Chapter 287
Although the giant said he would protect them, Zhou Qi still didn’t agree right away.
After thinking it over, he said, “It’ll take a few days to make the new clothes. We’d like to think about it a bit more, is that okay?”
The giant nodded and added, “You really don’t need to worry about safety—I’ll keep you safe!”
At this point, Tang Yu’an had also cooled down and regained his composure.
He thought for a moment and asked, “But what if Sasa doesn’t want to let us leave?”
The giant was stunned—clearly, he hadn’t considered that possibility.
He frowned and after a while said, “Sasa is very kind—although she can be a bit fiery at times… If you don’t want to stay, she definitely won’t force you.”
Zhou Qi was just about to say something when the giant continued, “Besides, you have that power that makes people laugh.”
“If she tries to force you, just make her laugh—then you can use that chance to escape.”
Zhou Qi was a little surprised. “But what if she’s still mad at you?”
“Then I’ll think of something else.” The giant shrugged. “But I really don’t think that’ll happen.”
“All right, we’ll give you our answer once the clothes are finished.”
“Great!”
“Oh right, how long does it take to get to the Thousand-Layer Forest from here?” Zhou Qi asked, suddenly remembering.
The giant looked delighted. “Only seven Purple Moon and we’ll be there!”
Zhou Qi & Tang Yu’an: “…”
Seven months—and you call that only?
Well, as they’d guessed earlier, giants probably lived very long lives, so their sense of time must be different.
“Hope you don’t mind me asking, Mr. Giant—how old are you?”
“Me? I’m 200 years old!”
Just as they thought! People in this dimension had long lifespans!
Still cautious, Zhou Qi asked, “And how long is a year for you?”
The giant tilted his head, looking a bit confused. “A year passes when both the red and purple moons appear in the sky. The red moon shows up on the 24th Purple Moon.”
So… one year = 24 months?
By their timekeeping, the giant was over 400 years old!
Tang Yu’an and Zhou Qi couldn’t help but feel stunned.
Maybe because they’d been traveling between dimensions, they hadn’t noticed the red moon appear at all.
If, by the giant’s standards, 24 months is a year, and he can live for thousands of years, then seven months really isn’t much to him.
“Thank you for the explanation,” they said.
Tang Yu’an and Zhou Qi bid farewell to the giant and flew out of his wooden house.
Looking at the towering cabin—at least 30 meters tall—and thinking about their encounter with the giant, Tang Yu’an still felt it was all incredibly surreal.
“Brother Qi, that’s millions of points we’re talking about!” Tang Yu’an said excitedly.
Even though he wasn’t exactly strapped for points—his account had millions already, and it kept growing—who would ever say no to more?
Besides, it wasn’t just about the points. They’d also get that entire bag of crystals.
That alone could fetch a great price at the dimensional market—or be traded to Teacher Gu for more magical items!
Of course Zhou Qi understood that, but…
“It’s kind of risky.”
“But weren’t we already out here looking for adventure?” Tang Yu’an said. “With Mr. Giant taking us, doesn’t that make us even safer?”
They had been in this other dimension for a while now, and hadn’t set up a second teleportation point yet. Crossing the river this time was also a step toward mapping out new territory and building one.
“Even if our abilities don’t work on giants, we still have special tools!”
Tang Yu’an took off one of his white swan gloves and handed it to Zhou Qi. “Here—one for each of us!”
Zhou Qi couldn’t use the Magic Marble since it was bound to Tang Yu’an, but they still had the music box, which had strong hypnotic powers—it should come in handy.
Zhou Qi looked at him, then finally sighed and took the glove.
If it were just himself, Zhou Qi wouldn’t have worried. But with Tang Yu’an involved, he didn’t want to take risks.
Then again…
An’an was growing up. He couldn’t keep treating him like before.
“If we really go, we’ll be away for at least seven days. We should get everything sorted here first,” Zhou Qi said.
Tang Yu’an nodded. “Let’s tell Grandpa.”
They flew back across the river and used the teleportation array to return to Desolate City Haven.
Now that the Haven had expanded, there were countless daily tasks—but thanks to their early emphasis on staff training, they weren’t needed for emergencies all that often.
It was worth mentioning that Old Li had expanded the territory all the way to the old swimming complex.
That facility, once used as a breeding base, had now been officially incorporated into the Haven.
The swimming center reopened, revealing the main vine of the Emerald plant—which soon became good friends with October.
The animals once housed there were relocated, and the area was converted into a large warehouse for valuable items.
With the Emerald plant guarding the place and the overnight rules in effect, no location could be safer.
Tang Yu’an also promoted Old Li to branch manager of Store No. 1, giving him more authority to oversee the Haven.
As for Zhou Qi, he was rotated to the coastal grocery store to gain more experience.
Later, they brought Old Li to the grasslands. From the lakeside cabin, a sea of green stretched before them.
Despite the harsh winds outside, the protective barrier kept the grassland untouched by the cold.
The mutated grass Kang Kang had discovered was now planted here, thriving with incredible vitality.
While normal grass had yellowed and withered during the cold spell, the mutated grass remained lush and continued growing in near-freezing temperatures.
By now, it had spread across the entire field.
As soon as they arrived, they heard the bleating of sheep—
Back when Zhou Qi was traveling between dimensions through the message bottle, Tang Yu’an had asked Old Ping to move the entire tribe to the grasslands.
After a period of adjustment, the tribespeople had even learned to coexist peacefully with the wolf pack.
They now lived on the eastern side of the grassland, while the wolves stayed near the cabin and lake.
As soon as Tang Yu’an stepped outside, the black wolf king spotted him and rushed over with the others.
But when they saw Old Li, they hesitated, stopping cautiously.
“Obsidian, this is Grandpa Li,” Tang Yu’an introduced them.
The wolves quickly accepted Old Li.
He remained stunned the whole time.
Staring at the vast grassland and the strong, healthy prairie wolves, he couldn’t help but sigh, “How much more are you hiding from me?”
“Grandpa, this place was entrusted to us by the Divine Envoy. We’ve just received a new mission—it’ll eventually become part of the Desolate City Haven,” Tang Yu’an explained. “And now that you’ve been promoted to manager of Store No. 1, we thought it’d be a good time to show you around.”
A road connecting the Jufeng Mountain to the grassland had already been planned. Once construction began, the grassland would officially be incorporated into the Haven.
With it, they could develop livestock farming, which would improve both meat processing and textile production.
Once Mom and Dad found cotton seeds, they could even start growing cotton here—no longer relying on the system, and producing their own cotton cloth and thread.
Old Li couldn’t help but laugh, then shook his head and said, “You two really are playing a long game!”
He had originally thought building a shelter in Desolate City was already a remarkable feat, but he hadn’t expected these two young men to advance so quickly…
“But still, you should slow down a bit.”
Old Li spoke earnestly, “If you go too fast, everyone else won’t be able to keep up.”
An unstable foundation could easily collapse. Cultivating talent and changing people’s mindsets weren’t things that could be done overnight.
“If the Divine Envoy doesn’t assign us any new tasks, we won’t plan further development for now,” Tang Yu’an said. “We’ll focus on building up the current homestead first before thinking about anything else.”
Only then did Old Li smile.
“Grandpa, don’t tire yourself out. Let others handle the work when you can.”
Old Li shot him a glance. “At my age, I’m still in my prime for working hard—how could I sit around doing nothing?”
He waved them off. “Alright, I know my limits. You two go take care of your business.”
Tang Yu’an had already told him they’d be gone for at least a week. Old Li was used to it by now. Although this trip would be a bit longer than usual, it wasn’t the first time.
“Be careful out there,” he added. “If the task is dangerous, try to avoid it if you can.”
“Got it, we know,” they replied.
By the time they said goodbye to Old Li and returned to the alternate realm, five days had already passed, and the housekeeping robots had finished folding the giant’s new clothes and neatly placed them aside.
The giant was sitting outside the protective barrier, watching longingly. When he saw Tang Yu’an and Zhou Qi appear, he finally let out a sigh of relief.
“I thought you weren’t coming back!”
“Come on, let me see my new clothes!” the giant said eagerly.
Tang Yu’an and Zhou Qi brought the clothes outside the protective shield and laid them before the giant, then helped guide him in putting them on.
Although the giant lived a primitive lifestyle, he was surprisingly clean—he didn’t have any unpleasant odors, probably because he washed regularly.
Once he changed into the new outfit and shaved off his overgrown beard, he looked like a completely different person—refreshed and full of life.
Standing by the riverbank and admiring his reflection, the giant looked very pleased.
“Not bad, not bad! These clothes look great and feel comfortable! Sasa’s definitely going to love them!” he said happily.
Then he turned to the two little ones and asked, “So, have you made up your minds? Will you come with me to Thousand-Layer Forest?”
If they refused, he’d have to go alone…
“We have one condition,” said Tang Yu’an.
“Go ahead,” the giant replied.
“If we find a suitable place along the way, we’d like to build a house. It might take some time. Would you be willing to wait for us?”
The giant laughed heartily. “I thought it was something serious. Of course I can wait! Time is the one thing I have plenty of.”
“I’ll go pack up, and then we’ll set off!”
He took the other set of clothes with him—just in case the current ones got dirty along the way, he planned to change when they arrived at Thousand-Layer Forest.
“Alright, let’s go!”
He carried a basket filled with a thermos and a jar of sugar cubes, plus a tool kit made of animal hide. A bow and arrows were strapped to his back.
“Come on, little cuties—into my pocket you go!”
He opened the pocket of his coat so Tang Yu’an and Zhou Qi could fly in. Then he set off with them.
Tang Yu’an lay at the edge of the pocket, watching the scenery roll by in reverse as they moved. Now he finally understood how Black Pearl must feel all the time.
The giant strolled leisurely along the river.
When he got hungry, he fished or hunted. Probably because of his 100% resistance to psychic energy, he couldn’t use any related powers.
Still, his physical strength was incredible—Tang Yu’an and Zhou Qi saw firsthand how he wrestled a giant crocodile in the river.
The fearsome beast was torn in two by the giant’s bare hands—
Though, that was probably because it had suddenly lunged at him and dirtied his new clothes, which triggered the giant’s fury.
Afterward, he looked utterly dejected as he stroked the stained fabric.
Fortunately, Tang Yu’an knew Purification Magic. After the giant took off the clothes, Tang Yu’an cast the spell, and the garments looked brand new again.
The giant looked at Tang Yu’an with literal stars in his eyes.
