Chapter 195
The Black Wolf King stood atop a rock, tongue lolling as it surveyed the surroundings. All it could see were patches of dry, yellow grass with no trace of green.
It had spent half the day searching in this direction, yet it still hadn’t found any water. Hunger and thirst forced it to stop and rest.
“Awooo—”
The Black Wolf King raised its head and howled, its voice carrying a trace of sorrow.
The sky was growing darker. It needed to return to its pack before nightfall.
This meant giving up on exploring this direction and admitting that their three-day migration had failed. They would need to turn elsewhere in search of food and water.
The Black Wolf King stared stubbornly into the desolate wilderness ahead, its eyes full of resolve.
It wanted to keep moving forward.
But… the time had come to make a decision. It couldn’t blindly persist down this path, or it would lead its pack to ruin.
At last, it gritted its teeth and turned back, ready to return to the resting pack behind it.
But just as it jumped down from the rock, it couldn’t resist turning back for one last look. Its dark, deep eyes were filled with reluctance as it gazed at the path it was leaving behind.
It believed in its judgment—if it kept going, it would surely find water.
Suddenly, the Black Wolf King froze in place.
On the distant horizon, two figures appeared. They looked strangely familiar.
It squinted, carefully identifying them. The tail that had been hanging low behind it slowly lifted, and its hesitant steps stopped. Instead, it began moving cautiously toward the figures.
Gradually, its tail began to wag furiously. Then, all at once, the Black Wolf King broke into a full sprint, charging toward the boy standing in the vast, desolate wilderness with open arms.
Tang Yu’an was knocked to the ground.
The Black Wolf King excitedly and affectionately licked his face. Of course, due to its massive size, it didn’t dare press its full weight on the human boy.
“Hahaha—”
Tang Yu’an burst into laughter, tickled by the wolf’s enthusiastic greeting. Eventually, Zhou Qi couldn’t stand to watch anymore and pulled him out of the wolf’s grasp.
“Obsidian, long time no see!”
Tang Yu’an hugged the Black Wolf King’s massive head and gave it a good rub. Since he and Zhou Qi had spent three months in the other dimension, it really had been a long time for him.
“You look thinner,” Tang Yu’an said, running his hand over its fur, which didn’t feel as smooth as before.
Thanks to Zhou Qi’s intervention, the Black Wolf King finally snapped out of its reunion-induced joy. It stopped wagging its tail and regained its dignified composure.
It examined the two human boys carefully, noticing they had both grown significantly. The boy’s companion, in particular, had an aura and physique that seemed much stronger than before.
“Are you hungry? Want something to eat?” Tang Yu’an asked.
He pulled out a large slab of mutated fish meat from his storage and tossed it on the ground.
The Black Wolf King didn’t hold back, devouring the meat in a few quick bites.
As the leader of the pack, it needed to stay strong and well-fed to protect its group.
After the Black Wolf King finished the fish, Tang Yu’an poured some water for it to drink. Seeing it lap up the water so eagerly, he could tell it had been thirsty for a long time.
“Where’s Silverstone and the others? Take me to them,” Tang Yu’an said, patting the Black Wolf King’s head. “I’ll take you all to find water.”
Worried that Obsidian might not understand, Tang Yu’an pointed to the water and then gestured in the direction they had come from. “There’s water over there.”
The Black Wolf King’s eyes lit up instantly.
It stopped drinking, crouched down, and gestured for the two boys to climb onto its back. Once they were on, it took off at full speed, racing back toward its pack.
This time, it ran much faster than before. Unlike its earlier cautious pace while searching for water, now it raced like the wind, making it back to the pack just before nightfall.
“Awooo—Awooo—”
Howls echoed from the direction of the wolf pack. Mixed with them was the piercing cry of a giant eagle!
The resting wolf pack was under attack by giant eagles!
Tang Yu’an and Zhou Qi quickly leapt off the Black Wolf King’s back and used their flight abilities to follow it at low altitude.
The Black Wolf King’s speed surged as it charged toward the scene.
Even before it reached the pack, two wind blades formed at its sides and shot straight toward one of the eagles in the sky.
Caught off guard, the eagle barely dodged the attack, its feathers ruffled.
The Black Wolf King finally arrived and leapt into the air, sinking its jaws into one of the eagle’s wings.
Feathers flew as howls erupted from the wolves.
Unfortunately, the pack was being attacked by not one but two giant eagles.
When the second, larger eagle swiped at the Black Wolf King with its talons, the wolf had no choice but to release its grip and dodge. It landed back on the ground as the larger eagle grabbed its injured companion and fled in disgrace.
Seeing that the Black Wolf King had the situation under control, Tang Yu’an and Zhou Qi didn’t intervene. Instead, they quickly began treating the injured wolves.
The one injured wasn’t Silverstone but the deputy leader, who had previously been transformed into a puppy by Zhou Qi. Now, facing danger, it had returned to its original agile and powerful form.
But going up against two giant eagles had come at a heavy cost.
Tang Yu’an and Zhou Qi worked quickly to administer medicine and bandage its wounds.
Nearby, a mother wolf crouched, whining softly in distress. Several wolf pups ran over, howling mournfully alongside her.
“Don’t worry, it’ll be okay,” Tang Yu’an reassured them.
After finishing the bandaging, he picked up the smallest wolf pup and rubbed its head vigorously.
At this moment, after seeing off the retreating giant eagles, the Black Wolf King and its mate, Silverstone, finally returned to the wolf pack and approached Tang Yu’an and Zhou Qi.
Tang Yu’an scanned the pack and noticed that there seemed to be fewer wolves than the last time he saw them—likely losses sustained during their migration.
The harshness of nature was always unforgiving. Tang Yu’an had seen its cruelty while watching nature documentaries in the past.
But now, facing these creatures directly, he couldn’t help but feel a pang of sorrow.
The wolf pack, already weakened by hunger and thirst, was now utterly exhausted after the recent battle. Seeing their condition, Tang Yu’an quickly took out several basins and filled them with water for the wolves to drink.
He also pulled out large chunks of mutated fish meat to feed them, while Zhou Qi set up a campfire nearby.
Besides the injured deputy leader wolf, a few other wolves had minor injuries, so Zhou Qi carefully checked and treated them.
The wolves, wild and untamed by nature, acted more like a pack of gentle dogs around Tang Yu’an and Zhou Qi.
After eating and drinking their fill, they gathered around the two boys to rest and warm themselves by the fire.
Tang Yu’an used a purification spell on the wolves, making their fur clean and fluffy again.
However, due to their prolonged hunger, their coats were dull and lackluster. A simple touch revealed their emaciated state, with their bony frames clearly felt beneath their fur.
In such a state, it was impossible for the wolves to continue their migration.
So, Tang Yu’an and Zhou Qi decided to stay with the pack and camp outdoors for the night. While they wouldn’t be able to use the Dream Drift Bottles to return to their base, Tang Yu’an could still try his luck with the Lucky Spin Wheel.
“Let’s see what we can win today!”
Over the past week, Tang Yu’an had drawn a variety of items, including two 7-Day Sale 20% Off Coupons, two 6-Hour Traffic Boost Cards, a Wholesale Market 30% Off Card, and twice received 888 points.
“It’s been so long since I’ve drawn something really good!” Tang Yu’an said, grumbling a bit.
Zhou Qi hesitated but couldn’t help commenting, “A discount card for the 7-Day Sale and a traffic boost card don’t count as good? Sure, they’re not as amazing as what you’ve gotten before, but still…”
He trailed off, then thought to himself: The system’s inventory can’t be infinite, right? At this rate, won’t he drain it dry?
Still, he encouraged Tang Yu’an, saying, “I’ve got a feeling you’ll get something great this time!”
“Alright!” Tang Yu’an rubbed his hands together excitedly and clicked the spin button. The pointer spun round and round before finally stopping—
[Congratulations! You have obtained the special skill “Light Healing Lv1.”]
[Light Healing I1]
Type: Magic-based skill
Level 1: Cast a beam of light to gradually heal wounds.
Limit: Can be used three times per day.
Tang Yu’an stared at the notification, wide-eyed. “0.0”
“Brother Qi, you were spot on!” he exclaimed, sharing the skill details with Zhou Qi.
“Now, even if I run out of healing potions, I can use this skill for treatment!”
Zhou Qi couldn’t help but twitch slightly at the corners of his mouth. He reached into his pocket and touched the Lucky Marble stored there. After a moment of thought, he said with conviction, “It’s probably thanks to the Lucky Marble’s boost!”
“Haha, that’s awesome!”
Tang Yu’an immediately decided to test out his new skill. Spotting a lightly injured wolf nearby, he walked over. Since the injury wasn’t serious, he had only wrapped it with a basic bandage earlier.
When the boy approached, the gray-furred wolf wagged its tail furiously, panting with its tongue out like an overgrown puppy.
Then, it suddenly froze.
Because, in its gaze, a glowing orb of light had appeared in the boy’s hand. The light illuminated the boy, making him look like a god.
The “god” gently raised his hand, and the orb of light enveloped the wolf. The wolf felt its pain ease and its affliction melt away.
Other wolves couldn’t help but turn their gazes toward the scene.
Under their watchful eyes, the human boy moved to treat two more injured wolves with the same light.
“Awooo—”
“Awooo—”
The wolves howled in unison, their cries full of excitement and joy.
“Even though the description says it heals wounds slowly, it seems pretty effective,” Tang Yu’an said happily.
Zhou Qi nodded, also impressed by the skill’s usefulness.
“You should focus on understanding the power of light while using it,” Zhou Qi advised. “Try to get to a point where you can use it fully on your own, like you did with your flight skill.”
Tang Yu’an had already mastered several wind-based skills to the point where he rarely needed to rely on the system to cast them. Only when his wind energy was completely depleted would he use the system skills as a backup.
Tang Yu’an nodded enthusiastically. “Got it!”
Before going to bed, Tang Yu’an used all three of his daily Light Healing skill charges, hoping to deepen his connection with the power of light.
Zhou Qi sat quietly nearby, keeping watch over him. Under the brilliant starlight, the boy’s figure seemed to glow with a radiant aura.
When it grew late, they retreated into their magical tent. With the wolf pack standing guard through the night, they didn’t need to worry about danger.
*
The next morning, when the two boys emerged from the tent, the wolf pack was already prepared to set off.
The two giant wolves, one black and one silver, sat in front of the tent.
When they saw the boys emerge, the silver wolf wagged its tail and eagerly approached to greet them.
The black wolf, meanwhile, remained sitting still, its posture solemn and dignified, exuding the authority of a leader. However, the high wag of its tail betrayed its good mood.
“Are you all ready to head out?” Tang Yu’an asked.
The Black Wolf King barked once in response, and the wolves howled together, showing complete trust in the two boys.
However, when Tang Yu’an looked at the injured wolves in the pack, he hesitated, feeling reluctant to make them travel in such a state.
Then he heard Zhou Qi say, “Let’s buy a truck.”
“Huh?”
“There should be trucks available in the transportation section,” Zhou Qi explained. “We can load them up and take them back.”
“But what if we don’t know how to drive it?” Tang Yu’an asked, still hesitant.
“It’s fine,” Zhou Qi said confidently. “The grassland is wide open, no traffic to worry about. I’ve gained some experience driving the RV; I’ll give it a shot.”
Tang Yu’an was surprised at Zhou Qi’s rare display of recklessness but eventually nodded in agreement.
He spent 10,000 points to unlock the solar-powered vehicles category, then spent another 35,000 points to purchase a small truck.
The truck would have cost 50,000 points, but Tang Yu’an used a 30% discount card and saved 15,000 points!
He silently took back what he had said earlier about discount cards being useless.
The truck was an energy-efficient model with an advanced driving system. Most importantly, its smart driving system worked even without internet connectivity.
“Perfect! No need to worry about crashing!”
Tang Yu’an had a lot of faith in system-provided goods. After a bit of fiddling, he managed to activate the smart driving system.
Zhou Qi looked slightly disappointed but still placed both hands on the steering wheel, following the smart system’s voice instructions. Before long, the truck roared to life.
[Releasing scouting drones… scanning road conditions… generating map…]
Tang Yu’an and Zhou Qi noticed a few beetle-sized robotic drones emerging from underneath the truck. As the drones flew off to scan the terrain, a map quickly started generating on the dashboard.
“This is so advanced!” Tang Yu’an exclaimed.
Compared to this, their RV felt like a child’s toy.
About three minutes later, the system generated a map with a maximum range of about one kilometer.
“Please select a direction,” the system’s voice prompted.
Tang Yu’an pointed in one direction, and Zhou Qi cross-referenced it with the map before confirming the route.
The truck automatically adjusted its position and started moving in that direction. Meanwhile, the drones returned to the air ahead of the truck, focusing on scanning the path directly in front of it.
As they drove a few hundred meters steadily, Zhou Qi decided to test the system further. He issued a new command for the truck to turn around and return to their starting point.
A few wolves chasing after the truck failed to dodge in time, but the system detected them immediately and brought the truck to a smooth stop. Once the wolves cleared the way, it resumed moving.
“Wow, this is so convenient!” Tang Yu’an said excitedly.
The chaotic wind energy on the grasslands often made flying difficult, but with the truck, traveling became much smoother.
The only concern was the drones, but they flew low enough to avoid any significant trouble for now.
In the vast, open plains with no obstructions, driving the truck felt effortless.
Once they returned to the wolf pack, Tang Yu’an and Zhou Qi got out of the truck and greeted the Black Wolf King. Then, they carefully moved the injured and weaker wolves into the truck’s cargo bed.
A few wolf pups received special treatment—Tang Yu’an carried them into the passenger seat with him.
When he fed the wolf pups some jerky, they instantly became obedient.
As the truck started moving, the timid pups curled up in his lap and fell asleep, while the bolder ones perched on the windowsill, watching their leader run alongside the truck. Their wagging tails and soft howls were unbearably cute.
The Black Wolf King led the healthy wolves across the grasslands, running alongside the truck as if escorting it.
At first, the wolves had been startled by the appearance of this steel beast, but their trust in Tang Yu’an and Zhou Qi allowed them to quickly accept it as an ally.
Even the giant eagles circling in the sky seemed to reconsider attacking when they saw the steel giant, eventually abandoning their pursuit.
The truck continued across the grasslands, traveling safely toward its destination.
When the shimmering lake finally appeared on the horizon, the Black Wolf King and Silverstone were the first to notice.
Their eyes lit up with excitement, and without hesitation, they dashed toward the lake, moving far faster than the truck. In the blink of an eye, they had reached the water’s edge.
The black and silver wolves frolicked in the lake, splashing and playing to their hearts’ content. Once they had vented their excitement, they returned to the truck, dripping wet.
“Awooo—Awooo—”
The wolves howled in chorus, their cries full of joy and relief.
Soon, the truck arrived at the lakeside.
Tang Yu’an and Zhou Qi began helping the injured wolves out of the truck bed, but the Black Wolf King and Silverstone quickly took over. One wolf stood on the truck, tossing its injured packmates off, while the other stood on the ground to catch them, working together with seamless precision.
Before long, the wolf pack had settled in.
Some drank from the lake, some dug dens nearby, and others began eyeing the small animals that occasionally appeared near the water.
Tang Yu’an didn’t intervene. When it came to surviving in the wild, the wolves were far better equipped than he and Zhou Qi were.
Instead, Tang Yu’an took out the construction robots and set them to work digging channels and building a water network. He also opened the infrastructure interface and began fencing off an area, gradually expanding the protective barrier around Store No. 6.
After fencing off a circular area with a 100-meter diameter, Tang Yu’an decided to pause for the time being.
Then, Tang Yu’an used the inventory collection feature to gather all the grass seeds scattered on the ground.
Meanwhile, Zhou Qi began channeling water into the previously dug channels. Following his design, the construction robots had dug wells every few meters, each three meters deep, to help store water.
At each well opening, he laid wooden planks to prevent animals or people from accidentally falling in and to slow down water evaporation.
The wells were left without inner linings, allowing water to seep into the surrounding soil to nourish plant growth.
After receiving the grass seeds from Tang Yu’an, Zhou Qi scattered them around the edges of the channels. Then, he took out a wood-elemental crystal and a pot of Spirit Gathering Grass.
He began drawing wood-element energy from the crystal, and the Spirit Gathering Grass immediately amplified its effects.
A steady flow of wood-element energy poured out of the crystal, awakening the grass seeds scattered on the soil.
Nourished by the energy and the nearby water, the seeds sprouted, took root, and began to grow. Within moments, fresh green shoots started to cover the previously yellowed patches of grass.
Once the grass had grown to a reasonable extent, Zhou Qi put the crystal and the Spirit Gathering Grass away.
When he went to find Tang Yu’an, he saw the boy crouching next to the construction robots, giving instructions to the Black Wolf King and its mate, Silverstone.
“Make sure to keep an eye on these robots,” Tang Yu’an said, pointing at the two machines digging nearby. “Don’t let any other animals get close. If there’s danger, lead them back over there to hide.”
He pointed in the direction of Store No. 6. Although the protective barrier made it invisible to other creatures, Tang Yu’an had built an extra fence outside the main one to help the wolves identify the protected area.
This outer fence was spaced a palm’s width away from the inner one and wasn’t connected to the protective barrier. It acted as a visual marker.
Tang Yu’an picked up a playful wolf pup nearby and walked toward the fence, with the Black Wolf King and Silverstone following curiously.
The other wolves, more relaxed now, also watched from a distance, though they didn’t dare approach too closely.
Tang Yu’an placed the wolf pup inside the inner fence.
The Black Wolf King froze in surprise, and Silverstone’s eyes widened.
The pup was gone—completely gone! Even its scent had vanished without a trace!
They moved closer to investigate, and because the fence was only 1.2 meters tall, they easily peeked over it.
When they leaned over the fence, the pup suddenly reappeared on the other side, barking up at them.
Huh? How had it come back?
What the two leaders didn’t realize was that the other wolves watching from a distance were utterly horrified. From their perspective, the two leaders’ heads had vanished!
The deputy leader wolf came running at full speed to check on them, only to see the Black Wolf King back away, revealing its head again.
Huh? Its head had returned?
The deputy leader couldn’t stop in time and crashed straight into the fence.
Tang Yu’an hadn’t had a chance to stop it, but to his and Zhou Qi’s surprise, the fence remained sturdy and didn’t collapse. It tilted slightly inward but didn’t break.
The deputy leader, however, vanished on impact and reappeared a meter away on the other side of the fence, looking completely bewildered.
“What just happened?” Tang Yu’an asked, puzzled. He had thought the fence would break for sure!
Zhou Qi walked over to examine it. After a moment, he said, “It must have triggered the protective barrier.”
When the store was in its closed state, the protective barrier allowed harmless animals to move freely in and out. This was how the small animals in the swimming pool area had arrived.
However, if an animal displayed aggression—whether toward other creatures or the store’s structures—the protective barrier would activate and eject the animal outside.
“The outer fence tilted because it wasn’t protected by the barrier. The inner fence wasn’t damaged because the barrier took effect before the impact,” Zhou Qi explained.
“So that’s how it works!” Tang Yu’an exclaimed, relieved. If the fence was protected, they wouldn’t need to worry about it being destroyed and shrinking the enclosed area.
The wolves quickly caught on and began jumping back and forth through the fence, performing “disappear-and-reappear” tricks for each other. They seemed to be having a great time.
Tang Yu’an turned to the Black Wolf King and said, “You’ve seen it now. If predators come, lead the pack inside the fence to hide.”
The grasslands were the only area with water nearby, meaning more and more mutated creatures would be drawn to the lake.
Using the lakeside as a resting spot wasn’t entirely safe for the wolf pack.
But as long as they stayed within the protected area, they’d be fine!
Back on Earth, there had been a philosophy about not interfering with nature, but transferring water from Desolate City Haven to the grasslands was already a form of intervention.
This wasn’t their old world—it was the apocalypse.
Since the wolves were willing to follow their instructions, it made sense to care for them. Who knew? Maybe one day they’d help herd sheep.
The Black Wolf King seemed to understand Tang Yu’an’s words and barked once in acknowledgment.
It then herded the injured wolves and weak pups inside the fence and led the rest of the pack to guard the construction robots.
With plenty of food around the lake, the wolves had nothing better to do after eating their fill.
Satisfied, Tang Yu’an nodded. He then moved the truck to the front of Store No. 6 before he and Zhou Qi went inside.
They left the door open. The nights were cold, and the wolf pups and weaker injured wolves could come inside to take shelter.
As for the rest of the wolves, there wasn’t enough space for them inside. So Tang Yu’an and Zhou Qi took out some materials and built a shed next to Store No. 6. They covered it with thermal fabric to make it more comfortable for the wolves to sleep in at night.
After finishing these arrangements, Tang Yu’an and Zhou Qi used the teleportation array to head to Jufeng Town.
*
Lin Hai Town, Guanyu Village.
Hai Jing sat at the door of his house, facing a long line of villagers waiting to trade for rice.
Not far from him, Little Hai Lan sat under the eaves of the house. A small stool and a piece of paper were set in front of her, and she was gripping a pencil as she clumsily wrote on the paper.
The constant noise of the trades didn’t seem to bother her at all.
“Hai Jing, is it true that starting today, everyone can trade for 500 grams of brown rice per person?” Someone in the line asked him.
Hai Jing nodded and patiently explained, “The rice price fluctuates, so it might change again in the future.”
Three days ago, Hai Jing had received his monthly salary. At that moment, the numbers on his account balances had him so excited he couldn’t sleep all night:
[Personal Points Balance: 23,780]
[Supply Points Balance: 38,900]
Having learned some basic math, Hai Jing immediately realized the implications of these numbers. He was ecstatic.
Supply points, which amounted to 10% of his profit, could only be used to purchase trade goods. Any points spent on restocking goods would be deducted from his supply points balance.
It was practically free money!
However, he quickly calmed down and, after some careful consideration, decided to lower the price of rice.
Previously, each person could trade for a maximum of 200 grams of brown rice per day, with infants and toddlers being eligible for 200 grams of refined rice. Now, the same amount of salt could be exchanged for 500 grams of rice.
The cost of 500 grams of brown rice was 5 points, and 500 grams of refined rice was 10 points. As long as the salt traded exceeded 500 grams, Hai Jing would still make a profit.
Not to mention, no one ever traded for less than 2.5 kilos of salt per transaction.
To meet this demand for salt, most of the villagers had started digging salt ponds along the shore, ensuring a steady supply.
Of course, the decision to set the daily limit at 500 grams wasn’t made casually—he had consulted others on the message board before implementing it.
Their village had 76 people. Assuming each person traded for 500 grams of brown rice daily, the monthly cost would be:
76 × 30 × 5 = 11,400 points.
Even if everyone traded for refined rice instead, the total cost would only be 2,800 points.
His supply points balance was more than enough to cover the cost, leaving him with a surplus to trade for other types of food, such as dried fish or jerky.
Additionally, Hai Jing’s newbie protection period had ended at the beginning of the month. When given the choice for his compensation method, he opted for the end-of-month profit-sharing system.
As a result, he no longer received instant point rewards for each profitable transaction. However, watching his monthly profit steadily increase filled him with motivation.
Seeing the villagers’ joyful expressions as they traded for rice, Hai Jing couldn’t help but leave a message on the store channel.
[Cloud Hawk]: Brother Green, thank you so much! ^^
[Green as Blue]: I don’t want to talk to you right now!
