Chapter 241 | Chapter 242 | Chapter 243
Chapter 241: Water-type Ability Users
This question stumped Zhao Feiyan.
After a moment, he turned his head and said, “Let’s call the chef over.”
This really wasn’t the kind of work a boss should be doing.
The chef was a professional—he used to be in charge of the buffet for guests at the Qinyuanchun Bathhouse. His cooking was just so-so, but the fact that he had stuck by Zhao Feiyan since the cataclysm proved that although the boss looked rugged, he had plenty of charisma.
Otherwise, even with enough benefits, it wouldn’t have been easy to get so many people to follow his arrangements in the early days.
At that moment, the young men in the team swarmed over, quickly moving the vats and jars from Chen Xing’s truck bed, piling them into a solid mass.
The chef was so moved he almost sniffled. “Boss, you really are so considerate of me! I already told you, with meals and prep for over a hundred people, I can’t handle it alone… I didn’t expect you to go out and buy ready-made supplies!”
He grabbed a handful of dried cowpeas to inspect and smell, nodding approvingly. “Good stuff. No strange odors, the mutation value seems low, and they’ve been dried thoroughly. They’ll keep for a long time.”
“Of course they will!” Huai Yu’s dictionary didn’t contain the word “modesty.” She said proudly, “These are extra delicious when used to stew meat!”
The chef gave her a glance, thinking that this little girl certainly knew how to eat—it was just a pity she didn’t have much meat on her bones… tsk, she couldn’t even convert body fat, what a waste!
Zhao Feiyan breathed a sigh of relief. “Alright then, taste them one by one, estimate the prices, and figure out how to use them. The owner needs to take her vats back, so let’s wash and clean up the ones we’re keeping here.”
He wasn’t one for formalities, and the chef was even less so. “Why wash the jars and vats? Just use a clean storage bag—don’t tell me you intend to keep these until the next wilderness run! You said the same thing when I made spiced meat last time! I did all that sealing and freezing, and what did you guys do?”
“You stole it all in the middle of the night!”
“It made me so mad!”
“Boss, you decide first. If you want to save it for slow eating, no stealing, then leave it in the jars.”
After saying this, the chef looked at Huai Yu. “Little lady, you understand, right? These pickles can’t touch raw water. My jars and vats haven’t been washed in ages, and the water-type ability users in the team are just average—they’re not capable of delicate work like this, and I can’t guarantee they can make them perfectly dry in an instant.”
“So, if we come to an agreement later, please leave these jars and vats behind. We can swap them with the ones in our warehouse—next time we get a batch, we can bring these back.”
He looked at the pile of vegetables and did some quick math. “If we all eat sparingly and use them as side dishes for a taste of freshness each meal—I’d say they’ll last about two or three months.”
Feasting to their hearts’ content was out of the question. With this low-mutation-value produce, if they really ate as much as they wanted, they could burn through twenty thousand points in a single week!
Forget about running a Qinyuanchun Bathhouse; even digging up a gold mine wouldn’t be enough to feed them all!
Zhao Feiyan’s face scrunched up in heartache. Feeding such a massive group—people who were either enhanced physically or were ability users—cost a fortune!
With over a hundred people in the caravan, if they all went to the wilderness every time, the costs for fuel, equipment, and daily necessities would hit twenty thousand points every two weeks!
Of course, they didn’t do that daily; having too many people often made operations difficult. So, they split into three teams, taking turns.
But even with only thirty-plus people per team, they were a major force among explorers. Zhao Feiyan offered generous benefits, so everyone worked hard, and every outing yielded significant gains.
Huai Yu listened, marveling at their discussion. She glanced at Chen Xing and whispered, “Sister Chen Xing, I shouldn’t have said that earlier. I didn’t realize how hard it was to manage so many people! You’re already amazing.”
“Look at Captain Zhao, he’s so much older than you—it’s only natural you can’t compare to him yet.” She whispered to Chen Xing, acting very conspiratorial.
She felt like she was being incredibly heart-to-heart, but while Chen Xing’s expression had started off touched, it quickly grew conflicted.
Even Zhou Qian couldn’t help but glance over, his expression strange.
Zhao Feiyan turned his head, suddenly shouting, “A man is in his prime at forty! What does a little girl know?! Who’s old?!”
Huai Yu: …
Zhou Qian suppressed a laugh. “You didn’t know? Many ability users have their five senses enhanced to a certain degree.”
So, whispering in front of them was entirely unnecessary.
Huai Yu: …
At that moment, the memory of Lin Xuefeng’s warnings and his thorough, no-loose-ends methods on that rainy night flashed before her eyes.
Huai Yu stiffened her face, trying hard to maintain a blank expression, but she knew she’d lost face by gossiping behind someone’s back!
Because of this interlude, she remained much quieter. Zhao Feiyan, on the other hand, felt uncomfortable—he was a grown man, why should he bicker with a little girl? Look how he’d scared her.
He thought for a moment and ordered, “She’s young, don’t bully her. Give her two kiwis.”
The kiwis had been brought back from the wilderness—six full crates of them. After testing, they found the mutation value was only 14. The group happily sold four crates, kept two to divide among themselves, and now there weren’t many left.
The reason they were still left was that they weren’t fully ripe when picked; they needed to sit for a while before they were ready to eat.
After gossiping behind someone’s back and then receiving their kindness…
Huai Yu took them, blushing deeply.
She quickly cast off these feelings, however, because the chef had already given his price. After some back-and-forth discussion, they settled on a total: “Twenty-three thousand points.”
Huai Yu was quite satisfied with this price. Although it looked like a lot of vats and jars, in reality, there weren’t that many vegetables.
For one thing, she had already sold a large batch of vegetables earlier, and even with her ability to force-grow them, the yield couldn’t keep up—she had to give the plants time to grow!
For another, the dried cowpeas and eggplant slices looked like a lot, but they weren’t very heavy. When all was said and done, this was the price.
With the contribution points arriving in her account, Huai Yu beamed—her car money should be enough now!
And for now…
The vats and jars were left with Zhao Feiyan, and Huai Yu needed to prepare a new batch. Right now, she was waiting for them to help clear out and clean the new containers in the warehouse!
Since water-type ability users were exceptionally good at cleaning, and Zhao Feiyan had three on his team, they chatted and laughed as they set up the chosen vats… In short, the prelude to the work was long.
When they finally began cleaning, Huai Yu was almost falling asleep. But remembering the shimmering treehouse she had seen the day after taking in Lin Xuefeng, she sat up straight again, watching them stretch out their hands—
“Swish, swish…” It was as if someone had a faucet in their palm; gushing water was constantly pouring out…
Beyond that, there was nothing else.
Chapter 242: The Gap Between Ability Users
Huai Yu was full of expectations for ability users!
Not to mention Lin Xuefeng, just look at Chen Xing—with a wave of her palms, the earth would heave like a giant python, smoothing out the road beneath her feet and stretching it forward…
Although it wasn’t a massive display, it was impressive enough.
Then there was Liang Zhu from the Construction Department. Also a earth-type user, she wasn’t much for combat, but when it came to infrastructure, she could flip earth and stone in the blink of an eye. Another flicker, and the soil would be compressed and rammed perfectly flat, so solid that even a hoe couldn’t dig into it.
That, too, was incredibly impressive.
Thus, ever since she decided to come to the [Bai Zhao Subsidy] company, Huai Yu had been secretly bubbling with anticipation.
Of course, being a newcomer, she felt it was improper to make requests, but she thought that once they were more familiar, she might see even more spectacular displays. And now, the water-type ability users were here to help clean the vats and jars…
In that instant, Huai Yu’s mind flashed back to a gloomy, rainy night, in a treehouse illuminated by flickering, dim firelight, where Lin Xuefeng’s jade-like, steady, and powerful palms rested.
The firelight danced in hazy colors on the back of his snowy white hands, and the slight, arching tendons on the back of his hands were clearly visible. With a slight movement of his fingers, the water followed his will, arching like a thin, transparent gel of cleansing.
Wherever the water flowed, all the dust and grime in the crevices were rolled up and washed away, leaving nothing behind but a dry, pristine surface.
Or, when he brought his index and middle fingers together and swept them gently upward, a curtain of water would surge from the ground, as if looking through a shadowy crystal wall, behind which the leaping firelight seemed sealed away by time…
Of course, she had already been asleep when the water curtain rose, but for some reason, she could recall every detail perfectly now, as if she had truly seen it with her own eyes.
Therefore, facing these three ability users, Huai Yu felt her heart thumping with anticipation.
And now, her racing heart finally came to a dead halt.
Because the three ability users were just holding the vats, their palms acting like faucets—water gushed out, rinsing the vats without even achieving high water pressure; they were really no different from actual taps.
She wasn’t ready to give up. “When you use your abilities, do you have any cooler, flashier methods? I heard you can even make ice!”
The entire lobby of the Qinyuanchun Bathhouse felt cool and refreshing—it was clear they had set up ice basins.
“Huh?” One of the ability users looked at Huai Yu and suddenly realized: “Oh, you want to see that!”
He grew proud. “You young ladies always love that flashy stuff. I’m a fairly composed person, so I usually don’t do this—it feels too much like showing off—”
He added, impatient: “Here, let me show you!”
He pressed his hands together, palms facing upward, and quickly condensed a water ball the size of a soccer ball. Huai Yu readjusted her expectations and waited, and waited, and waited…
She waited for several minutes!
Finally!
Inside the transparent, oversized water ball, ice silk slowly began to condense. Then, from bottom to top, ice crystals spread, inch by inch…
Huai Yu checked the time on her communicator, then looked back up, trying her best to show the man some respect.
Seven minutes later, the entire water ball had become a resplendent, crystal-clear ice ball.
Huai Yu fell silent.
It really was true—the gap between people, and the gap between abilities, was truly wider than the long-python-like cowpeas in her garden.
“How was that?” the man asked, looking somewhat smug. “Wasn’t that pretty flashy? To be honest, my control over water is considered top-tier in the entire team…”
Hearing this, the people beside him weren’t happy. “What’s that supposed to mean? There are only three of us in total. You’re ‘top-tier’—so which one of us is third?”
“Besides! When I was pursuing Chen Qing, I condensed a Frost Rose! Isn’t that much more romantic than your giant ice ball?”
“Oh, give it a rest. Who doesn’t know how you made that Frost Rose?”
Watching them about to break into an argument, Huai Yu asked curiously: “How do you make a Frost Rose?”
If one could condense a rose out of ice that looked lifelike enough, that should be pretty cool—definitely cooler than this ice soccer ball.
“Ahem…”
The man looked bashful.
Another person hurriedly answered: “He painstakingly fought for a rose in the wilderness and froze it on the spot to preserve it. When he returned to propose, he thawed the rose, dipped it in water, and then froze it again while it was still wet…”
In the end, the fiery red rose was cloaked in a layer of crystal-clear frost—at the very least, it passed the aesthetic test.
Huai Yu: …
She didn’t want to watch them wash the vats anymore. She turned to help the chef move items into the kitchen. Once they were out of earshot, she finally couldn’t hold it in and whispered to Zhou Qian: “Brother Zhou Qian, I’ve always thought it was a pity that you’re so strong but don’t have an ability.”
“Thinking about it now, you’re definitely stronger than these ability users! If you really had an ability like that, you might even be too embarrassed to use it…”
After saying this, she sighed deeply: “It turns out my ability isn’t weak at all. I’ll never feel inferior again.”
Zhou Qian was torn between laughing and crying.
First, he had never seen Huai Yu feel inferior in his life! In fact, he often had to worry for her because she was far too confident.
Secondly…
“I am indeed stronger than these types of ability users, but there are various reasons for that.”
“Because we train every day, and the frequency with which we fight people is far greater than that of explorers—explorers, as the name suggests, mainly focus on treasure hunting and rarely actively combat mutated organisms.”
“They generally only fight when they’re forced to for the sake of the harvest.”
“Secondly, among the five major ability types—wood, fire, earth, metal, and water—the water-type naturally has significantly less offensive power. But they have their strengths. If you don’t believe me, ask them: isn’t their water almost entirely free of mutation values?”
“Nowadays, water used by major laboratories, as well as the water circulating in the luxury market, relies entirely on them.”
As for why it was being extravagantly used to wash vats…
Zhou Qian suppressed a laugh: It was probably Zhao Feiyan trying to intimidate his business partners, showing off the power, wealth, and extravagance of the [Bai Zhao Subsidy] company.
Otherwise, given their method of cleaning, if they just found any water-type ability user to conjure a vat of water, they would have plenty of lackeys to help with the scrubbing.
Huai Yu was completely speechless.
After a while, she suddenly grew happy again: “With so many people here, I wonder if they need fresh vegetables?”
Zhou Qian shook his head: “Chen Xing didn’t mention it, so they definitely don’t—after all, our vegetables are too extravagant to eat.”
“Does the chef plan to use them as side dishes every day? A little bit per person per meal—so they’ll prioritize pickled or dried vegetables, as those make the rice easier to eat.”
As for what they ate daily…
“They probably choose high-end nutritional supplements paired with standard food. Supplements replenish the nutrients the body needs, and normal food keeps the stomach from atrophying. For example, vegetables with mutation values of about 16-17 aren’t hard to swallow and are relatively affordable.”
“Our vegetables are too high-quality. With so many people to feed, they can’t afford to eat them.”
Chapter 243: Adding to the Burden
That was true.
Huai Yu rested her chin in her hands, bringing her dreams of getting rich to a close.
Abilities meant consumption. Even though Zhou Qian ate a lot every day, in reality, he was still supplementing his diet with military-grade nutritional paste. The same went for Huai Yu; what she ate was also made possible by her swapping points through Zhou Qian’s comrades.
It was more comprehensive than the nutrition on the open market and better at supporting the high expenditure of energy. Otherwise, just based on how much she ate, how could her ability possibly keep up?
Moreover…
Zhou Qian added, “Explorers, because earning money isn’t easy, mostly spend their downtime in a state of ‘lying flat.’ Look at them when we arrived—they were just eating, drinking, and having fun. They lack the perseverance to exercise their abilities.”
“Besides, most of those working in the bathhouse dropped out of school early. They couldn’t control themselves when they were in school, so now that they have abilities, they have absolutely no intention of going to military academy to train and strengthen themselves.”
“Those like Chen Xing, who actively send their team members to train, are one in a million.”
Huai Yu finally understood—
It just meant that this group was significantly weaker compared to the Defense Army, the Garrison Army, or military academy graduates!
But, wasn’t it said that using abilities for a long time easily triggered a threshold value?
She looked over curiously, but Zhou Qian couldn’t help but laugh. “Unless you’re Garrison Army personnel fighting on the front lines without rest, look at how vast the country is—how many cases of triggering that threshold value do you hear about in total?”
Even for people like these who didn’t train, their threshold wasn’t so low that they would trigger it after just a few uses… If that were the case, everyone would be terrified of having an ability instead of having the vanity to show it off.
Got it.
But Huai Yu thought about her own ability training plan and kept quiet, feeling a bit guilty.
Well… as long as one could live, how one lived didn’t really matter, right? It was fine not to try hard.
Aside from being a drain on their resources, having many people around did have its benefits. The dozen or so jars and vats were washed clean in no time and stacked back into the bed of Chen Xing’s truck.
While they were at it, the chef prepared a meal using these premium vegetables, and Huai Yu and Zhou Qian tagged along to eat and drink—to be honest, it tasted terrible!
Because they were reluctant to use too much of the premium pickled vegetables, they were paired with other standard ingredients. Mixing nectar and ambrosia with bean water… the flavor was never going to be good!
In short, Huai Yu now understood why Zhou Qian’s comrades ate so much every time; it turned out this was the norm for everyone else!
She instantly regained her confidence. After finalizing the payment and bidding everyone farewell, she climbed into the truck. Sitting cross-legged in the passenger seat, she leaned over the backrest to talk to Zhou Qian:
“I realized the food I provide is actually quite expensive! Brother Zhou Qian, I’m going to have to add to your burden from now on!”
Zhou Qian raised his eyelids to look at her. “I’ve already dug two acres for you; just tell me straight out what else needs planting.”
Chen Xing laughed from the side. “Looking at the two of you, it doesn’t seem all that boring—by the way, Xiao Yu, do you know how to dry soybean paste?”
“If you know how, could you please make four jars for me? I’ll keep one, and I’ll ask someone to take the rest to Fanta.”
“They’re probably relying on nutritional paste at the military academy, and I don’t know how sloppy their daily meals are… Your vegetables are truly delicious and really go well with rice.”
Huai Yu thought for a moment. “I do!”
Especially soybeans; soybeans were the thing they had most of at home right now.
Oh my! How could she have forgotten! Making that was so simple!
She became happy again. “Alright, then Sister Chen Xing, please ask Boss Zhao if he wants some, too. I’m going to buy a car, so I need to save up more points to maintain it!”
To be precise, it was best to have 70,000 points prepared for the initial trip to the wilderness. Her current savings plus today’s payment would barely be enough to buy the car.
Subsequent fuel, maintenance, and the like—all of that cost money!
Chen Xing nodded. “I saw Zhao Feiyan eat quite a lot today; he must be very satisfied with your vegetables. Feel free to make more. Things like this are still quite in demand on the market right now.”
After a moment’s thought, she added a reminder: “Don’t use the very best beans.”
Because soybeans absorbed pollution through their root nodules, it was actually hard to find very good ones on the market. But since Huai Yu grew such good vegetables, perhaps her soybeans would be excellent, too.
To be honest, if they were too expensive, Zhao Feiyan wouldn’t be able to buy many.
Huai Yu had just negotiated her first partnership today and had gained a preliminary understanding of the market. She nodded. “Okay, I’ll make two kinds.”
One kind of high quality for themselves, and the surplus sold to Boss Tang at a premium.
The other, with a mutation value controlled around 15, to be sold in bulk to Zhao Feiyan.
She turned to look at the large vats in the back of the truck, deciding that once she got back, she would work hard to force-grow soybeans and try to fill them all up!
Perfect!
She looked at Zhou Qian and grew happy again. “Brother Zhou Qian, those plots you finished plowing haven’t been planted because of the polluted rain. We can plant the soybeans tonight when we get back!”
It would purify the land, provide materials for her soybean paste, and train her ability… killing three birds with one stone!
Zhou Qian sighed silently. “Got it. The burden has been added, Landlord Xiao Yu.”
Chen Xing watched their interaction and couldn’t help but feel a twinge of envy.
However—
“Are you still going into the wilderness to buy a car?” She couldn’t help but glance at Zhou Qian through the rearview mirror, thinking to herself: With such thick brows and big eyes, you look so steady and reliable!
Yet you’re daring enough to rush into the wilderness just because Xiao Yu wants to?!
Huai Yu didn’t notice at all; instead, she nodded happily. “I have to go. I promised myself I would go. But I’ll only go this one time. If it’s too dangerous, I won’t go again in the future.”
Chen Xing felt speechless.
Who told you to promise yourself that? Can’t you just silently change your mind? And why do you make it sound so trivial, like you’re just visiting relatives?!
She cast a glance at Zhou Qian.
But he remained unmoved. “That’s fine. The money for the car is already in place. Next, I’ll slowly gather some gear with them. Come November, we’ll see if there’s a chance to get in.”
Of course, he had other plans he hadn’t spoken aloud—
Specifically, just how strong was Huai Yu’s wood-type affinity?
It was too hot now, so it wasn’t suitable to go into the mountains. Once the weather cooled down slightly, he wanted Huai Yu to take him to Sanqing Mountain so he could experience that ability for himself.
Among the three in the car, only Chen Xing was truly worried. “Xiao Yu, do you really have to go?”
“Zhou Qian, I heard that the new commander who transferred to our Flower City has reached various cooperation agreements with the Defense Army. You used to be in the Defense Army; why don’t you pull some strings and see if they can help Xiao Yu out?”
“Whether it’s bringing something or looking for something, only they can go deep into the wilderness. Otherwise, if we rely on ourselves as ordinary people, trying to explore deep inside is a nine-deaths-and-one-life gamble.”
Zhou Qian nodded. “That’s my plan.”
The only difference was that his plan was to let the Garrison Army lead the way, while they stayed a distance behind, silently following in their wake. It would save energy in the initial stages and allow Huai Yu to progress gradually, seeing the true wilderness for herself.
