Chapter 212
Peace Grocery Store, Attic.
Tang Yu’an studied the map. Around the light points representing Old Mo and Gan Lin, there were now hundreds of other light points—twice as many as before.
After hearing Gan Lin’s description, he finally realized the danger Old Mo and his people were facing.
“Old Mo made the right choice by staying put,” Zhou Qi commented. “Gang territories might offer more business opportunities, but the more people there are, the more conflicts arise.”
Not every place was like Lan Hu Town. That town was an exception in the wasteland.
That was why they had been so cautious while running the Jufeng Grocery Store—to avoid unnecessary conflicts before they grew strong enough.
“Luckily, Old Mo is rational,” Zhou Qi added sincerely.
Surviving in the wasteland for so long—these old-timers were definitely not pushovers.
“But we still need to figure out a way to provide support for Old Mo and Gan Lin,” Tang Yu’an said.
Zhou Qi thought for a moment, then nodded. “Once we fish up Old Xie, let’s set off for Flame Dragon Fort.”
Tang Yu’an blinked. He had only been thinking about distributing some of the engraved equipment they got from Tuls to Gan Lin and the others. He hadn’t expected Zhou Qi to make such a bold proposal.
But it was actually a great idea.
“Are we taking the RV?” Tang Yu’an asked.
“Of course,” Zhou Qi nodded. “It’s slow, but it ensures safety and lets us continue fishing for drift bottles.”
They had already established contact with Uncle Tang and Aunt Tang and could check in every nine days. Naturally, they couldn’t leave the grocery store for too long.
“If we run into impassable routes, we can set up branch stores along the way.”
Fortunately, there were no restrictions on the number of branch stores for now.
Even if there were, knowing how the system worked, they could probably unlock more slots by spending points.
After discussing for a while, they added the plan to their schedule.
“Speaking of which…” Tang Yu’an glanced at his points balance and suddenly said, “It seems like Hai Jing hasn’t been doing much trading these past few days.”
With 76 people in Guanyu Village, Hai Jing’s daily transactions were usually very stable, bringing in 228 experience points and over 30,000 points each day.
But recently, Hai Jing’s earnings had dropped sharply.
“Could it be that life has improved, so they decided to take a break?” Tang Yu’an muttered.
Zhou Qi frowned. Something felt off.
“Let’s fish out Little Hai Lan’s drift bottle and ask her,” he suggested.
“Good idea!”
By controlling the brightness of the drift bottles, they could generally identify which ones belonged to whom—unless someone, like Green Eyes, stopped making wishes altogether. In that case, they wouldn’t be able to retrieve any bottles.
Sure enough, the next bottle they fished out belonged to Little Hai Lan.
“Great and merciful Divine Envoy, may your radiance forever shine upon the land.”
Tang Yu’an quickly interrupted the little girl’s prayer and greeted her.
“Divine Envoy!” Little Hai Lan’s delighted voice rang out. “You’ve come into my dream again!”
“That’s right,” Tang Yu’an chatted with her briefly before asking, “How have things been lately? Are you doing well?”
“It’s okay,” Little Hai Lan nodded. “But…”
“But what?”
“Daddy said there are outsiders around, so we’re not doing any trading for now. He also won’t let me go out and play,” she explained.
Tang Yu’an exchanged a glance with Zhou Qi. So something really had happened in Guanyu Village!
“Where did these outsiders come from?” he asked. “Did they do something bad?”
“They’re from the town,” Little Hai Lan replied. “They come every year to collect protection fees…”
She hesitated for a moment before adding, “Before, they would leave after collecting the fees, but this year, for some reason, they’ve stayed.”
“Daddy said we can’t let them know we’re selling goods, or we’ll be in trouble…”
So that was why Hai Jing had stopped trading recently.
They had already learned some information about Linhai Town from Hong Li. The salt trade there was monopolized—only those with connections to the local powers could obtain salt.
For example, Jin Fu had channels in Linhai Town, so he could always buy salt and bring it back.
But whenever Hong Li sent people to negotiate, they never got a response. Most likely, Jin Fu’s people were blocking them. Otherwise, there was no reason for the local powers to refuse selling salt to her.
Even if Hong Li wanted to use force to break through, it would be difficult.
Linhai Town had a Tier 5 ability user stationed there, making it impossible for Hong Li to win alone. And since Jufeng Town was far away, the guards she trained couldn’t provide support.
As a result, Jufeng Town had been heavily restricted, forced to buy salt only from Jin Fu.
Meanwhile, the locals of Linhai Town—like the villagers of Guanyu Village—were not allowed to sell salt. If they did, they would face severe consequences.
So even though they had easy access to sea salt, they couldn’t turn it into wealth.
If those thugs collecting protection fees found out that Hai Jing had been stockpiling salt, it would spell disaster for him and his daughter.
The only reason they had avoided trouble for so long was that no one in the village had snitched on them.
“I’m sorry, Divine Envoy,” Little Hai Lan said. “We don’t have as much salt as before this time.”
“That’s okay,” Tang Yu’an reassured her. “Trade me whatever salt you have left. If they can’t find any salt in your home, it will be safer for you.”
“Alright, but we can’t store any more food or other supplies, so please just take the salt as a gift.”
Little Hai Lan had a point—right now, the biggest danger to them wasn’t the salt itself but the obvious presence of high-quality food and goods that clearly came from outside sources.
Tang Yu’an thought for a moment, then said, “The God of Commerce despises unearned gains, so I won’t take your salt for free.”
“I will grant your father an ability to help you through this crisis.”
“Divine Envoy, thank you for your kindness!”
With that, Tang Yu’an and Little Hai Lan completed the transaction.
[You have obtained 361.5 kilos of sea salt.]
[You have completed a transaction with a dream-world wishmaker. Points +18,075, Experience +6, Dream Fragment +1.]
After the transaction ended, the dream light orb of Little Hai Lan also disappeared.
Zhou Qi looked at Tang Yu’an and asked, “The ability you want to give to Hai Jing… is it a personal storage space?”
Tang Yu’an nodded. “He can temporarily store things in the storage space, at least adding a layer of protection. But it might not be enough…”
Right now, he could only authorize employees with five storage slots in total—he couldn’t possibly allocate all of them to Hai Jing.
Zhou Qi thought for a moment and said, “Authorize Slot No. 1 for him.”
“Isn’t that the one you share with Chi Hao?” Tang Yu’an asked.
“Yes, but both Hai Jing and Chi Hao are currently at the main shop, and they know each other well. Hopefully, Hai Jing is smart enough to figure out how to use this channel to solve his problem.”
Tang Yu’an pondered for a moment and quickly understood Zhou Qi’s reasoning.
His eyes lit up. “Alright, then we’ll go with that.”
So, he authorized Storage Slot No. 1 for Hai Jing.
*
Linhai Town, Guan Yu Village
In a second-floor room, Hai Jing sat on the edge of his bed, troubled as he watched his daughter sleeping peacefully.
The salt pools by the shore had been discovered by those people.
This was why he didn’t dare to organize the villagers for large-scale salt production. Otherwise, with the workforce of Guan Yu Village, their daily salt output could have increased several times over.
Of course, they couldn’t claim to know nothing. The villagers had made excuses, saying that they were simply salting fish to make dried goods—salted fish lasted longer in storage.
Since Hai Jing had been selling a lot of dried fish recently, this explanation, backed up by evidence, had helped them muddle through for now.
But those people from town clearly weren’t completely convinced yet.
Fortunately, the rice Hai Jing had been trading away—both coarse and fine varieties—had been distributed per person, making it difficult for villagers to hoard any. In the high temperatures, rice was hard to store for long, so everything was eaten quickly, and nothing was found during searches.
The Flame Stones traded earlier had cooled off after a month or two, making them easier to hide.
The only tricky items were the down blankets, as each household had one. One family had already been caught with one, but they claimed they had found it by the shore, and the excuse had barely passed.
Even so, those people still chose to stay in the village.
With them around, everyone was on edge. And now that Hai Jing had stopped trading food, the villagers were struggling to get by.
Hai Jing was still safe for now, but he could feel that a search of his house was imminent.
If they searched his home, there was no way he could hide everything. What would he do then?
He was considering the possibility of escaping with his daughter when he suddenly saw Little Hai Lan open her eyes and wake up from her dream.
He glanced at the salt jar and saw that the salt inside had vanished—his daughter had traded with the Divine Emissary again. He couldn’t help but smile wryly.
But it didn’t matter anymore. A little more or less wouldn’t make a difference…
“Daddy! I saw the Divine Emissary again! He said he’s granting you an ability to help us through this crisis!” Little Hai Lan said.
Just as Hai Jing was about to speak, a system notification popped up in front of him.
[Due to your outstanding performance, the Mysterious Merchant has granted you access to ‘Personal Storage Slot No. 1’.]
Hai Jing froze in surprise.
Personal Storage Slot No. 1? What was that?
He thought about it for a moment, then his eyes widened in realization—this was an incredible ability!
Overjoyed, he gave his daughter a kiss on the cheek and said, “We must properly thank the Divine Emissary!”
Then he quickly began transferring all the valuable items in his house into the storage space.
First, the down blankets. One family had already been caught with one, so using the same “found by the shore” excuse wouldn’t work again.
Fortunately, both he and his daughter had temperature-regulating fabric clothing. They could wear those underneath their old clothes to stay warm without drawing suspicion.
Next, he stored the remaining flour and dried meat.
But before he could even transfer half of it, the system notified him that the storage space was full.
The hope that had just ignited in Hai Jing’s heart was doused like cold water. Despair started to creep in again—until he noticed a message popping up on the bulletin board.
[Bulletin Board (Shop Channel)]
[Greenish Blue]: Cloud Eagle, did you get access to the personal storage space too?
Hai Jing was startled and quickly replied.
[Cloud Eagle]: Brother Green, how do you know?
[Greenish Blue]: Duh, because I have access too!
Hai Jing then saw a system message indicating that Greenish Blue had retrieved an item from Storage Slot No. 1.
His eyes lit up once more.
[Greenish Blue]: See?
[Greenish Blue]: What did you put in there? How did you fill up the space so fast?
[Greenish Blue]: This storage isn’t just for you, you know. Besides me, Handsome Zhou also uses it!
[Cloud Eagle]: You can take my stuff out?
[Greenish Blue]: What do you take me for? Why would I take your stuff?
[Cloud Eagle]: Brother Green, don’t be mad, I didn’t mean it that way…
After a brief explanation, the misunderstanding was cleared up, and Chi Hao understood Hai Jing’s predicament.
[Greenish Blue]: So you absolutely can’t let these things be found, and you need to move them immediately?
[Cloud Eagle]: Yes, as soon as possible.
[Greenish Blue]: How long until you can take them back? You know I’m traveling through the wilds—I can’t hold onto them for too long.
Hai Jing was overjoyed and immediately replied.
[Cloud Eagle]: It’s okay. If you can’t keep them, just throw them away. These supplies would put me and my daughter in great danger.
[Cloud Eagle]: Nothing is more important than our lives.
[Greenish Blue]: Whoa! You have a daughter? How old is she?
[Cloud Eagle]: She’s about six, almost seven.
[Greenish Blue]: Alright, I’ll transfer your supplies to me first. Then I’ll ask Handsome Zhou for help—these supplies are too valuable to just throw away.
[Cloud Eagle]: Thank you! Thank you so much!
With Chi Hao’s help, Hai Jing quickly transferred all the valuable items from his house.
When he saw his home reduced to an empty shell again, he finally felt a sense of relief. Holding his daughter, he kissed her again.
[Greenish Blue]: Damn, how do you have so many supplies? Did you buy them all with shop points? Having a good salary is nice…
[Greenish Blue]: That temperature-regulating fabric—did you get it from the shop too?
Looking at Chi Hao’s message, Hai Jing quickly replied.
[Cloud Eagle]: No, these weren’t exchanged with points.
As soon as he sent the reply, Hai Jing stiffened slightly. Because of Greenish Blue’s help, he got a little too excited and said too much.
If it wasn’t exchanged with points, then how did he get it?
Even in the forum trading section, all transactions were done with points.
Clearly, Chi Hao noticed this too.
[Greenish Blue]: Don’t tell me… your daughter can also contact the mysterious merchant in her dreams?
Not only Hai Jing, but even Tang Yu’an, who was secretly watching, was stunned.
How did Chi Hao know about this? Did Lan Yunqing tell him about Little Risheng?
Hai Jing quickly replied.
[Cloud Eagle]: Brother Green, you sure know a lot.
[Greenish Blue]: Just average.
[Greenish Blue]: The mysterious merchant sure likes making deals with kids.
[Cloud Eagle]: You should address them as the Divine Envoy.
Seeing Chi Hao’s somewhat casual wording, Hai Jing frowned slightly. But before he could say anything, a sudden commotion came from outside.
The group that had appeared at the seaside earlier had now arrived outside Hai Jing’s house.
The leader sized up the house and said, “This is the biggest house in the village, and it looks newly built.”
“Search it!”
“Yes, sir!”
Several subordinates kicked open Hai Jing’s door and rushed in.
Hai Jing shoved his daughter under the bed before rushing downstairs in a panic, only to be pinned to the ground by a tall, strong man.
“Don’t move! Cooperate with the investigation!”
His face was pressed against the cold floor, his heart pounding as if it would burst out of his chest. He wanted to resist, but the overwhelming strength difference left him no choice but to stay quiet.
In the end, they found nothing suspicious except for some dried fish.
Just as Hai Jing was about to breathe a sigh of relief, a sharp scream came from upstairs. The resistance he had just abandoned flared up again. He furiously threw off the man holding him down and rushed upstairs without hesitation.
He saw his daughter, Xiao Hai Lan, being dragged out from under the bed by a burly man. She was crying and calling for her father, making Hai Jing’s blood boil.
“Let her go!”
He charged forward, punching the man in the face and snatching his daughter back.
“Daddy…”
The man, furious from being hit, lifted his foot to kick Hai Jing. Holding his daughter tightly, Hai Jing took the full impact of the kick.
The man was about to strike again when a sharp voice stopped him.
“Da Biao, what are you doing? Did I tell you to beat people?”
Da Biao shuddered and finally stopped attacking Hai Jing.
The leader came upstairs, glanced at Hai Jing and Little Hai Lan. Hai Jing held his daughter close, trembling, keeping his head down.
The leader then turned to Da Biao.
“Boss, I just thought the little girl looked pretty—”
Before he could finish, the leader slapped him across the face. “Shut up! What kind of filth do you have in that brain of yours? If I catch you laying a hand on a child again, I’ll snap your head off!”
Scolded, Da Biao lowered his head and didn’t dare make another sound.
“Let’s go. He’s not the person we’re looking for.”
Finding nothing incriminating, the group finally left Hai Jing’s house and moved on to the next village overnight.
Only after they left did the villagers, who had been anxiously watching, dare to step inside to check on Hai Jing and his daughter.
“Hai Jing, are you two okay? Those guys finally left!”
Hai Jing clutched Little Hai Lan tightly, still shaken. “We’re fine… we’re okay…”
“You’ve got a wound on your face. What about the rest of your body? Did they hurt you? Do you need me to help treat it?”
“That would be a big help…”
After his wounds were treated, Hai Jing thanked the villagers and saw them out. Only then did he shut the door and let out a heavy sigh of relief.
“Daddy…”
Hai Jing stroked his daughter’s hair, wiping away her tears. His voice was gentle. “It’s okay now. Daddy’s here. No one can hurt you.”
Little Hai Lan leaned against his chest, crying until she fell asleep.
Hai Jing held her on his lap, his heart still filled with lingering fear. Thankfully, he had transferred everything in time.
Holding his daughter tightly, a cold determination flashed in his eyes.
His strength was still too weak. In this world, without power, you were nothing…
Hai Jing reopened the message board.
[Message Board (Shop Channel)]
[Cloud Eagle]: Brother Green, thank you.
[Cloud Eagle]: You and the Divine Envoy saved us.
[Greenish Blue]: ?
[Greenish Blue]: What happened?
Hai Jing told Chi Hao everything that had just happened.
[Greenish Blue]: Damn! If I were there, I’d burn that whole gang down!
[Cloud Eagle]: Brother Xiao Lu, do you know how to obtain supernatural abilities?
[Cloud Eagle]: I want to gain an ability. I want to protect my daughter.
Tang Yu’an, who had just finished collecting drift bottles, also noticed Hai Jing and Chi Hao’s conversation.
He and Zhou Qi finally realized just how dangerous the situation had been.
If Hai Jing’s secret had been exposed, what would those men have done to him? Was privately selling salt in Linhai Town really such a serious crime?
As they worried for Hai Jing and his daughter, they also couldn’t help but wonder—how would Chi Hao answer this question?
[Message Board (Shop Channel)]
[Greenish Blue]: There’s no special method. It depends on individual physique. While awakening at a younger age often means stronger talent, there’s actually no age limit for awakening abilities. You can still hold onto hope.
[Greenish Blue]: If someone tells you they can help you awaken abilities, don’t believe them.
[Cloud Eagle]: Why?
[Greenish Blue]: I’ve heard that they inject something into the human body. While it slightly increases the chance of awakening, the fatality rate is extremely high.
[Greenish Blue]: You still have a daughter to take care of—don’t do anything reckless.
[Cloud Eagle]: I understand. Thank you.
Tang Yu’an relayed Chi Hao’s words to Zhou Qi and then asked, “Brother Qi, do you think this ‘injection’… could it be injecting spirit bugs?”
Zhou Qi frowned. “Even if it’s not, it’s probably related to spirit bugs in some way.”
They discussed the matter but couldn’t come to a conclusion, so they shifted their attention elsewhere.
The conversation between Hai Jing and Chi Hao had ended, and Chi Hao used a practice notebook to contact Zhou Qi, asking him to help store Hai Jing’s belongings—
Even though those men had left, there was no guarantee they wouldn’t return unexpectedly. It was better to be cautious.
Tang Yu’an also saw on the map that those men were still lingering near Guanyu Village. They hadn’t actually left for another village.
How cunning!
Zhou Qi naturally didn’t refuse Chi Hao’s request and moved Hai Jing’s belongings into the warehouse of the Peace Grocery Store.
With Chi Hao handling the transfer, they not only helped Hai Jing and his daughter but also avoided exposing their identities.
“Looks like we have to make another trip to Linhai Town before heading to Flame Dragon Fortress,” Tang Yu’an sighed while looking at the map of Guanyu Village.
Hai Jing was an excellent employee, and they absolutely couldn’t afford to lose him. Moreover, they had grown attached to Little Hai Lan and couldn’t just stand by and watch anything happen to them.
“Yeah, Linhai Town is closer to us. We should check on Hai Jing first,” Zhou Qi said. “Let’s rest in the alternate dimension for a bit, then take the camper van back. The sooner we reach the center of the Desolate City, the sooner we can leave.”
“Mm-hmm!”
Tang Yu’an nodded and took one last look at the little spirit on the sleep pillow before leaving with Zhou Qi.
*
XZ156793 Dimension.
Amidst thick, misty fog, a figure wearing a bamboo hat and holding a staff slowly made his way forward.
Gu Qianli treaded carefully.
The visibility in the fog was extremely low—anything beyond two meters was completely obscured. He had to move cautiously; walking too fast might trigger a restriction.
On this ancient battlefield, all sorts of strange and deadly dangers could appear.
Suddenly—crack!
Gu Qianli immediately stepped back and looked down—he had just stepped on a skeletal hand.
“…Sorry, my bad…”
He was about to continue walking but hesitated. With a sigh, he started digging a small pit to bury the remains properly.
However, as he moved the bones, he noticed a piece of fabric sticking out from the dirt.
This is…?
Gu Qianli quickly dug it out, revealing what was hidden beneath—
A perfectly intact Spirit Storage Pouch!
Though the surface was slightly damaged, the flow of spiritual energy indicated it was still functional.
Had his luck finally turned around? He actually found a Spirit Storage Pouch!
This was amazing! If he sold it, he could easily get 300 spirit stones!
Ecstatic, Gu Qianli put away the pouch, then carefully finished burying the skeleton. Finally, he erected a nameless tombstone and paid his respects before leaving.
<3