Chapter 114
"call out--"
After being hit by the second arrow, the unidentified creature no longer cared about its head being knocked unconscious by the transparent barrier, and turned around and ran away in panic.
Old Li inserted the new arrow into the crossbow, but did not get up to chase.
At this moment, dark clouds blocked the moon, and the earth was pitch black at night. Although it was not so dark that you couldn't see your hand in front of you, the outlines of all the scenery at night could only be barely seen.
Everything was pitch black. Chasing out in such an environment would be tantamount to seeking death.
However, Old Li also found something wrong.
The creature just now was clearly rushing towards him, but it seemed to have hit something on the way... So, did Xiao An and the others succeed?
Old Li looked at the dark night sky outside and couldn't help feeling confused.
Didn't they leave for Jufeng Town in the afternoon? Could they have arrived so soon?
Although he didn't know how many points were needed to unlock that function, he knew it must be a lot from the look of the two children.
Could it be...that they had some adventure along the way?
There was a hint of worry in Old Li's eyes. In this wasteland, opportunities always coexist with dangers.
I just hope the two children can come back safely...
"Woof woof!"
The barking of a dog interrupted Old Li's thoughts. In the quiet night, the barking was clear and loud, which was really scary.
Old Li looked to his side and saw two big dogs sitting beside him, wagging their tails.
No one knew where the puppy had run off to. He didn't dare light a candle after dark. The building was pitch black and he couldn't even see the scenery clearly, let alone such a small puppy.
However, the two big dogs had been following him all the time. They had been quiet and alert before, but now...
“Woof woof woof!”
The other dog also barked happily, making a "hehehe" sound, without showing any nervousness at all.
So the protective barrier is indeed effective again, right?
Animals are the most sensitive, especially these two dogs, which are not ordinary animals.
Old Li patted the heads of the two dogs soothingly, but did not really relax his vigilance. Instead, he groped his way out of the gap in the wall.
It was pitch black at night, and visibility was so low that it was difficult for him to confirm the existence of the building with his naked eyes.
So he picked up a stone and smashed it forward with all his strength.
After feeling the obvious obstruction, he finally felt relieved and hid in the barrier again, his heart finally settling down.
"Wangcai, Yinbi, go to sleep."
Old Li said this with a smile, then he rummaged through the room on the first floor to find a candle and carefully groped his way up the stairs to the eighth floor.
In Room 801, Grandma Guo was lying on a woolen cloth, her breathing was steady and her condition had stabilized.
Kang Kang curled up beside her and fell asleep.
As for his plant "friends", they had been moved to the 9th floor by Old Li in the afternoon. They served as a protective barrier and they were all safe.
After confirming that the grandparents and grandchildren were safe, Old Li continued to walk to the 9th floor holding a candle.
Lin Zhen came here in the afternoon.
She also noticed the commotion caused by the mutant giant bear, but she didn't know Grandma Guo and came over just to remind Old Li to be careful.
Speaking of which, the item called "drainage card" is really useful.
Because of the appearance of a mutant giant bear here, the residents of the deserted city would not dare to come here for a stroll in the short term. However, unexpectedly, the customer flow of the grocery store was not affected at all.
After the two children left, Old Li received seven or eight more customers. It was not until the business closed at six o'clock that no one came.
Old Li entered room 902.
He looked at the exit of the room in the candlelight, thinking that he could find time to make a door and install it tomorrow.
Then he came to the double bed, put down the candle and blew it out.
As he climbed from the first floor to the ninth, his breathing remained steady, but his leg, which had been injured, felt a slight pain.
He sat down on the bed, just wanting to take a rest, but...
The old man fell back uncontrollably again, then quickly closed his eyes and fell asleep peacefully on the emerald green double bed.
Not long after Old Li fell asleep, there was a noise coming from the next room, Room 901.
"It's still more comfortable here in the deserted city!"
Tang Yu'an stretched and walked out of the master bedroom - they had just cleaned up Store No. 2 and returned here through the teleportation array.
Zhou Qi, who was one step behind, suddenly frowned and pulled Tang Yu'an back to protect him behind him.
"Who's there?"
He let out a low cry, and saw a tall dark figure slowly walking in from the doorway.
Are there any dangerous creatures coming in?
Tang Yu'an quickly cast a purification spell.
Under the light of the skill, the true face of the shadow was revealed before them.
"Hey, Black Pearl!"
Unexpectedly, the person waiting for them at home was a big cat that they hadn't seen for a few days. Tang Yu'an immediately ran towards it with a smile.
"Black Pearl, are you here to see me?"
The big black cat didn't respond, but just stared at him and looked him over, sniffing around him, as if to make sure he was not injured.
"Did you also notice the mutant giant bear?" Zhou Qi put away his guard and asked the big cat.
Black Pearl glanced at him, then walked towards the teleportation array, as if she was about to leave.
"Black Pearl, are you leaving so soon?"
Hearing Tang Yu'an's lost voice, the big black cat stopped.
It looked back at Tang Yu'an, and Tang Yu'an walked over, hugged its neck, and rubbed the soft fur on its chest with a smile.
"I'm so happy that you came back to see me!"
Tang Yu'an held the big cat tightly and refused to let go. "Would you please stay a little longer and drink some milk first?"
The tip of Black Pearl's ears moved slightly, and then she showed an expression that said there was nothing she could do to him. Under Tang Yu'an's gaze, she slowly shrank her body.
It turned into a kitten and jumped into Tang Yu'an's arms and nestled down.
While Tang Yu'an and Black Pearl were playing, Zhou Qi had already left the room with a flashlight to take a look, and soon came back.
"Grandma, Kang Kang, and Grandpa Li are all asleep," he said. "Everything is fine at No. 1 Store. The overnight stay function was unlocked in a timely manner."
Tang Yuan stroked Black Pearl's head and said with a chuckle, "Brother Xiaoqi, your employee level has also been promoted."
Today, Xiaoqi only gained 39 employee experience points, which was not enough to upgrade to the next level. However, this is when the benefits of being a branch manager come into play.
As an employee of No.1 Store, Lao Li can also provide Zhou Qi with 1 employee experience point for each profitable transaction.
Thus, Zhou Qi's level was successfully upgraded to level 7.
Tang Yu'an continued to authorize him the higher-level tele-pickup skill, and he gained the ability to place items through the air.
Although the distance is only 1 meter for now, it is a huge improvement for Zhou Qi.
That way, if he ever encountered a battle like the one he had during the day again, he could place the super mousetrap in the right place by sight.
Instead of facing a mutated giant bear, you need to use a green container to block its sight and then take a huge risk to place the mousetrap at the giant bear's feet with your own hands.
If he had moved a little slower, he might have been killed by the bear's paw.
Speaking of this...
Zhou Qi took two bright green containers from the main store warehouse.
After being slapped by the giant bear's paw, the two containers didn't appear to be damaged. It could be said that they were really sturdy, but...
Zhou Qi reached out and touched the partition, and with just a little force, the partition cracked open.
"Ah, is the container broken?"
Tang Yu'an observed it and found that it was indeed the case, so he quickly figured out how to summon the furniture elves to come out for repairs.
He no longer planned to use these two containers to store things. Such strong defensive capabilities could be of greater use in battle.
Moreover, the magical furniture produced by Yaya comes with a permanent warranty!
Tang Yu'an quickly found the button, clicked it for repair, and saw a system prompt pop up.
[The furniture elf is checking the repair order...]
【The elf "Ya Ya" is accepting orders! 】
[Yaya: Repair time will take 90 minutes, please be patient^^]
Immediately afterwards, a burst of bright green light was released from the inside of the container, and then quickly covered the entire bright green container.
The light seemed to breathe, flickering and illuminating the entire room.
"Ah, isn't Yaya coming?"
Tang Yu'an was a little disappointed. It seemed that the furniture elves would only appear when upgrading the furniture.
However, he still took out a cup of soy milk from his portable storage and placed it on the cabinet - probably because the elf did not appear, he was not pushed away by the furniture stardust.
"Yaya likes fruits and soy milk is made from soybeans. She should like it, right?"
“Give it a try.”
"Um!"
Afterwards, they sat together on the purple-red carpet, and Black Pearl jumped out of Tang Yu'an's arms.
It stepped on the carpet and seemed to marvel at its comfort.
Zhou Qi took out the barbecue and instant noodles left over from last night, as well as the meat and egg pancakes he had made earlier. Because they had been kept in his portable storage, they were still steaming hot when he took them out, retaining their original texture and flavor.
Tang Yu'an summoned all the pets and fed them milk and meat omelets.
It's not even nine o'clock in the evening. Time always passes very slowly in the lightless wasteland night.
Jufeng Town.
"Is this the salt the new salt merchant gave to the administrator? And those two kids are planning to open a shop in Jufeng Town to sell it?"
Jin Fu tasted the salt brought by his men and asked with a gloomy expression.
"Yes, this was traded from a certain guard. Black Bear gave them something called salt tickets and told them to go find those two kids to exchange them for them."
After Jin Fu's men finished their report, they presented him with a salt ticket that they had bought at a high price.
Holding the salt ticket, Jin Fu's expression became increasingly gloomy.
He understood the purpose of this salt ticket almost as soon as he got it, and couldn't help but squint and ask, "With our technology, can we imitate it?"
"I'm afraid not," his men replied. "These salt tickets are of excellent quality. They can't be torn or bitten, and they're also fireproof and waterproof. I don't know what material they're made of."
"That's really a big deal..."
Jin Fu looked at the salt in his hand. This salt should be produced by the seaside, so the other party also found the way to Linhai Town?
Although he was angry, he knew that he couldn't get angry at the people in Linhai Town, so he could only target the salt merchant who didn't know the rules.
Destroying someone's source of wealth is like killing their parents!
When he met the two children on the mountain before, he kindly invited them to go to Linhai Town together - although he didn't mean it sincerely, he really wanted to make friends with them.
They were too extreme in doing this!
"Send someone to that shop to check it out. If necessary..."
Jin Fu made a gesture of wiping his neck to his men, his eyes full of cruelty, without any trace of his usual honest and easy-going demeanor.
The subordinate nodded and accepted the order.
It's late at night and everyone is asleep.
Several experienced men took advantage of the night to avoid the guards and sneaked into the "Jufeng Grocery Store".
But they didn't see anyone in the store, let alone the two children. Even the five big bags of goods that they had traded with Hongli during the day and moved into the store in full view of everyone were nowhere to be seen!
Several people looked at each other, and then cold sweat dripped from their foreheads.
Oh no! I’ve fallen into a trap!
Just as they were about to run away, they saw flames outside. It turned out that Black Bear and his guards had surrounded the Jufeng Grocery Store.
Seeing that the situation was not right, they did not dare to stay any longer and could only rush out. However, two fists were no match for four hands, and they were quickly killed or captured by the guards. No one escaped.
Black Bear listened to his subordinates' report and nodded with satisfaction.
He was just passing by, and then he noticed that there seemed to be some unusual movement in the grocery store. Thinking of the importance of the two children, he immediately surrounded the grocery store.
I didn't expect that the criminal was really caught.
Thinking of this, his face darkened. These bastards were too arrogant and didn't take the guards seriously at all...
However, the garrison now has grain and salt. As long as we have more time to develop, we won’t have to endure the humiliation of these bastards anymore!
"Guards on duty here tonight, go and receive your punishment!" Black Bear said angrily.
If he hadn't happened to pass by, the Jufeng Grocery Store would have been in danger. These guards had no idea how important this grocery store is to Jufeng Town now!
Black Bear looked towards the Jufeng Grocery Store and his expression suddenly changed.
There was such a big commotion, but the two teenagers didn't come out for such a long time. Could it be that... He hurriedly ran into the grocery store to check.
However, Black Bear soon expressed the same doubt.
Where are the people? Where are the goods?
-
Ping An Grocery Store No. 1.
Tang Yu'an and Zhou Qi had no idea about the conflict that had occurred in Jufeng Town, nor did they know that Store No. 2 was so lively tonight.
After dinner, Tang Yu'an opened the hardware upgrade interface to check.
To unlock the Guardian Barrier's all-weather defense against destructive natural disasters and all-weather defense against dangerous creatures, both require 3,000 points and 300 points of store popularity respectively.
"Now the points requirements have been met, and the only thing left is the store's popularity." Tang Yu'an said.
Zhou Qi nodded. "Jufeng Town has a large population. As long as no one causes trouble, it shouldn't take long to reach 300 points of popularity."
"Then which function should we activate first?" Tang Yu'an felt that both functions were quite important and he couldn't decide on the priority.
Zhou Qi also frowned.
"Maybe we can ask Grandpa Li tomorrow."
"good!"
Tang Yu'an looked at the other options again. After upgrading to level 1 in No. 1 Store, other functions of the hardware upgrade were also unlocked.
【floor】
[1. Cement floor (1 point)]
2. Wooden floor (2 points)
[3. Tile Floor (Unlocked at Shop Level 2)]
【wall】
[1. Cement wall (1 point)]
【2. Paint the wall (click to select color)】
【3. Door (click to select material and pattern)】
【4. Window (click to select material and pattern)】
[The above prices are all per square meter]
Tang Yu'an's eyes lit up slightly.
I didn’t expect that the decoration of doors and windows is included in the walls, and you can also choose the material!
What he didn't expect was that new options appeared under [Floor] and [Wall].
[Grocery store water (unlocked at store level lv2)]
[Grocery Store Electricity (Unlocked at Main Store Level 3, Branch Store Level 2)]
Upgrading hardware can actually unlock water and electricity!
Tang Yu'an's eyes lit up.
He quickly looked at the conditions for upgrading the branch to level 2: store popularity of 500, 1000 points, and 5 pieces of level 1 furniture in the branch.
The last two conditions are very simple, the only difficult one is the popularity of 500 stores.
However, according to their progress today, as long as they go to Jufeng Town to do business every day, they will be able to meet the requirements in a few days.
"Once I upgrade Store No. 1 to level 2, I can redeem my points for clean water here!"
Tang Yu'an said happily, "In the future, we can unlock the electricity for the grocery store, so it won't be pitch black at night."
Although it is still a bit difficult to upgrade the main store to level 3, this undoubtedly gives him greater motivation.
Everything about No.1 Store is really good, except that there is no water or electricity. It is pitch black everywhere at night, which is really inconvenient.
Zhou Qi was also a little surprised.
If there was electricity, I could cook here too...
Then he thought of something and said, "Look at the window?"
"Oh, okay!"
Tang Yu'an directly authorized the newly unlocked function to Zhou Qi, the branch manager, so that the two of them could check it together.
The materials that can be unlocked for windows include wood and glass. Different materials and windows with different patterns require different points, just like textile fabrics.
You can ignore the others for now, but windows and doors are more important.
There will probably be more people staying at No. 1 Store in the future, and it would be inconvenient without a door.
As for the windows, there is no need to mention them. The material they use to seal the windows is still plastic wrap, which is fragile and cannot be opened or closed. It is definitely not as good as glass windows.
“There are so many kinds of glass!”
The more expensive the glass, the harder it is and the better the sound insulation, and the same goes for wood.
Tang Yu'an tried to choose both wood and glass materials at the same time, and chose the highest price at the moment, while choosing the cheapest pattern and style.
After he clicked confirm, the system deducted 100 points. Suddenly, the broken window in Room 901 became whole again, and the window frame material changed from metal to wood.
Tang Yu'an and Zhou Qi checked with flashlights and found that the glass was really strong.
Zhou Qi threw stones at the glass but failed to break it. It was probably impossible for him to break out of the window like he did during the day.
Moreover, once the windows are closed, the wind blocking effect is very good and the air permeability is also good.
Looking at this window, Tang Yu'an suddenly felt that his points were in jeopardy again.
If the entire building were equipped with such windows, how many points would it take?
but……
"Is it okay for others to see such a clean and beautiful window?" Tang Yu'an frowned and said with some concern.
In addition to windows, there are doors, floors and walls. If the entire building is decorated beautifully in the future, won’t it be too eye-catching?
When others come here and take a look, they will immediately find that something is wrong.
Just like the main store, they have been keeping it secret for fear of attracting covetousness, and dare not let outsiders know about it.
Zhou Qi thought for a moment and said, "It's different."
The main store is not just a grocery store, it is also their home, a place that is extremely important to them, so it is inevitable that they are cautious and dare not let go.
But No.1 Store is different. It was originally established for experimentation.
They can boldly explore and use the functions of the system. With the teleportation array, they can escape at any time.
However, this is only the last resort. After all, they have spent so many points in No.1 Store, how could they give them up easily?
However, with the protection of four mutant creatures, although it cannot be said to be impregnable, it can still intimidate most people.
If it really doesn't work, you can choose to close the store.
Of course, in this case, Granny Guo, Kang Kang and others would also be sent out of the store.
"So the most important thing for us now is to improve our strength. As long as we are strong enough, we can keep it even if we reveal more things."
Tang Yu'an nodded, "It would be great if we could get the emerald here as well."
In this way, the security level of No.1 Store can definitely be maximized!
Of course, Tang Yu'an was just thinking about it. Emerald is a plant after all. If any problems arise after transplantation, he will cry to death.
He couldn't help but look at Yuanbao and Black Pearl.
Speaking of improving your strength...
Tang Yu'an remembered something and quickly took the bear paw from the main store warehouse.
"Come and eat!"
The level of that mutant giant bear should be quite high. Its flesh and blood will definitely be useful for Yuanbao and Black Pearl to improve their strength!
But Black Pearl only glanced at Bear Claw and then looked away.
Yuanbao walked over and licked the blood on the bear's paw, then stopped.
On the other hand, Wangcai and Yinbi held the bear paw and chewed it actively, looking very excited.
"Why don't you eat?" Tang Yu'an was very confused.
"Maybe they have just advanced not long ago?" Zhou Qi guessed.
"Oh, that's true." I dormant for several days after eating the female lizard last time, and it hasn't been that long now.
Worried that Wangcai and Yinbi would eat too much, Zhou Qi cut off a large piece of bear paw meat and shared it with them, and asked Tang Yu'an to store the remaining bear paws in his personal warehouse.
"I wonder what happened to that mutant giant bear?"
Tang Yu'an opened the map and searched for the light spot of the mutant giant bear, and found that it was heading towards the center of the deserted city.
After turning into a mouse, its movement speed should have slowed down a lot, so it had been running for most of the day but still hadn't run past the swimming pool, and was still within Tang Yu'an's observation range.
Speaking of which…
Tang Yu'an remembered what Hongli said about "Xie Chaori". He recalled the information that had been marked for him before, and then searched in the search bar.
Soon the search results came out——
An inverted triangle indicator icon appeared in the direction where the mutant black bear was moving. There was a foggy area that Tang Yu'an and Zhou Qi had not set foot in yet.
Or rather, few people set foot there.
Because the location indicated by the inverted triangle was almost in the center of the deserted city, in the primeval forest that Tang Yu'an and Zhou Qi had once seen from afar.
So, Xie Chaori is not only still alive, but has also survived alone in the center of the deserted city for so many days?
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
