The "Vegetable Growing" Game

Old Mike has become a celebrity in the neighborhood ever since the "Vegetable Garden Game" was launched. Not because he grew any rare herbs, but because he gesticulates and mumbles in front of the bare patch of land in his yard every day.

At first, everyone thought Old Mike had dementia. After all, he was in his seventies, living alone in a small house in the suburbs, and aside from occasionally watering his flowers, he didn't have any other hobbies. But recently, he had suddenly become obsessed, running to his yard every morning, waving his arms in front of the empty space, and mumbling to himself, as if he were talking to someone.

"Mike, what are you doing?" Neighbor Lily, an old woman, asked him curiously.

Old Mike smiled and pointed to the empty space, "I'm growing vegetables! Look, my tomatoes are almost ripe!"

Lily looked at the bare ground, bewildered, "Where are the tomatoes? I don't see any."

"Oh, you're out of touch, Lily! Everyone is playing the 'Vegetable Garden Game' now, using consciousness to control plant growth. It's much easier than actually growing vegetables!" Old Mike said, then made a few more gestures in the air, as if he were watering invisible plants.

"Vegetable Garden Game?" Lily was clueless.

Old Mike patiently explained, "It's using the latest brainwave technology to connect your consciousness to a virtual vegetable garden, and then projecting it in your yard using AR technology. This way, you can experience the joy of growing vegetables without worrying about soil or fertilizer."

Lily was still a little confused, but seeing that Old Mike was having so much fun, she didn't ask anything more.

In the following days, Lily noticed that more and more neighbors had started playing the "Vegetable Garden Game." They would wave their arms in front of the bare land in their yards, faces filled with blissful smiles, as if they were truly reaping a bountiful harvest.

Various legends about the "Vegetable Garden Game" began to circulate in the neighborhood. Some said it was the latest technological trend, the ultimate way for humanity to free its hands and achieve "laying flat." Others said it was a new policy promoted by the government to reduce land resource consumption. And still others said it was just a scam, with the ultimate goal of collecting people's brainwave data.

Various opinions abounded, but people were still happily immersed in the "Vegetable Garden Game." Every day, they diligently cultivated their virtual vegetable plots with their "consciousness," looking forward to the arrival of the "harvest."

One day, a group of researchers in white coats came to the neighborhood, wielding various instruments and testing the yards where residents were "growing" vegetables.

"We are conducting 'brainwave data optimization,' please cooperate with our work." The researchers said expressionlessly.

Although some residents were reluctant, they still followed the researchers' instructions, put on various strange instruments, and accepted the "brainwave data optimization."

After some operation, the researchers announced that the "brainwave data optimization" had been completed, and they would upgrade the "Vegetable Garden Game" to better serve the users.

The upgraded "Vegetable Garden Game" indeed had new changes. The types of plants were more diverse, the images were more realistic, and even the smell of the plants could be transmitted to the players' noses through special sensors.

The residents became even more fascinated by the "Vegetable Garden Game," immersing themselves in the virtual vegetable gardens every day, forgetting all the troubles of reality.

However, a few months later, Lily noticed that Old Mike had become silent and withdrawn. He no longer happily waved his arms in front of the empty space every day, but just sat in the yard blankly, staring at the sky.

"Mike, what's wrong?" Lily asked him with concern.

Old Mike sighed, "I...I feel like I've forgotten what it's like to grow real vegetables."

Lily was stunned. She looked at Old Mike's empty yard and suddenly realized that they had been immersed in the "Vegetable Garden Game" for too long, and had forgotten what real nature was like.

That night, Lily had a dream. She dreamt that she was back in her childhood, in her yard, filled with all kinds of vegetables—tomatoes, cucumbers, eggplants, beans, everything—and they were exuding the fragrance of the soil and the unique fresh smell of vegetables.

She bent down, picked a bright red tomato, and took a bite. The delicious juice instantly filled her taste buds.

"This is the real taste!" Lily murmured in her dream.

When she woke up from her dream, Lily found herself in tears. She decided that she wanted to grow real vegetables, even if it was just a small patch of land, she wanted to grow real things.

The next day, Lily ran all over the neighborhood. She found several neighbors who, like her, were tired of the "Vegetable Garden Game." They decided to work together to reclaim the abandoned land and plant real vegetables.

When they buried the first seed in the soil, they felt an unprecedented sense of solidity and joy.

They knew that they were not just planting seeds, but also longing for real life.

They just didn't know that while they were burying the seeds, their "Vegetable Garden Game" accounts had been quietly canceled, and the "virtual vegetable gardens" they had worked so hard to cultivate had been turned into a pile of meaningless data and disappeared into the cold network.