Chapter 295 | Chapter 296 | Chapter 297
Chapter 295: Noticing Something
To take such a beautiful sunflower car and turn it into this…
As someone who loved his vehicle, Zhou Qian couldn’t help but feel heartache.
Meanwhile, the shop owner leaned in eagerly and asked:
“Look at these black alloy pipes—so ugly! And not eye-catching in the wasteland either. Want us to get someone to paint it?”
After a moment, he added:
“If custom painting is too expensive, just add 500 points—we’ve got special high-sensitivity fluorescent paint. Bright red, purple, green, yellow—any color you want!”
Zhou Qian: …Forget it. Black looked fine enough.
—
Huai Yu saw the car the next morning.
“Brother Zhou Qian!” Her eyes felt offended. “What happened to our car?!”
Zhou Qian had come back late the previous night and parked it at his place. Only when he drove it over in the morning did Huai Yu finally see its full transformation—
The bright sunflower design was now overlaid with a massive, ugly, protruding frame of black alloy pipes. The roof had a slight curve for drainage, with a rolled-up waterproof tarp tied on top.
When needed, the heavy cover could be pulled down completely. The brightly colored, fluorescent-coated tarp could be hooked below, forming a sturdy barrier against wind and rain.
But…
It was really ugly.
Huai Yu grumbled,
“Did it have to be made like this?”
Zhou Qian remained calm.
“The total cost was around 4000 points. If you wanted something more high-end, it’d be about double.”
Huai Yu: …
She had worked hard for half a year and still had to bow for a few measures of rice!
At this point, with most of their points already gone, she could only droop her head.
“Fine… let’s count this as today’s bad news. If there’s bad, there must be good—Brother Zhou Qian, do you have any good news?”
Zhou Qian thought for a moment.
“There’s… another piece of bad news.”
Huai Yu: …
If Zhou Qian called it bad, then it truly wasn’t good.
She took a deep breath, looked at the car again, and couldn’t imagine anything worse.
“It can’t be that we didn’t get the permit, right?”
Zhou Qian shook his head.
“No, we got it. But Commander Bai said General Wu will start this year’s wasteland exploration from Flower City.”
“That means… we’ll most likely run into him.”
Huai Yu: …
This was truly terrible luck!
She frowned.
“Then can’t we leave earlier?”
Zhou Qian sighed.
“That’s exactly the plan. That’s why I paid an extra 100 points to finish the car early.”
He pointed at the newly modified rear.
“Since I came back late last night, I also stopped by the highway entrance again. Zhao Feiyan’s team has returned, and many other teams came back last night too. The vendors there collected quite a lot of mutated meat—and a basket of oranges.”
He patted her shoulder.
“I’ll go prepare more supplies. You stay home and get food ready. Once everything’s packed, we can leave anytime.”
Otherwise, Zhou Qian suspected that with Huai Yu’s temperament, if she really met Wu Yue, she might actually try to hit him.
And given Wu Yue’s nationwide reputation, Zhou Qian wasn’t confident he could defeat him.
Better to avoid him for now.
—
Avoiding like this was frustrating.
Huai Yu chopped meat and plucked feathers at home, feeling irritated. Suddenly, she threw the half-prepared wild chicken back into the basin and rushed to the Rose Corridor.
“Rose! Were you really nurtured by Wu Yue or not?!”
Layers upon layers of blooming roses swayed gently in the wind. Their fragrance grew richer, surrounding Huai Yu.
But it refused to answer.
Huai Yu: …
She was no longer the same Huai Yu who would kneel and beg.
With a huff, she turned back inside, grabbed a basin, and came out again:
“Look! Fresh chicken feathers! If you don’t talk, I’ll dump these at your roots as fertilizer! Who knows if they’ll attract flies and worms while rotting?”
She had long figured it out—the Rose Corridor loved beauty.
Loved it very much.
Otherwise, why bloom so frequently?
But before she could even stand firm for two seconds, the branches rustled—and suddenly, a shower of petals fell over her head.
From a distance, Zhou Qian saw this and shook his head with a sigh.
This Rose Corridor really treated Little Yu well—chatting with her and even sprinkling petals, knowing girls liked this kind of romance.
But only Huai Yu knew—this was definitely a warning!
She wanted to press further, but then remembered her tree cocoon was still in its hands. She could only give up:
“Fine, fine! Don’t say it then! Anyway, I think you two have nothing to do with each other.”
After thinking, she added:
“I used to have wood-type ability too. Maybe I nurtured you!”
Though the Rose Corridor stretched for dozens of kilometers—far beyond anything she could do. The longest thing she had grown was just that long yard bean, barely over ten meters.
If she really had that kind of power, even if her brain got stuck in a door, she wouldn’t have been bullied so badly by that unlucky ex-boyfriend’s family!
After all that effort, she got no answers. With a pout, she carried the basin back.
Then she cut a large bundle of roses to arrange in a vase.
Her previous vase had been taken by Chen Xing. This new black ceramic one was recently acquired. She happily arranged the flowers.
But as she straightened up, she suddenly saw her living room—
And in that instant, scenes from her dream flooded back, frame by frame.
One scene stood out clearly—
“Brother Zhou Qian!” she shouted loudly.
Zhou Qian had just been about to drive out again when he heard her urgent voice and paused.
“What’s wrong?” He quickly stepped inside.
Huai Yu looked at him seriously.
“Brother Zhou Qian, was your living room always arranged like this?”
Zhou Qian felt puzzled.
“Yes. Haven’t you seen it many times?”
But the perspective was different.
Huai Yu thought: what I saw before is one thing—but that dark, nighttime scene in the dream…
She decisively picked up the vase.
“Brother Zhou Qian, take this and give it to Gao Ming. Don’t explain anything—just put it in his house. He probably won’t care.”
That guy only cared about his research, neglecting everything else. Boss Tang had delivered nutrient solution yesterday, but no one fixed the roof. Even though someone from Jinyuan Community was arranged and 2000 points were transferred, Gao Ming hadn’t done anything.
But now, whether he acted or not didn’t matter.
“After you place it, take a good look at the surroundings. Try to remember everything—then tomorrow!”
Huai Yu said firmly: “Tomorrow I’ll tell you why.”
Chapter 296: Dreams and the Roses
Boss Tang still couldn’t quite stop worrying about his “good son.”
Harsh words had been said, nutrient solution delivered—but thinking about that big hole in the workshop roof, he still brought a roll of waterproof tarp today.
Yet as soon as he stopped the car, he saw Gao Ming standing at the doorway, holding a black ceramic vase. Inside, roses were blooming brilliantly.
Boss Tang felt something was off.
But he couldn’t pinpoint what.
Looking at Gao Ming, who was still spacing out, he asked,
“What’s going on now?”
Gao Ming remained serious as ever.
“You came to deliver nutrient solution? No need. I’ll go eat at Huai Yu’s place at noon.”
After a pause, he added,
“This time I’ll behave better. I’ll talk to them more.”
Boss Tang: …
He almost laughed out of anger.
“Where do you get the nerve? Little Yu is so good-tempered, and she still called me saying she absolutely can’t get along with you. How can you still shamelessly go eat at their place?”
He sighed, looking at the tarp in his hand.
“Gao Ming… you really don’t learn. I shouldn’t have come.”
He felt disheartened.
But Gao Ming looked at him blankly.
“How is it shameless? Zhou Qian just gave me flowers. Isn’t that a sign of reconciliation?”
He sounded so certain!
Boss Tang fell silent.
“Is it?”
“Yes!” Gao Ming said firmly.
Boss Tang glanced at his communicator—completely quiet.
So he asked,
“How did Zhou Qian give you the flowers?”
How else could it be?
Early in the morning, Gao Ming had been chewing on nutrient solution while calculating data when Zhou Qian called him from outside.
After he came out, Zhou Qian simply shoved the cool ceramic vase into his arms and said briefly, expressionless:
“Put it in the living room tonight.”
Boss Tang listened carefully, trying to find any hint of goodwill.
“And then?” he asked.
“What then?” Gao Ming looked confused. “Then he left.”
Such a subtle olive branch—but it didn’t matter. Gao Ming understood. He had indeed gone too far before. Nutrient solution tasted terrible—he was willing to compromise.
Boss Tang: …
To be honest, he saw no olive branch at all.
From Gao Ming’s description, it sounded less like a peace offering and more like a timed bomb.
He looked closely.
The vase was an ordinary round ceramic one. Inside, two fresh wild roses were arranged diagonally. Pink-white petals layered densely, with lush green leaves supporting them. They swayed gently in the breeze—extremely beautiful.
Such fresh, vibrant roses…
Where did they come from?
Suddenly, Boss Tang had an unbelievable thought:
Were there roses around here?
Gao Ming looked back blankly—how would he know?
But seeing Boss Tang’s expression grow worse, he casually pointed ahead.
“There’s a whole stretch of them over there, isn’t there?”
After saying that, he also realized something.
He looked at the vase in his hands, then at the blooming flowers—and fell silent.
The air at the doorway seemed to freeze.
Boss Tang didn’t want to think too deeply about where the roses came from or why they were given specifically to Gao Ming.
Given their relationship, Gao Ming might be insufferable—but surely not deserving of death.
Carefully, he said:
“How about… you just drink nutrient solution at noon?”
Gao Ming paused, then nodded.
…
Meanwhile, Zhou Qian had no idea his “gift” nearly caused a misunderstanding.
He simply looked at Huai Yu curiously.
“What are you trying to test?”
Huai Yu grew excited.
“Didn’t I tell you before? I’ve had strange dreams—random scenes. Just now I realized, one of those dream scenes looked exactly like your living room. But the perspective was strange—”
Her eyes sparkled.
“Brother Zhou Qian, do you think… these cut roses can share their perspective with me?”
Zhou Qian frowned, thinking.
“If that’s true…”
But even so, it didn’t seem particularly useful.
“And why give it to Gao Ming? If you wanted to test it, you could’ve just placed the vase in the bamboo grove.”
“You already know what his living room looks like.”
Before he moved in, Huai Yu had cleaned it thoroughly herself.
So was the dream just memory—or something else?
Huai Yu: …
“I forgot.”
Her excitement faded, replaced by embarrassment.
“I just thought of testing it with someone. Didn’t think I could just put it anywhere.”
But that wasn’t important.
Zhou Qian continued to think seriously.
“If the Rose Corridor is willing to listen to you, that’s a good thing. But we’re about to go to the wasteland. With its temperament, you’d better not treat it like surveillance for the house. If something really happens, you won’t be able to do anything—and it’ll just make you worry more.”
Huai Yu froze.
“I never even thought about using it as surveillance. Brother Zhou Qian, your brain works so fast!”
Zhou Qian paused.
“You didn’t think of that? Then what were you so excited about?”
Huai Yu answered immediately:
“Don’t you remember what was written on the ice sculpture Lin Xuefeng gave me? ‘Thank you, my rose.’ That means he must have carried it with him!”
“And the reason I suddenly dreamed about him—maybe it’s not because of some fate you keep talking about, or because I can’t forget his face…”
Her expression grew more certain.
“What if it’s actually the Rose Corridor’s perspective?”
The more she spoke, the more convinced she became.
“Brother Zhou Qian, doesn’t that make sense?”
For a moment, Zhou Qian fell silent.
Huai Yu’s dreams had always been irregular—random and scattered. Sometimes she dreamed of Lin Xuefeng, whom she had only met briefly, appearing somewhere strange in the wasteland—impossible to tell if it was real.
Other times, she dreamed of her past.
That part seemed real—because she often woke up angry.
But if this wasn’t random…
Zhou Qian’s eyes lit up.
“Then can you dream about General Lin again tonight? It’d be best if you could see his exact location!”
The new Commander Bai seemed to have a good impression of them. Even without precise information, if they could say a few more things before she entered the wasteland—
What if…
What if they could actually bring Lin Xuefeng back?
Thinking of the widely respected Lin Xuefeng, Zhou Qian couldn’t help but feel excited.
But Huai Yu hesitated for a long time, then stammered:
“Well… I… I…”
She still couldn’t control it at all!
Chapter 297: Taking Everything Along
To be precise, it wasn’t that she couldn’t control it—she had no clue at all!
Her dreams had always been like that: whatever appeared in the dream was what she could perceive. How could she possibly choose what to dream about?
And…
Huai Yu hesitated a little.
“Ever since I dreamed of that strange place last time, I haven’t dreamed of him again. Even if I really can share perspective, it’s been so long… would that rose still be alive?”
Cut roses placed in a vase could indeed last a long time—far longer than ordinary flowers. The longest had nearly reached three months—but that was under proper care.
Lin Xuefeng had gone into the wasteland. There was no way he would be carrying a vase around to keep that rose alive.
Zhou Qian had clearly thought of this as well.
At that moment, his expression showed a trace of pain.
A figure so admired by everyone might have already passed away quietly, without anyone knowing. The roses could have carried his final trace—yet no one had grasped it…
Just thinking of it made his chest tighten.
But this wasn’t Huai Yu’s fault. She knew nothing, and even if she did, Zhou Qian would never let her go alone into danger.
So he buried that thought deep inside, while smiling lightly on the surface:
“It’s fine. Let’s just try.”
“If you can dream it, that’s great. If not, it doesn’t matter.”
Huai Yu, however, became determined.
“I want to try!”
“If the roses really have such an ability, I should’ve noticed earlier. And since I’ve already dreamed twice, maybe there will be a third or fourth time! I’ll try harder to see more clearly next time—then we’ll go straight to the point!”
She wasn’t discouraged at all. Instead, her fighting spirit rose again. Looking at the unprocessed wild chickens in the basin, she waved at Zhou Qian:
“Brother Zhou Qian, go do your work! Once I finish preparing this meat, we can leave anytime!”
Wu Yue’s impending arrival and those past dreams were clearly urging her on.
Zhou Qian let out a slow breath. He also felt they couldn’t delay any longer.
But unlike Huai Yu, who was fully focused on preparing food, Zhou Qian had more responsibilities—
Before departure, no matter what materials he used, he had to secure the chicken coop, goose pen, Ke Taro’s shelter, and Da Pang’s flowerpot in the rear compartment.
Inside, he also needed to stuff warm grass and scraps of cloth. If possible, he even planned to install a tightly enclosed, metal-mesh-covered solar heating panel.
That way, when temperatures dropped sharply in the wasteland, all these odd little creatures at home wouldn’t suffer.
Fortunately, the expensive shock-absorbing padding worked very well.
Huai Yu even hugged Ke Taro at the doorway, talking to it for a long time about the upcoming journey.
Ke Taro didn’t resist at all. It even missed the days when Huai Yu carried it to collect herbs on Sanqing Mountain! Though being carried in a basket was troublesome, this time there was that four-wheeled contraption!
It could do it!
Ke Taro flapped its wings excitedly, even revealing the membrane wings beneath.
If Ke Taro was like this, then Da Zai and Er Zai—who had only gone out once before—were even more thrilled!
Although last time they just stayed curled up in a basket, completely useless, and at night were shut in a strange space, forced to keep their flat beaks closed, not allowed to poke or cry…
Still, that was going out! That was being entrusted with responsibility!
Now, Da Zai and Er Zai, along with the chickens they raised, were so excited that even before their nest was ready, they were already trying to jump into the truck bed.
The outside world! The outside!
Unfortunately, the truck bed was too high, and their little “sea-urchin wings” were useless. They could only wait patiently.
This trip meant the whole family moving out.
Only Kuang Biao, who couldn’t be moved, was practically about to faint from despair!
Its bamboo leaves rustled loudly, then all pointed toward Da Pang, who was slowly pushing its flowerpot nearby.
“We’re both plants! It can go, why can’t I? Are you discriminating by species?!”
The more Kuang Biao thought about it, the angrier it became!
Wasn’t the answer obvious?
Huai Yu pointed at the entire bamboo grove.
“Because my car can’t fit a whole bamboo forest!”
Kuang Biao was stunned.
After a moment, it muttered:
“Then you… dig more bamboo shoots, make more bamboo tea, earn more points, and get a bigger car!”
That was simply unreasonable!
Huai Yu sighed.
“I’d probably need an aircraft carrier to move you onto it. Kuang Biao, this really isn’t my fault.”
After thinking, she softened a little. After all, it was an important part of the household.
“You can come if you’re willing to give up the rest of the bamboo and shrink into a root like Da Pang. Keep it under two meters, and I can take you.”
Ah… that…
Kuang Biao shook its leaves and fell silent.
As bamboo, its purpose in life was to expand territory—that was only natural! Back on the mountain, it had been forced into a single stalk because it lost the fight.
But now, to give up everything it had claimed?
Kuang Biao couldn’t do it!
So it hesitated:
“Forget it. You’ll all be gone, and the rear area will be unattended. My responsibility is very heavy…”
Even as it said that, it felt a little pleased—if no one was home, couldn’t it expand its territory a bit more?
Of course, it would be smarter this time. Not toward Huai Yu’s house, but the other direction…
Wait—that direction led to Area 3, where that annoying Gao Ming lived.
Still, after all its “sacrifice,” Huai Yu actually hesitated:
“But the Rose Corridor is here. It can see better than you. Kuang Biao, don’t feel pressured! Maybe you should just come with us!”
Kuang Biao: …
Damn it! Why is there a Rose Corridor if there’s already Kuang Biao?!
Only Da Pang looked confused.
“T-take m-me… w-where?”
Huai Yu looked at it.
“To the wasteland.”
Da Pang’s whiskers stiffened instantly, its leaves trembling.
“I—I d-don’t w-want to go!”
As a ginseng, although it could burrow and escape quickly, it was naturally not fond of wandering. It preferred to stay put.
But this time, it might not have a choice.
Huai Yu sighed worriedly:
“But you’re such a precious, powerful ginseng! If we leave you alone at home, someone will definitely come steal you!”
“They might even take the whole pot! With no one home, and Kuang Biao not reliable… what then?”
She looked at Da Pang sincerely:
“Why not come with us? Otherwise, if someone finds you, they might slice you up directly. That would hurt so much, wouldn’t it?”
