Chapter 207: Protective Shield
Scaling walls and burrowing underground…
The city walls couldn’t stop this thing.
No wonder the Shuifu District fell so quickly.
Su Tao immediately checked her total assets—4.85 million. She was just 150,000 short of being able to purchase a protective shield!
Pei Dong’s face darkened as he turned to Guan Zining and said,
“Get some rest. I’ll go report this. Don’t spread the word yet.”
With that, he turned and left. Shortly after, the roar of an engine was heard speeding away.
The medical room was eerily quiet.
Chen Xi was still pale from the immersive reenactment of the scene earlier.
Zhong Gaoyi remained silent, gazing at the high walls and electrified fences outside the window, feeling worried about Taoyang for the first time.
Zhuang Wan, Qian Lin, and the others said nothing.
Su Tao suddenly asked, “Do you trust me?”
Everyone looked at her and nodded firmly.
“Taoyang will be fine. I guarantee it. Rongrong, go settle this month’s vegetable supply bill for Dongyang immediately. Hurry!”
Qian Rongrong bolted out the door, swiftly calculated the amount, and, without considering the time, made a direct call to collect the debt.
The finance officer at Dongyang was caught off guard but, hearing her urgency, applied for an emergency payment. Finally, at around 1 a.m., the funds were transferred to Taoyang.
The amount was exactly 150,000. As soon as it arrived, Su Tao purchased a 5,000-square-meter protective shield from the defense store.
The moment the order was placed, a transparent, dome-shaped energy shield appeared over Taoyang. It was almost imperceptible unless one looked closely.
However, if attacked or forcibly entered, it would become indestructible.
Additionally, it maintained a comfortable temperature, provided wind resistance, and blocked harmful UV rays…
The next morning, Zhuang Wan stepped outside and looked up at the sky. She turned to Chen Xi in confusion,
“Why does it feel cooler today? The sun still looks just as strong as usual. Do you feel the same?”
Chen Xi glanced at the usually fan-wielding Old Gu, who was uncharacteristically not fanning himself.
“Mom, it’s not an illusion.”
It wasn’t just them. Tenants stepping out of their air-conditioned rooms to go to work or school felt it too.
Some even thought the heatwave had passed and danced with joy—until they stepped outside Taoyang’s gate and were hit by a scorching blast of air, forcing them to retreat in shock.
That’s when they realized—only Taoyang was cool!
Even Guan Zining, lying in the medical room, felt the change.
She opened the window and found that it was even cooler outside than inside.
Su Tao felt it too. She was convinced the money was well spent—saving a significant amount on air conditioning costs. She had to hurry and establish the shields in the other two zones as well.
Even White Sesame, the lazy one, no longer resisted going outside.
Xuedao’s tongue wasn’t hanging out as much when he stepped out.
Jiang Yu emerged from the shadows, staring at the sky in a daze. The sunlight was bright but not scorching— the apocalyptic summer heat was powerless here.
A true paradise… If only his little sister were here.
By morning, news of the change had spread across Dongyang. Even those inquiring about Taoyang’s supplies had heard about it.
A crowd of outsiders gathered at the gates, trying to see for themselves.
Some bold individuals even suggested climbing over the walls, only to be fiercely warned by a tenant:
“You’ll be electrocuted to death if you try.”
As if to validate his words, the electric fence atop the wall crackled with bright blue currents, scaring the onlookers into stepping back and abandoning the idea.
Still, some refused to give up. They discreetly sent drones over the walls, only for them to be knocked down by an invisible barrier before they could cross.
The onlookers’ eyes widened in disbelief. They scrutinized the air but saw nothing.
Meanwhile, security cameras captured everything. The footage was immediately sent to Qi Yunlan.
Qi Yunlan was dumbfounded. Remembering her boss’s promise from last night, her heart pounded as she rushed to share the news with her colleagues.
By the time Su Tao arrived at the office, everyone knew about the transparent shield over Taoyang. All eyes were on her, sparkling with anticipation.
“I told you,” Su Tao said calmly, “Taoyang will be safe. Nothing from the sky or underground will be able to breach us.”
*
While Taoyang rejoiced, Dongyang and the surrounding areas struggled with worsening supply shortages and growing zombie threats.
The issue of the crawling creatures was temporarily suppressed, but Dongyang sent researchers to the battlefield to collect evidence and even invited zombie research expert Shen Wencheng from Hekang.
At the same time, Ji Boda planned to purchase and transport a second batch of supplies from Taoyang, so he decided to bring Shen Wencheng’s team along to Dongyang.
Before leaving, he warned his son, “Now that you’re married, keep yourself in check. I don’t expect you to be great, just don’t cause trouble and embarrass me. Treat Mengmeng well.”
Ji Caizhe nodded repeatedly.
Ji Boda suddenly remembered something and asked,
“I heard your father-in-law has been in Dongyang a lot lately. Did Mengmeng mention why?”
Ji Caizhe stiffened and immediately shook his head. “No, she didn’t say anything.”
Of course, she had!
He was trying to make trouble for Su Tao.
But Su Tao rarely left her residence, making it difficult to find an opportunity.
They even had people disguise themselves as tenants to apply for housing, but since they weren’t locals, they were all rejected.
Although Ji Caizhe feared his father finding out he had offended Su Tao, deep down, he hoped his father-in-law would succeed in teaching that woman a lesson.
She thought she was so great just because she built Taoyang?
Ji Boda gave his son a long look. “Mengmeng really didn’t say anything?”
Ji Caizhe braced himself and replied, “Really, she didn’t. If you want, I can ask her later.”
Ji Boda dropped the subject and got into the car.
On the way to Dongyang, numerous acquaintances—some familiar, some not—asked him about Taoyang.
Ji Boda gave honest answers but was careful not to exaggerate, considering Taoyang’s reputation.
He planned to assess their supplies first before giving a definite answer.
After all, if people traveled a long way only to find nothing, it would offend them.
While he was carefully managing Taoyang’s reputation, his son, on the other hand, was busy slandering it.
“Taoyang? My advice—don’t bother. I went there with my dad once and met their boss. She’s not trustworthy. If you go, you might lose both your money and your life…”
But not everyone believed him.
“I heard your dad is heading there again. Are you trying to stop us from buying supplies?”
Ji Caizhe was at a loss for words.
“Forget it. You’re unreliable anyway. I shouldn’t have asked you—waste of time.”
Ji Caizhe felt a stab to the heart.
The controversy over supplies was heating up, with skepticism dominating.
But with Taoyang’s shield in place, Su Tao was in no rush to make money and wasn’t bothered by the negativity.
Even when Meng Qian furiously reported that someone had sent a vicious email to their official inbox, accusing her of scamming fellow survivors and being a disgrace to humanity, Su Tao didn’t take it to heart.
If no one was buying, it only meant supplies weren’t scarce enough yet.
Zhuang Wan fumed, “How can people make such accusations without proof?”
Qian Rongrong hesitated, “Maybe our promotional photos looked too good. They might think it’s fake and a trap.”
Everyone nodded in agreement.
Meanwhile, Fan Chuanhui, who had been happily putting up the promotional posters: “……” My fault?
Shifting the topic, Su Tao brought up plans for the new Tao-Chi Transit Hub:
“I plan to establish our own private military force there. I may reassign Xiaobo and Mist over.”
Qi Yunlan agreed without hesitation, even feeling relieved.
Managing ability users was no easy task.
But everyone agreed—Taoyang’s future was boundless.
