Chapter 206
Looking at the last bit of food in his hand, Tang Sheng sighed softly in his heart. Then, he tore open the packaging and handed it to his nine-year-old daughter.
Tang Yuxin took a small bite from his hand and then sat back.
“Daddy, I’m full,” she said while chewing slowly.
Just one bite—how could she possibly be full?
Tang Sheng’s heart ached as he looked at his daughter’s once-plump, chubby cheeks. They had not only shrunk but now appeared sunken.
“Eat a little more, sweetheart. Don’t worry, once this is gone, daddy will go find more,” he said as he broke off half of the sausage and forcefully handed it to his daughter. Then, he stuffed the remaining piece into the hands of his wife, Tang Xueyun.
Tang Xueyun sat there in a daze. Ever since they had lost their son, she seemed to have lost her soul. Aside from moments when she needed to stay alert to protect their daughter during their escape, she spent most of her time like this—detached, unresponsive.
After a long while, she finally reacted and tried to return the half sausage to Tang Sheng.
“You eat it. I can’t eat anymore,” she said weakly.
Tang Sheng sighed but didn’t force her. He was worried that if he made her eat, she might throw it up again.
They couldn’t afford to waste even a single bite of food anymore.
“Then get some rest,” Tang Sheng said softly, noticing the heavy dark circles under her eyes.
“I can’t sleep…”
“Even if you can’t sleep, you have to try. We’ve already lost An’an and Xiao Qi. Are you going to abandon Xinxin too?” Tang Sheng’s voice was rarely this stern.
He looked at his wife and spoke in a low voice, “It’s been three months. You need to pull yourself together.”
Three months ago, a sudden meteor shower had struck Earth.
Tang Sheng would never forget that day. He and his wife had gone out to restock supplies, leaving their eldest son at home to watch the store.
By the time the disaster struck and they hurried back home, the grocery store they had lived in for over a decade had been destroyed by a fragment of the meteor.
Half the surrounding street had collapsed into a massive crater left by the impact. Tang Xueyun broke down on the spot, frantically trying to climb into the crater to search for their son.
With what little rationality he had left, Tang Sheng managed to pull her away. Thankfully, they found Tang Yuxin, who had gone to a nearby park to play before the disaster. Only then did Tang Xueyun regain some semblance of calm.
In a single night, they lost both the home they had built over the past ten years and their beloved firstborn child.
Faced with such a natural disaster, they were powerless. All they could do was temporarily settle in their small delivery truck. During this time, they searched for their neighbor Zhou Qi, but to no avail.
However, before they could recover from their grief and find a new, stable place to stay—
The mutations began.
The meteors had brought with them alien organisms unlike anything humanity had ever seen before. These creatures parasitized Earth’s living beings, and after a brief incubation period, began to grow rapidly.
Infected organisms—whether human, animal, or plant—underwent grotesque mutations.
Some people grew two heads, some sprouted countless arms, while others ballooned up like living, ever-expanding balloons…
These monstrosities, called “Mutants,” were not only incredibly powerful but also exhibited extreme aggression.
Ordinary humans stood no chance against them.
The only small mercy was that the Mutants weren’t highly contagious.
Like viruses, the stronger the toxin, the weaker the transmissibility. Even if someone was injured by a Mutant, they wouldn’t necessarily be infected—
Though there was always the possibility that the infection was still in its incubation phase, waiting to erupt.
Humanity knew far too little about these alien organisms and had yet to determine whether or not they could reproduce.
In any case, these creatures had thrown the world into complete chaos.
As one of the meteor shower’s landing sites, the small town where the Tang family lived quickly became a disaster zone. Countless families packed their belongings and fled.
Tang Sheng had no choice but to set aside his grief and flee with his wife and daughter. Fortunately, their truck was stocked with some food, and though they had spent the past three months on the run, they had managed to survive.
But when the truck ran out of fuel, and after they were robbed by others, they had to abandon most of their supplies and continue on foot.
The vehicle they were using now was one they had found along the way.
The keys were still in the ignition, but the windows had been smashed. From the bloodstains, it was clear that the previous owner had been dragged out by a Mutant.
As for their fate, it was easy to imagine.
Driving this vehicle, they arrived in a neighboring town. What had once been a bustling place was now eerily quiet, with Mutants occasionally roaming the streets.
“Get some proper rest. Once you’ve slept, we’ll get out of the car to look for food,” Tang Sheng said to his wife.
Tang Xueyun looked at him, then at their daughter in the back seat—so thin she was nearly unrecognizable. After a moment of silence, her eyes reddened, and she nodded.
“I understand. I’ll try.”
It wasn’t that she didn’t want to rest, but every time she closed her eyes, she would see her son’s face in her mind. His smile, his voice—memories that brought endless regret.
Why had they left their son alone at home to watch the store? If they had brought An’an with them, would their family still be whole?
Strangely enough, this time, when she closed her eyes, she quickly drifted into sleep.
In her dream, she saw a vast, ethereal blue ocean filled with countless floating bottles. She stood on the shore, bewildered and at a loss.
Suddenly, a wave surged forward, pushing a transparent glass bottle to her feet.
As if summoned by some unseen force, Tang Xueyun bent down and picked up the bottle. The moment her fingertips touched it, she felt a very real sensation, as though she wasn’t dreaming at all.
And then… she woke up.
“Still can’t sleep?” her husband’s voice came from beside her.
Tang Xueyun turned her head to look at him. He said, “You barely closed your eyes for a minute. Even if you can’t sleep, at least rest your eyes for a while. You’ll wear yourself out like this…”
She felt something in her hand and looked down. There, in her grasp, was the bottle.
The same one she had picked up in her dream.
“I think I’m still dreaming,” she said.
Tang Sheng’s expression turned into a mix of helplessness and sorrow. In a low voice, he said, “I wish this were a dream too. If it were, we could wake up and go back to three months ago.”
But soon, Tang Xueyun realized something was off.
Everything around her felt so vivid and real. She reached out and took the sausage from Tang Sheng’s hand, taking a small bite.
The taste on her tongue confirmed it—this wasn’t a dream.
“This bottle…”
Her gaze fell once again on the bottle in her hand. It was made of transparent glass, containing a bag and three objects that looked like brooches.
“What bottle?” Tang Sheng asked.
“The bottle in my hand,” she replied.
“Mom, you’re not holding a bottle,” Tang Yuxin said as she came closer, looking up at her mother. “Why are you pretending to hold something? Is this a game?”
Since her brother’s death, her mother had been lost in a haze, rarely speaking to her or her father. Now, seeing her mother seem more alert, Tang Yuxin was overjoyed. She reached out to touch her mother’s palm.
“See? There’s nothing there.”
Tang Xueyun watched as her daughter’s hand passed right through the bottle, touching the skin of her palm. Her grip loosened, and the bottle fell onto her lap.
What was going on? She stared blankly at the bottle, then at her husband and daughter.
“You really can’t see this bottle?”
Tang Yuxin shook her head, but Tang Sheng’s face took on a pained expression.
Tang Xueyun understood what her husband was thinking.
He thought she had grieved so much that she was now hallucinating.
But if it were a hallucination, why would it manifest as a bottle like this? Why not a vision of An’an?
She missed him so much…
Ever since their home had been destroyed, the only photos they had of their son were stored on her husband’s phone. But once the phone ran out of power, they could no longer look at them.
Tang Xueyun picked up the bottle again. She wanted to see what was inside—maybe it contained a photo of An’an.
When she opened the cork, she heard a voice she had longed for day and night.
“Dad, Mom, Xinxin, this bottle is meant to reach one of your dreams. Don’t be afraid—it’s really me contacting you.”
“Brother Qi and I were brought to another world by something called the ‘Doomsday Grocery System.’ It’s been over a year, almost two years now. We miss you all very, very much.”
“There are supplies in this bottle that we’ve prepared for you. On top are three brooches—they’re actually optical computers. Each of you gets one, and they can be used to communicate with each other within a range of one kilometer.”
“There are also video messages from me and Brother Qi stored in the optical computers. Once you turn them on, just tell the AI assistant to play the videos, and they’ll start automatically.”
“The audio from this bottle can only be heard by the person who picks it up, but the videos in the optical computers aren’t restricted. I hope the supplies and our messages can reach you quickly…”
By the time the message ended, Tang Xueyun’s face was already wet with tears.
It really was An’an. It was his voice…
She listened almost greedily, praying that the message wouldn’t end. But no matter how much she wished otherwise, her child’s voice eventually faded away.
“Mom? Mom, what’s wrong?”
Tang Xueyun turned her head to see her daughter staring at her with teary eyes, looking frightened.
“Mom’s fine.”
She reached out and stroked her daughter’s cheek. “I heard your brother’s voice. He said he and Brother Qi are still alive. They even sent us supplies…”
Tang Sheng opened his mouth as if to speak, but stopped. He turned his head away, struggling to hold back the tears threatening to spill from his eyes.
“Really? Brother and Brother Qi are still alive?” Tang Yuxin asked excitedly. “Where are they? Why didn’t I hear Brother’s voice?”
Tang Xueyun froze. She silently withdrew her hand and looked once more at the bottle in her lap.
Rationally, she knew what she had heard and seen might truly be a hallucination born of her grief. But… what if it wasn’t?
She tilted the bottle and took out one of the brooches.
“Wow! Mom, you can do magic!”
Her daughter’s exclamation startled her. Tang Xueyun held the brooch up in front of her daughter and asked tentatively, “You can see this?”
“Yes, of course! Is this a brooch?” Tang Yuxin took the brooch from her hand.
Their conversation drew Tang Sheng’s attention.
Tang Sheng looked at his wife and daughter again, only to see Tang Xueyun pull a brooch out of her seemingly empty hand.
Tang Sheng: …?
Could it be that Ah Yun wasn’t sick after all? But when did she learn magic?
Then he saw Tang Xueyun examine the brooch for a moment before pressing its center. Instantly, lights illuminated the brooch.
“Activating. Please select a mode for the optical computer: 1. Retain as brooch mode, 2. Watch mode, 3. Companion sphere mode.”
The mechanical voice, cold and futuristic, echoed, drawing the attention of both Tang Sheng and Tang Yuxin.
Tang Xueyun swallowed nervously and said softly, “Companion sphere mode.”
“Understood. Switching mode.”
The brooch in her hand began transforming right before their eyes, and in seconds, it turned into a small sphere, about the size of a fist, that floated midair.
The three members of the Tang family stared at this scene in utter disbelief.
Tang Sheng opened his mouth to speak, but Tang Xueyun raised her hand to stop him. Her gaze remained fixed on the floating optical computer as she recalled the words An’an had spoken to her earlier.
“I want to watch the video! Intelligent system, I want to watch the video!” she said urgently.
“Understood. Retrieving video…”
“This device contains only one recorded video. Would you like to play it now?”
“Yes, play it!”
At her command, a 3D projection was cast from the optical computer, vividly appearing before the three of them.
“It’s Brother and Brother Qi!” Tang Yuxin blurted out.
Tang Sheng’s eyes widened in shock.
Was that really their son? Was he dreaming?
Unable to believe it, Tang Sheng pinched his thigh hard. The sharp pain made him yelp, his face twisting.
It’s real! It’s not a dream!
“Dad, Mom, Xinxin, Brother Qi and I are recording this video at home for you…”
As their son’s voice rang out, Tang Sheng’s attention was drawn back to the projection. He stared unblinkingly at his son’s face, and the tears he had been holding back finally streamed down his cheeks.
The projection was in 3D, so every detail could be seen clearly from different angles.
Tang Xueyun gazed deeply at her son, her heart aching and her hands trembling as she instinctively reached out to touch him.
But before she could, her daughter let out a sudden, piercing scream.
Startled, she turned her head and saw a grotesque Mutant clinging to the rear window of the car. Its blackened face, tinged with greenish hues, featured two bulging, glassy eyes that stared menacingly at them.
“Dad, drive! There’s a monster!” Tang Yuxin shouted at the top of her lungs.
Tang Xueyun immediately felt a chill down her spine. She turned her head again, only to see a hairy claw reach through the shattered car window and grab hold of the optical computer.
The moment the claw snatched the floating sphere, the video projection vanished. The Mutant dragged the device out of the car.
Tang Xueyun’s eyes instantly turned red.
“Give it back! Give me my child back!” she screamed, her voice filled with desperation, as she flung the car door open and dashed out.
“Ah Yun!”
“Mom!”
Tang Sheng and Tang Yuxin’s cries fell on deaf ears. Tang Xueyun was already outside the car.
The hairy Mutant had only grabbed the optical computer to lure her out. The moment she left the vehicle, it tossed the device aside.
Its mouth, filled with sharp teeth, opened wide as it lunged toward the frail human woman.
And then…
Tang Xueyun raised her leg and kicked it.
The Mutant, barely a meter tall, was sent flying through the air before landing on the ground with a hard thud, tumbling several times like a ragdoll.
Tang Xueyun didn’t spare it another glance. Her focus was entirely on retrieving the optical computer. But just as she picked it up, the Mutant that had been clinging to the car earlier was drawn toward her.
“Ah Yun, watch out!” Tang Sheng yelled.
Tang Xueyun inspected the optical computer in her hand and noticed a few scratches on it. Her eyes turned bloodshot with fury.
Seeing two Mutants closing in on her from the front and back, she grabbed a nearby taxi and swung it toward the hairy Mutant.
“Bam! Bam! Bam!”
She smashed the taxi down repeatedly, venting her anger until the smaller Mutant was reduced to a pulp. Then she turned her fierce gaze to the blackened Mutant with bulging eyes.
The creature froze in its tracks, its body stiff with fear.
When her sharp gaze locked onto it, the Mutant suddenly turned and fled.
But Tang Xueyun, still fuming, had no intention of letting it escape. She abandoned the now-battered taxi and hoisted a nearby pickup truck, hurling it at the fleeing Mutant.
“Boom!”
The pickup landed with precision, pinning the Mutant in a deep crater. It struggled for a moment before going completely still.
The corner of the street finally fell silent once more.
Inside the car, Tang Sheng and Tang Yuxin swallowed nervously.
They had managed to survive for three months in a world overrun by monsters, thanks in no small part to Tang Xueyun’s awakened superhuman strength.
Noticing something was wrong, Tang Sheng quickly got out of the car and rushed to her side, catching her just as she began to collapse from dizziness.
After her initial outburst, Tang Xueyun returned to a state of weakness.
Tang Sheng carried her back into the car, where she sipped some mineral water he handed her before once again turning her attention to the optical computer in her hands.
“Intelligent system, play the video,” she commanded.
“Understood. Retrieving…” Thankfully, though the device had been dropped and sustained a few scratches, it was still functioning properly.
Tang Sheng watched his wife’s focused expression. After a sigh, he decided not to drive away just yet.
Two Mutants had just been killed here, meaning it was unlikely more would show up in the immediate future—though they still needed to leave within two hours.
The reason was simple: the corpses of Mutants quickly decomposed, turning into a viscous, foul-smelling liquid. The stench was so overpowering that anyone who smelled it once would never want to endure it again.
The video from Tang Yu’an and Zhou Qi soon finished playing.
Hearing about their sons’ incredible adventure, the family of three was overjoyed.
Of course, their emotions were somewhat subdued due to the earlier encounter with the Mutants. Still, they couldn’t help but feel relieved and hopeful.
Tang Sheng, however, remained vigilant, splitting his attention between the video and the surroundings, unwilling to let his guard down again.
“Brother and Brother Qi seem different now…” Tang Yuxin remarked softly.
“They’ve grown up,” Tang Xueyun said, her gaze fixed on the paused frame of the video, tears glistening in her eyes.
They’re alive… That’s all that matters.
“So Brother and Brother Qi went with our shop to another world?” Tang Yuxin asked. “They weren’t killed by the meteor, right?”
“That’s right. They’ve been over there for a little over a year, almost two now,” Tang Xueyun replied.
“And it seems like they’ve been taking good care of themselves,” Tang Sheng couldn’t help but add.
Both boys had grown taller and stronger. Their faces were rosy with health, and An’an’s baby fat hadn’t even completely disappeared yet.
The couple couldn’t help but glance at the emaciated Tang Yuxin, their hearts aching as they compared her to her older brother.
Tang Sheng reached out and gently ruffled his daughter’s hair.
Meanwhile, something occurred to Tang Xueyun. She quickly picked up the glass bottle again, pulling out the last brooch and handing it to Tang Sheng.
Then, she shook the bottle repeatedly, working hard to extract the bag inside.
Calling it a “bag” wasn’t entirely accurate—it resembled a large embroidered pouch.
“So, this is the spatial pouch with supplies they mentioned in the video?” Tang Sheng asked curiously.
“It should be.”
Tang Xueyun opened the pouch, and a few candies spilled out. The pouch was packed with supplies, though from the outside, it was impossible to tell it contained a space with an 8-cubic-meter capacity.
Tang Sheng stared at the pouch and its contents, feeling even more stunned than when he first saw the optical computer.
He couldn’t resist reaching out to touch the flat pouch, murmuring, “Ah Yun, this really isn’t a dream, is it?”
Tang Xueyun picked up the candies, unwrapped one, and fed it to her daughter before popping one into her own mouth.
The sweet flavor melted on her tongue, soothing wounds in her heart that had festered for the past three months.
Hearing her husband’s words, she unwrapped another candy and fed it to him.
“Well? Is it sweet?”
Tang Sheng’s face immediately contorted as he grimaced. “It’s so sour!”
Tang Xueyun looked down and realized the candy was lemon-flavored. She paused, then couldn’t help but burst into laughter.
“Sour is good—if it were a dream, you wouldn’t taste anything.”
It was the first time in three months that Tang Xueyun had smiled. Seeing her like this, Tang Sheng couldn’t help but grin foolishly in response.
Tang Yuxin was delighted too. “Mom, mine is sweet! It’s milk-flavored!”
Tang Xueyun stroked her daughter’s small face, then reached into the spatial pouch and pulled out a can of beef.
The moment she opened the can, the rich aroma of meat filled the car, causing all three of them to gulp audibly.
“Grrr—”
Their stomachs growled in unison.
The lid of the can came with a disposable fork. Tang Xueyun handed the can to her daughter.
Tang Yuxin took a bite and was about to say she was full, but then she saw her mother pull out two more cans—one for her and one for Tang Sheng.
“Eat until you’re full. You’ll need your strength to fight monsters,” Tang Xueyun said softly.
Seeing her mother so full of vitality again, Tang Yuxin smiled and nodded. She clutched the can tightly and ate carefully.
The beef was so delicious—it had been so long since she’d eaten anything this good!
Having a brother was such a blessing!
*
Dimension MR176349, Desolate City.
Tang Yu’an and Zhou Qi had no idea their message in the bottle had successfully reached their family.
Back in their RV, they began testing the effects of the 100% performance boost from their latest system upgrade.
The RV’s intelligent system hadn’t received an update, and its interior didn’t show any noticeable changes. However, from the outside, it was clear that the RV’s chassis had been elevated, and the wheels seemed to have been upgraded.
As Zhou Qi drove, he immediately noticed a significant improvement in speed, indicating that the engine and internal components had likely been enhanced as well.
Meanwhile, Tang Yu’an activated the inventory function and skillfully moved all the clutter outside the vehicle to one side, clearing the right-hand portion of the floor space.
This time, Zhou Qi didn’t have to step out of the RV to clear road obstacles manually. Instead, he drove forward directly, eager to test the RV’s new capabilities after its upgrade.
He quickly discovered that obstacles on the road that would have previously gotten the RV stuck could now be handled with ease.
Apart from some unavoidable bumps and jolts, the RV navigated the road smoothly and reached the end of the path without any major issues.
After careful observation, Zhou Qi realized the improvement wasn’t just because the chassis had been elevated—the upgraded wheels were capable of crushing smaller obstacles on the road.
Even objects that couldn’t be crushed could now be climbed over without difficulty.
“I found it!”
Tang Yu’an had been exploring the RV’s upgrade page and located the specifications for the new wheels. “Each wheel costs 5,000 points. They’re highly durable and designed with adaptive adjustments, making them perfect for off-road use.”
Although the average lifespan of these tires wasn’t particularly long, replacements could be ordered directly from the upgrade menu. They weren’t single-use items, and at 5,000 points each, the price was quite reasonable.
Zhou Qi nodded in approval. This upgrade significantly increased their travel speed.
Whereas they could previously only manage to travel five or six hundred meters in a day, their speed had now increased to over 2,000 meters per day—four to five times faster than before.
“Old Xie won’t have to wait as long anymore!” Tang Yu’an exclaimed.
Their original plan was to take two months to reach Old Xie’s location, but now it seemed they could get there in less than two weeks.
“Beep beep beep—”
The sound of an alarm they had set interrupted their conversation, prompting them to leave the driver’s seat and head back to the attic of the Peace Grocery Store.
The window where the Dream Drifting Bottle accelerator was located now showed that the cooldown period had ended.
Finally, they could use it again.
Finally!!