Three options appeared before Han Wu.

[Option 1: Spring of Life. Release a steady flow of spring water. Land soaked in it will become extraordinarily fertile, and plants watered with it will yield dramatically more.]

[Option 2: Fixed Gate. After locking in a coordinate, a portal can be built linking directly to that location.]

[Option 3: Hunting Rifle. Twelve bullets and devastating firepower.]

Each option had its pros and cons. The Spring of Life was the most straightforward, resulting in richer lands and improved yields. However, it didn’t fit Han Wu’s path, so he ruled it out at once.

The Fixed Gate opened up more possibilities. With one in hand, Han Wu could travel from Farm 444 directly into any other farm. Used well, it could effectively become a second base with a fresh set of unsuspecting neighbors—an undeniably appealing prospect.

As for the hunting rifle, it was self-explanatory. One bullet equated to one life, and twelve shots meant he could comfortably take over twelve surrounding farms. However, given that the contest was themed around farming and wealth accumulation, overtly killing people could easily count as a rule violation.

After thinking it over, Han Wu decided to go with the Fixed Gate.

The Fixed Gate shrank into a small ball in Han Wu's hand. He only needed to name a destination, and it would take him there. It didn’t take him long to decide on a location. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

“Target: Farm 666.”

Farm 666 had led the coin count from the start, with four separate announcements to its name. Its owner was undoubtedly sitting on a fortune.

Still, it was not yet time to head over. Han Wu needed a few more days of preparation before that. He carried on as usual with the farming, breeding, and sending the pollinator bees out to steal pollen. It was simple and fulfilling. When the mother rat finally hit her delivery window again, Han Wu knew the moment had come.

He took out the Fixed Gate, locked in Farm 666 as the target, and opened it just as the mother rat was about to give birth. Over 20,000 pups shot through in a torrent directly into Farm 666. Han Wu followed closely behind.

Farm 666 lived up to its reputation. It had large stretches of fertile land and a wide variety of crops, including many with long growing cycles. Under the contest rules, longer planting cycles meant higher value at maturity. Once those long-cycle crops came in, the owner of Farm 666 would rocket past everyone else. Han Wu would be done for.

Unfortunately for the owner of the farm, Han Wu had discovered their strategy before it could bear fruit. Moreover, he had waltzed straight in, and he wasn’t about to watch himself lose.

His avatars fanned out, stripping everything in sight. They picked the Sunny Rose Crystal Grapes and cut the vines. Apple trees loaded with fruit were chopped down with the axe. A plot of freshly fertilised soil fortified with premium Gold Droppings was dug up, bagged, and carried away!

Anything he couldn’t take, he ruined. Nothing would be left for the opponent.

His avatars did excellent work, but the rat pups were even more impressive. As vermin, they naturally started chewing through the carrots, peanuts, sweet potatoes, and more. Even bitter gourds were fair game, with the pups spitting out the bitter juice as they ate it. Their destruction speed rivaled that of a professional demolition crew.

Han Wu and his avatars could only admire from a respectful distance.

Eventually, the commotion drew the owner’s attention. A dog barked in the distance, and he immediately cleared out with his avatars, making sure to take the Fixed Gate with him to leave behind no trace.

The owner arrived with a ferociously large dog to find his farm in ruins. Swarms of rats happily ruined everything he had worked hard to grow.

“Wang Cai, bite them all!” he commanded, fury evident in his tone. “Kill every single rat!“

The dog charged through the swarm, sending rats flying as it ran. Had Han Wu been able to witness it, he would have considered himself lucky for leaving when he did. Wang Cai would’ve torn him to pieces if he had been any slower or overconfident.

Wang Cai worked through the night to deal with every last rat. It could barely stand after killing all 20,000 pups. The owner patted its head and told it to rest.

He then sat down to work out his losses. They came out to 40,000 gold coins in principal cost alone, and that was excluding the time invested in the long-cycle crops. The owner of Farm 666 almost fainted on the spot.

The overwhelming mix of fury, dejection, and defeat had him unable to move from his seat for a long time. After regaining his composure, he inspected every corner of the farm, but found no break in the fencing.

If the fencing was intact, where had all those rats come from? Not even a fly had made it through since Wang Cai had come to guard the farm, let alone a rat. Yet over 20,000 rat carcasses lay before him. He simply couldn’t make heads or tails of it.

“Could it be a ghost? Surely ghosts aren’t part of the competition, right?” he wondered aloud.

With no way to answer his own questions, he could only sigh and accept his bad luck.

Back on his own farm, Han Wu sold the fruit and crops stolen from Farm 666 through the shop. The total came to over 13,000 gold coins, boosting his wallet dramatically.

He still lagged behind Farm 666, but he wasn’t worried. There was plenty of time left, and with the Fixed Gate in hand, he was confident they couldn’t stop him even if they tried.