Chapter 222
The “Town Philanthropist” title was triggered when Tang Yu’an retrieved a Dream Drift Bottle yesterday.
The wish-maker was a little girl who could barely speak fluently. They simply had her say “thank you” before giving her some food.
As soon as the trade was completed, the title was activated, along with the “Troublesome Customers Begone” aura.
When Tang Yu’an explained this to Zhou Qi, even he was shocked. Just thinking about it made him realize how powerful it was.
Their previous concern—that non-overnight guests couldn’t be controlled during the day—was unexpectedly resolved just like that.
“Good deeds really do pay off!” Tang Yu’an was especially delighted.
“Yeah, they really do,” Zhou Qi nodded in agreement.
This was a completely unexpected surprise, just like the “Little Miracle Doctor” title. Perhaps the Doomsday Grocery Store System encouraged helping others.
To test the aura’s effect, they went to the Jufeng General Store that night.
At night, Xiao Cao and Lan Lin would return to Desolate City Haven to sleep, so the store would naturally close, and all the supplies inside would be transported back to Desolate City Haven.
So even if someone tried to steal something, they would only find the store completely empty.
After discussing, Tang Yu’an and Zhou Qi decided to leave the store door open.
Jufeng Mountain was quiet at night—besides patrolling guards, there were few people around. But of course, some petty thieves would still sneak around under the cover of darkness.
After opening the door, Zhou Qi placed a few bags of salt near the entrance and hid with Tang Yu’an under the Shadow Umbrella, watching from the dark.
It didn’t take long before patrolling guards noticed the open door. They checked inside, saw no sign of intruders, then closed the door again and left.
The two boys remained patient.
On the map, Tang Yu’an saw that after leaving Jufeng Grocery Store, one of the guards separated from the patrol team and quickly met up with a few other people.
Soon after, two shady figures appeared outside the store.
Tang Yu’an immediately marked that guard and continued watching with Zhou Qi as the two individuals entered the store, one after the other.
Just as they were about to start searching for goods, Tang Yu’an equipped the “Town Philanthropist” title, activating the “Troublesome Customers Begone” aura.
Then, before their eyes, the two intruders vanished from inside the store—only to reappear outside the entrance moments later.
The effect was similar to how non-overnight guests were ejected when store hours ended.
The two thieves exchanged glances, unwilling to believe it. They attempted to re-enter the store, but as soon as they stepped in, their expressions turned blank, and they walked back out again.
Once they left the effect radius, their minds cleared up.
Realizing something supernatural was at play, they turned pale as ghosts and ran away in terror.
This first test confirmed the aura’s effects, but they weren’t sure if Tang Yu’an needed to be physically present in the store for it to work. So they conducted another experiment.
Tang Yu’an used a teleportation array to leave while Zhou Qi remained behind to observe.
Not long after, the two thieves returned—this time with three more accomplices. Zhou Qi hid in the shadows, watching them.
This time, none of them could enter the Jufeng Grocery Store at all. Every time they stepped inside the range, they would immediately turn around and leave, as if compelled by an invisible force.
After several failed attempts, it became clear:
Even if Tang Yu’an wasn’t present, the “Troublesome Customers Begone” aura still took effect.
Moreover, the aura didn’t just work against customers with direct ill intent toward Tang Yu’an—even those attempting to steal from the store were affected.
Since the store itself was Tang Yu’an’s property, coveting his wealth counted as malicious intent toward him.
Most importantly—the aura applied to all stores!
“This means we don’t have to worry about robberies happening again!”
When Tang Yu’an reunited with Zhou Qi, he was ecstatic.
“We can finally run the store with open doors!”
Zhou Qi agreed, but he knew they still had to be cautious when implementing this.
After all, most of their branch stores were run by employees, who couldn’t always stay inside the store.
When they left, their safety outside the store needed to be considered.
Next, they tested the store’s protection range—specifically, whether fenced-off areas counted.
The answer was no.
Using fences to claim land was considered an exploit, and it wasn’t included in the aura’s protection.
Instead, the system’s recognized method of expanding the store’s safe zone required spending points:
For every 1,000 points and 100 store reputation deducted, the protective barrier could be expanded by 1 meter.
This was the only system-approved way to expand the aura’s range.
“Well, that makes sense,” Tang Yu’an said.
The aura was already incredibly powerful—if it had no limits, it would be too overpowered.
Besides, if they relied too much on exploiting loopholes, the system might patch the bug, making things even worse.
Just as they were preparing to head back to sleep, Tang Yu’an noticed something unusual on the map.
A Jufeng Mountain group was heading toward Desolate City Haven.
It was an easy discovery—after all, the path between Desolate City and Jufeng Mountain was usually deserted.
But now, nearly 200 markers had suddenly gathered along the route.
Among them were ten Jufeng Town patrol squads—and Hong Li was with them.
One glance was enough to sense trouble.
Tang Yu’an and Zhou Qi instantly realized that the thing they had been worried about was happening.
Especially because this group contained seven green markers—which Tang Yu’an had previously tagged as out-of-town visitors.
Even without additional intel, they could easily guess—Hong Li leading a team to Desolate City was definitely related to these seven people.
Regardless of whether they were targeting Desolate City Haven or not, their home was now 99% exposed to this group.
They needed a response plan.
Of course, after the initial panic, they quickly calmed down—Because now, they had the “Town Philanthropist” title.
And with it, this problem practically solved itself.
Of course, due to the limitations of the aura, they needed to expand the protective barrier of the Desolate City Haven outward. Otherwise, the approaching team would still be able to enter within the walls.
Their farmland, livestock farms, and factories had all been painstakingly developed over the past two months. These were the foundation of the Desolate City Haven and absolutely could not be destroyed.
So, gritting his teeth, Tang Yu’an expanded the protective barrier of the Desolate City Haven by another 10 meters beyond the walls.
This cost a total of 490,000 points and 49,000 store popularity, adding to the previous 25 meters of expansion, bringing the total outward extension to 515 meters.
Since the distance was calculated from the store as the starting point, the expanded area was not a perfectly shaped circle.
In theory, if the main store building were expanded in the future, the protected area could automatically extend further—of course, this would only apply to unclaimed land or land that they had ownership of.
After spending 490,000 points, Tang Yu’an’s points balance dropped back to a little over 600,000.
Just as he started feeling happy about this, he realized his balance had once again fallen below a million. Saving up points was truly difficult!
However, when he saw the actual results of his investment, he was filled with joy, feeling that the points had been well spent.
“Now, we can confidently welcome more people into the Desolate City Haven!” he said excitedly.
Currently, the number of residents in the Desolate City Haven had reached 58. The newcomers had also been registered in the household records.
Under the guidance of existing residents, they fully adapted to life in the Desolate City Haven within just a couple of days and showed great enthusiasm for work.
Whether ordinary people or those with special abilities, none of them wanted to leave after settling in.
After two months of development, the Desolate City Haven had not only reached a decent scale, but its infrastructure had also been greatly improved, significantly raising the standard of living.
They had never seen a place as clean and orderly as the Desolate City Haven! In fact, they had never even heard of such a place before!
Even the livestock farms were cleaned daily. Though there was still some inevitable odor, it was far better than the conditions they had lived in before.
Not to mention, the chickens, ducks, and sheep were well-fed every day with high-quality food.
In other words, their past lives had been worse than the animals in the Desolate City Haven’s livestock farms!
And just as the other residents had said, there was no danger or oppression here. As long as they worked diligently, they had food to eat and a place to live.
Their housing was not a cramped cave shared with others; each family had its own room. They could even get bricks and cement for free from the Desolate City Haven to build heated brick beds.
Though they had to pay rent, it was not expensive.
Most importantly, their work not only included free lunch but also provided wages based on performance.
The wage system was transparent—how much work one did equaled how much pay one received. This information was clearly written on a board.
Although some couldn’t read, after seeing it a few times, they memorized which symbols corresponded to which amounts—after all, this was directly related to their livelihood.
Moreover, the wages issued by the Desolate City Haven came in the form of a mysterious currency called “Peace Coins.” These paper-like tokens were fireproof, waterproof, and even adjusted to body temperature when carried.
They felt cool in hot weather and warm in the cold.
Honestly, they found it hard to believe that such valuable items were being used just to buy food!
But there was no choice—that was the rule of the Desolate City Haven.
At present, the Desolate City Haven did not allow residents to leave. If someone insisted on leaving, they would have to forfeit their residency status.
This meant that any wealth they had accumulated in the Desolate City Haven would have to be left behind—they could only take their original belongings with them.
This rule had been established by Old Li after careful consideration. He believed that, at this stage, the Desolate City Haven should prioritize stability, so controlling population movement was necessary.
With this rule in place, residents could no longer take goods from the Desolate City Haven to resell elsewhere. More importantly, they would lose their hard-earned stable lives. Who would willingly give that up?
As a result, even after the flood disaster had passed, no one had chosen to leave. Even the newcomers quickly decided they wanted to stay.
With just 58 residents, Tang Yu’an was already earning tens of thousands of points daily. When the potato and sweet potato harvest came, there would be an even bigger boost in earnings.
As more residents arrived, the potential for growth would only increase. Over time, the Desolate City Haven would generate more and more value.
Just thinking about it made Tang Yu’an incredibly excited.
Zhou Qi, however, remained calm and said, “There’s still one last potential issue.”
Tang Yu’an blinked. “What issue?”
“In business mode, the protective barrier is only set to defend against natural disasters and dangerous creatures,” Zhou Qi explained.
“So, would Gu Rong’s long-range attacks count as natural disasters?”
Tang Yu’an rubbed his chin. “But humans are also a type of creature. If someone attacks the store, wouldn’t they be classified as a dangerous creature?”
Zhou Qi shook his head. “According to the system’s judgment, humans are considered customers and are categorized differently from other creatures.”
This could be seen from the map markers.
Dangerous mutant creatures appeared as red dots, but aggressive ability users were still marked as green, representing customers.
“That makes sense…”
Tang Yu’an muttered, then thought for a moment and said, “Then we’ll just keep expanding the barrier!”
They would keep extending it until the entire Wasteland was covered, allowing only those without hostile intent to enter.
“I refuse to believe they can still attack us from that far away!”
With the technology level of the apocalypse, they shouldn’t have missiles, right?
Zhou Qi chuckled. “If we follow your plan, we’ll never have enough points.”
Expanding by 500 meters had already cost 500,000 points. With the vast size of the Desolate City, they would need an enormous amount of points to cover it all.
“Then we need to level up as soon as possible,” Zhou Qi said. “Since the night-time protective barrier has defensive capabilities, upgrading it should unlock additional functions.”
Tang Yu’an nodded and checked his experience bar: Lv21 (35,625/37,800)
“Looks like I can level up tomorrow or the day after,” he said.
Now that he was a mid-tier merchant, leveling up was much harder. If not for his excellent employees, it would take him much longer.
“More than just personal levels, the store level is even more important,” Zhou Qi pointed out.
“That means we need more materials to upgrade the furniture,” Tang Yu’an added. “Tomorrow’s seven-day sale reset should bring in some upgrade materials!”
Seeing Tang Yu’an so confident, Zhou Qi could only nod.
This conclusion had been proven through countless experiments—he no longer had any doubts. 🙂
“We can also get more lottery chances.”
“By doing missions?”
“Yeah. I think it’s the right time to complete that road-building mission.” Zhou Qi spoke seriously.
They had put it off before because they feared that making the road between Jufeng Mountain and the ruined city more accessible would attract unwanted attention from Jufeng Town.
But now that they were already exposed and had the “Troublesome Customers Begone” aura, there was no need to worry anymore!
“Let’s absorb as many people from Jufeng Mountain as possible,” Zhou Qi said.
“What about Sister Hong Li?” Tang Yu’an hesitated.
Zhou Qi thought for a moment and said, “Let’s not show up for now. Let Xie Chaori go talk to her.”
If they could win over Hong Li, that would be ideal. They might even take control of Jufeng Mountain’s resources as well.
“Alright!” Tang Yu’an nodded. “Once we deal with the immediate problem, we’ll start building the road!”
He glanced at the holographic image on his light brain.
Hong Li was still standing in the same spot. The two people who weren’t repelled by the aura had already run to join their companions and were checking on Gu Zhenfei.
After being backfired upon and vomiting blood, Gu Zhenfei had collapsed to the ground. His current condition was unknown, but everyone was gathered around him.
Even from a distance, when Tang Yu’an zoomed in on the image, he could see the mocking smile on Hong Li’s face.
It was clear that although Hong Li had come with them to the Desolate city, she wasn’t actually on their side.
And with her intelligence, she had definitely recognized the Desolate City Grocery Store sign and linked it to the Jufeng Grocery Store, which meant she had likely figured out their identity.
Since she was still standing there and wasn’t repelled by the aura, it meant she could be recruited.
“Let’s go talk to Old Xie!”
Since rescuing Old Xie, Tang Yu’an and Zhou Qi hadn’t met with him yet. They contacted Old Li through the light brain and had Xie Chaori return to Building No. 1.
“What? The two bosses want to see me?”
Xie Chaori was still in a daze about what was happening outside the settlement. When he heard Old Li’s words, his heart couldn’t help but tremble.
He concealed his emotions, took one last look at the outside situation, then turned and headed toward Building No. 1.
On the way there, his mind was in chaos.
But the moment he saw the two familiar figures standing at the entrance of the building, he quickly gathered his thoughts.
What he didn’t expect was that as he got closer, his body gradually started losing control.
By the time he reached the two young men—
Or rather, by the time he got to Zhou Qi—his legs suddenly gave out, and he collapsed to the ground.
Seeing him trembling like a leaf, Tang Yu’an was stunned and hurried forward to help him. “What’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?”
Xie Chaori shook his head.
He was just looking at Zhou Qi, and for the first time in his life, he felt pure, unfiltered fear.
Even when facing a horde of beasts, he had never been this scared…
Why?
Why did simply standing in front of this young man make him so terrified that he couldn’t even control his body?
Zhou Qi took a step forward.
Immediately, Xie Chaori stumbled back a full step.
Zhou Qi raised an eyebrow.
And then, suddenly, he understood.
For some reason, when he looked at Xie Chaori, he had an odd sensation—
He could completely drain Xie Chaori’s powers and convert them into his own.
As if Xie Chaori was nothing more than a spirit energy stone to him.
He could even kill him effortlessly.
The moment Zhou Qi had this thought, Xie Chaori’s fear deepened.
To him, the young man standing before him was like a terrifying beast wearing human skin.
This person could take his life at any moment, and there wasn’t a single part of him that felt capable of resisting.
It felt like the only option he had was… submission.
“W-Who are you?”
Xie Chaori had to muster all his willpower just to avoid completely breaking down.
“Me?” Zhou Qi thought for a moment and casually said, “I’m Zhou Qi.”
He had already figured out the issue—
It was because he had devoured and absorbed the Earth Spirit Worm that had been inside Xie Chaori.
That worm had backfired on Xie Chaori, turning him into stone. If Zhou Qi hadn’t pulled the worm out, Xie Chaori would have remained a rock forever.
But he hadn’t expected that even after the worm had left Xie Chaori, it would still have such an effect on him.
After being devoured by Zhou Qi, it had converted into his power.
This realization didn’t bring Zhou Qi any joy.
He hadn’t forgotten—there was also a spirit worm inside him.
If that worm ever left his body and caused a similar reaction, he would be in serious trouble.
He needed to find a way to deal with the worm in his body—and make sure it never escaped.
Zhou Qi’s face darkened.
Xie Chaori, still under his oppressive presence, was drenched in cold sweat.
“You should go sit over there for a bit,” Tang Yu’an said, helping Xie Chaori over to the steps and putting some distance between him and Zhou Qi.
Once he was farther away, Xie Chaori finally started to feel better.
“Thank you,” he said. Then he turned to look at the young man beside him. “You must be Boss An?”
Xie Chaori stared at the boy.
He matched the description given by the settlement residents exactly—
Young, with delicate features, a pair of bright, clear eyes, and an innocent charm, like a little prince straight out of a movie.
Of course, Xie Chaori wasn’t about to underestimate him.
He cautiously glanced at Zhou Qi again—the other young man must be Boss Zhou…
But the moment Zhou Qi looked back at him, Xie Chaori stiffened and instinctively stood up straight.
Seeing his extreme reaction, Zhou Qi sighed and took a few steps back.
Then, instead of speaking, he pulled out a message board and started communicating with Tang Yu’an through text.
“…Boss An, that Boss Zhou…” Xie Chaori swallowed hard. “Could he be… a legendary Rank 9 Ability User?”
Otherwise, how could merely standing before this young man make him feel such overwhelming terror?
Tang Yu’an: “……”
For a moment, he didn’t know how to explain it.
From Zhou Qi’s message, he had roughly figured out what was going on.
After organizing his thoughts, he said, “Do you remember turning into a big rock before?”
Xie Chaori nodded. “I was seriously injured and suffered backlash from my ability.”
“Have you ever seen anyone who was corrupted by backlash recover?” Tang Yu’an asked again.
Based on what he had learned from the forum, the answer was no. Ever since Wen Qingqing joined, there had been more paid posts about abilities in the discussion area.
Sure enough, Xie Chaori shook his head.
“At least, I’ve never seen it happen…” He was already starting to piece things together. “Could it be…?”
Tang Yu’an nodded and looked at him. “This is the price you had to pay to be freed from that state.”
Xie Chaori’s heart trembled violently.
He opened his mouth, then closed it again. It took him a long time before he finally asked, “Is this… Boss Zhou’s ability?”
Tang Yu’an hesitated, then nodded.
That explanation wasn’t exactly wrong.
Now that he understood the situation, Xie Chaori’s fear actually lessened a little.
The price was hard to accept, but compared to being a rock forever… it wasn’t that bad.
As long as he stayed away from that young man, his daily life wouldn’t be affected.
But… could he really stay away?
He let out a bitter laugh and sighed, “The Merchant God Sect… really is full of talent.”
Wiping his face, Xie Chaori turned to look at Tang Yu’an.
Although the young man looked harmless, he no longer dared to underestimate him in the slightest.
With a complicated and conflicted expression, he asked, “So why did you call me here? What do you need me to do?”
“Oh, nothing much. We just hope you can help us win over Sister Hong Li.” Tang Yu’an said.
Xie Chaori was stunned for a moment, then his face lit up with joy. “You mean win her over, not go against her, right?”
