Chapter 226
“Cold Disaster?” Tang Yu’an asked in surprise. “As in, freezing cold?”
“Mm.”
Old Li glanced at the pitch-black sky outside. Even at night, thick clouds covered the sky.
“After the great flood comes the great cold. Right now, nighttime temperatures have already reached the freezing point.”
He continued, “As time passes, the daytime temperatures will also drop lower and eventually fall below zero.”
By then, the nighttime temperatures would be even colder than they were now, making it easy for people to freeze to death.
“We need to stock up on more cold-resistant supplies.”
Despite saying this, Old Li’s expression remained relaxed, without much worry.
After all, he had never fought a battle with such abundant resources before. While Jufeng Town might be anxious, Desolate City Haven had nothing to fear from the coming cold disaster.
“Kang Kang’s Lan Hu sapling has already grown over a dozen offshoots.” Old Li said mysteriously.
At first, in October, its growth was slow. But ever since Desolate City Haven planted the Star-chain, enriching the soil, the Lan Hu tree had been sprouting new offshoots every few days.
Moreover, it had a habit of growing near people. Wherever the residents gathered to work, within two days, a new Lan Hu offshoot would sprout—
Of course, before sprouting each time, it would always have Kang Kang ask Old Li for permission.
When Kang Kang first came to him, Old Li had found it rather fascinating—it was his first time encountering such a sentient tree.
Overall, October was a tree that loved company but also followed the rules.
As the Lan Hu trees multiplied and their canopies expanded, Old Li gradually noticed their temperature-regulating effect.
Now, there was already a noticeable temperature difference between inside and outside Desolate City Haven.
Once the Lan Hu forest grew denser, this effect would only become more pronounced.
“I plan to have the growers pause production and focus entirely on accelerating the Lan Hu’s propagation.”
“As long as the Lan Hu forest takes shape in our home, we can maintain our current level of productivity even during the cold disaster. We can resume other farming activities afterward.”
Old Li smiled confidently.
Tang Yu’an nodded in agreement. That’s right—they had the Lan Hu forest to regulate the temperature, so they didn’t need to fear the cold disaster!
But…
“Will October suppress the growth of other plants?” Tang Yu’an thought of the situation in Lan Hu Town.
The mother tree there was extremely domineering—no other plants could grow within the Lan Hu forest.
Hearing this, Old Li was surprised. “The Lan Hu forest has that trait?”
He hadn’t been aware of this before. After all…
“October is quite friendly toward other plants,” he said.
In fact, it was too enthusiastic—it had even sprouted an offshoot in the darkroom where No. 1 Building was growing mutated lantern grass.
“Huh? There’s one growing in Liangliang’s place too?”
Tang Yu’an was hearing this for the first time. If he remembered correctly, mutated lantern grass was rather antisocial. That must have been tough for it.
“Mm.” Old Li nodded. “The one in the darkroom is smaller, probably because there’s not much sunlight, so it’s not growing well.”
But at least it hadn’t withered and died.
It was worth mentioning that after some time to recover, the mutated lantern grass that had been injured during the giant bear attack had regained its vitality and even produced a good number of lantern fruits.
These lantern fruits had been sold to Desolate City Haven’s residents.
Now, nearly every household had one, providing light at night so people wouldn’t bump into things when they got up.
Once production increased, they could be hung in courtyards to provide outdoor lighting in the evenings, saving on electricity.
“Then let’s go with Grandpa’s plan and prioritize the Lan Hu trees,” Tang Yu’an said. “But we should also build more houses—there’ll be more people coming from Jufeng Town soon.”
Although there were still vacant rooms in No. 1 Building, it could only house at most 100 to 200 more people.
Once word about Desolate City Haven spread, many more would come seeking refuge. Even just the guards Hong Li brought numbered 60.
Even if they left with Hong Li tomorrow, they would likely move their families here later. Tang Yu’an and Zhou Qi were confident in that.
Old Li nodded. “I understand. But that means Granny Guo’s house will have to be delayed again.”
Because Granny Guo had difficulty moving and lived on the eighth floor, they had planned to build her a single-story house. But with the reservoir, walls, and new grocery store taking priority, the project had been postponed.
Now, the construction team was busy with fences, and with new houses needing to be built, the delay would continue.
Hearing this, Tang Yu’an grinned. “No need to worry about that—we’ve found a solution to her mobility problem!”
“Oh? What is it?”
“We just received a new reward from the Divine Emissary. You’ll see tomorrow!”
Seeing Tang Yu’an’s mysterious expression, Old Li didn’t press further and simply smiled. “Then I’ll look forward to it.”
They then returned to the main topic.
“We can provide 10,000 Peace Coins in 10-unit denominations,” Zhou Qi said. “Once Hong Li returns to Jufeng Mountain, we’ll deliver them personally.”
Since Hong Li needed to return quickly, it was best for them to make the delivery to avoid any accidents.
“Now that Hong Li is officially an employee, do you plan to grant her access to the teleportation array?” Old Li asked.
“We’ll observe for now,” Zhou Qi replied.
Although Hong Li was now part of the management, Jufeng Town’s situation was far more complicated than Lan Hu Town’s. Even if they intended to groom her as a branch manager, they needed a different approach.
For example, guiding Hong Li to establish a new branch.
This was the preliminary plan they had discussed today. Unlike Lan Hu’s store, which was just an empty shell, the Jufeng general store was deeply intertwined with Desolate City Haven—it was practically an extension of it.
After all, they had dispatched employees to sell salt there, and their brand was already well-established. Every day, it brought a significant amount of store popularity and points to the settlement.
Under these circumstances, it was impossible for Hong Li to be directly appointed as a branch manager.
Therefore, letting Hong Li establish a new branch was a good alternative. However, whether this plan would be carried out depended on her business abilities.
“Hmm, I’ll leave it to you then.” Seeing that they had a plan, Old Li nodded.
Afterward, Tang Yu’an spoke to him about how residents could use the loophole in the overnight stay rules to teleport quickly.
Old Li’s eyes lit up as he chuckled, “That’s actually a pretty good idea.”
Unfortunately, employees couldn’t use it.
But he had an electric tricycle, which made traveling convenient enough.
“Also…” Tang Yu’an glanced at Zhou Qi.
Zhou Qi understood and stretched out his hand, releasing the spirit insect trapped in his palm.
“Grandpa, do you know what this is?” Tang Yu’an asked.
The moment the spirit insect appeared, Old Li fixed his gaze on it. When he heard Tang Yu’an’s question, his expression turned hesitant.
“I don’t recognize it, but… I have a vague feeling… I can’t explain it… It just seems familiar…”
Tang Yu’an then asked, “Grandpa, have you ever heard of spirit insects?”
Old Li thought for a moment and said, “I seem to have heard a similar term before, but I don’t think it refers to the same thing you’re talking about.”
“The reason it feels familiar to you might be because… most people’s abilities are linked to spirit insects,” Zhou Qi explained.
Old Li was stunned. “Abilities?”
“That’s right,” Zhou Qi confirmed. “The origin of abilities likely comes from these spirit insects. In other words…”
“You probably have a spirit insect inside your body too, though it’s likely a water-type one.”
This was the first time Old Li had heard such a theory, and he was visibly shaken. His gaze returned to the spirit insect in Zhou Qi’s hand.
Zhou Qi continued, “I extracted this one from that giant lizard.”
Old Li recalled the scene from the day before, still feeling astonished.
“I see… That creature was clearly an ability user who lost control and was consumed by their power, turning into a beast. And you actually managed to revert them back…”
His ability level was quite low, probably because his spirit insect wasn’t strong. But his body had definitely been altered, giving him the means to survive in the wasteland.
“So, now that you’ve captured this spirit insect, what do you plan to do with it?” Old Li asked, having already guessed their intentions.
Sure enough, Tang Yu’an said, “Grandpa, do you think we could use this spirit insect to help our employees awaken their abilities?”
A gleam appeared in Old Li’s eyes.
He looked at the spirit insect again and nodded. “That’s actually a great idea.”
When Tang Yu’an expressed concern about potential side effects, Old Li chuckled.
“Risk and opportunity go hand in hand. If people have a chance to awaken abilities, plenty would be willing to take the risk.”
“But we still want to minimize the risks,” Tang Yu’an replied.
Old Li understood their good intentions, but in his opinion, the risk was minimal.
He recalled, “When abilities first started appearing, many people did die from backlash. The most common causes were either their bodies exploding or losing control and turning into beasts, ultimately dying in a frenzy.”
“I suspect the first case happens when someone’s body can’t handle the power of the spirit insect.”
Looking at the insect in Zhou Qi’s hand, Old Li remarked, “But based on what I can sense, this one is very weak—nowhere near strong enough to make someone’s body explode.”
“Besides, don’t underestimate wasteland survivors. Even ordinary people are far stronger than humans were before the disaster.”
Tang Yu’an nodded in agreement. He had seen firsthand how physically strong people like Huo Qiu’s father, Shu Gen, had become, even without an ability. Now that their living conditions had improved, his body had visibly grown even stronger.
Old Li continued, “As for losing control and turning into a beast… Doesn’t Zhou Qi already have a way to fix that?”
If the new host couldn’t handle the transformation, Zhou Qi could simply extract the spirit insect again. That eliminated most of the risk.
However…
“Have you really thought this through?” Old Li asked. “If this works, retrieving the spirit insect later could take a very long time.”
Abilities developed differently depending on talent. Those with low talent might take years to make any real progress.
“That’s fine. It’s not like we can use it for anything else anyway,” Zhou Qi replied.
The system’s appraisal of the spirit insect had returned garbled text and didn’t assign it a points value, meaning they couldn’t list it in the dimensional marketplace.
Zhou Qi had also tried uploading it to the forum’s trading section, but the system rejected it, labeling it a prohibited item.
All of this suggested that spirit insects might not be viable for trading. Even if they tried to sell one to a customer, it probably wouldn’t yield any points.
Since that was the case, they might as well use it to strengthen their employees.
At least in the Desolate City Haven, they didn’t have to worry about their employees leaving.
Seeing that the two boys had made up their minds, Old Li didn’t argue further. “Do you have someone in mind?”
“We need to find someone with a fire-type aptitude,” Zhou Qi said.
If no one had the right affinity, then there was nothing they could do.
Old Li nodded. “Alright, I’ll call some people over for testing.”
They would decide how to distribute this new benefit after identifying potential candidates.
Tang Yu’an and Zhou Qi had no objections, so Old Li made an announcement on the store’s communication channel.
Soon, all non-ability-user employees from Store No. 1 gathered in Room 501.
First was Lin Zhen, followed by Xiao Cao, Shi Tou, and then A’Lian.
Lan Lin and Mo Ke were already ability users, so they were excluded.
Privately, Old Li hoped it would be Lin Zhen.
Unfortunately, she didn’t have a fire-type aptitude. Neither did Xiao Cao or Shi Tou.
After Zhou Qi confirmed their results, Old Li handed each of them a meat-and-egg pancake before sending them off.
When it came to the last one—A’Lian…
The spirit bug in Zhou Qi’s palm, which had been resting quietly, suddenly stirred.
He instinctively looked toward A’Lian.
The frail woman with fiery red hair had gradually regained her health after arriving at Desolate City Haven. Her once gaunt face had filled out, revealing the beauty she originally possessed.
However, compared to her beauty, the scars on her neck—left by fire poison—stood out even more strikingly.
That said, ever since she became an employee and started helping Old Li interact with the residents, she had shed much of her former numbness and timidity.
Even when Zhou Qi gazed at her now, she could meet his eyes without flinching.
“Manager, is something the matter?” she asked softly.
Zhou Qi didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he turned to Old Li, who understood his intent at once.
The old man scrutinized A-Lian carefully, his gaze lingering on the scars on her neck. Recalling what she had endured on Jufeng Mountain, he suddenly began to understand.
For an ordinary person to survive fire poison and endure until Hong Li removed it—that in itself was already quite telling.
It wasn’t surprising that she possessed a fire affinity.
Old Li motioned for her to follow him to the corner of the living room. Then, he spoke:
“The great God of Commerce has blessed us with a gift.”
At these words, A’Lian immediately displayed a look of deep reverence.
Ever since becoming an employee, she had been reading the message boards and forum posts daily, fully immersing herself in the teachings of the Church of Commerce—to the point that calling her a fanatic would not be an exaggeration.
Old Li, satisfied with her devotion, continued, “You are fortunate. Because you have a fire affinity, you have been granted the opportunity to awaken an ability.”
Even though A’Lian had mentally prepared herself, she still gasped in shock at Old Li’s words.
“Awaken… an ability?” she murmured, covering her mouth.
“That’s right.” Old Li nodded. “However, I must tell you that awakening an ability is not guaranteed. There is a certain risk involved.”
“Moreover, the God of Commerce despises anything unearned—so this opportunity is not free.”
A’Lian nodded, listening carefully.
“If you choose to take this chance, you must pay 200,000 points.” Old Li’s tone was serious.
Hearing that number, Tang Yu’an’s eyes widened in shock.
200,000 points? Wasn’t that way too much for A’Lian?!
Given her current earnings, her monthly personal commission was only around 5,000 points. Even if she didn’t spend a single point, it would still take her three to four years to save up that amount!
However, before he could object, Old Li shot him a look, silently telling him to stay quiet.
A-Lian, too, was visibly stunned by the amount.
After a moment of frowning contemplation, she asked, “Can I repay it over time?”
“Yes.” Old Li nodded. “Aside from gradually repaying the debt, you will continue to enjoy all your current employee benefits in Desolate City Haven.”
A’Lian let out a breath of relief. Then, she clenched her teeth and said firmly:
“Alright, I accept!”
Even Old Li was slightly surprised by her decisiveness. “Are you sure you don’t want to think it over? There is a risk after all.”
A’Lian hesitated briefly, then shook her head.
“I want an ability,” she said, looking at Old Li with unwavering determination.
If it were just herself, she might have hesitated—her daughter still needed her.
But now, there was Tie Jin.
Even if something happened to her, Tie Jin would still be there to take care of Lili.
With no more concerns holding her back, she had to try.
Only those who had faced fire serpents could understand that kind of despair.
A’Lian never wanted to experience it again. Even though she was safe in Desolate City Haven, she still dreamed of those fire serpents chasing her at night.
That fear and helplessness haunted her.
Now, she finally had a chance—a chance to gain power.
If she didn’t seize it, she would regret it forever.
“Since that’s the case…” Old Li pulled out a ledger and wrote a debt contract on the spot, asking her to sign it.
Then, he turned to Zhou Qi and Tang Yu’an.
Tang Yu’an scratched his head. 200,000 points, and A’Lian agreed without hesitation—that really took him by surprise.
But since Grandpa Li had already discussed it with her, it wasn’t his place to interfere.
Tang Yu’an glanced at Zhou Qi and whispered something in his ear. Zhou Qi nodded and took something out from his pocket, handing it over.
Tang Yu’an took it and walked up to A’Lian.
“Here, take this marble,” he said.
A’Lian hurriedly cupped it in her hands.
What he had given her was a Lucky Marble—he hoped it would increase her chances of awakening an ability.
After all, she was already paying 200,000 points—if the awakening failed, it would be a huge loss.
Yes, from their conversation earlier, he had already figured it out—even if the awakening failed, she would still have to pay the debt.
“Good luck!” Tang Yu’an patted her shoulder and stepped aside.
A’Lian’s gaze naturally fell on Zhou Qi.
“Next,” Zhou Qi said seriously, “I will attempt to awaken your ability. Are you ready?”
A’Lian nodded firmly.
Zhou Qi instructed her to extend one hand. Then, he made a small cut on her palm before pressing his own hand lightly over it.
Before their hands even touched, the spirit bug in Zhou Qi’s palm suddenly darted out—as if it had been waiting impatiently.
Its thread-like appendage slithered into A-Lian’s wound, burrowing into her body.
A sharp stinging pain flared in her hand. Instinctively, she clenched the Lucky Marble in her other fist.
She had no idea what the marble did, but she held onto it tightly nonetheless.
Zhou Qi could clearly feel it—fire-element energy was rapidly converging around A-Lian.
He withdrew his hand and observed closely. Meanwhile, Tang Yu’an had already activated his optical brain, recording the entire process.
However, something strange happened—
The spirit bug, which was clearly visible to the naked eye, was completely invisible in the recorded footage.
They watched A’Lian nervously, prepared to intervene immediately if anything went wrong.
The fire stones in the room continuously released fire-element energy, which slowly gathered around A’Lian, raising the temperature in the room.
A’Lian had already closed her eyes.
About an hour later, the pain on her face gradually eased, and she became calm.
Fortunately, she did not show any signs of backlash.
Tang Yu’an glanced at her employee status panel and noticed a new term—“Symbiotic State.”
As long as it wasn’t “Spirit Bug Devouring Body,” she was safe!
Another half an hour passed before A’Lian finally opened her eyes again. The fire energy around her had dissipated somewhat, but her body temperature remained higher than that of an ordinary person.
Old Li carefully examined her state before nodding approvingly. “Not bad, a successful awakening.”
A’Lian looked confused.
“Really? I just feel… hot?” Other than that, she didn’t feel much difference.
“That’s normal,” Old Li said. “You need to get used to your awakened body and slowly absorb fire-element energy from the environment. For now, don’t touch fire crystal stones, or there could be complications.”
“O-Okay.”
A’Lian had braced herself for the worst, but to her surprise, everything had gone smoothly.
“If there’s nothing else, go rest for now. We’ll discuss your repayment plan tomorrow,” Old Li said.
“Alright, I’ll take my leave then.”
A’Lian returned the marble to Tang Yu’an before leaving Room 501.
After she was gone, Old Li turned to the two young men and smiled. “See? I told you the risk was minimal.”
“Grandpa, you were spot on!” Tang Yu’an praised before hesitating. “But… don’t you think 200,000 points is too much?”
“Too much? Not at all.”
Old Li replied calmly, “She eats and lives in Desolate City Haven. The resources for trading are also provided by the Haven. She’s lucky we’re not demanding full upfront payment.”
Besides, with the rapid increase in the Haven’s population, her monthly earnings would soon surpass her current income.
In at most two years, she could pay off the 200,000 points.
“Work in such a good place for two years and gain a lifelong ability. Where else would you find such an opportunity?”
Since this was the first time implementing the procedure and the actual results were unknown, Alian had taken a significant risk. That’s why Old Li slightly lowered the price.
Now that it had proven to be very low-risk, well…
“In the future, this won’t be the price anymore,” Old Li said.
Even if today’s awakened individual had been Lin Zhen instead of A’Lian, he would have done the same.
Rules must not be broken.
Tang Yu’an said nothing further. Since he had openly discussed this with Grandpa Li, he had to respect his decision.
Regardless, he trusted Grandpa wouldn’t harm them.
After settling the matter, Tang Yu’an and Zhou Qi left Room 501.
By this time, the chat session in the common room had ended, and most residents had returned to their rooms for the night. Aside from a few lit rooms, the entire Haven had quieted down.
Tang Yu’an then opened the renovation interface and began installing an elevator.
Building 1 already had an elevator shaft, so there was no need for additional construction—he simply had to install the purchased elevator.
During installation, he also had to connect the electrical system, linking it to the grocery store’s power supply, with monthly electricity fees deducted automatically.
[“Cargo Elevator – Smart Edition” installation complete. Please select a maintenance mode.]
[1. Automatic Maintenance: 1,000 points/month]
[2. Manual Maintenance: 800 points per session]
Regular maintenance was essential; an elevator failure could be a serious issue.
Naturally, Tang Yu’an chose automatic maintenance.
Once everything was set, a newly installed elevator appeared in the 3D model of Building 1. Excited, Tang Yu’an and Zhou Qi rushed to the elevator room to check it out.
Building 1 was equipped with two elevators.
The left one, originally rusted and broken, now had gleaming, polished doors. As they approached, a holographic display lit up.
“Facial recognition verified. Please select a floor.”
Tang Yu’an selected the 9th floor. When the elevator doors opened, he and Zhou Qi stepped inside.
Standing in the elevator, they momentarily felt as if they had returned to their old world. But as soon as the doors opened again and they stepped into the dusty hallway, reality set in.
“This elevator is really smooth!”
Tang Yu’an marveled before letting Zhou Qi test it.
Since Tang Yu’an hadn’t given him access yet, Zhou Qi’s facial recognition failed, preventing him from calling the elevator.
“So that means only authorized users can open the elevator, but once it’s open, anyone can enter?”
Tang Yu’an thought that was a decent setup.
For now, he didn’t plan on installing the second elevator. At 135,000 points, it was quite expensive. However, with only one elevator, congestion would be an issue, so usage restrictions were necessary.
He started editing the access list.
First, all employees. Then, residents aged 60 and above, minors under 16, and pregnant women with mobility issues.
Since the digital records already included all resident profiles, integrating the elevator’s system with the database allowed it to automatically filter eligible users.
For new residents, there was no need to manually update permissions—once they were added to the database, the system would sync automatically.
Extremely convenient.
After playing around with the elevator for a bit longer, Tang Yu’an and Zhou Qi returned to the grocery store’s attic, ready to collect the day’s Dream Drift Bottles.
After completing trades with dream wishers, he proceeded to today’s lottery draw.
[Congratulations! You have drawn a rare material: “Phoenix Feather”!]
“Hooray! Now the crimson carpet can be upgraded too!” Tang Yu’an cheered.
Zhou Qi’s mouth twitched slightly, and he couldn’t help but glance at the little fairy, Fufu, who was sleeping soundly on the crimson sleep pillow.
Since the “Seven-Day Special Sale” in the morning had conveniently refreshed with heavenly silk, the second sleep pillow had also begun its upgrade to Lv3.
And now, the crimson carpet…
Hopefully, Fufu’s fairy dust is enough to cover it. 🙂
