Chapter Thirty-Five: Within the City of Longwind

“He’s as good as dead if he runs into me,” Ma Yi said calmly.

“Really? Are you that powerful?” Li Li slowly emerged from her painful memories, her mood brightening as she asked.

“The thing is, I don’t really know. I’ve never seen how strong a Level Four Evolver can be. The strongest I’ve encountered so far was that Executor the other day. Honestly, people of that caliber don’t impress me at all,” Ma Yi admitted, unable to give a firm guarantee.

“I can sense it. You’re practically invulnerable—those people can’t possibly be a match for you.” Li Li recalled how Ma Yi was impervious to bullets and blades, just standing there, letting people exhaust themselves trying to hurt him, but not budging an inch.

“By the way, when we get the chance, I want to introduce you to Xiang Tianxiao. Then you’ll understand. He’s a Level Four Evolver, and in our eyes, that’s unbelievably powerful.” Li Li considered it and sighed inwardly. Level Four… How much effort would she need to put in just to reach that level?

“Don’t worry—you’ll have your chance for revenge,” Ma Yi said with a comforting tone, reaching out his small hand to pat Li Li softly on the back.

“I’ve waited so long. I can wait a few more years. By then, he’ll be old, and I’ll still be more than ten years younger than him,” Li Li said, her teeth grinding audibly at the thought of that man.

“It won’t take that long, trust me.” In Ma Yi’s mind, there wasn’t much difference between Level One and Level Two Evolvers. How strong could Level Three or Four possibly be?

“Thank you. I do feel a lot better now,” Li Li said, hugging Ma Yi’s smooth head and planting a kiss on it.

“Let’s sleep. We have to go out and search for supplies tomorrow,” Ma Yi endured Li Li’s repeated affection in silence, feeling rather uncomfortable.

“You really are a mature man, aren’t you? Suddenly I wonder if there’s something I should do to make sure you’ll do your best to help me…” Before Ma Yi could stop her, Li Li had already slipped downward.

“There’s really no need for that, I—ah!” Ma Yi started to protest but was abruptly cut off.

The sky was gloomy today. Since the disaster began, it hadn’t rained even once, but today felt different.

“I haven’t seen an overcast sky in so long. I almost forgot it could rain,” Qian Duoduo, the chubby one, said excitedly as the cool air invigorated him. Overweight people always hated the heat, and ever since Ma Yi arrived, he’d only heard the man complain about the stifling weather. Now, with this sudden change, Ma Yi understood how oppressive the heat had been.

Li Li was unusually quiet today. When she did speak, she often stared at Ma Yi, confusing the other three members of their group.

“Li Jie, why are you so quiet today? Did this kid get handsy with you last night? I always thought he was up to no good. What kind of kid has that sort of thing and no hair on his body? He’s got to be some ancient monster who’s lived so long he lost all his hair!” Qian Ying glared at Ma Yi. She’d tossed and turned all night, unable to sleep, convinced that Ma Yi was like those monsters from TV who grew so old they reverted to childhood.

The more she thought about it, the more nervous she became. Had she been bewitched while sleeping next to this old monster? Had he secretly drained her energy?

Ma Yi looked at this melodramatic girl with exasperation. Sure, he’d become smaller, but hardly an ancient demon.

“I think, since Ma Yi is our lucky charm, we should let him lead the way. Who knows, maybe we’ll get a surprise,” Li Li changed the subject. She couldn’t say she trusted Ma Yi completely yet, but she was at least ninety percent there. She had confidence in him.

“I agree,” Yu Chuan chimed in. In their eyes, Ma Yi was like a mascot for their team.

“Alright, since yesterday was so fruitful, even if we find nothing today, it’s no big deal. Let’s see if this guy really is a lucky star,” Qian Duoduo, to everyone’s surprise, was agreeable today.

“Li Jie, are you even listening to me?” Qian Ying stamped her foot in frustration, dismayed that no one in the group responded to her.

“Yes, Missy, let’s just call him an old monster, okay? As long as he brings us luck, I don’t care if he’s a monster,” Li Li said with a slightly embarrassed smile, recalling her wild behavior the night before. If he could help her get revenge, she wouldn’t care about anything else. But who knew if she’d ever leave this settlement in her lifetime.

“Fine, I’m just warning you to be careful. He could be a pervert for all we know. Maybe he took advantage of me while I was sleeping,” Qian Ying muttered.

“Come on, you’re not exactly prize merchandise,” Ma Yi retorted immediately.

His words struck a nerve, making Qian Ying bristle with indignation. She chased after Ma Yi, determined to give him a beating.

“Hey, what’s this place? Wow—everyone, come here!” Qian Ying, chasing Ma Yi, saw him vanish into a warehouse. She stepped inside and was dumbfounded. The warehouse was less than ten miles from the base and should have been picked clean by countless teams, yet here was a mountain of grain piled on the floor.

“What happened?” Qian Duoduo, hearing his sister’s call, was the first to arrive and stared blankly at the massive heap of grain.

“So much wheat! How can there be so much wheat here?” Yu Chuan and Li Li rushed in, weapons drawn, expecting trouble.

“That’s impossible. We’ve been here at least twice before, and there was nothing. What’s going on?” Yu Chuan tried to analyze the situation but was completely lost.

“Would you believe me if I said I made it appear?” Ma Yi poked his head out from the wheat pile, grinning.

“I don’t believe you at all,” Qian Ying replied, too distracted to bicker further. She dove onto the wheat, rolling and cheering, forgetting all about quarrels with Ma Yi.

“If you didn’t make it appear, how did it get here? But if you did, I still don’t believe it,” Qian Duoduo racked his brain, unable to make sense of it.

“You really are a lucky star,” Li Li said as she pulled Ma Yi out of the wheat pile and smothered him with kisses, making Ma Yi blush in front of everyone.

There was at least two thousand pounds of wheat here. It didn’t sound like much, but once ground into flour and made into buns, it could feed four people for three to five years if they ate their fill.

After a brief moment of joy, they gathered to discuss how to transport it and where to store it.

“I think you should take some back, and hide the rest somewhere. That way you can trade for the spirit shards you need, but still have enough to eat,” Ma Yi suggested.

“No way. I don’t trust leaving it outside. If someone else finds it, it’ll all be gone,” Qian Duoduo objected.

In the end, they voted to take some back and rent a truck to haul it.

Gasoline was a rare commodity now, strictly controlled by the base. It cost ten pounds of grain for a liter of gasoline. Trucks were readily available in the nearby town, so with gasoline as payment, vehicles could be borrowed free of charge.

The round trip of about ten miles wouldn’t use much gasoline, so they decided to trade for thirty liters. With a truck, they could travel farther to find more food and supplies in the future.

“I think that’s a good idea,” Ma Yi agreed with Qian Duoduo’s analysis. He couldn’t always rely on little mice to transport supplies—those piles of wheat had been brought from dozens of miles away by the mice the previous night.

After hiding the rest of the grain, each of the four carried a hundred pounds of wheat back to the base.

After handing over the required portion, they exchanged the remaining 320 pounds for gasoline. The chubby one picked out a small, fuel-efficient truck—plenty for hauling supplies and food.

With food secured, life changed instantly, especially for the chubby Qian Duoduo, who began to act cocky. He secretly brought grain to the service areas for ordinary people, seeking out women—something Ma Yi witnessed with his own eyes. Seizing the opportunity, Ma Yi hurried back to tell Qian Ying.

“I saw your brother sneaking into a woman’s hut with some grain,” Ma Yi reported, grinning at Qian Ying’s furious expression as he and Li Li headed for the inner city. Stirring up the siblings always amused him.

“You’re not planning to go yourself, are you?” Li Li asked, catching Ma Yi glancing curiously at the low huts along the roadside, where women stood at the doors, beckoning to passersby. Their skimpy clothes had been cut down to the bare minimum, designed to attract as much attention as possible.

“No, I’m just curious,” Ma Yi replied, his face flushing. He’d fantasized about it before, but every time he approached the door, he’d chickened out.

“With such a small body, you’re so full of energy? Aren’t I enough for you? I’m counting on you, lucky star, to keep bringing us good fortune,” Li Li teased, rapping Ma Yi’s head lightly. Her own cheeks suddenly flushed as memories of the previous night sprang to mind. This kid in a child’s body, so precocious—her lips still tingled from his kisses.

Unlike the outer district, the inner city had none of the chaotic, self-built shacks. All the houses were neatly arranged.

“Just inside the gate is the trading district—there are weapon shops, food stores, supply shops, and various workshops. If you don’t want to exchange your wheat for flour at the food store, you can take it to a workshop for processing. The fees are reasonable,” Li Li explained, knowing Ma Yi was unfamiliar with the area.

“A little further in—past that street—is the residential district, where ordinary people and low-level Evolvers live.” Seeing Ma Yi’s confusion, Li Li knew what he was wondering about.

“Those ordinary people aren’t so ordinary. They’re either families of the city guards or women and subordinates attached to powerful Evolvers. If a woman is good-looking, she’ll be in demand anywhere. Even those big houses in the center are filled with ordinary women.”

“Beyond the residential district are the homes of the more powerful Evolvers. Their houses are bigger, and at the very center is the management zone. Xiang Tianxiao, the strongest in the base, is not only the leader of the Thunder Squad, but also the chief executor, city defense commander, and one of the three top leaders. They all live in those tallest buildings in the center.”

Ma Yi followed Li Li’s gaze and saw, sure enough, a cluster of buildings rising above the surrounding structures, forming the heart of the settlement.