Chapter 334
Tang Yu’an and Zhou Qi stayed in the Huaxia world for four months, but due to the different flow of time, thirteen months had already passed in the Wasteland World.
Yes, originally the time ratio was 3:1.
However, as time went on, this ratio began to widen, indicating that the fusion between the Wasteland World and the Giant World was accelerating.
The effects perceived by ordinary people included a noticeable increase in the concentration of spiritual energy in the Wasteland World, and a higher chance of discovering spirit crystals in the wild.
Meanwhile, the once-stabilized climate began to grow chaotic again.
But for those living within the protective barriers, the impact was minimal. Even major natural disasters like earthquakes and tsunamis left their homes unscathed under the protection of the God of Commerce.
After repeatedly surviving disasters safely, people’s faith in the God of Commerce had grown increasingly devout and sincere.
Over a year later, thanks to everyone’s continuous efforts, the roads connecting all the branch stores had finally been preliminarily completed.
The original “Desolate City–Jufeng Mountain–Coastal Town” homeland had expanded to include “Lanhu–Red Bee–Grassland Ranch,” and then the Flame Dragon Homeland. Even the Poison Valley where Ai Lu once lived now had a passage connecting it to the larger homeland.
Since Ai Lu was immune to poison, he was the one who regularly harvested the mutated blueberries growing in the Poison Valley.
However, his skin still suffered corrosion upon contact with toxins, so Tang Yu’an gifted him a protective suit to keep him safe.
And over the past year, Mo Yu had nearly finished repaying his debt to the homeland.
But having grown used to life in the homeland, he never thought about leaving. Instead, following Old Li’s suggestion, he adopted a child from the orphanage.
Mo Yu knew full well that Old Li’s real reason for doing so was to tie him down, but he thought that was just needless worry.
After all, where in the Wasteland could be safer than the homeland?
Plus, since Ai Lu liked the child very much, Mo Yu went along with it. For a cultivator, raising one more child wasn’t a burden.
Although the two young men had zero experience in childcare and were often a bit flustered, this also deepened their bond and understanding of each other.
Mo Yu could feel that his connection with Ai Lu was growing stronger and closer.
That was a good thing.
With that realization, Mo Yu truly accepted the child into his heart.
In their free time, Mo Yu would take Ai Lu and the child on bus rides to explore and enjoy the sights.
As the Desolate City Homeland continued to expand, most of the city’s land, aside from its core, had already been incorporated into the homeland’s territory. The public transportation network within the city was also becoming increasingly complete.
As for intercity transportation—there was even less to worry about.
What had once been a single bus line had now become:
[Desolate City – Jufeng Mountain – Coastal Town – Flame Dragon Homeland]
[Desolate City – Jufeng Mountain – Lanhu Town – Red Bee Town]
[Desolate City – Jufeng Mountain – Grassland Ranch – Lanhu Town – Red Bee Town]
These three routes formed a massive web, with more than twenty buses traveling frequently across its paths every day.
If you want prosperity, build roads first.
The improved infrastructure accelerated population flow and gave rise to various new industries, generating enormous wealth daily.
With a population exceeding 500,000, this “great homeland” was radiating tremendous vitality.
Most of these people were migrants from Purple Sky Fortress.
After Tang Yu’an installed a vending machine there and opened a teleportation portal, nearly all of the fortress’s residents chose to leave.
That’s because the water level outside Purple Sky Fortress had risen again—in just a year, the water had reached the height of the walls.
If not for Zhan Xiong successfully enclosing the entire fortress within a protective barrier by claiming all the surrounding land, the pressure from the water might have already destroyed the walls.
Now Purple Sky Fortress was like an empty island. After the last resident left, Zhan Xiong and the other employees were transferred to Coastal Town.
As for how Purple Sky Fortress would be used or developed in the future—well, that would have to wait until Tang Yu’an and the others had time to deal with it.
Aside from Purple Sky Fortress, over 50,000 people from Flame Dragon Fortress had also joined the Flame Dragon Homeland. And with the temperatures around the fortress rising day by day, that number was still climbing.
Truth be told, Old Mo had never intended to reach his hand into Flame Dragon Fortress.
As someone who had once lived inside a fortress and then struggled to survive outside of one, Old Mo felt that although Flame Dragon Fortress wasn’t especially benevolent, it wasn’t tyrannical either.
Moreover, he didn’t have much experience managing large populations. The development plans for the Flame Dragon Homeland were largely made by experts sent from Desolate City Homeland.
Yet just like how his small branch sect had grown unintentionally by attracting more and more followers, sometimes when fortune comes, you just can’t stop it.
First, the squad sent by Flame Dragon Fortress to assassinate him had all defected.
After returning to the fortress, they brought their families to the homeland and began persuading their friends and colleagues to join as well.
Soon, the plot was exposed. The fortress sent a military force to suppress it, but… that army was also turned.
At that moment, a rare firestorm began falling from the sky. People from the fortress stepped up and persuaded the soldiers to drop their hostility toward the Church of Commerce and enter the protective barrier for safety.
“We can keep fighting after the firestorm is over!”
But of course, once the soldiers entered the barrier and felt the comfortable temperature and fresh air, who would still want to fight?!
After the firestorm ended, that army returned to the fortress to bring over their own families.
From that point on, the population migration from Flame Dragon Fortress to the homeland became unstoppable.
Actually, Flame Dragon Fortress also had access to a spatial rift, which was its main advantage in sustaining its population despite the extreme heat.
However, the other side of that rift was filled with dangers that ordinary people couldn’t withstand.
In comparison, the Flame Dragon Homeland, with its protective barrier, was far more appealing. It likely wouldn’t be long before most of the fortress’s residents relocated there.
After a discussion, Old Mo and Old Li agreed—since things had already developed this far, they might as well officially incorporate Flame Dragon Fortress into the homeland’s territory!
They had already won the hearts of the people, and in terms of strength, the homeland was no weaker than the fortress.
So they took action right away!
While Tang Yu’an and the others were busy clearing out mutated creatures across the Huaxia continent, Old Li and his group organized an army made up of ability users.
These ability users had been living well in the homeland, eating well and resting well. Both their physical conditions and mental states had drastically improved.
After more than half a month of training and coordination, Old Li and Old Mo led the team and marched straight toward Flame Dragon Fortress.
Of course, Old Li had never planned on a head-on confrontation.
After all, according to intelligence from people like Tan Jianping, Flame Dragon Fortress had a total population close to two million, and the number of escapees so far didn’t even amount to a fraction of that.
They were heavily outnumbered, so they had to rely on strategy.
With a surprise attack, they quickly seized the outer regions of Flame Dragon Fortress—specifically the areas once occupied by gangs.
Now that all gang members had become followers, coming here was like returning home. The process was far smoother than Old Li had expected.
After securing the area, Old Li successfully constructed Store No. 50. Because he had already gotten approval from “Silverlight,” he was granted all necessary permissions.
He activated the protective barrier, raised the store’s visibility, and successfully unlocked three 24/7 service functions.
He then sent people to start running the store while dispatching a construction team to build roads connecting Store No. 50 to the Flame Dragon Homeland.
Originally, since the location was far and the number of defectors wasn’t yet significant, Flame Dragon Fortress hadn’t planned to send troops. But once the enemy marched right up to their doorstep and set up shop, the situation changed entirely.
Flame Dragon Fortress decided to teach them a lesson.
However, under the “protection of the God of Commerce,” they couldn’t even get close. All they could do was rage in helpless frustration…
And as more residents personally witnessed how the Church of Commerce transformed barren lands into green oases, an increasing number began choosing to leave.
Just stepping into the Church’s domain, they could instantly feel the temperature difference and the quality of the air.
And once they arrived at the base of the Flame Dragon Homeland, they realized the Church’s territory was much larger than they had imagined.
For many of these people who had never left Flame Dragon Fortress before, the well-developed public transport allowed them to explore the homeland and seek out new lives.
The Church of Commerce didn’t restrict population movement. As long as you followed its doctrines and held gratitude toward the church, you could do whatever you wanted in the homeland.
Safety, freedom, happiness— a life they had never even dared to dream of before!
Interestingly, migrants from Purple Sky Fortress mostly moved inland, while people from Flame Dragon Fortress, upon reaching the coastline, refused to leave.
They had never seen so much water before!
To be able to wash and bathe freely every day—without feeling the least bit wasteful—was a marvel to them!
Of course, since most of them couldn’t swim, they could only do basic jobs along the shore. They’d have to learn to swim before they could dream of venturing into the sea.
Meanwhile, the construction teams from Desolate City Homeland never stopped. They continued heading north, preparing to extend the road all the way to Qingmu Fortress and Ice Flame Fortress.
Along the way, they also came across several small settlements, which were gradually integrated into the homeland as well.
Qingmu Fortress itself had already stabilized long ago.
The mountains that had once served as a refugee camp had not been abandoned. People built homes there and settled in. The population had already surpassed 300,000.
As for Qingmu Fortress itself, apart from the area where Hongli and Chi Hao had built their store and activated a protective barrier, the rest of the fortress hadn’t yet been reclaimed.
At first, they did have some clashes with the fortress’s forces. Fortunately, thanks to the videos given to them by the Divine Envoys, public opinion sided with the Church of Commerce.
But it didn’t take long before everything spiraled downward again.
Because… the rift above Qingmu Fortress expanded once more—and this time, not only were there giant insects, but even larger beasts started pouring through.
Still recovering from earlier devastation, Qingmu Fortress was thrown into chaos again.
Luckily, this time, under the protection of the Church of Commerce, most people survived safely—and as a result, became devoted followers of the God of Commerce.
Once everything had finally settled down, Hongli decided to return to Jufeng Mountain for a visit.
“You’re going back to Jufeng Mountain? That’ll take two months at least!” Chi Hao exclaimed.
Hongli looked at him like he was an idiot. “We can use the teleportation portal.”
“What? Since when did Qingmu Grocery Store have a teleportation portal? Why didn’t I know?!”
