On the last day of the month, the entire surface of World 16: The Mega-Farm Zone shone like a second golden sun in the middle of the Broken Star Belt.
From orbit, the dark, rusted wasteland that had existed a month ago was gone without a trace.
In its place stretched fifty million acres of waist-high Golden Spirit-Wheat waving in the warm breeze, endless emerald fields of five-pound Herbal-Gold Meat-Potatoes, and bright red ridges of crunchy Scorpion-Peppers that smelled so rich and spicy they made passing birds sneeze with vigor.
Down on the central plain, a hundred thousand gleaming crimson Dry-Well Red-Bull Spirit-Tractors—now fitted with wide Rotary Combine-Harvester Reels forged by Master Ou on World 15—lined up along the starting flags.
Sitting in the cab of Lead Tractor #00001 at the center of the line was none other than Warlord Bald Vulture!
After three weeks of daily two-hour soaks in World 18’s Mint-Mud Resort, Bald Vulture was no longer bald at all—a thick, glossy black ponytail hung proudly out the back of his yellow construction cap, and his cheeks were ruddy and plump from eating Old Guo’s braised pork buns three times a day.
“Listen up, Tractor Brigade!” Bald Vulture bellowed into his cab microphone, adjusting his yellow Debtor vest like it was an admiral’s dress uniform. “Today is the First Planetary Harvest of Sector Two! Lord Pei is watching from the Central Granary Tower! Keep your harvester reels at level three, don’t bruise a single five-pound potato, and let’s…
