Chapter 13: The First Harvest
The morning sun glinted over the simulation sky, though Ava knew better than to trust what she saw. The QQ Farm interface projected fields and pastures in neat, orderly grids, but she reminded herself that most of the farm lay hidden in folded-space layers. What they saw was convenient and clickable—manageable—but the actual ecosystem stretched far beyond their perception.
"Alright, let's see what we've got," Ava said, gesturing toward the crop panels hovering above the fields.
Immediately, the system activated the automatic harvesting protocols. Glowing motes traced the edges of wheat and corn plots. Silently, as if guided by invisible hands, stalks bent and released golden grains that zipped along streams of light into the warehouse storage panels. Eggs from chickens rolled smoothly along similar channels, milk jugs glimmered as they floated into their compartments, and honeycomb jars slid in after a faint buzzing hum.
Zephyr's eyes widened. "It's… it's like the whole farm is alive, but I don't even have to touch it."
Ava smiled, though her gaze flicked to the interface layers. "Remember, this is just the interface. The real farm is much bigger. We're seeing only the surface."
Lyra leaned closer to the orchard display. The trees shimmered as blossoms turned to fruit in fast-forward cycles. "So everything is… being managed automatically? Even the parts we can't see?"
"Yes," Alyssa said, pointing at the warehouse dashboard. "The system tracks every yield, every animal product, and every cycle. If anything goes wrong, it flags anomalies. Efficiency is already at seventy-eight percent, and that's with half the farm hidden."
Kael folded his arms, a rare smile tugging at his lips. "I don't like trusting something I can't see—but the numbers don't lie."
Brian crouched near a simulated potato patch, tapping a panel to pull up stats. "And the interface makes it manageable. Space-folding or not, we can act on what matters. The system handles the heavy lifting."
For the next hour, the team watched the first harvest flow smoothly. Wheat, corn, and vegetables streamed into storage. Eggs, milk, and honey joined in, all accounted for in the warehouse inventory. Even fish from the pond glided into tanks connected to the same storage grid. The folded-space technology meant that unseen fields, pastures, and ponds were also yielding resources, feeding the system in ways the team could only monitor through the interface.
Ava's necklace pulsed faintly, signaling system acknowledgment.
[Task Objective Updated: First Harvest Complete]
[Reward: Variable Energy – Dependent on Yield]
[Warehouse Inventory: Crops 92%, Animal Products 88%, Efficiency: 85%]
Zephyr spun in place, clapping his hands. "Bees win! And the cows! And… basically everything!"
Lyra chuckled softly. "You're ridiculous."
Ava laughed, but her mind was already racing. "This is just the start. Once we unlock factory modules, we can process flour, cheese, oil, yarn… everything. Raw products are great, but refined goods… that's when we control the chain."
Brian nodded. "We have the foundation now. Wheat, vegetables, potatoes, eggs, milk, honey. That covers carbs, protein, and essentials for trade if we need it."
Alyssa tapped her chin, studying the floating panels. "We should also plan for rotation cycles and pollination management. Even with automation, efficiency can increase if we optimize the invisible sections of the farm."
Kael grunted. "Fine. But let's not get ahead of ourselves. First, we survive the next cycle."
As the sun dipped toward the simulation horizon, the first harvest concluded. Fields and pens blinked softly in the interface, awaiting the next cycle. The team lingered for a moment, watching streams of harvested products vanish into the warehouse, the scale of the space-folded farm only hinted at through the system's efficient orchestration.
Ava felt the familiar thrill of creation pulse through her chest. This was no longer just survival. They were building a world, one cycle at a time, and even the unseen expanses of their folded-space farm were now theirs to command.
The first harvest had ended, but the team didn't linger long. Ava floated back to the command panel, her eyes scanning the warehouse inventory. The streams of harvested products reflected neatly on the dashboard, but she knew the real work was in planning the next cycle.
"Alright," Ava said, gathering the team around the interface. "We've got a solid base. Chickens, wheat, potatoes, vegetables, milk, honey… what's next?"
Zephyr grinned, bouncing slightly. "More bees! Or maybe cows—more milk for cheese. And hey, chickens for eggs too. We need all the sweet stuff."
Lyra shook her head, smiling. "Balance matters. If we focus too much on one thing, we risk neglecting other crops or animals. Pollination, soil nutrients… even folded-space areas have limits."
Alyssa stepped forward, pulling up the growth charts for each plot. "Exactly. Even with automation, we can optimize. The unseen parts of the farm can be rotated for soil recovery. If we stagger crops and animals intelligently, the warehouse output could jump twenty percent next cycle."
Brian nodded. "I like that. High-yield crops for food security. Animals for protein. And we can start thinking about raw materials for factories once we hit the next Energy milestones."
Kael folded his arms. "Factories sound nice, but they come with risk. We need stable cycles first. Automation is impressive, but glitches happen. The more we expand, the more careful we need to be."
Ava tapped a floating wheat panel. The simulation shimmered as the system displayed potential refinements. Flour mills, bread, pasta… cheese and butter for dairy… honey into mead or wax. The factory icons glowed faintly, locked for now, promising potential upgrades.
"This is the next big goal," Ava said. "Right now, we focus on yield. But every crop, every animal is also a building block. Once we unlock factories, every harvest feeds a new product chain. Wheat becomes bread, milk becomes cheese, honey becomes trade goods… and the system tracks it all automatically."
Zephyr bounced again, eyes bright. "So basically, we're running the apocalypse's first super-farm. And we don't even have to touch everything ourselves!"
Lyra chuckled. "That's the appeal of folded-space management. We see only what we need—the interface—but the real farm is far bigger. Automation handles it, but our decisions guide efficiency."
Alyssa's fingers danced over the panels. "We can start planning rotations now. Potatoes and corn can alternate plots for soil recovery. Chickens in pens near crops for natural fertilizer. Bees for pollination. Even the hidden plots in folded-space layers can be optimized—though we'll have to trust the system's projections until we unlock monitoring modules."
Brian leaned back, thinking. "It's impressive, but every cycle is a test. We need to predict yields, plan for anomalies, and manage warehouse overflow. Automation helps, but human oversight is key."
Kael grunted. "Agreed. And security. The more we expand, the more vulnerable we are—system glitches, supply imbalances, even disasters. Folded-space may hide a lot, but it doesn't remove risk."
Ava nodded. "All valid points. Let's set priorities for the next cycle: maintain high-yield crops, expand select livestock, integrate bees strategically, and optimize rotation schedules. Warehouse automation handles collection, but we monitor efficiency and adjust as needed."
The system pulsed faintly, as if acknowledging their plan.
[Task Objective Updated: Plan and Execute Next Farming Cycle]
[Projected Warehouse Efficiency: 90%]
[Energy Milestone: +40 upon successful cycle completion]
Ava floated back, observing the virtual landscape. Rows of crops shimmered with latent energy, animal pens glowed faintly, and hidden, folded-space plots hummed with potential. Every stream of harvested wheat, every egg, every jar of honey was a testament to their growing mastery.
Zephyr leaned against a glowing wheat panel. "I like it. Step one, survive. Step two, automate. Step three… apocalypse domination?"
Lyra rolled her eyes, but even she smiled. "Let's not get carried away."
"Domination or not," Ava said softly, scanning the dashboard, "we're no longer waiting for the world to end. We're building it. One cycle, one harvest, one system-calculated decision at a time."
As the simulation sun set, streams of automated harvests flowed into the warehouse, invisible layers of folded-space buzzing silently beneath the interface. Ava watched the numbers tick upward—energy, efficiency, yield—and for the first time, she felt a flicker of unshakable confidence.
This wasn't just survival. This was strategy, creation, and control. And with the next cycle, they would begin to push toward the factories, the refined goods, and the fully realized potential of the system that had become both their playground and their greatest tool.
[Countdown Timer: 363 days, 23 hours, 47 minutes]
Ava smiled at the ticking numbers. This time, she didn't feel fear. She felt possibility.