Chapter 144
By the time Li Zhou reached Zone F, all he found was an empty, abandoned spot.
“Where is he?” He spun around in disbelief, thinking his eyes deceived him. “In my Eastern Base, a mere porridge vendor dares defy me—”
Suddenly, something smacked him square in the forehead.
Li Zhou saw stars.
It took him a moment to steady himself. Wiping his brow—
A rotten egg.
Someone had hurled it at him, and now the stinking ooze dripped down his face, leaving him utterly disgraced.
Faint snickers echoed around him.
Weasel-face cowered behind Li Zhou, whispering fearfully, “Brother Zhou, I think we’re ambushed…”
Li Zhou: “?”
Wiping his face, Li Zhou let out a furious laugh. “Who the hell has a death wish, daring to hit me? I’m an S-rank mercenary—”
From a corner, someone shouted: “Li Zhou, we’re aiming for you, you turtle bastard!!!”
…Those words were the battle cry.
The next second, calm waters exploded into chaos!
Mercenaries hidden in the shadows leaped out armed to the teeth, their faces burning with rage!
Under the direction of the 11th Squad mercenaries, the crowd swarmed forward. Spatulas, fire pokers, fly swatters—all sorts of makeshift weapons rained down on Li Zhou and Weasel-face as curses flew:
“Take this, you protection fee extortionist! Why don’t you collect some funeral expenses for yourself? You won’t be alive much longer anyway!”
“Dare to slander our Captain Mu, drive away Boss Jian, and rob us of our porridge? I’ll fight you to the death today, you bastard!”
“Li Zhou, may you die a horrible death!!!”
“You call yourself an S-rank mercenary? You’re just a thief who stole Captain Mu’s core! His biggest mistake was ever trusting a piece of trash like you—”
The mercenaries’ long-suppressed fury erupted at last!
Though none could match Li Zhou’s rank individually, their combined force was overwhelming. And with Yi Chunqing, the seasoned strategist, calmly directing the chaos—”Miaomiao, take your team and attack his lower body, aim for the crotch! Wang Li, keep pelting him with rotten eggs! Xiao Liang, block the exits with your group—”
Compounding the problem, Li Zhou, despite being S-rank, had only recently transplanted Mu Dongsheng’s core and couldn’t yet wield its lightning abilities proficiently.
He tried activating the S-rank lightning core within him, but whether due to rejection or remnants of Mu Dongsheng’s will resisting, not a spark of power answered his call.
Faced with the mob’s assault, he was utterly defenseless!
And it wasn’t just the mercenaries—soon, black market vendors joined the beating, their grievances over extortion and exploitation fueling their rage as much as the mercenaries’.
Before long, both Li Zhou and Weasel-face were bruised and battered. Li Zhou crouched in a corner, clutching his head and wailing, alternating between curses and frantic calls for backup on his communicator.
His face swollen from a brutal slap and a few well-aimed kicks to sensitive areas, he whimpered into the device, “Send help! Now! Your mighty S-rank mercenary is about to be beaten to death by these peasants—”
Alarmed, the guards and base officials scrambled to respond.
But the 11th Squad, ever strategic, barricaded the black market’s entrances, creating a standoff between the rioters and reinforcements.
The black market had never been livelier.
A chaotic symphony of shouts, footsteps, and clashes echoed under the flickering torchlight. Tonight, the Eastern Base would know no rest.
Meanwhile, outside the base, Jian Yunlan remained blissfully unaware of the uproar his departure had caused.
Because he… was preoccupied with a far more pressing matter: how to set up his outdoor porridge stall.
*
Beyond the Eastern Base lay the dreaded Death Barrens.
It was deep night.
—As all knew, the Barrens’ pollutants grew most active between 10 PM and sunrise, a time so perilous even elite mercenaries rarely survived. That’s why every mercenary returned to the base by nightfall unless absolutely unavoidable.
Jian Yunlan led the way, while Taotie carried an enormous porridge bucket, both trudging through the uneven terrain as the wind howled around them.
The further they went, the scarcer signs of civilization became.
The sky hung in an unnatural gray-purple, like corroded canvas, while the cracked earth bore sparse, grotesque vegetation—some glowing faintly, others resembling human skeletons.
In the oppressive darkness, hulking shadows loomed at the edges of vision, watching, waiting.
…Yet whenever a pollutant drew near, sensing Taotie’s presence, it would flee in terror, as if confronted by something far more dreadful.
Which made sense—the apocalypse was only forty years old. Even the oldest pollutants were mere infants compared to a thirty-thousand-year-old primordial beast.
Jian Yunlan and Taotie chatted idly as they walked.
“Weren’t you running the stall in the black market? Why come out here all of a sudden?”
“Got kicked out. Banned from selling inside the base. But I’ve still got porridge left—figured I’d sell ten more bowls before closing.”
“Should I keep being a mercenary, then?”
“Up to you. Do it if you enjoy it.”
“Oh…”
After a long silence, Taotie glanced at the massive porridge bucket, charcoal, and clay pot he was carrying and grumbled, “Human, don’t you have, like, a tricycle or something? This is beneath the dignity of an ancient beast like me.”
If not for the porridge bucket in his arms, Taotie—with his silver hair tied in a low ponytail, a headband, cargo pants, and tall boots—would’ve cut a strikingly handsome figure, his broad shoulders and long legs making even the standard mercenary attire look extraordinary.
But the stall equipment added a touch of… rustic charm.
Jian Yunlan scratched his head. “Well, I did have a tricycle, but…”
The tricycle had been provided by the Culinary God System.
However, upon arriving in this apocalyptic world—perhaps because the black market supplied stalls and equipment—the system hadn’t issued him one.
Now that he was setting up outdoors, the lack of a tricycle was becoming a real hassle.
…Just then, a prompt chimed in Jian Yunlan’s mind:
[Ding! The Culinary God System has heard your plea! The Culinary God System supports your street vending dreams!]
[Obtained: [High-Quality Vending Tricycle] x1]
[Obtained: [Thermal Winter Coats] x2]
[Tap the map underfoot to select the tricycle’s placement.]
Perfect timing!
Besides the tricycle, the system thoughtfully provided thermal coats for both him and Taotie. Admittedly, setting up shop outdoors at night was chilly. Though the coats weren’t stylish, they were warm and windproof, wrapping the wearer in cozy heat from head to toe.
…Taotie initially resisted.
“A puffer jacket? This lowly garment dares touch my divine form?!”
But after some insistence from Jian Yunlan, he reluctantly put it on.
The thick blue puffer swallowed Taotie’s sculpted physique whole, adding yet another layer of… rustic charm.
Once bundled up, Jian Yunlan inspected the tricycle. Labeled “High-Quality” by the system, it surely had special features, right?
Most importantly, with the tricycle, setting up shop would be a breeze.
By now, they’d ventured well beyond the Eastern Base’s jurisdiction. Here, not even the heavens could interfere with his business.
Jian Yunlan looked around—aside from a faintly glowing tree, the landscape was a canvas of cold darkness.
Hardly prime real estate for customers, but…
“We’re already here. Might as well set up,” Jian Yunlan decided. “Location doesn’t matter. What’s important is getting the stall ready—customers will come once they see it.”
No hesitation.
Selecting the tricycle in his mind, he placed it on the spot. A flash of white light later—
A familiar tricycle materialized before them.
But this one was far more refined, adorned with glass lanterns and traditional Chinese knots, a maneki-neko (lucky cat) figurine perched on the counter. Warm golden light bathed the vintage-style setup.
It came with a built-in stove, cookware, even a tiny cashier station.
The real surprise? A dining area—a fold-out table with two stools, a hand warmer, a small lamp, and wind chimes swaying gently. Thick curtains could be drawn to create two snug seats where customers could enjoy their porridge sheltered from the wind.
Jian Yunlan could already picture patrons cozily sipping porridge behind those curtains.
This was a massive upgrade!
Before, customers had to squat roadside to eat. Now, they had proper seating.
Jian Yunlan circled the tricycle several times, examining every detail, utterly pleased.
Even Taotie conceded, with measured dignity, “This tricycle is… barely acceptable for my stature.”
The two got to work—lighting the charcoal, warming the porridge in the clay pot, arranging side dishes and pickles, hanging the “Simple Porridge Stall” sign, and lighting the lanterns.
Soon, Simple Porridge Stall stood ready in the frigid wilderness.
The stove crackled, the clay pot simmering warmly.
The aroma of porridge began drifting through the icy wind…
Now, all that remained was waiting for the first customer.
So will the first customers outside be the mercenaries that were unlucky escaping pollutants that became active during the night to sunrise?