Overgrowth

Chapter 7: The Field at Night

Eighty-eight points could buy several pots.

They could not buy one bag of soil.

Jo Ji-won looked down at her assigned plot and considered digging up some earth. The idea died when an enormous display suddenly appeared above the field boundary.

It towered over the embankment and was visible across nearly the entire first-year cultivation zone. Blood-red text glowed against a black background, silencing every student who saw it.

NINTH AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH BASE: FIELD-ZONE RULES

1. Excavation or removal of soil is prohibited without authorization.

2. Do not enter or remain in uncleared land without cause.

3. Crops and other plant material may not be carried aboard field buses.

As the students stared in confusion, speakers mounted on poles throughout the fields came to life.

“Rule One: All field-zone soil is regularly sterilized, disinfected, and cleared by the base. It is base property. Unauthorized removal will result in a major disciplinary violation.

“Rule Two: Uncleared land may contain mutant flora. Students may not enter without authorization.

“Rule Three: Field buses transport students between the urban and cultivation zones. For the safety of other passengers, anyone carrying harvested crops must arrange separate transportation.”

Ji-won could not take soil from her own plot. She could not take it from the wasteland either.

Every route had been blocked.

She searched the market on her wrist terminal. Almost everything she needed cost more than her entire balance.

Hydroponics was no solution. The equipment alone exceeded eighty-eight points, and nutrient solution cost almost as much as soil.

Tomatoes would take time to germinate and establish themselves. Lettuce had a much shorter growth cycle and could be harvested in a little over a month. She could sow part of the lettuce now and use the income to plant the rest later.

There was no need to use every seed at once.

Ji-won put both packets into her pocket and drew a slow breath, restoring her calm.

Upper-year students created a temporary Agronomy C channel and directed the class to collect tools.

The tool station stood near the plots. From outside, it resembled an empty shed of blue corrugated steel. Inside, however, the walls were lined with another layer of reinforced glass.

Hoes and buckets had been piled in the left corner. Rows of deep utility sinks filled the center and both sides of the room—nearly a hundred in all. Each had separate hot- and cold-water taps.

“This is your class rest station,” an upper-year student explained. “The interior glass can withstand attacks from Grade B mutant plants, so the building also serves as an emergency shelter.”

He pointed toward the tools.

“One hoe and one bucket per person. You may begin planting today. Good luck.”

The two upper-year students left immediately.

The first-years looked at one another.

“Let’s plant the tomatoes.”

Min-jae was the first to move. He carried two hoes over and handed one to Ji-won. Then he opened his cultivation packet and started to pour the tomato seed into his palm.

Ji-won caught his hand.

“Wait.”

“What?” Min-jae looked around sharply, apparently expecting a mutant plant.

Ji-won pointed toward the sinks. “Soak them first.”

She released him, took out her seed packet, and went to the nearest sink. After testing both taps, she put cold water into the packet and added a smaller amount of hot, keeping the mixture warm.

Min-jae copied her.

“Why soak the seed?”

“Warm water encourages germination and provides some surface disinfection.” Ji-won watched the seeds in the packet. “A chemical soak would work too, but one potassium permanganate tablet costs three hundred points. The other treatments aren’t cheap either.”

In the world she remembered, online seed sellers often included a little potassium permanganate for free.

Several nearby students overheard her. A few cautiously soaked half their seed and kept the other half dry.

Most left for the plots without doing anything. They did not believe warm water could help. What if it killed the seed instead?

Min-jae listened to Ji-won explain something he had never heard before.

“You really do know a lot.”

“A little.”

Ji-won did not yet understand how plants behaved in this world. She was relying on past experience. Still, the fact that the Central Base market sold seed-treatment chemicals suggested her method remained valid.

By the time she and Min-jae finished soaking the seeds and left with a bucket of water, most of Agronomy C had already planted.

There were only ten tomato seeds per student. It did not take long.

Because plants in this world were unpredictable, Ji-won limited the soak and did not wait for indoor germination. She spaced the tomato seeds across her plot and covered them with a thin layer of soil.

Down the center, she sowed a narrow row of lettuce.

Most of the lettuce seed remained.

Min-jae copied her arrangement. Once Ji-won explained that lettuce should not be crowded, he opened his terminal and rapidly placed an order.

“I’ll buy pots and soil.”

Ji-won watched him.

Envy was an ugly emotion.

She felt it anyway.

After a moment, she said, “Would you split a bag of soil with me?”

One twenty-kilogram bag cost ninety-nine points. Ji-won could not afford it alone, but half would be enough to start.

Min-jae paused and turned.

“Sure. Are you out of points?”

“I don’t have many at the moment.”

Ji-won transferred fifty points to him.

“Half a bag is enough.”

“You don’t need pots?” Min-jae asked. “I can lend you a few.”

She shook her head. “No.”

Once the seeds were planted and watered, the first-years boarded the buses back to the urban zone.

Most were still afraid to remain outside. Thousands of seeds had just gone into the ground. If even one mutated, someone might die.

When Ji-won returned to the dormitory, Dong Ha-neul was sitting at her desk, apparently speaking with someone at home.

Ji-won sat down and continued searching the Central Base agricultural market.

The site sold nearly anything related to farming: seed, pesticide, tools, growing media, and specialized equipment.

None of it was what she needed.

After more searching, she found an ordinary retail platform.

Seoul Central Department Store Online

Ji-won opened the search field and entered:

men’s oversized jeans

Rows of product images appeared.

Still too expensive.

She considered the problem, then added another word.

cheap men’s oversized jeans

At last, Ji-won found a discontinued size on clearance for ten points.

She ordered it immediately, afraid someone else might take the only pair.

The jeans were important.

They would become her lettuce planter.

They cost less than the small pots sold by the agricultural market and offered at least ten times the growing space.

After the purchase, Jo Ji-won had twenty-eight points left.