Chapter 163
“Wind Blade? Is it an offensive skill?” Zhou Qi asked after hearing Tang Yu’an’s words.
“You’re so smart, Brother Qi!”
Tang Yu’an checked the skill panel and read the details aloud.
[Wind Blade Lv1]
[Type: Magic-side skill.]
[Lv1 Effect: A group attack skill that releases three wind blades simultaneously, dealing damage to targets. The specific power depends on the target’s defense.]
[Cooldown: 60 minutes.]
“So it can only be used once per hour?” Zhou Qi frowned.
While the number of uses per day increased, Wind Blade was clearly an instant-cast skill, unlike Lightfoot which had a lasting effect.
A 60-minute cooldown significantly limited its utility in combat—most fights wouldn’t allow for more than one use.
“It’s fine! If I use it enough, maybe I’ll learn it for real!” Tang Yu’an remained optimistic.
Ever since he started practicing Flight, he’d noticed a significant improvement in his perception and control of wind energy.
For instance, after exhausting his Flight uses, he would switch to Levitation. Previously, he couldn’t control himself while levitating, requiring Zhou Qi to tie a rope to keep him safe.
Now, with Levitation, he could control his direction and speed using wind energy. While it wasn’t as agile or fast as Flight, it was safer for a beginner like him.
So, Tang Yu’an believed that once he fully understood Wind Blade, it might become a skill he could truly master.
Hearing his enthusiasm, Zhou Qi smiled. “Then you’ll need to practice hard.”
Tang Yu’an glanced at him, making a pleading gesture. “Does this mean we could cut the daily lessons just a little?”
Since they were always busy with tasks, their scheduled study time often got disrupted. Despite this, Zhou Qi had kept their lessons on track.
“Do you not like studying?” Zhou Qi asked, looking at him.
“Not really…” Tang Yu’an murmured, lowering his head.
Zhou Qi thought for a moment and spoke seriously. “Learning can indeed be boring and exhausting, but it helps us develop ways of understanding the world.
“Even if the knowledge isn’t immediately useful, as long as you’ve learned it seriously, it leaves a mark.
“The process of thinking itself sharpens our minds, helping us find solutions more effectively when faced with challenges.”
Tang Yu’an looked up at Zhou Qi, his face inexplicably turning red.
He quickly turned away and stammered, “I-I get it. I won’t give up on learning or thinking.”
Zhou Qi reached out and gently ruffled his hair.
“Of course, it’s important to balance work and rest. If you’re feeling too tired, we can reduce the lesson time a bit.”
Tang Yu’an glanced at him again, noticing the gentle smile in Zhou Qi’s clear eyes, as if they could embrace everything about him.
“Alright… okay!” Tang Yu’an blurted, then quickly ran off. “I’m going to test Wind Blade!”
Zhou Qi shook his head and went to discuss forming a security team with Grandpa Li.
After hearing Zhou Qi’s ideas, Grandpa Li agreed. While the four pets belonging to Tang Yu’an currently provided enough defensive strength for Desolate City Haven, expanding the settlement would inevitably lead to areas being overlooked.
At the very least, they would need personnel for patrols.
“I think we should start by integrating the high-level abilities within the settlement,” Zhou Qi suggested. “They don’t need to patrol or guard yet. Instead, they can focus on summarizing their training experiences and exploring ways to enhance their abilities.”
Most ability users in the wasteland were self-taught, unlike those in fortresses like Chi Hao or Hong Li, who had undergone systematic training.
These residents might not lack talent but were missing effective learning methods.
Expecting the fortresses to share this knowledge openly was unrealistic, so they needed to gather and document these experiences themselves to nurture Wasteland Home’s elite fighters.
“Take, for example, master-apprentice relationships like Huoqiu and Lie Huo. The training experiences of ability users are an essential part of passing down knowledge,” Zhou Qi added.
Grandpa Li looked at Zhou Qi with admiration. “You’re really daring to think big.”
“But what if these ability users refuse to share their experiences?” Grandpa Li asked. “In the wasteland, people guard their secrets even more tightly than in the fortresses.”
For most wastelanders, trust was a luxury. They wouldn’t even share with family, let alone teach strangers their hard-earned skills.
Zhou Qi shook his head. “Actually, such an exchange group has already begun to form in Wasteland Home.”
“Oh?” Grandpa Li was surprised.
Zhou Qi explained Lan Lin’s case—how he had shared his method of absorbing ice energy during sleep, which he called Meditation.
“Imposing rules can cause resistance and harm communication. It’s better to encourage sharing first,” Zhou Qi suggested.
“How would you encourage it?” Grandpa Li asked.
Zhou Qi thought for a moment and said, “We can set up a discussion room on the fifth floor. People facing problems can leave messages there. Those who can provide solutions will be rewarded.”
“Even if no one has an answer, the questions themselves are a form of knowledge.”
“As for how the rewards should be set, we can discuss further,” Zhou Qi suggested. “For example, we could establish a basic reward for any contribution that has substance.”
Grandpa Li nodded as he listened. It sounded promising, but he pointed out the main challenge:
“Most of these people are illiterate. If we implement this, we’d have to rely on oral accounts.”
The problem with oral communication was its potential for errors.
“If we assign a recorder, who would take on that role? In Desolate City Haven, the most literate are you, Granny Guo, Tang Yu’an, and me.”
“I’m afraid I can’t handle everything…” Grandpa Li admitted, feeling a bit overwhelmed.
“I’ll take responsibility for this,” Zhou Qi said confidently.
Listening to the ability users’ questions would benefit his own training since he possessed multiple abilities. Any issues they raised might be ones he’d encounter in the future.
“Alright, I have no objections.”
Grandpa Li also understood the importance of preserving and sharing knowledge. If they could document insights about abilities and pass them on to future generations, it would be invaluable.
“I’ll start preparing the room. There’s no rush, is there?”
“No, there’s no rush.”
Changing the mindset of wastelanders wasn’t something that could happen overnight.
But Zhou Qi was certain that some individuals were willing to share but lacked the right environment. Once they started reaping tangible benefits from the exchange room, it would attract more participants.
The proportion of ability users among the residents wasn’t small. Each one living independently in Desolate City Haven had significant skills.
The task now was to draw these individuals in, shift their perspectives, and integrate them into Desolate City Haven’s collective vision to create greater benefits.
Zhou Qi returned to the Peace Grocery Store, took out paper and pen, and began planning the exchange room.
Soon, the sound of footsteps came from the attic. Tang Yu’an, having finished testing Wind Blade, ran back in. Seeing Zhou Qi writing and drawing, he couldn’t resist leaning over.
When he heard Zhou Qi’s idea, he exclaimed, “Wow! This is great!”
Tang Yu’an was immediately interested in the exchange room plan.
He sat next to Zhou Qi and said, “Hmm, I think we should set specific hours for the exchange room. That way, we don’t have to sit there all the time.”
As for the time slot…
“How about from 7 to 9 p.m., after dark?” Tang Yu’an suggested enthusiastically. “We can use the upgraded glowing green light strip for lighting and place a few Flame Stones to keep the room warm and cozy.”
Regarding the light strip’s energy, they could use mid-grade spirit grass for now. With the star-chain fruits thriving, he thought they might even charge the light strip in the fields during the day.
Star-chain fruits grew rapidly, and the growers used wood-based spirit energy to accelerate their growth. If the fields had a high concentration of wood energy, this idea might just work. He decided to test it out tomorrow!
Tang Yu’an stroked his chin. “Hmm… let’s also provide clean boiled water. That way, the environment will be even more inviting!”
Imagine—on a cold, pitch-black night, where even firelight was dim and unclear, a room as bright as day, warm with Flame Stones, and stocked with water.
Who wouldn’t want to stay in such a special and comfortable place?
“People don’t have much entertainment. A chatroom like this will definitely attract them,” Tang Yu’an said with a smile.
During the day, everyone was busy, but come nightfall, when there was nothing to do but sleep, boredom set in.
Coming from a modern society, Tang Yu’an and Zhou Qi couldn’t stand going to bed so early. Sleeping before 8 p.m. was something Tang Yu’an hadn’t done since kindergarten.
The only concern was whether anyone would actually come.
Based on Tang Yu’an’s description, it did sound appealing. However, Zhou Qi raised an eyebrow and asked, “So you’re suggesting we also allow non-ability users to join?”
“Yeah, but we can separate them.”
The smallest units on the fifth floor were one-bedroom apartments, so ability users could discuss their issues in a small room while others could chat in the living room.
This setup would give onlookers a chance to observe up close and help foster relationships among the residents.
“Those who use the small room for discussions could enjoy clean water and snacks, while those staying in the living room wouldn’t have this perk,” Tang Yu’an added.
“Now that we have Round Head and Golden Head, they can handle the snack-making for us.”
They only needed to provide the ingredients. With Peace Grocery Store’s food reserves, they could make soybean cakes to last the residents for years.
He imagined the room filled with people, chatting and enjoying the warmth, and the thought made him feel warm inside.
Zhou Qi agreed it was a good idea but reminded him, “What if people come just to freeload snacks and water?”
“Let them,” Tang Yu’an said nonchalantly. “Didn’t you say we need to win over these ability users?”
The water and snacks would be rationed, and they could easily afford it. With no theft possible in Desolate City Haven, there was nothing to worry about.
Spending a little food to win their loyalty seemed like a good trade.
Even if only a few shared valuable insights, it could save Zhou Qi and Tang Yu’an time and effort in their own training.
“But we can’t be there every day. What if we miss useful discussions?” Tang Yu’an wondered aloud.
Tang Yu’an rubbed his chin and started browsing through the dimensional store. “Let me see if I can find something useful.”
Seeing his serious expression, Zhou Qi smiled, set aside his pen and paper, and headed to the kitchen to prepare dinner.
In the kitchen, Round Head had already prepped the ingredients, so Zhou Qi only needed to cook.
“Master, I can cook too!” the housekeeping robot offered enthusiastically. “I guarantee it will taste great!”
Zhou Qi shook his head. “You can handle everything else, but not this.”
“Why not?” Round Head asked.
“Because I like cooking for An An.”
Amidst the sizzling sound of stir-frying, Zhou Qi’s voice was slightly muffled.
Round Head blinked its electronic eyes, then slowly turned and left the kitchen. It went over to Tang Yu’an, who was still deeply engrossed in browsing.
“Master, do you need anything else from me? If not, I’ll go rest!”
Tang Yu’an exchanged another batch of 100 cotton sheets and handed over enough Lanhu leaves for Round Head to continue making low-temperature fabric.
“Thanks, Master!” Round Head said happily and went off to work, carrying the materials with a delighted bounce in its step.
What a lovable little helper!
After dinner, Tang Yu’an finally found a functional and reasonably priced item in the dimensional store—an AI brain from a tech-side dimension, costing only 5,000 points.
After purchasing it, he used his identification skill and found that its actual value was 3,500 points. In a place like the dimensional store, notorious for its exorbitant 10x markup, this was definitely a lucky find!
The light brain was a small, round sphere equipped with a basic intelligent system.
“We can put this light brain in the exchange room to record discussions,” Tang Yu’an explained. “It can summarize and extract useful information and even generate written records.”
Even better, it could send data to Round Head, which had a built-in printing function!
Zhou Qi examined the small sphere carefully and nodded. “It’s perfect for what we need.”
And its capabilities went far beyond recording and summarizing.
“First, it has video recording and projection features,” Zhou Qi noted. “We can project unresolved issues in the exchange room as long-term challenges.”
Tang Yu’an nodded in agreement. “Yes! The AI brain has a voice function, so it can read everything aloud, solving the literacy problem!”
And who knows, frequent exposure might even help some ability users learn to recognize a few words.
“Those providing answers could have their explanations recorded on video, which would be much clearer than just text,” Zhou Qi added.
“Exactly! If there’s something they can’t articulate well, they can show it directly on video,” Tang Yu’an said.
“We can also store all this knowledge in the light brain, making it easier to retrieve later,” he added.
Zhou Qi shook his head. “It’s better to organize the knowledge and print it into books. One copy can stay in the exchange room for reference, and another can be kept as a backup.”
After the apocalypse, physical books were the most reliable way to preserve knowledge.
While digital files saved space, they were too dependent on storage conditions and equipment. Devices like computers and phones would likely fail within decades.
Books, on the other hand, could last hundreds of years if properly waterproofed and made with durable materials.
“True. And if someone doesn’t understand, they can always use the AI brain to read it aloud,” Tang Yu’an agreed.
“Should we set a condition for using the small room? Like literacy requirements?” he suggested.
The more literate the residents, the better. Many were in their twenties or thirties and could definitely learn if they put in the effort.
“Let’s do periodic assessments,” Zhou Qi proposed. “Once a month. If someone hasn’t shared any useful knowledge by the end of the month, they’ll lose access to the small room.”
“To regain access, they’ll need to provide valuable knowledge and pass a literacy test.”
“Even those who consistently qualify will need to take the literacy test periodically—just on a longer timeline.”
For someone expelled from the room, failing the test would likely motivate them to improve. Frustration could be a powerful incentive for learning.
“Alright, let’s settle on this plan!” Tang Yu’an said excitedly and took the light brain to charge it.
Setting up the exchange room would take some time, especially with the glowing green light strip requiring upgrades. For now, there was no rush.
After finishing their lessons, the two climbed to the attic.
Tang Yu’an stood by the window overlooking the Dream Sea, observing the floating bottles inside.
As a thought crossed his mind, he scratched his head and said, “The lord of Lanhu Town still hasn’t responded to the recruitment.”
“No rejection either?” Zhou Qi asked.
“None.”
“Then he’s probably still weighing his options,” Zhou Qi said thoughtfully.
The lord of Lanhu Town wasn’t just any desperate or powerless individual. As the leader of a town, he bore responsibility for both the settlement and its people.
Someone in his position wouldn’t easily accept a recruitment offer from an unknown source.
He might be thinking that if he accepts the recruitment, he’ll become a subordinate of the mysterious merchant and potentially fall under their control.
If this control is absolute and requires him to obey the merchant’s orders without question, it would be unacceptable for someone in his position as a lord.
This isn’t about his personal willingness—it’s dictated by his status and responsibilities.
Hearing Zhou Qi’s analysis, Tang Yu’an scratched his head in confusion and asked, “Then why doesn’t he just refuse?”
“Because he’s probably afraid that rejecting outright would anger the mysterious merchant,” Zhou Qi said with a shrug. “So he’s deliberately stalling.”
Tang Yu’an hadn’t considered that his recruitment might put Lan Yunqing in such a difficult position.
Putting himself in Lan Yunqing’s shoes, he could understand the dilemma. After all, Lan Yunqing had never interacted directly with the mysterious merchant—all his information came from Xiao Risheng.
“So what should we do?” Tang Yu’an asked.
“It’s up to you.”
Zhou Qi suggested, “If you really want to recruit him, stop doing business with Lanhu Town for a while. Leave him hanging, and he’ll likely come around.”
Based on Chi Hao’s account and the volume of trades with Xiao Risheng, Lanhu Town’s crisis likely wasn’t resolved yet.
Moreover, Xiao Risheng had expressed a desire for more healing potions.
So the real urgency lay with Lanhu Town. Lan Yunqing didn’t have much choice in the matter.
Tang Yu’an pouted, “This makes the mysterious merchant sound like a villain.”
Zhou Qi chuckled. “What kind of villain is this adorable?”
“Hmph.”
Feeling teased, Tang Yu’an ignored him and opened the Dream Sea window to fish for bottles.
Whether Lan Yunqing accepted the offer or not would depend on fate. Either way, if he got Xiao Risheng’s bottle, he’d still trade with him.
Tang Yu’an couldn’t bring himself to withhold trades just to force Lan Yunqing’s hand.
Since he had mastered how to identify bottles, the first one he pulled out was from Gan Lin.
“Mysterious merchant, I’ve done as you asked. Please respond and come to my dream!”
“Alright, I’m here.”
“Mysterious merchant!” Gan Lin exclaimed excitedly and immediately relayed all the information he had learned since waking from his last dream.
“So the water we gave you appeared in the box containing the Flame Stones?”
“Yes, yes!”
“And the water is clean, with no strange odor?”
“That’s right. I even had Old Mo taste it, and he said it was very good,” Gan Lin replied earnestly.
Tang Yu’an glanced at the map and asked, “You’ve returned to your previous location?”
“Yes, there are lots of Flame Stones here,” Gan Lin replied. “Plus, we’ve recruited two helpers—Uncle Sha and Sister Luo.”
“Can they be trusted?”
“Hmm, I think so. They’ve both helped Old Mo before. Uncle Sha even saved Old Mo’s life.”
Tang Yu’an and Zhou Qi nodded in agreement.
In this post-apocalyptic world, people who helped you and those who had been helped by you were generally more trustworthy—the latter especially.
Gan Lin continued, “We’ve collected over forty Flame Stones today.”
“Nice! Strength in numbers!” Tang Yu’an said with excitement.
Gan Lin then cautiously added, “Old Mo is leading the others to dig a well right now. About that flood you mentioned… could we wait until the well is finished before you send it?”
