Chapter 329
“Commander Fang, are you really sure about this?” Wen Qingqing asked again to confirm.
“Yes,” Fang Yu nodded. “But only on the condition that the protective barrier you mentioned really works the way you described.”
“If there’s any exaggeration or deception in what you’ve said, Ice Flame Fortress reserves the right to reclaim all its territory.”
Although the Church of the Merchant God had demonstrated the ability to transport goods over long distances, there had been no evidence of it transporting living beings. Based on their investigation, only Wen Qingqing and her mother within Ice Flame Fortress had shown such capabilities.
So they had reason to believe—the Church’s influence within Ice Flame Fortress had only just begun, and the fortress still retained full control over itself.
Since they had already resolved to leave the fortress and seek new shelter elsewhere, they might as well take this final gamble.
If they won, everyone would celebrate; if they lost, they could still recover quickly.
Otherwise, once the Church of the Merchant God had fully established itself in Ice Flame Fortress, they would have no room left to maneuver.
“There’s one more condition,” Fang Yu continued. “If the protective barrier truly works as you say and can safeguard the entire fortress, then all residents of Ice Flame Fortress must be allowed to continue living here.”
“The Church of the Merchant God must not evict or harm them.”
“You have my word,” Wen Qingqing replied. “The Church’s mission is to make the world prosperous and strong. We value every customer’s life, and we have no interest in taking over management of the fortress.”
Manage the entire fortress? What a joke—Wen Qingqing didn’t consider herself remotely capable of that.
She had only wanted to open a branch store and gradually expand the barrier to cover the nearby streets. She’d take things one step at a time.
Who would have thought the fortress would offer everything?
Wen Qingqing hesitated for a moment and then added, “As for your proposal to donate all the land to the Church, I’ll need to get approval first.”
From what she had read on the forums, the protective barrier had a population limit and required registration in order to be effective.
Anyone unregistered would be blocked by the barrier and unable to enter.
If she accepted the fortress’s land too hastily and ended up locking everyone out, she’d be the one blamed.
And Wen Qingqing couldn’t bear that responsibility.
“Of course,” Fang Yu nodded. “Then let’s conclude today’s discussion here—”
“Wait!”
Before Fang Yu could finish, Wen Qingqing interrupted him.
“Don’t worry! I’ll have an answer for you in just 10 minutes!”
Fang Yu: “…”
Who’s the one who’s being impatient now?
Still, he didn’t say anything else and simply watched Wen Qingqing. Her eyes were staring ahead, but clearly not focused on him—it was like she was looking at something suspended in midair.
Could she really be communicating with a deity?
Though he was a staunch atheist, even Fang Yu couldn’t help but feel a sliver of doubt after seeing Wen Qingqing produce so many goods from thin air.
Even so, he still leaned toward the explanation that it was a type of mysterious supernatural ability.
He waited patiently, and soon Wen Qingqing’s expression changed slightly.
Her gaze finally returned to him, and she said, “Commander Fang, please wait 10 minutes. The Church of the Merchant God will give you an answer.”
Wen Qingqing said this after receiving a response from Tang Yu’an.
By now, all employees knew: as long as you @God’s Messenger’s ID in the store channel, there was a chance he’d see your message—and no need to worry about others reading it.
She had tried it, and to her surprise, got a reply.
Truthfully, when Tang Yu’an received her message, he was startled too.
Donate all of Ice Flame Fortress’s land and buildings to the Church of the Merchant God? The leader of Ice Flame Fortress sure had guts!
He quickly messaged Zhou Qi in private for advice. Zhou Qi thought they should absolutely accept—especially since they now had the Directional Warp feature.
It had been unlocked when the store reached Level 30, but hadn’t yet been tested.
That’s why Tang Yu’an didn’t give Wen Qingqing an immediate answer—he asked her to wait 10 minutes while he checked things on his end.
“Mom, we’re about to own a fortress!“
Tang Xueyun, after hearing his explanation, was stunned. “Can you really manage all this?”
To her, her son’s business empire already seemed way bigger than she could comprehend—and now he was about to take on a whole fortress?
She felt the pressure weighing on her.
“We have staff. And without the barrier, the people there would have to leave and search for a new home—many would die in the process.”
Tang Yu’an patiently explained everything, then opened the panel to unlock the Directional Warp feature.
It cost 1 million points to unlock. Considering its usefulness, Tang Yu’an didn’t complain about the high price.
Expensive things usually have a good reason to be expensive.
After unlocking it, he loaded points into the warp account and selected “Initiate Directional”
[You are initiating a directional warp. Please select the target location on the map.]
[Note: The destination must be within an unlocked area of the map.]
The map popped up.
Tang Yu’an could now draw a circle on the map. The more tightly he circled the area (even with a distorted shape), the more expensive the warp would be.
In other words, the higher the precision, the higher the cost.
He zoomed in on the Ice Flame Fortress map—most of it had already been unlocked. Green dots representing potential customers still covered most of the area.
“By the way,” Tang Yu’an asked the system, “if I warp using this function, will I land on the ground or in the air?”
If it was ground level, he’d have to find an open area to land.
[In RV mode, you’ll land on the ground. In flight mode, you’ll arrive in the sky.]
Seeing the system’s response, Tang Yu’an finally relaxed and selected the entire unlocked area of Ice Flame Fortress as the destination for the warp.
[Directional warp will cost 123,940 points. Proceed with deduction?]
Such an oddly specific number… and quite expensive. Definitely not something he could use frequently.
Thinking this, Tang Yu’an clicked Deduct Points.
[Points successfully deducted! Initiating directional warp, please wait…]
Outside the ship, the scenery began to shift. About three minutes later, the view stabilized.
Where once there had been lush green hills and forests, there was now a snow-covered, frozen world.
Looking out the window below, they could see a fortress blanketed in ice and snow. Beyond its walls stretched an endless icy plain.
And on that ice plain grew clusters of beautiful flowers, their petals glowing like ghostly blue flames—just as Grandpa Li had once described.
The sight from above was breathtaking.
[Directional warp complete]
Tang Yu’an glanced at the map—they had indeed leapt from Greenwood Fortress to a point directly above Ice Flame Fortress!
This directional warp function was incredibly useful.
Though expensive, it could absolutely be a lifesaver in critical moments.
With that in mind, Tang Yu’an immediately edited and sent a task message to Wen Qingqing.
*
Elsewhere
When Wen Qingqing received the task prompt, she straightened up, alert and focused.
Though she still harbored some doubts, after passing Old Mo’s ethics and character assessment, she had learned the value of obedience.
If the Divine Emissary was acting this decisively, there had to be a reason. All she had to do was follow orders.
“Commander Fang, let’s sign the contract!” Wen Qingqing said with firm resolve.
Fang Yu was taken aback. “Just like that?”
“Yes.” She nodded.
Fang Yu scrutinized her with suspicion. After confirming she wasn’t joking, he finally clenched his teeth and had someone bring out the pre-prepared contract.
“Take a look—see if anything seems off.”
Wen Qingqing read it from start to finish. The contents aligned with their prior discussion:
Ice Flame Fortress would retain internal administrative control, but each year, half of the fortress’s fiscal revenue would be given to the Church of the Merchant God—provided the protective barrier truly worked.
“No issues,” she said, “but I need to remind you—anyone who harbors malice toward the God of Commerce, the Church, or myself will be rejected by the protective barrier.”
Fang Yu nodded. “Right now, very few in the fortress are even aware of the Church, so if they don’t know, they can’t really feel hostility.”
That just left those who disliked Wen Qingqing personally.
Given her limited social circle, that number wouldn’t exceed fifty. Compared to the tens of thousands of other residents, Fang Yu knew which choice to make.
“Alright, let’s proceed.”
He and Wen Qingqing formally signed the contract.
“That’s all it takes?” Fang Yu asked.
“I think so…” Wen Qingqing admitted—she wasn’t entirely sure either.
They exchanged a look, and just as Fang Yu was about to leave, loud commotion suddenly erupted outside.
“What’s going on?”
The two of them rushed to the window. The heavy snowfall had stopped—and…
Wen Qingqing opened the window, and the noise outside flowed in with the cold air.
“The snow’s melting!”
“It’s warmer! It’s getting warmer!”
People were coming out of their houses, some staring blankly, others shouting and running to spread the news.
More and more voices joined in, until the sound of celebration filled the entire fortress.
Even though the temperature wasn’t exactly warm—just barely above freezing—it felt heavenly compared to the previous minus-forty-degrees.
But the sky was still overcast and the sun wasn’t out. So why the sudden warmth?
“Look over there!”
Fang Yu quickly noticed something strange—a massive object hovering above the fortress. It looked like the spaceships from archived sci-fi footage.
“Peace Commerce Association…”
Wen Qingqing pointed excitedly to the lettering on the ship. “It was sent by the Divine Emissary! Ice Flame Fortress is under divine protection now!”
*
Two hours later, a full report on the fortress’s condition landed on Fang Yu’s desk.
Just as they had seen: aside from one small square, the snow had stopped throughout the fortress.
The temperature had climbed to just above zero. With enough clothing and basic heating, no one would freeze to death anymore.
This change didn’t affect the surrounding region—outside the walls, snow was still falling heavily. Only Ice Flame Fortress had been spared.
Moreover, in that small square, a few individuals who had personal grudges with Wen Qingqing found themselves unable to leave the area, no matter how hard they tried.
That confirmed it—this was the work of the Church of the Merchant God.
But how had they done it?
How had that massive spaceship appeared above Ice Flame Fortress? According to eyewitnesses, it had simply materialized from thin air!
Still, wasn’t the protection a bit too instant? The agreement had been signed barely two minutes before the shield took effect.
So what was all his hesitation for? What were all the delays, sacrifices, and wasted resources for?
Was it really just this simple all along?
If they had known things would turn out this way, they should have found Wen Qingqing earlier and handed over the territory to the Church of the Merchant God!
Fang Yu was in deep shock. He couldn’t help but return to the window and look outside again.
If they could maintain this temperature, there would be no need to search for a new place to live. And Wen Qingqing had also said that the protective barrier could block mutant creatures from invading!
This speed… this effect…
Could the God of Commerce really exist in this world? Only a deity could pull something like this off, right?
As a once-devout atheist, Fang Yu found his beliefs completely shaken in this moment…
*
The protective barrier over Ice Flame Fortress had, of course, been activated by Tang Yu’an.
He had warped the spaceship directly above the fortress specifically to activate the main store’s barrier. With only around 100,000 residents in Ice Flame Fortress, the main store’s accommodation quota was more than enough.
And since it was daytime, he had plenty of time to add everyone to the guest list.
Still, anticipating that a few people might be rejected, he left a small plaza area where they could stay—at least they wouldn’t be kicked out of the fortress entirely.
After all, being hostile toward the Merchant God didn’t necessarily mean someone was a bad person.
This was only a temporary fix. Tang Yu’an still needed to build a branch of the Ice Flame General Store, and at least two locations at that. Once the store reached Level 3, it could accommodate the entire fortress population.
He marked Wen Qingqing’s task as complete, sent her the reward, and then issued a new task.
Wen Qingqing, in turn, stored her signed contract with Ice Flame Fortress in her personal warehouse—part of her newly received reward—and notified Tang Yu’an via the store’s communication channel.
Tang Yu’an, in his “Silverlight” identity, retrieved the contract.
When he saw that Ice Flame Fortress had agreed to surrender half of their annual fiscal revenue as a protection fee, his eyes lit up.
And the more he looked at Fang Yu’s signature, the more pleasing it became.
This fortress leader had guts—he liked that! So Tang Yu’an found Fang Yu’s marker on the map and sent him a recruitment task.
Such talent obviously had to be brought into the fold!
Fang Yu quickly accepted the offer.
Tang Yu’an, following protocol, issued him a beginner’s guidance task and left it at that—because Tang Xueyun was already urging him to go to bed.
The construction of Ice Flame’s branch store would take time, and the fortress’s internal situation didn’t require his direct involvement. So Tang Yu’an returned peacefully to the original world.
Two days later, Tang Yu’an delivered an upgraded vending machine to the Purple Sky Grocery Store, then relocated the teleportation array to the surface.
He issued a guidance task to Zhan Xiong, urging him to speed up the immigration effort to Purple Sky Fortress, with cooperation from Lin Hai Town.
Five days later, Tang Yu’an visited the alternate dimension again.
Although less than ten days had passed in the real world, nearly nine months had gone by in the alternate dimension. The vending machine warehouse was full to bursting, and he needed to do a major cleanup.
He also collected a huge amount of points.
The vending machine had generated over 7 million points in profit from trading with the giants—an average of nearly 1 million per month.
And because time passed so much faster in that dimension, the vending machine felt like a literal money-printing machine.
In short—bliss!
Of course, Tang Yu’an hadn’t forgotten to check in on the Fire Dragon Clan.
Little Phoenix had only left with him for a few days before flying back home on its own. Tang Yu’an never placed restrictions on his pets, so he let it go.
However, Yin Bi and Wang Cai, who had followed along, quickly realized they couldn’t take the heat. Their fur nearly burned off, and they fled back, singed and traumatized.
Tang Xueyun shaved them clean to help with their recovery—unfortunately, this pushed both dogs into emotional shutdown. They then retreated to the Giant Tree Forest in the alternate dimension, only returning once their fur had regrown.
After that, they swore never to return to the Fire Dragon lands.
Yuan Bao went to check it out once out of curiosity—its fur survived, but it decided once was enough.
Black Pearl, however, proved unusually heat-resistant. It started visiting frequently to temper its mutated metal dagger—and often brought back exotic goodies for Tang Yu’an.
Thanks to Little Phoenix’s presence, the three newborn dragon hatchlings survived their frail stage and grew up healthy and strong.
When Tang Yu’an came to visit, Little Phoenix wanted to leave again.
And this time, the now-one-year-old dragon cub Yan Yan insisted on going too—and wouldn’t take no for an answer.
Clearly, it had already persuaded its parents during Tang Yu’an’s absence, because Yan Lie and Wen Ya didn’t stop it. They simply asked for the specifics of the contract and then agreed to let it become Tang Yu’an’s companion.
“I might not be able to come back for a while. Is that really okay?”
“It’s fine, it’s fine—just take it out for a bit!” said Yan Lie, visibly exhausted.
Having someone to help babysit was a dream come true—he could finally get some sleep and go out for fun!
So Tang Yu’an agreed and officially added the dragon cub Yan Yan to his pet roster.
However, because Yan Yan was so big and way too eye-catching…
Tang Yu’an pulled out a cat teaser wand.
The adult dragons didn’t react much, but the three hatchlings and Little Phoenix were instantly intrigued.
Tang Yu’an quickly shoved the wand into Yan Yan’s claws—and successfully turned it into an orange tabby kitten.
The “Fire Dragon Kitty” blinked its big, confused eyes and tilted its head slightly: “Meow?”
Several giant dragons nearby, who had just traded for magnifying glasses and were watching the scene unfold, immediately broke into expressions of pure adoration.
