Chapter 96: Midnight Convoy
The fish fry may be small, but it’s a monopoly business.
If Huai Yu didn’t buy them, she could go up the mountain every day, setting traps in the pond to slowly gather fish and shrimp over time. But just the round trip alone takes three to four hours, not to mention that tiny pond…
Even if it were packed like sardines, it still couldn’t hold much!
After thinking it through, she still handed over 300 credits.
Great, now she only had 500 left.
Standing there and touching her bracelet, Huai Yu was deeply puzzled: she was clearly earning decent money, so why did it always disappear so fast?
In her basket was a large bag of water packed full of densely crowded fish fry, shrimp, loaches, and more—it was shockingly packed. Having gotten what she needed, she headed straight to the parking lot.
She removed her bracelet and read the code on it. Auntie scratched a couple of marks on the form and waved her off to get her cart.
“Um… don’t I need to return the bracelet?” Huai Yu asked curiously.
Auntie wasn’t worried at all!
That bracelet was a cheap, colorful street-market knockoff. Even giving it to kids would make you worry about health concerns—no one would want it.
“We agreed: three stops for one credit. Once you’ve used all three, return the bracelet.”
“Otherwise, if I take it back now, how are you going to remember the parking code next time?”
Huai Yu truly couldn’t remember it, so she quietly pushed the cart away.
The heavy basket was cleverly hung on both handlebars. She pedaled far out before suddenly turning her head.
The Jinyuan community looked much more prosperous now compared to her first visit to the trading market. Even the number of bikes parked at Auntie’s stall had grown to eleven or twelve.
People’s lives were clearly improving. So then…
What about Zhou Qian?
Was their trip to the wilderness this time meant to preserve this increasingly good life?
Just like Lin Xuefeng and the other mutants, who kept pushing toward the mutation threshold despite knowing it wouldn’t improve further.
Was it all for this present?
She pedaled on.
The April spring breeze was gentle and warm, but still carried a lingering chill.
The fish fry had a high mutation value, but Huai Yu’s pond water wasn’t exactly clean either. She used only a small amount of growth stimulation before releasing them into the pond.
As for the six lotus roots…
Compared to the plump ones she imagined, these were thin and pitiful.
Huai Yu sighed and exerted more power on them before rolling up her pants and carefully planting them in the pond’s muddy edges.
Hiss—water’s pretty cold.
She grabbed a bucket of water and went to water the thriving ginseng again. She had no idea how long it would take that mutated carrot to grow…
After finishing everything, Huai Yu finally gathered her courage and slowly returned to the bamboo grove behind the house.
“Um… Kuang Biao… are you okay?”
The bamboo leaves didn’t move—it looked dead.
But Huai Yu stared at the bamboo shoots breaking through the soil and growing rapidly, then at the two gopher-like baby geese in the clearing stabbing furiously at the new bamboo shoots—
Whichever grew fastest, they stabbed at it, “ah ah ah”-ing nonstop. Clearly having a great time.
Huai Yu: “…”
Got it. An invisible battle, huh? So, Rose is the household boss, Tian is uncounted, and these two can fight for second and third place!
She turned silently but then stepped back into the grove, “Um… little geese, if you’re going to walk around, that’s fine—but remember to poop back in the bamboo grove, and make it big.”
Otherwise, with how fast Kuang Biao grew, even his mutation ability wouldn’t keep up with the nutrient drain!
“Ah ah ah…” the geese responded loudly, still stabbing at shoots, having the time of their lives.
Looking around at the scattered bamboo, Huai Yu sighed and began dragging them to the clearing one by one.
Thin branches could become brooms, the inner core could be dried for tea, and the leaves collected and dried for fertilizer or firewood…
As for the long poles—
They could be split into firewood or woven into fences. Either way, they had to be split, or they’d pop loudly when burned—who could stand that?
Huai Yu looked at her new axe and truly thought: the house really needed a manservant.
But there was no manservant or castle. Huai Yu spent all afternoon hacking wood until her arms were shaking at dinnertime.
Finally able to lie down, she hesitated between her three spiritual reads and chose the most sleep-inducing one for the day.
Just as she opened Toward the Sun, she saw the opening poem:
“The sun casts its radiant feathered arrows,
Onto its bright and delicate flower crown…”
She paused, then got up again and carried her solar lamp to the rose corridor.
In the bright light, flying insects buzzed over the leaves and petals, only to silently fall, becoming part of the soil.
The pink-white petals swayed gently, beautiful and tranquil in the night.
After a moment’s hesitation, Huai Yu said, “If a convoy leaves the camp tonight… lots of vehicles… can you wake me up somehow?”
Zhou Qian hadn’t said anything, and the sentries hadn’t mentioned a single hint. Huai Yu didn’t even know if he had left during the day.
Still, she wanted to say it.
The light shone on her face, no longer flushed as it had been during the day, but pale and solemn.
Even her dark eyes held a trace of sorrow.
In the silent night, the rose petals opened and closed, gently swaying, as if promising her something.
Huai Yu smiled softly, oddly at peace: “Then… Thank you. I’ll go to sleep now.”
She gently touched a leaf and turned to leave.
This quiet night wasn’t any different from usual. The petals and leaves moved slightly, the air filled with a faint, lingering scent of roses.
Around midnight, Huai Yu opened her eyes.
The scent of flowers had grown stronger indoors. Three vases of various sizes bloomed vibrantly on the long table.
Feeling something, she quickly dressed, grabbed her lamp, and rushed out.
The wild fields of the rose estate had never felt so vast or undulating.
The green grass had grown knee-high, splashing juice on her white shoes as she ran.
Huai Yu raced with her lamp to the edge of the estate, where it bordered the road.
Panting heavily, she stood there and saw bright headlights in the distance.
Truck after truck rolled forward like beasts of the night.
Their brilliance made even her handheld lamp look like a firefly.
In one truck, Zhou Qian was resting with his eyes closed when someone spoke:
“Captain Zhou, is that the girl who brought the bamboo shoots?”
“What? That bamboo shoot was amazing! Let me see who had the guts to grow it!”
“Me too—she’s kinda far… Oh, I see her! Wait, is she wearing pajamas? Pink and blue? Wow, so cute! She looks so sweet!”
“Her hair is so fluffy… I wanna touch it…”
“No wonder you said she looked like a little sister. She really doesn’t look old… She’s so tiny—how could her family leave her alone in the Rose Corridor?”
“Right? I told you she seemed super well-behaved…”
Zhou Qian opened his eyes and rushed to the window.
Their trucks weren’t fully enclosed—easy for spotting mutated plants on the road.
Through the thick glass, from far away, under the glow of the headlights, a petite girl in pink-blue pajamas stood on the roadside, holding a little lamp and watching them.
The trucks slowed down, passing her one by one. Many unfamiliar faces looked out the windows.
Yet, in unison, everyone’s face softened at the sight.
She stood there, looking at each vehicle—like a helpless fledgling waiting for the mother bird to return.
Then another truck passed, and she spotted someone—eyes widening, she jumped and waved furiously:
“Brother! Captain Brother! Zhou Qian!”
Zhou Qian instinctively pressed his hand to the window and leaned closer. For some reason, his eyes reddened.
Huai Yu chased the truck with her gaze.
Zhou Qian didn’t know whether she could clearly see him in the dark. All he saw was the little girl holding a lamp, backlit by the headlights, like she was part of that glow.
Her features blurred.
“Come back alive!” she shouted. But amidst the rumbling engines, Zhou Qian could only guess from the fading movement of her lips—
—until she disappeared.
The cabin fell into silence.
After a while, someone muttered, “If only my little sister were that sweet…”
Zhou Qian chuckled softly, “She only acts sweet when she’s not trying to get her way…”
Truck after truck disappeared into the night, leaving no trace behind.
Huai Yu knew they would circle around to the far side of Sanqing Mountain, beyond her reach, then travel along its base to the wilderness.
The night wind was cold. She rubbed her arms, picked up her lamp, and turned back.
Behind her, two round, football-sized goslings had followed quietly. Their shiny black eyes looked up curiously and chirped:
“Ah!”
Huai Yu laughed, squatted down, and gently touched their bristly feathers.
“Following me in the middle of the night—worried about me, or just curious?”
She slowly walked back to the house, speaking to the goslings—or maybe to herself:
“It feels so good… to say goodbye in person.”
“That day when I woke up, everything in the house was gone, except the ice sculpture—”
“Do you understand? It felt like waking up on Sanqing Mountain: strange ancient buildings, unfamiliar trees… and nothing that belonged to me except the cocoon.”
“I always wondered—if I’d known he was going to the wilderness to meet death, I wouldn’t have slept that night—or at least I would’ve said goodbye.”
“Knowing someone’s thinking of them, whether facing death or fighting to live, probably makes it easier to be brave.”
She took a deep breath, looked back at the vast night, and murmured again, “Over 30% casualties every time… But Zhou Qian will be fine. He’s amazing, right?”
The wind gently stirred the air, rose petals drifting in the dark.
A week later, Huai Yu returned to the Hongsheng Trading Market.
At Huaxia Golden, Boss Tang sat looking haggard, even seeming thinner.
Strangely, he was wearing a raincoat over his clothes and rubber gloves—
Poisonous insects?
Huai Yu was curious: “Boss brother, what happened?”
Boss Tang barely raised his eyelids: “Nothing…”
“Oh.” Huai Yu nodded, scanned the shop, then set down her basket.
“Brought a ton of bean sprouts today! Mutation level 9!”
“Nine?!”
Boss Tang instantly perked up, failed at a kip-up, then slowly pulled himself up with the chair arm:
“Great, I knew your family had skills! Sure, low-mutation stuff is around, but lots of it gets snatched mid-route—I can’t even leave the store!”
He looked at the fresh, full basket of sprouts, expertly weighed them while Huai Yu added, “There’s a towel on top and bottom to keep them moist, all water—”
“No worries! Just shave off two pounds for water weight.” Boss Tang was in a great mood and asked, “By the way, why is it always you selling stuff? Don’t you have two older brothers? They just let you come alone? This basket’s worth a lot!”
Huai Yu smiled gently, her eyes soft: “They’ve gone to the wilderness.”
“…Oh.” Realizing something, Boss Tang cleared his throat and didn’t ask more.
Then he pulled out a brand new basin, tore off the plastic wrap, and poured the sprouts in.
Suddenly, Huai Yu saw a black ball roll out near her feet—about the size of a ping-pong ball—
“What’s this?”
“Don’t touch that!” Boss Tang yelped, panicking. “I’ll get the tongs!”
He squeezed past the counter, shouting:
“Keta Rō! You’re driving me crazy!”
Keta Rō?
Huai Yu blinked—sounded like a name from Fusang (Japan)? But wasn’t that country gone after the disaster?
She asked curiously, “Who’s Taro? A relative?”
Just then, Boss Tang flung open the back door—Huai Yu’s eyes widened in shock!
There stood a beetle-green bug, about 40–50 cm tall, front legs clutching a black ping-pong-ball-sized ball—
“A dung beetle?!”
