215: Chapter 211 Three Possibilities...
The main text wasn't long, but it contained a massive amount of information.
Zhou Liang wrote down his entire experience, from discovering the Farm Realm to entering it, in meticulous detail.
There were seven attached images.
The first one was a screenshot from when he had just entered the Farm Realm—on the Farm Realm map interface, the vast virtual continent was empty, with only two tiny farm light spots. One was his own, glowing with the white symbol of a new build. The other was toward the north of the map, already a formed green light spot.
He had specifically taken a selfie with this map, wearing the goofy grin of someone who had just discovered a new continent.
The second one was a selfie of him and the big hen he had stolen after building the chicken coop. The hen was in his arms, wings still flapping, and he was grinning so hard his face was wrinkled.
The third to fifth images were panoramic shots of his grassland farm—a crude thatched hut, sparse fences, uncultivated fields, and a kitchen piled high with firewood.
The sixth image was a close-up of the hole in his pants from when he was chased by the guard dog. A palm-sized tear in the back of his pants, with a piece of his underwear peeking through.
The seventh image was a selfie of him squatting on the ground, panting, after returning to his farm having successfully stolen the chicken; in the background, the big hen was pecking at his shoelaces.
In the text, he described in detail how, while resting before his patrol shift change on the evening of the 25th day, he had inadvertently discovered that inconspicuous sprout icon on the Fate Platform interface and, after clicking it three times, was transported into the Farm Realm.
"...The moment I chose the grassland farm and my feet touched the soil, I froze. It had been nearly a month; I had forgotten what it felt like to step on soil. When the wind blew, I almost cried. I'm not exaggerating."
"Then I started farming like crazy. Watering, tilling, sowing—I was busy for about three or four hours. When I came to my senses and checked the time, oh no, I was going to be late for my patrol shift change!"
"I rushed offline and ran to my post, only for my companion to tell me—only forty-something minutes had passed."
"A five-fold time dilation."
"After confirming this information, I felt relieved and went back to continue farming. I couldn't sit still after finishing, so I took a look at the map and discovered there was another farm besides mine. Level two. A green cursor."
"I had one thought at the time—steal it."
"So I stole it. Once inside, I found that farm was much bigger than mine, with several chickens in the coop and the vegetable plots neatly planned. I grabbed the fattest hen and ran. The guard dog almost caught me; my pants got a big hole bitten in them, and my butt was almost exposed. But luckily, I wasn't marked by the System."
"Later, that chicken was stolen back."
"I didn't post this to show off that I was the second person to discover the Farm Realm."
"I wanted to confirm one thing—the last sentence of the Fate Platform Farm Realm launch announcement: 'The first brave farmer successfully stole a hen from a certain level two farm during the beta test. Fate Platform hereby pays high tribute to this pioneer. A friendly reminder: that chicken has already been stolen back by its original owner.'"
"Is this talking about me?"
"If it is, then this is the greatest honor of my life, Zhou Liang. The first Survivor to be individually mentioned in a Fate Platform official announcement."
"What do you all think?"
The moment the post went live, the Symphony Realm went quiet for three seconds.
Then—
The comment section exploded.
[Wind-Chasing Youth (Yanhuang Civilization): Wait. Hold on. Let me process this. You're the chicken thief??? The one in the Fate Platform announcement???]
[Little Noodle Shop Owner (Yanhuang Civilization): I've seen the screenshot. There were indeed only two light spots on the map. If his timeline isn't faked, he really is one of the first batch of people to enter.]
[Sea Chicken Farmer (Yanhuang Civilization): Brother, you're awesome. Seriously awesome. The first thing you did after entering wasn't farming, it was stealing a chicken. That's some next-level thinking.]
[Storm Eye (Yanhuang Civilization): I carefully cross-referenced the timeline. The Farm Realm beta test launched on the evening of the 25th day of the Magic Sea calendar, and Zhou Liang said he discovered it before his patrol shift change in the evening. After entering, he stayed in the Farm Realm for three or four hours, which corresponds to forty-something minutes in reality. Then he entered a second time and stole the chicken. This means the time he discovered the Farm Realm was at most less than an hour after the Farm Realm launch.]
[Iron-Faced Ruthless (Yanhuang Civilization): Confirmed. The announcement says "the first brave farmer," and Zhou Liang was the second person to enter the Farm Realm, but he was the first to steal vegetables. And he stole a chicken, too. This matches up perfectly.]
[Salted Fish Turnaround (Yanhuang Civilization): Congratulations, brother! The first person in a Fate Platform announcement! From now on, your name will be carved into the history of the Farm Realm! "Zhou Liang, the first brave farmer." Listen to that, how majestic!]
[Old Smoker (Yanhuang Civilization): I'm jealous. Seriously, I'm jealous. Do you know what it means to be individually mentioned by an official Fate Platform announcement? Being named among 1.3 billion people! And it was an announcement written by Fate Master himself! This is more exciting than being in the top ten of the personal merit ranking!]
[Iron Straight Man (Yanhuang Civilization): No, it should be said that he was named among over 3 billion people. Foreign civilization visitors can also see that announcement. You're globally famous now.]
There were some doubts, but they were quickly drowned out.
[Scooping the Moon from the Sea (Yanhuang Civilization): Is it possible it's a coincidence? What if someone else also stole a chicken at the same time?]
[Storm Eye (Yanhuang Civilization): Impossible. The announcement says "a certain level two farm." In Zhou Liang's screenshot, there was only one other farm on the map besides his, and it was level two. The Farm Realm had been live for less than an hour, and only two people had entered in total. Who else could have stolen it besides him?]
[Dont Panic Let Me Analyze (Yanhuang Civilization): Adding a detail. The announcement said at the end "that chicken has already been stolen back by its original owner." Zhou Liang's post also wrote that the hen was later stolen back. The time, location, event, and result all match. Who else could it be if not him?]
The post's likes exceeded 30 million within ten minutes.
The comment section gradually shifted from the excitement of confirming his identity to another direction.
[Late Night Awakened One (Yanhuang Civilization): Wait. Did you guys notice a problem?]
[Late Night Awakened One (Yanhuang Civilization): Zhou Liang said that when he entered, there was already a level two farm on the map. He entered less than an hour after the Farm Realm went live. Even with five-fold time dilation, one hour outside equals five hours inside. Can you build a level two farm in five hours?]
The discussion in the Symphony Realm suddenly paused.
[Storm Eye (Yanhuang Civilization): ...Indeed. Most of the farms shown by those beta-tester farmers took three days of external time, or fifteen days of Farm Realm time, to reach level two. Building a level two in five hours? Impossible. Unless they spent crazy amounts of karma points to speed it up.]
[Dont Panic Let Me Analyze (Yanhuang Civilization): It's not just level two. You guys go back and flip through the videos and live stream screenshots posted by those previous beta-tester farmers. Someone captured a long shot of a farm, and many people were discussing "whose big boss farm is so luxurious." The scale of that farm was significantly larger than a normal level two, with a rich variety of vegetable plots, exquisite buildings, and even gardens and fences. Several beta-tester farmers said that farm was "at least approaching level three."]
[Wind-Chasing Youth (Yanhuang Civilization): So the owner of that level two farm discovered the Farm Realm even earlier than Zhou Liang? That would be the first person to discover it? But the Farm Realm had only been live for less than an hour!]
[Fish at 3 AM (Yanhuang Civilization): Three possibilities. First, this person is an extremely strong high-level Survivor, the first to discover the Farm Realm, and spared no cost in spending karma points to speed up the farm. Second, this person had access to the Farm Realm earlier than everyone else—even earlier than the launch time, though this possibility feels a bit small. Third...]