Chapter 258
“Will this really work?”
After hearing Zhou Qi’s plan, Tang Yu’an was intrigued but couldn’t help hesitating. “I still think it’s too risky…”
Zhou Qi thought for a moment, then nodded. “We can conduct an experiment first.”
“How?”
“Isn’t Mr. Gu’s plane easily accessible? We can test it with small animals first.”
Thanks to the ‘Thread of Dreams’ achievement title, if Tang Yu’an established a connection with another interdimensional merchant, his drift bottle would directly reach the recipient’s Dream Sea.
With the Drift Accelerator, they could exchange items with Mr. Gu every three days—much faster than other planes.
Most importantly, they could communicate with him via video calls, making coordination much easier. As long as they provided some compensation, Mr. Gu would likely be willing to cooperate.
“Oh! That could work!”
Tang Yu’an found the idea promising and said, “I’ll go get a small animal then.”
“Get two,” Zhou Qi suggested. “We need a control group.”
“Oh, right! Okay! I’ll go check the homestead—wait here!”
With that, Tang Yu’an jumped up and hurried toward the stairs.
Once he reached the attic and was completely out of Zhou Qi’s sight, he let out a slow breath, placing a hand on his slightly warm face.
Whenever Brother Qi spoke, he couldn’t help but stare at his lips.
They moved—opening and closing—looking so… kissable.
Why had he never noticed before how good-looking Brother Qi was?
Tang Yu’an quickly shook his head, trying to dispel the strange thoughts, then stepped onto the teleportation array.
His figure vanished from the attic, leaving the small grocery store in silence.
Seated on the sofa, Zhou Qi’s usual calm demeanor had faded. Leaning back against the couch, he stared blankly at the ceiling.
After a while, he suddenly raised a hand to his forehead and closed his eyes tightly.
In truth, Zhou Qi remembered everything that happened after he turned into a mermaid.
What had he done to An’an? To be honest, he had scared himself a little.
Fortunately, An’an didn’t blame him. Though he was obviously a bit uneasy and spoke less naturally than before, at least… he was still willing to talk to him.
As long as Zhou Qi pretended not to remember, they could act as if those two days had never happened.
An’an wouldn’t hate him. Their relationship wouldn’t fall apart because of his twisted emotions or boundary-crossing actions…
This was good enough.
Zhou Qi slowly opened his eyes. Even though he told himself that, his fingertips still brushed over his lips, which were burning hot.
A faint blush crept onto his cheeks.
If one looked closely, they’d notice that his ears had already turned bright red…
By the time Tang Yu’an ran down from the attic with the small animals, Zhou Qi had regained his composure, his expression returning to its usual calm.
“What did you catch?” he asked.
Tang Yu’an opened his Spirit Storage Bag and showed him. “Two koko, two fish, and two rabbits.”
Since chickens could lay eggs and sheep could produce milk and wool, Tang Yu’an couldn’t bear to catch them, so he chose koko, fish, and rabbits instead.
Zhou Qi nodded. “Let’s tell Mr. Gu first.”
“Okay!”
Tang Yu’an then video-called Gu Qianli.
“Xiao Qi, you’ve recovered,” Gu Qianli greeted with a smile upon seeing Zhou Qi awake.
“Thank you for your concern,” Zhou Qi replied. “Mr. Gu, we have a small request…”
After listening to the two boys’ plan, Gu Qianli was a bit surprised but didn’t refuse.
“No need for spirit stones—this is just a small favor for me,” Gu Qianli said.
However, Tang Yu’an insisted. “Mr. Gu, didn’t you say cultivators must uphold karma? You’re helping us in such a big way—whether it’s a small matter for you or not, we should still pay for it.”
Gu Qianli chuckled. “You’ve certainly learned how to talk properly.”
In the end, he accepted just one Wood Spirit Stone as a symbolic gesture.
Zhou Qi then took one of each animal and used his Petrification Ability on them.
Only then did Tang Yu’an realize—Zhou Qi’s ability wasn’t just for himself; he could petrify other creatures too!
If this ability was used in combat, wouldn’t it be incredibly powerful?
Holding a rabbit, Zhou Qi turned it to stone. A while later, he reversed the process, and the rabbit was hopping around again—completely unharmed.
Confirming that the ability caused no actual damage, Zhou Qi petrified all three test animals and placed them, along with the control group, into a Spirit Storage Bag, then sealed them inside a Drift Bottle.
Tang Yu’an threw the Drift Bottle into the Dream Sea, and soon, Mr. Gu received it.
“Mr. Gu, how is it?”
Watching Gu Qianli retrieve and inspect the Spirit Storage Bag, Tang Yu’an asked anxiously.
Zhou Qi also stared at the screen, his fists unconsciously clenching.
“See for yourselves,” Gu Qianli said, showing them the results.
He took out all six animals—the three untreated ones had already died, while the petrified ones remained unchanged.
Tang Yu’an exhaled in relief, both terrified and thankful.
Good thing they tested this first—otherwise, this would have been disastrous!
“I’ll dispose of the dead ones for you. As for the petrified animals, should I send them back?” Gu Qianli asked.
“Yes, please! Thank you, Mr. Gu!”
Gu Qianli placed the Spirit Storage Bag containing the petrified animals into another Drift Bottle and tossed it back into the Dream Sea.
Since Tang Yu’an had just used the Drift Accelerator, they’d have to wait three days before using it again.
But that was fine. If Zhou Qi really planned to return via Drift Bottle, the journey would take nearly twenty days.
If even a three-day drift caused issues, then this plan was completely unworkable.
After ending the call with Gu Qianli, Tang Yu’an hung the Drift Bottle meant for his parents on the window but didn’t send it yet.
Everything would depend on the results in three days…
Tang Yu’an glanced at Zhou Qi. “Brother Qi, do you want to rest a bit more?”
If the experiment succeeded, they’d be apart for at least a month—he already felt reluctant.
Zhou Qi thought for a moment before saying, “Let’s go to the Alternate World.”
“Okay!”
*
Alternate Dimension Cabin
Though only a week had passed for them, the Alternate Dimension had gone through over half a year.
Thanks to the maintenance robots, the cabin remained spotless, and the yard was well-kept.
Feeling the dense spiritual energy of the Giant Wood Forest, the two boys couldn’t help but sigh in satisfaction.
Their rapid improvement wasn’t just due to cultivation techniques and Gu Qianli’s guidance—the high concentration of spiritual energy in this world had played a major role.
Zhou Qi left the cabin and meditated by the river.
Tang Yu’an stood guard, fending off mutant creatures while also practicing his own cultivation.
They spent a week in the Alternate World, and once Zhou Qi fully stabilized his absorption of the Water Spirit Bug, they returned to their original plane—where only six hours had passed.
Since it was still early, they donned cloaks and masks, then opened the grocery store’s front door and stepped into the RV’s driver’s seat.
“Chirp, chirp, chirp!”
Seeing them appear, the little red bird that flew in from the window couldn’t help but chirp excitedly.
“Ruby, we’re back.”
Tang Yu’an smiled and extended his hand. The little red bird landed on his finger, hopping around in excitement.
Outside, Hai Jing heard the commotion and rushed over anxiously. Upon seeing the familiar figures of the two divine envoys, it became so overwhelmed with emotion that tears nearly burst from its eyes.
“My lords, it’s truly wonderful that you are safe!”
Tang Yu’an nodded at him, then completed the task of assessing his pet-raising efforts and issued him a reward.
“You’ve worked hard during this time,” he said.
At that moment, a small head peeked out from behind Hai Jing.
“You must be Hai Lan?”
Hearing the young man’s voice tinged with amusement, little Hai Lan blushed slightly before saying, “Divine envoy, your voice sounds different from the one in my dream.”
“Oh? You remember the details of your dream?”
“I do! Your voice is even nicer than in the dream.”
Little Hai Lan stepped out from behind her father, speaking with earnest sincerity in her childish voice.
“Thank you, divine envoy, for saving my father and me and for giving us such a good life… I will always faithfully worship the God of Commerce and pray for the divine envoys every day!”
Tang Yu’an reached out to pat the little girl’s head, then turned to look at the dense crowd outside the RV.
Within the protective barrier surrounding the vehicle, there was a three-to-four-meter gap where no one dared to step. Beyond that, however, the area was packed with people.
“What’s going on?”
When they left this morning, it wasn’t like this.
Before Hai Jing could explain, they quickly understood the situation—outside the protective barrier, several mutated creatures were attacking, trying to break in.
“They are a few of Li Zhentian’s subordinates,” Hai Jing explained. “I don’t know what happened, but they suddenly turned into this. The townsfolk saw that they couldn’t get close to the RV, so they ran here to take refuge.”
Tang Yu’an instinctively looked at Zhou Qi.
Zhou Qi nodded. “They’ve suffered backlash. I’ll take care of it.”
Not wanting to leave him alone, Tang Yu’an quickly followed him into the air.
The townsfolk, who had been packed tightly within the protective barrier, had already noticed the two cloaked figures.
However, out of awe and fear of the divine envoys, no one dared to speak, only watching from a distance and whispering among themselves.
When they saw the two cloaked figures rise into the sky and charge toward the monsters, the crowd erupted in astonishment.
Even Hai Jing felt his heart clench as he watched them rush toward the beasts. Unfortunately, he was blocked by the crowd and could only anxiously stand in place with his daughter.
Then, something unexpected happened.
The creatures that had been furiously attacking the barrier suddenly stopped upon seeing the divine envoys. Instead of continuing their assault, they turned and attempted to flee in all directions.
These ferocious beasts, so enormous and powerful, appeared insignificant in front of the two figures.
Yet, it was these seemingly small human figures that made them retreat in terror!
This scene shocked the crowd even more than when Zhou Qi had single-handedly defeated Li Zhentian.
Zhou Qi clearly remembered that none of these five mutants had metal-based abilities, so he wasn’t too worried.
The fact that they could still hold on despite their severe injuries was surprising. After extracting the spirit worms from them, he might even keep them as subordinates.
Rather than chasing them down immediately, Zhou Qi extended his hand toward the fleeing creatures.
As his spiritual energy surged, towering earth walls suddenly rose in their paths, cutting off their escape.
The creatures were forced to halt, and massive water spheres formed around them, trapping them inside.
Since they were near the ocean, the water-based spiritual energy was abundant, allowing Zhou Qi to maximize the power of water spirits.
Watching the creatures struggle within the water spheres, Zhou Qi finally flew over, pressed his hand against the nearest creature, and extracted the spirit worm from its body. He carefully placed it into a small bottle.
These bottles were crafted by him and Tang Yu’an during their training in the otherworldly realm.
They were made from corresponding elemental crystals and engraved with runes taught by Tuls, capable of sealing weakened spirit worms inside.
Seeing the fire spirit worm struggling inside the bottle but unable to escape, Zhou Qi smiled.
It seemed the bottle was a success.
However, he didn’t dare hand it over to Tang Yu’an. The spirit worms only remained docile in his presence; they hadn’t tried to escape likely for this reason.
Meanwhile, the creature slowly shrank back into human form.
Zhou Qi continued dealing with the remaining four creatures, eventually obtaining three fire spirit worms, one earth spirit worm, and one water spirit worm.
Fire-attribute abilities were highly valued for their offensive power, making them the most common among ability users.
The five mutants were barely clinging to life after being fed medicine by Tang Yu’an. By then, Hai Jing had finally managed to push through the crowd.
“Take them for treatment,” Zhou Qi instructed the sea whale. “If they cooperate, keep them as workers. If not… deal with them as you see fit.”
“Understood!”
Hai Jing quickly called for people to carry the mutants away.
Meanwhile, the townsfolk, having witnessed how effortlessly the divine envoys had dealt with the creatures, all knelt down in reverence.
The sight of over a thousand people bowing in unison was breathtaking. Even Hai Jing, overwhelmed by the moment, pulled his daughter down to kneel as well.
Only the two cloaked figures, their faces hidden behind silver-and-black masks, remained standing.
Neither Tang Yu’an nor Zhou Qi had ever experienced such a scene before. Fortunately, their masks concealed their expressions, preventing them from revealing their nervousness.
A calm, deep voice echoed through the air.
“Tell them to rise.”
Then, Zhou Qi turned to Hai Jing. “Take us to Li Zhentian’s residence.”
During their week-long absence, various factions in Lin Hai Town had been locked in a brutal power struggle—especially among Li Zhentian’s dozens of adopted sons.
In the end, Li Peng, with the support of Hai Jing, emerged victorious and took over as the new ruler of Lin Hai Town.
Now, standing before the divine envoys and having personally witnessed their overwhelming strength, Li Peng had no thoughts of resisting.
Instead, he proactively stepped forward, offering to guide them to the residence.
Tang Yu’an and Zhou Qi smoothly arrived at Li Zhentian’s home.
The old man had truly enjoyed luxury. Though his villa would have been considered ordinary before the apocalypse, in the current world, it was a lavish estate.
“We defeated Li Zhentian, which means we are now the rightful rulers of Lin Hai Town, correct?”
“Yes, yes!”
“Then his estate belongs to us as well, doesn’t it?”
“That’s right!”
With just a few words, Tang Yu’an officially claimed ownership of the seaside villa.
He then opened his panel and successfully designated the location as “Peace Grocery Store No. 12.”
Publicly, it would be known as “Lin Hai Grocery Store.”
After activating the protective barrier and teleportation array, Tang Yu’an summoned Hai Jing and his daughter.
“Lin Hai Grocery Store will be under your management, responsible for overseeing trade in Lin Hai Town. I hope you won’t disappoint me.”
The sea whale felt the heavy weight of responsibility pressing down on him. But after glancing at his daughter, he steeled himself and nodded firmly.
“Silver Light Lord, rest assured—I will do my utmost to spread the faith of the God of Commerce!”
Tang Yu’an paused, then patted his shoulder.
“Remember the teachings and doctrines at all times. Don’t become another Li Zhentian.”
Hai Jing hurriedly replied, “I won’t! I will make sure that all the weak and poor in Lin Hai Town can earn enough food and water through honest labor so that everyone can live a good life!”
Tang Yu’an finally nodded in satisfaction.
After explaining the rules of the protective barrier and encouraging him to conduct more transactions to boost the store’s popularity, he turned his gaze to the little girl standing beside Hai Jing.
Squatting down in front of her, Tang Yu’an asked, “Little Hai Lan, would you like to be my employee?”
This was a decision he had made after careful consideration.
Once she was officially hired, they would no longer be able to communicate through dreams, but that was no longer necessary.
After all, they had already established a branch store in Lin Hai Town. Any goods Hai Jing traded at the store would now belong to Tang Yu’an, so there was no need to rely on Little Hai Lan to earn additional points.
Moreover, Little Hai Lan was now old enough to start school.
Sending her to Desolate City Haven wasn’t an option, so hiring her as an employee would allow her to learn through the system’s courses.
Besides, with such a large town to manage, Hai Jing needed extra help, and Little Hai Lan could assist in small ways.
Little Hai Lan had no idea what awaited her, but upon hearing Tang Yu’an’s question, she eagerly nodded.
And just like that, she became the youngest employee of the Peace Merchant Guild.
Tang Yu’an patted her head again before returning to the RV with Zhou Qi.
“Dad, Lord Silver Light is so kind! Lord Dark Moon is really cool, just like in my dreams…” Little Hai Lan murmured, watching the two divine envoys depart.
Hai Jing patted her head. “You must study hard and never let Lord Silver Light down.”
“I will!”
Back in the RV, Tang Yu’an glanced at the idle message board (Admin Channel) and couldn’t help discussing it with Zhou Qi.
“Brother Qi, now that we have managers for each store, should we add them all to this channel?”
Each branch store was developing at its own pace, with the Desolate City Haven branch growing the fastest.
Bringing all the store managers into one channel would allow for more efficient communication. Whether through the message board or private discussions, it would be much better than having them figure things out on their own.
It would also save Tang Yu’an and Zhou Qi from having to guide each person individually.
Zhou Qi thought for a moment before nodding. “That’s fine, but we need to impose some topic restrictions.”
Each store operated under different conditions, requiring unique management strategies.
If they shared too much information freely, there could be problems—people might feel unfairly treated.
“Mm-hmm, we’ll set some restrictions.”
Tang Yu’an wasn’t too worried. In a post-apocalyptic world, survivors tended to be shrewd. Except for Brother Chi Hao, no one else in the guild was likely to speak carelessly on the message board.
Still, to be safe, adding keyword restrictions wouldn’t hurt—better to be cautious.
After setting up the filtered words and double-checking everything, he added Old Li, Lan Yunqing, Hong Li, Da Huzhi, and Hai Jing to the Admin Channel.
“Next, we’ll head to Flame Dragon Fortress to establish another branch. Once Old Mo takes over, we’ll add him to the channel too!”
“Mm.”
Thinking of Old Mo, Tang Yu’an checked the store channel. He had recently assigned Zhan Xiong from Purple Sky Fortress to manage Store No. 6.
At that moment, Old Mo and Old Ping were busy “training” this new recruit.
Satisfied, Tang Yu’an nodded, then set the RV to closed mode before heading toward Flame Dragon Fortress with Zhou Qi.
Meanwhile, in Lin Hai Town, the residents who had been uneasy about the departure of the divine envoys soon noticed a new signboard outside Li Zhentian’s former mansion.
Those who could read quickly recognized the words: Peace Commerce Guild – Lin Hai Grocery Store
That night, just like the RV before, the newly established grocery store mysteriously vanished into thin air.
Witnessing yet another divine miracle, the people of Lin Hai Town felt nothing but relief and joy.
The God of Commerce had not abandoned them—His envoys had founded a branch right in their town!
Of course, some still worried that they had merely replaced one tyrant, Li Zhentian, with an even more powerful “evil deity.”
But by the next morning, when the store reappeared and Hai Jing began exchanging sacks of grain for sea salt, those worries vanished.
News of Lin Hai Town’s newfound freedom—allowing residents to openly process and trade sea salt—spread swiftly across the coastal villages.
The people of Lin Hai Town rejoiced, for they now had a true faith to follow!
Three days later, Tang Yu’an activated the Drifting Bottle Accelerator, finally retrieving the bottle that Gu Qianli had sent back.
He pulled a petrified rabbit from his spirit storage bag, and Zhou Qi worked to reverse its petrification.
As the revived rabbit hopped onto the ground, the two young men exchanged delighted smiles.
