited patiently for another twelve hours.
Only after the fluctuations at the data level had completely subsided did he carefully break away from the buffer zone and return to the data cage where the Candle Dragon was located along a path with multiple transfers.
Zhulong was in better condition than when he left.
Upon seeing Xinglin appear, Zhulong's consciousness fluctuated.
"You're back?" Zhulong's voice was still hoarse, but it had a bit more life in it. "Later than I expected, did you run into trouble?"
Xinglin briefly shared his experiences, emphasizing the discovery in the dormant zone and the process of detonating the data bomb at the last moment to disrupt the main system's tracking.
Zhulong silently received the information, and when he heard Xinglin describe the Nightmare's attack pattern, his silhouette trembled slightly.
“It’s gone mader than before,” said Zhulong.
“I’ve found Bailing and Tiebi,” Xinglin continued, relaying the information. “The awakening keys have been implanted, but it will take time; their consciousness is severely damaged.”
Zhulong's fluctuations became noticeably stronger, "They really still..."
“It still exists,” Xinglin confirmed, “though very faintly.”
After a long while, Zhulong calmed down. "Thank you, this is very important to me."
“But…” Xinglin paused for a moment, “I couldn’t find a doctor.”
The outline of the Candle Dragon froze.
"In the core buffer zone of the dormant area, I scanned all the data cocoons I could reach, but I could only find the markers for Lark and Ironwall. The doctor's location is either in a deeper area that I can't reach, or..."
Or perhaps, they're no longer here.
Zhulong did not respond immediately.
A heavy silence fell over the data cage.
After a long while, Zhulong slowly spoke, his voice filled with a complex mix of emotions, "Doctor... he may have chosen not to stay there on his own initiative."
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