Chapter 31

Neither of them had expected the Shadowy Figure to cry after they announced their departure.

Having known him for a while, Tian Qiao tried his best to comfort him: "Why are you crying? We’re not leaving tomorrow; we still have a few days."

The Shadowy Figure cried even harder.

Cheng Zhiyu gave a helpless look, unsure what to say. Over the past few days, he’d sensed that the Shadowy Figure might not have had much human interaction, which had fostered a remarkably genuine personality. His sadness was understandable.

Cheng Zhiyu also felt a pang of sadness... but ultimately, they had to part ways.

Still crying, the Shadowy Figure picked up his chopsticks, hastily wiped his face, and continued to eat from his bowl between sobs.

He devoured the lotus root patties two at a time; he especially loved them. Minced meat sandwiched between two slices of lotus root, coated in flour, and fried until golden and crispy. The crispness of the lotus root, the savory flavor of the meat, and the fragrant crunch of the flour blended perfectly.

The Shadowy Figure probably thought he’d never taste anything so delicious again, so he ate ravenously.

Cheng Zhiyu advised him, "Eat slowly, there’s plenty more."

The Shadowy Figure kept eating, still unable to stop his muffled sobs.

Truly, his foodie nature was unwavering.

After the meal, the Shadowy Figure silently departed, his retreating back looking particularly desolate.

Tian Qiao watched him leave, feeling a little down and sentimental: "Cheng Zhiyu, why must there be goodbyes in life?"

Cheng Zhiyu looked at him, expecting a profound philosophical response, but instead, Tian Qiao said, "Go wash the dishes now."

Tian Qiao: "..."

He complained, "You’re completely unsentimental!"

Cheng Zhiyu shrugged. With a mountain of unfinished tasks, he really couldn’t afford to be sentimental.

Tian Qiao sighed as he washed the dishes: "Do you think... he couldn’t have come with us?"

Cheng Zhiyu shook his head, telling him to drop the idea: "How long have we known him?"

"How can you say that? Friendship isn’t measured by time!" Tian Qiao strongly disagreed.

But Cheng Zhiyu countered, "If he were an ordinary person, it would be wonderful if he came with us. But given his situation... he’d inevitably have to interact with people outside, and that would be too difficult for him."

By "ordinary person," he didn’t mean someone with or without powers, but rather someone capable of normal communication with the outside world.

The Shadowy Figure clearly couldn’t do that.

Hearing this, Tian Qiao immediately fell silent, forced to admit that Cheng Zhiyu had a point.

Cheng Zhiyu’s eyes fell on Little Black, who was lying nearby, and he smiled: "But it depends on the situation."

Tian Qiao: "?"

"If it were Little Black, he’d have to come with me whether he wanted to or not." Cheng Zhiyu picked up Little Black and kissed him: "If he won’t come willingly, I’ll just kidnap him."

Tian Qiao: "..." I give up.

He said to Little Black, "Look, look, Cheng Zhiyu doesn’t respect your opinion at all. Brother Black, smack him!"

Little Black flicked his tail but didn’t hit Cheng Zhiyu; instead, it gently brushed against Cheng Zhiyu’s wrist.

Cheng Zhiyu: "Hehe."

Tian Qiao: "..." Can’t believe even Brother Black is so whipped.

If not for the species difference, you’d think the two of them were dating.

Little Black looked into Cheng Zhiyu’s smiling eyes. The other was really something, talking about kidnapping him... but for some reason, he felt weirdly happy.

Over the next few days, Cheng Zhiyu and the others were busy with their final preparations before leaving. The Shadowy Figure hadn’t appeared since he left that day.

Tian Qiao sighed: "Sigh, he could at least come say goodbye."

This was the apocalypse; if they parted now, they might never see each other again.

Cheng Zhiyu was also a bit sad, but he could only accept it. Everyone makes their own choices. Perhaps for the Shadowy Figure, this kind of farewell was the best way.

—

Early one morning, Cheng Zhiyu received the long-awaited system notification: "Congratulations, host. Big Strong has reached first-level maturity. Rewards have been issued. Please check them."

Cheng Zhiyu’s eyes snapped open. After telling Little Black, he entered the system space.

As soon as he entered, he noticed Big Strong looked different. Previously small and tiny, it had now grown significantly, reaching up to Cheng Zhiyu’s waist. It looked like a beautiful young tree.

To be honest, compared to Little Two and the others, Big Strong looked quite ordinary on the outside; it was impossible to tell what kind of plant it was.

But Cheng Zhiyu certainly didn’t think it was an ordinary plant, so he opened Big Strong’s information to check.

"Plant Name: Big Strong

Current Status: First-Level Maturity

Skill: Shelter"

Seeing the skill entry, Cheng Zhiyu raised an eyebrow slightly, then his heart beat faster. Could it be what he was thinking?

Sure enough, it was exactly what he thought. The system prompted: "Does the host wish to view?"

Cheng Zhiyu: "Yes."

Then, he left the system space. The system prompted: "Please choose an open area with no obstructions within a 5-meter radius centered on the host."

Cheng Zhiyu, excited, immediately went outside.

Seeing this, Little Black quickly followed.

Tian Qiao noticed their movements too: "Cheng Zhiyu, Brother Black, what are you two running so fast for? Hey! Wait for me!"

Tian Qiao hurried after them.

Cheng Zhiyu found an open area and stopped, telling Tian Qiao to stand back.

Tian Qiao was confused but obediently moved aside.

The system prompted: "Place it now?"

Cheng Zhiyu: "Yes."

Then, they witnessed an astonishing sight: a massive tree appeared on the empty ground before them, lush with branches and leaves so dense they blocked out the sun. Upon closer inspection, it even had doors and windows.

Cheng Zhiyu was thrilled; he never expected Big Strong to transform into a treehouse!

Tian Qiao was so amazed his jaw literally dropped, looking as if he could fit an egg in his mouth: "Holy cow, am I dreaming?"

Cheng Zhiyu said with a laugh, "The odds of us sharing the same dream are pretty slim."

Tian Qiao snapped out of it, swallowed, and said, "Well... let's go inside and take a look."

Cheng Zhiyu picked up Little Black, walked over, and opened the treehouse door. To his surprise, the interior wasn't cramped. The walls had a log-cabin style with a warm, cozy tone.

Aside from that, there wasn't much else—it was essentially a blank slate.

Even so, they were thrilled. With Big Strong, it was like carrying a house with them wherever they went, giving them a weirdly comforting feeling.

Although the house was empty, they could easily add their own stuff.

Cheng Zhiyu even made sure to ask the system whether furniture added to Big Strong's treehouse could shrink down with it when planted in the system space.

The answer was yes.

The treehouse had two floors: the lower level consisted of a bedroom and a living room, while the upper level had an extra room.

Tian Qiao was especially excited: "I've never lived in a treehouse in my life. I kind of want to crash here tonight."

Cheng Zhiyu laughed, "There's nothing in here. Are you planning to sleep on the floor?"

Tian Qiao grinned, "I'd totally sleep on the floor."

A treehouse—how cool is that? Who didn't dream of having a treehouse in their childhood?

Cheng Zhiyu just shook his head. Little Black, perched on his shoulder, jumped down and began waddling around on his short legs, checking out the place as if familiarizing himself with his new territory.

Cheng Zhiyu didn't interfere and let Little Black explore freely.

The first floor had a solid wooden floor, which felt more substantial underfoot than typical wooden flooring.

The bedroom on the first floor had a large window that let in plenty of sunlight, lighting up the whole room. Since it was inside a tree, the walls had a slight curve.

The living room was slightly larger than the bedroom. Cheng Zhiyu was thinking about putting a dining table and a sofa set there.

Of course, it couldn't compare to a normal-sized house, but it was still quite good, especially since Big Strong's treehouse could go anywhere with them.

Moreover, based on Cheng Zhiyu's experience, Big Strong was only at level one of maturity, meaning it could still be upgraded. He wondered whether the upgrades would focus on size or other aspects.

Besides the bedroom, the second floor also had a small storage room. Though not very big, it could still store some stuff.

The more Cheng Zhiyu and the others looked around, the more satisfied they felt: "This is great. From now on, things that can't be stored in the storage space can be kept here."

For example, fermenting veggies. Speaking of which, Cheng Zhiyu remembered that the fermenting veggies he had prepared earlier should be ready to eat. So, he decided to make fermenting veggie buns for breakfast.

He turned around and saw Tian Qiao already lying on the floor, not caring how hard it was.

Cheng Zhiyu's lip twitched. Seeing that Little Black had confirmed the floor was clean and was also lying down, his lip twitched again: "You guys really..."

Little Black had never slept inside a tree before, let alone a living tree like Big Strong. He couldn't help but lie down. Noticing Cheng Zhiyu's gaze, he immediately stood up, trying to play it cool, and shook his fur: "I was just a bit tired from walking."

Cheng Zhiyu: "..." Do you really think I'd believe that?

But even if he didn't believe it, he wouldn't call him out—he had to give his little dog some dignity.

As for Tian Qiao, he didn't see anything wrong with lying on the floor. He sprawled out spread-eagle, limbs splayed: "I feel like it's cooler sleeping here than in the house. Cheng Zhiyu, are you sleeping upstairs or downstairs?"

Cheng Zhiyu glanced at him: "I'll sleep downstairs."

Tian Qiao: "Great! Then I'll sleep upstairs. Can I sleep in the treehouse tonight?"

Cheng Zhiyu looked at the empty treehouse, rubbed his forehead, and said, "Whatever you want."

Tian Qiao: "Heh heh."

Turning around, he saw Little Black also looking at him. Cheng Zhiyu said, exasperated: "You want to sleep in the treehouse too?"

Little Black wanted to but felt too shy to say it outright: "Either way's fine with me."

Cheng Zhiyu picked him up: "I want to sleep here too. Keep me company."

Little Black gave a happy tail wag: "Okay."

"Alright, since we're sleeping here tonight, we'll have plenty of time to look around. For now, let's focus on what we need to do," Cheng Zhiyu said.

Tian Qiao: "What task?"

Cheng Zhiyu: "Breakfast."

After leaving the treehouse, Tian Qiao watched sadly as Cheng Zhiyu put Big Strong away. If he hadn't just taken a nap on the floor, he would have thought it was all a dream.

Nostalgically, he said, "Cheng Zhiyu, remember to water Big Strong more so it grows up big and strong."

Cheng Zhiyu's lip twitched. Water it more? Wouldn't that kill it?

Little Black gently patted Cheng Zhiyu's cheek with his paw, his paw warm: "What are we having for breakfast?"

Cheng Zhiyu: "Buns. Fermenting veggie buns."

With fermenting veggies, he could make many dishes they hadn't had before.

Hearing there was no meat, Little Black's ears drooped.

Cheng Zhiyu laughed and scratched behind his ears: "It'll be delicious. How about I make meatball soup for you too?"

Little Black perked up and lightly nuzzled Cheng Zhiyu, though he quickly stopped, being coy and cute.

Cheng Zhiyu gave him a loud kiss, perfectly happy, and went to make breakfast.

Little Black: "..."

He decided not to watch Cheng Zhiyu cook and went to supervise Tian Qiao instead.

Tian Qiao: "..."

Cheng Zhiyu first started the dough, adding the yeast he had found earlier to make it rise. He covered the mixing bowl and placed it in a warm spot, figuring it would rise in no time.

In the meantime, he prepared the filling. He took out the fermenting veggies, gave them a quick rinse, and squeezed out the liquid—not too dry, or the buns would lack moisture and taste bland.

Just fermenting veggies wouldn't cut it, so he added some glass noodles, chopped garlic, sprinkled chili powder, drizzled hot oil over it, and mixed in various seasonings.

Once the vegetable filling was ready, he minced the meat and set it aside. Seeing the dough had risen sufficiently, he began making the buns.

During this time, Tian Qiao came in and offered to help make the buns, but ended up wrapping one that turned out pretty ugly.

Cheng Zhiyu comforted him: "Not bad for your first time."

Tian Qiao felt reassured and thought he could keep going.

Then Cheng Zhiyu added: "But I won’t eat the buns you make."

Little Black: "I won’t eat them either."

Although Tian Qiao couldn’t understand Little Black’s words, he clearly understood the meaning behind them: "…"

He felt pretty bummed—especially since he’d just been complimented moments ago.

Cheng Zhiyu explained that while the praise was genuine, he really didn’t want to eat Tian Qiao’s buns. It wasn’t about how they looked; the problem was the wrapper was too thick with barely any filling. You could tell they wouldn’t taste good without even trying.

Tian Qiao pouted: "Fine, I’ll eat them myself then."

But he stopped wrapping, scared he’d be stuck eating only his own creations.

Ah, whatever—he might as well get back to work.

This time, Little Black didn’t follow him and instead stayed by Cheng Zhiyu’s side, kept watch.

After Cheng Zhiyu finished wrapping the buns and placed them in the steamer, Little Black used his Water Power to lift the steamer onto the pot and cover it with the lid.

Cheng Zhiyu grinned and praised him: "Little Black, you’re amazing!"

Little Black wagged his tail even more happily, completely unaware of how little it took to make him happy.

While the buns steamed, Cheng Zhiyu took the minced meat, seasoned it, shaped it into small meatballs, and dropped them into the soup to make ginger meatball soup.

The ginger meatball soup looked light but tasted delicious. He garnished it with cilantro before serving, making it very appetizing.

Fortunately, they all liked cilantro, so no need to make a separate batch without it.

When the buns were almost ready, Cheng Zhiyu checked the time: "Time to eat!"

During the meal, Tian Qiao tried to ignore the ugly buns he made, but Cheng Zhiyu had already placed them right in front of him.

Tian Qiao tried to argue: "...Do I have to eat them?"

Little Black took a big bite of a steaming bun—the flavors of pickled cabbage, vermicelli, and the soft wrapper filled his mouth. He squinted contentedly, but upon hearing Tian Qiao’s complaint, he opened his half-round eyes and shot Tian Qiao a look.

Cheng Zhiyu: "No wasting food."

Having grown up in the countryside, they knew how much effort it took to turn wheat into flour. Even though they now had enough to eat, they treated food with respect. Especially in these post-apocalyptic times, having witnessed how hard ordinary people struggled, they couldn’t afford to waste.

Hearing this, Tian Qiao took a bite of his bun. Well, the first bite didn’t even reach the filling. Luckily, Cheng Zhiyu’s dough was well-fermented, and the freshly steamed wrapper was fragrant enough to eat even without much filling.

Tian Qiao quickly finished his bun and sighed: "Actually, it’s not bad. Pretty tasty."

Then he eagerly grabbed a properly made bun. With one bite, he realized how terrible his own buns had been—Cheng Zhiyu’s were thin-skinned and generously filled, so delicious they were almost intoxicating.

A spoonful of the meatball soup made him feel completely satisfied.

They had steamed three full steamer trays of buns—not the small city kind, but the large ones used with rural earthen stoves, just like those in bun shops. Each tray held over ten large buns, and the three of them ended up finishing two whole trays.

Cheng Zhiyu stored the remaining tray in his storage space, where it would stay as fresh as just steamed.

The meatball soup was finished off completely, with Little Black drinking the most—he seemed to especially like it.

After the meal, Cheng Zhiyu entered the system space. He hadn’t collected his rewards earlier because he was too hungry, but now he rubbed his hands together excitedly and mumbled: "System, can you make the space a bit bigger?"

Every upgrade only increased it a little, and he had to skimp and save where to plant his vegetables.

The system ignored him.

Cheng Zhiyu had no choice but to check his rewards.

As usual, there was an unidentified plant. He planted it immediately but didn’t fertilize it right away—newly planted crops needed a few days to adjust before fertilizing.

This plant seemed easier to grow than Big Strong. After watering, its vitality increased from 5% to 6%.

Cheng Zhiyu breathed a sigh of relief. He had thought plants would become harder to grow later on, but apparently not.

This plant looked strange, though. Usually, plants started with two leaves, maybe differing only in color. This one was different—it had a single stem that was slightly curly. He wondered what it would grow into.

Based on its appearance, Cheng Zhiyu quickly gave it a name: "Little Roll, how about I call you Little Roll?"

Little Roll didn’t answer, but its vitality politely increased by 1%.

Cheng Zhiyu was delighted—seemed like he’d chosen a good name.

The system: "…"

Next, he collected the other two rewards. One was a system space upgrade. Cheng Zhiyu had expected it to go from 4*4 to 5*5 and consoled himself that each upgrade increased the area more than the last.

But this time, it was unexpected—the system space land upgraded directly to 7*7.

Cheng Zhiyu widened his eyes in pleasant surprise: "System, why such a big upgrade this time?"

The system replied aloofly: "Reward for Little Two and Little Iron’s upgrade."

So that was it. Cheng Zhiyu nodded, then narrowed his eyes: "Wait, didn’t Little Two and Little Iron upgrade a while ago?"

The system: "…"

Playing dead again, huh? Seeing he wouldn’t get an answer, Cheng Zhiyu gave up. It seemed he needed to question the system more often to avoid being brushed off.

Then came the storage space upgrade—from 5 cubic meters to 10 cubic meters!

This was a huge expansion. 10 cubic meters was almost the size of a small warehouse. Now they could carry much more supplies.

In high spirits, Cheng Zhiyu checked all the plants in the system space. Little Two and the others hadn’t changed much, but the ordinary plants were growing rapidly.

The cucumbers and tomatoes had already fruited—small but promising, likely edible soon.

Since they were planted near Little Two, they turned red as soon as they appeared.

The potatoes, growing underground, weren’t visible, but the watermelon had started flowering.

After inspecting each plant and watering them, Cheng Zhiyu left the system space and shared the great news with Little Black and Tian Qiao.

After hearing this, Tian Qiao wanted to bring along everything they could possibly carry.

Cheng Zhiyu pondered, "We could get a small generator by then. It'll fit in the space, or we could even put it in Big Strong's storage room."

Now that they had a treehouse, a generator was essential—something they could take with them anytime, anywhere.

Some generators were extremely loud, but there were also silent ones; they would definitely look for the latter. Otherwise, using a generator would be like shouting to the zombies or other people that they were here.

"And furniture—let's check out the furniture store. We definitely need beds," Tian Qiao was still thinking about this.

Cheng Zhiyu nodded, "We'll look for ones displayed in the furniture store that are formaldehyde-free."

Though they weren't brand new, it wasn't that important.

After discussing, they planned to leave the next day, again departing at night. The days were even hotter now, making it impossible to go out during the day.

Even though Tian Qiao was a Superhuman and Cheng Zhiyu had practiced inner cultivation, they could tolerate the temperature, but it was still quite uncomfortable.

Autumn was approaching, and they wondered if it would bring some relief from the heat.

When the topic of leaving came up, Tian Qiao muttered about the Shadowy Figure again, "He really isn't coming anymore? He used to show up every time we had a meal."

Cheng Zhiyu didn't respond. It was the other's choice, and he couldn't blame him. He had originally planned to make some non-perishable food to leave for the Shadowy Figure, but since he never came, there was no way to give it to him.

Both of them dropped the subject without another word. That night, they stayed in the treehouse. Though it was a bit hard without beds, sleeping there occasionally wasn't a big deal.

Moreover, they were pleasantly surprised to find that the treehouse was a bit warmer at night than usual.

They closed their eyes to sleep, but around midnight, they suddenly heard a muffled sobbing. If it weren't for the familiarity of the sound, it would have been quite eerie.

Tian Qiao came downstairs and saw that Cheng Zhiyu was already up. They both knew it was the Shadowy Figure and wanted to go out to check.

Stepping out of the treehouse, they saw the Shadowy Figure crouching in the yard of their previous dwelling, crying bitterly.

Cheng Zhiyu understood why he was crying and walked over, gently patting his shoulder, "We haven't left yet."

The Shadowy Figure jolted in surprise. Seeing it was them, he stopped himself, wiped his face, and though his expression was unclear, they could sense his surprise.

Tian Qiao yawned, "Bro, it's the middle of the night. Your crying is kinda creepy."

The Shadowy Figure seemed a bit embarrassed, lowering his head. Then, as if remembering something, he quickly gestured toward the outside.

Tian Qiao was puzzled, scratching his head, "What? What do you mean? What's out there?"

The Shadowy Figure pointed urgently, opening his mouth, "Go, go... with me..."

The two understood—he wanted them to follow him.

They just didn't know where he was taking them.

The Shadowy Figure kept insisting, repeating, "Go... go..."

So, he’d come in the middle of the night to lead them somewhere? But where?

Cheng Zhiyu looked at Little Black, who flicked his tail: "Let's go check it out."

Cheng Zhiyu felt the same way. He didn’t think the Shadowy Figure meant them any harm; instead, he was curious.