Chapter 193
After leaving the Lanhu Forest, Tang Yu’an and Zhou Qi circled back and returned to Lanhu Town with Kang Kang.
Since they had taken a similar route before, Kang Kang, though confused, quietly rested on Tang Yu’an’s shoulder.
Finally, he could go home!
This was the longest Kang Kang had ever been away from Granny, and he missed her terribly.
“Kang Kang, the Lanhu mother tree likes you so much. What if we take one of its offshoots back home? Do you think it’ll cheer up?” Tang Yu’an asked, glancing at the lone Lanhu offshoot outside the window.
If they could bring an offshoot back, it might be a good idea, like the emerald vine he wore as a comforting hair accessory.
As for whether the Lanhu people would agree…
Tang Yu’an felt that the mother tree was so willful that if it truly wanted to, the townsfolk wouldn’t be able to stop it.
Kang Kang thought for a moment before answering, “Need to ask… might fight!”
Tang Yu’an pondered his meaning and asked, “Do you mean October will fight with its mama?”
The only potential conflict in Desolate City Haven’s soil seemed to be between October, the Lanhu sapling, and the mother tree.
October, unlike its domineering parent, coexisted peacefully with the other plants in Desolate City Haven. The Star-chain Fruit had even resolved the issue of soil fertility depletion from over planting by turning the soil into rich black earth.
“Mm-hmm!” Kang Kang nodded vigorously.
“Alright then,” Tang Yu’an said, giving up on the idea of taking an offshoot. Kang Kang’s concerns were valid. The limited land in Desolate City Haven couldn’t sustain too many tree species.
He was grateful that Emerald was a climbing plant. During the day, it could wind around his hair, and at night, it thrived in water enriched with wood crystals.
Soon, they returned to Shop No. 5 and used the teleportation array in the basement to return to Wasteland Haven.
“Granny! Granny!”
As soon as they arrived, Kang Kang squirmed out of Tang Yu’an’s arms and ran outside.
“Kang Kang, slow down!” Tang Yu’an called, chasing after him.
Kang Kang, however, knew the way perfectly. He dashed down eight flights of stairs and burst through the door to his home.
“Granny! I’m back!”
Granny Guo emerged from her room at the sound of his voice. Before she could even see who it was, Kang Kang had already wrapped himself around her leg.
Looking down at her unharmed grandson, Granny Guo, who had been worried for days, finally felt at ease.
She gently patted his head, her face lighting up with a kind smile. “It’s good that you’re back.”
“I missed you so much!”
Kang Kang clung to Granny Guo, babbling about everything he’d seen and experienced during his trip.
“It sounds like you were a great help this time,” Granny Guo said.
“Yes, we couldn’t have solved the problem without Kang Kang,” Tang Yu’an added as he followed them inside.
“That’s wonderful,” Granny Guo said cheerfully, handing Tang Yu’an and Zhou Qi each a Star-chain Fruit.
The bright red fruits were sweet, juicy, and delicious, reminiscent of pre-catastrophe tomatoes. They were perfect for cooking or making soups.
The ones Granny Guo had saved were the sweetest, carefully selected for cultivation. Once the fruit was eaten, she planned to plant the seeds and breed even better varieties.
“Granny, this is Kang Kang’s reward,” Tang Yu’an said, pulling out a bottle of Intermediate Healing Potion and handing it to her.
Before Granny Guo could refuse, he quickly pulled Zhou Qi along and left, sending her the potion’s details via their terminal.
Granny Guo initially tried to decline, but Tang Yu’an’s argument—”It’s for Kang Kang”—convinced her to accept it.
Whenever Kang Kang was involved, Granny Guo’s resolve would soften.
At that moment, a system notification popped up:
[Employee “Old Ping” has completed a profitable transaction with a long-time customer. EXP +1, Points +10.]
A week had passed since Old Ping was hired, and he had finally reached Level 5, unlocking the ability to post in the employee forum.
Tang Yu’an glanced at the sky outside the window and casually gave Old Ping a new nickname.
Then, he and Zhou Qi used the teleportation array to travel to Shop No. 6 on the grasslands.
Over the past week, many animals had started frequenting the lake near the shop, leaving footprints and droppings around the area.
With the water and nutrients in place, green grass had begun sprouting along the lakeshore, bringing the area to life.
According to the map, several red dots representing dangerous creatures had also appeared nearby.
Fortunately, Old Ping’s tribe no longer lacked drinking water and wouldn’t need to risk coming to the lake for now.
Tang Yu’an and Zhou Qi stepped out of Shop No. 6 and added 10,000 cubic meters of water to the lake, raising the water level to two-thirds full.
The additional water seemed to increase evaporation under the blazing sun, forming more clouds in the sky.
However, due to the rampant wind energy in the area, the clouds remained scattered and couldn’t form rain-bearing cumulonimbus clouds.
After injecting water into the lake, Tang Yu’an began upgrading Store No. 6, raising it to Level 1. This unlocked more interior customization options and improved several other stats.
Among the branch stores currently under construction, only Store No. 1 and Store No. 6 had staff capable of increasing the store’s popularity—
That’s right, because Store No. 6 only had Old Ping as its sole employee, the store’s channel had only him in it.
After a round of discussion and deliberation, Tang Yu’an and Zhou Qi decided to manage Store No. 6 as their secondary home base.
Firstly, the geographical location of Store No. 6 was quite favorable.
Although sparsely populated, it had vast, open plains and lacked the ruins that cluttered the Desolate City, which required clearing for every expansion.
And because there were so few people, unlike Jufeng Town or Lanhu Town, they didn’t have to worry about being restricted in their actions.
The lack of population wasn’t a problem either. Once they gradually developed the area, they could increase the population of their home base by transferring residents there.
After all, customers could now use teleportation arrays, so moving people was relatively simple—it just required spending some points.
The main drawback of Store No. 6 at the moment was the extreme temperature differences between day and night. Much like the Wasteland City before the flood, the daytime temperatures were extremely high, while the nights were bitterly cold, with temperature fluctuations of 20 to 30 degrees.
Under such conditions, only native wild grasses and shrubs could survive.
Meanwhile, after the flooding, Desolate City’s daytime temperatures had become more comfortable. As long as nighttime insulation was taken care of, plants could grow well there, making it unsuitable to shift their focus entirely to the grasslands.
Their understanding of the grassland climate was still limited, so they’d need to make adjustments based on the actual situation later.
For now, they would make some preliminary arrangements, slowly increase the store’s popularity, and focus on unlocking its functions before taking the next steps.
*
At the same time, in the grassland tribe.
[Congratulations! Your level has increased to Level 5, granting you access to the three main sections of the Employee Forum: messaging, posting, and trading.]
[Reminder: Please be cautious about protecting your personal information on the Employee Forum.]
[Your outstanding performance has earned the appreciation of the Mysterious Merchant. You have been bestowed a new title: Dawnlight.]
Old Ping didn’t quite understand what this new title meant, so he brushed it off and immediately opened the Employee Forum to take a look.
Over the past week, he had gone through the entire forum. The more he read, the more astonished he became, and the more he marveled at the immense power of the Church of the Merchant God.
He particularly enjoyed the posts in the discussion section and would browse them whenever he had free time.
The pinned posts contained plenty of highly practical knowledge. After studying and verifying the information, he shared what he found useful for the grasslands with his son and daughter.
This process of learning and practice also gave him new insights into the two Divine Envoys, deepening his respect for them.
As for the items in the trading section—truth be told, he wanted every single one of them! Unfortunately, his current points were limited, and he didn’t dare to spend recklessly.
Regarding the other participants’ posts on the forum… as a religious forum, Old Ping often wondered if the way people spoke here was a bit too casual.
However, since he didn’t yet have posting privileges, he couldn’t ask about it.
The more he read, the more he convinced himself.
This must be the style of the Church of the Merchant God. After all, the Church referred to believers as “salesperson” and “employees,” which didn’t sound like particularly formal titles either.
“So, I can post now?”
Old Ping first sent a greeting in the store’s channel, but after not receiving a response for a long time, he switched to the public channel.
[Dawnlight]: Hello, everyone!
[Panshi]: Whoa, a newcomer!
[Panshi]: Dawnlight? What does that mean? How can such complicated words exist in the world?
[Little Noise]: It means the light of the morning sun. It’s a really beautiful name.
So that’s what it meant!
Old Ping felt a sudden realization after reading the explanation. It seemed that the Merchant God really valued him, even bestowing him such a meaningful title!
Without hesitation, Old Ping began typing on the message board, introducing himself and greeting others.
He hoped to quickly integrate into this community.
[Dawnlight]: I’m very happy to join the Church of the Merchant God. I look forward to learning from everyone in the future!
At that moment, the employees browsing the message board were stunned for a moment, even the usually unflappable Old Mo.
What did the newcomer just say? The Church of the Merchant God?
[Little Noise]: Did you say you joined the Church of the Merchant God?
In his circle of followers, aside from himself, had someone else also been recruited by the Mysterious Merchant?
For a moment, Old Mo’s heart was pounding like a drum. His first thought was to quickly review his recruited followers to determine if any of them had become employees of the Mysterious Merchant.
But no, everyone had just completed their trades with him today. He distinctly remembered that employees couldn’t trade points with one another—this was a fact he had learned from the message board.
So, who was this Dawnlight?
Old Mo was fully aware that he had made up the entire concept of the Church of the Merchant God. The Church didn’t actually exist, nor did the Merchant God—
Anyone recruited by the Mysterious Merchant and exposed to the Employee Forum should easily realize that.
So why did this Dawnlight think they had joined the Church of the Merchant God?
[Dawnlight]: That’s right. It’s all thanks to Lord Silver Light and Lord Dark Moon. If it weren’t for them, I wouldn’t have been able to join the Church of the Merchant God. Meeting them must have been a blessing I earned in a past life!
As soon as Old Ping said this, it was like throwing a bucket of cold water into a pot of hot oil, instantly igniting a frenzy.
[Greenish Blue]: What? You’ve met Silver Light and Dark Moon?
[Dawnlight]: I was fortunate enough to meet them twice.
What?! He actually met them twice?
[Panshi]: Whoa! What do they look like?
[Dawnlight]: Both of the Divine Envoys wear black cloaks and masks. Lord Silver Light’s mask is silver, while Lord Dark Moon’s mask is black.
[Fish in Water]: That sounds so cool! Anything else?
[Dawnlight]: Their voices are incredibly pleasant to listen to, and they’re very approachable. However, the two ferocious beasts—I mean, divine beasts—they raise are a bit mischievous.
[Changqing]: How old are they?
[Dawnlight]: Both are in their twenties. Truly talented at such a young age!
[Little Noise]: So why do you call them… Divine Envoys?
Tang Yu’an and Zhou Qi had already noticed the lively activity on the message board. Just as they had speculated, Old Ping’s arrival immediately led to a clash of perspectives.
What they hadn’t expected was that, after lurking on the forum for so many days, Old Ping’s beliefs hadn’t shifted at all.
Did this mean they had played their roles too convincingly?
[Dawnlight]: The two of them are envoys of the God of Commerce, so of course they are Divine Envoys! Don’t you all know that?
Old Mo: “…”
This sounded way too familiar! Could it be that other employees, seeing how well he had developed, had directly borrowed his framework?
No, wait. Silver Light and Dark Moon weren’t ordinary employees. On the forum, their prefixes were marked as “Mysterious Merchant”!
In fact, “Mysterious Merchant—Dark Moon” was even a moderator for the discussion section. Even if they weren’t the Mysterious Merchant themselves, they held extremely high positions.
So…
[Little Noise]: What is the doctrine of the Church of the Merchant God?
Seeing this question, Old Ping immediately became nervous. He couldn’t afford to be kicked out just because he couldn’t answer!
For the sake of the food in the mall and the knowledge and experience on the forum, he had to be a qualified believer!
Old Ping racked his brain, trying to recall everything the two Divine Envoys had said to him.
[Dawnlight]: We believe in the God of Commerce and aim to spread the divine light across this wasteland, so that all the poor and weak can gain access to water and food!
Old Mo: “…”
That was exactly what he had made up, word for word!
But then, he scratched his chin in uncertainty.
Could it be that the doctrines and teachings he had created were actually inspired by the God of Commerce themselves? Perhaps it was the God who had enlightened him, allowing him to come up with these ideas?
After all, the Mysterious Merchant could enter Gan Lin’s dreams to converse with him, influence him in the dream realm, and even instill specific ideas. That didn’t seem impossible.
Could it be that there really was a God of Commerce in this world, and he hadn’t just made it all up?
Old Mo couldn’t resist asking further on the message board.
[Little Noise]: Anything else?
What? There’s more?
Old Ping wiped the sweat from his forehead. He felt like his answer had been pretty good already—why did they want more?
Suddenly, he had a flash of inspiration and quickly replied.
[Dawnlight]: There’s more! The God of Commerce despises unearned rewards. Therefore, water and food aren’t given out for free. You must exchange something for them!
Old Mo blinked. Despises unearned rewards… That’s a good one. He made a mental note to remember it.
[Little Noise]: Anything else?
Old Ping was now sweating profusely.
He tried to recall, but aside from what the two Divine Envoys had told him, there didn’t seem to be any other doctrines or teachings.
[Dawnlight]: Th-that’s all, I think?
Old Mo felt a little disappointed. However, when it came to doctrines and teachings, the simpler they were, the easier they were to spread. There was no need to overcomplicate things.
[Little Noise]: Alright.
Old Ping, who had been holding his breath, finally let out a sigh of relief when he saw this reply.
Thank goodness, he had passed the test!
[Little Noise]: You must memorize the teachings and make sure you don’t violate them.
[Dawnlight]: Understood, understood!
The conversation between the two left the other employees completely bewildered. They had no idea what was going on, feeling as if they were lost in a fog.
The God of Commerce? Divine Envoys? Doctrines? What even was all this?
Chi Hao, watching the message board, couldn’t help but frown.
Could this be the Mysterious Merchant’s secret? Was the Merchant not an awakened human with supernatural abilities, but… a deity? That sounded utterly absurd!
[Cloud Hawk]: Excuse me, what are the teachings?
[Little Noise]: The employee manual, of course.
[Cloud Hawk]: Oh, oh, thank you for the clarification.
[Dawnlight]: Respected seniors, may I ask one more question? I’m new and don’t understand a lot. Please bear with me…
[Changqing]: Go ahead.
[Dawnlight]: Why does our Church of the Merchant God refer to believers as “employees” and “salespersons”?
The employees: …
Is it possible that they aren’t actually believers of any Church of the Merchant God?
Old Mo finally popped back up again.
[Little Noise]: Because we believe in the God of Commerce. We are merchants, after all, so naturally, we use commercial titles.
[Dawnlight]: Oh, I see!
The other employees also had a look of realization. Somehow… that made a strange kind of sense? So…
Had they unknowingly joined an organization called the Church of the Merchant God?
A faith that worshipped the God of Commerce, dedicated to bringing water and food to the weak and poor, using trade as a means to achieve it… To be honest, this doctrine did align with the values of many of the employees.
Even Lan Yunqing, who had just received immense benefits from the Mysterious Merchant, found himself leaning toward this perspective.
Only Chi Hao remained skeptical. Having been raised in the stronghold with its rigid ideological indoctrination, he was firmly convinced that no such thing as gods existed in the world.
As he watched the discussions on the message board, he couldn’t shake the thought that this mysterious, hidden Mysterious Merchant had finally revealed his true intention.
Was this his ultimate goal? To create a religion?
[Panshi]: So I’m a believer in the Church of the Merchant God!
[Greenish Blue]: So the organization is called the Church of the Merchant God? Are we all members of it?
[Ranger]: Turns out that’s the case!
[Eastern Sweet Tang]: Oh, so that’s how it is!
Old Ping, watching the flood of messages on the board, couldn’t help but feel a little dazed.
Was it possible that so many people didn’t know they were believers in the Church of the Merchant God? That seemed… a bit strange, didn’t it?
But he quickly found an explanation for himself.
It must be because the God of Commerce was modest. As long as everyone followed His doctrine, there was no need for them to sing his praises openly.
This had led to a situation where believers didn’t even realize they were serving a divine being.
What a benevolent deity, someone who truly created blessings for everyone through tangible actions!
*
At the grasslands, Store No. 6.
Tang Yu’an looked at the developments on the message board and couldn’t help but feel like typing “666.”
He and Brother Zhou had analyzed the situation over and over, believing that after Old Ping read the forum, he would realize they were frauds.
But to their astonishment, the situation had turned into Old Ping leading everyone else astray!
You had to hand it to Old Mo for his incredible ability to spin a narrative.
Even Zhou Qi couldn’t help but marvel, realizing he still had much to learn.
Before, it hadn’t even occurred to him to give their group an official name—after all, “Peace Grocery Store” sounded nothing like the name of an organization.
And now, Old Mo had beaten him to it, naming their group the “Church of the Merchant God.”
What should they do now? Should they just let things take their course as they had before?
The “Mysterious Merchant” couldn’t step in at this moment; the more they explained, the more they risked exposing themselves.
“Silver Light” and “Dark Moon” couldn’t step in either, or it would ruin the carefully crafted personas they had built. So…
Zhou Qi began organizing his thoughts, preparing to make one last effort to steer the situation.
[Handsome Zhou]: But as far as I remember, the recruitment notice said it was for the ‘Peace Grocery Store.’
*
On Chi Hao’s side.
Upon seeing Zhou Qi’s message, he also recalled that the first time he had encountered the two teenagers, it had been in a small shop named “Peace Grocery Store.”
So, was it because the recruitment notice said “Peace Grocery Store” that Tang Yu’an and Zhou Qi had decided to make that their shop sign?
Surely, they didn’t expect that the Mysterious Merchant, whom they regarded as a savior, was actually running a religious organization, right?
[Greenish Blue]: That’s right. The recruitment notice I received also said ‘Peace Grocery Store.’
After comparing notes, everyone realized that all their recruitment notices had said the same thing, although some stores had numbers added to the name.
At that moment, Old Mo chimed in with an explanation.
[Little Noise]: Peace Grocery Store perfectly aligns with the doctrines of our Church of the Merchant God!
Zhou Qi: “…”
He was tempted to mute Old Mo. Tang Yu’an really hadn’t given him the wrong nickname.
And Old Mo’s next comments had already appeared on the board.
[Little Noise]: ‘Ping’an’—peace and safety—is the simplest and most heartfelt wish of the weak and poor on this wasteland, isn’t it?
[Little Noise]: A Grocery Store is small but practical, perfectly embodying the commercial aspect while also representing the Church’s focus on serving the struggling masses on this wasteland.
[Little Noise]: Don’t you all think ‘Peace Grocery Store’ is the perfect name?
[Eastern Sweet Tang]: You’re absolutely right! 0.0 I never thought of it that way!
[Changqing]: Didn’t think of it +1.
[Greenish Blue]: Didn’t think of it +2.
[Red as Fire]: +3?
Zhou Qi couldn’t help but facepalm. It seemed the name “Church of the Merchant God” was here to stay.
As he watched the ongoing discussion, he turned to Tang Yu’an and said, “How about we transfer Old Mo to Store No. 6? It seems like he and Old Ping might get along.”
Currently, the main store had Chi Hao, Hai Jing, Old Mo, and Lan Yunqing, but they rarely interacted on the store channel.
“Sure, no problem.”
Tang Yu’an transferred Old Mo to Store No. 6, which would also help increase the store’s popularity.
Watching the discussion unfold on the message board, Tang Yu’an thought for a moment and said, “Since everyone has accepted the concept of the Church of the Merchant God, should we try being a bit bolder?”
Zhou Qi looked at him. “What do you mean?”
“We should expand the protective barrier at Store No. 5 to cover the entire building,” Tang Yu’an suggested. “Now that we’ve left Lanhu Town, Brother Yunqing probably won’t suspect us.”
Expanding the barrier to cover the entire building would turn it invisible, which would definitely attract the attention of the Lanhu residents.
Zhou Qi thought it over and nodded. “Alright, let’s treat it as a test of Lanhu Town’s response.”
They could observe how the people of Lanhu Town reacted and see how Lan Yunqing handled it, which would serve as preparation for publicly revealing the teleportation array in the future.
With that, they left Store No. 6 and used the teleportation array to return to the underground basement of the Lanhu Grocery Store.
As Tang Yu’an activated the 3D map and made the adjustments, the lakeside cabin vanished into thin air, right in broad daylight and under everyone’s watchful eyes.
