Chapter 255 - 222: Past and Present

Chapter 255: Chapter 222: Past and Present

Uncle Zaozi truly didn’t mind at all! He was even ecstatic as he asked, "Are all of these mine?"

The quantity was slightly large, and it would likely take some time to move the inventory.

Huai Yu shook her head. "I’ll give half to you, and the other half to Sister Chen Xing, alright? She has more connections outside the city."

Uncle Zaozi squeezed a pink Klang Ball, examining it from all angles, and suddenly asked, "Little Yu, are you short on points right now?"

Huai Yu nodded. "Yeah, I want to go to the Wilderness, and Sister Chen Xing said I need a car. I’m saving up points."

Uncle Zaozi quietly set down the Klang Ball in his hand. After a moment, he said calmly, "Buying a car isn’t that easy.

"First, the price is high. Second, only those with real power buy them—like the Guard Army, or large families with high Contribution Values. They’re the ones who can afford the fuel and maintenance.

"Third, if Superpower Users coming out of the military academies want to become Explorers, they first have to join an established exploration team to integrate and learn. Once they can stand on their own two feet, their very first priority is saving up for a car.

"Over the years since the Cataclysm, with all kinds of missions going on, there aren’t many cars left on the market from the initial searches around Flower City.

"If you want to buy a car, you not only have to save up points, but you also have to keep a constant eye on the market. I’ll help you watch out for one. If you don’t have enough points, come find me.

"The Wilderness isn’t a place just anyone can go. But, Little Yu, seeing all these good things you brought, I believe in your strength..."

He spoke with earnest sincerity. It was rare for Huai Yu to meet someone who believed in her so completely, and she was visibly delighted.

Standing off to the side, Zhou Qian couldn’t help but feel a headache coming on. What strength did she have? Purification or rapid growth? Which of those two abilities would actually be of any use in the Wilderness?!

He had just racked his brains to cool Huai Yu’s ambitions and slow her down. After all, saving up points while keeping a low profile would inevitably take a very long time. Now, this ruined everything.

Barely had the thought crossed his mind when a middle-aged woman suddenly rushed out from the back room. Her hair was disheveled, and her skin was deathly pale, as if she rarely saw the sun. Deep exhaustion and the weathering of hardship marked her face. Her eyes were fixed on Huai Yu, completely unblinking.

"Are you going to the Wilderness? Take me with you! I need to find my son. And my daughter hasn’t been home in years; I need to give her a talking-to." As she spoke, she turned to glare at Uncle Zaozi. "Hurry up. We’re going to find our children. Quickly, go pack the luggage!"

She dug into her pockets for a long time until she finally pulled out a photograph. Her gaze was fanatical. "Look, look at my daughter and my son. Aren’t they beautiful? They’re getting so old and still won’t come home. I was even planning to introduce them to some potential matches."

The photo had been carefully laminated, but despite this, the woman’s long, forceful grip had creased it. In the picture stood a young man and woman wearing snow-white uniforms, looking handsome and heroic with gentle smiles on their faces.

Huai Yu felt a sharp stinging in her nose.

Looking at Uncle Zaozi, however, he seemed completely accustomed to this. He simply reached out and put an arm around his wife. "I know, but doesn’t she need to prepare some things first? It’ll take at least two or three days. Come now, you go pack our bags first, and I’ll tell you when it’s time to set off."

"Okay... okay..." The woman’s hands, which had been tightly clutching her clothes, slowly relaxed. An expectant smile blossomed on her pale cheeks. "Then remember to call me... What should we pack? Our daughter doesn’t like wearing the sweaters I knit; I always pull the yarn too tight... Go buy a new wool sweater for her. It has to be pink. She likes pink."

"Yes, yes, pink. They’ll all be pink..." Uncle Zaozi held her gently, slowly guiding her back into the room.

The door shut with a CLICK.

In the empty shop, Huai Yu sighed silently and exchanged a glance with Zhou Qian, at a complete loss for words.

After a long while, Zhou Qian patted her head. "Little Yu, there is nothing in this world more important than your own life. If you carelessly rush into danger, the people who love you deeply will end up just like her.

"Even losing your mind is a painful thing."

Huai Yu was speechless.

A long time passed before Uncle Zaozi emerged again. Seeing Huai Yu looking at him nervously, he waved his hand. "It’s fine. She’ll be better once she takes her medicine..."

He looked at Huai Yu’s small, fragile frame—one that couldn’t possibly fight off anything—and sighed silently. He didn’t say anything more on the subject. Instead, he nonchalantly began sorting through the Klang Balls in her basket.

"These are indeed quite easy to sell in the outer city, and they’re very popular. My connections aren’t as vast as Chen Xing’s, so I’ll just take one-third. However, let me pick out more of the pink ones."

Huai Yu nodded and pushed the basket toward him, letting Uncle Zaozi sort through them at his own pace. She and Zhou Qian wandered around the empty home goods store, pretending not to hear the heavy, muffled, and suppressed sobs leaking out from behind closed doors.

It wasn’t until Huai Yu had mentally calculated the angles of every triangle on the geometric bedsheet in front of her that she finally heard Uncle Zaozi call out to her. "I’ve finished picking. Come settle the bill. These are selling really well right now, so I’ll give you a high price."

It was truly a high price. Thirty points a piece was enough to make Huai Yu’s heart skip a beat. She wanted to refuse, but Uncle Zaozi’s eyes were slightly red, and he had already swiftly presented his trading bracelet.

Huai Yu was momentarily stunned, left with no choice but to accept it in silence.

Then, remembering something, she transferred five hundred points back. "Uncle Zaozi, I want to collect some mutated, unwanted meat or fruit at the highway entrance, but I don’t have the time to stake out the place myself.

"Could you do me a favor and ask the uncle who delivered my goods last time if he’s willing to take this job? He can just deliver them to the usual spot."

She estimated the time based on her last visit. "I’ll go there to collect the goods every day at nine o’clock."

If there were goods, she would haul them back; if not, making the trip wouldn’t cost her anything anyway. Of course, the actual payment and accounting would have to be entrusted to Uncle Zaozi, who had a much easier time managing things from within the city.

This was a minor matter. Uncle Zaozi frequently staked out that area himself, so he agreed without hesitation. "Don’t worry."

Huai Yu smiled and hurriedly left him a pile of vegetables. Uncle Zaozi didn’t turn down this offer. Instead, he returned to his usual demeanor. "Alright, leave the rest of the tea here as well. I’ll take it to Chen Xing later. Though I expect she’ll have to buy it on credit."

Huai Yu waved her hand. "That’s fine. We already agreed on it."

Once they stepped out of the store, Huai Yu grew distressed again. "The Wilderness is so big. If I can’t find them when the time comes, how am I supposed to tell Uncle Zaozi?" She sighed again. "I dream about a lot of things, so why can’t I dream about those two? Do I have to try really hard and constantly think about them for it to work?"

Zhou Qian turned his head back. In the second-floor window of the home goods store they had just left, the pale-skinned woman was gripping the security bars tightly with both hands, staring vacantly at their retreating figures. It was as if she understood everything, yet preferred to remain intoxicated by the past.

Zhou Qian paused, then reached out and gave Huai Yu a gentle push. "Walk faster. These vegetables are too heavy."

Huai Yu finally snapped out of her daze. "Oh, right, okay! If I had known, I would have sold the vegetables first..."

She hadn’t expected to bump into Uncle Zaozi on the way.