The summer heat settled over the Westland like a heavy, wet blanket. The lush green of the spring valley began to fade into the dusty gold of high summer. The creek, once a roaring torrent, had narrowed to a trickle, forcing Li Wei to strictly ration the water for the herd.
But the heat wasn't the only thing causing tempers to rise.
"The surveyors were back," Chen Hu said, throwing a heavy bag of tools onto the workbench. He wiped a streak of grease from his forehead. "Three of them. Near the south ridge. They were driving stakes into the ground right next to our pasture fence."
Li Wei looked up from the ledger. The success of the army contract had filled their coffers, but it had also painted a target on their backs. Uncle De had been silent for weeks, which was never a good sign.
"Did you chase them off?"
"I threw a few rocks near their feet," Chen Hu grunted. "They left, but they said they'd be back with the magistrate's warrant. They claimed it was for a 'road expansion'."
"A road," Li Wei sneered. "Convenient. A road that cuts right through the best grazing land, isolating the water source."
He stood up. "We need to deal with that later. Right now, there's a more pressing matter."
He pointed toward the maternity pen—a small, reinforced enclosure near the main house.
Little Treasure, the dwarf heifer, was lying down.
***
It had been five months since the mating in the muddy pen. In the natural world, a cow carried a calf for nine months. But Little Treasure was different. Her genetics were a chaotic storm of mutations, optimized by the Ranch System.
**[System Alert: Accelerated Gestation Detected.]**
**[Target: Little Treasure.]**
**[Status: Stage 1 Labor.]**
**[Complication Warning: Fetal Oversize (Head width exceeds pelvic opening by 15%).]**
Li Wei's stomach churned. He had known this was a risk. The 'General' was a giant; Little Treasure was a dwarf. It was a biological mismatch that nature never intended.
He walked to the pen. The little cow was breathing heavily, her flanks heaving. Her eyes were wide with panic. She pushed, straining with all her might, but nothing happened.
"She's been like this for an hour," Sheng said, his voice trembling. He was sitting on the fence, pale. "Brother... is she going to die?"
"Not if I can help it," Li Wei said, rolling up his sleeves. "Chen Hu, get the soap, the hot water, and the bottle of sesame oil. Sheng, get me a clean rope. And bring the lanterns. We're going to be here a while."
Qingyu appeared at the gate of the pen. She held a basket of clean rags. "I heard the lowing. Is it time?"
"It is," Li Wei said, his voice tight. "But the calf is too big. It's stuck."
He entered the pen. Little Treasure tried to stand, but collapsed back into the straw, letting out a low, mournful moan.
"Easy, girl," Li Wei whispered, kneeling in the dirt beside her. He placed a hand on her belly. He could feel the violent contractions. "I'm going to help you."
He washed his hands thoroughly with the lye soap Chen Hu brought, then dipped his hand into the oil.
"I need to check the position," he told the others. "Qingyu, hold the lantern. Shine it here."
Qingyu didn't flinch. She stepped into the manure-stained pen, holding the lantern high, her face set in grim determination.
Li Wei worked gently but firmly. He had read about this, seen videos of it, but doing it was different. The heat, the pressure, the smell of blood and birth fluids.
He felt the calf. One hoof was back. The head was turned slightly. And it was massive.
"It's breech... partially," Li Wei muttered. "I need to correct it."
He pushed the calf back slightly—fighting against the cow's pushing—to create room. He found the other hoof and brought it forward, cupping his hands over the sharp hooves to protect the mother's womb.
"Okay," Li Wei said, sweating. "Rope. Loop it around the hooves."
Chen Hu handed him the rope. Li Wei secured it.
"Now," Li Wei said, bracing his feet against the fence post. "We pull. But only when she pushes. We work *with* her, not against her."
For twenty minutes, it was a battle of strength and patience.
*Heave.*
*Groan.*
*Rest.*
"Heave!"
Li Wei pulled with everything he had. The rope bit into his palms.
"Come on, you stubborn little thing," he grunted. "Come out!"
Suddenly, a gush of fluid. Then, a dark, slimy mass emerged.
First the nose. Then the head.
It was huge. The head alone was the size of a watermelon.
"Keep pulling!" Li Wei shouted.
With a wet, sucking sound, the shoulders popped free. The rest of the body slid out quickly after.
Li Wei didn't hesitate. He dropped the rope and grabbed the calf by the hind legs, dragging it away from the mother and clearing the mucus from its nose.
"Is it... alive?" Sheng asked, peering over the fence.
The calf lay still, covered in a translucent sac.
Li Wei grabbed a handful of straw and vigorously rubbed the calf's ribcage. He slapped its side.
"Breathe!" he commanded.
He stuck a finger in its mouth, clearing the airway.
*COUGH.*
A spray of fluid. Then, a shaky, raspy intake of breath.
*Waaaaaah.*
The sound was not the bleat of a calf. It was a roar. A deep, resonant sound that seemed too big for the small body.
The calf tried to stand immediately, its long, spindly legs flailing.
Li Wei sat back, panting. He looked at the calf.
It was black. Completely, obsidian black. Not a speck of white. It had the short legs of its mother, but the blocky, muscular head of the General. Its coat was thick and curly.
**[System Analysis]**
**[Subject: Newborn Calf.]**
**[Breed: Liang Black Mountain Cattle (Generation 1 Prototype).]**
**[Genetic Traits: Dwarfism (Heterozygous), High Marbling (Homozygous Dominant), Rapid Growth.]**
**[Status: Healthy.]**
"He's beautiful," Li Wei whispered.
Little Treasure, exhausted, turned her head and let out a soft moo. Li Wei helped the wobbly calf toward her head. She sniffed it, licked it, and the bond was instant.
"A bull calf," Chen Hu observed, smiling. "A strong one."
Li Wei stood up, his knees weak. He looked at Qingyu. She was staring at the calf, the lantern light dancing in her eyes. She had witnessed the blood, the mess, the struggle. She didn't look disgusted. She looked awed.
"You... you pulled a monster out of her," she said softly.
"We made a monster," Li Wei corrected, wiping his hands on a rag. "This is the future, Qingyu. This little guy? He's going to sire hundreds of calves. His meat will be worth its weight in gold."
He looked at the calf, who was already trying to nurse, bumping Little Treasure's udder clumsily.
"We need to name him," Sheng said. "He looks like a little rock. How about 'Black Stone'?"
Li Wei shook his head. "No. He's the first of his kind. He's the start of the bloodline."
He looked at the sunset painting the sky in shades of fire.
"Apex," Li Wei said. "His name is Apex."
***
The next morning, the atmosphere at the Westland was jubilant. The birth of Apex signaled a turning point. They weren't just buying and selling anymore; they were creating.
But the idyll was shattered by the sound of horses.
Not a few horses. A column.
Li Wei walked out of the house to see twenty armored riders entering the ranch. They wore the livery of the Provincial Governor's office, not the local magistrate.
At their head rode a man in a bright red robe—an Imperial Emissary.
"Li Wei!" the Emissary shouted, unscrolling a document. "By order of the Governor, and under the advisement of the Ministry of Works, this land is hereby designated for immediate requisition!"
The workers stopped what they were doing. Chen Hu dropped his hay bale, his hand drifting to his weapon.
"Requisition?" Li Wei walked forward, his voice dangerously calm. "On what grounds?"
"Strategic Infrastructure," the Emissary sneered. "A new imperial road is to be built to the northern pass. Your... farm... lies in the direct path. You have three days to vacate the premises. The livestock will be auctioned to compensate the state for the cost of relocation."
It was a legal ambush. Uncle De had pulled the ultimate string. He had used the "road" excuse to get the Governor's office involved, bypassing the local Magistrate entirely.
"Three days?" Li Wei laughed. He didn't look scared. He looked annoyed. "Do you know what is in that pen, Emissary?"
"I see cows," the man said with disdain.
"You see the future of the Dynasty's army," Li Wei lied smoothly, stepping closer. "Captain Wang of the Northern Logistics Division just signed a contract with this ranch. We are the exclusive supplier of Iron Meat for the northern garrison."
The Emissary paused. He hadn't expected military involvement.
"That is... irrelevant. The road takes precedence."
"Does it?" Li Wei crossed his arms. "The road leads to the north, does it not? To supply the army? Tell me, Emissary, if you destroy the only supplier of durable rations within two hundred miles, how will you feed the workers building this road? Or the soldiers guarding the pass?"
The Emissary hesitated. Bureaucrats feared two things: their superiors and the military.
"I have the papers!" the Emissary shouted, flustered. "Signed by the Provincial Governor!"
"Then let us go see the Governor," Li Wei said. "I'm sure he will be thrilled to know that his dinner tonight—the smoked brisket he loves so much—comes from a ranch he just ordered destroyed."
Li Wei turned to Chen Hu. "Saddle my horse. I'm going to the city."
He looked back at the Emissary. "And if any of your men touch my fences, or my new calf... I will have Captain Wang arrest them for sabotage of military supplies."
The Emissary's face turned a mottled red. He knew he was outmatched in this game of bluff. Li Wei wasn't a peasant; he had connections—thin ones, but sharp ones.
"This isn't over," the Emissary spat, turning his horse around. "We will be back with the Magistrate's seal!"
Li Wei watched them go. The adrenaline from the birth had faded, replaced by the cold reality of politics.
"Sheng," Li Wei called out.
"Yes, Brother?"
"Send a pigeon to the city. Alert Magistrate Zhao. Tell him Uncle De is trying to build a road over his son-in-law's livelihood. And tell him... tell him the 'Monster Calf' is born."
He looked back at the pen. Little Treasure was licking Apex, who was already trying to headbutt the fence.
"We need to secure this land, permanently," Li Wei muttered. "Before they turn it into a toll booth."
**[System Update]**
**[New Livestock: 'Apex' (Liang Black Bull Calf).]**
**[Genetic Project: Phase 1 Complete.]**
**[Crisis: Land Requisition Order.]**
**[New Quest: Secure Permanent Land Deed. Requires Royal Decree or high-level political intervention.]**
The ranch had just taken its first breath. Now, it had to fight to keep its lungs.