Chapter 111
Upon hearing Tang Yu’an’s words, Zhou Qi’s face instantly changed.
A mutant creature had broken into Granny’s house?
“Is their life signal still visible?” he asked urgently.
If it wasn’t, then…they were already dead.
“It’s still there,” Tang Yu’an quickly assured him. “Let’s hurry back and save them! The mutant creature hasn’t completely entered the house yet.”
Relieved to hear that Granny and Kang Kang were still alive, Zhou Qi felt his heart calm down slightly.
He nodded quickly. “Yes, we can’t delay!”
Without wasting another second, Zhou Qi led the way as they jumped into the underground chamber. Just like before, he caught Tang Yu’an as he descended, and they swiftly stepped onto the teleportation array.
In no time, the array glowed to life.
A protective barrier masked the light, hiding it from anyone outside. Unbeknownst to anyone, the two boys had disappeared from the room, leaving Jufeng Town behind.
Moments later, Tang Yu’an and Zhou Qi materialized in the attic of the Peaceful General Store.
They activated the teleportation array again and quickly arrived through the main store’s portal at Room 901, the master bedroom of Store No. 1.
At this moment, Tang Yu’an felt only relief.
Thankfully, they had immediately set up the branch store and activated the teleportation array upon arriving in Jufeng Town. Otherwise, even if they had detected the danger to Granny and Kang Kang, by the time they rushed back from Jufeng Town, it might have already been too late.
Tang Yu’an swiftly cast the Lightness Skill on himself.
Meanwhile, Zhou Qi had already torn open the plastic seal on the window and jumped out, rushing toward Granny’s house.
Tang Yu’an followed, leaping out after him, vaulting through the ruins below.
In the stairwell on the ground floor, Yuan Bao, who had been resting with its eyes closed, suddenly lifted its head and looked upward.
Old Li, who had been standing at the door, watching a certain direction intently, also sensed something and glanced toward the sky.
Was he seeing things? It seemed as if he’d just spotted two kids flying through the air.
Shaking his head, he turned back inside and picked up his equipment.
The house wasn’t far from Granny’s place. From the startled birds and the tense atmosphere in the air, he could vaguely sense… something had happened over there.
*
Zhou Qi ran with the fastest speed of his life.
The fierce wind whipped into his nostrils, stinging his face and bringing him back to that day…
That day, when he’d heard the news at school and had desperately pedaled his bicycle home, the wind had lashed his face the same way.
On that day, he’d ridden like a madman, faster than he ever had before, but he still hadn’t made it in time to see his grandma one last time.
The old woman who had raised him for so many years, who had struggled to bring him up, had left him forever before he could repay her.
But this time…
This time, he couldn’t be too late!
The boy’s eyes turned a deep crimson as he pushed himself to run at full speed. Nothing could block his path.
Tang Yu’an could no longer keep up with him.
Though his own heart was pounding with urgency, Tang Yu’an could only follow in silence, glancing at the map. As long as he could confirm that Granny and Kang Kang’s life signals were still active, he felt reassured.
It took Zhou Qi less than two minutes to reach Granny’s house from Jufeng Town.
“Boom!”
A creature covered in thick black fur was clinging to the side of Granny’s building, pounding its way through the wall to create a hole, and reaching a clawed paw inside.
Zhou Qi faintly heard a scream.
Granny and Kang Kang were still inside! The instant he confirmed this, he threw his mutant metal dagger, which embedded itself deep into the thick fur on the creature’s back.
“Roar!”
The creature roared in pain, turning to snarl at Zhou Qi.
In that moment, Zhou Qi caught a glimpse of its true form—a mutant bear, nearly five meters tall!
In front of this enormous beast, humans seemed so small. An ordinary person could never hope to fight against it.
Yet Zhou Qi’s expression didn’t change a bit. He watched the mutant bear calmly and, as it lifted its massive paw to strike, swiftly dodged out of the way.
“Boom!”
The bear’s leap combined with the force of its swipe gave it terrifying momentum. The ground shook upon impact, sending tremors through the area.
Its massive paws slammed into the ground, creating deep cracks in the concrete.
If that blow had landed, he would have been smashed into a pulp.
Tang Yu’an arrived just in time to witness this from a distance, his face paling in horror. Quickly, he pulled out the Shadow Umbrella and concealed himself.
Cold sweat dotted Zhou Qi’s forehead, but he knew that in a situation like this, staying calm was crucial.
He tried to lure the bear away, but after taking a few steps toward him, it suddenly turned back, as if something inside the building was drawing it in.
“Jingle, jingle—”
Zhou Qi hurriedly pulled out the cat teaser.
The bear paused upon hearing the jingling bells, but, unlike the previous mutants, it didn’t immediately fall under the teaser’s spell.
Just as Zhou Qi began to worry that his special tool had failed, the mutant bear finally hesitated, then turned and charged toward him.
Zhou Qi immediately dashed off at full speed.
“Boom! Boom! Boom!”
The sound of the bear’s heavy paws pounding the ground echoed like a death knell.
The bear’s immense size, combined with the short distance between them, allowed it to keep pace with Zhou Qi despite its bulk. At four or five meters tall, the bear’s running speed wasn’t much slower than Zhou Qi’s.
While running with the cat teaser in hand, Zhou Qi kept shaking it vigorously and dashed forward, all the while opening up the forum message board to send an alert.
[Channel (Admin)]
[Handsome Zhou]: Hey hey, go check on Granny and Kang Kang!
[Admin (Anonymous)]: On my way!
Though Zhou Qi’s situation was worrying, Tang Yu’an was equally anxious about Granny and Kang Kang as he gazed at the massive hole a bear had smashed into the building.
He jumped over to the hole, peeked into the house from under the shadow of the umbrella, and called out.
“Granny—Kang Kang—are you two okay?”
“Big Brother!”
A response came from Kang Kang, trembling and choking with tears. Tang Yu’an quickly stepped out from under the umbrella and cast a purification spell into the house.
In the light of the purification spell, he saw that Granny was pinned under the rubble, her head bleeding profusely, barely clinging to life.
Kang Kang lay beside her, sobbing, his face stained with blood.
Tang Yu’an, terrified, hurried inside, rushed over to Granny’s side, and first checked her breathing. Realizing she was still alive, he quickly took out a basic healing potion and poured several sips down her throat.
After that, he took out a roll of low-grade bandages and wrapped her hand tightly with several layers.
Once her health points reached over 50%, he packed up the remaining potions and bandages and began to push aside the rocks pressing down on her.
Kang Kang, initially frozen in fear, regained his senses and quickly started helping with the rocks.
As the glow from the purification spell dimmed, the only remaining light was the faint glow from the mutated lantern plant. Tang Yu’an immediately cast another purification spell.
One by one, the heavy rocks were pushed off Granny. It might have been the critical moment that unlocked his potential, but the stones felt surprisingly light.
Soon, he had freed Granny from the rubble.
Granny, barely holding on, gradually woke from her coma due to the potion and bandages.
“An’An…” Seeing Tang Yu’an, she was briefly stunned, then anxiously called out, “Kang Kang! Kang Kang!”
“Granny… sob, sob…” Kang Kang threw himself beside her, unable to hold back his tears.
The bear’s attack had nearly taken his grandma from him, and he had been petrified. Now that Granny was awake, he finally let out the cries he had been holding in.
Tang Yu’an patted his head gently, saying, “Now’s not the time for tears. Let’s get Granny out of here first.”
Kang Kang held back his sobs, sniffling softly.
Tang Yu’an carefully lifted Granny onto his back. With the assistance of a Lightness Skill, he felt much lighter.
Just then, he heard a sound coming from the hole.
“An’An?”
It was Grandpa Li’s voice!
The light from the purification spell had dissipated again, leaving the inside of the room in near darkness.
Tang Yu’an quickly called out, “Grandpa, it’s me! I’m bringing Granny out now!”
“Good! Come on out!”
Tang Yu’an turned to Kang Kang and said, “Kang Kang, stay here for a moment. Big Brother will be right back for you.”
“Okay!” Kang Kang nodded firmly.
“Save… save Kang Kang first…” Granny whispered weakly.
“I will save him,” Tang Yu’an assured her, “None of you will be left behind!”
With that, he climbed out through the hole with Granny on his back, where Old Li had climbed up to meet him. “Grandpa, please look after Granny for a bit. I’m going back for Kang Kang!”
Watching the young man leap down with Granny on his back, Old Li was momentarily dazed.
Then, snapping out of it, he climbed up the stairs and carefully took Granny from Tang Yu’an’s hands.
“Granny is in your hands now!”
After placing Granny down, Tang Yu’an sprang up again and returned to the house through the same hole.
Though trembling with fear, Kang Kang had not stayed in one spot. He had dragged his potted plant friends out from a corner to safety.
Bits of debris continued to fall from the ceiling.
In the darkness, the child hugged a few pots of plants, sniffling quietly.
Suddenly, light illuminated the room.
Through the bright glow, he saw Tang Yu’an’s silhouette descending from above, looking like a savior who had not only saved his grandma but was also here for him and his friends.
“B-Big Brother…” Kang Kang’s lips trembled, and tears started welling up again.
Tang Yu’an picked him up, then stored the pots at his feet in his portable inventory—
Unfortunately, apart from the spirit-gathering herb and an unknown potted plant, the Qingliang tree and the mutated lantern tree couldn’t be stored away, as they had already developed a consciousness.
Even his Remote Retrieving skill couldn’t send them back to the grocery store.
With no choice, Tang Yu’an tied Kang Kang to his back with a belt, picked up the Qingliang tree, and jumped out through the hole.
“A-and what about Lantern (mutated lantern tree)?” Kang Kang asked, a bit agitated, looking at the glowing lantern tree.
“It’s too big to carry all at once. Once you’re both safe, I’ll come back for it.”
Hearing Tang Yu’an’s explanation, the child finally quieted down.
The immature fruit on the mutated lantern plant seemed to glow even brighter at that moment. Even without the purification spell, they could clearly see inside the house.
Tang Yu’an nodded to the mutated lantern plant, then secured Kang Kang to his back, picked up the Qingliang tree, and leaped through the hole.
Old Li was waiting below with Granny, who was now awake but forced to strain herself just to look up.
The moment she saw Tang Yu’an and Kang Kang, she smiled in relief before falling unconscious once more.
Tang Yu’an set the flower pots down and untied Kang Kang from his back.
At this moment, Tang Yu’an finally had a chance to check on Kang Kang’s injuries. “Are you hurt anywhere?”
Kang Kang’s face was smeared with blood, but thankfully, it was just a scratch on his forehead from a scrape—nothing serious.
Still worried, Tang Yu’an poured two doses of basic healing potion into him. Then he turned, climbed back up to the hole, and jumped into the room to retrieve the mutated lantern plant.
One mutated lantern plant alone was worth 50 points—no way was he going to let it be destroyed here!
“Boom—Boom—”
The already fragile building, weakened further by the bear’s violent assault, continued to crack and crumble.
Dust and debris filled the air.
Old Li watched Tang Yu’an dash back inside, but it was too late to call out and stop him.
Kang Kang stared at the collapsing house, tears welling up as he anxiously and helplessly looked towards the hole, silently praying.
Finally, under their anxious gazes, the young man emerged from the hole just in time, carrying the broken mutant lantern tree on his back as the house collapsed completely behind him.
“Grandpa! Kang Kang!”
Seeing him appear safely, Old Li finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Before he could speak, Tang Yu’an placed the mutant lantern plant on the ground, urgently saying, “Grandpa, I’m leaving Granny and Kang Kang in your care. I need to go find Brother Qi!”
Zhou Qi had led the giant bear away, but who knew how he was faring now. Tang Yu’an had to hurry to help.
With that, Tang Yu’an opened his map, tracking the direction where Zhou Qi had gone.
He quickly marked the location of the mutated bear in red and then updated Zhou Qi on the situation via the message board.
[Tang Yu’an]: Brother Qi, Granny and Kang Kang are safe now! Grandpa came and is taking care of them.
[Tang Yu’an]: How are things on your end?
Zhou Qi was still running, with the mutated bear hot on his heels.
The initial distance between them had been too close, and with the bear’s impressive speed, Zhou Qi had barely been able to keep ahead. The slightest misstep, and he would likely end up as bear food.
To make things worse, this bear wasn’t a regular giant—it was an earth-element mutant, summoning spiked walls of dirt from the ground as it ran to obstruct Zhou Qi’s path.
Even though he saw Tang Yu’an’s messages, Zhou Qi had no time to respond.
His mind raced, strategizing. He had three special items that could potentially handle the bear, but deploying them flawlessly under these conditions was near impossible.
There was only one choice—he’d have to take a risk!
Dodging another earth wall that rose in front of him, Zhou Qi sidestepped but didn’t keep running. Instead, he leapt up and spun to face the bear.
The nearly five-meter-tall bear rose up like a small mountain, lifting its massive paws to swipe at Zhou Qi.
In that split second, everything seemed to slow down in Zhou Qi’s eyes.
He could clearly see the bear’s bloodthirsty, savage eyes, its powerful jaw, and its razor-sharp teeth.
Against such a formidable beast, his machete wouldn’t make much of a difference.
Strangely, his mind was calm.
In that instant, a glowing green cabinet appeared between him and the bear.
Time returned to normal.
The bear’s huge paw crashed down, smashing the cabinet and sending it flying, but…
The cabinet was surprisingly sturdy.
Though knocked away, it didn’t fall apart.
A moment later, another identical cabinet materialized between Zhou Qi and the bear.
The mutated bear hesitated, momentarily stunned. It paused, then irritably smacked the glowing green cabinet aside again.
As its paw hit the ground, the bear landed squarely on the trap Zhou Qi had set in the brief moment it had struck away the cabinet—
The Super Mousetrap activated!
The mutated bear’s body began to shrink rapidly.
Sensing the change, the bear panicked and tried to escape, but it was too late.
In the blink of an eye, the towering bear shrank to the size of a dull gray mouse, one of its front paws caught firmly in the Super Mousetrap.
Dazed, the bear-turned-mouse looked around at its now-gigantic surroundings and up at the “little ant” from before, who now towered like a giant.
The shock was clearly too much for it to handle.
It struggled violently, but the trap was unbearably heavy for its new form. No matter how hard it fought, it couldn’t move an inch.
Seeing this, Zhou Qi finally relaxed, collapsing onto the ground in exhaustion.
He panted heavily, his face pale.
“Brother Qi!”
Moments later, Tang Yu’an arrived.
“Brother Qi, are you okay?”
Seeing Zhou Qi slumped on the ground, Tang Yu’an was startled. Forgetting about the bear-turned-mouse for the moment, he rushed over to Zhou Qi.
“Are you hurt anywhere?”
Tang Yu’an pulled out a basic healing bandage to start treating him, but Zhou Qi caught his wrist.
Catching his breath, Zhou Qi shook his head.
“I’m fine.”
His breathing was still unsteady, but he suddenly cracked a smile at Tang Yu’an.
Tang Yu’an blinked, surprised, just before Zhou Qi pulled him into a tight hug.
“It’s so good to see you again.”
Hearing Zhou Qi’s voice close to his ear, Tang Yu’an, who hadn’t even been in the heat of the battle himself, suddenly felt all his tension leave him and sank weakly to the ground.
He exhaled slowly, still trying to calm his racing heart, filled with a lingering fear from the narrow escape.
At that moment, Tang Yu’an noticed his hands trembling uncontrollably.
After confirming that Zhou Qi was indeed unharmed—not covered in wounds like the last time he fought the mutant dog—Tang Yu’an finally relaxed completely and extended his arms to embrace him.
“Brother Qi…you really scared me…”
The boy, who had shown such calm and maturity while treating Granny and Kang Kang, now found himself choking up in front of Zhou Qi.
While running over to find him, Tang Yu’an’s mind had been filled with images of Zhou Qi bloodied and battered as before.
“I’m so glad you’re not hurt! I…I…”
Zhou Qi patted him gently on the back. Thinking back, he couldn’t help but feel a shiver down his spine as well.
But…
This real sense of his own growth, of getting stronger, felt amazing!
Once Tang Yu’an had finally calmed down, Zhou Qi wiped away his tears and then asked, “How are Granny and Kang Kang doing?”
“They were both hurt. When I got to the house, Granny was still pinned under some rocks.”
Tang Yu’an explained what had happened. “I treated her with bandages and potions, so she should be out of danger, but I’m not sure if she has any broken bones.”
At her age, even a simple fall could be serious, not to mention being hit by falling stones.
“Kang Kang, thankfully, wasn’t badly hurt, and Grandpa Li sensed something was wrong and came over. He’s watching over them now.”
Zhou Qi breathed a little easier.
Luckily, he had made it in time.
He stood up, helping Tang Yu’an to his feet, and said, “Let’s head back and check on them.”
“Yeah!”
Tang Yu’an glanced over at the Super Mousetrap, only to find that the bear-turned-mouse had vanished, leaving only the trap behind, with one severed paw still caught in it.
Ha! Did it think it could get away that easily?
He opened his map, disabled the filter for ordinary animals, and saw the bear’s marker reappear, rapidly moving away.
There was no time to chase it now; that would have to wait for another day.
However…
Tang Yu’an picked up the Super Mousetrap, pried open the clamp, and the “mouse” paw fell to the ground.
Almost instantly, the paw expanded, reverting back into a massive bear paw.
Tang Yu’an pressed his hand against the paw; it was still warm. Using his Remote Retrieval skill, he stored the bear paw in the Peaceful General Store’s warehouse.
With three ultra-capacity storage lockers in the warehouse, there was plenty of space for a bear paw.
After making sure nothing was left behind, Tang Yu’an and Zhou Qi finally left.
After sprinting for his life just moments earlier, Zhou Qi was now returning at a normal pace. He was surprised to see just how far he had managed to run in such a short amount of time.
On their way back, they encountered Yuan Bao.
The No. 1 Store was quite close to Granny’s house, and Yuan Bao had sensed the bear’s presence long before. It had just chosen not to engage.
When it sensed Tang Yu’an returning and hesitated between staying or following, Old Li had already rushed over.
After a long moment of indecision, the agitated Yuan Bao had left two younger companions to watch the store and set out after them.
“Yuan Bao!”
Tang Yu’an happily hugged it, nuzzling against its fur, and then he and Zhou Qi climbed onto its back, letting Yuan Bao carry them the rest of the way home.
Soon, they arrived back at Granny’s house.
Old Li had been anxiously waiting, and when he saw them return, he couldn’t hide his relief.
“How is it? Are you two hurt?”
He hadn’t been there to see the creature, but from the huge footprints left behind, he could make a fair guess.
Rather than asking what it was, he asked directly, “What happened to the mutant bear?”
“It ran off,” Zhou Qi replied. “But I don’t think it’ll be bothering us again anytime soon.”
Old Li nodded, understanding.
He glanced worriedly toward the center of the Desolate city. A creature of this caliber wasn’t supposed to be so far out here on the outskirts… So why now?
“We should get back to the store first,” Tang Yu’an suggested.
“All right.”
And so, they brought Granny and Kang Kang, along with Kang Kang’s plant friends, back to the No. 1 Store.
Granny was set up in Room 801 on the eighth floor. Aside from a fractured leg, she didn’t have any other serious injuries.
Kang Kang stayed by her side, his eyes red, still visibly shaken.
Tang Yu’an remembered something and pulled out two flowerpots from his personal inventory for him.
One pot held a spirit-gathering herb, while the other contained a plant with a tiny sprout just peeking out.
Tang Yu’an asked the boy, “Kang Kang, what kind of plant is this one?”
Kang Kang sniffled and said softly, “Warm… Cool…”
Tang Yu’an blinked. That description…
Could this be a seedling of the mutated Lan Hu tree?!
