Chapter 96
“An’An! Zhou Qi!”
Seeing Tang Yu’an and Zhou Qi, Lin Zhan’s eyes lit up, and she quickly said, “Zhou Qi, hurry and help me get my meat and egg pancake back!”
Lan Lin looked at the two boys, his dark eyes faintly tinged with blue revealing a hint of interest.
“You two are the kids from Qingmu Fortress?”
Lan Lin sized them up, “You’re so weak, and you dare to wander in the Wasteland?”
Zhou Qi frowned slightly, while Tang Yu’an had already climbed through the window into the room. He glanced at Lin Zhan, who was encased in ice, and said, “Are you sister Lin’s friend? It’s not right to bully people like this.”
“Bully?” Lan Lin shrugged, “Just joking around.”
“Joke? But sister Lin doesn’t find it funny,” Tang Yu’an said seriously.
“Exactly!” Lin Zhan quickly chimed in.
Lan Lin curled his lips slightly, unconcerned, “She’s just too weak.”
Lin Zhan’s eyes widened, her gaze burning with fury.
Before she could shout, the fair and delicate-looking boy tilted his head in thought, then smiled lightly, “Then I’ll play a joke on brother too.”
Lan Lin frowned slightly, secretly on guard as he watched him.
However, his Mental Power circled around the boy and found no sign of Ability; instead, the tall boy behind him was clearly an Ability user, though still quite weak.
Lan Lin relaxed a bit, pulling the corners of his mouth up, “Oh, what joke?”
“A joke that will make you laugh,” the boy said with a smile.
“Well, that’s really…”
Before he could finish the words “interesting,” Lan Lin suddenly felt something fall at his feet, a very light force, causing no pain—
He felt his slightly upturned mouth widen.
Until it transformed into a brilliant smile that didn’t stop, eventually becoming—
“Hahahaha! Hahahahahahaha!!”
Lan Lin couldn’t control his laughter, wanting to stop but unable to, as this loss of control made the indifference in his eyes vanish, replaced by confusion and fear.
In the end, he laughed so hard his stomach hurt, covering it with both hands, yet still unable to stop laughing, tears streaming down his face.
“Lan Lin, what are you doing?”
Lin Zhan looked at him in disbelief, as if she had seen a ghost.
Even the parrot A-Mu stared wide-eyed at Lan Lin, looking at him like he was a fool.
Tang Yu’an walked to the corner and picked up the happy marble.
After the merchant’s level increased to lv10, his range for remote placement had expanded to 8 meters, making the happy marble almost impossible to guard against, and he no longer needed to hide its existence.
Because Brother Qi told him that Ability users possess something called Mental Power, and powerful Ability users can definitely sense when something is attacking them.
Since that’s the case, it’s safer to pick up the happy marble.
Not only can it be used again, but it also avoids harming the innocent.
“Hahaha—ahh hahahahahaha—” Lan Lin laughed heartily, completely losing his composure.
Zhou Qi watched him, feeling a pang of sympathy.
Of course, he didn’t actually sympathize with Lan Lin.
Zhou Qi also climbed into the room, walked over to Lin Zhan, and tapped on the ice block, “Sister Lin Zhan, are you okay?”
Lin Zhan paused for a moment, then shook her head.
Lan Lin had only trapped her with an ice wall, and indeed hadn’t harmed her; what infuriated her was that her meat and egg pancake had been snatched away.
Her delicious meat and egg pancake!
Giving him a quarter would have been fine, but he actually wanted the whole thing!
Thinking of this, Lin Zhan felt a bit angry again, but looking at Lan Lin rolling on the ground laughing, she suddenly deflated.
What’s going on?
She had never seen this annoying guy laugh so shamelessly.
At this moment, Zhou Qi placed his hand on the ice wall.
His palm glowed with a faint blue light, and then the speed at which the ice wall melted noticeably increased.
In about a minute, the thick layer of ice in front of Lin Zhan completely melted, turning into a water mass suspended in his hand.
Lin Zhan exclaimed in surprise, “You’re also a Water Ability user?”
Zhou Qi paused, nodded vaguely, then asked, “Do you have a container for water?”
“Yes, yes!”
Lin Zhan quickly crawled out of the ice wall, leading Zhou Qi to a water tank, watching as he placed the water mass inside, filling the tank to the brim.
Seeing the tank, which had been empty, filled up again, Lin Zhan couldn’t help but laugh, “Hahaha, great! We won’t have to fetch water for the next few days.”
At this moment, Jin Lili, who had been curled up in the backpack, finally cautiously poked her head out.
Then she bumped into Lin Zhan.
Lin Zhan’s eyes widened, “What the, did you guys steal Tie Jin’s daughter?”
Tang Yu’an quickly waved his hands.
“No, no, Uncle Tie Jin went to Jufeng Town for a few days and asked us to take care of Lili. He’ll take her back when he returns.”
“Oh, oh, I see.”
Lin Zhan nodded, unable to resist reaching out to pat Jin Lili’s little head, “You’re so cute! Who tied your little braids?”
“Dad, Daddy…” Jin Lili replied softly.
Lin Zhan was surprised, “Your dad can actually tie your hair?”
It was hard to imagine Tie Jin, with his burly figure, tying his daughter’s hair with a rope.
Jin Lili nodded vigorously, proudly puffing out her chest, “Daddy! Daddy! Tied!”
Seeing her so proud, Tie Jin would probably be overjoyed.
Meanwhile, Zhou Qi kept his head down, looking at Lin Zhan’s water tank. He stared for a while, then finally reached into the water, pulling out a black particle from the bottom.
“Lin Zhan Jie, what is this?” he asked, feigning ignorance.
“Oh, this?” Lin Zhan looked over and said, “I accidentally made it while refining medicine before, and then I found that this thing has a strong ability to absorb impurities, so I put it in the water.”
This thing, when placed in water, would make it much clearer, which was very helpful for drinking or making medicine.
“Do you want it? I can sell it to you at a discount!”
Zhou Qi looked at Lin Zhan, feeling a bit incredulous; this thing was exactly the activated carbon he needed! She actually made it and discovered its properties.
“Sister Lin Zhan, you’re really a genius,” he couldn’t help but say.
Lin Zhan, puzzled, responded with an “ah,” then scratched her head a bit shyly, laughing, “Zhou Qi, when did you become so sweet-tongued?”
“Sister Lin is already very impressive!” Tang Yu’an affirmed from the side.
He truly admired Lin Zhan; just thinking about how she dared to venture into the Giant Lizard Nest alone made him feel she was extraordinary.
Although she hadn’t awakened an Ability, she possessed skills even more powerful than an Ability.
So when he heard Lan Lin say she was weak, he had to step in to teach him a lesson.
At this moment, Lan Lin’s laughter finally stopped.
For him, those ten minutes felt incredibly long; when the “torture” finally ended, he felt as if his soul had left his body—
Clearly, whether ordinary people or powerful Ability users, no one could withstand those “joyful” ten minutes.
As soon as he stopped laughing, he heard Zhou Qi and Tang Yu’an talking.
Lan Lin couldn’t help but snort coldly.
He felt a bit annoyed, and when he looked up again, he saw A Mu still staring at him with a foolish expression, which made Lan Lin stiffen, his face growing colder.
But recalling the bizarre laughter from earlier, he was filled with wariness towards these two boys.
Although he didn’t know how they did it, that state he was in earlier was definitely their doing!
“Yo, why aren’t you laughing anymore?”
Although Lan Lin only snorted lightly, Lin Zhan still heard it. She placed her hands on her hips, looking at him with a hint of mockery.
She knew Tang Yu’an was avenging her, and the effect of this Ability surprised her, but there were so many strange Abilities in the Wasteland that she felt it wasn’t too surprising.
Seeing Lan Lin in a predicament, Lin Zhan couldn’t help but laugh.
Lan Lin glared at her coldly, pulling the corners of his mouth up as he said, “You don’t want ice blocks anymore, do you?”
Lin Zhan stiffened.
Preservation.
Damn, she almost forgot about that.
Although Lan Lin was annoying, his ice-making ability was indeed very useful in hot weather; her uneaten meat and egg pancake relied on his ice blocks.
Just as Lin Zhan gritted her teeth and was about to lower her head, Zhou Qi spoke up, “Sister Lin Zhan, I can trade ice blocks for this black particle.”
Right! Zhou Qi also has Water Ability!
Lin Zhan’s eyes lit up, and she immediately nodded, “How much do you need? I can make as much as you want!”
Lan Lin’s face grew even darker.
He got up from the ground, snorted again, and prepared to leave.
“Hey!”
Seeing him angrily about to leave, Lin Zhan hesitated for a moment but still called out to him.
“What is it?” Lan Lin replied irritably.
Lin Zhan picked up the meat and egg pancake from the ground; since it was wrapped in leaves, it wasn’t too dirty.
“Here, here.” She ran over, grabbed Lan Lin’s hand, and impatiently stuffed the pancake into his hand.
Lan Lin raised his hand high, but ultimately, under Lin Zhan’s fierce gaze, he didn’t throw the pancake on the ground.
“Who cares about your stinky pancake!”
He placed the meat and egg pancake on the table, then threw down a harsh remark and climbed out the window.
“Pah!” Lin Zhan stood by the window and cursed.
Then she walked back with the meat and egg pancake, smiled at Tang Yu’an and Zhou Qi, and then reached out to pat Tang Yu’an’s shoulder.
“Thanks! For helping me out just now.”
Tang Yu’an waved his hand, curiously asking, “Uncle Tie Jin told us before about an Ice Ability User in Desolate City? Is that him?”
“Yeah, his name is Lan Lin,” Lin Zhan nodded.
Although Old Li was also a Water Ability user, he couldn’t freeze water; people like Lan Lin, who had ice abilities, were rare. It was said that only higher-level Water Ability users could comprehend it.
Because of this, Lan Lin’s business in Desolate City was very good, and he gradually became a bit arrogant.
Lin Zhan had known him for about ten years, and they could be considered childhood friends, but as Lan Lin’s Ability grew stronger and she hadn’t awakened, they seemed to drift further apart.
“Eh, forget him!”
Lin Zhan waved her hand, “You guys sit down first; I’ll deal with this ice block.”
Zhou Qi had only melted one side of the ice wall to save her; there were still three sides standing there, and this was ice directly generated by Lan Lin, very clean.
“It’s such a waste to just let it melt away like this!
Seeing Lin Zhan preparing to smash the ice wall with a small hammer, Zhou Qi stopped her, saying, “Let me give it a try.”
He reached out and pressed his hand against the ice wall.
As time passed, Zhou Qi realized that he seemed to no longer need to “steal” techniques from other Ability users; he could comprehend the use of his Ability according to his own ideas.
He concentrated his Ability in his palm, and as he made contact with the ice wall, the entire structure of the ice wall seemed to appear in his mind.
Then, with a slight movement of his thoughts, the whole ice wall transformed with a clang into numerous square ice blocks.
Lin Zhan’s eyes widened, and Tang Yu’an was equally astonished.
Brother Qi is amazing!
Jin Lili looked at Tang Yu’an, then at Lin Zhan, mimicking their wide-eyed expressions, her little mouth slightly agape, revealing a look of wonder.
“Awesome! Really awesome!”
A-Mu shook the feathers on its head and exclaimed loudly.
Next, with a crashing sound, the shattered ice blocks fell to the ground, rolling everywhere.
Just as Lin Zhan bent down to pick them up, Zhou Qi reached out again, and some of the ice blocks flew up from the ground, landing themselves into the wooden box Lin Zhan had brought to store the ice.
Lin Zhan was momentarily stunned, once again amazed by Zhou Qi’s Ability.
However, she didn’t completely rely on Zhou Qi; she quickly bent down to gather the ice blocks into the wooden box, and Tang Yu’an came over to help.
In the backpack, Jin Lili stretched out her little hand to try and pick some up, but she simply couldn’t reach.
After all the ice walls were cut, Lin Zhan gathered every container she could find at home to store the ice. Although she couldn’t prevent the ice blocks from melting, the water that resulted from the melting was still incredibly useful!
Lin Zhan looked at the ice blocks with delight, feeling that Lan Lin was not so annoying anymore.
“Do you want to eat meat and egg pancakes?” Lin Zhan took one out from her thermos, “I’ll heat it up; it’ll taste even better!”
Tang Yu’an quickly waved her hands, “Sister Lin, we’ve already eaten and are quite full, so don’t bother.”
“Well, okay then.”
Seeing his firm attitude, Lin Zhan could only nod in agreement.
Zhou Qi then asked her about the activated carbon, “Can you tell me how to make it? In exchange, I can teach you how to make a water purifier.”
Since Lin Zhan could produce activated carbon, he would naturally come to trade with her in the future.
However, if he didn’t clarify this issue, he might be thinking about it all night, so it was better to ask clearly.
When Lin Zhan heard the first half of Zhou Qi’s sentence, she hesitated and resisted; after all, knowledge was a precious asset, a truth already validated in the Wasteland.
She had a strong possessiveness over the knowledge she had researched and explored.
However, the second half of Zhou Qi’s sentence made her eyes light up—how to make a water purifier? What was that?
“Water purifier?” Lin Zhan showed an interested expression.
“Yeah.”
Zhou Qi took out the simple water purifier he made yesterday and demonstrated it to Lin Zhan just like he had shown Granny Guo.
“Wow! This method is great! Why didn’t I think of it before?”
Since the water purifier was made from a transparent plastic bottle, Lin Zhan could see the internal structure clearly; she almost understood the principle of this water purifier with just a little thought.
Filtration!
The stones and sand acted to filter out impurities, and the gaps between them would trap larger particles of impurities, allowing the remaining water to seep into the next layer.
“Is this layer of black stuff different from what I made?” Lin Zhan asked.
Zhou Qi shook his head, “This is just crushed charcoal; its effect on adsorbing impurities is quite average.”
“So that’s how it is!”
Lin Zhan realized, “You can add wood ash and then try roasting it with fire.”
“Thank you!” Zhou Qi said sincerely.
So it turns out that the activator that could replace lemon juice or calcium chloride was wood ash.
Though it sounded simple, finding it required many experiments and a bit of luck; being able to obtain it directly undoubtedly saved a lot of effort and energy.
Zhou Qi continued, “I can make you a larger version of the water purifier. Do you have any activated carbon here?”
So this black particle is called activated carbon, huh? Lin Zhan nodded, “Yes, I do.”
“Then let’s use activated carbon to make it.”
Zhou Qi left to find clay to make a pottery jar, while Tang Yu’an and Jin Lili stayed behind for the time being.
Jin Lili was still watching the ice blocks.
When Tang Yu’an looked at her, she raised her little hand and waved, mimicking the sound of ice blocks falling: “Splash~ Splash splash~”
Tang Yu’an was charmed by her cuteness.
“Splash! Splash splash!” A-Mu the parrot also joined in the mimicry.
Jin Lili couldn’t help but look at it, filled with wonder at this little animal she had never seen before that could talk.
She pointed at the parrot and pulled Tang Yu’an to look.
“This is A-Mu,” Tang Yu’an introduced.
“Mu…” Jin Lili mimicked its pronunciation, her little face breaking into a cute smile.
Perhaps it was because they had spent more time together, but Tang Yu’an felt that Jin Lili seemed to have become a bit more lively.
He chatted with the little girl for a while, then looked at A-Mu, who had been staying in the chicken coop.
“Sister Lin, how’s A-Mu’s egg hatching going?” Watching the parrot diligently incubating the eggs every day, its feathers looking less vibrant than before, Tang Yu’an couldn’t help but feel a bit guilty.
“Probably about to hatch,” Lin Zhan said, “Lan Lin said those three eggs still have vitality; none of them are dead eggs.”
Today, Lan Lin came to trade for deworming medicine, and she had him freeze a block of ice, also letting him use his special Ability to check, confirming that all three eggs were in a healthy state.
Calculating the time, it felt like it should be about right.
“That’s great!” Tang Yu’an said happily.
As long as they hatch the chicks, that would be the first successful step; once the chicks grew up, they could get a lot of eggs.
It’s not like all three eggs would hatch into roosters, right?
Soon, Zhou Qi returned carrying a pottery jar from outside and demonstrated to Lin Zhan how to make the water purifier.
“……”
Lin Zhan looked at the cotton cloth Zhou Qi used for the layers, her eyes brightening slightly, “Is it the same material as the skirt Lili is wearing?”
Zhou Qi nodded.
“Is there more?” Lin Zhan asked, “It seems like this fabric would be quite cool to wear during the day; I want one too!”
Tang Yu’an took out a measuring tape to measure her size, “Sister Lin, do you want long sleeves or short sleeves?”
Lin Zhan blinked, “So this fabric was made by you guys?”
Tang Yu’an chuckled but didn’t answer.
After a while, Zhou Qi finally completed the water purifier. He went out and brought back a bucket of muddy water, and adding the activated carbon to the water purifier indeed made it much more effective than before.
“This water is really clean!”
Lin Zhan didn’t expect the effect to be this good; now her drinking water was guaranteed.
Next, Zhou Qi exchanged activated carbon for salt with her.
Although activated carbon could be used to adsorb impurities, Lin Zhan thought it was definitely not as precious as salt, after all, wood and wood ash were easy to obtain.
“How about half a spoon of salt for this pack?”
The activated carbon she took out weighed about four hundred grams, less than a pound—of course, she was referring to the refined salt from before.
Zhou Qi took out a salt jar and scooped her a spoonful of coarse salt.
“This kind of salt is cheaper than refined salt.” Then he took out a gray-gold salt ticket and told her about their upcoming store opening.
“Wow, that’s a good idea!”
Lin Zhan examined the newly acquired coarse salt and asked, “Don’t you have salt that’s of even lower quality than this?”
To her surprise, Zhou Qi nodded and took out a jar of coarse sea salt.
Although the color of the sea salt was noticeably less white than the coarse salt, Lin Zhan decisively said, “I want to trade for this kind of salt!”
“Sure.”
Zhou Qi scooped her two spoons of sea salt, and as for that spoon of coarse salt, he didn’t take it back, considering it a benefit for an Old Customer.
After all, a pound of activated carbon was 30 Points, while a spoonful of coarse salt was worth less than 1 Point.
Then, Lin Zhan also traded a few spoons of sea salt for bug repellant powder with Zhou Qi, cheerfully saying, “This salt is so much cheaper, not bad at all.”
Since she didn’t have many materials to trade at home, she didn’t exchange for salt tickets like Old Li and the others.
However, for Zhou Qi, being able to obtain activated carbon and the method to make it was already a pleasant surprise.
Tang Yu’an and Zhou Qi bid farewell to Lin Zhan and returned to the Grocery Store with Jin Lili.
“Woof woof!”
Yin Bi and Wang Cai greeted them enthusiastically, then noticed Jin Lili in the backpack.
Jin Lili nervously stared at the two big dogs.
Yin Bi and Wang Cai curiously examined her, then both broke into smiles.
“Lili, don’t be afraid; they’re very gentle. You can pet them,” Tang Yu’an said, holding the little girl and guiding her to play with the two dogs.
Soon, the friendly dogs helped her relax, and she boldly reached out to pat Yin Bi’s head.
Jin Lili’s eyes widened slightly.
That fluffy feeling was just too comfortable!
Of course, the most comfortable thing was this small room filled with items; Jin Lili had never seen such a crowded yet orderly place.
At her young age, she didn’t understand what all these materials meant in this Wasteland; she only felt a sense of satisfaction and comfort.
Before long, she was playing happily with the two dogs.
When Zhou Qi came out of the kitchen carrying lunch, he saw the little girl hugging Yin Bi’s head, resting on Wang Cai’s body, peacefully asleep with her eyes closed.
Tang Yu’an sat beside them, seemingly browsing the system panel.
The gray-blue refrigerator and the freezer hummed as they operated, bringing coolness to the room. This seemingly calm scene was filled with a faint warmth.
Zhou Qi looked at this scene, feeling an inexplicable emotion spreading in his heart.
As if sensing his gaze, Tang Yu’an looked up at him, then smiled and ran over.
Once Zhou Qi set the food on the table, Tang Yu’an lowered his voice and excitedly said to him, “Brother Qi, guess what I just saw at the grocery store?”
“What?” Zhou Qi asked, playing along.
“The materials for making eggs!” Tang Yu’an exclaimed.
Eggs? What kind of eggs?
He paused for a moment before recalling the cookbook “Eggs on the Tip of the Tongue.” He remembered that the recipes for eggs in the cookbook had special effects, but the ingredients were relatively hard to obtain.
“Oh? What kind of effect do the eggs have?” he asked.
“To enhance physical strength!”
