I Used a Spatial Farm to Feed an Entire City

A sour, rotten smell hung over the underground base's communal cafeteria. Seventeen-year-old Su Wan crouched in a corner, gnawing on a blackened ration biscuit, when she heard the woman at the next table wipe away tears and say, "My kid threw up black blood again. The doctor says his radiation levels are too high... If only we had some source-energy crops."

Source-energy crops?

Su Wan lowered her eyes to hide their glimmer.

The little cloth pouch in her pocket was growing warm. Inside was the "source-energy wheat" she'd picked from her spatial realm that morning. Its ears were golden, and when crushed and sprinkled into water, they made snowy-white porridge. One sip could cut radiation levels in half.

"Bang!"

The cafeteria's iron doors were kicked open, and three raiders carrying flamethrowers charged in. "Hand over your food, or we'll burn this dump to the ground!" The crowd screamed and backed away, but Su Wan reached for the seed pouch hidden at her waist.

Half an hour later, the raider chief was kneeling at her feet, his face still flecked with singed ember-beast fur. "Ma'am! I-I know of an undeveloped subway station ruin. I heard it connects to a source-energy space..."

"Wanwan."

A cool voice came from the doorway. A man in camouflage combat gear held a heavy machine gun, its barrel still dripping with the green blood of an ember beast. "Could you spare me some of the wheat you grow? The children at my base haven't eaten in three days."