Chapter 255
Desolate City Haven.
Old Li had just woken up not long ago and was preparing to start his day when he saw Tang Yu’an’s message on the message board.
Purple Sky Fortress?
He was momentarily stunned. These two kids had been missing for a few days—had they gone to Purple Sky Fortress?
Given their unusual abilities, he wasn’t too surprised by the possibility.
[Message Board (Store Channel)]
[Changqing]: Purple Sky Fortress is indeed by the sea.
[Eastern Sweet Tang]: By the sea, and not an island in the middle of the ocean?
[Changqing]: Yes.
[Changqing]: But I was there decades ago. I’m not sure if it has changed since then.
In the 65 years since the Apocalypse, the world’s geography had undergone drastic changes. Old Li couldn’t say for sure whether the fortress that had once been by the sea had now turned into a sea fortress.
[Eastern Sweet Tang]: What’s the origin of the name Purple Sky Fortress?
[Changqing]: There’s a type of mutant creature in the waters near the fortress. It disappears during the day but emits a glow at night, painting the entire sky purple.
Tang Yu’an’s eyes lit up upon seeing the response.
As expected—this sea fortress was indeed Purple Sky Fortress!
[Changqing]: At night, all electronics near Purple Sky Fortress stop working. If you’re there, be careful and don’t fall into the water.
[Eastern Sweet Tang]: What happens if you fall in?
[Changqing]: These mutant creatures release powerful electric currents to kill surrounding creatures and then devour them.
[Changqing]: You must, must be careful!
Just reading this, Tang Yu’an could already picture Old Li’s serious expression. He obediently responded with an acknowledgment.
No wonder last night, Brother Qi refused to let him go outside…
Even though the mutant jellyfish avoided the ship, seawater was a great conductor of electricity. Even without the jellyfish, the danger was immense.
Moreover, the electrolysis of seawater would produce chlorine gas, hydrogen, and sodium hydroxide.
Chlorine gas and sodium hydroxide were both corrosive—especially chlorine gas, which was highly toxic—while hydrogen was flammable and explosive.
Now, Tang Yu’an finally understood why the fishermen wore masks.
Though their masks looked strange, they likely had filtration functions to protect against toxic gases.
But still… living in such a place was far too difficult, wasn’t it?
Something else occurred to Tang Yu’an, and he quickly asked Old Li another question.
[Eastern Sweet Tang]: Grandpa, do you know anyone in Purple Sky Fortress?
Old Li was momentarily stunned.
Memories of the distant past surfaced—of people who had long since disappeared from his life. His expression was filled with both nostalgia and a hint of regret.
[Changqing]: I did know some people, but after so many years, they’re probably not around anymore.
[Eastern Sweet Tang]: Do you want to find out about them? I can help you ask around.
[Changqing]: You’re really in Purple Sky Fortress?
[Eastern Sweet Tang]: Pretty sure this is the place.
Since he had already inquired, Tang Yu’an saw no need to hide it.
Given Old Li’s intelligence, he would have figured it out anyway.
Old Li was silent for a moment before he finally replied.
[Changqing]: There was a pair of brothers, around my age. The elder brother was named Lixia, and the younger one was called Dongzhi.
[Changqing]: They, like me, had water-based abilities, but they were stronger than I was. They were small squad leaders in the fishing fleet of Purple Sky Fortress. If they’re still alive… can you pass something to them for me?
[Eastern Sweet Tang]: No problem!
Old Li could use his personal storage ability to pass on the items through Tang Yu’an, but they would have to wait until Brother Qi regained his senses to retrieve them.
Of course, there was no rush to enter Purple Sky Fortress just yet.
The fortress was heavily guarded, and with the mutant jellyfish outside, approaching carelessly could be dangerous. The ship lacked the protective shield that their RV had, so Tang Yu’an didn’t dare to take risks.
He made a note of Old Li’s words before asking another question.
[Eastern Sweet Tang]: Grandpa, you’ve been to Ice Rock Fortress before, right?
[Changqing]: Not Ice Rock—Ice Flame Fortress.
[Changqing]: That place is home to a type of mutant plant. Its flowers look like ethereal blue flames, but they release ice energy instead, which is why they’re called Ice Flame Flowers.
[Changqing]: Because of these plants, Ice Flame Fortress is perpetually cold, making it a harsh place to live. But… it should be better now.
[Eastern Sweet Tang]: Why?
[Changqing]: That “Qingxue” person in the public channel—isn’t she from Ice Flame Fortress?
Tang Yu’an scratched his head. Nothing escaped Grandpa’s sharp eyes!
[Eastern Sweet Tang]: Oh, right! She has a lot of ice resources, so she’s probably from Ice Flame Fortress!
[Changqing]: Mhm.
[Heavenly Cloud]: There’s really a place like that? I’d love to visit someday.
Because Tang Yu’an was chatting with Old Li in the store’s channel, the other employees could see their conversation as well.
[Eastern Sweet Tang]: We’ll keep building roads. One day, we’ll be able to go!
[Wanderer ]: Can we really go that far in the future? Just thinking about it is exciting!
Meanwhile, back in Desolate City Haven, the construction team had resumed work after their break.
While some had gone to Jufeng Mountain to teach the locals how to build roads and fences, the rest were extending the new road towards Lin Hai Town.
As for Jufeng Mountain’s construction team, they had finished fortifying the mountain’s roads and integrating them into the main route of Desolate City Haven. Now, they were working on adding railings and stairs along the mountain path.
Once completed, travelers wouldn’t have to worry about mutant creatures ambushing them on the road.
Some residents had opposed the new security measures, preferring the old ways of taking risks.
But this was a direct order from Hong Li, and their protests were meaningless.
Construction of fences and shelters continued as planned.
For the ordinary people who simply wanted a stable life, Jufeng Mountain might one day become as safe and prosperous as Desolate City Haven.
Of course, if outsiders arrived in the future, they wouldn’t be able to pass through at night unless Tang Yu’an granted them permission.
As for newborns…
Since Old Li had recently reached an agreement with Hong Li, all pregnant women in Jufeng Mountain would be temporarily relocated to Desolate City Home to give birth.
For now, at least, there was no need to worry about that issue.
While the employees excitedly discussed places they wanted to visit, Tang Yu’an closed the message board, not joining the conversation.
Because—
As the sun rose higher in the sky and the mutant jellyfish completely disappeared, he realized that the ship’s electronic devices had started working again.
Tang Yu’an immediately activated the mechanical insects’ surveillance feeds. The little machines had also recovered.
Before losing power and falling into the sea, they had entered a protective mode—encasing themselves in a special non-conductive metal shell.
Once Tang Yu’an sent the recall command, they deactivated their protective mode, waking from dormancy.
Since they had fallen into the sea, the first thing they recorded upon rebooting was the underwater scenery.
Tang Yu’an didn’t see any mutant jellyfish on the footage.
Had they turned completely transparent? Or had they sunk deeper into the ocean?
The mechanical insects took flight again, following Tang Yu’an’s command towards the fortress.
A faint yellow-green mist lingered over the area—likely the toxic gases produced by the mutant jellyfish.
Fortunately, at an altitude of about eight or nine meters, they cleared the poisonous zone.
After cleaning their lenses, the mechanical insects resumed their journey toward Purple Sky Fortress.
As daylight returned, the once-silent fortress began to stir with human activity.
The fields were already bustling with farmers at work. A couple of individuals who appeared to be cultivators were being surrounded as they moved through the farmland, likely using their wood-element abilities to accelerate crop growth.
However, they weren’t attempting to forcefully mature all the crops in a short time. Instead, they were using their wood-elemental powers much like the cultivators in the Desolate City Haven, simply enhancing the plants’ natural growth.
The mechanical insect continued forward and soon captured images of a cluster of old buildings.
These structures seemed to have been preserved from before the Apocalypse, standing strong even after sixty or seventy years. Many people still lived within them.
Tang Yu’an carefully observed the residents of Purple Sky Fortress.
Their conditions weren’t much better than those of the people in Jufeng Mountain—thin and malnourished, except for the members of the fishing team, who were noticeably more robust.
Of course, the fishing team had to fight fierce sea creatures, so the weak probably wouldn’t have survived long. High risk, high reward—their better physique was understandable.
“So, not everyone in the fortress is well-fed and clothed after all…”
Seeing it with his own eyes, Tang Yu’an’s idealized view of the fortress was shattered. Still, his perception of it had largely come from Grandpa Li and Granny Guo.
Considering they hadn’t left the Desolate City area for many years, it made sense that they were out of touch with the current reality.
In the future, he would be more cautious about blindly believing secondhand accounts.
At least from a civilization standpoint, Purple Sky Fortress wasn’t as far gone as Jufeng Mountain, which had nearly lost all traces of its past knowledge and regressed to a primitive state.
However, their situation was still dire. If the sea level continued to rise and their barriers failed one day, the farmland and villages at the foot of the mountain would be swallowed by the ocean.
Tang Yu’an originally wanted to check out the mountain area, but his mechanical insect had already reached its flight limit, so he had to give up for now.
Instead of recalling the mechanical insect, he decided to leave it inside the fortress for continued observation.
The technology level of the mechanical insect was far beyond this world’s current standards. Even though Purple Sky Fortress retained some technological capabilities, detecting the insect’s surveillance would be extremely difficult.
Tang Yu’an hoped to find an abandoned building within the fortress. If he succeeded, he could sneak inside and establish a branch store there.
For now, he wasn’t sure how to interact with the people of Purple Sky Fortress.
Going in alone was too risky. He wanted to wait until Brother Qi regained his senses and discuss it with him first.
At this stage, intelligence gathering remained his top priority.
But… there was no telling when Brother Qi would wake up. He couldn’t just wait around forever—he still had many things to do. For example, he hadn’t checked on the Dream Drifting Bottle for two or three days now.
Delivering the bottle to his mother’s dream required using dream fragments. While he still had plenty, he couldn’t afford to use them up carelessly.
He also needed to establish a branch store in Lin Hai Town as soon as possible to accumulate enough points and unlock more features…
Unfortunately, despite searching for three days with the mechanical insect, Tang Yu’an couldn’t find a suitable location.
During those three days, Zhou Qi only woke up twice. He remained in a deep state of hibernation, absorbing the energy of the water spirit insect.
After exhausting all potential locations, Tang Yu’an finally changed his mind.
He decided to go to Purple Sky Fortress in person!
However, he couldn’t just leave Zhou Qi alone on the ship.
Just as he was about to grit his teeth and spend 200,000 points on a Spirit Storage Bag that could carry living beings, the Seven-Day Special Sale refreshed.
[Seven-Day Special Sale (Next Refresh: 6 Days)]
Basic Spirit Storage Bag (1/1): 98,888 points
Construction Robot (5/5): …
He got one for under 100,000 points!
This was the first time Tang Yu’an realized that the Seven-Day Special Sale actually offered Spirit Storage Bags. Though it was only a basic one, it was about the same size as the one Teacher Gu had sold them!
Excitedly, he bought up all the good deals from the special sale before happily preparing the Spirit Storage Bag.
He filled a bathtub with purified water, added an appropriate amount of sea salt, and then carefully transferred Zhou Qi inside.
Zhou Qi remained unconscious, oblivious to everything around him.
Tang Yu’an cast a healing spell to protect his heart and gently stroked his cheek.
“Brother Qi, I miss you so much. Please wake up soon.”
Since Zhou Qi showed no signs of waking, Tang Yu’an left the Spirit Storage Bag, secured it properly, and tucked it close to his chest.
By this time, the ship had arrived near Purple Sky Fortress, and its silhouette was visible in the distance.
Tang Yu’an opened his Shadow Umbrella, put on a gas mask, and then flew off the ship. He also moved the ship to the Desolate City swimming pool—one of the few places large enough to store it.
Then, he flew toward Purple Sky Fortress.
People inside the fortress spotted his ship, causing a brief commotion. However, since the vessel disappeared so quickly, the situation soon calmed down.
Upon entering the fortress, Tang Yu’an noticed that most of the people had dark purple skin.
He wasn’t sure if this was due to prolonged exposure to chlorine gas or if the mutant jellyfish had some unknown effect.
Either way, he wasn’t taking off his gas mask just yet.
After three days of observation and planning, Tang Yu’an had decided on his course of action and target.
He landed on a rooftop near the fishing team’s area and donned a black cloak.
A short while later, he leaped down from the roof, dismissed the Shadow Umbrella, and emerged from a narrow alley.
“Who are you? And why are you wearing a mask?”
A voice called out from behind him.
Tang Yu’an turned around and saw a scruffy, bearded man eyeing him warily.
He remained calm and removed his mask.
Beneath it was the face of a thin, dark-skinned teenage boy with disproportionately large, round eyes.
[Thousand-Faced Cloak]
[Description: A masterpiece by the legendary illusionist. Wearing it allows the user to transform into anyone they desire—on stage, at least.]
[Limitations: Can be used once per day, lasts 60 minutes.]
[Uses remaining today: 1.]
Yes, Tang Yu’an had imagined himself on a grand stage, disguising himself as a fortress resident. Even his gas mask had transformed into the same type used by Purple Sky Fortress’s fishing team.
This boy’s name was Abu, a villager who had always wanted to join the fishing team but had been repeatedly rejected for failing the test.
“Abu, didn’t we tell you to go home yesterday? Why are you still here?” The bearded man frowned in displeasure.
“And what’s with that cloak? I thought some weirdo had shown up.”
Tang Yu’an grinned and dramatically swayed his cloak.
“I traded for this at the market. Cool, huh?”
Since both he and Abu were teenagers, their voices were quite similar. That was one of the reasons he chose this disguise.
Sure enough, the man didn’t suspect anything and just rolled his eyes.
“What good is ‘cool’? That thing will just get in your way. If you try wearing it out at sea, you won’t even know how you died.”
“Well, it’s not like you guys let me go out to sea anyway.”
Tang Yu’an shrugged nonchalantly. “Whatever, I’m leaving.”
The man hesitated for a moment, then suddenly grabbed his shoulder.
“Actually… we’re short on hands in the fishing team. Even though you don’t meet the requirements, I’ll take you to the captain and plead your case.”
Tang Yu’an: “……”
