Chapter 194
That day was both calm and extraordinary for the residents of Lanhu Town.
The three esteemed guests who had saved the Lanhu Forest had departed. One of them had even been designated by the Mother Tree as the next Lord of Lanhu. As long as he agreed, their current Lord Yunqing would immediately step down to make way for him.
Before leaving, the three guests had left behind a precious plant, which was now being cultivated in the farmland outside the Lanhu Forest.
Previously, the rice and wheat they had planted had withered away. The revival of the Mother Tree had drained the soil of nutrients, leaving the land barren.
Yet, even in such barren soil, the plant called the Star-chain Fruit could still grow vigorously.
With the help of wood-attribute ability users, the plants thrived, and the soil they grew in began to change—shifting from yellow to brown, and eventually to black.
The townsfolk couldn’t stop talking about this miracle, and their interest in the small shop bearing the sign Lanhu Grocery Store grew day by day.
Situated in a prime location, the store naturally drew a lot of attention.
So, when the entire building suddenly vanished, many people in Lanhu Town witnessed it firsthand.
The townsfolk could hardly believe their eyes.
“Th-this was the Lanhu Grocery Store run by those esteemed guests, wasn’t it?”
An elderly man sitting across the street, basking in the sun, looked confused. He grabbed his son and pointed at the now-empty plot of land.
“Yes…” The son started to reply, but his voice faltered midway.
He stared at the empty ground across the street and blurted out, “It was such a big store. I saw it this morning! How could it just disappear like that?”
The two of them hurriedly joined others gathering around the empty lot. Before long, someone touched an invisible wall.
“What is this thing?”
“I can’t get through!”
“Could it be that the Lanhu Grocery Store is hiding behind this invisible wall?”
The crowd surrounded the invisible barrier, discovering that while they could see people on the other side, any attempt to walk through was blocked.
What kind of ability was this? It was incredible!
“Where’s that kid, Mo Ke? Go get him and figure out what’s going on!”
Mo Ke, as one of the esteemed guests’ companions and now a shop clerk, had received a warmer welcome than ever before.
That morning, he had gone out early to complete a trade mission. He had only managed to sell a few packets of glucose when Lan Yueliang dragged him back, babbling something incomprehensible like, “Your shop is gone.”
Mo Ke couldn’t imagine the people of Lanhu Town suddenly turning against his two young bosses, who had just saved the Lanhu Forest. Surely, they wouldn’t confiscate the store outright?
Still, with such an ominous statement, Mo Ke followed Lan Yueliang back. When he arrived, he took one look and—
“What the hell?! Where’s my store?”
Like everyone else, Mo Ke inspected the area from every angle. In the end, he confirmed that the empty lot was indeed the original location of the store.
“My store was huge! Where is it?”
He panicked, pushing through the crowd and running straight to the empty lot. Then…
Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Mo Ke disappeared!
“Did he… just go in?” Lan Yue Liang grabbed the person next to her, dumbfounded.
“I think so?”
“Why wasn’t he stopped by the invisible wall?”
The crowd buzzed with discussion, while Mo Ke stood under the store’s rain awning, equally bewildered.
The good news? His store was still there.
The bad news? No one else could see it!
What was going on?
A sudden thought struck Mo Ke’s mind—he remembered the water barrier he had seen at the Desolate City Haven.
Was this the same protective barrier as the one at Desolate City Haven? Did Tang Yu’an and Zhou Qi activate it?
Mo Ke was about to ask on the message board but quickly realized that anything he said in the store channel would also be visible to Lin Zhen and the others. He stopped himself.
The teleportation array was a closely guarded secret, and the old man had repeatedly warned him never to reveal it.
Instead, Mo Ke entered the store and went straight to the basement.
By the time he arrived, Tang Yu’an and Zhou Qi were gone—they had already left to shift the blame onto the “God of Commerce.” After all, if they were going to play this game, they had to commit to the act.
When Mo Ke found them, they were pretending to come downstairs to look for Grandpa Li, but he dragged them back to Room 901 before they could say anything.
“You’re saying Store No. 5’s protective barrier is active?” Tang Yu’an asked in surprise.
Mo Ke froze. “Yes, isn’t it you guys who activated it?”
Tang Yu’an and Zhou Qi shook their heads. “We’re not the managers of the Lanhu Grocery Store.”
That much was true—they weren’t lying.
Mo Ke caught the implication. “So only store managers can activate the protective barrier? Wait… that’s not right…”
He suddenly realized something and blurted, “Could it have been activated by that esteemed figure?”
Naturally, he was referring to the Mysterious Merchant—or, to be precise, the “God of Commerce” that the forum had recently been discussing.
The authority of store managers was undoubtedly granted by the Mysterious Merchant. If the Lanhu Grocery Store didn’t yet have a store manager, then the activation must have come directly from the Mysterious Merchant.
“Very likely!” Tang Yu’an nodded seriously, playing along.
Zhou Qi chimed in, “The reason we came to Lanhu Town to establish a branch store was because we received a task from the Mysterious Merchant.”
“Then why did he suddenly activate the protective barrier?” Mo Ke asked, confused. “The store is now surrounded by people—how are we supposed to do business in the future?”
Tang Yu’an and Zhou Qi exchanged helpless glances.
Mo Ke sighed. “Can I ask about this on the message board?”
“Better not,” Zhou Qi said quickly. “Asking would expose your identity, wouldn’t it? We don’t know who the other employees are, so it’s better not to reveal too much about ourselves in the real world.”
“Alright, then what should we do now?”
Tang Yu’an interjected at the right moment, “Brother Yunqing is also an employee. Why don’t you see how he reacts?”
“He’s an employee too?” Mo Ke was surprised, then quickly made the connection. “That’s right, he’s the lord of Lanhu Town. The Mysterious Merchant must’ve given him a task as well. I’ll go ask him!”
“We’ll go with you!” Tang Yu’an said.
“There’s no need for that. If you show up in Lanhu Town, won’t you risk exposing the teleportation array?”
“As long as we don’t leave the store, no one will be able to see us,” Tang Yu’an reassured him.
Mo Ke nodded but still heard Tang Yu’an say, “If anything happens, just run back into the store to hide.”
If something did go wrong, Tang Yu’an and Zhou Qi could step in to rescue Mo Ke.
“That shouldn’t be necessary,” Mo Ke said, feeling more confident.
He believed the people of Lanhu Town were much friendlier than the people of Jufeng Mountain. While they had been cold at first, their attitudes had taken a dramatic turn after they accepted him as one of their own.
Aside from Lan Yue Liang, he had made several friends in recent days and had developed a basic level of trust in the Lanhu people.
“As Grandpa always says, it’s better to be safe than sorry,” Tang Yu’an reminded him.
Mo Ke agreed with this, so he didn’t argue further. The three of them used the teleportation array to return to Lanhu Town.
With such a major incident happening, Lan Yunqing had, of course, already been informed. At this moment, he stood outside Store No. 5.
Mo Ke took a deep breath and said, “I’ll go talk to him.”
Facing the leader of an entire region, Mo Ke couldn’t help but feel nervous. But remembering that they were both employees of the Mysterious Merchant, he steadied himself.
Tentatively, he stretched one hand through the barrier.
The Lanhu townsfolk, who had been gathered around out of curiosity or concern, immediately stepped back in unison.
When Mo Ke poked his head out, they all took two more synchronized steps back.
Only Lan Yunqing remained where he stood.
The startled Lanhu guards quickly regained their courage and moved forward to shield their lord, their faces tense as they stared at Mo Ke—whose head and hand appeared to be floating in mid-air.
Realizing how strange he must look, Mo Ke chuckled awkwardly, pulled himself fully out of the barrier, and appeared before the crowd, completely unharmed.
“Lord Yunqing,” he greeted with a nod. Then, turning to the townsfolk, he said, “There’s no need to worry. The Lanhu Grocery Store is still here.”
Lan Yunqing’s gaze shifted from the fire-attribute ability user to the seemingly hidden Lanhu Grocery Store behind him. His expression remained composed.
“Let’s talk somewhere else,” he suggested.
Recalling the message board’s recent discussions about the “God of Commerce” and the “Church of the Merchant God,” Lan Yunqing decided to tread cautiously.
“Alright,” Mo Ke agreed.
Hearing the exchange, the townsfolk refrained from saying anything more, watching as their lord and Mo Ke moved into the Lanhu Forest.
Seeing this, Tang Yu’an and Zhou Qi quickly used a shadow umbrella to follow them, quietly arriving nearby.
“This is the work of the Mysterious Merchant?” Lan Yunqing’s voice broke the silence.
“It must be,” Mo Ke replied. “We don’t have the authority to activate something like this.”
“We?” Lan Yunqing’s tone was filled with curiosity.
Tang Yu’an instantly tensed up, unsure how Mo Ke would respond.
“Yes, Little An and Little Qi aren’t the branch managers of the Lanhu Grocery Store. They don’t have the authority either,” Mo Ke explained.
“This store wasn’t opened by them?”
“They came here because they received a task from the Mysterious Merchant.”
Lan Yunqing’s thoughts drifted to Chi Hao. Perhaps he, too, had been given a task when he used healing potions to trade for that house.
Previously, An An had also mentioned something about tasks…
As he pieced together Mo Ke’s words, Lan Yunqing became certain. “It seems you know what this invisible wall is.”
Mo Ke hesitated for a moment. To clear up any misunderstandings, he decided to explain.
“It’s a protective barrier,” he said. “Not only does it hide the store, but it can also protect against natural disasters and mutant creatures.”
Lan Yunqing’s expression shifted visibly. “Protect against natural disasters and mutant creatures? Are you saying such things truly exist?”
“You’ve already seen it for yourself, haven’t you?” Mo Ke replied. “Didn’t you try attacking it earlier?”
Lan Yunqing fell silent. Indeed, before he had arrived, the guards had attempted to attack the barrier. He had also tried contacting the Lanhu sprout within the store but had been unable to establish communication.
At this moment, Mo Ke hesitated before speaking again.
“But…”
“But what?” Lan Yunqing pressed.
“I’ve seen protective barriers like this before, and during the day, they’re usually visible to outsiders,” Mo Ke said, scratching his head. “But for some reason, the one in Lanhu Town remains invisible, even in daylight.”
Lan Yunqing frowned, carefully processing the information Mo Ke had provided.
Finally, he said, “So, this barrier only blocks visibility and offers protection, while the Lanhu Grocery Store is still in its original location. Is that correct?”
Mo Ke nodded. “That’s absolutely correct.”
Lan Yunqing lowered his head in thought. This kind of invisibility technique, which could completely block sight, was far too powerful. And given that the Lanhu Grocery Store was located at the heart of the town…
Not knowing what was happening inside was deeply unsettling.
“Is there anything else?” Lan Yunqing pressed.
Mo Ke hesitated visibly, and Lan Yunqing immediately picked up on it.
“So there are additional features,” Lan Yunqing said.
“Well, this is a divine creation, after all,” Mo Ke said with some understanding of Lan Yunqing’s concerns.
He hadn’t expected the Mysterious Merchant to activate the barrier without informing Lan Yunqing beforehand. This could easily lead to distrust between Lanhu Town and the shop.
Mo Ke paused to think about how to ease Lan Yunqing’s concerns and avoid such a rift.
After a moment of hesitation, he said, “The appearance of this protective barrier is definitely a good thing for Lanhu Town.”
“How so?”
“This barrier can expand,” Mo Ke said, casually dropping a bombshell.
“The barrier I saw before covered an area as large as half a town. Even if a natural disaster hit, the people living inside would remain completely unaffected.”
Half a town? Of course, Mo Ke was exaggerating, but he figured that with the expansion speed of Desolate City Haven, they’d likely reach that size soon enough.
“Are you saying it could encompass the entire Lanhu Town?”
“Exactly. This protective barrier doesn’t just block natural disasters; it can also keep out dangerous creatures. For instance, that giant insect from before—it wouldn’t have been able to enter the barrier at all.”
This part Mo Ke had seen with his own eyes. While he had been actively conducting business in Lanhu Town, he hadn’t neglected Desolate City Haven.
He had personally witnessed the miraculous features of the protective barrier there.
“You’re not lying to me?” Lan Yunqing stared at Mo Ke intently.
Hearing that the barrier could keep out mutant insects, Lan Yunqing couldn’t help but feel tempted.
The thing he feared most now was the possibility of mutant insects returning. This time, they had been able to deal with the giant insect thanks to Zhou Qi and his companions.
If it had been up to him and his guards alone, they would have paid a heavy price.
“Why would I lie to you?” Mo Ke replied earnestly. “Everything I said is the absolute truth!”
“The place you mentioned—was it in Jufeng Mountain?”
“No,” Mo Ke said, shaking his head.
Lan Yunqing didn’t press further. He thought carefully. If this barrier could really expand to encompass Lanhu Town, protecting both the Lanhu Forest and its people, it would undoubtedly be an incredible boon.
But the premise was that the barrier must be capable of such expansion.
“So, how do we get it to work as you described?” Lan Yunqing asked humbly.
“That, I’m not sure about…”
Mo Ke scratched his head. “Maybe it’s because you haven’t gained the Mysterious Merchant’s trust yet, or maybe there are conditions you need to fulfill to allow the barrier to expand.”
Lan Yunqing pursed his lips. At that moment, a new notification suddenly appeared in front of him.
[Because of your demonstrated potential, the Mysterious Merchant has decided to assign you to the “Peace Grocery Store No. 5” as a salesperson.]
[Congratulations! You’ve triggered the standard task “New Employee Assessment.”]
[Description: You must meet the assessment criteria to unlock additional employee benefits.]
[Task Objective: Bring 2,000 points of store popularity to Peace Grocery Store No. 5 (0/2000).]
[Reward: Unlock residency permissions for Peace Grocery Store No. 5.]
[Reminder: Attracting new customers and completing profitable trades will increase store popularity.]
Lan Yunqing read the message carefully. So, in the Church of the Merchant God’s internal records, the Lanhu Grocery Store was officially labeled as Peace Grocery Store No. 5?
And this meant there were at least five such stores in existence around the world?
“Are you an employee of Store No. 5?” Lan Yunqing suddenly asked.
Mo Ke instinctively shook his head. “No, I’m…”
He paused, then smiled. “So, the Lanhu Grocery Store is Store No. 5?”
Lan Yunqing nodded.
Seeing how straightforward he was, Mo Ke hesitated briefly. Feeling that this information wasn’t particularly sensitive, he added, “I’m from Store No. 1, sent to Lanhu Town on assignment.”
Lan Yunqing nodded thoughtfully. So Xiao Tang and his group must also be from Store No. 1…
“So the employees of Store No. 1 are more experienced, which is why they’re sent to establish new stores?” Lan Yunqing asked.
Mo Ke laughed awkwardly.
In truth, he’d only been recruited upon arriving in Lanhu Town. The truly experienced ones were Tang Yu’an and Zhou Qi, but there was no need to let Lan Yunqing know that.
“We don’t have any hostility toward Lanhu Town,” Mo Ke said. “If we did, Xiao Qi and the others wouldn’t have gone to such lengths to help the Lanhu Forest.”
He emphasized again, “The activation of this protective barrier really has nothing to do with us.”
“Hmm. I just received a task,” Lan Yunqing said, summarizing the details briefly. “So, as long as I gain residency permissions, I’ll be able to enter this protective barrier, correct?”
“That’s right, I have the same permissions,” Mo Ke said, feeling that the task had come at just the right time.
“I understand now,” Lan Yunqing replied. “I’ll complete the task as soon as possible.”
Since he would also have access to the protective barrier, everything inside it would become knowable to him. This realization finally eased Lan Yunqing’s wariness.
“One last question,” Lan Yunqing said, fixing his gaze on Mo Ke. “The Mysterious Merchant… is he really a god?”
The features of the protective barrier that Mo Ke had described were incredibly enticing. If it could truly expand indefinitely, it would make the territory even safer than the fortress.
But was such power really something a human could possess?
Mo Ke hadn’t expected Lan Yunqing to ask such a question.
After a moment of hesitation, he replied, “Well, since there are benefits to gain, what’s the harm in believing? Besides, looking at the doctrines and rules, it doesn’t seem like anything an evil god would come up with.”
Lan Yunqing nodded in agreement with Mo Ke’s last point.
So far, this so-called God of Commerce appeared to be quite upright. Everything he had done seemed aimed at saving the suffering and helping the needy, which suited Lan Yunqing’s values just fine.
Tang Yu’an, who was eavesdropping nearby, found the exchange amusing, while Zhou Qi couldn’t help but feel a bit helpless.
It seemed the employees’ beliefs were too firmly entrenched to change.
Fortunately, thanks to Mo Ke’s explanation and guidance, the blame had been successfully shifted to the Mysterious Merchant, completely removing suspicion from Tang Yu’an and Zhou Qi.
From now on, Lan Yunqing was unlikely to suspect that they were the Mysterious Merchant.
Now that the lord of Lanhu Town had accepted the existence of the protective barrier, they could guide him step by step to complete tasks to upgrade Store No. 5.
The more Lan Yunqing invested in the store, the deeper his sense of ownership would become. Later, when the time was right, they could guide him to “unlock” the teleportation array himself—
Of course, the exact plan would depend on the future development of Store No. 5.
If Lan Yunqing managed to run Store No. 5 effectively, continually providing them with points and experience, they wouldn’t even need to station employees there.
At that point, whether there was still a need to establish a connection between Desolate City Haven and Lanhu Town would have to be reevaluated.
Seeing that Mo Ke was safe, Tang Yu’an and Zhou Qi returned to the store before Mo Ke came back, using the time to discuss their next steps.
“In the future, we could use Lanhu Town as a model when developing other branch stores,” Tang Yu’an suggested.
They had originally planned to use the branch stores simply as teleportation points, but if they could develop secondary or tertiary home bases, that seemed like a pretty good idea too!
“We’ll have to take things one step at a time,” Zhou Qi said, less optimistic. “Not every place is like Lanhu Town.”
Lanhu Town had the Lanhu Forest, which allowed its people to live relatively comfortably. This naturally fostered a more peaceful and simple community.
But the rest of the wasteland…
Zhou Qi’s reminder brought Tang Yu’an back to reality, recalling how their store in Jufeng Mountain had been looted and burned. His excitement quickly cooled.
“That’s true. Lanhu Town is an exception. We’ll need to act cautiously when expanding to other places,” Tang Yu’an admitted.
“Unless…”
“Unless we start out under the banner of the Church of the Merchant God, like we did with Store No. 6,” Tang Yu’an suggested. “That would make things easier!”
Zhou Qi had to agree—it would indeed make things smoother.
“We could also make better use of the Thousand-Faced Cloaks in the future,” Zhou Qi added, offering another idea.
“Haha, that sounds like it could be a lot of fun!” Tang Yu’an said, laughing.
When Mo Ke returned and recounted his conversation with Lan Yunqing, Tang Yu’an and Zhou Qi felt reassured and wrapped up the discussion for the time being.
*
Over the next few days, notifications of profitable trades from Lan Yunqing began popping up more frequently.
Before, Lan Yunqing typically completed around 500 trades per day. However, since the Lanhu Forest had been healed, his trade volume had noticeably decreased.
But on this particular day, he completed over 700 profitable trades before stopping!
This gave Tang Yu’an 720 experience points and more than 28,000 points, while Store No. 5 gained over 700 store popularity points.
At this rate, it seemed likely that Lan Yunqing would gain residency permissions for Store No. 5 in just two more days!
Sometimes, people just needed a little motivation.
After returning to Desolate City Haven, Tang Yu’an and Zhou Qi headed to Store No. 3 to refill the reservoir. They then spent 48,000 points to construct two more reservoirs of the same size.
Even after this expenditure, they still had over 400,000 points left.
This was the benefit of having more employees—they brought in more resources!
It had already been a month since the flood, and they needed to build as many reservoirs as possible before the next flood arrived.
After filling all three reservoirs, they returned to Store No. 6 to transfer the water into the nearby lake.
It took about one and a half reservoirs’ worth of water to fill the lake completely.
Once the lake was full, Tang Yu’an released the construction robots to begin digging channels around the lakeshore, following the design Zhou Qi had drawn up.
Water was essential for plant growth. Once the channels connected to form a water network, they could quickly develop suitable grazing fields for livestock.
To ensure the construction robots weren’t attacked by animals, Tang Yu’an and Zhou Qi stayed near Store No. 6 to keep watch.
While checking the map to scout for other promising locations nearby, Tang Yu’an noticed two glowing markers by the lake.
“It’s Obsidian and the others!” Tang Yu’an exclaimed in surprise. “They really brought the wolf pack and migrated here!”
“Should we go check on them?” Zhou Qi asked.
Tang Yu’an was just about to agree when he suddenly paused. A new message had popped up in the Store No. 1 channel.
[Puwei]: Little Divine Healer, the guards said the Jufeng Grocery Store has been rebuilt, and they’re hoping we can return to sell salt.
The Jufeng Grocery Store was finally rebuilt!
Tang Yu’an cheered aloud and quickly replied to Puwei in the store channel, letting her know he had received the message.
“Where should we go first?” Zhou Qi asked, smiling as he looked at Tang Yu’an.
Tang Yu’an hesitated for a moment, then made up his mind. “Let’s go see Obsidian first!”
Zhou Qi had already guessed what his choice would be. Standing up, he said, “Alright, let’s go.”
*
On the grasslands, the wind howled like blades slicing through the air.
At the head of the pack, the Black Wolf King strode forward, scanning the horizon.
For three days, it had been leading the wolf pack in search of a suitable place to settle. But along the way, they had found no suitable territory—either there was no water source, or the areas were already claimed by other wolf packs.
Even the territories already occupied by wolves were embroiled in chaos and territorial battles. Unless absolutely necessary, the Black Wolf King didn’t want to lead its pack into such a battlefield.
The grasslands stretched endlessly into the distance, as if there was no end to them. The only hint of hope lay in the fragmented clouds scattered across the sky.
But as time passed, even that faint hope grew dimmer.
“Awooo—”
A mother wolf finally collapsed, her legs buckling under her as she fell to the ground.
The wolf pack came to a halt.
The Black Wolf King let out a signal for the pack to rest where they were. Then, with a determined gaze fixed ahead, it decided to scout ahead alone.
