Chapter 107
Just as the system message arrived, Chi Hao was getting ready to set off and continue his journey.
In just a few days, he had already encountered two mutated creatures along the way. One, he had managed to evade successfully, while the other, he had taken down.
Unfortunately, his portable storage was full, so he could only cut off the two juiciest hind legs and store them before quickly leaving, hoping to avoid drawing any other mutated creatures to the scene.
At least a third of his travel time to Qingmu Fort had been consumed by these encounters.
Traveling alone meant the journey took even longer.
Fortunately, after surviving the beast tide in the Desolate City center and escaping the chase of the mutated tiger, Chi Hao felt as though he had been transformed, moving with ease even against these mutated creatures.
[Mysterious Merchant has enabled the message board feature for all outstanding employees. A new forum board has been added and can be viewed on the homepage.]
Chi Hao raised an eyebrow as he looked at the sudden message.
His excellence was beyond question, of course, but… what exactly was this message board feature?
Curious, he opened the forum on the homepage, where the words “Message Board” were displayed at the top.
There were two channels: one labeled “Public” and the other “Admin.”
The public channel was still empty with no messages yet. Chi Hao clicked on the admin channel, but a system message popped up immediately.
[Insufficient permissions. Access to this channel is restricted.]
Chi Hao couldn’t help but smirk. He was realistic enough to know he wouldn’t have admin privileges just yet, having only recently been hired. But he was sure he’d make it there eventually!
Determined, he turned his attention to the public channel.
Since it was called a message board, could he leave messages for others to see?
Would this mean he could now communicate with others?
The idea sparked in Chi Hao’s mind, and his eyes lit up.
Wow, this was far more convenient than using the portable storage for pen-and-paper exchanges! Had An An and Zhou Qi also unlocked this feature?
He quickly found the input box and typed in his first message: [Hello, everyone!]
When he hit send, however, a notification popped up:
[Employee level insufficient. Unable to post a message.]
[Friendly reminder: Employees must reach level 5, and the store they work for must be at least level 1, to post on the message board.]
Chi Hao: …
Employee level 5?
He checked his profile, only to discover he was still at level 1.
Damn it!
He’d known about employee levels before but hadn’t understood their purpose. Now he finally knew, but…
Chi Hao glanced around at the desolate ruins.
In this godforsaken place, where was he supposed to find customers to do business with? He still had a month to go before he reached the fortress!
[Pu Wei]: Is anyone there?
Just then, a message popped up in the empty public channel.
Pu Wei? That was a nice name.
Without thinking, Chi Hao instinctively tried to respond but received another mute notification, which frustrated him even more.
Then another message appeared in the public channel, and a familiar username caught Chi Hao’s eye.
[Handsome Zhou]: Mm.
“…”
Remembering his own “Greenish Blue” title, Chi Hao suddenly didn’t mind being muted so much.
—
“Handsome Zhou, mm.”
As the mechanical voice read the message into her earpiece, Xiao Cao’s expression grew slightly bemused.
Was that really the title given by the Mysterious Merchant?
Quite… unique.
The message board appeared just after Xiao Cao and her brother had returned from the market. Another person had shown up today to compete with them for haircut customers.
The market was small, with only three barber stalls, so business was slow, and they’d only attracted two customers.
The only good news was that she had leveled up again, now reaching level 6 and earning 50 points as a reward, as well as unlocking fabric textiles.
She didn’t recognize the fabric options and thought they seemed too expensive, so she hadn’t tried to redeem any.
Fortunately, they still had their hot soup business in the evening, and the squad leader on duty had ordered a pot.
The squad leader wanted to trade soybeans, but since the Mysterious Merchant had marked wild vegetables as premium goods, she insisted on accepting only wild vegetables in exchange.
Actually, Xiao Cao didn’t fully understand the point of these transactions. All the food she earned was consumed by her and her brother, so how did this earn anything for the Mysterious Merchant?
She had thought about it for days but couldn’t come up with an answer, ultimately deciding it was probably something beyond her level to grasp.
Like the gap between ordinary people and those with powers…
Looking at the message board’s admin channel, Xiao Cao’s eyes flickered with a touch of aspiration.
Of course, she didn’t think she had the ability to become an admin, but she silently kept it in her heart as a goal.
She needed to work even harder!
Clearing her throat, Xiao Cao spoke softly, and her words appeared in the input box.
After reading it over twice and listening to the mechanical voice play it back, she confirmed there were no errors and sent it out.
[Pu Wei]: Hello, I’m a new recruit.
Just as she was about to type another message, the other person replied.
[Handsome Zhou]: Do you need help?
Hearing the mechanical voice recite the reply, Xiao Cao’s eyes brightened. Although “Handsome Zhou” had a peculiar name, they seemed friendly!
This kindness reminded Xiao Cao of Little Miracle Doctor, the first person in many years who had shown such friendliness to her and her brother. She wondered if she’d ever have the chance to see him again…
Xiao Cao quickly spoke up again, and, in her haste to reply, she sent the message without double-checking.
[Pu Wei]: I make profits from flower-cutting, but recently, there’s been competition, and my profits have dropped a lot.
On the other end, Chi Hao, still puzzling over this newcomer named “Pu Wei” who had somehow bypassed the chat restrictions, saw the message appear on the board.
He was momentarily confused.
Flower-cutting? Flower-cutting that could make a profit?
Could Pu Wei also be someone living within the fortress, maybe serving the elites?
Chi Hao felt that he had uncovered the truth, which could explain why a newcomer like Pu Wei had managed to reach level 5 so quickly.
Zhou Qi and Tang Yu’an, who were also reading the messages, had no such confusion.
Flower-cutting probably just referred to cutting hair, right?
They weren’t sure if Xiao Cao had chosen to phrase it this way on purpose or if it was due to an error in the speech recognition software.
But now, they finally understood why Xiao Cao’s transaction volume had decreased over the past few days, and as for that big order from last night…
Tang Yu’an had also roughly guessed her new business venture from her frequent purchases of pepper powder.
[Pu Wei]: Daytime profits are so low.
[Pu Wei]: I don’t know what to do.
In truth, Xiao Cao wasn’t naïve enough to think her “colleagues” would give her valuable advice, since they were, after all, her competitors.
However, she was genuinely distressed and had no way to explain things to her brother, so this message board became a channel for her to vent.
[Pu Wei]: If my daytime profits are too low, will that leave a bad impression on the Mysterious Merchant?
For some reason, Chi Hao suddenly felt a nervous sweat break out.
Luckily, Zhou Qi quickly replied.
[Handsome Zhou]: No.
[Handsome Zhou]: The Mysterious Merchant is very busy and doesn’t have time to monitor every employee. Only a high volume of transactions or high earnings will catch their attention.
Chi Hao was about to breathe a sigh of relief when their conversation continued.
[Pu Wei]: So, what counts as “high”?
[Handsome Zhou]: For example, serving more than 50 customers a day or trading high-value items at the marketplace.
[Pu Wei]: I see.
[Pu Wei]: I’m just a little bit short of that.
Xiao Cao hadn’t counted precisely, but she felt that the number of customers she’d served during the hot soup sales last night had almost reached that number.
Meanwhile, in the admin channel, Tang Yu’an and Zhou Qi’s exchange was filling the chat log.
Unlike Xiao Cao’s voice input, they could simply direct their thoughts to the message board input field, which allowed them to type out messages just by focusing on the box and thinking of the words they wanted to say.
Additionally, while Tang Yu’an’s username appeared as “Mysterious Merchant,” he could choose to appear incognito!
Thus…
[Admin (Incognito)]: No need to worry. From what I know, your customer count exceeded 50 yesterday.
Hearing the new message read out by the mechanical voice, Xiao Cao’s eyes widened.
The Admin had appeared!
Tang Yu’an, flaunting the Administrator’s golden badge, instantly silenced Xiao Cao and Chi Hao.
[Pu Wei]: Are you… the great Mysterious Merchant?
[Admin (Incognito)]: Not exactly.
Huh, not exactly? Xiao Cao’s excited expression faltered for a moment.
[Pu Wei]: Then how did you know my customer count?
[Admin (Incognito)]: Because I’m an Admin. Naturally, I have ways of knowing. You’ll understand once you reach my level.
Seeing Tang Yu’an putting on such airs in the message board, Zhou Qi chuckled, then shifted his attention away from the board and went back to negotiating a trade with Lin Zhen.
Tang Yu’an continued advising Xiao Cao.
[Admin (Incognito)]: Pu Wei, isn’t it quite hot where you are?
[Pu Wei]: Yes, very hot.
[Admin (Incognito)]: In that case, you could try making straw hats to sell. Or you could buy them at a low price from others and sell them at a markup.
Xiao Cao blinked.
Selling straw hats? She had considered it before, but it didn’t seem like they would fetch much.
However, since the Admin suggested it, she decided to give it a try. After all, as someone who’d reached Admin level, they wouldn’t mislead a mere employee!
[Pu Wei]: Understood, I’ll try to learn!
[Pu Wei]: Thank you, Administrator.
Although making them would only yield a few hats per day, it was better than sitting around idle.
As for buying hats from others, she worried that she might end up unable to sell them and would be stuck holding onto them…
Perhaps her respectful attitude earned her more advice from the Admin.
[Admin (Incognito)]: When you make transactions, try to trade for wild vegetables as much as possible.
Xiao Cao immediately felt even more confident in the Admin’s advice, since she had only just learned yesterday that wild vegetables were premium goods. Collecting large quantities would earn her points as a reward.
[Pu Wei]: Alright, thank you.
With a new direction in mind, Xiao Cao finally felt uplifted.
She closed the message board and immediately went to find her brother.
“You really want to learn this?” Shi Tou asked, puzzled. “It takes time and effort, and it doesn’t sell for much.”
After all, dry grass was everywhere, and weaving straw hats wasn’t exactly a skilled craft. Most people made their own, and in fact, Shi Tou had made the hats he and his sister wore.
If they tried selling them, a straw hat might trade for a single wild vegetable or a couple of mushrooms at most—and even that was uncertain. Compared to hot soup, straw hats were far less in demand.
Xiao Cao glanced again at the message board.
“Low-cost purchases and reselling at a markup…”
“What if we sell them to the guards?” she suggested. “The guards don’t make their own straw hats. They’d definitely be willing to trade.”
Shi Tou paused, then nodded thoughtfully.
That’s right; by now, they were somewhat familiar with the “upper class” of Jufeng Town, and he’d made acquaintances with nearly half of the guards there.
Trading with them could definitely work!
“Alright, I’ll go pull up some grass.” Shi Tou wasn’t occupied with anything else anyway, and once he set his mind to it, he was ready to get to work.
But Xiao Cao stopped him. “Shi Tou, we don’t need to weave the hats ourselves. We’ll buy them.”
“Buy them?”
“Yes, with mushrooms.”
Since wild vegetables were premium goods, wouldn’t one wild vegetable be worth more than two mushrooms?
She could buy hats with mushrooms and then trade them for wild vegetables. Wouldn’t that still count as a profit?
Meanwhile, as Chi Hao traveled, he had no idea Xiao Cao had found a new way to make a profit. He had to admit her conversation with the Admin had stirred something in him.
A newcomer like Pu Wei, who served over 50 customers in a single day?
That was incredible!
A growing sense of urgency crept into Chi Hao’s heart. But when he thought about how long it would be before he reached the fortress and encountered people, he felt a pang of frustration.
So he decided to take a detour to Lanhu Town.
Lanhu Town was bustling and located close to Qingmu Fort. The town’s officials would likely not turn him away.
He couldn’t believe he wouldn’t find customers there!
*
Time quickly passed, and evening arrived.
Tang Yu’an had served 15 customers that day, most of whom were residents of the Desolate City, with two visitors from Jufeng Town who had come to hunt.
With the protection of three mutated giant dogs, no one dared to act recklessly, and after patiently explaining everything to his customers, Tang Yu’an managed to strike deals with all of them.
By the end of the day, he had earned 700 points and 65 experience points, as well as a substantial haul of wild vegetables, mushrooms, and two pounds of meat.
At this rate, he would likely level up again tomorrow.
Tang Yu’an took a moment to look over the wall and flooring upgrades for his shop. The main store offered more options, though they required points to unlock.
For Store #1, only a concrete floor had been unlocked so far, with other upgrade features locked until Store #1’s level increased.
Notably, the main store’s upgrade requirements had become stricter:
[Requirements for Store Level 3: Merchant level 15, 3000 points, 5000 store popularity, 10 structural upgrades, and 10 magical furniture of at least Level 1, with five at Level 2 or higher.]
From the description, Tang Yu’an only saw one word: “points.”
However, he and Brother Qi had discussed it, and slowing their pace to build a solid foundation wasn’t a bad thing.
The current system functions were sufficient for now, and there were still many features waiting to be developed and optimized, which would all take time.
There was no need to rush the store upgrade.
Once the store reached level 2, more items could be upgraded, and when they had time, they would gather materials to upgrade their items!
Tang Yu’an particularly enjoyed the magical furniture.
Around five-thirty, after a full day of training, Zhou Qi finally returned to Store #1 with Old Li.
At that point, Granny had already picked up Kang Kang.
Seeing the newly constructed outer wall of Store #1, Granny’s astonished expression made her feelings clear.
However, she didn’t ask Tang Yu’an anything. She traded some potatoes for coarse salt and left with Kang Kang.
Before she left, Tang Yu’an invited her to bring Kang Kang to stay at Store #1 in case of a flood so they could look out for each other.
Tang Yu’an could still remember the surprised look on Granny’s face.
After a moment, she nodded and said she’d consider it, then handed him two wild herbs before taking Kang Kang away.
Tang Yu’an had a hunch she’d eventually agree since it was obviously safer to stay with them.
For Kang Kang, Granny would overcome any obstacle.
“Grandpa Li!”
When Tang Yu’an saw their lights approach the store’s entrance, he quickly went out to greet them.
After finishing his trade with Lin Zhen, Zhou Qi had, at Tang Yu’an’s direction, managed to track down Old Li on his hunting trip.
Old Li, too, had sensed the potential weather changes and was busy stockpiling food.
Zhou Qi’s request had surprised him, but he agreed and spent the day teaching Zhou Qi valuable hunting and survival skills in the wild.
By now, they had returned with a considerable haul.
During the hunt, neither of them mentioned anything about the job invitation, so Zhou Qi focused solely on learning the hunting and survival skills.
It wasn’t until they were on their way back that Zhou Qi began to consider how he might broach the subject with Old Li.
As soon as Tang Yu’an greeted them, Old Li looked at him with a firm expression.
“That invitation… was it from you?” he asked.
Faced with the strange interface that had suddenly appeared before him, Old Li hadn’t yet accepted or rejected it, so the interface remained hovering in front of him.
He had spent the entire day contemplating the matter.
After Old Li asked his question, his gaze drifted over the now neatly organized building, from the structure to the shop itself, from the sign to the surrounding walls.
At the very least, he knew that such a solid, well-constructed wall wasn’t something the Ba Shi brothers could manage on their own.
“An’An, is this… your own ability?” he asked again, looking down at Tang Yu’an with sharp, piercing eyes.
Tang Yu’an was caught off guard by the question, momentarily at a loss for words.
Just as Zhou Qi was about to speak up, Old Li shook his head and continued, “It doesn’t matter. It’s not important.”
Judging from Tang Yu’an’s reaction, he was certain of his suspicions. So…
He chose to accept.
[Congratulations, you have become a Sales Associate at “Peace Grocery Store #1”]
[“Peace Grocery Store #1” security barrier permissions activated…]
“Peace Grocery Store?” Old Li mused aloud, testing out the shop name. He nodded approvingly. “It’s a decent name.”
Tang Yu’an finally snapped out of his daze and called out in surprise, “Grandpa?”
He hadn’t expected that Old Li would accept the job offer without needing any persuasion!
Hearing Tang Yu’an call him “Grandpa,” Old Li’s weathered eyes softened, and a gentle smile appeared. He asked, “Now, can you explain a bit about what’s going on here?”
Tang Yu’an nodded eagerly, quickly leading him inside, and silently conferred with Zhou Qi via the message board.
After coordinating what to say, Tang Yu’an replied, “Grandpa, there’s been a misunderstanding. This isn’t my ability. We’re both just employees of the Mysterious Merchant.”
“Although, we did recommend you to the Mysterious Merchant.”
Mysterious Merchant?
Old Li nodded, and the use of the word “merchant” helped him understand and clear up a few doubts he’d had about Tang Yu’an and Zhou Qi.
“Soon, a customer will come by. You just need to make a trade, and once you’re done, the employee interface should unlock,” Tang Yu’an explained, acting as his “new hire guide.”
Old Li nodded again and asked, “So it was the Mysterious Merchant who sent you here to the Desolate City?”
He looked at Tang Yu’an, still uncertain if such a person truly existed.
“That’s right,” Zhou Qi said firmly. “Grandpa Li, the Mysterious Merchant is like a savior to us. Once you unlock the interface and learn more, I’m sure you’ll think the same.”
Tang Yu’an silently reminded himself that Brother Qi was only acting and that the “savior” he spoke of wasn’t himself. Then he looked over at Old Li, nodding confidently.
Old Li studied the two young men before him and finally said with some surprise, “Then I’ll wait and see.”
In his heart, he still couldn’t believe that sending two such young and vulnerable children to a dangerous place to do business could be the act of a “savior.”
Not long after, another customer arrived.
They knew this customer well; it was Lie Huo, who had been scared off in the morning only to be dragged back by Wang Cai, and, as it turned out, he was also an acquaintance of Old Li’s.
“Old Li, what are you doing here?”
“The shop owner hired me, so I’ll be working here from now on.”
Lie Huo lit up with excitement. “Then it’s true—I can really trade for salt?”
Initially, he hadn’t planned on returning, but every time he looked in the direction of the shop, he felt a strange urge to go back. It was as if something important awaited him, a choice he couldn’t afford to miss. So, in the end, he had come back with his day’s haul.
Now, with Old Li here, he completely let down his guard.
Using two scoops of coarse salt, Old Li traded with him for six wild vegetables and cunningly split it into three transactions.
Seeing the system notification, he immediately understood the unusual behavior of Tang Yu’an and Zhou Qi.
Tang Yu’an couldn’t help giving him a thumbs up—there was no doubt that experience comes with age. Soon, Old Li had unlocked his employee interface.
Much like Xiao Cao’s, only two initial items were unlocked for him: a hemostatic powder and salt.
At the same time, a long-term task was enabled for him to earn 1 point per profitable transaction.
Upon seeing the wholesale mall where goods could be exchanged for points, Old Li, who had maintained a stoic expression up to now, finally looked a bit astonished.
“So the food and salt you have… all come from the Mysterious Merchant?”
“That’s right.”
“Unlimited exchanges?”
“As long as we have enough points, we can exchange for as much as we want.”
Hearing this, Old Li couldn’t help but draw in a breath of cold air. He finally began to understand why Zhou Qi had referred to the Mysterious Merchant as their “savior.”
Of course, when six o’clock approached, Tang Yu’an and Zhou Qi led him out of the building.
As soon as the clock struck six, the non-business hours began, and Old Li watched, stunned, as the entire Store #1 building disappeared right before his eyes.
