Chapter 201
In just a month, Old Mo had managed to gather over a hundred followers.
The initial group, of course, was made up of people like Sha Zi and Luo Xiaolei, who were recruited through their personal networks. From there, it grew steadily, with old believers bringing in new ones.
Most of these followers came from the factions that controlled water sources.
The rapid movement of so many people soon drew the attention of the gang leaders, and the two individuals currently spying on the ritual were sent to investigate.
“What do we do now? That old guy really made water appear!”
One of them, a young man with a scar across his face and short-cropped hair, was perfectly camouflaged in the shadows.
“It’s probably just some kind of illusion… Maybe it looked real because we’re so far away.”
“You think those hundred people are all idiots? I saw Luo Xiaolei and a few powerful ability users there,” the scarred man replied in a low voice. “If it was just some trick, they would’ve stolen the water for themselves. Do you really think they’d kneel there shouting dumb slogans if it wasn’t real?”
His companion hesitated, unable to come up with a reasonable counterargument.
Most ability users were proud by nature. Possessing extraordinary powers, many of them carried a sense of superiority, even if they didn’t show it outwardly.
For people like them to kneel before an old man? Unless there was a huge benefit involved, it would be absolutely impossible.
“Forget it. Let’s just report back and let the boss decide what to do.”
“If that old guy really is some kind of god… would you dare go against him?”
The scarred man’s companion swallowed hard. He wanted to say that gods couldn’t possibly exist, but what he had just witnessed with his own eyes made him hesitate.
Just then, they noticed through the binoculars that the old man in the black cloak suddenly turned and looked directly in their direction.
It might have been their imagination, but they felt as though their eyes met his across the distance.
Impossible, right? There was no Flame Dragon in the sky tonight, and the darkness, coupled with the great distance, should have made it impossible for him to see them.
Under their watchful gaze, Old Mo raised his scythe and pointed it toward their building.
“Go! The Divine has just given a sign—there are two malicious intruders hiding in that building. To protect our water and food, capture them!”
At Old Mo’s command, Luo Xiaolei and several powerful ability users immediately charged toward the building.
Only a dozen guards were left behind to watch the well, while the rest rushed toward the two spies with intimidating momentum.
The scarred man and his companion paled and quickly fled from the building to avoid being caught.
No matter how much they thought about it, they couldn’t figure out how the old man had spotted them from so far away!
Back at the well, Old Mo stood still, his expression unreadable and mysterious.
When the guards noticed that there had indeed been people hiding in the building, they cast respectful and awed glances at Old Mo.
In truth, Old Mo was secretly wiping the sweat from his palms.
A floating system panel was still visible in front of him, displaying the text of a newly triggered task:
[Congratulations! You have triggered a regular task: “Recruit New Customers.”]
[Description: In the building directly west of you, three stories tall, there are two potential new customers.]
[Objective: Complete one profitable transaction with each of the new customers.]
[Reward: Random points.]
So there were new customers nearby? That meant they likely weren’t friendly. But regardless of their intentions, it was better to capture them and question them.
As these thoughts raced through his mind, Old Mo couldn’t help but glance up at the sky.
Could there really be a God of Commerce watching over him? How else could the system have so accurately pinpointed that people were spying on their ritual?
While Old Mo’s mind spiraled with these thoughts, Gan Lin, lying by the well, let out a low groan and sat up, rubbing his sore neck.
He was about to complain about Old Mo hitting him too hard earlier but swallowed his words upon seeing the situation around him.
“Old Mo, what’s going on?” he asked.
“Nothing much, just two little rats. I’ve already sent people to catch them,” Old Mo replied coolly.
*
Peace Grocery Store, Attic.
The task Old Mo triggered was, of course, issued by Tang Yu’an. Every believer Old Mo recruited was logged in the system with a unique ID, and the two intruders—marked as green dots—stood out prominently on the map.
Tang Yu’an wasn’t sure whether these two were merely passing by or had ill intentions toward Old Mo. In any case, since they’d come, it was a good opportunity for Old Mo to try converting them into believers.
He trusted Old Mo to handle things appropriately.
Although Tang Yu’an couldn’t see the specific events unfolding, the glowing points on the map showed that the two green dots were surrounded by golden ones—they were not going to escape.
Satisfied, he turned his attention back to fishing for Drift Bottles.
Before long, a gentle female voice rang out in the attic—it was Wen Qian from Ice Flame Fortress!
Perhaps because of the fortress’s distance, they rarely received Drift Bottles from her. This was only the fourth one.
“I’ve met you again in my dream!” Wen Qian’s voice carried clear excitement.
“Hello there! How have things been for you lately?” Tang Yu’an greeted her warmly.
“Thanks to you, everything is well,” Wen Qian replied cheerfully.
The Flame Stones she had traded for in their recent transactions had allowed her to distribute warmth to her neighbors, helping many families on her street survive the freezing snow-filled nights.
Now, more and more people were approaching her, hoping to buy Flame Stones. Unfortunately, she didn’t have enough to supply everyone.
Conflicts had inevitably arisen during this time, but with the help and protection of her neighbors and friends, she had managed to get through the difficulties safely.
Her “ability” also drew the attention of the street administrator. However, after observing her for a while and realizing she couldn’t actually control the supposed ability, they eventually released her back home.
Wen Qian hadn’t intended to share all of this, but perhaps because it was in a dream, she spoke naturally without holding back.
Tang Yu’an and Zhou Qi couldn’t help but marvel at her boldness.
She had distributed Flame Stones to her neighbors? In their original world, such an act might earn her praise for being kind-hearted, but in this resource-starved post-apocalyptic world, her actions were nothing short of heroic.
At least for now, neither Tang Yu’an nor Zhou Qi dared to do something so generous.
Of course, on the flip side, it suggested that Ice Flame Fortress likely had decent law and order as well as a good sense of community, which may have given Wen Qian the confidence to act so boldly.
“They’re just trying to survive, like everyone else,” Wen Qian explained.
Now, many people had moved into homes with Flame Stones, bundling together for warmth and increasing the chances of survival for more people.
“You’re a kind and noble person,” Tang Yu’an said sincerely.
After exchanging pleasantries, they moved on to the day’s transaction. “So, are you still looking for Flame Stones today?”
“Yes. We’ve been gathering snow in the courtyard.”
To obtain more Flame Stones, they had collected snow from outside and compressed it into blocks of ice, stacking them in Wen Qian’s courtyard until the small yard was completely filled.
Tang Yu’an and Zhou Qi’s eyes lit up.
Snow and ice had different densities. A courtyard that could hold seventy to eighty cubic meters of snow would yield about seven to eight cubic meters of water once melted. But with ice…
It could yield at least sixty cubic meters of water, right?
“We can give you 300 Flame Stones,” Tang Yu’an offered.
After this trade, his stockpile of Flame Stones would be significantly depleted, with only about twenty left for emergencies.
Wen Qian had no objections.
“I’ll also give you a batch of food,” Tang Yu’an added.
After all, people needed food to generate body heat on their own. Without enough to eat, they could still fall ill, even if their homes were warm.
He provided her with two 100 kilos bags of soybeans, wrapped in cold-resistant fabric so they wouldn’t be damaged by being stored alongside the Flame Stones.
Wen Qian was deeply grateful.
“Do you have any trustworthy family members by your side?” Zhou Qi suddenly asked.
Flame Stones could be explained away as an ability, but soybeans were much harder to justify. Plus, relying solely on dream transactions was too infrequent.
“I have a daughter,” Wen Qian replied. “After I was taken by the administrator, she returned home. She’s been staying with me ever since.”
“Good,” Zhou Qi said. “You can tell her you’ve been trading with a Mysterious Merchant in your dreams.”
Wen Qian agreed.
As her dream sphere shattered, Tang Yu’an completed the transaction.
[You have received 85 cubic meters of ice.]
[You have completed a profitable transaction with a Dream Wisher. Points +125,000 (Double Points Card in effect), XP +6, Dream Fragment +1.]
Wow! Another six-figure points transaction!
Eighty-five cubic meters of ice would melt into approximately 76.5 cubic meters of water, or 76,500 liters.
At a value of 1 point per liter of water, after deducting the cost of soybeans and Flame Stones, they still earned a net profit of 62,500 points. With the Double Points Card, that profit doubled to 125,000 points!
Even though Tang Yu’an had mentally prepared himself, seeing such a massive increase in points still made him cheer out loud.
They immediately pressed on, fishing for more Drift Bottles.
At midnight, the daily Drift Bottle limit refreshed, allowing them to fish again. By the end of their efforts, they had earned an additional 21,358 points.
Half an hour later, the Double Points Card’s effect ended.
In just one day, with the help of the Double Points Card, their employees, the Drift Bottles, and their trades with Hei Xiong had brought them a total of 510,000 points!
Adding their previous 210,000 points, Tang Yu’an’s balance now stood at 720,000 points!
When Tang Yu’an saw the final number, he jumped up in excitement. “Brother Qi, that’s so many points! We’re rich!”
Zhou Qi couldn’t help but smile as well.
“We’ve met our goal ahead of schedule. We can even buy two Spatial Pouches now,” Zhou Qi said with a laugh.
“Yes! I’ll buy one right now!”
Tang Yu’an didn’t feel the slightest sting of regret spending the points. The sooner he could send the Drift Bottle out, the sooner he could reconnect with his parents!
He immediately purchased the 22,000-point Spatial Pouch.
The pouch was shaped like a drawstring bag, made of black fabric embroidered with golden patterns. Its understated elegance gave it a touch of luxury.
For 200,000 points, it had to be worth the price!
Tang Yu’an opened the pouch and saw that it contained a 2m x 5m x 0.8m space—about 8 cubic meters. Not too big, but not too small either.
He tested its functionality, finding that his hand could reach the bottom and move horizontally within the space. However, the opening could only expand to a maximum width of 15 centimeters.
This meant it couldn’t accommodate large items, but its key advantage was that it didn’t require any special abilities to use.
“No problem. We’ll divide the supplies into smaller packages so Uncle Tang and Auntie Tang can easily take them out,” Zhou Qi suggested.
Taking out a large bag of food all at once wouldn’t be safe; it could easily attract unwanted attention.
“Alright!”
They brought the supplies intended for Tang Yu’an’s parents to the small house in the alternate dimension and began packing them into sealed bags.
In the apocalyptic world, where proper cooking facilities were scarce, they focused on high-calorie foods that could be eaten directly.
Beef jerky, chicken jerky, three types of canned meat, and red-skinned peanuts formed the bulk of the food items. These were followed by white sugar, salt, and alcohol, as well as medical supplies.
Tang Yu’an divided half of the cold medicine, intermediate healing potions, advanced medical bandages, and insect repellent powder into a box, carefully labeling each item with instructions.
They also added candles, matches, flashlights, and batteries, as well as rolls of cold-resistant fabric, ambient-temperature fabric, and insulated thermoses.
The remaining empty space was filled with bottles of purified water stored in plastic water bottles.
In an apocalypse, clean water was as important as food.
People like Tang Yu’an and Zhou Qi, accustomed to living in a peaceful environment, could get sick just from drinking untreated water, let alone muddy or contaminated water.
Tang Yu’an briefly considered including a few Flame Stones, but he abandoned the idea. The high heat could potentially damage the other supplies.
He also managed to pack in a few small treats like red dates, fruit candies, and dried squid, using the smallest sealable bags to make the most of every inch of space.
When there was no more room left, Tang Yu’an tied up the spatial pouch securely.
From the outside, the spatial pouch still looked flat and light, with only the weight of the fabric itself, giving no hint of the large quantity of items packed inside.
He then carefully rolled the pouch and stuffed it into the Dream Drift Bottle.
Though there was still about one-third of the bottle’s space remaining, it wasn’t enough to fit a second spatial pouch. Instead, Tang Yu’an added three smart devices in their brooch forms.
The devices contained a video recording of him and Zhou Qi.
In the recording, they explained the situation and briefly shared their experiences in their current world. They also provided a tutorial on how to use the devices.
The smart devices could connect to each other within a range of 1,000 meters, allowing for communication and location tracking—an incredibly useful tool in an apocalyptic world.
“Mom, Dad, if there’s anything else you need, please let us know through the Drift Bottle. Brother Qi and I are very wealthy now—we’re big bosses with over ten employees!”
“I miss you so much…”
“Don’t worry. Brother Qi and I will definitely find a way to reunite with you. For now, let’s stay connected this way!”
By the end of the recording, Tang Yu’an’s eyes were red, but he held back his tears.
He didn’t want his parents to worry about him. Their situation was undoubtedly much more difficult than his and Zhou Qi’s.
After sealing the bottle and releasing it into the Dream Sea, the same prompt appeared again. Tang Yu’an carefully selected the option to send the Drift Bottle to the dreams of his closest blood relatives.
Seeing the confirmation of his choice, Tang Yu’an let out a long sigh of relief.
He and Zhou Qi then leaned on the windowsill, watching the Drift Bottle carrying their heartfelt messages bob and float in the Dream Sea until it slowly disappeared from view.
Tang Yu’an kept staring at the empty horizon even after it was gone, reluctant to look away.
“I wonder how long it’ll take to reach Mom and Dad…” he murmured.
Zhou Qi gently patted his head. “We’ll activate the accelerator every three days, okay?”
“Okay.”
Tang Yu’an glanced at their points balance—it was back down to around 400,000 points.
“Should we buy another spatial pouch?” he asked. The cheapest one available now cost 280,000 points.
“Let’s wait and see if something cheaper comes up later,” Zhou Qi suggested. “We don’t need another one just yet.”
Tang Yu’an nodded in agreement.
At that moment, he noticed that Old Mo had completed the task he’d issued, successfully converting the two intruders into loyal customers.
Checking the map, Tang Yu’an saw that the two individuals were now blending in with the other believers, no longer standing out.
He sent Old Mo a reward of 10 points and decided not to concern himself with the matter any further.
After a long day of work, both of them were exhausted. They made their beds and quickly fell asleep.
*
The next morning, as they woke, Tang Yu’an remembered something.
He turned to Zhou Qi and asked, “Brother Qi, last night, when you asked Wen Qian about her daughter, were you thinking of recruiting her as an employee?”
“Yeah,” Zhou Qi replied. “Judging by Wen Qian’s character, her daughter shouldn’t be a bad person either. Ice Flame Fortress is too far away, and we need local employees to expand the market there.”
Ice Flame Fortress not only had a sizable population but also valuable water resources. Properly developed, it could have even greater potential than Lanhu Town or Guanyu Village.
“If she doesn’t work out, we can always let her go,” Zhou Qi added. “Since Ice Flame Fortress is so far from us, even if there are issues, it won’t affect us much.”
Tang Yu’an agreed with his reasoning and opened the map, selecting the green dot next to Wen Qian.
[Would you like to recruit “Wen Qingqing” as an employee?]
After confirming her identity through her name, Tang Yu’an sent Wen Qingqing a recruitment invitation.
*
Ice Flame Fortress, Street 23.
Wen Qingqing was still in a daze from the events of the previous night.
She got up again and looked out the window at her courtyard, now cleared of ice and snow, save for a pile of red stones that hadn’t yet been distributed.
The stones didn’t form a particularly large pile, but the heat radiating from them was astonishing.
They couldn’t move the Flame Stones indoors, so they had to leave them in the courtyard.
As for the 100 Kilos of soybeans, Wen Qingqing and her mother moved them into the house. Her mother was in the kitchen, cooking the soybeans to prepare their breakfast.
Wen Qingqing was still bewildered by what had happened the night before, when her mother had woken her up in the middle of the night to help move the soybeans.
She was utterly confused.
If turning ice and snow into heat-emitting stones could be attributed to some kind of mystical ability, then how could turning ice and snow into yellow soybeans be explained?
And the ice that had filled their courtyard—how had it completely disappeared? Not even a single ice shard was left!
“Do you still not believe what I told you?”
Wen Qingqing turned to see her mother, Wen Qian, walking in with a pot in her hands. She quickly stepped forward to help.
“It’s not that I don’t believe you… I’ve just never seen such an ability before. It’s hard to wrap my head around,” Wen Qingqing murmured.
“That Mysterious Merchant is truly a kind and generous person. I wonder what their background is and how they managed to send us all these supplies,” Wen Qian said. “But no matter what, we should be grateful.”
Wen Qingqing nodded in agreement and glanced out the window. “We should give the Flame Stones to the military. The soldiers need them more.”
Ice Flame Fortress not only faced extreme cold weather but also had to defend itself against attacks from snow beasts that roamed outside the fortress.
These beasts had an innate ability to control ice and snow. Compared to them, even human ice ability users seemed weak.
“Because of the coal shortage, many soldiers have suffered from frostbite. I heard there have even been casualties recently…”
At this, the atmosphere in the house grew heavy.
“Then give the stones to the military,” Wen Qian agreed. “If the fortress falls, we won’t survive either. Let’s prioritize the soldiers.”
She sighed and added with worry, “I just don’t know when these days of hardship will end…”
Wen Qingqing reached out to hug her mother and softly said, “I heard someone mention a migration plan. Maybe if we move to a warmer place, things will get better?”
Wen Qian let out a bitter laugh. “Trying to migrate in this weather will cost countless lives.”
Besides the freezing cold, there were the snow beasts. Even if the migration plan succeeded, it was likely that only a tenth of the people would survive.
Wen Qingqing bit her lip tightly, a bitter expression on her face. She had never left the fortress and didn’t know what the world outside looked like.
But she had read books and seen images from before the disaster. She knew the world used to be colorful and vibrant.
She wondered if she would ever see such a world again in her lifetime.
At that moment, a recruitment notification from the Mysterious Merchant appeared before her.
[The Mysterious Merchant is inviting you to join the Peace Grocery Store as a sales assistant…]
“Peace Grocery Store sales assistant?” she muttered in surprise.
“What sales assistant?” Wen Qian asked, confused.
“It’s from the Mysterious Merchant… What kind of magical ability is this…” Wen Qingqing trailed off in amazement.
Without hesitation, she accepted the offer. Though she wasn’t sure what it entailed, she instinctively felt this was an opportunity—an opportunity to connect with the outside world, and perhaps even help solve the fortress’s current crisis.
Soon after, she began her onboarding tasks as guided by the system.
[Employee “Wen Qingqing” has completed a profitable transaction with a new customer. Points +28, XP +3.]
“It seems this Sister Wen is pretty proactive,” Tang Yu’an said with a smile.
He had worried that people in the fortress might all be as reserved as Chi Hao. Of course, he didn’t mean that as a criticism of Chi Hao.
After all, Chi Hao was very capable when it came to purchasing properties!
Tang Yu’an unlocked the employee panel for Wen Qingqing and gave her the nickname “Clear Snow.” Then, he and Zhou Qi returned to their plans for building a waterwheel.
After spending most of the day brainstorming, they finally outlined the initial concept. All that was left was refining the details.
Zhou Qi put down the blueprints for now and headed to the RV’s driver’s seat to continue practicing his driving skills.
With his experience driving a truck across the grasslands, he felt like he was making steady progress.
Tang Yu’an didn’t join in the practice. Although he had great confidence in Zhou Qi, he felt Zhou Qi might still need some more time to hone his skills.
Staying in the store, Tang Yu’an noticed something curious.
Despite the occasional sharp stops and bumps as the RV moved, nothing inside the store was shaking.
Everything in the store was steady—even the bottles and jars on the shelves didn’t so much as tilt.
Feeling reassured, he comfortably stayed in the store, occasionally looking out the window at the fish swimming in the water, cleaning up debris around the RV, or laying down a concrete path beneath it.
As he glanced at the map, an idea suddenly struck Tang Yu’an. He quickly ran to the driver’s seat to find Zhou Qi.
“Brother Qi, do you think we could use the RV to rescue Old Xie?”
