After the construction of the factories that required a large labor force, such as the armory and the animal husbandry, chicken processing, canning, ore refining, and textile factories, the “idle” residents of Noah Base quickly disappeared.
With stable jobs and long-term goals and prospects, many people in the base settled down and no longer floated aimlessly like before, unable to find a foothold.
Some ordinary people who could not afford combat mecha temporarily would choose to pool their resources and purchase one together, either by a few households or a roomful of people. After participating in the sweep, they would distribute it separately when they had enough points. But regardless, the increase in combat power gave everyone in the base something to look forward to.
Among the ability users, the team led by Yan Hongyu, Xi Nan, and Chen Feng was active in the wasteland. Although there were casualties during the sweep, with the support of the base’s universal medicine, Noah’s progress was impressive and smooth compared to other bases.
Every time Shen Cheng went online, she read through the logs of her cub.
[Main character met Tang Lu.]
[Main character encountered a mutated rat swarm.]
[…Mutated rat swarm cleared. Light injuries…recovering.]
[Main character’s ability has been upgraded.]
[Main character encountered bandits.]
[Main character cleared the bandit’s nest and found a large number of firearms and ammunition. Stored.]
Every time she went online, she felt that cub had so many stories during his wandering days!
Shen Cheng felt itchy looking at the log, and even a bit annoyed that the game didn’t allow her to watch her cub’s exciting performance.
Cub was out there alone, tumbling and crawling, not knowing if he was eating enough or dressed warmly enough. He had suffered minor injuries before, and this time it was a minor injury again…
If it weren’t for cub sending her a photo of himself full of energy every day, Shen Cheng suspected she wouldn’t even be able to continue playing the game.
She was thinking this when her phone suddenly vibrated and a text message popped up. Shen Cheng looked at the unfamiliar number and suspected it was a spam call, but hesitated for a moment and still put the phone to her ear: “Hello?”
“Cheng Cheng,” came an unfamiliar, somewhat hoarse voice from the other end, “Is this Cheng Cheng? I’m your uncle.”
Shen Cheng’s hand trembled.
She didn’t expect to receive a call from her father’s relatives. After all, so many years had passed, and she had dealt with her parents’ affairs herself and left her hometown to make her own way. She never saw them call to care, and Shen Cheng didn’t care for their contact either.
“Uncle?” she hesitantly called out, “Is there something you need?”
“Well, your grandfather passed away recently, and we hope you can come back for the funeral,” Uncle’s voice was tinged with weariness.
Shen Cheng was stunned.
She had thought that she and the relatives over there would never have anything to do with each other again, after all, she was alone and had been distant from the scary kinship from the beginning to the end.
The memories of the abuse had gradually faded, but the fear and shadow left behind were real and had never disappeared.
Mourning?
Her first thought was: Is it appropriate for her to attend the funeral?
As a “messenger of death,” is it appropriate for her to pay respects to the elderly?
Wouldn’t even the dead be brought back to life by her presence?
Hesitantly, Shen Cheng said, “I’m afraid it’s inconvenient. I just started working and it’s not easy to take time off. Besides, my grandfather didn’t want to see me before he passed away…”
“If you’re called, you come,” the man suddenly changed his tone.
Shen Cheng took two deep breaths.
If she had to endure everything and be submissive when she was forced to live with them in the past, now that she was independent and owed them neither favors nor money, why should she swallow her pride?
Shen Cheng was ready to refuse.
Perhaps sensing her cold and indifferent response, Uncle Shen realized that she was not as easy to control as she used to be and finally softened his tone slightly. “Cheng Cheng, even if you have no emotional connection with us, your grandfather did raise you for such a long time. Now that he has passed away, you represent the prematurely departed…”
“I’ll go.” With the mention of her deceased father, Shen Cheng took a deep breath but still reluctantly said, “…But I can’t take time off and I don’t have the money to buy a plane ticket. Let me ask my supervisor for time off and explain the situation…”
Before she could finish her sentence, Uncle Shen quickly said, “Give me your bank account number and I’ll transfer you the money for the plane ticket. If you can buy it, buy it. If you keep dragging your feet, you might miss the funeral…”
Shen Cheng remained silent and responded with a simple “ok” before hanging up the phone.
She didn’t feel like playing the game anymore.
After a long sigh, she sent her account number to the phone number that had called her.
When she saw that the other party had transferred over a thousand yuan for the plane ticket almost instantly, and had even looked up the date and flight number, Shen Cheng felt deeply puzzled: when you give someone a gift, you always have a motive.
Uncle’s family never do anything without a benefit.
If there was nothing in it for them, why would they spend so much money on her, even without haggling?
This was definitely not their usual style!
Grandfather had passed away…
Shen Cheng suddenly thought of something, so she looked up the legal provisions and guessed the possibility.
Yes, only such a huge benefit could make them temporarily ignore her current disadvantage and even humbly invite their niece, whom they despised, back to their hometown!
But what should she do?
If she was right and those people needed her now, but still had such an attitude towards her, it was clear that they had never valued her.
So, when they handled the matter, they would adopt similar attitudes and methods, right?
Shen Cheng had a rough idea in her heart.
**
She hadn’t had time to play games these days. Shen Cheng traveled thousands of miles back to the small town in the water town of Jiangnan where she had once lived. Instead of taking the flight her uncle had arranged, she arrived a day early and headed straight to the small building where she had lived before.”
With vague memories, Shen Cheng managed to find the place. However, she saw a real estate agent showing a house to a family while she arrived. This building was the first property that the Shen family had purchased years ago. Naturally, they had bought the best location, with a mountain behind and water in front. In the summer, there was a cool breeze, except for the mosquitoes in the river. There were no other flaws.
The family was obviously very satisfied with the house, but they were negotiating the price with the agent. Shen Cheng watched them for a while, furrowing her brows slightly and covering half of her face with an umbrella. She soon figured out that the price was the sticking point, but overall, as housing prices skyrocketed, this small courtyard in the center of the small city could bring in at least 6 million yuan for her uncle’s family.
That was definitely not a small amount of money!
However, the premise was that they could swallow it in one gulp.
Shen Cheng had an idea of the price and turned around to find a small guesthouse to stay in. While she was taking a break, her uncle and his family went to the airport to pick her up, but they found out that she had never boarded that flight. Her uncle was furious and kept calling her phone at the airport, but none of the calls went through.
The old man was stomping around the airport in anger, while his strong and young son sighed, “Dad, being angry won’t help. Maybe we offended her too badly back then, and now she doesn’t want to talk to us.”
“What right does she have to hate us?” the old man exclaimed angrily. “Since she is so unfilial…”
“What can you do about it?” the lazy son said. “Can you deprive her of her inheritance? If you ask me, the mistake was not making a will back then…”
“Shut up!” Uncle Shen’s eyes glared at his son, who kept poking at him, and he couldn’t get angry with his only son. He waved his hand in anger and left.
Shen Cheng had anticipated that they would call, so she just muted her phone and left it in the bathroom without answering.
She treated this rare outing since graduation as a relaxing vacation. Although it was a funeral and she was returning to her hometown, the old man had no affection for her, her parents, or anyone else. They had already fulfilled their duty of support. Moreover, the people who came to find her had other motives. Presumably, the person who left was surrounded by “filial sons and grandsons” and passed away with a smile.
What’s the point of her joining the commotion? She was just an unwelcome orphan.
With this thought in mind, Shen Cheng slept soundly. When she woke up and looked at her phone, she raised her eyebrows. As expected, there were more than 20 missed calls.
After washing up, she picked up her phone and small bag and went to the funeral home they set up for her grandfather.
Uncle Shen had a sharp eye and almost immediately spotted Shen Cheng. This eldest niece had not visited once since she went to college, but she looked so much like her father that it was as if they were cut from the same cloth.
Uncle Shen recognized her at a glance.
Looking at his grown-up niece, Uncle Shen had to admit that this girl was truly like a delicate flower. Her features were exquisite, and she had a soft and beautiful appearance. In the Shen family, she was a rare and outstanding beauty.
Uncle Shen rushed forward and pulled her over, “Cheng Cheng, why didn’t you answer my phone when you came?”
Shen Cheng innocently said, “I was too tired from work, and I rarely come back to my hometown. I overslept and came as soon as I woke up, fearing that you all had been waiting for a long time.”
**
Li Weilan had not heard from her for five days.
Before that, she would send photos over, sometimes of changes at the base, and sometimes of small stories and incidents that happened there. So even though she was outside the base, seeking opportunities for breakthroughs and battle experiences, Li Weilan’s heart was still at ease.
But now it was different.
She was like a kite with a broken string, gone for five whole days.
How could it take so long?
Did she not care about the base because he wasn’t there?
In just over two weeks of traveling, Li Weilan’s abilities had already broken through from level three to level four. This progress was achieved through repeated use of his space abilities to fight against many enemies and survive dangerous situations.
He had planned to continue training, but now he couldn’t calm down.
He decided to pack up and return to the base.
It was strange, but just as he had this thought, a new translucent screen suddenly appeared in front of him. It looked exactly like the video he had seen before, with no tangible shape but clear and without any illusionary feeling.
Li Weilan remained calm, the screen that initially appeared blurry as if splashed with water gradually stabilized and eventually became as clear as 3D imaging.
At first glance, he saw her.
She was okay.
But he soon realized that he was too quick to relax.
On the screen, he saw several men surrounding Shen Cheng with one particularly tall and muscular man pointing and jabbing at her, spewing out saliva in a rude manner.
She was wearing a plain white dress, her face delicate and gentle, but at this moment, her small face was filled with a resolute determination.
Translated on ho lo lo novels dot com.
She was facing so many men alone!
Were those people bullying her?
Li Weilan was in agony, but he could only watch her on the screen from a thousand miles away, seeing her displaying a stubborn and heartbroken expression.
Under her strong facade, he saw her inner pain.
Yes, so many people, but not a single person stood up for her, not a single word of support!
Li Weilan punched the invisible screen, and it trembled for a moment before displaying a prompt:
【Do you want to purchase a temporary teleportation pass? Please note: this pass can only be used for one day. If not purchased within three days, it will no longer be available. Purchase price: 1000 points of spatial power.】
1000 points of spatial power?
Li Weilan frowned. Beside this line of small print, there was a light blue object that looked like a piggy bank.
He tried to input his ability into it, and as his ability slowly flowed in, the object absorbed his power, and the numbers slowly started to rise.
Li Weilan experimented and found that if he didn’t reserve any of his ability, it would take about two and a half days to fill up the small pool.
But this also meant that during these two and a half days, he had to constantly pour his ability into the pool, even the slightest danger could be fatal for him.
However, looking at how tightly the time limit was set, Li Weilan was sure that the time was calculated precisely!
Coincidences don’t just happen by chance.
The idea of seeing her surpassed everything else, and Li Weilan began to desperately pour his ability into the pool, ignoring even the slight throbbing pain in his ability core.
🦋🦋🦋🦋🦋
Sandy: AHHHHH THEY’RE GONNA MEET IN PERSON!!!!!!!!!!
WAHHHH!!!!! So excited!!!! (ﾉ≧∇≦)ﾉ ﾐ ┻━┻ (me wanting to flip a table because of excitement)