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Chapter 122 - 92 Special Roujiamo, Qingyun’s Latest Update, New Title! (2/? Reward for more updates, please subscribe)

Chapter 122: Chapter 92 Special Roujiamo, Qingyun’s Latest Update, New Title! (2/? Reward for more updates, please subscribe)

"Tai Chu Scroll, legendary mode, continue the legend, activate—?"

[Remaining activations for today: 0/3; (The count refreshes at dawn each day and expires automatically at sunset)]

It couldn’t activate; there was no reaction because there were no more uses.

"What about checking the detailed info on you?"

Still no reaction.

Unlike the Promotion Drive, when there was no "..." the Tai Chu Scroll could only open the item bag and was unable to trigger subsequent dialog boxes.

Xu Shu stroked his chin, it seemed he’d have to wait until tomorrow to find out.

The thing about the Tai Chu Scroll is that it’s not too bright; if you don’t reach the critical point for triggering a dialogue, there’s just no response from it.

Poke it, and it just repeats, "Great master, today’s activation count is 0/3," but the item bag is accessible, offering not much else to work with.

But if you say it’s not sensitive, hey there, when you encounter danger, it’ll trigger a passive like: "Oops, you’re going to die," or "That’s enough, look at your life flashing by," sounding like a gloom spreader, all sarcastic and annoying.

What on earth did I pour into it back then to craft such a prized gadget?

Xu Shu was perplexed.

Come on, Tai Chu Scroll, you need to step up! You’re the artifact that could pluck the Star Tower from its roots!

Of course, Xu Shu was only making a playful remark.

He really didn’t want to destroy the Star Tower.

If the Star Tower were gone, well, let’s not talk about other things, everyone within the D8B3 zone, whether folks from the city or the Wasteland Wanderers, numbering in the millions, would certainly perish.

Not exactly squashed by the collapsing Star Tower, but as seen just now, the coordinate system centered on the Star Tower with a 190 km "checkerboard" layout in all directions was actually there because of its "warnings".

Because the Star Tower attacks everyone equally—referring to the monsters that enter the border line. Any Second Rank or higher monsters daring to cross the border line will be doomed to getting an Epic normal attack, or even a Taboo Level full-power attack, which no one can withstand.

Weaker First Rank monsters are only attacked near the safety zone walls, so it’s evident the Star Tower is conserving energy.

This creates an environment where there are absolutely no monster threats within the safety zone.

Outside the safety zone but within the border line of the Wasteland, only First Rank minor beasts are allowed, ranging from levels a few to teens, which the Patrol Team can clear up.

This is how humans can survive on this land.

If the Star Tower fell, it would be as if the border line ceased to exist.

The endless High-level Monsters lurking in the wilderness would instantly revert human society back to the era of the Great Catastrophe eighteen years ago.

And this is not what Xu Shu wants to see.

Having grown up within the safety zone, even though his life hasn’t been very prosperous, the warmth brought by his adoptive family has made him psychologically healthy, not some apocalyptic-bent, evil fiend.

Quite the contrary, those who would destroy the safety zone are his mortal enemies.

—This is his home!

What, lewd? Who says that someone who likes to watch lewd stuff isn’t patriotic?

I, Xu Shu, am righteous! A carefree rebel all my life, who loves to fight...

...

"You’re back? Where did you go?"

Gu Pan sat innocently at a snack stall, in front of her a pile of 5 empty Roujiamo (meat sandwich) plates.

"?" Xu Shu’s pupils shrank slightly.

These days, food with the word "meat" in it was outrageously priced.

Those things cost 50 bucks each; a thrifty family of three could scrape by for a day’s meals with that much money.

Letting you eat one was already good enough!

You ate five?

Doesn’t your stomach ever feel too swollen?

"You sure can eat," Xu Shu remarked calmly.

Gu Pan covered her mouth and chuckled sheepishly while munching, "Xu Shu, this Roujiamo is really super delicious, no lie. It’s so soft and tender, one bite and the juices are set to burst... Slurp~"

"Tastes good, huh? Fine, just remember to pay for it yourself."

"But you have the ten thousand from the refuge in your car..."

"You know that’s mine?"

"Lend me some, I’ll pay you back when we return to the city," Gu Pan said stiffly, looking slightly embarrassed.

"250 out, 500 back."

"Dang, you’re just like..."

"Hm?"

"It’s a deal!"

Gu Pan deflated.

Not even loan sharks are this outrageous!

This man’s a Transcendent, yet haggling with me over a few hundred bucks. I’m at least your 2 million Gold fortune, is eating your 250 too much to ask? Damn!

Gu Pan was secretly fuming.

Xu Shu, however, went to the car to get three fresh-looking banknotes.

Post-apocalyptic banknotes, which only took their final form about twelve years ago, were issued by the Supervision Bureau.

Actually not much different from the pre-Catastrophe currency, besides the special ingredients added to the banknotes, one, five, ten, as well as the twenty, fifty were fine.

But banknotes valued at a hundred or more all contained a trace amount of Gold as a security feature.

The largest denomination from the Alliance was the 1000 Yuan banknote, the Gold security strip alone incorporated in the material worth nearly a hundred Yuan, plus the unique manufacturing process, surely costing more than 100 Yuan combined, a ratio of one to ten.

This outrageous ratio could only happen with the "unified control of Earth Star" under the management of Lie Zhenzi; otherwise, it wouldn’t be possible.

The reason, they said, was that only this option could entice the Transcendents, making them willing to sell the Erosion Crystals they hunted.

Before adding Gold to the currency, bartering goods was on the verge of a comeback, nearly obliterating the monetary system.

Then the Supervision Bureau established many "Gold banks," allowing people to exchange their issued currency for Gold at any time.

One could only say, the people in the post-apocalyptic world, really love Gold.

"Narrow Sleeve Guanyin..." As Xu Shu took the money, his gaze lingered on the Jade Buddha figurine tucked under the car seat.

Now he was safe and sound in the safety zone, but what about the Singing Diva?

Hide her outside?

But Xu Shu worried the item might be stolen if left outside; that would truly lead to catastrophic consequences.

But bringing her in?

He wondered if she still counted as a living Evil Spirit in her current state. If so, the Star Tower would strike her dead with lightning, which would be a huge loss.

"Hmm, looks like I’ll have to simulate it once more tomorrow before entering the city!"

"If the Star Tower does take her down, I’ll need to come up with another plan; this thing is truly useful to me..."

At this point, there was no need for further thought. The future was unknown; he would just have to take it one step at a time.

Xu Shu approached the stall owner and called out to settle the bill, then nonchalantly handed over three hundred-dollar bills, on which the circular colonnade-like Supervision Bureau and the huge embossed Star Tower in the center glowed brightly.

The chubby stall owner came over with a full-faced smile, chubby and endearing, and went back the same way.

He was a city dweller, doing business here because the city was too competitive. These days, money was hard to earn; the roujiamo was too expensive for most to afford. Despite selling for fifty, the cost of transportation and materials meant his expense was over twenty per item.

Usually, only the uncles from the Patrol Team who went out of the city would splurge on roujiamo. The Wasteland Wanderers who came here to trade goods were considered "generous" if they could scrape together ten to eight bucks for a warm bowl of dumpling soup.

"Don’t I get change from fifty?" Xu Shu caught him. "Didn’t she just eat five?"

Poor fat stall owner, weighing over two hundred pounds, was lifted up by Xu Shu as easily as picking up a chick.

He quickly realized that the young man before him was a Transcendent and pleaded with a pitiful face, "Sir, you ate one yourself too... I run a small business, and I can’t afford to discount even a little bit."

"Oh, why didn’t you say so earlier?"

Xu Shu let go awkwardly but thought to himself that selling it for fifty each was unbelievably extortionate!

But then he consoled himself by thinking of oranges costing six yuan per half kilogram these days; meat really was expensive.

In times of chaos, lacking fruits and scarce meat truly makes people’s lives difficult.

Gu Pan finished eating and went to a nearby water tank to wash her hands.

The stall owner was considerate, providing a large tank of clean water and a bar of soap next to it. After eating, customers could scoop water to wash their hands. No wonder he sold his goods at such steep prices but still did good business, with his staple dumpling soup selling like hotcakes.

Xu Shu waited for Gu Pan behind her; she wasn’t tall enough, and someone had annoyingly placed the soap on the opposite side of the tank, forcing her to bend over and stretch across to reach it, careful not to get her clothes wet, her posture effortlessly graceful.

"...Hiss~ Dammit."

Xu Shu’s expression became a bit unnatural, thinking to himself that roujiamo didn’t deserve its name, as it was more like bread stuffed with minced meat. It should be renamed "bread stuffed with meat" or "bread with meat filling."

He looked at Gu Dao’s rounded form pointed directly at himself and couldn’t help but give a thumbs up:

"6, this is simply half of 6: 3!"

"This damned thing is what you call a signature roujiamo!"

...

...

By evening, Xu Shu and Gu Pan followed the local Wasteland Wanderers back to a small refuge about 20 kilometers from the city walls, paid a hundred, and got two rooms to stay in—the shelters on the Wasteland, regardless of size, always provided accommodations like a hotel, which was a small way for them to make money.

If requested, they could even provide additional paid services.

For instance, passing merchants, or even the illustrious Patrol Soldiers, always had someone willing to pay, and the prices were actually quite low.

In these chaotic times, human life is treated like grass—things aren’t like they used to be, prices can’t be inflated.

That’s something not worth mentioning to outsiders.

After dinner, Xu Shu and Gu Pan each went back to their rooms.

Xu Shu still habitually pushed the quilt into a human shape on the bed and then snuck underneath it.

As a 12th-level Warrior without any more Tai Chu Scrolls, he remained earnest at heart.

Next, he accessed the Promotion Network from between his thighs.

*Promotion Network

*Gu Pan (Tai Chu), First-tier Warrior

*Contribution: 14

——

"The Human Transcendent Alliance doesn’t seem too enthusiastic about helping newcomers.

"Newcomers are always disliked; I can’t always rely on others to answer my questions, I can find another way."

This time, Xu Shu wasn’t planning to show his newbie nature. He had a plan in mind that he was ready to try.

His gaze fell on "Tai Chu," Xu Shu clicked on Chang’an, then hid his "True Name" and his profession.

*Promotion Network

*Tai Chu

"Good, my ID has some depth; I can totally pretend to be a big shot. Ordinary people would never guess I’m a newbie!"

Of course, Rome wasn’t built in a day. A personal image had to be built up slowly.

Just like in his previous life, using shady methods like "Great Red Sweet Potato" to directly take someone else’s achievements and pretend they were his own might work.

But Xu Shu didn’t plan to do that. It was too demeaning.

His own experiences were way more high-end than that.

But then, he saw at the top of the screen, above the pinned posts of the "Human Transcendent Alliance," rows of golden characters appeared.

An invisible snow-white feather pen had written a server-wide announcement:

"Heavens rejoice, tears of gratitude flow, Qingyun’s talented youth, rise yet another step!

"In mid-November, in the Eastern Wasteland, First-tier Warrior Gu Pan was ambushed, winning against the odds, cutting down a transformed Unclean, tearing apart five ambushers with her bare hands, and overcoming a Second Rank Prisoner, her battle achievements glaring, potential boundless!"

"With great cannon fire ascendant, clouds scatter; Vajra breaks the southern wall!"

"The Qingyun List ranking update, a new tiara donned, glory magnificent!"

"Qingyun 414th place: Ground Steel Rhinoceros, Gu Pan!"

...

...

"Ah?"

Xu Shu gaped, watching the comment count jump from 0 to 999+ in less than a minute, his facial muscles involuntarily twitching once.

This time the ranking update was so late, delayed by a day.

That was fine.

But what in the hell is this Ground Steel Rhinoceros? What?

Oh, someone on the Qingyun List ranked fourth is nicknamed "Modest Widow," and you’re calling someone "Tangxi Sword Immortal," right?

Listen to that! Listen!

Such a resounding and elegant title, making one imagine an ethereal and beautiful lady in white upon hearing it.

What about me?

I, who honestly uploaded my achievements under my real name, what did you do?

It’s either "Iron Armor Barbarian Bull" or "Ground Steel Rhinoceros"!

Just hearing that, who would imagine anything other than a brutish creature instead of a chivalrous figure?

"Damn you, Lie Zhenzi, how dare you mock me! Do you believe I won’t tear down your Star Tower?" Xu Shu punched the bed frame in frustration.