Chapter 22: Daily Life and Provisions

"Here, want one?"

Uncle Sun said as he handed over a cigarette. Tang Zhen took it and inhaled deeply.

"Hey, Uncle Sun, who was that woman just now?" Tang Zhen asked casually, the cigarette dangling from his mouth.

"Oh, her... I heard that she owns this place. She has several other malls of the same size in other provinces and cities," Uncle Sun replied after a moment of thought.

"So she must be quite wealthy. But you have to admit, that woman is really something. Everywhere she goes, she has a bunch of grown men following her around. You have to wonder if those guys feel a bit pathetic..."

Before Tang Zhen could finish his gossiping, he noticed Uncle Sun standing there blankly, cigarette hanging from his lips, his eyes fixed on something behind Tang Zhen, his expression awkward.

Tang Zhen turned his head with the cigarette still slanted in his mouth and cursed under his breath, "Oh crap!"

Standing on the stairs leading from the fourth to the third floor was a dense crowd of nearly twenty people. A few of them were looking at him, covering their mouths to stifle their laughter.

The woman he had just described as "something" was standing right behind him, arms crossed, her brow slightly furrowed, a flicker of anger in her beautiful eyes. Seeing Tang Zhen turn to look at her, she rolled her eyes slightly.

"Good dogs don't block the path!"

Perhaps it was his imagination, but Tang Zhen thought he heard the woman mutter that.

Realizing he was indeed blocking the way, Tang Zhen quickly stepped aside. The group of twenty or so people filed down the stairs.

Many of the men gave him "knowing" smiles. One young man in a suit even secretly gave Tang Zhen a thumbs-up: "Buddy, you’ve got guts!"

Damn, guts my foot!

Talking about someone behind their back only to find them standing right there—it was impossible not to feel awkward. Tang Zhen rolled his eyes, chatted with Uncle Sun for a moment longer, and then strolled down the stairs.

Before he even reached the bottom, a heavy-set man, likely the site foreman, shouted at the workers: "New rule from upstairs: no smoking on the exterior stairs from now on, or it’s a two-thousand-dollar fine!"

As soon as he said this, the old smokers groaned in misery!

Tang Zhen couldn't help but shrink his neck, thinking to himself that it must be retaliation from that woman. Sorry, guys, you’re just collateral damage...

After leaving the mall, Tang Zhen wandered around until he spotted an all-terrain vehicle (ATV) parked on the side of the road. His heart stirred, and he walked over to take a closer look.

The more he looked, the more he felt this vehicle was perfect for the rugged, hard-packed terrain of the other world. Compared to expensive, bulky off-roaders, these affordable, compact vehicles were clearly superior.

After estimating the capacity of his storage space and confirming it could easily fit the vehicle if disassembled, Tang Zhen walked into the shop and called the owner out.

After inquiring about the price and haggling, he settled on two vehicles for nearly sixty thousand yuan.

The owner brought out a gas can to fill them up and let Tang Zhen test-drive them to verify their condition. Then, the owner called over a young man, and the two of them rode the vehicles to Tang Zhen's home.

With the ATVs in his possession, Tang Zhen was eager to ride. After locking one in his courtyard, he hopped on the other and headed straight for the park on the outskirts of the city.

Weaving through the traffic on the road and experiencing the different handling, Tang Zhen felt fantastic.

An SUV pulled up alongside him, and as the window rolled down, it revealed the irritating face of Xu Feng.

Seeing Tang Zhen on an ATV, Xu Feng laughed in surprise, then leaned out and shouted, "Can’t you do something productive? Why aren't you out there moving bricks to earn money to pay off your deadbeat dad's debts?" Xu Feng said, a cigarette in his mouth and one hand on the steering wheel.

"Get lost, I don't have time for you!"

Xu Feng flicked his cigarette butt at Tang Zhen, but it missed.

His eyes darting, Xu Feng gestured toward Tang Zhen with a sly grin: "How about I introduce you to a girl? You can take her to the park and sit for a while, eh... hehehe!"

Tang Zhen glanced at the passenger seat of Xu Feng’s car, where a pretty woman was intently playing with her phone. Driving to an suburban park at this hour with a flashy, attractive woman—anyone knew what he was up to.

Uninterested in dealing with this guy who was in a constant state of heat, Tang Zhen accelerated and sped off.

"Tch, what an attitude!" Xu Feng spat. His SUV accelerated as well, leaving Tang Zhen to swallow a mouthful of dust.

"I’ll be damned!" Tang Zhen cursed, then ignored the retreating SUV and began choosing the most rugged, uneven paths to test the vehicle's performance.

The wilderness of the other world had hard soil, but the ground was mostly uneven and overgrown with weeds. It remained to be seen if the vehicle could handle it.

Hills, ditches, sand, and tall grass—Tang Zhen rode the vehicle everywhere, having a blast and becoming quite satisfied with its performance.

By nine o'clock at night, with the park a fair distance from the city, Tang Zhen decided to head home. Just as he was about to start the engine, he heard a dull thud.

"Oh no, sounds like an accident!"

Tang Zhen’s hearing was sharp now, and based on the sound and his intuition, he knew a crash had occurred. He immediately hopped onto the ATV and sped toward the source of the noise.

After about five minutes, Tang Zhen arrived at the scene, which was a more secluded road.

A black SUV with its engine cut was tilted into a roadside ditch, its front end smashed into a large tree.

On the narrow road nearby, a woman in a white tracksuit stood holding her arms, her body trembling slightly. When she saw Tang Zhen approach, she took a wary step back, one hand reaching quietly into her pocket.

In the glow of the ATV’s headlights, Tang Zhen was surprised to find that the owner of the crashed car was none other than the businesswoman he had met earlier that day!

Seeing it was her, Tang Zhen couldn't help but chuckle. As the saying goes: "All connections in the world are fleeting, yet we meet again."

Of course, the emphasis was on the latter part.

Shrugging to show he meant no harm, Tang Zhen asked, "Hi, miss, do you need some help?"

The woman nodded, seemingly oblivious to the sarcasm in his tone, and said in a slightly tipsy voice, "Can I borrow your phone? I lost mine."

"Sure, here you go!"

Tang Zhen handed her his phone. She quickly dialed a number, spoke for a few moments, gave her location, and hung up.

"Thank you."

The woman’s tone softened. As she stepped closer to return the phone, her flushed, pretty face looked somewhat enchanting in the moonlight. Such a strong-willed woman rarely showed this side of herself, which left Tang Zhen slightly stunned.

"Don't mention it. You should be more careful in the future, though; driving under the influence is very dangerous." Tang Zhen took the phone and added a casual warning.

"Hmm." The woman nodded and turned her gaze away.

Seeing this, Tang Zhen tactfully returned to his ATV and lit a cigarette.

"Do you have another?" the woman asked, walking over.

Tang Zhen took his cigarette case out, pulled one out for her, and lit it with his lighter.

The woman held the cigarette with slender fingers, took a deep drag, and exhaled slowly.

Tang Zhen teased, "Smoking here will cost you a two-thousand-dollar fine. Still want it?"

The woman paused, turned to look at him carefully, and rolled her eyes slightly.

"So it’s you. Is talking about people behind their backs that much fun?" she asked, flicking the ash without looking at him.

"I didn't mean anything derogatory. In fact, I admire strong women like you. You couldn't tell?"

"Admire? Heh. If you were in my position, you wouldn't be saying that... And don't call me 'miss'!"

Tang Zhen laughed awkwardly and turned away to continue smoking.

They didn't say much else until a car sped toward them from the distance. Once it pulled up, three men and a woman jumped out.

The secretary-looking girl rushed to the woman to check for injuries, glancing at Tang Zhen with a wary look.

"Damn, I did a good deed and got suspicion in return. What a mood killer!"

Tang Zhen didn't say another word. He simply got on his ATV and headed toward the main road.

After getting home, he washed up, had a simple meal, and went to bed.

Two days later, the owner of the blacksmith shop called to say the blades were ready.

Tang Zhen went to the shop and found the owner drinking beer. After a brief greeting, he spotted his goods in the corner.

All the blades were bundled neatly together. Tang Zhen pulled one out to inspect it. He confirmed that the blacksmith had forged them by splitting car leaf springs in two. The blades were long and slender without appearing thin, with a comfortable weight and a sharp, durable edge.

"Good craftsmanship!" Tang Zhen praised. He settled the remaining balance and ordered another five hundred blades of the same design.

The blacksmith was overjoyed. Business had been slow, and he was on the verge of closing down. Tang Zhen's order was a lifeline, giving him a chance to use his ancestral skills. If Tang Zhen kept ordering, he wouldn't have to worry about the house and dowry for his son's wedding next year.

Tang Zhen didn't know what the blacksmith was thinking. He simply picked up the bundles of steel blades with both hands and carried them easily to a taxi. The blacksmith, who always prided himself on his own strength, couldn't help but marvel at the young man's power.

By the end of the day, Tang Zhen had gathered all his supplies and began the transport. He had so much that even with his one-cubic-meter storage space, it took him quite a while.

He hid the weapons in a pit and carefully concealed them to ensure no passersby would find them. When he returned next time, he would lead Qianlong to transport the steel blades back to the wanderer market.

With that done, Tang Zhen teleported back home.