Chapter 328
After tossing the drift bottles into the Sea of Dreams, Tang Yu’an suddenly remembered something.
“System, can I now upgrade the shop level for the ‘Bigger Is Better’ path?” he asked.
[Upgrade conditions met.]
Tang Yu’an opened the shop panel to review the current status of his branches.
There were now six branches upgraded to level Lv3: Desolate City Haven, Guard Post Grocery Store, Lin Hai Grocery Store No. 1, Lanhu Grocery Store, Flame Dragon Grocery Store, and Qingmu Grocery Store No. 1.
Three other stores—Purple Sky, Red Bee, and the Grassland Ranch—had met the requirements to upgrade, only lacking a full set of magical furniture.
Tang Yu’an decided to upgrade those three branches first before leveling up the “Bigger Is Better” direction; otherwise, the upgrade difficulty would increase even more.
“Mom, let’s go to the grasslands.”
Even though it was around 7 or 8 p.m. in the original world, it was already 5 or 6 a.m. in the wasteland world, and the sun was about to rise.
Tang Xueyun brought her daughter and followed Tang Yu’an to the Grassland Ranch.
“Mom, I’ve been raising a pack of wolves here. I’ll take you and Xinxin to see them later!” Tang Yu’an said as he upgraded the ranch branch.
“You… you’ve been raising a pack of wolves?” Tang Xueyun’s eyes widened. “Why are you raising wolves?”
“To herd sheep,” Tang Yu’an replied. “They’re really good at it.”
A pack of wolves herding sheep? Was that even appropriate?
Tang Xueyun was full of questions but didn’t say much. She waited until Tang Yu’an upgraded the branch to Lv3 before heading with him to the sheep pen.
The ranch was managed well by Old Li. Several nearby grassland tribes had been integrated into the operations, including the one where Old Ping—one of the employees—was from. This was the same tribe that Tang Yu’an and Zhou Qi first encountered.
They steadily expanded the ranch’s territory and kept the number of cattle and sheep within a reasonable range, ensuring that the animals could eat well without overgrazing and damaging the vegetation.
The ranch also planted mutated pasture grass that grew rapidly.
Once a patch of land was grazed down, it could regrow within a week as long as there was enough water and sunlight. This allowed the tribespeople to settle without needing to migrate frequently.
A road was being built from Jufeng Mountain to the ranch—it was already halfway done. Once complete, it would strengthen the connection between the ranch and their homestead.
“We’re planning to build a railway here too,” Tang Yu’an said. “Rail transport is more efficient than road transport.”
Tang Xueyun listened to her son’s explanation and couldn’t help but ask, “Where are you going to get a train?”
“You can buy one at the wholesale market.”
Only then did Tang Xueyun remember that the wholesale market even sold airplanes—so trains were apparently normal too. Normal?! What kind of wholesale market sells planes and trains?
“Wow! So many doggies!” Tang Yuxin exclaimed in delight.
“Xinxin, they’re actually wolves.”
Soon, the black wolf king led the pack rushing over.
What were once scrawny, feral wolves were now healthy and robust, with glossy, smooth fur. They surrounded the three of them, panting and wagging their tails—completely lacking the fierceness typical of wild wolves.
Tang Yuxin hugged one of the deputy leader wolves, burying her face in its fluffy chest and happily said, “Big brother, these are just adorable doggies!”
Tang Yu’an: “…”
Well, since dogs did evolve from wolves, maybe there wasn’t much point in drawing a hard line.
Only the black wolf king and its mate remained somewhat reserved, watching from a short distance. But as soon as Tang Yu’an walked toward them, the two massive wolves immediately dropped the act and became just as friendly.
Tang Xueyun was still wary of the wolves and stood cautiously to one side, ready to protect Tang Yuxin at any moment. But as she watched her son playing so comfortably with the two noticeably larger leader wolves, her heart raced—and yet, she couldn’t help but feel that her son had truly grown up.
“Mom, let’s head to Red Bee Town next.”
After playing with the wolves for a while, the sun had fully risen. Remembering his goal, Tang Yu’an took his mother and sister back to the cabin.
Red Bee Town wasn’t far from Lanhu Town. It was home to a breed of mutated bees known as Red Bee, and the staff stationed there included Da Huzhi and the three siblings of the Mao family.
Originally, there was a lot of conflict between Red Bee Town and Lanhu Town, but after the Grocery Store was established in Red Bee, the townspeople had a stable source of supplies and stopped going out as often.
However, while external conflicts decreased, internal ones began to rise.
Beekeeping was the main industry in Red Bee Town, and honey was the key commodity traded at the store. But too many townsfolk were idle and unmotivated.
Because of the protective barrier around the store, those loafers couldn’t enter to cause trouble, so they turned to robbing their own townspeople.
The ordinary residents couldn’t resist and had no choice but to suffer in silence.
Da Huzhi noticed all this. At first, he didn’t act but posted calls for help on the forum while secretly planning something.
Until the shop was upgraded to Level 2, and the number of overnight guests increased to over ten thousand—along with guidance from the Big Map on how to “expand the protective barrier”—only then did Da Huzhi begin to take action.
He started by using the Red Bee Grocery Store as the center, encouraging nearby residents to donate their land and houses to the Church of the God of Commerce in exchange for protection.
As the local thugs became increasingly brazen with their robberies, the townspeople could no longer bear it. Having witnessed the power of the “God of Commerce’s protection,” they didn’t hesitate to register with Da Huzhi.
Once a few people took the lead, the rest followed easily.
More and more residents donated their properties to the Church of Commerce. By the time the thugs realized what was happening and tried to seize the properties, it was too late.
They had always lived surrounded by ordinary townsfolk. Now that those townspeople had turned over their properties to the Church, the thugs could hardly move within Red Bee Town.
Left with no other option, they were forced to leave the town.
Because Lanhu Town had full protective barrier coverage, the number of guards had decreased—many had been reassigned to productive work. The thugs saw this as a sign that Lanhu Town’s defenses were lax.
So they decided to launch a major assault on Lanhu Town.
Little did they know, Da Huzhi had already been in contact with Lan Yunqing.
Ironically, Da Huzhi and Lan Yunqing had connected because of Chi Hao.
Chi Hao had repeatedly failed his ethics and morality assessments. As an outstanding graduate of Shop No. 6, Da Huzhi became someone Chi Hao often turned to for advice.
As they chatted frequently in the public channel, they became friends.
Growing up in a small town, Da Huzhi didn’t have Chi Hao’s breadth of experience. During one of their chats, he unintentionally revealed some information that Lan Yunqing quickly picked up on.
It didn’t take long for Lan Yunqing to deduce that Da Huzhi was from Red Bee Town. Originally, because of past grudges, he had no intention of interacting with them. But after a visit to the Desolate City Haven, his perspective broadened dramatically.
After returning to Lanhu Town, he sent people to investigate the surrounding regions, including Red Bee Town.
His research revealed that Red Bee Town’s current development model was actually well-suited for collaboration with Lanhu Town.
So, Lan Yunqing approached Da Huzhi directly.
Da Huzhi was genuinely surprised to learn that the lord of Lanhu Town was also a member of the Church of the God of Commerce!
He had previously considered sending the Mao siblings to Lanhu Town disguised as refugees. Since he didn’t hold any ill will toward Lanhu’s people, the two sides quickly established a working relationship.
When the thugs attacked Lanhu Forest, Lan Yunqing—fully prepared—redeployed his guards to the battlefield. Meanwhile, Da Huzhi led the townsfolk from Red Bee Town to join the fight. Together, they united in purpose and eliminated the thugs.
Thus, decades of hostility between Lanhu and Red Bee finally saw a chance at resolution.
Now, a road was being built between the two settlements. Once people could freely travel between them, and time softened old grudges, trade and peace might finally follow.
At that moment, Tang Yu’an and his family appeared on the teleportation array in the basement.
He first tried to use some magical furniture to upgrade the shop again, but found that the conditions weren’t met.
Somewhat puzzled, he asked the system.
[Host, these pieces of magical furniture have already been used.]
Tang Yu’an understood.
These were the same pieces he’d used earlier to upgrade the Grassland Grocery Store. In other words… the bug had been fixed?
He pouted in mild displeasure.
But then he remembered that the shops upgraded using the bug hadn’t been downgraded, and his mood brightened.
It didn’t matter. He had plenty of magical furniture—he could just use a new set.
So he swapped in new furniture and continued upgrading the Red Bee Grocery Store, raising its overnight capacity to 110,000.
“Mom, want to go out for a walk?”
Tang Xueyun hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
This was the path An’an and Xiao Qi had once taken. She wanted to see it.
Tang Yu’an donned his Twilight outfit, then pulled out the Shadow Umbrella to cloak his mother and sister in invisibility.
Together, they left the basement and walked out of the Red Bee Grocery Store.
Da Huzhi and the others were busy trading with the townsfolk, but the moment they saw the figure of Twilight, they immediately noticed.
“Sir! Lord Twilight!”
Da Huzhi froze only briefly before recognizing him. He quickly left his customers and rushed over with the Mao siblings.
They dropped to their knees, showering Twilight with gratitude.
If the divine envoy hadn’t casually lent them a hand during a past visit, Red Bee Town wouldn’t be what it was today.
So their gratitude toward the Church of Commerce—and toward Twilight—was absolutely sincere.
Tang Xueyun and her daughter were stunned by the scene.
But standing before them, Tang Yu’an remained calm and composed.
“Rise,” came a voice that sounded like a dignified middle-aged man.
Tang Xueyun looked at the figure of Twilight. If she hadn’t seen Tang Yu’an put on that outfit with her own eyes, she wouldn’t have recognized her son.
Even knowing it, she still felt a bit dazed.
Under their gaze, Twilight interacted naturally with the strangers before him. His words and demeanor exuded a commanding presence.
“I’ve come to inspect your work,” he said.
Da Huzhi immediately became nervous.
“Store performance, expansion efforts, cooperation with Lanhu Town—those are all commendable. However…”
His gaze swept over the townsfolk.
“The hygiene and living conditions are unacceptable,” he said. “From now on, Red Bee Town will be renamed Red Bee Settlement. You can consult Changqing on the forum for the construction standards of a proper settlement.”
“Y-yes, I’ll definitely improve things!” Da Huzhi replied anxiously.
“The Church of Commerce will also implement certain mandatory policies—you’ll find out soon enough.” (This referred to the overnight stay regulations.)
“For now, start the improvements with the Red Bee Grocery Store.”
Standing before the crowd, Twilight lifted his head and addressed the sky:
“O great God of Commerce, please grant your blessing to your faithful followers—free them from illness and misfortune.”
As he finished speaking, a radiant glow appeared in his hand. Purification and Healing Light spells simultaneously shot into the air, enveloping a thirty-meter-wide area.
This was the limit of what Tang Yu’an could currently do.
When the light faded, everything and everyone it had touched was spotlessly clean, and those who were still recovering from injuries were fully healed.
“A miracle! It’s a miracle!”
The townspeople fell to their knees in worship.
Tang Yu’an said a few more words, then stepped back under the Shadow Umbrella and vanished on the spot.
He had originally wanted to show his mother and sister the Red Bee Town, but after seeing the streets littered with waste, he quickly lost interest.
“Let’s go to Purple Sky Fortress instead,” he said.
As soon as the words left his mouth, he noticed Tang Xueyun and her daughter looking at him with strange expressions.
“What?” he asked.
“Uncle, who are you? Where’s my brother?” Tang Yuxin asked.
Tang Yu’an quickly took off his mask. “I’m your brother!”
Tang Yuxin scrutinized him suspiciously. After staring for quite a while, she finally confirmed this was indeed her brother.
“Xinxin, you really need to study more,” Tang Yu’an said, a little worried, as he patted the little girl’s head.
She had seen the whole disguise process—how could she still not recognize him?
Tang Xueyun couldn’t help but roll her eyes. Of course she caught the subtext in her son’s words, but honestly, his acting was just too good! Even though he was playing a middle-aged man, the over-the-top lines he just delivered didn’t sound awkward at all! She thought back to her own time playing “Superstrength Lady” and still felt secondhand embarrassment from it.
“Let’s go, let’s head to the next destination.”
Soon, they arrived in the basement of the Purple Sky Grocery Store.
While upgrading the place, Tang Yu’an explained the situation in Purple Sky Fortress.
Perhaps because it was facing a life-or-death crisis, the development of the Purple Sky Grocery Store had been remarkably fast.
In terms of store popularity and land area, it far exceeded the requirements for a level 3 branch. With enough magical furniture, it could probably be upgraded directly to level 4.
But Tang Yu’an didn’t plan on doing that. He didn’t have much high-level magical furniture to spare, and Purple Sky Grocery Store wasn’t a top development priority.
The land here had been contaminated by chlorine elements. Even the protective barrier couldn’t fully expel the toxins, making it unsuitable for long-term residence. Sooner or later, the residents of Purple Sky Fortress would have to relocate to the mainland.
However, without Dark Moon’s protective brand, Zhan Xiaotian didn’t dare to venture too far out to sea. He had only returned once and brought back 20,000 immigrants.
These immigrants had already been resettled in the villages of Lin Hai Town and were considered stabilized. The immigration process could now continue.
Thinking of this, Tang Yu’an pulled out his last Seven-Day Flash Sale Refresh Card.
[……]
Seeing the system’s notification pop up, he grinned. “I hope I get a few vending machines.”
That way, he could place one at the Purple Sky Grocery Store, officially open the teleportation array to the public, and make the migration process even smoother.
[Flash Sale items are randomized and cannot be manually selected.]
Tang Yu’an shrugged and used the refresh card.
[Seven-Day Flash Sale (Next refresh in: 23 hours)]
- Magenta Sun-Proof Jacket (3/3): 158,888 points each
- Glow-Green Mini Boat (1/1): 158,888 points
- Gray-Blue Air Purifier (2/2): 88,888 points each
- Automatic Vending Machine (2/2): 188,888 points each
- Adaptive Temperature AC: ……
- Glow-Green Light Strip: ……
“Hahaha, there it is! And I even got some magical furniture I needed!” Tang Yu’an laughed with joy. “System, you really do love me!”
The system nearly crashed.
[Self-check initiated. Please wait patiently for results.]
Tang Yu’an didn’t care. The system performed self-checks all the time—he was used to it.
He asked Tang Xueyun and Tang Yuxin if they wanted to go out and look around. But upon hearing that Purple Sky Fortress was plagued by toxic gas, Tang Xueyun immediately refused.
Looking at the map and seeing how isolated the island was, she gained a much clearer understanding of just how harsh this wasteland world was—and how impressive it was that An’an and Zhou Qi had carved out such success.
She shook her head. “Let’s go back.”
“Alright.”
Tang Yu’an brought them back to the main Peace Grocery Store, took out the space stones he had saved up, and upgraded the new vending machine.
Then he started upgrading the main store in the “Bigger Is Better” direction.
[Spend 2,000,000 points to upgrade Peace Grocery Store to (Bigger Is Better!) Lv4?]
Without hesitation, Tang Yu’an selected “Yes.”
[Congratulations! Peace Grocery Store upgraded to (Bigger Is Better!) Lv4]
[Overnight guest capacity increased by 1,000,000. Current max guest capacity across all stores: 1,121,120]
[Main store can now recruit 7 more staff. Branch stores can each recruit 5 more staff]
[Dream Drifting Bottles +1; bottle capacity increased 5x. Total bottles: 9]
[Camper van upgrade: can now be expanded up to 5 times its original size]
Overnight guest capacity increased to 1.12 million!
Seeing that number, Tang Yu’an’s eyes lit up.
He cheered and shared the news with Zhou Qi, then headed to Qingmu Grocery Store No. 1.
Compared to the Purple Sky store, this branch had equally strong performance. Once he pulled out some high-level magical furniture, the upgrade requirements were met.
Peace Grocery Store No. 23—upgrade successful!
And along with Qingmu Grocery Store No. 2, the total overnight guest capacity at this refugee camp had now increased to over 1.13 million!
This number should be sufficient for a long time to come.
Finally, the main Peace Grocery Store could leave this place!
Tang Yu’an returned to the aircraft and sent new tasks to Xie Zhaori, Hong Li, and Chi Hao, including the information that he was leaving—a kind of farewell notice.
Then he activated the aircraft and departed from above the Qingmu Grocery Store.
Of course, he didn’t head straight into the space rift over Qingmu Fortress. Instead, he chose a random direction and flew off into the distance.
Tang Yuxin had already fallen asleep. Though it was still daylight, her body was exhausted and she dozed off. Tang Xueyun took her to the loft to sleep.
When she came back out, the view outside had already changed.
She quietly sat in the co-pilot seat, watching her son—who in her mind was still just a child—handle everything with calm skill, feeling a whirlwind of emotions inside.
After completely leaving the Qingmu Fortress zone, Tang Yu’an found a plain to land on and pulled out the camper van.
He then tried switching the camper van into flight mode.
A brand-new, sleek, sci-fi-style airship appeared before him and Tang Xueyun.
Yes—it was a spaceship!
Compared to this, the aircraft was nothing more than a toy. In terms of size alone, there was no competition.
Tang Yu’an couldn’t wait to enter the ship. It was practically a floating fortress—much larger than the aircraft and with far more internal functionality.
Of course, the facilities were still rudimentary. He’d need to renovate it himself.
The first thing Tang Yu’an did was move the teleportation array into a designated room and mark other areas as restricted, only accessible to him and his family.
This way, people traveling between the original world and the Wasteland Plane wouldn’t have to worry about wandering off.
Tang Yu’an took Tang Xueyun on a tour around the spaceship. Just as she was thinking that his “work” might finally be wrapping up and they could get some proper rest, she heard him say, “Next destination: Ice Flame Fortress!”
“There’s another place to go?” Tang Xueyun was shocked.
How many places had they already visited today? Even with teleportation arrays making things fast, she was still starting to feel worn out.
“Yeah, Ice Flame Fortress still isn’t—wait, huh?”
Tang Yu’an glanced at the assessment channel and saw that Wen Qingqing had actually completed the moral and character evaluation and passed Old Mo’s test!
That meant she was now eligible to build a branch store.
Tang Yu’an opened the map of Ice Flame Fortress and found that Wen Qingqing wasn’t at home—she had gone to a more central location in the fortress.
Was she scouting a site to build the store?
Still, wouldn’t it be better to build it on the outskirts? After all, all the land inside the fortress already had owners. It would be hard to expand the protective barrier in the center.
*
Ice Flame Fortress.
Wen Qingqing sat in a chair, her hands nervously clenched into fists.
Sitting across from her was the highest-ranking leader of Ice Flame Fortress, and a firm advocate for seeking a new place to live outside the fortress.
The negotiation they were having today would determine the future of the 100,000+ residents of Ice Flame Fortress.
Wen Qingqing spoke, almost in disbelief: “You really want to donate all the land of Ice Flame Fortress to the Church of the Merchant God?”
