Big Data Cultivation

Feng Jun passed the checkpoint safely, carrying his assisted flight backpack and continued flying close to the ground until he arrived near the Xiajing Military Department.

Flight is prohibited near the military department, not even close to the ground, because the only people and heavy weaponry coming in and out are crucial figures—colliding with them would be as bad as birds crashing into planes.

Moreover, during wartime, even if it’s a military vehicle, running over civilians would also be troublesome, so he was stopped.

Feng Jun didn’t argue and stopped flying obediently, then picked up a bicycle on the roadside and started pedaling.

There are indeed bicycles on Xingzheng Star, but they are not two-wheeled; rather, they are tricycled with two wheels in the front and one at the back. Such tricycles are not for carrying goods but to help riders maintain better balance.

The tricycles here don’t require scanning or anything because they are purely free transportation tools provided by the Official Government. This is a society of material abundance—even facing the threat of the Insect Race, bicycles are simply worthless to a highly advanced industrial society.

Furthermore, no one is bored enough to deliberately damage bicycles because... there’s really no need to, just like in Huaxia, Earth Realm, where old ladies are given plastic bags when shopping—who would be idle enough to tear up a plastic bag?

Feng Jun cycled around for quite a while, even being stopped by soldiers twice, but he passed through each time.

His actions were later analyzed by the Human Federation, each step seemingly harmless on its own, but when considered collectively, it was absolutely suspicious—claiming to visit classmates to fight the Insect Race, but then wandering around the military department?

However, the objective problem exists, and solving it is not easy. Local patrols cannot frequently monitor Feng Jun’s actions near the military department—if monitored too much, the military department would inevitably wonder: what are you contemplating?

Yet simultaneously, the military department cannot demand the locals share all their information—the military is the military, locals are locals, what does the military plan to do with so much local information?

This contradiction remained unsolved for a long time, even forming a famous "Mountain Master Feng Paradox," simply put—does the military have the right to intervene in local affairs, or do the locals have the right to intervene in military affairs?

There is technically no problem, but it’s not feasible operationally—this is called the "Mountain Master Feng Paradox."

Feng Jun wandered for two hours, realizing it wasn’t suitable to continue this way, so he left the vicinity of the military department and went to a large mall about five or six kilometers away.

However, he quickly realized his mistake: normally, large malls guarantee a steady flow of people, but on a planet besieged by the Insect Race and in a state of war, large malls... might not have any guarantees.

The large mall he entered was indeed quite large, considered the second largest in Xiajing City, and had it not been for this Insect Race attack, they planned to challenge for the first position.

The city of four million people, though scattered, when aiming for number one, needless to say, preparations must be made in advance, right?

The mall’s investors had substantial strength, such that despite the ongoing battle, this massive mall remained practically undamaged, while the top-ranked mall suffered building damage and losses of goods and personnel, making it seem as though the second-ranked mall was unaffected.

There weren’t any hidden agendas here; the second-ranked mall simply paid a higher price to maintain the situation, with their ultimate goal to imply that they are more competent than the first-ranked mall!

This could be seen as a reflection of the online competition in the Earth Realm; the amount of money spent is not important, the key is fighting to the top, attracting traffic—with traffic comes market opportunities.

In short, Feng Jun thought the mall was large, but there was basically no one inside. Many stores were directly locked, and those not locked had no sales assistants in sight; goods were displayed on shelves but unattended.

Of course, Feng Jun understood that stealing things here was impossible; however, the absence of sales guides made him a bit uncomfortable.

He casually walked into two stores before finally someone approached—a lady in her thirties, or perhaps in her sixties, "What do you want to buy? Hurry and make your purchase, go home, and don’t wander around."

The lady spoke harshly, but for his own good, Feng Jun blinked and smiled, replying, "I’m just looking around, I heard protection here is well-maintained, not very dangerous, right?"

"Well-maintained protection" was his guess; it wasn’t particularly certain.

"Barely holding on," the lady answered casually, her eyes filled with concern, "It’s been locked down for so long, the boss’s energy blocks are almost depleted, and there’s a looming requisition threat; word is, soon we’re going to weaken the defenses."

Technically this was a commercial secret and shouldn’t have been disclosed, but in such circumstances, who would care anymore?

Feng Jun was stunned, "Requisition... how many times does requisition end?"

"It’s not how you say it," the lady shook her head; she was surprisingly talkative, "Previously during requisitions, we did not need to contribute too many energy stones, because a fully functional large mall helps boost public confidence..."

"Got it," Feng Jun certainly understood, "Boosting confidence is necessary, but now... with a severe shortage of energy blocks, survival is the concern."

"What kind of talk is that?" The lady glanced at him, "Regarding the war situation, don’t randomly comment, though everyone says that over in Zuo Jing, they seem to have discovered some old energy stone depots... perhaps there could be some support for Xiajing."

Zuo Jing’s Energy Stone Warehouse... A hint of peculiarity flashed in Feng Jun’s eyes, the civilians here are truly pitiful.

If it weren’t for the terrible impression Minister Shen left on him, he would even consider anonymously donating a batch of energy stones—the military’s incompetence is one thing, but the civilians are innocent.

But these people, while incompetent, still think about power struggles, scheming against allies, which really makes Feng Jun uncomfortable—the energy stones I donate would become proof of your competent leadership!

After thinking for a moment, he asked, "Do you have limited edition Crystal Racing Car Models here?"

"Yes, on the fourth floor," the lady nodded, "but that item is not cheap. Now... are you spending money on this?"

She could tell the young man, although not poorly dressed, was merely from an ordinary family, and the Crystal Racing Car series models were extremely expensive. With that money, one could almost buy a low-end hover car.

During peaceful times, an ordinary family might grit their teeth to buy such a model, but now, when they can’t even afford food, spending money on such luxury is madness, isn’t it?

Feng Jun thought for a moment before answering, "It’s my older brother’s birthday in a couple of days, and he particularly liked this when he was alive."

The lady paused for a moment and asked, "So he also... didn’t survive this war?"

Too many from the Human Race died in this war; she didn’t mind asking—Frontier Star doesn’t favor tears.

"Yes," Feng Jun nodded and held up two fingers, "He killed two bugs... two!"

"He was a hero," the lady gave a thumbs up, "If you want to buy the model, I’ll give you a ten percent discount."

"I can’t afford it," Feng Jun shook his head with a bitter smile, "I just came to take a look and remember my brother."

"Alright," the lady took him to the fourth floor, leading him to a shop, "Feel free to look around, I’ll get you a glass of water."

Not long after, she brought a glass of water over, "Is your home in Xingguang Villa Area?"

Nothing remains a secret on this planet! Feng Jun looked at her and nodded, "Yes."

"Your area is quite impressive," the lady gave a thumbs up, "Your brother was indeed impressive too, I’ll give you the smallest Crystal Racing Car Model."

Earlier she only mentioned a ten percent discount, but now she was willing to give it away, clearly confirming Feng Jun’s story before deciding.

"Thank you," Feng Jun accepted the glass of water and replied earnestly, "But I don’t want to receive gifts for nothing. I hope one day to exchange the model for a bug’s corpse."

The corpses of the Insect Race contain energy as well, though not easy to recover. Some bug meat is edible, hence the official government offers bounties for killing bugs, exchangeable for money or merits.

He’s quite confident! The lady smiled and shook her head, "Alright, I respect your decision as a man, but I can lend it to you first; just be sure to come back once you’ve killed a bug."

"Thank you, but I must decline," Feng Jun shook his head and replied seriously, "No one can guarantee they’ll survive until tomorrow; I don’t want to be someone who can’t repay the debt. Your promise alone is enough."

The lady paused for a moment and then laughed; this young man, despite being slightly chubby and not so handsome, gives off a familiar neighborly boy vibe, "Alright, it’s a deal between you and me then. Hope the day comes soon."

Feng Jun smiled, "I hope so too," then he picked up the glass, took a sip, and turned to look out the window, lost in thought.

He originally intended to observe the military department from here, but with the building being so empty, further observation would be abrupt. So now he’s looking elsewhere.

A while later, the lady returned, "It’s almost noon, aren’t you heading home?"

"Feeling... a bit restless," Feng Jun answered in a deep voice without turning his head, "I’ll leave after finishing this glass, thank you, sister."

He knows very well that finishing this glass won’t lead him out.

Unaware, the lady sighed lightly, "That’s normal, but the deceased are gone. You owe it to your brother’s sacrifice to live better."

"I understand," Feng Jun sighed softly, "But I’ve been holding it in; venting a bit feels good."

"Then stay..." The lady’s words were interrupted by the sound of an alarm, "Oh no, the bugs are coming!"