Chapter 176 - 143: The House Builder

Chapter 176: Chapter 143: The House Builder

Carrying several bags of salt and spices on her back, Huai Yu once again boarded the bus for her return trip.

Now that her days were more comfortable, she could afford all the ingredients needed for pickling and cooking. However, even after spending hundreds of points in a single morning, her mind repeatedly drifted back to the people in the Wilderness.

She realized that those left behind in the Wilderness ultimately couldn’t bring anything back.

When she had asked Chen Xing for help last time, she had still clung to a fleeting, illusory hope. After all, Lin Xuefeng was so powerful. What if he was lucky enough to survive? What if he could hold out long enough?

Chen Xing had also promised to figure something out if there was an opportunity.

But they hadn’t told her that such an opportunity simply didn’t exist.

She sighed at the thought of the Wilderness and lifted her head to look out the window.

The bus swayed gently. In the distance, rolling mountains stretched out beneath the bright, shining sun. Everything seemed exactly like any other ordinary day; there was no difference at all.

She wondered if the Rose Corridor really held back that much danger.

The bus was bustling with noise as people gathered in twos and threes, chatting about everything from domestic life to neighborhood disputes. It was a picture of peaceful, quiet times.

By the time she got off, there was no one left on the bus except the driver. Just as Huai Yu’s feet touched the ground, she saw the driver poke his head out from the cab.

"Little girl, on the day Flower City opened for registration, didn’t you also ride to this Rose Corridor stop?"

Huai Yu nodded blankly. The driver looked her up and down.

"I knew it! You looked really familiar! It’s so desolate out here, and the Defense Army prefers to ride in their own vehicles. Besides you, no one else ever gets off at this stop..."

For some unknown reason, the driver became increasingly cheerful as he spoke. As he steered the bus to turn around, he couldn’t help but praise her.

"Live well! It looks like you’ve grown taller, and you’ve put on a little weight, too!

"When it comes to living your life, there’s no hardship you can’t overcome! Just grit your teeth and push through!"

His words came entirely out of the blue, and Huai Yu couldn’t even remember what this driver looked like.

Yet, she didn’t sense even the slightest bit of malice. Instead, a warm feeling filled her chest, causing the lingering traces of melancholy from earlier to fade away significantly.

As the bus gradually drove away, she walked behind the bus stop and pulled her bicycle out from the tall grass. Just as she was about to slide her leg through the frame to mount it, she suddenly froze in a daze.

It seemed she really had grown taller!

She brightened up. With a slight push of her feet, the wheels of her vintage bicycle swiftly began to turn, painting a picture of carefree freedom across the vast wasteland.

However, as she pedaled down the road toward the Rose Mansion area, Huai Yu vaguely spotted a vehicle parked by the roadside ahead. Several people were gathered together, talking.

She noticed they seemed to be wearing Defense Army uniforms.

But only one of them was actually wearing one.

She glanced at the roadside zone sign.

This area belonged to the edge of Zone 39 of the Rose Corridor, while her own house was deep within Zone 37. Being so close to the Rose Corridor, she wondered if they were here to build a house for Zhou Qian.

Struck by the thought, she turned the handlebars of her bicycle away from the grassy path and quickly approached the group in the distance.

The wilderness was sparsely populated, making both Huai Yu and her vintage bicycle highly conspicuous. Before she even got close, the people in the distance had already noticed her and quietly shifted their gazes her way.

When she got closer and their expressions became visible, it was clear they had realized the situation too. Although the bicycle was quite large, the rider was just a little girl. Consequently, their slightly serious expressions relaxed.

"Little girl, why did you come out here all by yourself?"

Huai Yu hopped off her bike and steadied the handlebars. Instead of answering the question, she asked, "Are you guys planning to build a house here?"

Standing in front of her were three men and a girl in her early twenties.

The girl had fair skin and smooth hair—just looking at her made it obvious that she lived a comfortable life. However, she wasn’t wearing a Defense Army uniform, so Huai Yu wasn’t sure if she belonged to them or not.

She wondered if the woman was an architect. It was amazing that Zhou Qian’s house was actually getting an architect!

She was pleasantly surprised. Her eyes sparkled brightly, looking exceptionally infectious.

The girl she was staring at hesitated for a moment before nodding. "We are going to build a house. How did you know?"

As soon as she spoke, the young man beside her wearing the Defense Army uniform laughed. "I know! You must be Huai Yu, the one who saved Zhou Qian, right?"

Huai Yu nodded, her eyes full of expectation. "Are you building the house for Zhou Qian?"

"Yes," the young man nodded readily. "He circled this spot on the map himself.

"Since it happens to be our day off today, we specially invited a Superpower Master from the Architecture Department—this is the Earth Element architect, Liang Zhu."

She was shocked that a Superpower User was building a house.

Huai Yu was slightly surprised. "Do Superpower... Superpower Masters build houses now?"

"No," Liang Zhu spoke up from the side.

"I’m not good at fighting and killing, and my combat awareness is somewhat lacking. So, I was transferred to the Architecture Department back then to assist with building repairs, reinforcements, and the like.

"This time, the Defense Army invited me privately to lend a hand."

She pointed at the Rose Corridor in the distance. "After all, building a house requires a lot of people. They were worried that too much noise would upset the Rose Corridor, so they asked me to do some preliminary prep work."

Things like laying the foundation and compacting the soil layers.

But she also looked with some concern at the perfectly normal-looking Rose Corridor in the distance. "Is it really okay for me to use my Superpower near it?"

Huh? Huai Yu looked into the distance in confusion. From the edge of the road where they were standing to the Rose Corridor, there was at least a distance of over seventy meters, right?

From this angle, the Rose Corridor didn’t even look that tall or imposing!

She wondered if it would still be affected from this far away.

However, her confusion only lasted a moment. Soon, even the other two men beside them began to hesitate. "It should be fine, right?

"When the Transportation Department came to compact the roads around here, I don’t think anyone heard about it reacting."

Yet, despite saying this, they stared at the agreed-upon plot of land before them and hesitated to take action.

The Defense Army soldier hesitated for a moment before speaking up to reassure everyone.

"It should be fine. Rumor has it that the Rose Corridor’s temper has improved a lot this year. I heard there’s a girl with a Wood Ability and a high affinity who even lives near it.

"When they were building her house for a day and a night, with her Superpower soothing it, it didn’t lose its temper at all."

Hearing this, Liang Zhu’s eyes lit up. "That’s perfect! Where does she live? Why don’t we ask her to come and help soothe it so we can start working?"

The soldier hesitated. "I don’t know the exact location, but it should be right next to Zone 39... Zhou Qian said it was close by..."

He stood there and scanned the surroundings, but his line of sight was blocked by rolling hills in the distance; he couldn’t see any buildings.

Then, looking at Huai Yu’s surprised eyes, it finally dawned on him. "Ah! My brain really has gone dull—this is that little girl!"

To think he was standing here foolishly searching for her.

At that moment, everyone turned their gazes toward her. "Huai Yu, where is your home?"