Chapter 144
When Zhou Qi carried Tang Yu’an to the end of the lifeline and saw the building ahead, he didn’t rush in.
The first rescue had worked because the woman was too ill to resist. But Lie Huo, a fire-type ability user, was different—he had abilities and a companion with him. Zhou Qi wasn’t sure he could convince them to leave without conflict.
“The passage is invisible. From the outside, this place just looks like a dark, watery void,” Zhou Qi explained. “No one in their right mind would believe me and jump into the water. Conflict would be inevitable.”
“That’s easy to solve!” Tang Yu’an said, pulling out a glass vial. “Brother Zhou, remember this?”
Zhou Qi’s expression turned strange.
“Sleeping powder?”
“Exactly!”
They’d encountered this sleeping powder before on their way to Jufeng Town when they were nearly ambushed by robbers. Inhalation caused unconsciousness, and without the antidote, prolonged exposure could result in death.
“Are you sure about this?” Zhou Qi felt something was off. They were supposed to be rescuing people, not incapacitating them.
Tang Yu’an, however, seemed perfectly logical. “Of course! It’s efficient and effective. Once we get them into the passage, we’ll give them the antidote so they can walk back to the store on their own.”
After all, it was only about a kilometer away.
“Brother Zhou, did you tell Grandpa about what we’re doing?” Tang Yu’an asked.
“I did.”
“Then there shouldn’t be a problem.”
With the overnight rules in effect, the rescued individuals couldn’t steal, harm anyone, or cause trouble. They could address everything once everyone was safely back at the store.
“After rescuing Lie Huo and his companion, should we continue helping others?” Zhou Qi asked.
Tang Yu’an nodded. “Of course. Now that we’ve started, there’s no reason to stop. It’s freezing out here, and every delay could mean another life lost.”
Zhou Qi reached out to feel Tang Yu’an’s hand.
“Heh, I have Lanhu leaves, so I’m not cold at all!” Tang Yu’an grinned, tucking the vial of sleeping powder into the third slot of his inventory and urging Zhou Qi to hurry.
Once Zhou Qi left, Tang Yu’an opened the map again. While keeping an eye on Zhou Qi’s progress, he started identifying the next rescue target.
He couldn’t reach far-off locations, but he hoped to save everyone within their immediate vicinity. Even though the system hadn’t assigned him a rescue mission, Tang Yu’an wasn’t bothered—he simply wanted a peace of mind.
Moreover, while the immediate benefits were limited, bringing these people back would increase the number of potential customers for Grandpa Li and Sister Lin. More hands at Store No.1 meant they could accomplish more.
If these individuals were willing to work for their resources, they could build good lives at the shop. Increased production would also provide more items for trade, eventually earning Tang Yu’an more points and experience.
To him, this was the essence of sustainable development.
Even though his school hadn’t taught this concept yet, he’d absorbed it from countless news broadcasts.
Before long, Zhou Qi returned with an unconscious person over his shoulder. Guided by the stones Tang Yu’an had thrown, he reentered the lifeline.
The sleeping powder had proven its reputation—even Lie Huo, despite his fire abilities, couldn’t resist. Of course, it might also have been due to his relatively low level.
“What about the other person?” Tang Yu’an asked.
Zhou Qi frowned. “She’s pregnant. I didn’t dare use the powder on her.”
Using the concealment umbrella, Zhou Qi had stealthily applied the powder under Lie Huo’s nose and rendered him unconscious without a sound. However, as he carried Lie Huo out, the pregnant woman must have woken up—she had come out when Tang Yu’an threw the stones.
“There’s a pregnant woman?” Tang Yu’an was stunned. He scratched his head. “What should we do?”
Zhou Qi glanced back at the building, thought for a moment, and handed the concealment umbrella to Tang Yu’an. “I’ll go back and try to persuade her.”
If persuasion failed, he’d have no choice but to knock her out.
Zhou Qi wasn’t experienced in such things, but if push came to shove, he’d try the method he’d seen in movies—striking the back of the neck.
As he leaped over the water wall again, however, he realized the situation might not require such drastic measures.
When her husband had been taken, the woman had already rushed out of the building. Now she stood at the window, watching, and saw Zhou Qi emerge from the water.
“Who are you? What did you do to Lie Huo?”
The woman had a round, visibly pregnant belly. The rest of her body, however, was skeletal—her gaunt face and thin frame were almost alarming to Zhou Qi, who had never seen a pregnant woman in such a condition.
Despite her frail appearance, she was clearly not weak. She gripped a weapon tightly and glared at him with unflinching determination.
Zhou Qi raised his hands to show he meant no harm.
“Lie Huo is safe. Calm down. I’m here to get you both out of here.”
“You know Lie Huo?”
“Yes. He’s bought salt from us before.”
The woman hesitated. “You’re from the Desolate City Grocery Store?”
When Zhou Qi nodded, her frown deepened. “Where are you taking us? And why?”
“To the Desolate City Grocery Store,” Zhou Qi replied. “It’s now called Desolate City Haven.”
“Desolate City Haven?”
“Yes, we need more people, so we’re bringing nearby residents from the Desolate City back to the store. Don’t worry, you won’t be harmed there,” Zhou Qi explained.
“And why should I trust you? Where have you taken Lie Huo?”
“He’s below the water,” Zhou Qi said plainly.
“You threw him into the water and claim he’s safe?” The woman’s face filled with despair.
Zhou Qi sighed. “Didn’t you see? I jumped out of the water just now, and yet, I’m completely dry.”
“You mean…”
“There’s a passage under the water, but you can’t see it.”
“Why should I believe you?”
As Zhou Qi and the woman stood at an impasse, a stone suddenly flew out from the water.
“Wait a moment,” Zhou Qi said.
Under the woman’s astonished gaze, Zhou Qi leaped back into the water and disappeared without causing so much as a ripple.
Inside the passage, Zhou Qi found Lie Huo awake. After confirming that Tang Yu’an was safe, he turned his attention to the man.
Lie Huo was examining the underwater passage, staring at the towering walls of water on either side with disbelief. Clearly, Tang Yu’an had already explained everything to him.
“Let’s go get your wife,” Zhou Qi said.
“My wife?” Lie Huo seemed momentarily confused, then realized, “Oh, you mean A’Xiang.”
“Yes. She doesn’t trust me, so you’ll need to convince her.”
“Alright, alright!”
Lie Huo had initially harbored some doubts about the two boys’ intentions. However, the sheer scale of their seemingly divine power had utterly subdued him.
Having visited the Desolate City Grocery Store before, he had also seen the three massive mutant dogs. He knew these boys wouldn’t need to resort to tricks if they wanted to harm him.
Thus, he cooperated willingly.
Since the water walls were over 5–6 meters high, Lie Huo couldn’t jump out on his own. Zhou Qi had to carry him back out.
When Lie Huo emerged completely unharmed and explained to A’Xiang that there was indeed a passage below the water, protected from the water and its creatures, she reluctantly believed him.
Lie Huo returned to the building to gather their belongings, which mostly consisted of junk. The most valuable items were their weapons and some salt.
Zhou Qi handed him a piece of cotton fabric to bundle everything together. The resulting package was too large and heavy for Lie Huo to carry back himself.
Zhou Qi decided to first escort the couple into the passage and then return to fetch their belongings.
When Zhou Qi leaped down into the passage, now carrying one person on his back and another in his arms, Tang Yu’an couldn’t help but gaze at him with admiration, even knowing the lightweight technique was at play.
“Brother Zhou is getting stronger and stronger!” Tang Yu’an thought, his eyes sparkling.
“You can follow this path straight ahead to the Desolate City Grocery Store. Someone will meet you there and explain what to do,” Zhou Qi instructed.
“As for your belongings, I’ll bring them to you tomorrow.”
Lie Huo, supporting A’Xiang, repeatedly thanked the boys. He was about to leave when A’Xiang hesitated and said, “Does this mean we can never come back?”
Though she was awed by the miraculous underwater passage, her heart was heavy with uncertainty and fear about their future.
“Don’t worry,” Tang Yu’an said confidently. “Once you’re there, you probably won’t want to come back.”
A’Xiang gave a bitter smile before letting Lie Huo guide her along the muddy passage toward the unknown.
Zhou Qi returned to their building, tagged the bundle with their name, and used his teleportation skill to transfer it to Store No.1’s warehouse.
Meanwhile, Tang Yu’an continued dismantling and reassembling sections of the fence, creating new lifelines.
Most of the remaining residents of the Desolate City were able-bodied, which made subsequent rescues smoother. They would extend the fence near a target’s location, use sleeping powder to move the person into the passage, and wake them with the antidote.
They didn’t even need to show themselves—if the disoriented person hesitated upon seeing the strange passage, a simple nudge from behind would send them running forward in fear.
At the end of the passage, Grandpa Li had organized other residents to light a bonfire in the courtyard.
Although the boys’ sudden rescue mission disrupted their sleep, Grandpa Li supported the idea of bringing more residents to the Desolate City Haven.
Not only did he light a bonfire, but he also prepared a pot of potato soup.
When Lie Huo and A’Xiang, both apprehensive, stepped into the courtyard, they were greeted by this warm and welcoming scene.
“Old… Old Grandpa Li?” Lie Huo stammered in disbelief.
Grandpa Li nodded, glanced at A’Xiang’s noticeably pregnant belly, and gestured toward the bonfire. “Go have a bowl of potato soup first.”
“Come, have some soup!” called Shu Gen and his son, who were tending the soup.
The rescued woman, Ye Lan, had already received treatment and was being cared for by Lin Zhen. With Grandpa Li’s encouragement, the other residents stepped in to help.
Of course, their assistance wasn’t free—they each received a potato and a share of the soup.
Shu Gen, Jin Guang, and even A’Man, who had arrived earlier that day, worked enthusiastically despite the late hour and cold weather.
While the night air was chilly, sitting around the bonfire with a bowl of warm soup made it feel far more comforting than staying in bed.
Before long, more people began arriving from the passage.
Unlike the relatively prepared Lie Huo and A’Xiang, these newcomers, running as if pursued by ghosts, were visibly unsettled.
Each person was warmly greeted by Jin Guang, while Shu Gen and his son served potato soup, and A’Man handed out blankets—cotton fabric pieces, not fully ready, but they offered some warmth.
A step behind the others, Ba Shi had taken over Grandpa Li’s role, explaining the rules of Desolate City Haven to the new arrivals.
Truth be told, when Ba Shi first saw the lifeline passage, his jaw had dropped in shock, rendering him speechless.
Under Grandpa Li’s stern gaze, he even ran to the entrance of the passage to take a closer look.
The raging floodwaters, as if cleaved by a blade, revealed a narrow path in the middle. Despite how fragile the fence walls appeared, they held back the towering six-meter-high water walls with absolute stability.
Illuminated by the bonfire, Ba Shi could also see the creatures swimming in the water.
These terrifying, predatory beings seemed powerless against the flimsy fence walls, which formed a life-saving passage through the flood.
It was hard to imagine that human effort could achieve something so miraculous.
Ba Shi had thought that the barrier protecting the building was already the pinnacle of possibility. Yet now, he saw something even more astonishing.
He felt immensely fortunate that, when the two young shopkeepers had asked for help reinforcing the building, he had stopped his brother, Ba Tu, from doing anything foolish.
These two boys weren’t on the same level as Grandpa Li—they were on an entirely different plane.
The respect Ba Shi already held for them deepened in the face of such power, though he couldn’t help but feel puzzled.
Why were these two young shopkeepers going to such lengths?
For him and the other residents, their arrival at Desolate City Haven might have been a coincidence. But between A’Man’s rescue earlier and this lifeline passage, it was clear they were genuinely striving to save people.
But why?
In this apocalyptic world, could such purely altruistic people really still exist?
Under Grandpa Li’s increasingly stern glare, Ba Shi pulled his gaze back and obediently began explaining the rules to the newcomers.
“Desolate City Haven.”
When Grandpa Li first mentioned the name, Ba Shi had been a little dismissive. But over time, he found himself growing fond of it. In just a few days, he had experienced a kind of comfort he’d never felt before.
It was the most peaceful place he had ever lived, and he had no intention of leaving—or letting anyone ruin it.
He hoped the new residents would abide by the rules and not disappoint the young shopkeepers who had gone to such lengths to help them.
Of course, alongside explaining the rules, Ba Shi made sure to retell the story of how Grandpa Li was saved by the two boys—a tale Grandpa Li clearly loved to hear.
Ba Shi was starting to understand why Grandpa Li enjoyed having others recount the story. A twinge of jealousy crept into his heart—why was this old man so lucky to have not only been saved by the young shopkeepers but also become one of their trusted confidants?
*
Back at Store No.1
With Grandpa Li managing the residents, Tang Yu’an and Zhou Qi felt at ease.
They continued dismantling and rebuilding sections of the fence, efficiently rescuing people. The process became smoother and more seamless with practice.
During this time, they even came across someone stranded in the water, triggering an emergency rescue mission.
By 11:30 p.m., they had searched an area with a 2-kilometer diameter around Store No.1.
A total of 25 new residents were brought to the haven, including two pregnant women. Counting their unborn babies, the total rose to 27 lives saved.
Tang Yu’an had spent over 40,000 points on fence walls, leaving his balance at just 36,000 points.
Neither he nor Zhou Qi felt any regret. These were 27 lives, and as long as the new residents worked hard, they would contribute far more value to Desolate City Haven in the future.
After returning to Store No.1, Tang Yu’an and Zhou Qi cordoned off an area to store the 4,000 meters of fence walls.
They considered venturing further but decided to pause the rescue operation—it was almost midnight, and they needed to retrieve the drift bottles soon.
Inside Store No.1, Grandpa Li had moved the new arrivals to the first-floor lobby, where several bonfires were lit—no need to worry about burning the cement floor.
Although over twenty people had arrived, the scene remained quiet and orderly.
Grandpa Li breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the boys return. He didn’t ask them to come downstairs to meet the residents.
“You boys sure know how to keep me busy!” he teased as he joined them in Room 501.
Tang Yu’an grinned. “More people means more power!”
Grandpa Li wasn’t truly complaining; he was simply marveling. “I never thought you could achieve something like this.”
He had assumed nothing could surprise him anymore, but these two boys seemed to challenge his expectations every day.
“Let them sleep in the lobby for tonight. We’ll assign rooms tomorrow,” Grandpa Li said.
Lan Lin had been summoned to the fifth floor and was warming Room 503, ensuring the entire building would stay comfortably warm. Combined with the bonfires, the lobby wouldn’t be cold at all.
Tang Yu’an wanted to say more, but Grandpa Li waved him off. “They’re already better off here than they were elsewhere. It’s late—go get some rest.”
Reluctantly, Tang Yu’an and Zhou Qi returned to Room 901 and used the teleportation array to head back to the Peace Grocery Store.
Grandpa Li was right. The new residents had been unable to light fires in their old homes. On freezing nights like this, they relied on their physical resilience, animal pelts from hunting, or tattered quilts scavenged from ruins.
Staying in the lobby with bonfires was already a vast improvement. Most of them had also interacted with Lin Zhen before, which fostered a relatively harmonious atmosphere.
Still, much like Jin Guang and Shu Gen on their first day, the newcomers remained cautious of one another.
Only A’Xiang, with Lie Huo by her side and special care as a pregnant woman, seemed to sleep peacefully under a thick quilt.
The other pregnant woman, Lin Lu, was alone. After consulting with Grandma Guo, Grandpa Li arranged for her and the recovering Ye Lan to stay in Room 801.
With the effect of the Luminous Storage Cabinet, Room 801 was as warm as spring—undoubtedly the most comfortable room in the building.
After taking her medicine, Ye Lan’s fever subsided, and she regained consciousness briefly to sip some potato soup under Lin Zhen’s care before falling back into a peaceful sleep.
Watching Ye Lan sleep, Lin Lu felt a pang of envy. She couldn’t sleep no matter how hard she tried.
“Would you like some hot water, dear?” Grandma Guo offered, pouring her a cup. When Lin Lu hesitated to drink, Grandma Guo didn’t press her.
Instead, she cooled the water, soaked a cloth, wrung it out, and handed it to Lin Lu to wipe her face.
Lin Lu eyed Grandma Guo warily at first. But seeing the kind expression on the old woman’s face, her soft, warm gaze, Lin Lu finally accepted the cloth and wiped her face and hands clean.
Her thin, gaunt face still carried traces of youthfulness—she looked no older than eighteen or nineteen. In the time before the Great Apocalypse, she would have still been in school.
Grandma Guo thought of her own daughter, swept away by the floods, and her eyes grew misty for a moment.
Smiling warmly, she said, “Settle in here and don’t worry. As long as you follow the rules, believe me—there’s no place safer than this one.”
Then, taking the candle with her, she left the room and returned to the bedroom.
In the darkness, Lin Lu could hear the faint, childlike voice of a little one coming from the bedroom, asking what had happened outside.
It seemed the child had been woken up and was now chatting with Grandma Guo. Listening to their conversation, Lin Lu felt an inexplicable sense of peace settle over her anxious heart.
She lay down in the warm bed, marveling at how clean and thick the blankets were—luxuries she hadn’t imagined would be hers.
Absent-mindedly, Lin Lu reached out and touched her belly.
For the first time, she was receiving care and special treatment because she was pregnant. It was confusing, but it filled her heart with a new tenderness.
Her thoughts turned to the two boys who had seemingly fallen from the sky to rescue her.
They had said that here, she wouldn’t need to fear disaster or danger. As long as she worked hard, she and her child could have enough food and live a good life.
Clinging to this hopeful vision, Lin Lu soon drifted into a deep, peaceful sleep.
*
Peace Grocery Store, Attic
Tang Yu’an retrieved two drift bottles from the Dream Sea at once.
“I hope one of these is from Xiao Hai Lan or Xiao Ri Sheng!” he said excitedly. With the points multiplier still in effect, he was eager to earn back some of what he had spent.
He uncorked one of the bottles and watched as a glowing orb floated into the air.
“Mysterious Merchant… merchant…”
The voice was raspy and dry but less jarring than before. Tang Yu’an hesitated. “Lu Yan?”
“Merchant! Medicine!”
This time, Lu Yan didn’t insist on further conversation. Instead, he went straight to a trade request.
“Is it the same medicine as last time?” Tang Yu’an asked.
“Yes! Medicine! Medicine!”
Tang Yu’an agreed and asked, “There’s been flooding lately. Are you alright?”
“No… problem… medicine! Merchant, medicine!”
Hearing Lu Yan bring the conversation back to the medicine, Tang Yu’an could only nod. “Alright, alright. Let’s trade. Same price as last time?”
“All of it, all of it…”
“Got it.”
The trade was completed quickly.
[You have completed a profitable trade with a Dream Wisher. Points: +9200 (Points Multiplier in Effect). Experience: +6.]
[You have received 3 kilos of mutant blueberries.]
Tang Yu’an: O.O
“Wow! He gave me 2 more kilos than last time!”
