Chapter 121: The Black Shop—Will They Let Us Leave?

(from ""Restarting the Farm at the End of the World"")

At this moment, Bian Changxi and the others were being led by Xiao Liu to tour the tunnel.

Honestly, there wasn’t much to see. It was filthy and chaotic—not even a single proper room or partition. People just laid down some paper and called it a nest. The tunnel stretched for over two kilometers, and you couldn’t even see the end. Everyone looked on with dark expressions, and eventually just became numb to it. No matter how safe this place was supposed to be, none of them wanted to stay here. Was there any quality of life left? It was basically a refugee camp.

The most crucial thing was, it might not even be safe.

As soon as An Ran saw the tunnel, she clung tightly to Bian Changxi’s sleeve. Once inside, her face turned pale, and the terror in her eyes was obvious to anyone.

“This place is scary, really scary. It feels like we’re inside a coiled snake’s mouth.”

Everyone’s faces changed.

Bian Changxi also felt something was off. The moment she entered the tunnel, she sensed a strange pull—not an irresistible, beautiful attraction, but the feeling that her powers were being drained. She focused and sensed carefully; sure enough, her abilities were leaking away. Looking around at the emaciated people in the tunnel, she felt a chill run down her spine.

She whispered to An Ran, “Why do you say that?”

An Ran couldn’t explain, but her feet clearly didn’t want to move forward.

Bian Changxi looked at everyone. “Better safe than sorry. Let’s take a detour.”

They were already at the edge of the base, so what was a little extra walking? If something happened here, they’d really regret it.

Everyone agreed—life was more important than anything. What’s a few more days on the road?

They turned to leave, but Xiao Liu quickly blocked them. “Where are you going? I still need to arrange your accommodations.”

Accommodations? Even if they weren’t turning back, they just wanted to pass through the tunnel, which they’d already discussed with Jiang Chunlin. Why was he bringing up lodging?

Chu Hao, the group’s diplomatic spokesman, stepped forward with a smile. “We have something to discuss outside the tunnel. We’ll be right back.” Since they suspected something was wrong, he wasn’t about to say outright that they didn’t want to go this way. They were only about a hundred meters from the exit anyway—better to get out first.

Xiao Liu nodded and let them go. But just then, someone grabbed hold of Chai Zhong’s pants.

“You’re Chai Zhong!”

Chai Zhong looked down and saw a big balding head atop a deeply wrinkled, aged face. He stared for a moment, then gasped in shock. “Old Baldy? What are you doing here? And why do you look so much older?”

Old Baldy quickly stood up, glanced at Chai Zhong, then at Bian Changxi and the others. He pulled Chai Zhong aside and whispered, “You’re here too? Where are you headed? Help me out, will you? Both my spatial ability users have been taken by the boss here. We’re both from Longyue Town—please, you have to help me!”

Chai Zhong frowned. “I’m just passing through. There’s not much I can do. Besides, those two spatial users left willingly, right? If you couldn’t keep them, who can you blame?”

Back then, Old Baldy had poached two ability users from under Chai Zhong’s nose. When Chai Zhong was furious and demanded justice, Old Baldy had said the same thing.

Now he wanted to play the hometown card.

Old Baldy was so angry he nearly fell over, but he didn’t dare shout. He just clung to Chai Zhong, refusing to let go.

“Those two have something I worked so hard to get. Isn’t Chu Hao in your team a spatial user? If you help me get it back, I’ll give you a third—no, half! I’ll split it half and half with you!”

Hearing his name, Chu Hao came over. “What’s going on?”

Soon, everyone knew the story. The notorious poacher Old Baldy had finally been poached himself. Most found it amusing, but the delay gave Lao Qian and Jiang Chunlin time to arrive with their men.

“What’s going on here? Why all the noise? Boss Qian is here!”

Bian Changxi turned and saw a sturdy middle-aged man beside Jiang Chunlin. He was big-boned, but not particularly muscular—just a bit thin, though you wouldn’t notice unless you looked closely. He didn’t look healthy either. Bian Changxi’s heart sank. Coming into this tunnel had been a terrible decision—they needed to leave immediately.

She stepped forward and spoke first. “Hello, Boss Qian. We didn’t know someone had taken over this tunnel. We thought we’d run into trouble opening the way, so only a portion of our group came. We’ll call the rest over now.” She turned to the others. “Let’s go.”

Boss Qian paused, thinking quickly. There was a larger group? He didn’t know how strong they were, and according to Jiang Chunlin, Bian Changxi herself was a powerful wood-type and also had spatial abilities. He couldn’t just tie them up like the people on the other end of the radio suggested.

He smiled. “Is that so? Just point me in the right direction and I’ll send someone to fetch them. Look at you, soaked to the bone. It’s still raining outside. How can I let you run around? I’ll have my men go!”

He started to call for his people.

Bian Changxi quickly stopped him. “No need. Our people are cautious—if strangers approach, it might cause trouble, and I’d hate for your men to get hurt. We’ll go ourselves.” She paused, then added, “Originally, just one or two of us would have gone, but since everyone here is capable and it’s safer to travel together, we’ll all go. We’ll be back soon. You won’t forget us, right, Boss Qian?”

“How could I? You saved Chunlin and the others—I can’t thank you enough. No need to say more. I’ll send someone to fetch your people, and as for you, I want to treat you well.”

Chen Guanqing, seeing that Boss Qian wouldn’t let it go, stepped forward and blocked him, his smile cold and insincere. “Boss Qian, this is our own business. We appreciate your kindness, but we’re not that close. Too much enthusiasm just makes things awkward.”

He was just short of telling him to mind his own business.

Boss Qian’s face flushed with anger, but he forced a smile. “We’re all guests from all over. It’s fate that we meet, and I’m the host. Surely you can give me some face?”

George stepped up, visibly annoyed. “You’re really annoying, you know that? We already said we don’t need your help. Chen, Miss Bian, let’s just ignore him and go.”

Everyone turned to leave. Boss Qian clenched his fists and waved his hand. Instantly, people blocked their way. His face darkened.

“I’ve been around a long time, and never met guests so disrespectful. You came from afar, I gave you shelter from the wind and rain, treated you kindly. Ask anyone here—who else gets this kind of hospitality from me? You’re really pushing your luck!”

Honestly, with his temperament, he’d have ordered his men to seize them already. But he was wary of Bian Changxi’s abilities and her backup. Plus, he suspected they’d noticed something and were in a hurry to leave. So he pretended to be angry, hoping to scare them into compliance. If that didn’t work, he’d have no choice but to show his hand.

Unfortunately for him, he was destined to be disappointed. Seeing his posture, the group—already suspicious—became certain: this really was a den of thieves. George, who’d thought someone here might be an ally, realized it was just as Baldy had said: these guys were mountain bandits, demanding tolls or worse.

George, Chu Hao, Chai Zhong, and Baldy Qiang—all tough men—stepped forward, faces fierce.

“So you let people in but not out? What kind of logic is that? You call this hospitality? You think we’re easy targets? What, you want to fight?”

—Chai Zhong.

“Friend, you said we’re all guests here. We really have business to attend to and don’t want to offend you. Why make things so tense?”

—Chu Hao.

“Why bother talking? You really think you’re hot stuff just because you have numbers? If you want to fight, bring it on!”

—George.

Baldy Qiang’s eyes were cold as he gripped his huge machete. Chen Guanqing said nothing, quietly sizing up the opposition and planning their response. Bian Changxi held An Ran’s hand, with Milk the cat on her shoulder, her free hand ready to unleash her powers or draw a weapon—completely unafraid. Wu Xia and the other five were also on guard.

They’d faced plenty of danger lately—life and death situations every time. Their teamwork had only grown stronger.

Boss Qian felt his teeth ache. Every one of these people was tough as nails.

Even the little girl glared at him angrily. Most infuriating was the cat-like creature on Bian Changxi’s shoulder—don’t tell him that gleam in its eyes was schadenfreude.

He glared for a while, but remembering the warnings he’d received, he felt trapped and helpless. In the end, he could only wave his hand weakly. “If you insist, then go. But be quick—come back before dark, or it’ll be dangerous.”

Everyone’s tension instantly deflated. Huh? Was it not what they thought?

Still suspicious, they half-raised their weapons and edged toward the exit. Suddenly, the old, weak, women, and children on both sides rushed over and clung to their legs.

“Please, give us some food.”

“Have mercy, please.”

“Hey, you—” Chu Hao, startled and unwilling to kick away the old woman clinging to him, suddenly felt a sharp pain in his calf. The old woman looked up at him with a twisted smile, her eyes cold and sinister.

He instantly felt weak, his head spinning. He staggered, eyes glazed, and collapsed.

Most of the others suffered the same fate. In an instant, only half of them were still standing.

...

At Su City Base, night had fallen, but the administrative hall deep within the base was still brightly lit and bustling with activity. Not far from the admin building, the top floor of a state-run restaurant was ablaze with lights. After the weekly management meeting, the elite would gather here for a party.

Not everyone who attended the meeting would come to the party, and not only attendees could enjoy the rare wines that had vanished from the market. This was the perfect place to meet new friends, reconnect with old ones, and expand your network. Basically, anyone who could get an entry pass would come—unless they were so important they could ignore such things. Being able to enter was a status symbol in itself.

The management hadn’t arrived yet, but the hall was already crowded. Tonight, a new member would be joining—a person well worth getting to know.

PS:

Thanks to Ruo Wanxi for the two review votes! Thank you so much for your support!