Chapter 105

"Is a flood coming?"

After hearing Granny Guo's prediction, Tang Yu'an couldn't help but feel a little nervous even though he was mentally prepared.

"Yes, the feeling is very strong," Granny Guo said. "No matter what, you should prepare early. The flood will last at least a month."

The duration is uncertain, sometimes it can be longer. She once encountered a flood that lasted for three months.

It was during that flood that her daughter was swept away. She lost the child she had relied on for survival, leaving only her infant grandson...

Recalling this, Grandma Guo couldn't help but feel sad, but she quickly concealed it.

"The flood will submerge the ground, and only high ground can be used for survival. There will also be mutant creatures in the water."

She said seriously, "The environment will be even worse than it is now. You must be mentally prepared."

The fortress probably has various means to deal with natural disasters. These two teenagers have never faced a natural disaster directly, so they have not seen how terrible these disasters are.

After giving some instructions, Grandma Guo left to plant potatoes.

After watching her leave, Tang Yu'an looked at the sign hanging at the door. The five words "Huangcheng Grocery Store" were written in paint on the wooden sign.

Although the name is different from the "Ping An Grocery Store No. 1" on the panel, the system still determines that Zhou Qi has completed the side quest.

Tang Yu'an received 50 points and a 24-hour traffic card, while Zhou Qi received 1 point of merchant satisfaction.

Looking at the new sign, Tang Yu'an couldn't help but sigh: "The flood is coming, won't that mean we can't operate normally again? This is too difficult..."

Zhou Qi patted his shoulder comfortingly.

This matter was anticipated long ago, otherwise we wouldn't be so anxious to build a branch.

"Luckily, after opening the branch, the main store can be temporarily closed. With the protection of the barrier, there is no need to worry about it being washed away even if a flood comes."

He had already prepared for the worst, but he didn't expect such a pleasant surprise after the branch was established.

For this reason alone, it is worth opening a branch.

Tang Yu'an agreed with Zhou Qi's words and his mood improved.

That’s right, the grocery store is their home and now it has the best protection, nothing is more important than this!

"Then do we still need to use drainage cards?" Tang Yu'an asked.

This week's weekly tasks have not been completed yet, and I'm stuck at the last task: using the drainage card once.

The weekly tasks will be refreshed soon. If you don’t do them, you will have to use the weekly task refresh card - but after using the refresh card, there is no guarantee that the refreshed tasks will be easy.

"Let's use it." Zhou Qi said, "It should be safe today anyway."

"good!"

Tang Yu'an nodded and took out the prop card from his personal warehouse to use.

You used the "Traffic Card (24 hours)" on "Ping An Grocery Store No. 1"

[Drainage card countdown: 23:59:59]

[Before the countdown ends, potential customers within a radius of ten kilometers will be attracted to your store. Please pay attention to reception.]

The drainage card in Tang Yu'an's hand turned into starlight, flew towards the sign of Store No. 1, and finally merged into it and disappeared.

As long as Tang Yu'an looks towards the building, he will see a conspicuous drainage card countdown appear.

Other than that, there's nothing special.

Within a ten-kilometer radius...

Tang Yu'an opened the map and took a look. There were no distance units displayed on the map, but he could see that there were indeed a few green spots on the map after they had cleared the fog.

And these green dots are slowly approaching No. 1 Store!

It seems that the drainage card is really effective.

Tang Yu'an happily shared the good news with Zhou Qi, and then said, "Brother Xiaoqi, should we build a railing to surround the building?"

Although there are maps to check the location of customers at all times, if there are too many people coming at one time, they may not be able to handle it.

"It might be too late to do anything now. I'll go seal up all the windows on the first floor."

"good."

Zhou Qi went to seal the windows to prevent outsiders from entering, while Tang Yu'an stayed in the lobby on the first floor to accompany Lily and Kang Kang. With the protection of the three little ones, there was no need to worry about their safety.

When Tang Yu'an came in, Kang Kang, who was already playing with Yinbi and Wangcai, suddenly remembered something and quickly ran towards him.

“Brother! Brother!”

He took out the small bag tied around his waist and handed it to Tang Yu'an, "Cool and refreshing, here you go!"

Tang Yu'an took the bag and saw that it contained five small fruits. He was a little surprised and said, "Are the cooling fruits ripe?"

"Um!"

Kang Kang nodded, his face already a little rosy and smiling, looking particularly cute.

"Kangkang, you are awesome!"

Tang Yu'an couldn't help but rub his head hard. Kang Kang squinted his eyes like a kitten and especially liked his brother's head pat.

Then he looked at Tang Yu'an and said, "Brother, eat! Let it cool down!"

Tang Yu'an smiled and said, "Let's eat after we finish playing games, okay?"

Kang Kang responded with "OK".

So, Tang Yu'an took out the mutated blueberries, the previous mutated lantern fruits, and the spirit gathering grass that he was going to give to Kang Kang.

As soon as Kang Kang saw the spirit gathering grass, his eyes widened, just like when he saw the blue beard leaves before.

Tang Yu'an smiled. After some guidance, he successfully earned 1,330 points! He successfully increased his points balance to 9,539!

Yes, after spending tens of thousands of points, it only took him one day to successfully increase his points balance to nearly ten thousand!

This is all thanks to the three high points rewards from the Lucky Wheel.

Of course, there are also Lily and Kang Kang who are willing to cooperate with him.

In return, Tang Yu'an gave each of them a bowl of mashed potatoes, and then gave Kang Kang the spirit gathering grass and five mutant blueberries.

The value of the mutated blueberry is not as high as that of the cool fruit. One blueberry is worth 10 points. If Kang Kang can grow a plant, it will be more valuable.

"Thank you, brother!"

Kang Kang held the gift and grinned widely.

However, Kang Kang did not hold on to the new plant as he did before, but immediately devoted himself to "research".

Maybe he really wanted to do that, but finally held back.

He picked up Lily's bowl of mashed potatoes, and then scooped some into her bowl with a small spoon and fed her the mashed potatoes, acting like a very older brother.

Of course, he didn't miss out either. Every time Lily took a bite, he would follow suit.

Jin Lili slightly curved her eyes and clapped her hands every time she ate mashed potatoes. This was her favorite food now.

Looking at this harmonious and lovely scene, Tang Yu'an also felt healed.

Of course, when he saw the current balance of points, his mind couldn't help but become active again.

The store level of the main store has met the upgrade requirements, and it only requires 1,000 points to complete it.

Anyway, it is impossible to go to Jufeng Town today, which means that I can still play the trading game with Kang Kang and Lily tomorrow to earn points, at least 2,000 points.

Then why not upgrade the store level of the grocery store first?

Thinking of this, Tang Yu'an couldn't help but run to discuss with Zhou Qi. After getting Zhou Qi's affirmation, he didn't hesitate any more.

Open the store panel and click Upgrade!

[Ping An Grocery Store (Quality is Strength!) Level 1]

[Level 1 Upgrade Conditions: Merchant Level 10 (Already met), Shop Popularity 1000 (Already met), Assemble Magic Furniture Level 1*5 (Already met)]

[Do you want to deduct 1000 points and upgrade the main store "Hean's Grocery Store" to level 2 (Excellence is Strength!)]

Tang Yu'an clicked confirm.

【Deduction successful! 】

As the points balance decreased by 1,000 points, a series of upgrade prompts popped up on Tang Yu'an's system panel.

Congratulations! The main store, Heian General Store, has been upgraded to level 2 (Excellence is strength!)

[Super Container Loading Capacity +2, delivered to the "Ping An Grocery Store" warehouse]

[Dream Message in a Bottle +1, Daily Fishing Capacity +1]

[The "Dream Message in a Bottle" has a new targeted delivery function, which allows you to deliver the dream message in a bottle to a designated dream wisher. Note: You must have completed a transaction with the dream wisher before, and the dream wisher must be asleep.]

[Unlock the hardware upgrade function, which allows you to upgrade the hardware of the grocery store. For details, please visit the "Decoration" section.]

[Added employee forum, unlocked message board function, can be viewed in the "HR section"]

There were too many pop-up messages, and Tang Yu'an could only browse them one by one.

Wow, after upgrading I got two super-capable cargo containers!

In this way, the grocery store has an additional 38 cubic meters of space for storing things. These two super-capacity containers alone account for two-thirds of the upgrade points.

In addition, the number of Dream Bottles caught and released has increased, and they can also be delivered in a targeted manner.

This feels a bit like yesterday's decision to head towards that technological doomsday plane. Does that also require using a message in a bottle?

In this case, we cannot place the message in the bottle into the sea of dreams for cross-dimensional communication.

You have to think carefully about how to choose.

After all, including the new one, he only has a total of 3 dream bottles, and his biggest wish and goal is to contact the MR168845 plane.

As long as we can get in touch, there is hope of finding our parents.

Tang Yu'an continued browsing.

Wow!

Hardware upgrade function!

He quickly opened the decoration section. Previously, there were only two functional blocks: "Decoration Plan" and "Furniture List", but now there was indeed an additional "Hard Decoration Upgrade".

Tang Yu'an clicked in curiously.

Then, a new interface popped up.

【Please select a store】

[1. Ping An Grocery Store]

[2. Ping An Grocery Store No. 1]

Tang Yu'an thought about it and went into Store No. 1 first. After all, the main store was now closed, and he didn't want to change the layout of his home unless it was necessary.

The currently available hardware upgrades are as follows:

1. Floor

2. Walls

3. Protection

Tang Yu'an naturally chose [3. Protection], and a new interface popped up.

The currently available protective hard-installation parts are as follows:

1. Wall

2. Guardian Barrier

Tang Yuan: 0.0

The protective barrier can actually be upgraded!

He quickly clicked on the second option, but after seeing the specific content, his enthusiasm immediately faded.

The currently available upgrade functions for "Guardian Barrier" are as follows:

[1. Unlock the function of inviting customers to stay overnight (need to deduct 2000 points and 200 store popularity)]

[2. Unlock the all-weather defense against destructive natural disasters (requires deduction of 3,000 points and 300 store popularity)]

[3. Unlock the all-weather defense against dangerous creatures function (requires deduction of 3000 points and 300 store popularity)]

[4. Unlock the outward expansion function: Starting from the store building, every 1000 points and 100 store popularity points deducted can expand outward by 1 meter]

Tang Yu'an looked at this series of functions, and felt excited with each one.

The function of resisting destructive natural disasters should be the original function of the protective barrier, but it can include business hours after being unlocked.

Destructive natural disasters should not include extreme heat and cold, otherwise the grocery store wouldn't be so cold at night.

Of course, it may also be that the low temperature at night is not considered extremely cold.

Although he was very tempted, Tang Yu'an felt his heart bleed when he saw the points that needed to be deducted.

This set of upgrades costs another 8,000 points, which is almost the same as unlocking the teleportation array function.

And it would be fine if the points value was so high, but the key point is that even if you collect enough points, you will only upgrade the protective barrier of No. 1 Store!

In other words, if each branch wants to upgrade in the future, it will need to be deducted again?

QAQ

Tang Yu'an suddenly felt anxious that his points were not enough.

Of course, the most important thing is that in addition to the points, the store popularity also needs to be deducted, and the store popularity is obtained by adding the cumulative number of transactions and the number of customers.

Currently, the store popularity of No.1 Store is only 15, and there is still a long way to go if we want to upgrade these functions.

It seems that they will have to work hard to run No. 1 Store, earn more points and increase the popularity of the store.

Although the main store is also important, their energy and resources are limited, and No. 1 Store is more suitable for current development in all aspects.

After all, the flood is coming soon. They can unlock the overnight accommodation function and take in customers to stay at No. 1 Store, which can not only ensure their safety but also allow them to continue doing business.

Therefore, we must increase the popularity of No.1 Store as soon as possible!

Tang Yu'an temporarily exited the upgrade interface of the protective barrier. Looking at Kang Kang and Lily who finished eating mashed potatoes and then played with Silver Coin and the others, Tang Yu'an couldn't help but have the urge to bring back a few more cubs.

This way you can play trading games to earn points!

He shook his head and continued to open the upgrade interface of [Wall].

[The current store has no wall. Please build a wall for the store first. You can build it yourself or choose from the following options.]

[1. Fence Wall (10 points)]

2. Brick Wall (50 points)

3. Stone Wall (50 points)

4. Concrete Wall (100 points)

5. Metal Wall (500 points)

[The above prices are for a 10-meter-long and 3-meter-high fence. The width depends on the building materials.]

[Note: The land between the shop and the wall must be owned or unowned, otherwise construction cannot be carried out.]

Compared with the points required to build a protective barrier, Tang Yu'an suddenly felt that the price of this wall was not expensive.

Although metal walls are more expensive, he doesn't need to choose such an expensive one.

So, he immediately authorized the newly discovered function to Zhou Qi. As the branch manager, he could also obtain the hardware upgrade authority of No.1 Store.

Zhou Qi, who was still sealing the windows, soon received a system prompt.

He made the same choice as Tang Yu'an, looking at the protection first and then the protective barrier.

When seeing the popularity of the store needed to upgrade the protective barrier, Zhou Qi suddenly had the same urge as Tang Yu'an to transfer Xiaocao to Store No. 1.

If he remembered correctly, this little girl brought 67 store popularity points to the main store yesterday.

After browsing this information, Zhou Qi immediately sent a message to Tang Yu'an: [Wait, I'll go measure the length]

Tang Yu'an replied: [No need, I can calculate it directly on the 3D graph]

Although there are no numerical values marked on the 3D map, as long as you measure it on site, you can calculate the approximate size on the 3D map according to the proportion.

Soon, Tang Yu'an calculated the area occupied by the building, and Zhou Qi also rushed back.

"The No. 1 store is approximately 25 meters long and 21 meters wide, with a total area of approximately 525 square meters."

The building's area is not a regular rectangle, so his measurements are only approximate values.

After finishing speaking, Tang Yu'an asked Zhou Qi, "Brother Xiaoqi, how long should we build the wall? And what building materials should we choose?"

While Tang Yu'an was calculating, Zhou Qi had been staring at the authorization interface he had just obtained. He was frowning and thinking, and did not respond to his questions for a while.

"Brother Xiaoqi?" Tang Yu'an called him again.

Zhou Qi came back to his senses and explained, "I'm just curious, does the store building referred to in the outward expansion function of the protective barrier include the wall?"

Tang Yuan: 0.0

Zhou Qi didn't need to explain any more. Tang Yu'an, who already had rich experience in finding bugs, looked at Zhou Qi with shining eyes.

He said, "If it includes the wall, then the inside of the wall is also protected by the barrier?"

Zhou Qi nodded. "It's like the awning of a grocery store. This is the part that extends outward, and the ground below the awning is also covered by the protective barrier."

"If that's the case, doesn't that mean we can use walls to enclose land?" Tang Yu'an said excitedly.

Zhou Qi nodded.

Tang Yu'an continued, "If we can use the wall to enclose the land, and then unlock the other functions of the protective barrier, then we can open up a safe territory in the deserted city?"

As long as you are within the fence, you will be protected from destructive natural disasters and dangerous creatures around the clock.

Apart from being on guard against bad guys, it seems like there's nothing else to worry about, right?

Tang Yu'an couldn't help but imagine that scene. It felt like a paradise had been built in the end times, except...

"Is this really okay?"

Looking at the description of the protective barrier expanding outward, Tang Yu'an felt that the system could not possibly allow such a large loophole to remain.

After all, if the wall can enclose land, then the outward expansion function will be completely useless, right? They don't need to spend points or store popularity at all, they can expand the protective barrier infinitely outwards -

Of course, the premise is that they have obtained land ownership.

Zhou Qi nodded. He also felt that the system couldn't be so stupid, but...

“What if the wall and the building are connected?”

Zhou Qi said, "Then the wall becomes part of the shop. Does it count as a shop building?"

Tang Yu'an opened his mouth, and finally found...

It seems to be true!

After all, according to the system's judgment logic, the parts covered by the awning and the roof are considered to be within the scope of the grocery store and are protected by the protective barrier!

Tang Yu'an couldn't help but exclaim, looking at Zhou Qi with sparkling eyes.

Jin Lili and Kang Kang beside them naturally didn't understand their discussion, but when they heard Tang Yu'an's exclamation, they looked at each other and then...

"Wow--"

"Wow~~"

Then, he also looked at Zhou Qi with starry eyes.

Zhou Qi coughed lightly, feeling a rare sense of embarrassment.

"Let's build a wall with a side length of 30 meters first. We will test the others tonight." Zhou Qi said.

30*4=120, so the length of the wall is 120 meters.

"Okay!"

Tang Yu'an nodded and asked, "What building materials should we choose? How about concrete?"

The metal wall is too expensive, 500 points per 10 meters, and 6,000 points for 120 meters. We can only wait until they have extra points in the future.

Concrete only costs 1,200 points, which they can afford for the time being. It just seems a bit prominent in the doomsday environment.

Zhou Qi thought about it and nodded: "Then we have to use concrete."

They are currently lacking store popularity and points, and cannot unlock the all-weather function of the protective barrier in the short term, so the wall still needs to have a certain degree of defense to be able to serve as an interception during the day.

However, according to Tiejin, when the flood comes, the water depth can reach as high as a three-story building, which is nearly 10 meters.

The protective effect of the 3-meter-high wall is still limited, so they still need to upgrade the protective barrier as soon as possible.

Tang Yu'an chose the concrete wall, and then began to draw lines on the 3D map under the guidance of the system.

The land around the building is basically unowned, so he is not worried about ownership issues.

After he clicked to confirm and the points were successfully deducted, he saw a concrete wall rising from the ground outside the No. 1 Store building, four or five meters away from the gate.

Tang Yu'an and Zhou Qi couldn't help but walk out and walked around the building.

Looking at the three-meter-high walls standing around the building, surrounding it tightly, I really feel a sense of security.

Of course, they also know that such a wall can only block some small animals, and even if ordinary people want to climb in, it will not be a problem, so they have to continue to strengthen it in the future.

But no matter what, it is much better than direct exposure.

They chose a house with an area of 170 square meters. The house came with a small garden on the first floor, and the door leading to the small garden was just on the side.

Tang Yu'an used the 3D graphics function to move the wall, creating a gap that was exactly connected to the door.

Finally, hang up the sign that was made in the morning, and the facade of the Huangcheng Grocery Store is complete!

Soon, potential customers attracted by the diversion card appeared nearby. There were three of them, coming from different directions.

Two of them were relatively well-behaved and walked along the wall towards the entrance of the grocery store.

There was another one who was trying hard to climb the wall and try to enter the yard. Without Tang Yu'an's reminder, Yuanbao disappeared on the spot.

Looking at the light spot displayed on the map, it was obvious that it had rushed towards the uninvited guest.

Tang Yu'an didn't care about it. Yuanbao knew his limits. As long as this person retreated obediently, it would definitely not chase him and attack him.

He and Zhou Qi were waiting at the entrance.

Jin Lili and Kang Kang were in the room with purple-red carpet, and even the gradually hot weather did not affect them.

Soon, two figures, one in front and one behind, came stealthily around the corner, and then they saw the two young men who had been waiting for them for a long time, and...

Two giant mutant dogs squatted on the left and right of the door like guardian gods.

The author has something to say:

Customer: I’m sweating profusely…