Chapter 103
“Wow, it’s the Lightness Technique!”
Although he didn’t manage to draw a high amount of Points as he had hoped, getting the Lightness Technique again was still a pleasant surprise.
“With this, we can use it continuously for 15 hours in a day!” Tang Yu’an said happily, “Aside from eating and sleeping, it can cover everything.”
Of course, this was under the condition of one person using it.
If he were to use it too, then each person could use it for a maximum of 10 hours—seemed like that would be enough?
However, he had already gotten used to Brother Qi carrying him, especially when they were on the move. Brother Qi’s physique was getting stronger day by day, and both his dynamic vision and reaction speed had surpassed what an ordinary person could compare to.
Moreover, when being carried, he could hold the Shadow Umbrella, which would greatly enhance their safety—
He didn’t know if the Shadow Umbrella had evolved again, but these past few days, even when Brother Qi ran fast, he didn’t feel it was strenuous to hold the Shadow Umbrella.
It seemed like the wind resistance had decreased a lot; it was no longer like before, where Brother Qi would have to run a bit faster, and he would feel like the Shadow Umbrella could be blown away by the wind at any moment.
Hearing Tang Yu’an’s words, Zhou Qi was also a bit surprised.
He said, “If that’s the case, perhaps we can go to Jufeng Town and come back the next day.”
With the Lightness Technique’s enhancement, he could now shorten a 60-minute journey to just 10 minutes. By that ratio, a journey that originally took 12 hours would only take a maximum of 2 hours.
And their trip to Jufeng Mountain wasn’t actually a whole day of traveling.
When they entered travel mode, with the Shadow Umbrella, they could completely reach Jufeng Town in half a day.
“Then we won’t have to worry about not completing daily tasks.”
Tang Yu’an glanced at the sleeping Jin Lili and whispered, “Let’s wait for Uncle Tie Jin to come back before we head to Jufeng Town.”
By then, they should be able to save enough Points to build the second branch—
Building just the teleportation array without the protective barrier would require 7,000 Points.
Adding the 2,000 Points for building the branch, that would be 9,000 Points. He just needed to earn another 1,800, and that would be more than enough.
It was unlikely that the protective barrier for the Jufeng Town branch would be activated, because once it was, the shop would disappear at night, which would easily attract attention.
So for now, they wouldn’t consider the protective barrier.
“First, let’s build the branch. We can use the teleportation function to travel back and forth to Jufeng Town, making it much more convenient for business in the future.”
“Mm.” Zhou Qi nodded and then said, “Shall we check the Drift Bottle?”
“Sure!”
Tang Yu’an got up and walked towards the small window on the wall, with the Shadow Umbrella quietly hovering above his head, muffling his footsteps.
Today, there were quite a few Drift Bottles in the dream sea, and two of them were noticeably brighter than the others.
Tang Yu’an knew that one of the Drift Bottles belonged to Little Hai Lan, and the other one was…
He recalled the dream-wisher that seemed to be the monster from the abandoned chemical factory.
Tang Yu’an carefully distinguished between the two Drift Bottles as they floated in the dream sea, only able to tell that their glow was brighter than the surrounding ones, but it was hard to compare which one was brighter.
After hesitating for a moment, he finally reached out and picked one.
When he returned to Zhou Qi’s side, he shared his discovery, “I don’t know which one it is.”
As he spoke, Tang Yu’an opened the bottle cap.
A ball of light, visible only to him and Zhou Qi, slowly floated into the air, while a familiar, piercing voice echoed in the attic.
“Speak… ah, woo woo woo… speak…”
Compared to the simple crying from last time, this time, in the attic, besides the sobbing, there was also the monster’s dry, hoarse voice speaking.
That voice was very grating, resonating in the quiet attic, making it quite uncomfortable to listen to.
Tang Yu’an couldn’t help but cover his ears.
It seemed he hadn’t picked the wrong one; this Drift Bottle indeed belonged to the monster from the abandoned chemical factory.
But what did it mean?
Regardless, separated by the dream, no matter what, he and Brother Qi were safe, so Tang Yu’an wasn’t afraid.
“Hello,” he greeted.
The crying clearly paused, but it didn’t cause the dream to become unstable like last time. The light orb stabilized after a brief tremor.
“….”
That hoarse, dry voice, he couldn’t tell if it was merely mimicking Tang Yu’an or if it was genuinely greeting him.
Tang Yu’an slightly opened his mouth and heard the other party continue, “You… … … hello… … hello…”
After repeating it several times, the monster’s pronunciation became noticeably smoother, though it still sounded hoarse, as if the voice was scraping out from its throat, which was quite unpleasant to hear.
“Are you human?” Tang Yu’an couldn’t help but ask.
“Human… human… kind… human…”
It seemed it was just mimicking and not really communicating with Tang Yu’an.
Tang Yu’an scratched his head, unsure of what to do. In the end, he decided to assume that the voice’s owner was indeed human.
“What do you want?”
“………………”
Tang Yu’an blinked, his eyes lighting up; this sounded like it was genuinely trying to communicate with him?
Did it want to speak? Did it want to learn to talk, or did it hope someone would talk to it?
At that moment, Zhou Qi spoke up, “What can you provide?”
Perhaps due to a lack of vocabulary, after Zhou Qi asked this question, the strange voice began to cry out again.
Just as Tang Yu’an was about to guide it further, a system prompt popped up.
[You listened to the dream-wisher’s wish and reached a transaction with it.]
[You completed a profitable transaction with a dream-wisher, Points +880, Experience Points +6, Dream Fragment +1.]
[You received 1.5 kg of mutated blueberries, please select a delivery address.]
[1. Peace Grocery Store Warehouse]
[……]
Tang Yu’an:!!!
What? The transaction was completed just like that?
Ti……
Although he didn’t know the specific effects of the mutated blueberries, Tang Yu’an still accepted them without hesitation.
Fruity items were quite valuable; a kilogram of mutated blueberries was worth 800 Points, and with this transaction, he had already secured half the Points needed to build the branch!
Tang Yu’an felt delighted.
The light orb in the attic hadn’t disappeared yet.
“Speak… … … speak…”
Hearing it repeat, Tang Yu’an finally understood that the voice’s owner was indeed trying to communicate with him, and it simply wanted to talk.
Was it because it was too lonely?
If it truly was human, living alone in the toxic fog, treated as a monster by all its kin, it would be fortunate just to not be attacked, let alone have someone to talk to.
Thinking of this, Tang Yu’an felt that the voice’s owner was too pitiful.
“What is your name? Or do you have a name?”
“Name… … … name…”
It repeated as before.
Tang Yu’an began to explain the meaning of a name, “I…”
He paused, almost revealing his real name, and quickly corrected himself, “I, Mysterious Merchant.”
Then he looked at Zhou Qi.
Zhou Qi hesitated, not wanting to speak, but facing Tang Yu’an’s eager eyes, he finally sighed inwardly and stiffly said, “I, Handsome Zhou.”
After saying that, the corner of his mouth twitched slightly.
Fortunately, the owner of the strange voice didn’t find anything wrong with that name.
“…………”
“3*3… 3*3…”
It mimicked Tang Yu’an and Zhou Qi’s self-introductions, and after repeating it several times, Tang Yu’an said, “Yes, that’s our name, what about yours?”
“37… 7…”
Just as Tang Yu’an thought it didn’t have a name and was considering giving it one, he heard the strange voice continue.
“I… Lu Yan (Lu Yan)…”
Tang Yu’an was taken aback, “Lu Yan? Is that your name?”
“Lu Yan… I… Lu Yan…”
The owner of the strange voice didn’t answer him, just repeating that phrase, and he pronounced “Lu Yan (Lu Yan)” very well, unlike the other words that sounded so awkward.
So this word was something he already knew; he didn’t know who had told him that before.
But that wasn’t important.
“Lu Yan, hello, nice to meet you,” Tang Yu’an said with a smile.
“Hello… … … happy… ah, woo, happy!”
However, as soon as he finished speaking, the light orb that had been quietly hovering suddenly became unstable.
[3 seconds until the wisher wakes up.]
As the three-second countdown ended, the light orb in mid-air disappeared, and the piercing strange voice also faded away.
Tang Yu’an quickly opened the map.
He saw a new golden light spot appear on the map, which was the new dream-wisher.
The area where this light spot appeared was indeed in the direction of the abandoned chemical factory; Lu Yan was likely the monster Old Li had mentioned in the toxic fog.
Tang Yu’an marked the new light spot with the name Lu Yan. Perhaps because the dream had ended, he didn’t continue sleeping but slowly moved.
As he moved, the fog on the map was being cleared, and with Lu Yan’ help, even if they didn’t enter the abandoned chemical factory’s range in the future, they would have a general idea of the situation in that area.
“If Lu Yan is really human, I wonder how he lives there?”
“Perhaps he has the ability to resist the poison,” Zhou Qi said, “Let’s see if the mutated blueberries have any special effects?”
“Okay!”
Tang Yu’an opened the Portable Warehouse, took out a few mutated blueberries, and then used the identification skill on the blueberries.
[Mutated Blueberries]
[……]
[Description: The fruit of the mutated blueberry tree, can be eaten raw, enhances immunity, especially effective against heavy metal toxins, can detoxify heavy metal poisons.]
“Wow, it can detoxify!”
Tang Yu’an exclaimed, “If the mutated blueberries are Lu Yan’ food, then it’s no wonder he can live in the abandoned factory.”
Zhou Qi looked at the identification chart and nodded, “These mutated blueberries are quite good.”
Now they had two types of fruits that could detoxify: one was the Mutated Lantern Fruit, which could detoxify fire poison, and the other was the mutated blueberries, which could detoxify heavy metal poison.
Speaking of the Mutated Lantern Fruit, Tang Yu’an couldn’t help but sigh, “Recently, Kang Kang has been focusing all his energy on the Lan Hu Tree leaves, and the output of the Mutated Lantern Fruit has…”
It has decreased.
He currently only has three Mutated Lantern Fruits left, and he might use one less in the short term.
“If he can really grow a Lan Hu Tree, its value would be immeasurable,” Zhou Qi said.
Tang Yu’an nodded. He looked at the one pound of blueberries in the Portable Warehouse, thinking about using them for a “trading game” with Kang Kang and Lili tomorrow, which would easily net him over a thousand Points.
That would be enough Points to build a branch of Jufeng Town, how delightful!
After tossing Lu Yan’s bottle back into the Dream Sea to increase the fishing chances, Tang Yu’an was about to go to sleep when he suddenly remembered something and quickly opened the collection interface of the interdimensional shop.
New Spirit Gathering Grass is available! Still 50 Points per plant!
Without any hesitation, Tang Yu’an snatched it up in seconds, quickly acquiring the Spirit Gathering Grass.
Looking at the fresh and vibrant Spirit Gathering Grass, Zhou Qi couldn’t help but marvel again at Tang Yu’an’s luck; being able to snatch it twice at such a price is truly extraordinary.
“With the Spirit Gathering Grass, the plants in the shop will grow better,” he said.
Mom Tang even planted scallions, ginger, and garlic, and he also discovered a chili pepper tree. He wondered why Mom Tang, who usually preferred light flavors, had even planted chili peppers.
Tang Yu’an nodded, looking at the sold-out display case again, and said, “I’ll come back to snatch more tomorrow.”
To make the body-enhancing eggs, at least five Spirit Gathering Grasses are needed, so he must continue to buy more.
Tang Yu’an thought for a moment and discussed with Zhou Qi, “Brother Qi, how about we give one Spirit Gathering Grass to Kang Kang?”
The Spirit Gathering Grass can gather plant-type spiritual energy, which might help Kang Kang grow the Lan Hu Tree, and perhaps Kang Kang could even cultivate new Spirit Gathering Grass.
Even if that doesn’t work, it would help the growth of the Mutated Lantern Fruits and the Qingliang (Cooling) Fruits, allowing them to bear more fruit sooner.
“Hmm, let’s take it to him tomorrow then.”
Zhou Qi had no objections to this suggestion. Kang Kang’s ability is very powerful; with proper cultivation, he would be a great help to them in the future.
After discussing tomorrow’s arrangements with Zhou Qi, Tang Yu’an turned off the lights and prepared to sleep, but he noticed a small window on the wall suddenly flashing with light.
At the same time, a system prompt popped up.
[The ‘Dream Drift Bottle’ you sent has successfully returned. Please open the Dream Sea to retrieve it.]
His sent Dream Drift Bottle?
Wow, is it the first bottle he threw into the Dream Sea after materializing it? He had completely forgotten about that bottle, and it actually returned!
Tang Yu’an hurriedly approached, and through the window, he saw a Drift Bottle emitting a gray-blue glow, floating outside his window.
Compared to other bottles, it was incredibly eye-catching.
Tang Yu’an quickly opened the window, reached into the Dream Sea, and a force guided him, allowing him to grasp the gray-blue Drift Bottle.
Then, another force pushed him back—once his hand left the Dream Sea, he found that he couldn’t reach in again, as a transparent barrier blocked him.
It seemed that aside from this bottle, he wouldn’t be able to retrieve any others.
Tang Yu’an didn’t mind and showed the Drift Bottle to Zhou Qi.
“It was a white bottle before, and now it’s turned gray-blue!” Tang Yu’an said.
The bottles he could currently fish out were all white; this was the first time he had seen a Drift Bottle of another color.
“Is it because it drifted far away and got stained by the Dream Sea?” Tang Yu’an speculated.
The color of the Dream Sea is a deep blue, which does seem quite similar.
Zhou Qi shook his head and said, “BoBo’s exclusive color is gray-blue.”
And the magical furniture produced and ordered by BoBo is mostly technology-related, so… Zhou Qi took the Drift Bottle and checked its bottom.
He saw that the original MR168845 had changed to—MR26558.
Zhou Qi paused.
This was different from what he had thought; he had assumed that this Drift Bottle turned gray-blue because it went to the technology side.
Tang Yu’an looked at the string of numbers and couldn’t help but brighten his eyes, saying in disbelief, “So this Drift Bottle… went to another dimension?”
No wonder it took so long to come back!
So they could trade directly with people from other dimensions through the Drift Bottle? That way, they wouldn’t have to be scammed by the black market of the dimensional shop!
Tang Yu’an was thrilled and quickly twisted the bottle cap open.
A swirl of gray-blue light floated out of the bottle, slowly hovering in mid-air, and a strange girl’s voice appeared in the attic.
“? $&§100”
“±· x/*&^.”
Tang Yu’an, “….”
What is this alien language? I can’t understand it at all.
Tang Yu’an and Zhou Qi exchanged glances, both unsure of how to respond.
Fortunately, a system prompt quickly appeared.
[Would you like to spend 1000 Points to unlock the instant translation voice pack? This voice pack includes all known languages from the current dimensions. Would you like to unlock it?]
[Yes][No]
Another 1000 Points! Tang Yu’an felt numb; what else could he do? If he didn’t unlock this voice pack, he wouldn’t understand anything.
He could only comfort himself that, judging by the dimension number, this voice pack likely contained languages from at least tens of thousands of dimensions, so spending 1000 Points was still worth it.
[Points deducted successfully! Voice pack loading… Loading complete!]
As the system prompt appeared, Tang Yu’an finally understood what the strange girl was saying.
Seeing Zhou Qi still listening intently, trying to guess what the girl was saying, and knowing he hadn’t loaded the voice pack yet, he quickly found the authorization in the system and shared the voice pack with him.
So, Zhou Qi heard the strange girl say, “I don’t understand what you’re saying, but I rewrote the text on the note, and after analysis by Yana, I understood your meaning.”
This sounded less like real-time communication and more like a pre-recorded message.
Their world is experiencing a drought, and many people have been forced into sleep pods to eternal slumber; it might soon be my turn, but
“I don’t want to enter the sleep pod.”
“I need water; can you give me water?”
After saying these few sentences, the voice in the light began to repeat, clearly confirming Tang Yu’an and the others’ guess that these words were pre-recorded.
It was as if when Tang Yu’an spoke to the Drift Bottle, the other party could hear him.
This is probably the inconvenience of long-distance transmission.
So, if they can’t trade in real-time, how should they trade?
The system prompt didn’t appear, neither reminding him that the dream was about to end and starting a countdown, nor indicating that he had listened to the dream wisher’s wish and could complete the trade.
“Brother Qi, what should we do now?” Tang Yu’an scratched his head.
Zhou Qi thought for a moment and said, “It might be because of the interdimensional nature, so the system can’t perform instant item transfers.”
Not even voice can be transmitted, let alone items.
Tang Yu’an nodded. He thought for a moment, then took out an automatic water storage thermos and poured the pure water inside into the Drift Bottle until it was full.
“Then let the Dream Sea deliver the water to her.”
Since the other party couldn’t understand his language, he wrote a note, wrapped it in plastic wrap, and stuffed it into the Drift Bottle, then repeated it to the bottle.
“I am the Mysterious Merchant; currently, I can only communicate and trade with you through this bottle.”
“Please tell me your name.”
“I can provide you with water, but you must offer appropriate compensation.”
After saying this, Tang Yu’an sealed the bottle again.
That should do it!
“It seems that the technology level of that dimension is higher than ours; they have technology like sleep pods, and they can understand our language through text analysis.”
Perhaps if he translates sentence by sentence, after enough repetitions, the other party might directly understand what they are saying?
Of course, the premise is that the Drift Bottle can arrive in time, and the other party isn’t forced into a sleep pod.
The dimension number has already changed to MR; if she really enters the sleep pod, this girl might never have the chance to wake up again.
Fortunately, after the upgrade, he can now send two Dream Drift Bottles every day, so he can still send another one today.
“Should I throw it into the Dream Sea?” Tang Yu’an asked Zhou Qi.
“Okay.” Zhou Qi nodded.
So, Tang Yu’an opened the window to the Dream Sea again and placed the filled gray-blue Drift Bottle back into the sea.
As the Drift Bottle floated in the water, a new system prompt appeared:
[The Dream Drift Bottle has completed one journey; you can choose a direction for its second journey.]
[1. MR26558 dimension (requires 10 Points)]
[2. Start a new journey]
Tang Yu’an: “…..”
Everything costs money!
But if it can start a new journey, this feature is quite nice; after trading with this water-scarce dimension, he can go to other places.
Of course, he still spent 10 Points to send this Drift Bottle to the MR26558 dimension.
He just hopes it can make it in time…
Thinking about the speed of interdimensional communication with the Dream Drift Bottle, Tang Yu’an couldn’t help but worry.
This uncertain feeling is quite similar to the real Drift Bottle gameplay.
[You completed a losing trade with a dream wish maker, Experience Points +6]
Although he didn’t earn Points, gaining Experience Points is still good!
Watching the gray-blue Drift Bottle disappear into the depths of the Dream Sea, Tang Yu’an finally withdrew his gaze and lay down in bed.
That night, he had a very magical dream.
He dreamed that his body became very small, small enough to fit into the Drift Bottle, and he drifted in the Dream Sea with the bottle.
In the end, he and the bottle were picked up by a pair of familiar hands, and when he looked up, he saw the familiar smiles of his mom and dad…
When he woke up early in the morning, Tang Yu’an realized it was just a dream.
Feeling a bit disappointed, he ran to the small window to check, but he didn’t see any new Drift Bottles returning.
That’s okay; he would continue to level up in the future and would definitely get more Dream Drift Bottles. One day, he would reach their dimension and find his mom and dad!
After tidying up his bed, Tang Yu’an and Zhou Qi went downstairs.
Seeing Wang Cai and Yin Bi welcoming them, he thought of something and quickly opened the pet compartment to check.
Wow!
Yuan Bao and Black Pearl had already digested the energy from the mother lizard and ended their hibernation!
