Chapter 336
Following the directions from a passerby, Chi Hao arrived at the Homeland bus station and boarded Bus Line 6.
This was the last bus of the day.
Back then, traveling from Desolate City to Lanhu Town took him several days. But now, with the long-distance bus, it only took 12 hours—he would arrive at Lanhu Town by 7 a.m. the next morning.
The buses in Desolate City were far more advanced than the outdated ones in Qingmu Fortress. Not only were they clean and tidy, but they also came with many modern features.
Even though he came from the wealthiest fortress in the wastelands, arriving in Desolate City made Chi Hao feel like a country bumpkin stepping into a global metropolis—everything seemed novel and fascinating.
The bus slowly left the Homeland and got onto the road toward Mount Jufeng.
The highway was wide enough for two buses to drive side by side, with sidewalks on both sides. Every so often along the sidewalk stood a small sapling.
The saplings had blue leaves—somewhat resembling Lanhu trees.
Although it was already past 7 in the evening, the sky hadn’t fully darkened yet, so through the protective barrier, one could still see the land outside submerged in floodwaters.
Chi Hao even saw huge shadows swimming in the water.
No matter how many times he saw it, the sight never ceased to amaze him—the world beyond the barrier was the wasteland he used to know so well.
“Chi Hao? Is that really you?”
A woman’s voice came from behind him.
Chi Hao blinked and turned around, carefully studying the woman standing in the aisle. It took him a moment to recognize her. “Gu Xue? What are you doing here?”
Gu Xue was also an ability user trained by Qingmu Fortress—they had once completed missions together.
“Haha, it’s a long story.”
After Chi Hao had reported the situation at the center of Desolate City, Qingmu Fortress sent Li Feng and others to investigate the space rift and attempt to foster local influence.
Gu Xue was part of the six-person team—and a relative of the late Gu Zhenfei.
“Our mission in Desolate City went horribly,” Gu Xue said. “Later, Qingmu Fortress sent in a large force, but it didn’t help much.” By that time, Desolate City, Mount Jufeng, and Linhai had already formed a linked protective barrier that they couldn’t penetrate.
Though Li Feng and the others had discovered a way to damage the fence from a distance, the roads had been designed with special considerations—damaging one or two segments wouldn’t affect the rest of the barrier.
That act, however, undoubtedly provoked the wrath of Desolate City.
While Desolate City didn’t have many high-level ability users, it had plenty of guardian beasts—each one very powerful.
At this point, Chi Hao’s expression turned odd.
“Was there… a four-eyed dog named Yuanbao, by any chance?” He looked as if he was recalling some painful memory.
Gu Xue replied, “There was a four-eyed dog, though I’m not sure if it was called Yuan Bao.”
Chi Hao nodded knowingly.
“We paid a heavy price,” Gu Xue added.
“So what happened to you?”
“I escaped,” Gu Xue said. “Gu Zhenfei died—if I went back to Qingmu Fortress, there was no way I could explain things to the Gu family, so I figured I might as well join Desolate City.”
She had wanted to defect earlier when Desolate City started poaching people. But since she wasn’t sure if they would accept someone from Qingmu Fortress, she hadn’t dared to leave.
Later, when death seemed inevitable either way, there was no more reason to hesitate.
“I never thought Desolate City would really treat us equally and accept us,” Gu Xue said with a smile.
“Us?” Chi Hao raised a brow. “There were others besides you?”
“Yes, a few others.”
Many of the ability users sent on such missions were orphans raised by the fortress, like Chi Hao and Hong Li. Some were brainwashed into loyal tools—but not all.
Gu Xue never had any real sense of belonging to Qingmu Fortress. Submitting to Desolate City was a matter of survival. But to her surprise, Desolate City never demanded loyalty.
As long as she followed the rules, she could live there—compared to the high-pressure life in the fortress, this was a paradise.
“I don’t want to leave this place ever again,” Gu Xue said. “I just hope the Church of Commerce lasts forever… Oh right, what about you? Your sister defected too, so you…”
Chi Hao nodded and began telling her about the current state of Qingmu Fortress.
“The fortress is gone?” It was the first Gu Xue had heard of it. Her expression turned dazed.
“If you want to go back, you might be able to apply through Elder Li in Desolate City,” Chi Hao suggested, recalling Lin Zhen’s application to visit the alien world. He figured if people could go to another world, then going to Qingmu Fortress shouldn’t be a problem.
“I’ll think about it.”
When they reached the base of Mount Jufeng, Gu Xue got off the bus.
Chi Hao looked out the window and noticed a newly built street at the base of the mountain. Houses lined both sides, and even in the early morning light, it was easy to imagine how lively the place must be during the day.
Soon, the bus set off again.
As they left Mount Jufeng, the road grew more desolate. Night deepened. Feeling a little bored, Chi Hao closed his eyes to rest.
Before he knew it, he had fallen asleep.
When the sunlight streamed through the windows and woke him up, he startled, worried at first that he had let his guard down—but then he relaxed.
There were still seven or eight passengers on board. Everyone was sitting properly in their seats, peacefully asleep, not worried in the slightest about their safety or possessions.
Chi Hao knew the enforced overnight rules, but still—this scene moved him deeply.
So much could change in just a year…
At exactly 7:00 a.m., the bus arrived at Lanhu Station.
Chi Hao got off, and when he noticed the sign listing the next stop as “Red Bee Station,” he couldn’t help but feel emotional again.
Lanhu Town and Red Bee Town used to be enemies. Back when he had first arrived at Lanhu Town, they almost mistook him for a spy just because his name contained the word “Chi” (which sounds like “Red”).
And now the two towns were connected by public transit!
As Chi Hao walked toward Lanhu Town, he noticed that the guards who once patrolled outside the Lanhu Forest were gone.
Inside the forest, he saw a small wooden cabin, with two Lanhu people sitting out front. When they saw him, they waved.
“First time in Lanhu Town? Come register.”
Chi Hao walked over.
Just like in Desolate City, he registered and paid a fee, receiving an overnight stay card. Once the points on the card were used up, he’d have to renew it—otherwise, he’d be expelled from Lanhu Town.
Of course, he wouldn’t be thrown outside the barrier, since the road the bus traveled on belonged to Desolate City.
“So I can go in now?”
“Go right ahead.”
Chi Hao took a deep breath, feeling a mix of nervousness, uncertainty—and excitement.
Just as he turned to enter Lanhu Forest, the two seated Lanhu guards suddenly stood up.
“Lord!”
Chi Hao froze, then turned to look behind him.
Beneath the beautiful, dreamlike Lanhu tree not far away, a slender figure had silently appeared.
The man stood in the early morning sunlight, his captivating blue eyes fixed on Chi Hao, lips curling into a soft smile.
Chi Hao couldn’t help but stare in a daze, instinctively moving closer.
The two Lanhu guards hurriedly stepped in to block him, but then their lord spoke:
“Stand down. He is an honored guest of Lanhu Town.”
At that moment, one of the guards finally noticed the pendant on Chi Hao’s chest—wasn’t that a crystallized gemstone from the Lanhu tree?
Anyone who possessed this gem could ask for Lanhu Town’s full support once. It meant the red-haired young man in front of them was a great benefactor—Lanhu Town owed him a huge favor!
The guards’ attitudes immediately shifted to respectful.
Chi Hao also snapped out of his daze. He cleared his throat lightly, straightened his posture, and walked over to Lan Yunqing.
“You came from Desolate City?” Lan Yunqing asked. “Why didn’t you tell me? I could’ve granted you teleportation access.”
Chi Hao scratched his head a little awkwardly. “I wanted to surprise you.”
Then he took out a paper packet from his portable storage. “Want some? I brought roasted chestnuts from Desolate City.”
Thanks to the portable storage, they were still warm.
Lan Yunqing looked at him and smiled gently.
He shook his head and said, “Come on, I’ll take you on a walk around Lanhu Town.”
“You really don’t want any? I carried these all the way for you!”
“They need to be shelled.”
“Alright then, I’ll shell them for you.”
The two guards watched as the pair walked off, and for a moment, they seemed to see their lord lean slightly forward and take a chestnut directly from the red-haired young man’s hand…
By the time they tried to get a better look, the two figures had already vanished into the Lanhu forest.
*
After receiving Elder Li’s approval, Lin Zhen and Lan Lin finally stepped onto the teleportation array and arrived in the China world.
Aside from Granny Guo and Kang Kang, they were the second group of off-worlders to come study in China. The government placed great importance on them, assigning personnel to guide and arrange everything.
Though Tang Yu’an and Zhou Qi were busy eradicating aberrants, they still made time to come see them.
However, Lin Zhen wasn’t in the mood for reunion—she had already plunged headfirst into a sea of knowledge, completely immersed.
Lan Lin, who was more interested in aberrants, joined the military in the disaster zones. His powerful abilities impressed the Chinese people.
Time passed, slow yet swift.
Before they knew it, over half a year had passed in China. With the help of several divine envoys and divine beasts from the Peace Trading Company, the aberrants on China soil were finally eradicated.
The protective barrier at the national border was pushed outward again to its original boundary.
The lands China lost during the apocalypse were finally reclaimed!
During these six months, Tang Yu’an and Zhou Qi had been traveling all over the country and could finally take a break—a well-earned vacation.
“Haven’t been to the Wasteland in a while! Time should’ve moved forward a year and a half or two by now, right?” Tang Yu’an said.
“More than that.”
Tang Xueyun, who handled the message bottle trades while they were away, shook her head and said, “It’s been almost five years over there.”
Tang Yu’an was stunned. “Huh? That fast? Has world fusion sped up again?”
From a time ratio of 1:1 to 1:3, and now to 1:10—soon, it might reach 1:30.
The thought made Tang Yu’an restless.
He quickly pulled Zhou Qi along, dragging him toward the teleportation array. So much time had passed—surely the Wasteland must’ve changed dramatically!
“I wonder how Grandpa is doing?”
Though they stayed in touch through the message board, the realization that five years had passed since they last visited filled Tang Yu’an with worry and urgency.
Even though they had returned to their original world, the bonds they’d formed weren’t fake.
Tang Yu’an truly saw Elder Li as his grandfather.
And since Grandpa Li was already old back then, these five years might have aged him even more…
Tang Yu’an was full of anxiety. Zhou Qi comforted him, “Grandpa Li is an ability user. His lifespan’s longer than normal people’s. He should be fine.”
“I hope so!”
Once they arrived at Desolate City, Tang Yu’an checked the map and saw Grandpa Li’s marker still in Room 501. He immediately pulled Zhou Qi downstairs to find him.
“Grandpa! We’re back—huh?”
As they pushed open the door, Tang Yu’an and Zhou Qi didn’t see the familiar elderly figure they remembered. Sitting behind the desk was a middle-aged man with black hair and sharp black eyes, exuding an aura of dignity and calm authority.
When Li Changken saw them, he too was surprised. He stood up with a smile full of warmth.
With a gentle voice, he said, “Xiao An, Xiao Qi—you’re finally back!”
