Chapter 315
Tang Yu’an and Zhou Qi hadn’t actually left—they were simply hiding under the shadow umbrella, listening to Chi Hao and the others talk.
“These envoys really are like ghosts—coming and going without a trace!”
Chi Hao hadn’t even finished speaking when his sister smacked him on the forehead.
“Show some respect to the envoys,” Hong Li scolded.
Chi Hao clutched his head in pain, pouting in protest, but when he met Hong Li’s sharp gaze, the rebuttal stuck in his throat and he could only mutter under his breath, “How was I being disrespectful…”
“Hong Li’s right—watch your words, or trouble may follow,” Xie Zhaori also nodded.
After all, the organization they now served was a church capable of performing actual miracles. Even in private, one had to be cautious when speaking of the church’s higher-ups.
Even if you couldn’t revere them from the heart, badmouthing them behind their backs was absolutely forbidden.
“Oh…” Chi Hao responded, indicating he understood.
Mu Sheng, standing to the side, clicked his tongue in amazement.
He was familiar with Hong Li and Xie Zhaori—especially Hong Li, who was known in the team for being headstrong. Almost no one could rein her in aside from Xie Zhaori.
He hadn’t expected her to show such deference to those two mysterious figures?
But then again…
“Why are you two here?” Mu Sheng voiced the same question Chi Hao had asked earlier.
He remembered that Hong Li had been stationed at a far-off location, and as for Xie Zhaori… rumors said he had died, while others claimed the Xie family had sent him out to establish a new faction to challenge the other great families.
For both of them to appear near the fortress at this critical moment—it was quite the coincidence. Not to mention, how had they suddenly appeared from inside the stone house?
Hong Li and Xie Zhaori exchanged glances—they had, of course, arrived via the teleportation array.
Gods knew how shocked they were when they received the mission to use the teleport function from Desolate City Haven to the Qingmu Grocery Store.
This function had far exceeded their expectations.
They immediately thought of dozens of tactics that could be employed with teleportation, though it was clear the Church of the Commerce God had no interest in launching wars.
Despite expanding outward, the church seemed to prefer desolate lands, only developing them after occupation.
And above all, the Commerce God’s Church valued life.
This time, their mission wasn’t to seize control of Qingmu Fortress, but to rescue as many disaster survivors as possible, resettle them—and then turn them all into customers.
Truly, nothing was more important to the Church of the Commerce God than business!
Faced with Mu Sheng’s questions, Hong Li and Xie Zhaori didn’t respond. Instead, they turned to Chi Hao and said, “Let’s figure out the next steps.”
The two of them pulled Chi Hao aside to begin planning.
Hong Li was fired up and eager to get to work, while Xie Zhaori… well, once he completed this mission, he’d earn a 100,000-point reward!
He’d be that much closer to paying off his debt to Desolate City Haven.
Watching them begin assembling a team to build a new store branch, Tang Yu’an and Zhou Qi quietly left.
Since the protective barrier around the mountain was mainly supported by the main store, their aircraft couldn’t be moved just yet. They’d have to wait until Chi Hao and the others finished constructing and upgrading the new branch.
So, under the cover of the shadow umbrella, the two flew toward Qingmu Fortress.
Within the fortress, large swaths of the streets had already been destroyed.
Beneath the rubble lay countless bodies—the people Chi Hao had managed to protect were only a portion. Many others hadn’t escaped in time and would sleep here forever.
What had once been a prosperous and thriving human settlement had, in just a few days, become a living hell.
Tang Yu’an’s face turned pale. His stomach churned, and he barely managed to keep from vomiting.
He had never seen so many dead bodies before. The sight left a deep impact on him.
This… this was what the apocalypse truly looked like.
Zhou Qi took his hand. Tang Yu’an instinctively turned his head, pulling himself away from the horrific scene.
“Let’s see what we can do to help,” Zhou Qi said gently, patting him on the head.
Tang Yu’an nodded.
They could only do their best now.
Zhou Qi’s gaze turned toward a distant shadow. Though he couldn’t take on the mutated giant tiger, that didn’t mean the other beasts were out of reach.
He could feel his spirit insect beginning to stir again.
“Do you need my help?” Tang Yu’an asked.
“No need.”
Zhou Qi left the cover of the umbrella and charged toward a giant wild boar.
In the southern area of the fortress, aside from the bugs pouring through the spatial rift, there were a few vicious beasts wandering around.
From his observations in the alternate dimension, Tang Yu’an knew—
The newly formed rift above the fortress was only drawing insects from the Giantwood Forest so far. No large predators had come through yet.
In other words, the beasts now in Qingmu Fortress were all originally humans—beastified by their powers.
Zhou Qi began fighting the wild boar.
Compared to his previous foes, this one could barely hold its own. But the moment Zhou Qi’s eyes lit up with a red glow, the boar had no choice but to turn and flee.
Seeing there was no suspense in that fight, Tang Yu’an withdrew his gaze.
He looked down at the swarming, massive insects below—gnawing at the corpses in the ruins. The sight was gory and terrifying.
He looked for only a moment before quickly turning his eyes away.
After a short pause, he retrieved a wooden barrel from his portable storage. It was filled with a fine purple powder.
This powder was ground from the leaves of the Purple Thousandlayer plant.
The leaves emitted a special aroma that could ward off evil, cure illness, and repel insects. Tang Dad and Tang Mom had tested it—it worked well even against mutants.
Since the insects in Qingmu Fortress came from the Giantwood Forest, they should fear the Purple Thousandlayer as well.
Tang Yu’an applied some of the powder to himself, put on his silver mask, and retracted the shadow umbrella.
Now was the perfect time to raise the banner of the Church of the Commerce God. If there were still survivors below, he could win their trust—and that would make future work much easier.
After all, good deeds deserved recognition.
Tang Yu’an grabbed handfuls of the Purple Thousandlayer powder and scattered it from the air, using wind to spread the light particles to every corner.
The purple dust danced in the air, catching the sunlight and refracting it into a beautiful shimmer.
Wherever it passed, the bugs retreated.
Beneath the ruins, in a triangular space formed by collapsed walls, a teenage boy was huddled in the shadows with a three- or four-year-old child in his arms. His face was filled with terror as he watched the outside.
“Screee—”
A huge insect was crawling at the opening, staring at them.
Its long antennae reached in, trying to drag them out.
The boy was terrified to the extreme. Trembling all over, he kept retreating deeper into the rubble. The small child in his arms was already on the brink of death, too weak even to cry.
But at that moment, a faint and unusual fragrance wafted in.
The giant insect suddenly let out a sharp screech, and then, as if it had encountered something terrifying, turned and fled.
It didn’t get far, however, before the boy saw it collapse on its back, flailing helplessly before finally lying still — lifeless.
The boy stared blankly at the scene.
He noticed that some purple powder seemed to have drifted in.
After a while, confirming that it wasn’t some trap laid by the insect, he gently laid his little brother down and cautiously crawled out from under the collapsed wall.
Everything outside was shrouded in a veil of purple mist.
He looked in the direction the powder had come from and saw a figure floating in midair — cloaked in black and wearing a silver mask.
The purple powder was coming from a wooden bucket in his hand, scattering as he poured it, swirling around him and being carried farther by the wind.
Many of the terrifying insects had already died, and more were fleeing the area in droves.
The boy stood frozen, watching in awe.
Soon he noticed another cloaked, masked figure chasing after a monstrous beast.
Yes — that beast, over ten meters tall, was actually being chased down by a human who looked tiny in comparison. It was unbelievable!
Only when the masked figure who had scattered the powder descended slowly and landed before him did the boy snap out of it.
He took a couple of steps back, then timidly asked, “A-Are you here from the fortress to save us?”
The mysterious figure in the silver mask gently shook his head.
“I’m Silverlight of the God of Commerce.”
A calm, clear young voice rang out, greatly soothing the boy’s fear and anxiety.
“What’s your name?” Tang Yu’an asked.
“I-I’m Qing You,” the boy replied, starting to cry. “Sir, please save my little brother! Our parents… they’re all dead…”
Hearing this, Tang Yu’an felt a pang of sorrow.
He had already noticed a green glowing dot under the collapsed wall. Using his wind-based abilities, he gently lifted Qing You’s little brother out from beneath the rubble.
Qing You quickly hugged his brother tight.
“May the God of Commerce bless you.”
Tang Yu’an softly murmured, his hand glowing with a gentle light.
The light enveloped the two pitiful brothers.
Qing You felt a warm energy surrounding him, soothing all his pain and calming his anxious heart.
When the light faded, he discovered that his injuries had completely healed!
The little boy in his arms opened his eyes and whispered, “Brother… I’m hungry…”
It had been days since the disaster struck. They hadn’t eaten anything.
The child had been well protected, suffering few injuries. His weakness came mostly from hunger.
Tang Yu’an took out two boxes of milk.
Tang Xueyun had prepared them for him — already warmed and kept in his portable storage, ready to drink anytime.
Seeing Qing You feed the milk to his brother first, Tang Yu’an smiled and handed him two pieces of chocolate.
“Eat slowly — there’s more where that came from.”
The two brothers devoured the milk and chocolate. Even before they finished eating, the other survivors hidden in the ruins began crawling out one by one.
Zhou Qi, having finished dealing with the beasts in this area, returned to Tang Yu’an’s side.
There were now five or six spiritual insects added to the pouch he carried.
“This isn’t a place to stay. If you want to survive, come with me.”
Tang Yu’an distributed chocolate and water to every survivor. Once most of the green dots had appeared on the map, he transmitted the message to each survivor.
The climate around Qingmu Fortress wasn’t harsh, but now with so many dead, the corpses would soon rot and stink. Staying would risk outbreaks of malaria and other diseases.
He and Zhou Qi flew into the air, heading beyond the fortress.
Qing You, carrying his brother on his back, followed cautiously. With the brothers leading, the others quickly followed suit.
But when they reached the outside and saw the sky filled with flying insects and looming beasts in the distance, many people hesitated.
The two mysterious figures also stopped.
Just as everyone was puzzled, they saw something stretching toward them from beneath the distant mountains.
In the blink of an eye, it extended all the way to them — and only then did they see clearly what it was:
Two low fences.
The fences extended from the base of the mountain all the way to the collapsed fortress, forming a narrow path.
Though the fences looked fragile, neither the monstrous beasts nor the swarms of insects could breach them.
“Go. At the end of the road lies safety.”
Qing You looked at Silverlight, then back at the mysterious path. Gritting his teeth, he hoisted his little brother onto his back and bravely stepped onto the path.
He kept running, fear of the insects and beasts driving him forward.
Then…
“Brother, the bugs can’t get in!”
Qing You turned his head — and saw that the terrifying insects really couldn’t enter the path!
He couldn’t help but look back, gazing from afar at the two mysterious figures.
Could it be… that gods really existed in this world?
