Chapter 103
Everyone had missed Guanguan terribly.
After being apart for so long, the children were so affectionate it was almost unbearable to watch. Little hands clasped bigger hands, and they pressed their cheeks together as they spun in circles.
Usually, when they spent time together every day, the most mischievous pair—Wang Xiaotiao and Guanguan—would end up crying and running to everyone for justice over some tiny little clash within half an hour.
Guanguan in particular was a clever little rascal. Whenever he tilted his head back and wailed at the top of his lungs, he always kept one eye on guard and one eye on lookout. If he caught sight of Wang Xiaotiao crying louder than him, he would immediately yank his own voice even louder.
In the end, from Director Wang all the way down to Elizabeth, who was about to give birth, everyone became the judge for those two.
Xiaotiao grabbed his little brother by the hand and ran toward the core area, with Mingming and Xiaoyue following behind. Everyone wanted to share the “rare treasures” they had found during this time with Guanguan.
After they returned to the little wooden cabin and sat down, Lin Xiangfeng and the other high schoolers, whose curiosity was bursting through the roof, pestered Yi Qi and the others to tell them about what had happened on their trip.
“Were there a lot of people who went to Wengming Mountain? Are there many survivor bases in Yu City?”
Yi Qi said, “Before, we only searched for supplies around Wuqing City, so we really had no idea how many little bases there were in Yu City. This time we finally found out. Besides the three big bases, there are more than twenty small bases hidden all over the corners of Yu City.” Then he deliberately kept them in suspense. “Guess how many people the Thirteenth United Canning Factory has?”
Ying Hui held up one hand. “Five thousand!”
Yi Qi shook his head. “Guess again.”
Zhao Bin smacked his fist into his palm. “Fifteen thousand?”
Yi Qi folded his arms and laughed. “More than thirty thousand.”
Feng Xiaoli stared wide-eyed, pointing at the people in the room one by one. “One, two, three… damn. Compared to a big base, our farm looks like children playing house.”
Director Wang had never forgotten the Watchers Community, the one that had killed his grandson and granddaughter-in-law. His voice trembled slightly as he asked, “Did you run into the Watchers Community? Did they make things difficult for you?”
Shen Zheng nodded. “We did. They sent out a pair of twins, a boy and a girl, both in their early twenties. Their identities were unclear. They looked cold and detached, didn’t talk much, and they didn’t make things hard for us.”
Director Wang let out a sigh of relief. After a moment of silence, he said, “I remember back in the early 2000s, television was always airing shows about bandits being suppressed. The world now is even more chaotic than it was then. Did you run into any robbers on the road?”
“We did. Quite a few, actually.”
Yi Qi gave a bitter smile. “When we were almost at the mountain, our car and Rose Garden’s car were both shot up by a group of men with hunting rifles. In the end, we had no choice but to continue on foot through the mountain road…”
He picked out a few incidents and told everyone about them, and everyone listening grew tense.
Director Wang hurriedly said, “That’s too dangerous. Far too dangerous. They’re a bunch of desperate outlaws! You absolutely can’t go that far again in the future. Our family should just stay here on the farm, grow some grain and vegetables, and live our lives well.”
Shen Zheng and Yi Qi exchanged a glance, but neither of them spoke.
Su Min sensed that something was off. “What is it? Don’t tell me the canning factory wants all of Yu City’s survivors gathered together?”
The people on the farm all tensed up.
So Yi Qi laid everything out about the mutated zombies and the CDC shelter.
“Ten years! Ten years without worrying about food or safety!” Zhao Bin was so excited his face flushed red. “That’s a good thing! Isn’t that exactly what we want right now—to fill our stomachs and stay alive?”
“With both the zombie tide and mutated zombies attacking at the same time, there’s really no way our strength alone can defend the farm.” Su Min thought for a while, then added, “So what are you two thinking?”
Yi Qi and Shen Zheng both turned to look at Wei Cheng, who was sitting quietly in the corner.
Ten years of supplies. Ten years without being threatened by zombies.
For the people on the farm, that was a blessing from heaven. But for Guanguan, who possessed a storage space and was still so young, it might not be a good thing at all.
Seeing that Wei Cheng still had not said anything, Shen Zheng hesitated for a moment before finally saying, “Hunt down two mutated zombies, then take their heads and the farm’s supplies to the shelter.”
The boys cheered. Sun Dali exchanged a glance with his wife, and then the two of them smiled as well.
Just then, carefree children’s laughter drifted in from outside the door.
A jumble of footsteps approached, the wooden door was pushed open from outside, and several children came running in.
Guanguan’s little peach-like cheeks were pink, and his dirty little hands were clutching several strangely shaped tree branches. He threw himself into Grandpa Director Wang’s arms. “Grandpa!”
Director Wang nearly staggered under the force of the plump child’s pounce. Holding Guanguan, he smiled kindly. “Did Guanguan get tired outside? Did you have fun? Did you make any new friends?”
“It was fun! I’m not tired!” Guanguan was like a chubby little roly-poly, leaning this way and that in Grandpa’s arms as he acted spoiled. “I didn’t make any friends. Guanguan’s friends are all here!”
Then he thought of something and toddled over to Uncle Yi. “One Uncle, when will baa-baa have babies?”
“Next month, probably,” Yi Qi said with a laugh. “But only people have babies. Sheep have lambs.”
Guanguan blinked and happily shook his curly little head. “Then when will Guanguan have babies?”
Lin Xiangfeng could not help squeezing the child’s little hand. “Hahaha, Guanguan, you’re already just a little kid. What babies are you going to have?”
Everyone burst out laughing.
Shen Zheng chuckled softly. “You have to grow up before you can have babies. Right now you’re still little.”
Guanguan hugged his arms and hid in Shen Zheng’s embrace. Lifting his fleshy chin with great dignity, he declared, “Don’t laugh at me. If I can’t have babies when I’m little, then I’ll just wait until I grow into a big corn and then have them.”
“Hahahahaha, sure!”
Shen Zheng smoothed down the child’s puffed-up hair and said with a smile, “Our Guanguan can have babies when he grows up. Then Uncle will help you take care of the little corn-can baby.”
Guanguan’s little face glowed with delight.
He hugged Shen Zheng’s arm and acted spoiled. “Uncle, can Guanguan go play with Zhenzhen tomorrow?”
“Hm? Go see Zhenzhen? Zhenzhen from Rose Garden Base?”
“Yes!” Guanguan clapped his plump little hands, thrilled. “Zhenzhen said his kitty is going to have baby kitties soon, and he’ll give Guanguan one!”
Xiaoyue chimed in as well. “Xinxin said so too. She said she’ll give one to Mingming and me too!”
Wang Xiaotiao immediately panicked. “When did that happen? Why don’t I get one? I want a kitten too!”
Xiaotiao was the type who got more excited the more people there were around. That day, when the children from Rose Garden had come, he had been too busy fooling around and had not heard the little girls discussing how they would be giving away kittens.
His eyes turned red, and he was on the verge of tears. He ran over to Director Wang. “Grandpa, I want a kitten too! I want a kitten too!”
Director Wang patted Xiaotiao on the head. “Alright, alright. When the time comes, we’ll ask and see if they have any left…”
Given how competitive the people at Rose Garden were, they were definitely already out searching for mutated zombies by now. And the amusement park would certainly be heavily guarded inside. Zhou Qing, in particular, was an extremely cautious leader. During this period, she would absolutely not allow anyone into the base.
Su Min quickly said, “Alright, stop making noise. If it’s sunny tomorrow, Auntie will teach you all how to bake cookies, okay?”
The moment they heard about baking cookies, the children’s attention was immediately drawn away.
At noon, Guanguan finally became willing to return to the little wooden cabin he shared with his brother.
The plump child sat on the floor, sweating all over, hugging his puppy cup and gulping down water while still tugging at Little Apricot’s dark floppy ears.
Wei Cheng had just finished wiping down the entire cabin inside and out. No one had lived there for half a month, and a thin layer of dust had settled everywhere.
He hung the towel on the wall and smiled. “Going back out to play?”
Guanguan put down the water cup and let out the cutest little puff of breath. “Not going out anymore. I’m staying with Brother now.”
Wei Cheng took the empty cup from him and refilled it with warm water from the table. “Rest for a bit. Later we’re going to collect the mission reward, and while we’re at it, we’re going to do something big.”
Guanguan and his brother had perfect tacit understanding.
This “something big” probably meant taking advantage of the little kid—the system—again!
Guanguan’s eyes lit up. “Guanguan loves doing bad things the most!”
“Shh. Don’t let it hear you.”
Wei Cheng placed the puppy cup within easy reach for Guanguan, then crouched down and whispered a few words into his little brother’s ear. “Got it?”
Guanguan raised his two blossoming little meat-paws toward the sky. “Leave it to Guanguan!”
Wei Cheng smiled and rubbed the fluffy hair on the child’s head.
At this time of day, the children on the farm were all napping. The other adults also knew their boundaries. Unless something major had happened, they would not barge into the brothers’ little cabin.
Still, Wei Cheng made sure to shut the doors and windows tightly.
By the time he turned around, Guanguan had already skillfully opened the system panel. With his plump little face set in seriousness, his little hands moved quickly over the panel.
He looked almost like some commanding leader planning everything out.
Had Guanguan already started the draw?
But when Wei Cheng walked closer, he discovered that several boxes of steak and ham had appeared on the floor of the storage room.
Wei Cheng: “…”
A commanding leader… except this leader was a little food bucket.
Guanguan’s chubby face drooped, and he slurped back his drool. “Brother, we both really want to eat these!”
Baby could not read, but Baby recognized pictures.
He had searched the online store for pictures of fresh meat, and every time he found exactly the right thing—everything was stuff both he and Brother loved to eat!
Wei Cheng laughed. “Alright. Brother will cook it for you tonight.”
At that moment, the system’s message popped up as well.
[Congratulations! This month you led the little house owner and the contract partner out once to search for supplies! It’s a pity you didn’t bring anything back, but you still receive a reward of 200 Twist Coins!]
[Congratulations! The little house owner has successfully completed all beginner missions and basic missions! At this stage, the little house owner actively learned to recognize Chinese characters, picked up beginner math knowledge, exercised to lose weight, completed all kinds of missions, and found a contract partner… Little you has grown from crying in terror at the sight of zombies, to punching zombies to protect your brother, to skillfully disassembling guns, to calmly firing a crucial shot in a moment of danger.]
[Before the human world collapsed, there was once a saying: when people talk about your growth, the one who cries isn’t only your mother. Dear little house owner, throughout your growth, the binder, the contract partner, and your two dogs have all loved you deeply. The system wants to tell you: you are amazing. You are the very best little house owner. In the future, please continue to be brave. Live bravely.]
Though the system’s voice was the same emotionless mechanical child’s voice as always, Wei Cheng felt as if there were somehow a note of farewell in its words.
Guanguan waved his little hand. “Little Kid, are you crying?”
The system paused for a moment. When it spoke again, its young voice was once more completely devoid of emotion, as though the feeling that had surfaced just now had only been the brothers’ illusion.
[The little house owner and the binder have completed all beginner and basic missions. Reward issued: 100,000 Twist Coins! Please check and accept!]
How much?!
How many zeroes were there after the 1?
Guanguan covered his mouth and giggled. “Brother, so many duck eggs. Have you only ever seen this many in Guanguan’s homework notebook?”
That really was true! But…
Wei Cheng froze for quite a while. One hundred thousand Twist Coins! One hundred thousand Twist Coins!
From the beginner missions up until now, after more than two years of stumbling and fighting their way through, the brothers had only saved up less than twenty thousand coins in total!
Why had the system suddenly become so generous?
“Brother, are we still spinning the prize wheel?” Guanguan raised his little finger, eager to try.
Wei Cheng paused for a moment. “Wait.”
Once the intermediate form of the Twist Car reached 2000, it could unlock ten-person escape.
But right now, they had fourteen people.
After dealing with the system for so long, he had vaguely figured out that the system’s authority could only help them complete first-level tasks, not skip directly to the second level.
For example, if they wanted to buy a heavy machine gun, the system would not give it to them for free, but it might offer them a discount.
Unlocking ten-person escape for the Twist Car was a first-level task. Fourteen-person escape might be a second-level task, or perhaps it would require clearing some other new difficulty first.
This wish opportunity had been earned by Guanguan personally going out to save more than a dozen children from Rose Garden Base. The wish carried enormous weight. At first, Wei Cheng had planned to have Guanguan wish for the Twist Car to upgrade to ten-person escape mode. But now they had plenty of Twist Coins. It would only take a bit less than forty thousand coins to upgrade the Twist Car. They should not waste such an important wish opportunity.
After thinking about it, Wei Cheng said, “Let’s not waste this wish yet.”
He opened the balance page.
[Twist Coin Balance: 118700 (18500 + 200 + 100000)]
[Safe House Stock Capacity: 1075]
[Twist Car Transformation Level: Intermediate Form 1075 (2000 required to unlock ten-person escape…)]
They only needed to move 37,000 coins from the balance, and the Twist Car’s transformation level would reach 2000!
It was too much money. For the moment, Wei Cheng did not dare to stockpile supplies recklessly.
Then, when he thought again about the system’s unusual behavior, a faintly bad guess rose in his heart.
He put on a pitiful tone and said, “Thirty-seven thousand coins’ worth of goods is honestly too much for two children like us. There’s no way we can stockpile that much in a short time, and we can’t keep buying goods in the safe house every single day either. That would make it too easy for the other people on the farm to notice. Since you’re already helping us, why not help us stockpile some things too?”
The system did not reply.
Wei Cheng gently patted Guanguan on the shoulder. “Then Guanguan won’t be able to go out and play anymore. Every day, you’ll have to stay with Brother in the safe house warehouse buying things.”
Guanguan’s eyes widened, and he hurriedly shook his head. “No! Guanguan is a little kid. Little kids absolutely have to go out and play!”
Wei Cheng sighed. “But there’s no one to help us…”
“Little Kid, help us!” Guanguan clasped his hands together and bowed over and over at the system panel, the soft chubby flesh on his cheeks trembling. “Guanguan wants to play. Help Guanguan. You can even call Guanguan big brother, okay?”
System: “…”
[Just this once.]
Wei Cheng was startled again.
This was the first time he had ever heard the system say anything outside of mission-related text.
At that very moment, the Twist Coin balance began dropping rapidly, and Wei Cheng also noticed that four large empty shelves had appeared in the warehouse.
The entire warehouse expanded outward in every direction.
It had actually grown to twice its previous size!
Wei Cheng suddenly remembered that he and Guanguan had once won a small villa through the lottery. If they had the chance in the future, they could replace the Cozy Cabin with the little villa.
He, Guanguan, and the two dogs were all slowly growing up, and the Cozy Cabin was becoming more and more cramped for them.
He noticed that the system had stocked up the most on weapons. Nearly 10,000 coins’ worth consisted entirely of guns and ammunition.
Of the remaining 27,000 coins, the largest portion went to all kinds of seeds and medicine, and only after that came instant food and meat.
Wei Cheng had guessed right.
This was the system’s prediction of the future. In other words, it was a warning.
What, then, would the future be like?
The system stocked the supplies very quickly. In just a little over ten minutes, all 37,000 coins were gone.
[Twist Coin Balance: 81700]
[Safe House Stock Capacity: 2000 (continuous stay in the safe house for 2000 hours; after that time, occupants will be sent out)]
[Twist Car Transformation Level: Intermediate Form 2000]
[Congratulations! The Twist Car has successfully unlocked Intermediate Form 2000! Ten-person escape has now been unlocked!]
Skills: Supports self-driving, 200 km/h
Navigation: Gains precision navigation function (can predict whether zombies or humans are approaching within a 2000-meter range)
Defense: Defense level +200 (200 uses; each use can eliminate 500 zombies)
Indestructible: Indestructibility level +200 (unaffected by extreme heat, extreme cold, or poisonous gas; duration 500 hours)
Invisibility: Duration 200 minutes, cooldown 24 hours
“Brother! Guanguan’s Twist Car turned into a looong car!”
The short, tank-like black four-seater had suddenly transformed into an extended black-and-silver car about ten meters long.
The sleek, streamlined long car rotated slowly on the panel, silver light glinting off it—low-key, yet astonishing.
Perhaps because it knew that more than just Guanguan and the contract partner would be riding in it, its form resembled a Lincoln Navigator from the real world.
Wei Cheng understood inwardly that after some time, they could bring this Twist Car out and place it on the farm.
[Notice: The contract partner’s loyalty has reached 80%. Based on the system’s observations over the past year, the other survivors on the farm are not suitable candidates to become contract partners. Some people are born loving you. Some come to love you because they are fated to. Some first love you because of someone else, then later treat you like their own child… But little house owner, do not be discouraged, and do not doubt sincerity. The fact that they were not chosen to become your contract partner does not mean the survivors you chose are evil people. It is only that before meeting you, their hearts were already filled with many others. Please also use the intermediate-form Twist Car with caution. Do not expose it.]
Guanguan could not understand any of that. He scratched his cheek and hugged his brother’s leg. “Brother, Guanguan wants to eat sincerity canned fruit!”
Wei Cheng bent down and picked the plump child up. “What flavor do you want?”
Guanguan rubbed his chubby little hands together in anticipation. “Strawberry!”
“Sure.”
Wei Cheng kissed the child’s cheek. Thinking of the system’s warning, he could not quite describe how he felt inside.
He took a bottle of strawberry preserves from the warehouse. The moment he opened it, a sweet strawberry fragrance drifted out.
“Wow!”
Guanguan held the bottle of strawberries in both little hands and smiled with innocent delight. Clumsily, he speared a strawberry and popped it into his mouth. It was so delicious he swayed his head from side to side, waving his little hand. “Strawberry, you’re soooo yummy! Guanguan likes Brother the most, Uncle Shen, One Uncle, Little Apricot, Gray Cub, Rourou, Candy, and then likes you too!”
