Chapter 89
Tang Yu’an really didn’t expect that as soon as Yuan Bao and Black Pearl arrived, they would start fighting with Green Gem!
Although he felt touched in his heart, because they were also trying to protect him, he was more worried that they would get hurt.
Fortunately, after he spoke up, the three big ones stopped at the same time.
Seeing this, Tang Yu’an hurriedly explained: “Yuan Bao, Black Pearl, you misunderstood! I’m fine. I summoned you to come eat something.”
The four-eyed giant dog and big black cat turned their heads to look at him, both tilting their heads in confusion.
Tang Yu’an pointed at the female lizard’s corpse, “It’s this. Do you want to eat it? Green Gem has agreed.”
While waiting for Yuan Bao and Black Pearl, he had already asked for Green Gem’s opinion.
Green Gem had no interest in the female lizard’s corpse, and even showed very disgusted emotions.
“Stinky bug! It stinks!”
Tang Yu’an heard its childish voice again, complaining with disgust and anger.
Who knows how many years the swimming pool had been occupied by the giant lizard. Many lizards used to live here, and besides the swimming pool hall, there were lizard droppings and food scraps everywhere else.
Faced with such unhygienic neighbors, the mutant vine had endured for a long time.
Moreover, these lizards were omnivorous. After the female lizard gave birth, those hatched baby lizards would even eat its leaves as food.
Recalling the past, Green Gem became furious.
But it was weaker than the female lizard, and because it was rooted in the ground and unable to move, its survival instinct made it endure silently.
That day when the female lizard was turned into a mouse, it sensed the “neighbor’s” weakness and finally saw hope.
Later, when the female lizard really died, it was finally completely liberated, and the first riot occurred, because it needed to vent its long-standing dissatisfaction and anger.
It really hated these stinky lizards to death, and even absorbing their corpses felt dirty!
Tang Yu’an promptly soothed its emotions and promised to come and perform purification spells every day until the swimming pool was completely clean. Only then did Green Gem become happy again.
So it fully agreed with Tang Yu’an’s handling of the female lizard’s corpse.
Who knew these two four-legged beasts would come and attack it!
A thin vine grew out, angrily grabbing Tang Yu’an’s hand, conveying emotions full of grievance and hurt.
Tang Yu’an quickly comforted it, saying this was all a misunderstanding, “Yuan Bao and Black Pearl were just trying to protect me, they have no ill intentions towards you.”
“Right?” he looked at the four-eyed giant dog and big black cat.
Yuan Bao frowned seriously, Black Pearl swished its long tail and turned its head away haughtily.
The two big babies weren’t cooperating, but Green Gem seemed to accept Tang Yu’an’s explanation. The emotions transmitted through the green vine changed to acceptance and forgiveness.
They were protecting An An!
So awesome!
Seeing that the mutant vine had been appeased, Tang Yu’an breathed a sigh of relief. He then walked over to Yuan Bao and Black Pearl to express his gratitude.
Yuan Bao looked Tang Yu’an up and down, and only after seemingly confirming he was really fine did it nod, its expression remaining serious.
As for Black Pearl…
It looked somewhat impatient, as if regretting its hasty rush to come over.
“Black Pearl, thank you for rushing over to save me. You’re really too good~”
Although it was a misunderstanding, Tang Yu’an still felt very touched in his heart. He forcibly hugged the big black cat, burying his face in its fluffy chest and nuzzling.
Ah, Black Pearl’s fur was so soft!
Although not as fluffy as Yin Bi’s, it felt just as comfortable to touch.
The big tail swishing behind Black Pearl slowly changed from impatient to joyful wagging.
Originally prepared to leave, now it stayed.
When Tang Yu’an let go, Black Pearl elegantly walked towards the giant lizard with cat-like steps.
It was originally somewhat disgusted by the dirty surroundings, but when it got close to the giant lizard, it was surprised to find that this giant lizard was very clean.
Not just the flesh and blood, but even the skin folds felt like they had been scrubbed with a brush, without a speck of dirt.
Black Pearl was very satisfied with this clean and high-energy food. It meowed at Tang Yu’an, then opened its mouth and began to feast.
Tang Yu’an couldn’t help but look at the four-eyed giant dog still crouching in place, asking somewhat puzzled: “Yuan Bao, aren’t you going to eat?”
The four-eyed giant dog lowered its eyes slightly, silently staring at him.
Tang Yu’an persuaded it: “That female lizard should be quite high level. Eating its flesh and blood will be good for you.”
Yuan Bao stared at him, still with a serious face, who knows what it was thinking.
At this time, Zhou Qi, who had been watching the whole process from the side, finally spoke up with some helplessness: “Yuan Bao probably wants you to hug it too.”
Tang Yu’an blinked, “Is that so?”
Yuan Bao, who originally had no expression, couldn’t help but glare at Zhou Qi, then turned its gaze away and was about to walk towards the giant lizard.
However, after getting the hint, Tang Yu’an had already reached out to hug it, happily burying his face in its chest and nuzzling.
“Yuan Bao, you’re so cute!”
Although nothing could be seen from its expression, the big dog’s tail behind it was already wagging wildly.
Zhou Qi: “…”
It’s really amazing that An An can keep them in check!
When Tang Yu’an had nuzzled enough and let go, Yuan Bao quickly ran to the giant lizard, tearing into its flesh with sharp teeth and began to eat.
Yuan Bao and Black Pearl’s bodies were already considered large, but compared to the female lizard, they seemed quite small.
Who knows if Yuan Bao and Black Pearl could win against this female lizard in a head-on battle? Thinking of the female lizard’s terrifying hurricane, Tang Yu’an still felt lingering fear.
“Are you okay?” Zhou Qi asked him.
Tang Yu’an shook his head, “Mm-hmm, I’m fine! Yuan Bao, Black Pearl and Green Gem are all super well-behaved!”
Zhou Qi’s expression froze slightly.
Probably only An An would think so…
However, seeing Tang Yu’an’s pets protect him like this, Zhou Qi felt reassured.
“That’s good then.”
He originally wanted to pat Tang Yu’an’s cheek, but after seeing his own somewhat dirty hands, he pulled back, “Then I’ll continue to reinforce the wall.”
“Okay!”
Tang Yu’an nodded, watching Zhou Qi jump back onto the stands and approach that hole, pressing his hands against the wall.
Because Green Gem’s vines hanging outside the hole had been cut by Black Pearl, more sunlight shone in from outside.
From afar, Tang Yu’an saw that the hole was being repaired at a visible speed – it seems that besides reinforcement spells, Brother Qi had also figured out how to repair buildings.
Brother Qi is really amazing!
If only he could awaken an Ability too…
Tang Yu’an felt a little envious, but only a little, after all, although he didn’t have an Ability, he had system skills.
And three powerful “bodyguards”!
Hehe, how is this not considered his Ability?
Tang Yu’an became happy again, and then he quickly shifted his attention, because –
[Hallucinogenic Running Mushroom]
An eye-catching bubble popped up from the corner of the hall, making it hard for Tang Yu’an not to notice.
It was that kind of mutant fungus that would scream and run away when encountering danger! Who knows if it was the one that had “ambushed” him and Brother Qi before.
Thinking of its powerful hallucinogenic ability, Tang Yu’an didn’t dare to approach rashly.
He hesitated for a moment, then directed Green Gem to grow out green vines, silently approaching and quickly poking that mutant fungus with the vine tip.
Soon…
“Waa! Waa!”
With Green Gem’s vine touch, the hallucinogenic running mushroom that had been quietly staying in the corner suddenly pulled itself out of the sludge, screaming and running away.
Because of the dim light, Tang Yu’an couldn’t even see clearly how it ran.
As it ran, mucus was secreted, spilling all along the way, popping up one identification spell bubble after another.
When that blue mushroom head disappeared around the corner, Tang Yu’an finally cast Lightness Spell on himself one last time, then bounced over.
He took out gloves and bags, carefully collecting the sludge stained with the mutant fungus’s mucus.
The mucus of the hallucinogenic running mushroom was good stuff!
After going back and separating it out, he could get many more drops of mucus.
So happy!
After collecting it, Tang Yu’an once again began to explore the swimming pool, and because Green Gem was protecting him, he became much bolder.
Soon, he discovered another hallucinogenic running mushroom.
Tang Yu’an quickly had Green Gem take action, and finally collected the mucus of the hallucinogenic running mushroom once again.
Feeling like he had struck it rich, Tang Yu’an continued to wander around, and soon discovered a third one, but unfortunately this time after scaring it away, no mucus was secreted.
He couldn’t help but fall into thought.
Was it because this mutant fungus was special, or… from beginning to end, he had actually found the same one, so its mucus had already been fully secreted?
Tang Yu’an felt a bit guilty, so he didn’t continue to bother the mutant running mushroom.
He wandered around the hall, not even sparing the stands, but besides a few palm-sized crawling insects, he didn’t see any other creatures.
But this was also understandable.
With the mutant vine here, other plants had no living space in the swimming pool, and since this was originally a Giant Lizard Nest, naturally there wouldn’t be other larger animals.
However, those crawling insects were still quite scary. Fortunately, Tang Yu’an had applied insect repellent before going out.
Green Gem was also very helpful. Any crawling insects that appeared in front of Tang Yu’an were slapped dead by its vines and then absorbed.
Tang Yu’an slowly wandered to the entrance of the swimming pool.
The main door at the entrance had already been dismantled by the giant lizard. In the areas of the corridor illuminated by light, traces of the giant lizard’s crawling could be seen.
It was pitch black on both sides of the corridor, as if some dangerous creatures were hiding within. Tang Yu’an looked for a while, but finally cautiously withdrew his gaze.
Although no red dots appeared on the map, after encountering the hallucinogenic running mushroom and Green Gem, he already knew that just because something didn’t show up on the map didn’t mean there was no danger.
So it’s better to explore with Brother Qi later. Two people can also look out for each other.
By the time Tang Yu’an returned from exploring, Black Pearl and Yuan Bao had already stopped eating.
Yuan Bao’s body slowly shrank, finally turning back into the form of a four-eyed puppy. It barked once at Tang Yu’an, then wobbled to a clean spot, lay down and closed its eyes.
Huh?
Soon, its breathing became even.
Black Pearl glanced at him, tilted its head in thought for a moment, and also slowly changed to the size of a small orange cat.
But it didn’t just curl up anywhere. Instead, it watched Tang Yu’an approach, then suddenly jumped onto him.
Only after Tang Yu’an caught it did it contentedly curl up in his arms to sleep.
Tang Yu’an stroked the small orange cat’s head, then looked at their status bars on the pet panel.
[Energy digestion in progress… 0%]
It seems the female lizard’s meat was really useful for them!
Tang Yu’an suddenly felt a bit worried. Wang Cai and Yin Bi’s levels were lower. If they suddenly ate such high-energy meat, would it be too much for them?
He could only wait until he got back to check.
Tang Yu’an put Black Pearl and Yuan Bao into his pet inventory.
Meanwhile, Zhou Qi had already repaired the large hole blasted open by the mother lizard to about two-thirds of its original size.
That hole was truly enormous, at least 10 meters wide. If they had been directly hit by the mother lizard’s attack at the time, the two of them definitely would not have survived.
Zhou Qi felt a sense of emptiness in his body, reminding him that his Ability had been completely depleted.
As he encountered more Ability users and different types of crystals, he gradually came to realize that rather than awakening multiple elemental abilities, this was actually the nature of his Ability.
It was like how light can be separated into seven colors, which when combined become white, or perhaps…
It was like a black object.
Able to absorb and devour all colors of light, ultimately manifesting as the attribute of pitch black.
Zhou Qi wasn’t sure which of these analogies better fit his situation. He still had much to explore and comprehend.
Fortunately, although his Ability was depleted, the duration of his lightness technique had not ended. He turned and jumped down from the stands, only to see that Yuan Bao and Black Pearl had disappeared.
“They fell into hibernation after eating their fill, so I put them in my pet inventory,” Tang Yu’an said.
Zhou Qi nodded and looked towards the remains of the mother lizard.
Two-thirds of its flesh had already been devoured, leaving behind a giant skeleton.
Zhou Qi hesitated for a moment, but still carved off the remaining third and had Tang Yu’an store it in his Portable Warehouse to feed their pets later.
As for the remaining skeleton…
“Did the spider legs we listed in the dimensional shop sell?” Zhou Qi asked.
Tang Yu’an shook his head.
“Then let’s leave it here for now.”
Zhou Qi was feeling tired as well. They would leave the skeleton here for now and figure out how to deal with it later. The flesh had already been cleaned off anyway, so even if it decayed further it wouldn’t cause too much of an issue.
“Let’s head back.”
“Okay!”
Tang Yu’an said goodbye to Green Gem, then leapt out of the swimming pool’s large hole with Zhou Qi.
After they left, Green Gem grew vines once again to cover up the hole – it seemed to no longer want any other creatures entering the swimming pool, as if it wanted to seal off all entrances.
So Zhou Qi’s actions in repairing that large hole had earned him a significant boost in Green Gem’s favor.
Time had passed imperceptibly as they stayed in the dim swimming pool. When they came outside, they found the sun already setting in the west.
The orange light fell on the vines covering the walls outside the swimming pool. As a gentle breeze rustled the leaves, there was an inexplicable sense of vibrant life.
Tang Yu’an was in a good mood, using his lightness technique to bounce up and down playfully in the wind.
Compared to the floating technique, the lightness technique was definitely more fun!
As he bounced around, the forest at the center of Desolate City came into view again. Thinking of something, Tang Yu’an checked the mission panel.
[Clear Dangerous Creatures (2)…(5/10)]
He shared the mission with Zhou Qi, then said, “Brother Qi, shall we find time to complete this mission?”
Zhou Qi glanced at the mission rewards – up to 200 Points, which wasn’t very tempting for them now, plus a 30% off card for the wholesale market and a traffic attraction card…
The 4 chances at the lucky wheel were a nice reward though.
He nodded and said, “Let’s see after we finish setting up the branch store.”
The map around there hadn’t been fully explored yet, so they should be able to encounter a few mutant creatures. If the numbers still weren’t enough…
Perhaps they’d have to try venturing towards the center of Desolate City.
Danger also meant opportunity. Perhaps it was the battle with the mother lizard that had raised his threshold, or maybe it was the strengthening of his Ability and physique, but Zhou Qi was no longer as fearful of combat as before.
If the benefits outweighed the risks, it was worth a try.
However, he hadn’t completely lost his head. This was still something to approach gradually.
When they returned to the grocery store, they saw Yin Bi come out to greet them.
To Tang Yu’an and Zhou Qi’s surprise, Wang Cai was following behind, transformed into its “watchdog” form.
Hadn’t it gone to eat the lizard legs in the warehouse? Or had they not noticed?
Tang Yu’an patted both of their heads, then was pulled towards the warehouse by Wang Cai biting his clothes.
When they arrived at the warehouse, Wang Cai ran over to the lizard legs, placed a paw on them, and looked at Tang Yu’an with its tongue lolling out, constantly swallowing saliva.
So it wasn’t that they hadn’t noticed, but were waiting for him to return and ask if they could eat!
Compared to directly licking the dark green spider’s blood before, this was clear progress.
Could it be that after evolving once, its intelligence had increased?
“Woof woof!” Yin Bi was also wagging its tail nearby.
Tang Yu’an couldn’t help but pat its head, then looked at Wang Cai and said, “Alright, you can eat.”
After he nodded in permission, Wang Cai happily barked once before biting into the flesh of the lizard leg and tearing into it vigorously.
Its eager manner suggested it had probably been holding back for a long time.
Yin Bi was no longer as timid as when facing the dark green spider last time. It ran over and also started gnawing on the lizard leg.
Such a large lizard leg was more than enough for them to eat.
Tang Yu’an didn’t disturb them further as they ate. Leaving the warehouse, he went to the kitchen where he saw Zhou Qi taking out the tofu he had made and cutting it into cubes.
The soft tofu that had still been in a flocculent state at noon had now become firm and smooth tofu after being pressed with weights.
“Great, we’ll have tofu to eat tonight!”
“How about mapo tofu?”
“Wow, mapo tofu goes great with rice. I could eat a whole pound!”
Zhou Qi pinched his nose. “Then go rinse the rice and cook it.”
“On it!”
Since the effects of the lightness technique hadn’t worn off yet, Tang Yu’an’s steps were still floating as he walked. However, he had already adapted to this gravity and wouldn’t accidentally jump too high.
After setting the timer on the rice cooker, Tang Yu’an helped out on the side.
Soon, their dinner was ready.
White, fragrant rice drizzled with sauce containing minced meat and tofu, salty and savory with a hint of spiciness – it was absolutely delicious!
Besides that, there was also braised dried tofu with shiitake mushrooms and a refreshing egg drop soup with seaweed. Simple home-cooked dishes, yet Tang Yu’an ate with particular satisfaction.
After dinner, once the dishes were cleaned, Tang Yu’an quickly transferred the photos he had taken for Jin Lili to the computer via data cable while he still remembered, then printed them out.
Then came the most anticipated moment of the day – the lucky draw!
“I wonder what we’ll get today?” Tang Yu’an said excitedly.
“What do you want to get?” Zhou Qi asked.
“A skill or an item?” Tang Yu’an thought for a moment, then asked Zhou Qi, “Brother Qi, what about you? Is there anything you want to get?”
Zhou Qi considered, then said, “We’re almost out of gas at home.”
If they ran out of gas, they’d have to use the induction cooker to cook. Though it would work, he was still more used to cooking with gas, feeling that food cooked on a gas stove tasted better.
“Okay, let’s give it a try then!”
Tang Yu’an rubbed his hands together, then clicked to start the draw.
The pointer on the lucky wheel spun round and round, finally landing on –
[Congratulations! You’ve drawn the basic tech item “Gas Cylinder”. Check the wholesale market in the mall for details.]
“Wow!”
Tang Yu’an exclaimed in delight, “Brother Qi, we really drew gas!”
Zhou Qi was stunned.
“Really?” he asked, hardly daring to believe it.
“Really really!”
Tang Yu’an opened the wholesale market and shared the gas cylinder redemption with Zhou Qi before checking the specific details.
[Gas Cylinder]
[Specifications]
[5kg: 100 Points/cylinder]
[10kg: 150 Points/cylinder]
[15kg: 200 Points/cylinder]
[Note: Recycling gas cylinders can offset 50 Points]
“That’s great!” Tang Yu’an said happily, “We won’t have to worry about running out of gas anymore.”
Zhou Qi’s expression was still a bit dazed.
So, did this count as his luck? Had he gotten lucky for once?
Even as he lay in bed that night, Zhou Qi was still pondering this question.
Meanwhile, Tang Yu’an said, “Xiao Cao is so consistent. She earned me over 60 Experience Points again today.”
He had just leveled up to lv9 this morning, but now his Experience Points were already at lv9 (92/180).
He felt he could level up to lv10 by tomorrow at the latest, which meant the main store could level up again too!
Besides what Xiao Cao had earned, there were also 7-8 points earned by Chi Hao, whose employee level had finally risen to lv1 (1/20).
Considering it was dangerous for him to travel in the wilderness, Tang Yu’an had unlocked the hemostatic powder for him.
They could only hope that after he returned to the Fortress, he would bring them more returns. With the Portable Warehouse to communicate, they could also send him some guidance missions.
“Hehe, time to sleep! We’ll go look at the building tomorrow~”
Just thinking about that 10-story building filled Tang Yu’an with anticipation for the branch store.
He rolled over and snuggled into Zhou Qi’s warm body under the covers.
Zhou Qi finally gave up on his pondering.
It’s impossible for a person to always be unlucky, so he decided to just consider this as getting lucky for once!
Early the next morning, Tang Yu’an eagerly went to fish out another Drift Bottle.
Unfortunately, after just one line of dialogue, the transaction was interrupted again due to the wisher’s unstable dream.
Tang Yu’an tossed the Drift Bottle back into the dream sea and said after some thought, “Brother Qi, let’s wait until evening to fish for bottles tomorrow.”
“There are more people sleeping at night. Not only are there fewer people in the morning, but wishers are also easily woken up.”
Zhou Qi nodded. “Mm, we’ll do as you say then.”
Tang Yu’an chuckled and went downstairs with Zhou Qi.
The grocery store was especially quiet this morning. Tang Yu’an ran to check the warehouse and found that Wang Cai and Yin Bi were still in hibernation after a night had passed.
Looking at Black Pearl and Yuan Bao’s status bars, they were also hibernating, with only 30% of their energy digested. Who knew when they would wake up.
Tang Yu’an put Wang Cai and Yin Bi into his pet inventory as well.
Before heading out today, Zhou Qi dissolved another pot of sea salt and put it on the roof to dry in the sun.
“Brother Qi, it looks like Ba Shi and the others slept in our building last night,” Tang Yu’an said, looking at the map.
“Let’s go run our errands first, then we’ll go check on them.”
“Okay.”
They set off along yesterday’s route again. After telling Granny Guo about the Hoe’s trading conditions, they successfully obtained ten potatoes.
Then they went to Old Li and Lin Zhan’s homes to collect Experience Points and Points, finally arriving at Tie Jin’s house.
Tie Jin seemed to have had another poor night’s sleep, his dark circles looking even heavier.
After handing over the ten potatoes and completing the trade for the Hoe, they heard him say hesitantly, “An’An, Zhou Qi, could you help look after Lili? I may need to leave for a few days.”
Tang Yu’an and Zhou Qi were taken aback.
“Uncle Tie Jin, where are you going?”
“I’m planning to go to Jufeng Town to bring Lili’s mother back.”
