Volume One, Chapter 18: I Ask, You Answer

“Big brother, do you think that woman is going to sleep here tonight?”

The man speaking wore black clothes. His hair was shaved very short on the temples and the back of his head, with the remaining hair tied into a small braid. Upon closer inspection, one could see a vividly detailed scorpion tattoo behind his ear.

Coincidentally, his nickname was Scorpion.

Scorpion sat in the driver’s seat, yawning repeatedly.

In the passenger seat was a muscular man, leaning back with his hands clasped behind his head, dozing off.

In the back seat sat the man they called Big Brother, a bit older. Dou Long’s eyes were fixed intently on the brightly lit store about ten meters away.

“Big brother, should we just go in now?” Scorpion asked again.

“Are you fucking stupid? Didn’t you see there’s a police station right beside the middle school?” Dou Long slapped Scorpion on the head angrily.

Scorpion winced in pain, his nose tingling, and said with slight grievance, “Big brother, we’ve been tailing her all day and she hasn’t done anything. How much longer do we have to follow her?”

Dou Long gritted his teeth. “The higher-ups ordered us to find out exactly where she got all those valuables.”

“Then just tie her up. She’s just a young girl; a few scares and she’ll talk,” Scorpion scoffed.

“Observe for a few more days. If we can’t find anything, then tie her up.”

“Got it, big brother!”

“First, let’s get some food. After a whole day, I’m starving.”

Scorpion opened the car door and headed to the steamed bun shop next to Qiao Yuan’s place to buy a few baskets of buns.

As he passed by Qiao Yuan’s store, he suddenly stopped.

Why does it smell so good? Scorpion looked at the bare storefront, the windows covered with curtains, making it hard to see inside.

But the aroma of food was definitely wafting through the crack under the door.

How strange!

After buying the buns, Scorpion quickly returned to the car.

“Big brother, there’s the smell of food coming from that place. It’s really weird.”

“Are you crazy with hunger or what?” Dou Long snapped.

The three of them finished the buns and took turns resting.

Meanwhile, Qiao Yuan, full and satisfied, rested her head on the counter.

What should the supermarket be called? Tomorrow she’d need to find an advertising design company to make a sign.

Might as well call it Lin Yuan Supermarket!

Qiao Yuan snapped her fingers.

Lin Yuan was her online handle, sounding profound and meaningful.

After deciding on the name, Qiao Yuan started counting her money.

Fifty-four million, only one million spent stocking supplies for Ning Jue.

Twenty million prepaid for her grandfather’s nursing home, covering 20 years of care.

That left thirty-three million remaining.

There were still many gold, silver, and jewels in her space that hadn’t been sold.

Sell them?

Qiao Yuan suddenly snapped back to reality. Just now, she had thought of a crucial link.

She had pawned items worth fifty-four million at Qingshan Pawnshop.

Could it be that someone at the pawnshop was watching her?

Having a treasure invites trouble.

A girl in her twenties suddenly producing tens of millions in jewels was bound to arouse greed.

Qiao Yuan immediately suspected Xu Qiuyun.

She would never return to Yongle Village. Since the grocery store there had been completely relocated, it meant there was nothing left in the village’s shop.

Blocked by a black sedan at the front door and with the village bully watching from behind,

For the first time, Qiao Yuan felt how tough life could be.

After spending the entire night at the supermarket, Qiao Yuan was awakened by the numbness and soreness in her arm.

She moved her arm and just then heard the blind box notification.

Bad luck today—she had drawn a notebook.

Not a laptop, but an actual pen-and-paper notebook.

“Hey! How come—”

Suddenly, a man’s voice echoed in the supermarket.

Qiao Yuan looked to her left and saw Ning Jue standing confusedly by the sliding door.

“Your store... it looks different.”

“Why are you here today?”

Didn’t he leave just yesterday? There were so many supplies in the space, enough to last him months.

Ning Jue slapped his forehead and quickly explained.

“Do you have any insect repellent?”

“Insect repellent?” Qiao Yuan shook her head.

“Can you help me buy some? The more, the better. Anything that can keep insects away, even insecticides.”

“Of course.” Qiao Yuan handed Ning Jue a glass of water. “Do you have cockroaches where you live?”

At the mention of cockroaches, Ning Jue’s expression visibly darkened.

“I don’t know why, but the zombies have started spawning insects. After the eggs hatched, a large number of cockroaches appeared all over the city. Wherever the insect swarm goes, bones pile up.”

“Cockroaches eat people?” Qiao Yuan covered her mouth in shock.

“Yes. We’ve sealed all doors, windows, and any holes.”

“But it’s no use. Cockroaches still find their way in through cracks.” Ning Jue recalled the scene from yesterday and shuddered. “Thankfully, my sister awakened. She unleashed flames and burned the insect swarm surrounding the villa.”

“Your sister awakened?” Qiao Yuan thought for a moment. “Could a fever be a sign of awakening?”

Seeing Ning Jue’s admiring look, Qiao Yuan knew her guess was right.

“I’ll go buy you some insecticide and repellents right now. If I’m not mistaken, there’s a veterinary medicine shop across the street. You go back first; I’ll put the medicine into the space.”

With that, Qiao Yuan wiped her face and headed straight out the door.

...

“Big brother! Big brother! That girl came out!”

Dou Long rubbed his eyes and looked closely.

White T-shirt, jeans, shoulder-length hair, fair skin, rosy lips, delicate and petite nose...

Damn! This is off track!

Dou Long cleared his throat twice. “Scorpion, follow her and see where she’s going.”

“Got it.”

Scorpion opened the car door and strode after Qiao Yuan, keeping about two meters behind her.

Qiao Yuan had long noticed him. She stretched out her fingers and felt the softness of her gloves, which reassured her somewhat.

The veterinary medicine shop opened at seven, and Qiao Yuan was the first customer.

“Boss, I want cockroach poison.”

“How big is your place? Let me see how much you’ll need.”

The boss was an elderly man. He swallowed a bite of his pancake and asked.

“Boss, I want as much as you have.”

“Huh?”

Qiao Yuan leaned on the glass counter. “Boss, please hurry, I’m in a rush.”

Seeing she wasn’t joking, the boss put the pancake back in the bag and turned to the warehouse.

After a while, he brought out a bulging snakeskin bag.

“Thirty jin in total, 2048 yuan.”

“Do you have insecticide? I want twenty... no, fifty bottles.”

The boss was stunned for two seconds, then returned to the warehouse.

“Adding fifty bottles of strong insecticide, 3500 yuan.”

Without hesitation, Qiao Yuan scanned and paid immediately.

“Little girl, that’s heavy. You should get someone to help you carry it.”

“Phew!”

The boss gasped.

He saw Qiao Yuan carrying the snakeskin bag in her left hand and a carton in her right, effortlessly walking out of the veterinary shop.

Qiao Yuan crossed the street, Scorpion close behind.

Ever since the awakening system activated, Qiao Yuan noticed her strength had increased significantly.

As the system upgraded, the changes to her body became more apparent.

She had secretly tested in the yard—she could lift several hundred jin of bluestone slabs with one hand.

A few dozen jin of cockroach poison was a breeze!

Scorpion followed her to the supermarket entrance, about to turn back to the car.

But in the next moment, his eyes caught a blue, red, and white striped snakeskin bag.

A sharp whistle sounded.

Scorpion heard a clear, beautiful female voice.

“Who sent you?”