Chapter 123
Lan Lin's reaction speed was not slow.
But when he appeared outside Store No. 1, he was already in the water. He was swept into the water by the current.
After just choking on a mouthful of water, he subconsciously released his ice ability, erected an ice wall around himself, and wrapped himself in a thick layer of ice.
While draining the floodwaters within the ice layer, it also isolates possible external dangers.
It turned out that his response was correct.
The ice not only protected him from drowning, but also prevented creatures in the flood from getting to him in the first place.
After getting a chance to catch his breath, Lan Lin quickly broke through the ice above his head before his oxygen ran out and climbed out of the temporary protective shield he had built.
It was a little after six in the evening and it was already very dark, but there was still light shining through the clouds.
Lan Lin stared blankly at the scene in front of him, then looked around in disbelief.
From the other surrounding scenery, he could clearly tell that he was indeed in the community where the Huangcheng grocery store was located.
Directly in front of him was where the 10-story building should have been.
But now…
The building disappeared! It vanished without a trace before his eyes!
Thinking of something, Lan Lin looked around and found that there was no one else around except himself, and he couldn't help but panic.
"Ah Jin?"
"Ah!"
He shouted loudly, his expression showing unprecedented panic and helplessness.
"Ah Zhen, where are you? Ah Zhen!"
Room 701.
Lin Zhen was handing a bottle to Lan Lin, but as soon as she stretched out her hand, Lan Lin disappeared right before her eyes.
What's going on?
She froze for a second, then quickly looked around the room.
"Lan Lin? Lan Lin!"
Lin Zhen looked around but couldn't find anyone in the room, and he felt panicked.
"Hey! Don't scare me! Is this your new ability?"
Lin Zhen shouted at the air, "I know how powerful you are. Come out now and stop making trouble!"
"I still have a lot of things to clean up. If you keep making trouble, I'll be angry!"
Lin Zhen searched every corner of the room, but could not find any trace of Lan Lin. It was as if he had disappeared out of thin air.
This is too scary!
Just when Lin Zhen was about to look for Old Li, he vaguely heard shouting coming from outside.
"Ah Zhen, Ah Zhen!"
Why does this sound like Lan Lin's voice? When did he run outside?
Lin Zhen rushed to the window, opened it and looked out. Sure enough, he saw a figure standing on the ice outside the building.
"Lan Lin!"
Lin Zhen responded, but the other party seemed to be unable to hear her and continued shouting.
No, there's no need to panic even if I can't hear her, right? Can't I just go look for her in the building? But then again, how did Lan Lin get outside?
Seeing Lan Lin still going crazy outside, Lin Zhen looked down at his feet.
Her foot injury wasn't serious to begin with. She had just applied some medicine and now she doesn't feel any pain anymore.
So she climbed out of the window directly, and moved down the building nimbly and flexibly. She quickly reached the yard on the first floor through the balcony and windows, and then climbed onto the wall.
Lan Lin couldn't hear Lin Zhen's response and had already left the spot. While calling out, he released ice energy to freeze the water surface.
The creatures that jumped up to attack him were also frozen by the ice balls he released.
He came outside the wall and found something unusual—
The ice road under his feet was cut off. No matter how he released ice energy, he could not freeze the water in front of him.
Lan Lin frowned and stretched out his hand tentatively.
Sure enough, there was an invisible layer blocking him in front of him.
So Lin Zhen and the others were trapped behind this layer of things? Then why was he the only one who escaped?
Lan Lin was thinking about a solution, when suddenly...
"What are you doing?"
A voice suddenly sounded from the side above his head. Lan Lin looked up and saw... In the dim light, only Lin Jue's head was left floating in the air, staring at him straight.
“Wow!”
Lan Lin was so scared that he sat down on the ice, and his face suddenly lost all color.
Lin Zhen was also startled by his reaction. She squatted on the wall, looked down at Lan Lin who was sitting on the ice, and asked with a puzzled look on her face:
"What are you doing?"
Lan Lin's body was stiff, her lips were trembling, and she pointed at her head that was "floating" in the air.
"You...you're dead?"
In addition to panic and fear, there was a hint of crying in his voice.
Lin Zhen felt like he had discovered a new world.
She looked at Lan Lin curiously, but because the wall was high and the light was not very good, she couldn't see clearly.
Fortunately, the water surface was more than one meter deep, so it was not a problem for her to jump down.
So, Lin Zhen jumped off the wall and landed lightly on the ice next to Lan Lin, then bent down to look at him.
Lan Lin was stunned at first. Looking at Lin Zhen who had become whole again, he hurriedly got up, grabbed her shoulders with both hands, and then touched her body.
"You're not dead?"
Lin Jue, who was about to laugh at him, suddenly blushed, "Fuck, what are you touching!"
She slammed Lan Lin's hand away and said angrily, "You're the one who's going to die!"
Lan Lin finally confirmed that Lin Jue was not dead, so he quickly turned his face away and wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. When he turned his head and saw Lin Jue coming to look at him again, he quickly changed the subject.
"You're not dead, so what happened just now?" Lan Lin was full of confusion.
"What's going on? I want to ask you something..." Lin Zhen suddenly stopped.
Because she raised her head and finally noticed the deserted city grocery store disappearing before her eyes.
"What the hell! Where's the store?"
"You saw the store disappear too, right?"
Lin Zhen ignored Lan Lin's question and reached forward, then she touched the rough and uneven surface of the wall.
Because the part of the wall exposed above the water was less than 1.6 meters, Lin Zhen stretched out his hand and stood on tiptoe to touch the top of the wall.
Following her muscle memory, she quickly climbed back up the wall.
At this time, the building of the Huangcheng Grocery Store appeared in front of her again.
What is going on!
Lin Zhen looked at the building, then leaned over to look at Lan Lin outside the wall.
Lan Lin stared at her operation in a daze, and finally understood what had happened just now - because part of Lin Zhen's body was invisible, it caused such a scary effect just now!
When Lin Zhen looked out again, Lan Lin quickly adjusted his expression.
He imitated Lin Zhen's movements, but found that no matter how he stood on tiptoe or reached out, he couldn't touch anything.
He is taller than Lin Zhen, so it can't be a height issue.
So... there should be an invisible barrier in front of him, isolating him from the things in front of him.
The strange thing is that this barrier seems to only work on him.
"Can't you come in?" Lin Zhen also discovered the problem.
Lan Lin nodded with a heavy expression.
Lin Zhen touched his chin, suddenly thinking of something, and said, "When Old Li left this afternoon, didn't he tell you that you had to decide whether to stay before evening?"
Lan Lin was stunned for a moment, then nodded.
At that time, Old Li asked him if he wanted to stay, and he said he would think about it...
Could it be related to this matter?
Because he didn't reply in time, they threw him out when the time came? This grocery store is really weird!
"Wait here for a moment. I'll go ask the old man."
After saying that, Lin Zhen turned around, jumped off the wall, and ran to the fifth floor to find Old Li, leaving Lan Lin alone.
He was soaked through, and as the evening breeze blew, he stood alone in the deserted ruins at night, shivering.
Lan Lin took a deep breath and used his supernatural powers to remove moisture from his clothes and hair, but this still couldn't relieve his coldness.
Every minute and every second that followed was torture for Lan Lin.
Fortunately, there were creatures that would occasionally emerge from the water to attack him, which made him feel less lonely.
Finally, after what felt like half a century had passed, the figures of Lin Zhen and Old Li appeared above him.
Only one of them showed his head. Although I was mentally prepared, I have to say that it was really creepy.
"Xiao Lin, come in." Old Li said, "You have been granted access."
Hearing this, Lan Lin couldn't help but stretch out his hand and tentatively touched the front of him.
Sure enough, the touch felt different.
Before, it was a smooth barrier, but now he could feel the rough texture of the wall. He imitated Lin Zhen's previous movements and groped his way up the wall.
When Lan Lin saw the building of the Huangcheng Grocery Store appear in front of him, he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
Behind him, the mutant fish that had jumped out of the water to bite him also turned into an invisible barrier halfway, and then fell down and landed on the ice where he had just stood.
Looking at this scene, even Lin Zhen was stunned.
They all looked at Old Li.
"Old man, what's going on?" Lin Zhen asked directly.
Old Li looked at the two of them. Not to mention Lin Zhen, he also watched Lan Lin grow up since he was a child.
Although this kid's personality becomes more and more weird as he grows older, his character is still trustworthy.
He thought for a moment and said, "As you can see, after 6 p.m., the Deserted City Grocery Store will enter a hidden state."
"Uninvited customers are not allowed to enter, and dangerous mutant creatures are also kept out."
Lin Zhen looked at him in disbelief, "So this house has mutated?"
In this wasteland, not only living things mutate, but even inanimate objects begin to mutate?
Lan Lin disagrees with this view.
He stared at Old Li, hoping he could give an answer.
Old Li organized his words and said, "It should be said that this is a manifestation of supernatural power."
"The manifestation of supernatural powers?"
"Yes." Old Li nodded. "The specific details should start from a month ago..."
Lan Lin listened carefully, but the more he listened, the more he felt something was wrong.
The owners of the grocery store in the deserted city are those two teenagers, so the owner of this special ability should be one of them.
That's an easy guess, but the question is...
Why do we have to explain in such detail how the two teenagers saved him?
And why, as he listened, his heart was suddenly filled with respect - although this behavior was indeed worthy of respect, it didn't seem to be in line with his character?
Lan Lin's confusion only lasted for a moment, and soon his heart was filled with admiration.
"Xiao An... the boss is amazing!"
Listening to Lan Lin's heartfelt sigh, Old Li nodded in satisfaction, and then finally got to the point.
"The Deserted City Grocery Store was built by him and Xiaoqi. That barrier is called 'Guardian' and is one of his abilities."
He had discussed this with the two children. If they were to take in customers at night, this would be discovered sooner or later.
So they made up a plausible excuse.
However, apart from confirming that someone can be trusted, Old Li would not explain it so clearly.
Because of this ability, all major forces will definitely flock to it. If the bigwigs in the fortress knew about it, they would definitely find ways to kidnap Tang Yu'an.
Even though this barrier only appears at night.
So Old Li was worried. In his opinion, it would be better not to take those people in, but since this was what the two children wanted to do, he could only help them reduce the risks as much as possible.
"You should understand the value of this ability." Old Li looked at Lin Zhen and Lan Lin seriously.
"Xiao An is a very kind child. So when the flood came, he didn't choose to live in seclusion in a corner. Instead, he stepped forward and invited you to take shelter in the grocery store."
"No matter what, we have to be grateful."
"I hope you can keep this secret together, protect him together, and allow this place to continue to exist as a refuge for the deserted city."
Finally, he said solemnly: "We can't lose him, do you understand?"
Faced with such a serious warning from Old Li, Lin Zhen and Lan Lin both nodded vigorously at the same time.
They were not people with bad intentions to begin with, and with the effect of the "savior" halo, they respected Tang Yu'an from the bottom of their hearts.
not to mention……
If what Old Li said is true, this is also in their interest.
The fortress was too far away from them. Not to mention Lin Zhen, Lan Lin was also a freedom-loving person, otherwise, with his strength, he would have gone to Hong Li long ago.
"What do you need us to do?" Lan Lin asked.
"Forget what you learned today, don't tell anyone else, and just live your life in the grocery store."
In fact, Old Li also felt that he couldn't keep it secret for long.
For now, we can only take one step at a time and accumulate strength.
Anyway, they will be trapped by the flood for at least the next month, and even if these residents want to sell information to the people in the fortress, they can't do it.
Afterwards, Old Li took Lan Lin and Lin Zhen back to the building.
It was already very dark, and in the entire building only the living room of Room 501 was lit, which was very eye-catching when standing in the yard.
However, once you enter the building, this feeling is no longer apparent.
Old Li lit the candle in the lamp and led them up the stairs back to the seventh floor with the lamp.
Lin Zhen followed behind Old Li and still felt something was unreal.
She couldn't help but ask, "Does that mean we can sleep peacefully at night without worrying about mutant creatures suddenly breaking into the room until dawn?"
"You can understand it that way."
Looking at the shocked expressions of Lin Zhen and Lan Lin, Old Li seemed to see his former self, and felt... inexplicably refreshed.
"That's way too cheap! It's like charity!"
Lin Zhen was very happy at the thought that he could sleep peacefully at night without having to spray large doses of poison for defense.
Being able to get a good night's sleep is definitely a luxury for people who have lived in the wasteland for a long time.
"It's good that you know it." said Old Li.
In his opinion, this charge is just a symbolic one, and it is mainly for points and experience points.
Oh, and there’s also store popularity.
"Where are you going to live?" He looked at Lan Lin.
Lan Lin looked at the bottles and jars in Lin Zhen's room, hesitated for a second, and then said decisively: "I'll live next door."
According to the current situation, it is absolutely certain that Lin Zhen will live here for a long time.
Lan Lin felt uncomfortable when she thought of the poisonous weeds and mushrooms she had kept in the house.
"OK."
Old Li took him into 702, told him the rules of Store No. 1, and then went back to the fifth floor with a lamp.
When he returned to Room 501, he smelled a fragrance coming out.
"Grandpa, come and eat."
Tang Yu'an saw him and came out to greet him with a smile, "Brother Xiaoqi made grilled fish and fragrant white rice!"
The grilled fish was naturally made with piranhas caught today, and one was sent to each household living upstairs.
As for the customers downstairs, we didn’t deliver any food because we were not familiar with the place. If they want food, they can wait until tomorrow to bring something to exchange.
"How's Brother Lan Lin?"
"It's okay. I've put him in Room 702. He should be able to stay here in the future, judging by the situation."
Tang Yu'an nodded.
When he and Brother Xiaoqi left to find Lin Zhen, he added all the customers to the overnight accommodation list. He didn't expect to meet Lan Lin again later, so he forgot about him.
He just remembered this matter when Grandpa Li came to see him.
Moreover, after adding Lan Lin to the overnight stay list, he also found that a settings button had been added at some point on the overnight stay list interface.
【Overnight stay rules】
[Description: Automatically unlocked when there are more than 10 overnight customers. The mysterious merchant and branch manager can set rules to manage the customers on the overnight list.]
[Note: Overnight stay rules will be effective 24/7, please set them carefully]
Yes, he can now make rules to restrict the behavior of overnight guests!
And this rule works during the day too!
After dinner, Tang Yu'an took out an umbrella, sat under it and shared the good news with Old Li.
Old Li knew that the umbrella could adjust the temperature, so he didn't express any doubts about the man's sudden opening of the umbrella, and was quickly attracted by what he said.
"Rules for overnight stays?"
"Yes, this is what the adult just opened for us. What kind of rules do you think would be more appropriate?"
Old Li couldn't help but look at Zhou Qi.
It is impossible for these two children not to have their own ideas. They just respect him, so they ask for his advice first. He knows very well that he is just an employee and cannot take over the leadership.
So Old Li kicked the question back: "What do you think?"
"I think the three rules of not stealing, not robbing, and not doing anything that hurts others are very important," said Tang Yu'an.
This is basically the same as the rules set by Zhou Qi before, but it is written into the overnight rules and will become mandatory.
Zhou Qi also nodded and said, "One more thing, you can't destroy the store building."
Old Li thought for a moment and then said, "Can we confine them all to their rooms and not let them go out?"
As long as they don't go out, there won't be any trouble, right? Although it's in effect 24/7, since they can write the rules, can they also set time limits?
Tang Yu'an frowned. This could indeed eliminate risks at the source, but wouldn't it be a little too inhumane?
“What if I need to go to the bathroom at night?”
He said, "Also, if I get sick in the middle of the night and can't get help, wouldn't that be... not so good?"
Obviously, compared to the ruthless Old Li, Tang Yu'an is much more merciful.
Old Li nodded. If it were in the past, he might have criticized them, but he now knew that these two children did have the capital to be kind.
Build a real shelter in a deserted city...
Although this was just a rhetoric he used to fool Lin Zhen and Lan Lin, it sounded really touching.
"Why not restrict some areas as restricted areas?" Zhou Qi compromised.
Some places in the building hide their secrets, and these residents cannot be allowed to move around freely.
Zhou Qi proposed: "The 9th and 10th floors will be designated as restricted areas. All overnight guests will not be allowed to enter at any time, while the 5th floor will only be open during the day."
The 9th floor is their room and Old Li's room, which not only has a teleportation array, but also a warehouse. The 10th floor is where the refrigerators and freezers for cooling during the day are placed, and no one is allowed to go up there.
Room 501 is temporarily used as a grocery store, and some goods are stored here. It is best not to let anyone in at night.
In this way, Old Li can sleep well at night.
Old Li thought it was okay, but he still looked at Tang Yu'an and asked, "What do you think, Xiao'an?"
Tang Yu'an touched his chin and said, "I think we can set up Room 501 as a restricted area. Even during the day, only our employees can enter."
In this way, residents who have an emergency transaction at night can come to Room 501 and knock on the door, and then Grandpa Li will stand at the door and hand over the goods.
Although Grandpa Li would be woken up, such situations should be relatively rare, and he can sleep well most of the time.
During the day, this rule can also play a big role——
After all, money is a motivating force. They have only taken out a small amount of goods now, but Grandpa Li is so nervous, let alone the future.
If customers are allowed to come and go freely, they will see the types and quantities of these goods.
Although they are bound by the rules not to rob and steal, but what if they do so with outsiders? Guests who are not included in the overnight stay list are not subject to this restriction.
It's impossible for Tang Yu'an to add all the customers he has come into contact with to the overnight stay list, right?
"Why not?" Zhou Qi asked.
If the customers on the overnight stay list are forced to follow the rules they set, and not rob or steal or hurt others, the security of the grocery store will be greatly improved.
Tang Yu'an was stunned by the question.
He hesitated for a moment, then opened the overnight accommodation list and started to operate. He would know if it works after trying it!
So he clicked on the customers he had done business with so far and chose to add all of them to the overnight stay list, and then a system prompt popped up.
[The upper limit of overnight accommodation has been exceeded, please delete it]
[You can invite 100 customers to stay overnight at your current store level. Please work hard to upgrade, or unlock the "Big is Beautiful" main store upgrade direction to increase the number of places.]
The author has something to say:
Anzai: I feel like my points are going to be lost again! [Element Detection.jpg]
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
