Chapter 290
The other three people present were all stunned.
C-Couple?
Zhou Qi lowered his head in a daze, while Tang Yu’an happened to look up at him. Their eyes met.
The boy gave him a bright, adorable smile.
Zhou Qi’s ears slowly turned red.
This was the first time they had publicly revealed their relationship as a couple.
(//o//1/o//)
Zhou Qi quickly looked away to hide his flustered reaction, but the hand holding Tang Yu’an’s tightened. An indescribable joy filled his heart.
Meanwhile, Shan Feng had a puzzled expression.
“But… aren’t you both boys?” he asked, confused.
Sasa wore a doting “auntie smile” but nodded in agreement. “Yeah, yeah, you’re both boys—how can you be a couple? Unless… you prove it with a kiss!”
Shan Feng: “…”
He had been nodding along in agreement, but Sasa’s last sentence completely threw him off.
Zhou Qi, who had only been blushing lightly, turned beet red.
Tang Yu’an’s face also flushed.
He had always wanted to kiss Brother Qi, but—how could they kiss in front of others?!
Luckily, Shan Feng came to their rescue.
“Isn’t that a bit too much for a joke?” he said. “Sasa, don’t make things difficult for them!”
Sasa gave a playful hum but did drop the subject.
“So how are they so small? Is it some kind of magic power?” she asked.
In this world, there were all sorts of strange abilities—though they didn’t usually affect giants.
“Nope, their race is just naturally this small,” Shan Feng explained. “Don’t be fooled by their size—they know a lot of stuff!”
He began showing the giantess the items in his basket. Aside from the thermos cup, the rest were things he had traded for over the past few months.
There was a multi-tool knife, flashlight, lighter… even self-heating hotpot!
“You have to try this hotpot! It’s insanely delicious—I’ve never eaten anything so good!”
Of course, all the items were in extra-large size.
“Oh right!” Shan Feng pointed to his feet. “These boots—you have to get a pair!”
He was wearing rain boots. Tang Yu’an had originally planned to make him cloth shoes, but remembered that they could redeem a pair from the supply system.
System-grade rain boots were waterproof, sturdy, durable, and super comfortable. They could also be customized by size—far more practical than homemade cloth shoes.
As soon as Tang Yu’an took them out, Shan Feng fell in love with them and immediately tossed his old, worn-out straw shoes.
Sasa had noticed Shan Feng’s makeover, too—not just the stylish new clothes, but also his clean-shaven face and freshly cut hair.
If it weren’t for his familiar voice, she might not have recognized him.
Seeing Shan Feng’s eyes motion toward her, and with payment already made, Tang Yu’an put the earlier awkwardness aside and got to work.
He flew up to the giantess’s face and asked, “Shan Feng ordered a few custom outfits for you. May I take your measurements and help you choose a style?”
Sasa blinked, looking a little nervous now.
“What should I do?” she asked.
“Let’s go over to that clearing,” Tang Yu’an said. He and Zhou Qi flew to the open space beside the cabin. Once Sasa walked over and stood still, they used a digital assistant to measure her size.
Her 3D model was quickly generated—an exact life-sized replica.
Sasa gasped in amazement. “That’s me? How did you do that?”
On the screen, her digital self looked heroic and powerful—tall, lean, and clearly capable.
Tang Yu’an simply smiled without explaining; it would be too complicated to go into.
He tapped on the screen, and her 3D image began automatically switching outfits. Even Shan Feng was wide-eyed—how had he never seen this before?
But seeing how delighted Sasa looked, Shan Feng beamed. That bag of magic crystals was definitely worth it!
With Tang Yu’an’s suggestions, Sasa quickly chose her outfits.
Though she liked the pretty dresses, she ultimately picked one with a simple, movement-friendly design. The rest were practical and action-ready.
Tang Yu’an brought out the home assistant robot, exchanged for various fabrics and threads, programmed the machine, and then it was just a matter of waiting.
Meanwhile, Shan Feng had already boiled some water and dragged Sasa over to enjoy the hotpot.
Sasa originally wanted to watch the robot work, but the rich aroma of the food pulled her away. She was soon hooked.
With their limited seasonings, there was no way they could resist the complex, tongue-tingling flavors of modern spice blends.
Under the double attack of stylish clothes and delicious hotpot, Sasa quickly reconciled with Shan Feng.
After programming the home assistant robot, Tang Yu’an also got Sasa’s permission to pick a good location in the Thousand-Layer Forest and summoned a construction robot to build a house.
During those four months, they had built stores #18 and #19 of the Peace Grocery Store chain—each one near a giant’s home.
They took the opportunity to do business with the giants and were warmly welcomed.
If it weren’t for the giants’ preference for solitude and the vast distances between homes, they could have made even more deals!
Still, their profits were already impressive.
Tang Yu’an glanced at his account balance—it had broken ten million and was now charging toward twenty million points!
And once this Thousand-Layer Forest store was completed, he would have a total of 20 branch stores!
Though only a few—like Desolate City, Jufeng Mountain, Linhai Settlement, Lanhu Settlement, Red Hive, Purple Sky, Grassland Ranch, and the old-world’s South and North Town shops—were thriving…
Tang Yu’an counted on his fingers and suddenly realized just how large their operations had grown!
Now with a few more clients from the giant realm—even though the number was small—their abundant resources and generous spending made up for it.
“Once I reach level 30, I think I can upgrade both store paths at the same time!” Tang Yu’an said cheerfully.
Zhou Qi smiled and ruffled his hair.
Thinking back to how Tang Yu’an had openly admitted their relationship earlier, Zhou Qi’s smile deepened.
Suddenly, he sensed something and turned his head sharply—only to see…
Sasa, who had been sitting on a rock with Shan Feng eating self-heating hotpot, was now looking at them. At some point, her gaze had shifted over, and there was an unreadable smirk on her lips.
Zhou Qi: “…”
He awkwardly pulled his hand back, but the very next second, Tang Yu’an grabbed his arm and leaned in close.
Sasa’s eyes lit up even more.
Zhou Qi stiffened slightly and quickly said to Tang Yu’an, “Let’s go take a look at the forest.”
“Okay!”
Tang Yu’an was also very interested in the purple forest—it felt like stepping into a dreamy fairytale.
They flew up to the treetops and landed on a leaf.
The purple leaves gave off a faint, pleasant fragrance.
Just then, a leaf fell from a branch, and Tang Yu’an used an appraisal skill on it.
[Purple Thousand-Layer Leaf]
[Value: 100 points/leaf]
[Description: A fallen leaf from the Purple Thousand-Layer Tree. Continuously emits a fresh scent. Can dispel evil and disease, and is especially effective against exotic insects.]
100 points per leaf! Twice as expensive as Blue Hu leaves—
Of course, the Purple Thousand-Layer Leaves were much larger in size than Blue Hu leaves.
“Can dispel evil and disease, and is effective against exotic insects?” Tang Yu’an murmured. “Could it work on spirit bugs?”
He looked at Zhou Qi.
Zhou Qi moved in to feel the leaf’s aura and then shook his head. “Spirit bugs aren’t insects in essence—they’re fragments of rules. So I don’t think it would work.”
“Oh…”
Tang Yu’an looked a little disappointed—but then a thought occurred to him, and Zhou Qi looked at him at the same time.
Their eyes met, and they instantly knew what the other was thinking.
“You say it first,” Zhou Qi smiled.
Tang Yu’an chuckled. “If it can expel evil and disease, could it work on mutants?”
Zhou Qi nodded. “It’s worth a try.”
If it worked, then their original world might truly have a chance at being saved!
“Yeah! I’ll tell Mom and Dad!”
Tang Yu’an immediately tagged Tang Sheng and Tang Xueyun in the family chat group. After explaining the situation, he stored one of the leaves in his personal inventory.
The leaf was nearly a meter long and had to be slightly folded to fit.
[Eastern Sweet Tang]: If it’s confirmed to be effective, we’ll look into turning it into a Peace Coin version.
That way, they might launch a special currency exclusive to their original world!
If it could repel mutants, this Peace Coin would surely be in high demand—not only protecting people but also boosting the Peace Trade Union’s commerce. A true win-win.
[Pillow Superman]: Got it! I’ll start testing immediately!
Tang Sheng understood the importance of this and took the leaf for testing right away.
If it worked, their journey would carry incredible meaning!
“Let’s collect a batch first,” Zhou Qi said.
“Mm-hmm!”
Instead of picking from the trees, they first gathered fallen leaves from the ground to avoid waste.
Thanks to the leaves’ natural insect-repelling properties, the Purple Thousand-Layer Forest had almost none of the bugs common in the Giant Wood Forest—making it much safer!
“We need to build a protective barrier soon and safeguard this area,” Zhou Qi said.
Though it was a bit early to talk about it, people from fortified zones were already showing up in this world. Who knew if someone would try to claim this forest?
In just one hour, the construction robot finished building the house.
And so, Peace Grocery Store No. 20 was officially complete!
Tang Yu’an activated the protective barrier and teleportation array, then fenced off a few of the Thousand-Layer Trees.
Sasa noticed, but said nothing.
After all, the Thousand-Layer Forest had more than enough trees—if these two adorable little guys wanted to claim a few, so be it.
Thinking about how they’d be her neighbors now, Sasa couldn’t help but smile warmly.
Tang Yu’an and Zhou Qi entered the house and used the teleportation array to return to their original realm.
As soon as they arrived at the Desolate City base, Tang Yu’an’s system notifications popped up.
[Returned to original realm. Calculating rewards for time away…]
[Congrats! All daily tasks completed. Points +560. Lucky Wheel spins +12.]
[Congrats! Weekly task completed…]
When Tang Yu’an saw the 12 bonus spins for the Lucky Wheel, he blinked.
Twelve spins! Including the weekly reward, that made 13 in total!
His eyes lit up—but then he frowned in confusion.
Wait a second. He had only spent about 7 months in the alternate realm, and he had even come back once to collect mutant blueberries. How did he end up with 12 spins?
Could it be that… the time flow between the two worlds had changed?
