Chapter 245
Hong Li stared at the seven or eight conspicuous individuals who had been expelled outside, her expression dark and grim.
The other guards looked on curiously, unsure of what had happened—why had those seven or eight people suddenly appeared outside? And why did their leader look so furious?
Only the guards who had accompanied Hong Li to Desolate City Haven recognized this familiar scene and showed strange expressions.
“Arrest them!” Hong Li ordered.
“Lord Mountain Chief, we’re innocent!” One of them immediately knelt and pleaded.
“Innocent of what?” Hong Li looked at him coldly.
The man stammered but couldn’t find the words to respond.
Had the Mountain Chief discovered their true identities? But how?
“I’ll give you one more chance,” Hong Li said in a low voice. “If you can walk through this gate today, I’ll let you go.”
The seven or eight people exchanged glances before cautiously stepping forward. However, the moment they reached the covered entrance, their eyes suddenly became vacant.
Like sleepwalkers, they turned around and walked away. Then, as if suddenly snapping out of a trance, they woke up in confusion.
What was going on? How had they ended up outside again?
After several more failed attempts, the pressure became too much for one of them, and he suddenly bolted toward the mountain path in an attempt to escape.
Crack!
Hong Li’s whip lashed out, striking the man down. He collapsed onto the ground with a scream of agony.
She showed no mercy. Looking at the stunned guards nearby, she ordered, “Arrest them all and interrogate them thoroughly!”
Once the guards had tied them up, she lowered her voice and declared, “From this day forth, Jufeng Mountain officially joins the Merchant God Sect.”
“Under the protection of the God of Commerce, anyone harboring ill intent toward the Merchant God Sect will be unable to enter the Guard Post!”
She turned to the guards on duty. “From now on, if anyone is unable to enter the Guard Post, arrest them and investigate their background.”
“Yes!”
Hong Li cast one last cold glance at the seven or eight captives. She hadn’t expected that handing over the Guard Post’s ownership to the Merchant God Sect would come with such a benefit.
From now on, she wouldn’t have to worry about traitors or spies anymore!
The seven or eight individuals looked utterly defeated. They wanted to argue that this method of judgment was ridiculous, but the undeniable reality was that they truly couldn’t enter the Guard Post…
Soon, they were taken away for questioning.
Since they couldn’t be held inside the Guard Post, they had to be imprisoned elsewhere.
*
On the rooftop, Tang Yu’an and Zhou Qi had been watching everything unfold at the entrance of the Guard Post.
They hadn’t activated the protective barrier yet, but even without it, the Evil Guests Dispelled aura was still working?
“It seems that the Evil Guests Dispelled aura follows the same rules as the protective barrier, but the two are independent of each other,” Zhou Qi observed.
Tang Yu’an nodded. “Then we won’t activate it for now.”
Activating the protective barrier would also activate the Night Lodge function, which meant that if they didn’t, the guards would be expelled from the premises at night.
But the Guard Post Grocery Store had just been established, and its store popularity was at zero—there was no way to upgrade it yet.
As for the teleportation array, they decided not to enable it either.
Since Jufeng Grocery Store already served as a teleportation point, they didn’t need to use the Guard Post for travel to Jufeng Town.
Afterward, Tang Yu’an transferred Hong Li to the Guard Post Grocery Store and assigned her an Elite Mission to promote her to Branch Store Manager.
Since she had officially pledged allegiance to the Merchant God Sect, they were willing to place more trust in her.
With that settled, Tang Yu’an and Zhou Qi returned to their RV.
“Time to upgrade!”
[Would you like to spend 200,000 points to upgrade the main store, “Peace Grocery Store,” to (Bigger is Better!) Lv3?]
200,000 points!
Tang Yu’an took a sharp breath, then glanced at his nearly 2 million points balance. He quickly calmed down.
It’s just 200,000, right?
Spend it!
He decisively clicked “Yes.”
[Points deducted successfully!]
[Congratulations! The main store “Peace Grocery Store” has been upgraded to (Bigger is Better!) Lv3.]
[Night Lodge capacity increased by 100,000. The maximum number of customers that all stores can accommodate: 1,111,201.]
[Main store can now recruit 7 more employees; branch stores can now recruit 5 more employees.]
[Dream Message Bottle +1. Message bottle capacity tripled. Current total number of bottles: 7.]
[RV upgraded, new “Vehicle Mode” available. Can now expand up to three times its original size.]
Tang Yu’an’s eyes widened when he saw the Night Lodge capacity increase.
Did he read that correctly?!
He carefully counted the zeros three times and confirmed—yes, there were five zeros after the 1.
That meant…
The Night Lodge capacity increased by 100,000!
With the previous count added in, the total had now reached 1,111,201!
Additionally, branch store functions were unlocked based on the main store’s level.
For example, Desolate City Haven had already upgraded to Lv3, so now that the main store had leveled up in the “Bigger is Better” direction, Desolate City Haven also received a boost!
Tang Yu’an stared at the massive increase in lodging capacity for a long time before finally sharing the good news with Zhou Qi.
As a Branch Store Manager, Zhou Qi also saw the updated lodging capacity.
“With this, as long as Lan Hu Grocery Store levels up, the protective barrier will be able to accommodate all of Lan Hu Town’s residents.”
Lan Hu Town had over 10,000 residents, making it their largest market so far.
Before, the 11,000 capacity was barely enough. But now, with it suddenly increasing to 111,000, there was more than enough room.
Tang Yu’an nodded. “Yeah, but we still need to level up Lan Hu Grocery Store first.”
Upgrading a branch store’s first two levels was relatively easy. But reaching Lv3 was different—it required store popularity as well as magical furniture.
Currently, the main sources of magical furniture were Seven-Day Sales and the Lucky Wheel.
Perhaps because his priorities had shifted, Seven-Day Sales had stopped offering magical furniture as frequently.
Tang Yu’an checked the branch store panel and suddenly noticed the upgrade conditions had changed.
Taking Lan Hu Grocery Store as an example:
[Peace Grocery Store – Store #5]
[Level: Lv1]
[Upgrade Requirements: Merchant Level Lv10, Store Popularity 500, Store Total Area 500 sqm]
“There’s now a store area requirement!” Tang Yu’an exclaimed.
“It must be a change brought by upgrading in the ‘Bigger is Better’ direction,” Zhou Qi explained. “If that’s the case, we should prioritize upgrading branch stores first from now on.”
“Yeah, makes sense.”
Tang Yu’an nodded in agreement, then added, “Oh! The branch store recruitment limit has increased from 7 employees to 12!”
That meant Desolate City Haven could now hire more staff.
“And the Dream Message Bottle capacity increased again!” Tang Yu’an said excitedly. “We can send one to Mom and Dad more frequently now, which means we’ll get their replies even faster!”
Currently, they could receive a message bottle every 9 days. If they adjusted the schedule, they might be able to get one every 6 days.
If they kept upgrading, eventually, they could receive a message every 3 days—the fastest possible speed due to the Dream Bottle Accelerator’s limitations.
Even at 3 days, that was amazing!
Feeling joyful, Tang Yu’an excitedly tested out the new three-times-expanded RV mode.
Looking at the RV, which had now become a giant behemoth, Tang Yu’an and Zhou Qi couldn’t help but feel excited as they walked around it, inspecting all the details.
Aside from the size increase, its exterior looked even more imposing and extravagant.
Zhou Qi thought for a moment and said, “This model can be used as a disguise for the Mysterious Merchant.”
The double-sized model had already been shown to Hong Li and the others, so if the Mysterious Merchant used it again, it might raise suspicion. But now, with the three-times-larger model, there was no such concern.
“Great!” Tang Yu’an laughed. “This will make the Mysterious Merchant look even more impressive!”
He glanced at the bridge under construction and couldn’t help but add, “Good thing the bridge was designed to be wider, so the three-times-larger RV can still pass through.”
Zhou Qi nodded. “Let’s head back to the Homebase.”
“Alright!”
Although the bridge’s structure had been pre-planned, even with the robots’ efficiency, the earliest completion time would be the next day. Since they had nothing else to do there, they returned to the Desolate City Haven to check out the newly built communal dormitory.
The new dormitory building was constructed adjacent to Building 1. Since it was built using the robots’ design templates, there were no structural issues.
If they could apply exterior tiles, it would look just like a modern high-rise. However, in the wasteland, practicality came first, and the Desolate City Haven also lacked materials. So, for now, it had to remain a plain cement-walled structure, looking like an unfinished building.
Tang Yu’an and Zhou Qi walked inside.
Since it had just been completed, no one had moved in yet, and the place was completely empty.
Just as A-Lian had described, each floor was an expansive open space. Aside from the necessary restroom facilities, it was quite basic.
The only improvement over Building 1 was that the dormitory’s drainage system was well-designed—thanks to the construction robots.
Of course, Old Li didn’t think the sewage system would actually be used.
For the current stage of the Desolate City Haven, using precious water resources to flush toilets was still too extravagant. For now, residents were still required to manually dispose of waste.
The Haven had a designated facility for waste treatment, and human waste made excellent fertilizer.
Although Star-chain vines could enrich soil nutrients, they didn’t produce these nutrients out of thin air, so fertilizers were still necessary—and even in short supply.
Looking at the gray, rough-textured walls of the dormitory, Tang Yu’an thought for a moment and opened the renovation panel.
The dormitory had already appeared on the 3D blueprint of Shop No. 1, meaning he could use the system’s functions to renovate it.
He breathed a sigh of relief and then coated all the walls with white paint.
The white paint cost 5 points per square meter. Covering all the walls and ceilings of the entire building cost just over 11,000 points.
Looking at the clean, bright white walls that made the place feel instantly more inviting, Tang Yu’an’s mood also improved.
It could be simple, but it shouldn’t feel depressing.
Next, he installed glass windows on every floor to improve lighting and provide wind protection.
Since it was a communal dormitory, they needed to separate male and female areas; otherwise, mixed living could lead to conflicts.
To improve privacy, he built partition walls around the stairwells, adding doors to create enclosed stair landings.
Zhou Qi added numbers to the walls, both to indicate floor levels and to help residents gradually learn more characters.
They also used partitions to separate the toilets from the living areas, which helped block odors.
“Brother Qi, I think 30 people per floor is already a lot.”
Each floor had about 300 square meters of usable space. After deducting space for stairwells and restrooms, around 270 square meters remained—meaning each person would only have about 9 square meters.
If someone like Shu Gen had kids with them, the per-person space would be even smaller.
Plus, with more people, restrooms might become insufficient, and there could be long lines.
Although they had a strict rule prohibiting public urination and defecation in the Haven, sometimes nature’s call wasn’t something one could control.
Zhou Qi thought for a moment. “We should add partitions. Right now, it’s an open floor plan, which is space-efficient, but dividing it into smaller rooms would improve privacy and reduce conflicts.”
For example, during restroom peak hours, residents could use a small bucket in their private space if necessary.
“Alright, I’ll talk to Grandpa Li.”
Tang Yu’an opened his communicator and video-called Old Li, explaining their idea.
Old Li wasn’t surprised.
He had long witnessed the two teenagers’ abilities and knew they could perform advanced renovations on buildings. He just didn’t think it was necessary to spend extra points on it.
After all, compared to living in caves, the communal dormitory was already a hundred times better.
Still, Old Li rarely opposed their suggestions. He understood that the Desolate City Haven had reached its current state entirely because of these two boys.
And time had proven that their decisions always led to improvements, making the Haven more and more like the world he remembered from his childhood.
“Then let’s just build more dormitory buildings. We have plenty of land anyway.”
With the protective barrier now expandable through fence walls, land was no longer a constraint.
The entire Desolate City would be theirs.
Could only be theirs.
After finishing the call, Old Li stepped out of his office to continue checking the inventory.
With six new wood-element ability users joining, the Haven’s production had surged again. Since there were now enough cultivators, not all had to focus on growing Lan Hu Trees.
So, the later-arriving wood-element users had already started cultivating other crops.
Old Li was currently checking today’s sweet potato harvest, which had been cultivated by Mo Yu. Since arriving at the Haven, Mo Yu had barely been able to walk, yet he had thrown himself into work from day one.
He worked tirelessly from morning till night without rest, something Old Li deeply appreciated.
Today’s harvest totaled 176.5 kilos. After deducting the 60% rent, Mo Yu could keep a little over 50 kilos. He requested to exchange it all for Peace Coins.
“That’ll be 2,000 Peace Coins. Here you go.”
Mo Yu kept 500 coins for himself and handed the rest to Old Li. “This is for my debt repayment.”
“Got it.”
Old Li took out a small notebook and recorded the payment under Mo Yu’s name.
With 1.2 million Peace Coins still to pay off, Mo Yu had a long road ahead. But at a daily earning rate of 1,500, he might clear the debt within two or three—
Mo Yu handed five 100-coin notes to Ai Lu, who was standing behind him.
“Ai Lu, here.”
Ai Lu didn’t hesitate, happily accepting them. He loved the Peace Coins—blue and shiny with golden sparkles, and they felt nice to the touch.
After pocketing the large-denomination bills, he fished out a smaller note from his bag.
“Grandpa… candy… exchange for candy…”
Since Tang Yu’an had introduced him to Old Li, he called him “Grandpa” too.
Old Li liked the innocent and cheerful child. He smiled slightly, took the Peace Coin, and handed over a pack of candy.
“Thank you!”
Ai Lu took the candy, skillfully unwrapped one, popped it into Mo Yu’s mouth, then unwrapped another for himself.
Only then did he push Mo Yu’s wheelchair toward the elevator.
“Ai Lu, do you like it here?”
Inside the elevator, Mo Yu held his hand and looked up at him.
“I love it!” Ai Lu answered without hesitation.
Since coming to the Desolate City Haven, his spirits had improved day by day.
For the first time in his life, he had met so many kind people! No one hit him or scolded him. No one treated him like a freak.
Here, he had a warm home, delicious food, and most importantly—he had made so many new friends!
But his favorite was still Mo Yu!
“Then, shall we stay here forever?” Mo Yu asked.
He had initially been wary of the Desolate City Haven, but after settling in, he realized that all his previous concerns were unnecessary.
Other than the pressure of repaying his debt, everything here was good. It gave him a sense of peace.
So, he also hoped Ai Lu could stay and live with him.
“Sure!” Ai Lu nodded again.
Mo Yu’s gaze grew even gentler as he stroked the back of Ai Lu’s hand and softly said, “I will work hard to give you a better life.”
Ai Lu didn’t fully understand his words, but he could feel Mo Yu’s warmth, so he just kept smiling.
Beside them, Xie Chaori, who had just entered the elevator with them: “….”
Did these two just treat him like air?
The elevator soon stopped. Ai Lu pushed Mo Yu out, and after a moment of hesitation, Xie Chaori followed.
When they reached the room door, Mo Yu said, “Ai Lu, go inside first, okay?”
Ai Lu looked at him, then at Xie Chaori, who had followed them.
Mo Yu patted his hand. Ai Lu nodded, then obediently went inside.
Once Ai Lu had disappeared beyond the doorway, Mo Yu turned his wheelchair to face Xie Chaori and asked, “Do you know me?”
Hearing such a direct question, Xie Chaori paused for a moment before nodding.
Mo Yu did indeed come from Qingmu Fortress.
His face was distinctive, especially his green hair—only high-level plant masters could have such a feature.
Even in Qingmu Fortress, where many people had plant-based abilities, someone like him was incredibly rare.
Not to mention, after so many years, he still looked just as young as before.
“Are you my friend?” Mo Yu asked.
Xie Chaori shook his head. “We’ve only met a few times.”
Even if they had similar ability levels, plant ability users were far more valuable than other types. Besides, back then, Xie Chaori had just been a reckless young man like Chi Hao.
Meanwhile, Mo Yu had already been a top-tier planting master, highly valued by the fortress leaders. He had no chance of befriending someone like him.
“Do I have any family?” Mo Yu asked another question.
Xie Chaori hesitated before shaking his head. “As far as I know, no.”
Because of his noble background, he had access to some secrets. He knew that Mo Yu, like Hong Li, had been an orphan collected and raised by the fortress.
But six or seven years ago, Mo Yu had suddenly disappeared.
Qingmu Fortress discovered the suspected existence of a spatial rift in Wasteland City while searching for him.
Of course, Xie Chaori was also curious about how Mo Yu had gone missing and why he had ended up in Desolate City Haven.
But clearly, Mo Yu had no intention of explaining.
“I see. Thank you for telling me this.” Mo Yu exhaled as if relieved, then prepared to leave.
“I heard you lost your memory. Don’t you want to know about your past?” Xie Chaori asked.
Mo Yu paused for a moment. “That doesn’t matter anymore.”
He looked toward the room, where Ai Lu was peeking out from behind the wall. When Ai Lu met his gaze, he quickly ducked back inside.
Mo Yu smiled and said softly, “I care more about my present and future.”
*
Room 501.
Old Li put down his ledger and accidentally knocked over the family registry book beside him. The book fell to the ground, opening to a particular page.
When he picked it up, he saw that it contained Mo Yu and Ai Lu’s information.
Looking at the “relationship” column, which stated “partners,” Old Li couldn’t help but click his tongue.
Ai Lu probably didn’t even understand what “partner” meant. When they registered, Old Li had asked multiple times.
At first, the boy had hesitated, but after Mo Yu whispered something in his ear, he had immediately smiled and nodded.
Later, when asked again, Ai Lu no longer showed any hesitation.
Old Li casually closed the book. At least for now, from what he observed, Ai Lu wasn’t suffering, so he chose to turn a blind eye.
Then, he looked at the system panel, and his wrinkled face suddenly lit up with a smile.
He had just leveled up, unlocking new items in the system’s exchange store. And among the newly available items was…
Instant noodles!
Old Li couldn’t help rubbing his hands together excitedly as he browsed through the options.
Seeing the variety of flavors available, his eyes crinkled with joy. Without hesitation, he exchanged for one of each flavor.
When he boiled the water and started making the noodles, he couldn’t help but feel a little dazed.
Soon, the rich aroma of instant noodles filled the room.
As he lifted the bowl and took his first bite, tears finally rolled down the old man’s face.
It was so delicious…
Looking at the dozen more packs of instant noodles on the table, he felt a strange sense of satisfaction fill his heart.
Old Li slurped down the noodles and drank the soup eagerly.
After finishing the bowl, he wiped his mouth clean. Then, after some hesitation, he listed a pack of instant noodles in the trade zone.
Among the employees, there were probably others like him—old folks who would appreciate this taste.
For example…
That noisy old man?
