Doomsday Grocery Store – CH233

Chapter 233

“What’s wrong?” Tang Xueyun asked.

“N-Nothing… I think I saw something weird…” Tang Yuxin replied.

Did she see it wrong?

Feeling uncertain, Tang Yuxin wanted to take another look, but Tang Xueyun had already taken the Spirit Storage Bag and opened it.

“Huh? Why are there so many books?”

The storage space inside the Spirit Storage Bag seemed independent. No matter how much the bag was shaken, the items inside remained perfectly in place.

So when Tang Xueyun opened it, everything was still neatly arranged.

She took out the top book and saw the cover read: Twelve Years of Compulsory Education (National Edition) – Third Grade Mathematics.

Besides math, there were books for other subjects as well, along with practice exercises and test papers.

Tang Yuxin’s eyes widened in disbelief. “Did Brother send the wrong thing?”

Tang Xueyun smiled. “I don’t think so. These are for you.”

“But it’s the apocalypse! The world is full of monsters! There aren’t even any teachers left!” Tang Yuxin’s voice became increasingly distressed.

Tang Xueyun pulled out a card that was tucked inside one of the books, read it, and then handed it to her.

“This is from your brother.”

Tang Yuxin grabbed the card angrily and read:

[Xinxin,

In the world I’m in, almost no one knows how to read. Without knowledge being passed down, many people struggle just to survive. They don’t even know how to make a water purifier, so they drink dirty floodwater directly.

After obtaining this set of twelve-year compulsory education materials, Brother Qi and I started studying. I’ve already finished all the middle school courses on my own.

I’ve learned a lot of useful things from these textbooks—things that can help us survive in an apocalyptic world.

I’m sorry I can’t be there to protect you, Mom, and Dad. The only thing I can do is find ways to arm you with knowledge and help you survive.

The apocalypse won’t wait for us to grow up slowly. You have to study hard, expand your knowledge, and strengthen your thinking skills. You also need to train your body so you won’t be afraid of monsters and disasters.

I’ll try to find more equipment and techniques that suit you. You have to work hard too. When we reunite in the future, I hope you’ll be safe and healthy. ^^

Your always-worried brother,
An]

By the time she finished reading, Tang Yuxin’s eyes were already wet with tears.

She pursed her lips, snuggled into Tang Xueyun’s arms, and said, “Mom, I really miss Brother…”

Tang Xueyun hugged her tightly, her own eyes turning red.

After a while, Tang Yuxin said, “Mom, can you read it to me? I don’t recognize a lot of the words…”

Tang Xueyun gently patted her head. “Let me clean up first, then I’ll read it to you, okay?”

Tang Yuxin nodded obediently.

Just then, Tang Sheng came upstairs, having heard the commotion. When he saw the situation, he quickly said, “Go wash up in the bathroom. I’ll clean up here.”

He then instructed Hei Tuantuan to heat some water.

Tang Xueyun nodded. She had seen cotton and cloth in the Spirit Storage Bag—perfect for making reusable sanitary pads.

The magical tent had clean bedding as well. After freshening up and using her handmade sanitary pads, she finally lay back down.

At that moment, the three of them gathered to watch the video on the holographic device.

“The alternate world we traveled to is also experiencing an apocalypse. But thanks to the Doomsday Grocery Store system, Brother Qi and I aren’t struggling too much.”

“We built a shelter in a place called Desolate City and named it ‘Desolate City Haven’…”

Through Tang Yu’an’s explanation, Tang Sheng and Tang Xueyun finally got a rough idea of their son’s situation in the other world.

However, they were skeptical about how lightly he described things.

After all, they had lived through the apocalypse themselves. They knew firsthand how tough it was.

Not to mention, these were just two kids—alone in a completely unfamiliar world. The dangers they faced were unimaginable.

Still, hearing about what they had managed to accomplish filled the couple with pride.

They were truly remarkable!

“…Obstetrics and gynecology knowledge, huh…” Tang Xueyun rubbed her temples. “I really need to refresh my memory on that.”

“How about we check out a bookstore?” Tang Sheng suggested.

He recalled seeing one when he went out searching for a vehicle.

“We could send all the books to them—they might find them useful,” he said.

“Since they’ve built a shelter and taken in many people, they’ll also need food. We could try to gather high-yield crops and send them as well.”

Finding good seeds would be difficult, but books were easy.

After all, in this world, books had lost their value—left abandoned in the streets, untouched by anyone.

Tang Xueyun agreed with his idea but sighed. “If only we could go online… We could download information directly, and the data would be even more complete.”

“The power grid was destroyed by monsters, and there’s no one to repair it. Restoring it would be almost impossible.”

Tang Sheng shook his head, then said, “For now, just eat something and get some rest.”

Since Tang Xueyun was on her period, the scent of blood was strong, making it unsafe for her to go outside. She had to stay in the magical tent to recuperate.

Looking at his wife and daughter, who had significantly recovered in just ten days, Tang Sheng couldn’t help but grin foolishly.

“The fact that you got your period again means your body is getting healthier. That’s a good thing.”

Tang Xueyun listlessly glanced at him and shook her head. “Until I recover, don’t go out and take risks alone.”

The main issue was the mutated beast outside. It had claimed this gym as its territory. They wouldn’t be able to leave until it was dealt with.

“I know what I’m doing.”

Tang Sheng wasn’t planning to wait for his wife to fully recover before dealing with the mutant beast. He had been observing it for days and noticed that its aura was growing stronger as it devoured other mutated creatures.

If they didn’t take it down soon, they might be trapped in the magical tent indefinitely.

Even though the tent was safe and well-stocked, Tang Sheng didn’t think they should stay hidden forever.

Especially with a dangerous monster lurking outside.

What if the tent was damaged?

Hei Tuantuan had mentioned before—if the tent was destroyed, its internal space would collapse.

Of course, it also assured them that the tent was made of extremely durable materials and wouldn’t be easily broken.

Tang Sheng didn’t dare to gamble, so at the very least, he had to take down the mutant outside before relocating the tent to a safer and more concealed location.

Tang Xueyun slightly opened her mouth but ultimately closed it without saying anything.

Tang Sheng had actually analyzed the situation with her several times before, but she had always used the excuse of needing to rest and recover to refuse. Deep down, however, it was more about her aversion to and avoidance of the apocalyptic world outside.

But the letter from their son to their daughter had woken her up.

In the face of such a disaster, they could no longer afford to waste time hiding. They had to work on strengthening themselves and increasing their chances of survival in this post-apocalyptic world.

They couldn’t always rely on their son’s aid, could they?

“I’ll write down what I know about obstetrics and gynecology and send it to them, along with this drifting bottle,” Tang Xueyun said.

“They’re probably waiting for our reply—we can’t make them wait too long.”

From Tang Yu’an’s video recording, they knew that the drifting bottle took about 18 to 20 days for a one-way trip. However, due to the acceleration function, the return time could be significantly shortened.

But this acceleration had to be actively triggered by An An and the others, and it could only be used once every three days.

If they waited too long to send the bottle back, they might miss the time when An An activated the accelerator, which would mean waiting another three days.

Tang Sheng nodded. “Alright, let’s send it back first, update them on the situation, and ask if they need anything else.”

So, Tang Xueyun took out paper and a pen, recalling what she knew about childbirth and writing down suggestions and precautions for setting up a maternity ward.

Tang Yuxin didn’t make a fuss and instead quietly pulled out a textbook to study on her own.

From the bag her brother had sent, she found a dictionary—the very one she used to keep in her schoolbag.

She looked at the card her brother had written to her, copied down the words she didn’t understand, and used the dictionary to look them up, marking them with pinyin.

Tang Yuxin had never been fond of studying, but she wanted to be able to read her brother’s letters on her own.

At the very least, she wanted to recognize all the words.

Tang Sheng handed the dishes over to the little black sphere for cleaning, then walked over to the exit. He put on his sturdy armor and carefully lifted the tent flap.

A strong stench of rot hit him immediately, overwhelming his senses.

He held his breath, but instead of stepping outside, he secretly activated his scout-mode AI to go out and record the situation in the gym.

Meanwhile, he opened another AI device to receive the live footage.

Over the past ten days, the gym had changed drastically—black and green mucus was splattered everywhere, and many of the fitness machines had been destroyed.

A mutant lay resting in the corner, seemingly asleep.

Beside it was the remains of another mutant, its deep green fluids oozing onto the floor, creating a nauseating sight.

The mutant resting in the corner was at least three to four meters long. It was humanoid with strong, well-built limbs.

What troubled Tang Sheng the most was that he had tried using his “Deception” ability on it before, but it had no effect.

Thankfully, he had retreated into the tent in time and hadn’t been injured.

He didn’t think it was a hearing issue because the mutant in the gym could detect even the slightest movement.

That meant his “Deception” ability simply didn’t work on this particular mutant.

In other words, if they wanted to leave, they had to either wait for it to leave on its own or defeat it head-on.

Seeing that the mutant was asleep, Tang Sheng seized the opportunity and swiftly sent his flying scythe slashing through the air like a bolt of lightning, aiming straight for its weak spot.

Unfortunately, just as the scythe was about to land, the mutant raised its powerful arm and deflected it.

The scythe only managed to leave a shallow wound on its arm before being swatted away. It spun through the air before hurtling back at an even greater speed.

Tang Sheng quickly dropped the tent flap.

The scythe twirled in midair before falling to the gym floor.

The humanoid mutant let out an enraged roar, stomping around the gym in search of its attacker. When it failed to find anyone, it pounded the ground in fury.

Tang Sheng could see from the recording that the mutant now had three or four wounds on its body.

But its thick skin made those injuries seem insignificant.

With his daily sneak attacks complete, Tang Sheng lowered the tent flap and took off his armor.

As for the flying scythe outside, he would retrieve it when the opportunity arose.

The scythe could automatically return to its user, making it a valuable weapon.

Tang Sheng returned to the sofa in the living area and had the little black sphere make him a glass of fruit juice. Then he replayed the footage from his AI, continuing to analyze how to deal with the mutant.

Although a single daily strike wouldn’t kill it, disturbing its sleep could at least slow down its energy absorption.

At the very least, it wouldn’t be getting stronger too quickly, making it easier to deal with in the future.

*

Plane MR176349.

The Peace Grocery Store’s RV had arrived at a fork in the road.

On the map, the road leading to the abandoned chemical plant was still shrouded in thick fog. Only a thin line showed the path Lu Yan had taken.

“Should I drive over there?” Zhou Qi asked.

“Mm!” Tang Yu’an nodded, eyes full of anticipation.

He was curious about how Lu Yan had managed to survive in this toxic mist—and who that other green dot on the map was.

Zhou Qi glanced at the width of the road and had Tang Yu’an shrink the size of the RV.

Then, under Tang Yu’an’s guidance, he steered toward the location of Lu Yan.

Thanks to the protective barrier, the toxic mist was kept at bay, leaving a spherical safe zone about 20 meters in radius.

Despite the deadly environment, the ground wasn’t completely barren—there were still a few low-growing plants scattered around.

Aside from that, the area was littered with debris brought in by floodwaters—animal carcasses and various discarded items were strewn about, crushed under the weight of the RV’s tires.

Fortunately, there were no towering abandoned buildings along the road. They only needed to clear the debris to one side, leaving a passable path.

As they drove deeper, the vegetation became more abundant.

After half an hour, Tang Yu’an saw some low shrubs with numerous mutated blueberries hanging from them.

This must be where Lu Yan had been picking the mutated blueberries.

The RV continued forward.

Gradually, they spotted buildings—what remained of the abandoned chemical plant. The factory buildings had collapsed into a wasteland of ruins.

Here, the toxic fog became even denser, making it nearly impossible to see anything beyond the barrier.

The pets stayed inside the RV, showing no intention of getting out. Even the Black Pearl, which had been hiding in Tang Yu’an’s pocket, jumped out.

It perched on the dashboard, staring outside with a solemn expression.

Tang Yu’an checked the map. A green dot, representing a potential customer, was displayed, while Lu Yan’ golden dot was positioned to the right and slightly behind it.

“There seems to be a tree over there?” he pointed at the location of the green dot.

Zhou Qi nodded and took out some mutated blueberries from his storage space. He and Tang Yu’an each ate a few.

As for the pets, Tang Yu’an hesitated but ultimately decided to store them in the pet slots.

Since they hadn’t informed Lu Yan in advance that they were coming, it was best to avoid any unnecessary misunderstandings by keeping the pets hidden.

After consuming the mutated blueberries to increase their resistance to toxins, Tang Yu’an purchased two protective suits from the dimensional store.

They wrapped themselves tightly, put on goggles, and cautiously opened the door.

Although the protective barrier kept the toxic fog at bay, years of exposure had already contaminated the ground. They couldn’t be too careful.

Once they confirmed that they felt no dizziness and that their protective suits weren’t corroding, the two of them jumped out of the RV.

Zhou Qi activated his abilities to clear away the debris blocking the road, while Tang Yu’an approached the tree.

Inside the protective barrier, he had no reason to fear any immediate danger, so he was bold in his movements. Zhou Qi didn’t stop him.

The tree stood about six or seven meters tall, with only half of its crown within the barrier. The rest remained shrouded in the toxic fog.

Tang Yu’an activated the hard-shell panel and expanded the protective barrier by another five meters, fully enclosing the tree.

However, after circling its trunk and searching through its branches, he still couldn’t find the so-called potential customer.

What’s going on? The map clearly showed someone was here.

Tang Yu’an knocked on the tree trunk with his fingers.

It was solid, meaning no one could be hiding inside… unless…

Suddenly, he recalled a previous encounter where something similar had happened. Just as he was about to turn back to find Zhou Qi, he realized that Zhou Qi had somehow already flown over.

Through the lenses of his goggles, Tang Yu’an could see that Zhou Qi’s eyes had turned red again.

So this tree really was a wood-element ability user who had been devoured by the parasite! And Brother Qi had been controlled by the spirit bug again!

“Brother Qi!”

Tang Yu’an rushed forward and hugged him tightly, shouting, “Snap out of it!”

Before putting on his protective suit, Tang Yu’an had already put on his white swan gloves. Because of this, Zhou Qi couldn’t shake him off as easily as before.

Tang Yu’an was thrilled for a moment—until Zhou Qi effortlessly slipped his arms under his armpits, lifted him, and slung him over his shoulder.

Then, he continued walking toward the tree.

“Brother Qi! Stop!”

Tang Yu’an struggled, but it was useless. Zhou Qi closed the distance to the tree in just a few steps.

He raised his hand, burned away his glove with flames, and pressed his bare palm against the tree trunk.

Tang Yu’an turned his head to look at the tree.

A thread-like green luminescence appeared on the tree’s surface, writhing as if trying to escape, but it was inevitably drawn toward Zhou Qi’s hand.

In the end, as it reached Zhou Qi’s palm, he extracted it from the tree trunk.

Tang Yu’an watched helplessly as Zhou Qi swallowed yet another spirit bug.

He sighed. So this time, is Brother Qi going to turn into a tree?

After consuming the spirit bug, Zhou Qi’s grip on him loosened. Taking the opportunity, Tang Yu’an pushed him away and landed on the ground.

As expected, Zhou Qi’s body started rapidly turning to wood.

Having dealt with this situation before, Tang Yu’an quickly used three consecutive light healing spells on Zhou Qi’s chest before stopping.

Meanwhile, the tree was shrinking rapidly, transforming back into a human form.

It was indeed a wood-element ability user who had been consumed by the spirit bug!

Seeing that Zhou Qi was temporarily stable, Tang Yu’an turned to check on the person—only to hear a sharp, piercing scream.

He immediately shielded Zhou Qi and saw a green figure charging toward them from outside the barrier.

The figure let out a shrill cry but suddenly froze mid-stride.

It stared at the person lying on the ground. Even through the pus-filled sores and rotting flesh on its face, disbelief was evident in its expression.

“Ah… Ah…”

It crouched beside the fallen figure, reaching out with both hands but retracting them at the sight of its own festering wounds.

“Lu Yan?” Tang Yu’an called out cautiously.

Lu Yan slowly looked up at him, his initial hostility replaced by confusion.

Tang Yu’an met his gaze and was momentarily stunned.

Despite his horrifying appearance, Lu Yan had undeniably beautiful eyes.

A pure, mesmerizing shade of green—like gemstones, shimmering with tiny specks of light.

But now wasn’t the time to be distracted.

Snapping back to reality, Tang Yu’an was about to introduce himself when Lu Yan rasped out a broken word:

“Mer… Merchant?”

Tang Yu’an hesitated for a moment before shaking his head. “I’m not him, but he did send me here.”

“Lu Yan, the Merchant hasn’t heard from you in a long time. He was worried, so he sent us to check on you.”

He looked at the person on the ground and said, “Can I check on him?”

Lu Yan hesitated for a moment, but after glancing at his own hands, he finally nodded.

Tang Yu’an then crouched down.

He carefully adjusted the person’s position, revealing a face that had been hidden beneath a curtain of hair.

It was a young man who appeared to be in his twenties. His green hair was quite rare, and his complexion was pale and haggard, his breath weak.

Sensing the rapid loss of the young man’s life force, Tang Yu’an immediately cast a light healing spell, then took out a bottle of intermediate healing potion and fed it to him.

As the dazzling light of the spell flared up, Lu Yan stood frozen in place.

He stared blankly at the strangely dressed human before him, watching as the young man’s breathing gradually strengthened under the treatment. Slowly, joy crept onto his face.

He wanted to move closer for a better look, but after a moment, he lowered his head again, staring at his own exposed, festering skin.

A hint of gloom flashed through his eyes.

Tang Yu’an, unaware of Lu Yan’ reaction, continued his treatment. After administering the healing potion, he also fed the green-haired young man some juice from mutated blueberries.

The young man bore several festering wounds similar to Lu Yan’, suggesting he had also been poisoned.

After finishing, Tang Yu’an continued casting light healing spells until his energy was completely depleted. Only then did he stop.

The young man’s wounds had finally healed and scabbed over. Though not fully recovered, it was now only a matter of time.

Tang Yu’an let out a small sigh of relief, just as the young man’s eyelashes quivered and his eyes slowly opened.

Unlike Lu Yan’ light green irises, his eyes were a deep black with a subtle green hue, making them appear more intense.

Upon seeing Tang Yu’an, the young man visibly froze, confusion flashing in his gaze. Then, he looked around.

“Lu Yan?” His voice was extremely hoarse, as if he hadn’t spoken in years.

“Where is Lu Yan?” he asked again.

Wasn’t Lu Yan right here?

Tang Yu’an turned around in confusion, only to realize that there was no one behind him—Lu Yan had left at some point without him noticing.

He glanced at the map.

Lu Yan hadn’t gone far. He was hiding in a nearby abandoned building, doing something unknown.