Chapter 33 – 1100 Points!!
The red-haired youth had fainted.
However, Tang Yu’an had no time to worry about him because—as soon as the young man took out those red crystals, Brother Qi began to act strangely!
He stared blankly at the piece of cloth, or rather, at the red crystals embedded in the cloth. His jet-black pupils instantly turned a crimson red.
Immediately after, he reached out, snatched the cloth, and, without hesitation, tried to shove it into his mouth!
Tang Yu’an was so frightened that his soul nearly left his body.
Grandpa Li had said that if someone who had just awakened their abilities forcibly consumed crystals to enhance their powers, they could easily die!
What’s wrong with Brother Qi? Is he being controlled by a parasite?
Without time to think, Tang Yu’an moved at lightning speed, reaching out to grab the piece of cloth.
By now, Zhou Qi had already swallowed half of it. Tang Yu’an managed to grasp a corner of the cloth, and that was enough.
In the next moment, the piece of cloth embedded with red crystals disappeared from Zhou Qi’s mouth—it had been thrown into Tang Yu’an’s portable warehouse with astonishing speed.
Except for the first slot, only he could access the other slots, so Brother Qi wouldn’t be able to get the crystals!
Sure enough, after the crystals disappeared, the eerie red glow in Zhou Qi’s eyes quickly faded, and in the blink of an eye, they returned to their original dark color.
“Brother Qi, are you okay?” Tang Yu’an asked cautiously.
Zhou Qi blinked, turning dazedly to look at him.
Recalling everything that had just happened, his heart pounded, and cold sweat broke out on his forehead.
He had thought he could resist the temptation and control of the parasite inside him, but just now, the parasite’s reaction was several times stronger than before.
Caught off guard, he had lost control!
Everything that had happened played back in his mind like a slow-motion movie, frame by frame. He quickly realized that it was likely because he had faced too many crystals this time.
Under such strong stimulation, the parasite’s control over him had also intensified!
“I’m fine now,” Zhou Qi took a deep breath, suppressing the lingering fear in his heart. In a deep voice, he said, “An An, thank you.”
Tang Yu’an also patted his chest, taking a big gulp of air. “It’s okay, as long as you’re fine. You really scared me just now; luckily, I made it in time!”
“Sorry, I was careless,” Zhou Qi pressed his lips together, his gaze falling once again on the unconscious red-haired youth.
He didn’t know if it was because of the recent struggle, but his senses seemed sharper than before. Even without getting closer, he could feel that this person’s life force was rapidly diminishing and had weakened to an extreme point.
If they didn’t treat him soon, he would really die.
Tang Yu’an had noticed this too. Temporarily putting aside the matter of the crystals, he said, “Brother Qi, let’s save him.”
“He’s about to die.”
Before Zhou Qi could respond, Tang Yu’an added, “At worst, when he wakes up, we’ll knock him out again and carry him far away.”
This red-haired brother probably stumbled upon this place by accident while escaping.
He’s so badly injured; he probably can’t remember the way, right?
The desolate city is so vast, without a map or navigation, even if he knows there’s a grocery store here, he probably won’t find it again.
Tang Yu’an really couldn’t stand by and watch someone die right in front of him, especially when he could do something about it. If his mom and dad were here, they would probably support him.
Zhou Qi pressed his lips together, and after a moment of silence, he finally nodded and took out a basic healing bandage from his portable warehouse.
Although he had indeed thought about leaving the man to die, the education he had received from his family and school since childhood made it impossible for him to take that step.
Moreover, after being controlled by the parasite just now, Zhou Qi vaguely felt—
If he really did something against his conscience, he might never be able to control the parasite inside him again.
Some lines should not be crossed.
*
Zhou Qi and Tang Yu’an began to treat the red-haired youth.
His bloodstained, tattered clothes were torn off, revealing bruises all over his body.
Several of his ribs were broken, and his internal organs were probably severely damaged. But the most serious injury, at least visibly, was a claw mark on his chest.
His heart seemed to have been protected by something, but the area beside it wasn’t so lucky.
The flesh was torn, the wound deep enough to see bone, making both boys’ scalps tingle.
Before now, they probably couldn’t have dealt with such a severe injury; even if they wanted to save him, they wouldn’t have been able to.
But now, they had basic healing bandages.
[Basic Healing Bandage]
[Description: Magical item]
[Effect: Each roll can be used 10 times, restoring 10% of the user’s health each time (ineffective if at full health).]
Zhou Qi unrolled the bandage and, without bothering to clean the wounds, began wrapping the youth’s chest and back under Tang Yu’an’s assistance, circling layer after layer.
Magically, although the bandage looked small, after wrapping so many times, it didn’t seem to diminish at all.
When they finally felt they couldn’t pull it any tighter, Zhou Qi cut the bandage and tied a knot to secure it.
Tang Yu’an looked at the description of the basic healing bandage and found that even though Brother Qi had used so much, the number of uses had only decreased by one.
After using the basic healing bandage, the effect was immediate.
The red-haired youth, who had just moments ago looked as pale as paper and seemed on the verge of death, miraculously regained a bit of color in his face, and his weak breathing grew stronger.
Zhou Qi could clearly feel the man’s life force rapidly strengthening.
As his life force recovered, something near his heart seemed to slowly awaken. An energy was released, firmly protecting his vitality.
With this energy, the red-haired youth probably wouldn’t die.
As this realization emerged, Zhou Qi also sensed that the consciousness trying to tempt him to kill the youth became frantic but soon fell silent.
He exhaled slowly.
This time, he had won the struggle.
[Employee “Zhou Qi” has completed a profitable transaction with a new customer. Credits +1,100, Experience +3]
[You have completed Daily Task (3). Credits +4]
[You have completed all daily tasks. Lucky Wheel spin chance +1]
Tang Yu’an: …
Tang Yu’an: ……
So… so much?
1,100 credits?! Did he see that right?
Tang Yu’an carefully read the system prompts several times and checked his credit balance multiple times, finally confirming—
In that instant just now, his credit balance had increased by a full 1,104 points!
Tang Yu’an was stunned for a while before regaining his thinking ability.
He realized that each of those crystals was worth 200 credits, and the red-haired brother had offered six crystals in exchange for their help.
Subtracting the 100-point cost of exchanging for the basic healing bandage, wasn’t that exactly 1,100 credits?
But the problem was, the basic healing bandage had only used one charge, leaving nine uses—essentially, they had used an item costing 10 credits to gain 1,100 credits and six crystals!
“Ahhh, we’re rich! We’re rich!”
Tang Yu’an shouted excitedly, quickly sharing the good news with Zhou Qi.
Zhou Qi also realized this. He was stunned for a moment and then broke into a delighted smile.
This was truly a substantial gain!
Looking again at the red-haired youth on the ground, he inexplicably found him more agreeable. However, he also thought of another issue.
“An An, you continue treating his other wounds; I’ll go clean up the blood outside the door,” Zhou Qi said.
Although they had cleared the dangerous mutated creatures around the grocery store, they couldn’t be careless. What if this man attracted new ones?
Even if not mutated creatures, what if other people were drawn here?
Zhou Qi hadn’t forgotten that there was a man named “Old Xie” who had been with the red-haired youth.
However, this time, Tang Yu’an didn’t comply. He hesitated and then said softly, “Let me clean up the blood instead.”
Although the man’s life was saved, his other wounds were still bleeding, and Tang Yu’an felt a bit scared dealing with it…
He feared he’d have nightmares tonight.
Zhou Qi noticed his fear and nodded, “Alright, then you go. Remember to take the Shadow Umbrella with you; don’t expose yourself outside alone.”
“Okay.”
Tang Yu’an agreed obediently, then quickly turned and left. He took a broom and mop, filled a bucket of water in the bathroom, and, reminded by Zhou Qi, added some vinegar to it.
Vinegar can mask the smell of blood and effectively remove bloodstains.
He carried the water and tools to the shop entrance.
It was still before five o’clock; the sky outside was bright, with a few more clouds.
Remembering Zhou Qi’s advice, Tang Yu’an took out the Shadow Umbrella and opened it. But holding the umbrella in one hand and the tools in the other was very inconvenient.
“I wish the umbrella could float on its own…” he mumbled softly.
As soon as he said that, Tang Yu’an felt a force pulling upward on the umbrella in his hand. Caught off guard, he let go.
Oh no! The Shadow Umbrella has been snatched!
Panicking, Tang Yu’an realized that after he let go, the Shadow Umbrella didn’t move away from above him.
He blinked and, upon closer observation, discovered—
The Shadow Umbrella seemed to be floating on its own!
It was like discovering a new continent. He tentatively stepped to the left, and the Shadow Umbrella floated left with him.
He moved right, and the umbrella drifted right.
No matter which direction he went, the Shadow Umbrella always floated above his head.
“Wow, Umbrella, you’re so thoughtful! You can really float on your own!”
Filled with joy, Tang Yu’an hugged the Shadow Umbrella, rubbing his cheek against its handle to express his delight and affection.
It was then he remembered that the Shadow Umbrella had a spirit and an unfulfilled wish. It wasn’t just an inanimate object; it possessed intelligence.
“Don’t worry; I’ll find a way to get the pigments needed to color your canopy green and help you fulfill your wish!”
The Shadow Umbrella, which had been quietly floating mid-air, suddenly spun in place, as if responding to him.
Tang Yu’an laughed happily and then began cleaning up the bloodstains.
With the Shadow Umbrella floating and following him, he had a safety guarantee, and with both hands free, his work became much more efficient.
Of course, he also discovered that the Shadow Umbrella’s following had limitations. Because of the Lightfoot Technique enhancing his speed, if he moved too fast, the umbrella couldn’t keep up.
So during combat or when moving quickly, he’d still need to hold the umbrella.
But even with this limitation, it was a great help, making his cleaning work much easier.
He cleaned all the way to the rubble-strewn open area, about two or three hundred meters from the grocery store, before stopping.
Along the way, Tang Yu’an had been cleaning and deodorizing while covering the path with sand and stones. As for the remaining stretch, since he had run out of water, he simply buried the bloodstains with sand and stones.
With the trail ending this far out, no one should be able to find the grocery store, right?
At that moment, a system prompt popped up, indicating that Zhou Qi had taken out his phone from the first slot of the portable warehouse and then put it back.
Knowing that Zhou Qi was contacting him, Tang Yu’an quickly took out his phone and checked the messages.
[An An, where are you?]
The Shadow Umbrella could hide all traces; even mutated creatures couldn’t detect them under the umbrella, let alone Zhou Qi.
Tang Yu’an quickly replied: [Brother Qi, I’m about to come back. Wait for me!]
Putting the phone back into the warehouse, he tossed the mop, broom, and bucket into it as well—having leveled up twice, he now had two more slots in his portable warehouse. By merging these two slots, he could easily store the mop and broom.
Then he grabbed the Shadow Umbrella and ran back.
When he returned, he saw Zhou Qi standing at the shop entrance, looking around. Tang Yu’an quickly put away the Shadow Umbrella, revealing himself.
“Brother Qi!”
Seeing him return, Zhou Qi breathed a sigh of relief.
“Good job.” He patted Tang Yu’an’s head, wiped his sweat, and then asked him to take out the mop and bucket to clean up the blood inside the shop.
In total, they spent 100 credits exchanging for water for the shop, thoroughly cleaning up the bloodstains.
Tang Yu’an felt a bit of heartache.
Water is indeed the source of life; it’s really expensive!
But there was no other way. After all, it was blood; they couldn’t just leave it. Fortunately, they had a surplus of over 1,000 credits, so it was still worthwhile.
The red-haired youth’s condition had stabilized, and since there was no further significant bleeding, Zhou Qi had used the basic healing bandage one more time while dressing his wounds, effectively pulling him back from the brink of death.
As for his other wounds, Zhou Qi simply cleaned them with alcohol and bandaged them with regular bandages.
“His name is Chi Hao,” Zhou Qi handed a small nameplate to Tang Yu’an.
He had found it on the red-haired youth’s clothes; it should be his name. There was also a string of numbers, but they didn’t know what it represented.
“The good news is that the characters in this world are similar to the ones we use,” Zhou Qi continued.
Tang Yu’an nodded; that was indeed good news.
On one hand, it would help them blend into this world better; on the other hand, it would support their claim of being “from the fortress.”
After all, they were educated, not illiterate!
Tang Yu’an opened the map and labeled the silver dot, which had replaced the previous green one, with “Chi Hao’s” name.
Then he looked down at the unconscious red-haired youth and couldn’t help saying, “What a pity; we can’t get the remaining three experience points.”
Tang Yu’an had realized that experience points were more valuable than credits. While they couldn’t exchange for items without credits, they couldn’t level up without experience points.
His goal was to become a top-tier interdimensional merchant!
Of course, the main reason was that leveling up could unlock more items and features—not to mention, after reaching level 3, he could drink milk every day~
Drinking milk helps you grow taller ^O^/
He looked at his experience bar: Level 3 (4/40).
Each level up increased the required experience points by 10, making it increasingly difficult, so every experience point was precious.
Hearing his mumbling, Zhou Qi pondered for a moment, then squatted down beside the unconscious Chi Hao and took out the gun he had previously removed from the man’s hand.
The gun resembled ones they had seen on TV before—completely black, made entirely of metal, and felt heavy in the hand.
Although they might not necessarily use it…
Zhou Qi picked up the glucose solution he had prepared earlier and said softly, “Chi Hao, if you give me this gun, I’ll give you a sip of this glucose water.”
The unconscious Chi Hao, of course, couldn’t respond.
Could such a transaction really be completed? Tang Yu’an watched Zhou Qi’s operation with curiosity.
The result was obvious—it didn’t work.
Zhou Qi pinched Chi Hao’s mouth open and poured in a sip of glucose solution. While he managed to get the liquid down, the system did not prompt that a transaction was completed.
This was normal; after all, without the party’s consent, such behavior amounted to taking by force, not trading.
“So we can’t get these 3 experience points,” Tang Yu’an said regretfully.
But Zhou Qi didn’t give up. He frowned, thought for a moment, and then repeated what he had just said, but after that, he added:
“Silence is also a form of agreement. If you don’t speak, it means you accept this transaction.”
Tang Yu’an widened his eyes. Does that work?
Zhou Qi waited, and as Chi Hao remained silent in his unconscious state, he poured another sip of glucose solution into him.
Then…
[Employee “Zhou Qi” has completed a profitable transaction with a returning customer. Credits +495, Experience +2]
It worked!
Tang Yu’an: ???
So this actually works? Silence is consent? Tang Yu’an felt he had learned something new!
“Brother Qi, you’re so smart!” Tang Yu’an said excitedly.
Zhou Qi also saw the prompt and realized it had worked. He slightly curved his lips, feeling as if he had solved a complex math problem—a sense of accomplishment hard to describe.
Then, he used the same method to make a final “transaction” with Chi Hao.
But Chi Hao didn’t have much of value left—except for his seemingly high-quality clothes, but they were damaged and stained with blood, which made the cleanliness-obsessed Zhou Qi quite disdainful.
In the end, he kept Chi Hao’s nameplate.
At least it served as a token; after all, they had saved his life. If any conflict arose in the future, perhaps showing this nameplate might help?
[Employee “Zhou Qi” has completed a profitable transaction with a returning customer. Credits +15, Experience +1]
This nameplate wasn’t as valuable, but since it was pure metal and possibly mutated metal, it was worth some credits.
After that, Zhou Qi didn’t mess with Chi Hao anymore and directly poured a full glass of glucose solution into him.
“Alright, he should be fine now,” he said.
Tang Yu’an replied with an “Mm,” and looked at Chi Hao, his gaze no longer seeing him as a big trouble but as a God of Wealth.
He alone had brought them over 1,500 credits! Though they had saved his life, this windfall made Tang Yu’an inexplicably excited.
“It’s almost six o’clock,” Zhou Qi glanced at his watch. There were fifteen minutes left until the end of business hours.
Tang Yu’an nodded.
After six o’clock, all customers would be “sent” out of the grocery store, just like what had happened to Brother Qi before.
Suddenly, inspiration struck Tang Yu’an.
He quickly looked up the employee guidelines and soon found information he had seen before—
[Termination: Employees who are dismissed will lose their position and benefits, and will also lose all memories related to the mysterious merchant and the grocery store.]
Found it!
If they hired Chi Hao as an employee and then dismissed him, he wouldn’t remember anything about the grocery store, and the store would truly be safe!
Tang Yu’an hurriedly shared this idea with Zhou Qi.
“Brother Qi, let’s hire him as an employee and then dismiss him! That way, he won’t have any memories of us.”
After listening, Zhou Qi thought for a moment and said, “This plan is feasible, but… what if he doesn’t accept the hiring?”
Tang Yu’an was taken aback; his excitement faded, and he frowned.
“Threaten him to accept?”
He thought about it and then shook his head.
Ability users recover quickly. Like Brother Qi, who had just awakened, after a night’s sleep, his injuries had healed. Even Old Li, who was severely injured, seemed fine the next day.
This Chi Hao brother was so strong; he might fully recover after a nap?
If anything went wrong, he and Brother Qi would be in danger.
“So what should we do?” he asked, troubled.
Zhou Qi said, “Let’s proceed with the original plan and send him out of the grocery store. If he accepts the hiring, we’ll take him in for the night; if not, there’s nothing we can do.”
During non-business hours, only the owner and employees with accommodation benefits could enter the grocery store.
Fortunately, they had cleared the dangerous creatures around the store, so even if he stayed outside, he shouldn’t encounter danger. The only issue might be the cold at night, which he might not endure.
Tang Yu’an rubbed his chin.
Not sure when he’ll wake up; might as well go all the way since they’ve saved him.
So before six o’clock, he quickly took Chi Hao’s wet, bloodstained shirt and placed it on the shelf, then activated the item list function.
In less than a second, all the blood and dirt on the clothes were separated—
This was inspired by using the item list function before to separate mold from rice grains. After experimenting, he found it indeed worked.
These days, he and Brother Qi had been cleaning their clothes this way, saving water and electricity—convenient, efficient, and resource-saving.
After a simple operation, he had a clean, though slightly damaged, dry shirt.
Wearing such clothes might provide some warmth, at least better than wet ones.
Working together, they helped Chi Hao put his clothes back on.
This guy was tall and strong, with hard muscles all over his body—nothing like someone living in an apocalyptic world, leading Tang Yu’an and Zhou Qi to speculate about the material conditions inside the fortress.
Truly, life inside and outside the fortress were worlds apart.
After dressing Chi Hao, Tang Yu’an stuck two warming pads inside his clothes. Since he had lost a lot of blood, his body temperature would drop; in the cold environment, he might not make it.
Then he took an empty mineral water bottle, removed the label, filled it with about 350 ml of warm water, added 100 grams of glucose, and stirred it with a chopstick.
This bottle of glucose solution only cost 10 credits.
He tied the bottle of glucose solution with a string and hung it around Chi Hao’s neck, then pulled his clothes over it.
While Tang Yu’an was busy, Chi Hao’s breathing gradually strengthened, showing signs of waking up—he must be a powerful ability user with recovery abilities far beyond ordinary people.
By this time, the clock pointed to six o’clock.
The grocery store’s business hours for the day had ended. In the next moment, Chi Hao disappeared before them, sent out of the store by the protective barrier.
Tang Yu’an quickly ran outside, opened the Shadow Umbrella, and jumped onto the stone blocking the entrance. As expected, he saw Chi Hao appearing at the spot where Zhou Qi had been sent out before.
He lay motionless on the rubble-strewn ground.
Seeing that he hadn’t woken up, Tang Yu’an directly sent him a hiring invitation, then returned inside with Zhou Qi to tend to their own affairs.
Between six in the evening and eight the next morning, the grocery store was in non-business hours, and the protective barrier would be active the entire time—they were safe.
Moreover, around the desolate city, only the area near the grocery store had been cleared of all dangerous creatures; this was probably the safest place now. So since Chi Hao hadn’t woken up, they’d let him lie there and check on him later.
Before going back inside, Tang Yu’an felt like he had forgotten something.
When he reached the door, he remembered—wait, Yuan Bao hasn’t returned yet?
Thinking of Yuan Bao, who had gone out and not returned, Tang Yu’an glanced at the pet panel and found that its status was good, so he didn’t worry and went off to tidy up, bathe, and change clothes.
While the two boys were busy, the night outside gradually darkened.
On the open space about a dozen meters outside the grocery store, the red-haired youth lying on the ground suddenly fluttered his eyelashes and opened his eyes.
