Chapter 47
“Haha… you little toy think you can scare me?”
Chi Hao stared at the teddy bear, talking tough, but his feet had already started moving toward the door. Soon, he was practically sprinting out, leaving the broom behind.
Once he stepped out of the storage room, he ran into Yuan Bao, his supervisor.
“Woof woof!”
Yuan Bao did not look pleased with his work performance.
Chi Hao, who normally felt annoyed by Yuan Bao, now looked at the little dog with relief, as if seeing a family member.
After a moment, he asked with a haunted look, “Yuan Bao, my lord, tell me honestly… that bear in the storage room—is it some kind of mutant creature?”
In response, Yuan Bao gave him a look full of disdain.
*
Tang Yu’an had no idea what was happening at the grocery store, not even imagining that Chi Hao would be cleaning the storage room this late at night.
He had already started the Lucky Wheel, eagerly watching the pointer slow down.
What would he draw this time?
He’d already drawn the Sadness Marble yesterday, so hopefully today wouldn’t bring another random item?
Maybe a new skill?
If not a skill or item, then maybe something he could exchange? Like the fuel prize he’d drawn last time, that had been useful.
As Tang Yu’an mentally chanted his hopes, he watched the pointer stop at a tiny wedge, and then the system message popped up—
[Congratulations! You’ve received the special item “Thousand Faces Cloak.”]
[Please select delivery location…]
0.0
Tang Yu’an read the system message carefully, and realizing he had indeed drawn a special item, he nearly cheered out loud.
Brother Qi was right: single spins can bring miracles!
So, this “Thousand Faces Cloak”… what could it do?
Tang Yu’an selected the delivery, then opened the item’s details.
[Thousand Faces Cloak]
[Description: The proudest work of the Master of Transformations. With it, you can become anyone you wish to be on stage.]
[Limit: Use once daily, effect lasts 60 minutes.]
[Remaining uses today: 1]
Tang Yu’an studied the item description carefully. Become anyone he wished to be?
Did that mean he could look like someone else?
His eyes lit up.
Wow, wouldn’t that be the ultimate disguise? For example, if he became as sturdy as Uncle Tie Jin, then no one would dare mess with him!
But he noticed the limitations on its use, which felt a bit disappointing.
Only once per day, and for only 60 minutes? That felt short, and he also noticed the phrase “on stage.”
Did it only work when he was performing?
Tang Yu’an put on the cloak and tried to picture who he wanted to become.
As he thought, nothing much happened.
His expression drooped immediately—what a letdown…
“An An, time for some pork,” Zhou Qi called from outside the tent.
“Coming!”
Tang Yu’an replied cheerfully, quickly putting the cloak away and tucking the little orange cat back into its cozy spot before opening the tent flap and stepping out.
Zhou Qi had already removed the tin-foil-wrapped pork ribs from the fire.
It was his first time trying this method to cook pork, and while he wasn’t sure how it’d taste, the marinated meat would definitely be better than just grilling it directly.
When he unwrapped the foil, a savory aroma with a hint of spice filled the air.
Since Tang Yu’an couldn’t handle much spice, Zhou Qi hadn’t used too much chili sauce, but it was still enough to make their mouths water.
Tang Yu’an and Old Li couldn’t help but swallow.
This smelled amazing!
The sauce alone would make them want to eat several bowls of rice!
Zhou Qi cut the pork into pieces and handed them each a bowl.
“Give it a taste.”
Worried that wild boar might taste gamey, he had used heavier seasoning.
Tang Yu’an took a small bite, but the spice hit him immediately, making him gasp and look for water. Once he’d calmed the heat, he ate it with a white bun.
Old Li, who loved spicy food, couldn’t stop himself from eating more.
It had been so many years since he’d enjoyed such a flavorful, spicy dish! On a cold night, eating something spicy warmed the whole body.
Though the pork hadn’t marinated long enough to absorb all the flavors, Old Li had chosen the tenderest cut.
Cooked this way, the meat was still juicy, with the seasonings masking any gamey taste, making it impossible to stop eating.
With the pork’s success, Zhou Qi was quite pleased.
The three sat by the fire, savoring the delicious meal, and afterward, Old Li began teaching the two boys how to use the crossbow.
Installing and firing the crossbow were simple; accuracy was the challenge.
Old Li could shoot moving prey while on the move, and although he wasn’t always spot-on, his accuracy was still high.
Tang Yu’an gave it a try, and perhaps thanks to his love of slingshots, his aim was pretty decent.
“You’ve got potential.” Old Li patted his head with satisfaction. “With practice, you’ll get even better.”
“Mm!” Tang Yu’an nodded happily.
Zhou Qi tried the crossbow but found it less flexible than throwing knives, which he could wield with more speed and strength due to his abilities.
Soon, training was over, and Tang Yu’an and Zhou Qi slipped into their tent to sleep. Bathing outdoors was out of the question, but with Lin Zhen’s insect repellent, they could sprinkle it around the tent to keep bugs away.
Old Li volunteered to keep watch. However, Zhou Qi planned to wake up halfway through the night to share the duty, knowing that Tang Yu’an likely wouldn’t wake easily.
*
The night deepened, and the chorus of insects grew louder. Old Li, who had been alert initially, started to feel the weight of drowsiness.
As the campfire began to burn low, a faint, drifting smoke seeped into the camp, carried by the night breeze. Old Li, holding his crossbow and adding firewood, suddenly slumped to the side, unconscious.
Inside the tent, Zhou Qi, already a light sleeper, woke up with a start. Covering his nose and mouth, he reached over to shake Tang Yu’an, but the boy slept deeply, unresponsive.
Then he heard unfamiliar footsteps outside.
“Heh, I told you they’d camp at the foot of the mountain on their way to the town,” a familiar voice sneered. It was the short man they’d met earlier in the afternoon.
“Three plump fish,” the man muttered, walking over to Old Li, who lay motionless on the ground. He kicked the crossbow aside and took the old man’s knife, tucking it into his own belt.
“Hmph, old geezer, now you’re at my mercy,” he said, kicking Old Li once more. Seeing no reaction, he squatted down to rummage through the old man’s belongings.
Meanwhile, his partner moved towards the tent where Tang Yu’an and Zhou Qi lay.
But as the short man focused on looting, Old Li, supposedly drugged and unconscious, opened his eyes. Without hesitation, he pulled out a metal arrowhead hidden in his sleeve and thrust it at the man’s neck.
Catching sight of the shadow in the firelight, the short man dodged just in time to avoid a lethal blow, though a deep gash opened across his shoulder and back.
“Old bastard!” he spat, kicking Old Li over again.
Though the drug hadn’t completely taken effect on Old Li, its fumes still lingered in the air, and the struggle had him breathing them in, making him dizzy. But he refused to give up, grabbing a burning stick from the fire and swinging it toward the short man’s legs.
The man stumbled back, tripping and dropping his knife.
Seizing the opportunity, Old Li pounced, pinning him down and aiming the knife at his heart. The man managed to grab his wrist in time, but he was younger and less experienced, no match for Old Li’s years of hard-won survival skills.
Fear crept into the man’s eyes, and he shouted, “You idiot, aren’t you going to help?!”
“You can’t handle one old man…?” the tall man muttered, but he rushed over anyway, hefting a large rock to slam down on Old Li’s head.
If the stone hit, Old Li wouldn’t just lose the fight—he’d be gravely injured, maybe killed.
But just as the rock was about to crash down—
Whoosh! A knife flew out from the tent.
The tall man, sensing it, tilted his head to dodge, then turned toward the tent, grinning at the figure of the boy who had thrown it.
He raised the stone to strike again when—
Thud!
The knife, which seemed to have missed, made a sudden turn mid-air and came back, burying itself in the tall man’s heart.
Blood trickled from his lips as he stared in disbelief at the wound in his chest. His hands slackened, and the rock fell harmlessly to the side, missing Old Li entirely.
The rock instead struck the short man, who let out a pained gasp, already critically wounded by Old Li’s knife. The weight of the stone caused him to vomit blood.
As the tall man fell, a second turn of the knife slashed his throat, and he collapsed.
The intense skirmish was over.
Old Li, his strength spent, rolled to the side, succumbing to unconsciousness as the drug finally took hold.
Zhou Qi stared, stunned by the scene outside the tent. He knew he’d thrown the knife, but the precision in the final moments…
He turned stiffly, his gaze landing on the small orange cat that had been curled up next to Tang Yu’an, now sitting outside, casually licking its paw.
Sensing his gaze, the cat stopped, turned its head, and looked at him.
Its cold, golden eyes held an inscrutable look, perhaps a hint of disdain.
Or maybe that wasn’t his imagination.
The cat ignored him, trotting back into the tent as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened.
Zhou Qi: “…”
With the cat’s return, Zhou Qi’s attention shifted back to Tang Yu’an, who was still fast asleep.
Originally worried, Zhou Qi relaxed slightly as the little orange cat curled up beside him, seemingly unbothered and continuing to sleep soundly. With a quick glance around, Zhou Qi refocused on the scene outside.
The two nighttime attackers lay sprawled on the ground, and though the shorter one was badly injured, he was still faintly twitching, clinging to life.
Zhou Qi looked down at his own hand. His right hand, which had thrown the knife, was trembling uncontrollably. This was his first experience witnessing and participating in a human fight to the death, and it left a profound impact on him.
But beneath that, he sensed an eerie, bloodthirsty thrill—a feeling that was not his own. It came from the entity within him. However, it was noticeably weaker than what he’d felt during the confrontation with Chi Hao, perhaps due to either his growing control or the entity’s diminished interest in non-empowered foes.
Zhou Qi clenched his jaw, suppressing the panic within, and rushed to Old Li’s side, checking his breathing.
Fortunately, Old Li was still alive. Zhou Qi examined his injuries carefully. While Old Li was covered in blood, most of it wasn’t his own. Only his chest and abdomen bore severe bruises from being kicked, and Zhou Qi couldn’t be certain if any bones were broken.
“Grandpa Li… Grandpa Li…” Zhou Qi whispered, gently trying to wake him. In response, Old Li let out a faint groan but remained unconscious. Zhou Qi lifted him and carried him into the tent, applying medicinal alcohol to the bruises.
Once Old Li’s breathing steadied, Zhou Qi exhaled in relief, cleaning up Old Li’s scraped face and hands before leaving the tent.
Zhou Qi ignored the two assailants, quickening his pace as he passed by them. Back at his own tent, he checked on Tang Yu’an, still fast asleep and blissfully unaware of the night’s events.
Zhou Qi watched him in silence, a swirl of emotions tightening his chest, hands clenching into fists.
He reminded himself that this had been self-defense, violence necessary to protect themselves. The two men had deserved their fate. There was no reason the entity within should use this incident to tamper with his resolve.
Gradually, Zhou Qi steadied his breathing, covering Tang Yu’an with the blanket before stepping out of the tent again.
He added more firewood to the campfire, watching the flames rise before picking up a long stick and heading back to the attackers. The tall one was already dead from the wound inflicted by Black Pearl’s deft control of the knife. The shorter one was gravely wounded but stubbornly clinging to life.
“Weren’t you headed to the Wasteland? Why did you come back?” Zhou Qi asked quietly.
The man glared at him, clearly resentful. He had originally left, but his greed grew the further he went. Despite Tang Yu’an and Zhou Qi’s attempts to disguise themselves, he had noticed enough details to be convinced they carried valuable items. So he’d turned back.
In his mind, the man thought he had the upper hand with his custom-made sleeping gas, which had incapacitated many, even ability users. An elderly man and a child would be no match—or so he thought.
But things had not gone as planned; not only had the old man resisted, but the child turned out to be a metal wielder.
“Is that gas dangerous to the body?” Zhou Qi asked. He could smell the distinctive scent—it hadn’t affected him, but both Old Li and Tang Yu’an were impacted.
The man sneered, unwilling to cooperate. “Tell me the truth,” Zhou Qi pressed, “and I might spare your life.”
The man hesitated, staring at Zhou Qi suspiciously. Eventually, resigned to his fate, he managed to rasp, “It’ll… wear off after some sleep…”
Zhou Qi sighed. “You know, if you’d given me the correct answer, I would’ve spared you.”
The man froze. How did he know I was lying?
Not understanding, he could only stare as Zhou Qi continued, “Let me ask in a different way. If staying silent means the gas is fatal, I might let you live.”
Still baffled, the man said nothing. He genuinely didn’t know how to respond, which Zhou Qi took as an answer. “Spare your life, then,” Zhou Qi said simply.
The man’s eyes widened, realizing that Zhou Qi might be serious, though he had his doubts.
But for Zhou Qi, the system notification was enough:
[You have completed a profitable loss transaction with a new customer. Employee experience +0]
Finally seeing the system prompt, Zhou Qi breathed a sigh of relief.
Silence confirmed that the drug was deadly.
When the shorter man fell silent, the system registered the trade as successful after Zhou Qi’s final prompt. This realization sent a chill down his spine. If he hadn’t questioned this man, both An An and Grandpa Li could have died in their sleep. The thought left Zhou Qi breaking into a cold sweat.
He knew he still had two more chances to verify the antidote’s authenticity; after that, any further transactions would no longer be tracked by the system.
Zhou Qi searched the man’s belongings, knowing that people like him would usually keep important items close. Soon, he found two glass bottles. Both held different colored powders. Zhou Qi, confident in his immunity to the drug, cautiously sniffed each and identified the one containing the sedative.
The fact that these men used the drug without concern suggested they must have taken an antidote beforehand. Could the other bottle contain it?
Turning to the man, Zhou Qi spoke carefully, “If you give me the antidote to this sedative, I’ll spare your life.” He held up the second bottle.
The man looked at him in disbelief, then tried weakly to snatch it back, but he had no strength left.
“No… give it back!” he protested.
While the system didn’t register a prompt, Zhou Qi deduced that the man’s reaction had given him the answer. To be certain, he knocked the man unconscious, repeating his question one last time, adding, “Silence will be taken as agreement.”
[You have completed a profitable trade with a repeat customer. Employee experience +1]
Relieved, Zhou Qi didn’t waste any more time. He quickly took the antidote powder and rushed back to An An.
Inside the tent, Tang Yu’an, who had been unresponsive until now, finally stirred after Zhou Qi administered the antidote.
“An An, wake up!” Zhou Qi called, gently shaking him.
Tang Yu’an blinked open his eyes, glancing at Zhou Qi and then at the system message hovering nearby with a look of confusion.
“Did you find a new customer so early, Brother Qi…?” he mumbled sleepily, his words trailing off as Zhou Qi suddenly pulled him into a tight embrace.
An An was caught off guard, sensing Zhou Qi’s intense emotions. Though he was puzzled, he patted Zhou Qi’s back gently, trying to offer comfort.
But soon, his movements stopped, and his eyes widened. Looking over Zhou Qi’s shoulder, he caught sight of the camp outside.
So much blood… and a strong, metallic smell…
“Brother Qi, what happened? Are you hurt?” Tang Yu’an asked anxiously.
Zhou Qi, still processing the recent terror, paused. Reluctant to let An An face the grim reality, he had wanted to shield him from it, to keep him happy and carefree.
But… this was the apocalypse.
Tonight’s danger had starkly reminded Zhou Qi of how threatening this world could be, making him doubt if he could truly protect An An forever. What if, one day, they were separated, or something happened to him? An An needed to know how to protect himself…
Finally, Zhou Qi chose not to hide the truth. “Let me give Grandpa Li the antidote first, and then I’ll explain everything.”
Tang Yu’an nodded, still filled with questions but refraining from asking further. He dressed quickly, scooped the orange cat into his pocket, and followed Zhou Qi out of the tent.
Signs of a struggle were visible in the camp. Following the trail of blood, Tang Yu’an soon saw two bodies lying motionless on the ground.
He recognized them at once—they were the same men from earlier that afternoon, the ones who had pushed them out of the shelter.
Seeing them sprawled lifelessly, Tang Yu’an’s heart raced. Although he had a strong suspicion of what had happened, he felt no fear, only a growing concern for Grandpa Li.
Please let Grandpa Li be safe!
