Chapter Eighteen: Official Channels (Part Two)
Tao Ming continued cheerfully, “Those who can travel between the two worlds through your official channel must meet certain criteria, right?”
Star replied, “I explained it at the beginning—it all depends on luck.”
“What if someone truly evil uses it to do bad things?”
“Well, since it’s about exchange and communication, anyone has a chance.”
Tao Ming was delighted. “So your mission is to facilitate communication between different worlds.”
Star: “……”
“My parents affected the unification of Qin before—there must have been similar situations later on…”
Star interrupted Tao Ming, “Don’t speculate blindly.”
“I’m not speculating. I have evidence.”
“What evidence?” Star searched internally, wondering if anything crucial had been leaked.
“How about Liu Xiu’s meteor summoning spell?” Tao Ming grinned widely.
Star: “……”
“All right, let’s move on to something serious and useful.” Tao Ming, having confirmed her suspicions, stopped probing further. “Can you sense the outside world? For example, the Earth where I am now?” If she could, wouldn’t that be like gaining a radar satellite?
“Not at the moment. Your strength is too low. Your brain can’t handle it. When you reach the right level, I won’t just be able to sense the outside world—you’ll be able to communicate with me without entering here.”
Strength—again!
“What level of strength do I need to take things out of the warehouse directly, without checking the list?” This was the issue Tao Ming cared about most. She could store items, but not retrieve them freely; she had to physically carry them out.
The control panel emitted a beam of light, scanning Tao Ming from head to toe. “According to the algorithm of World No. 68, you need to be at least Level 2 of the Moon Tier.”
She recalled that Nuonuo had also mentioned Level 2 of the Moon Tier was the minimum required to resist alterations to one’s memory. Clearly, Moon Tier Level 2 was a watershed.
Unfortunately, she knew very little about cultivation. She’d have to catch up later.
“The spiritual energy on Earth is thin. If I want to cultivate, where should I go?”
“You can come in here to cultivate, but for now, only you can enter. Once your strength reaches Moon Tier Level 2, you’ll be able to bring two people in.”
“Can you customize this place freely? For example, could I set up a bedroom?”
“Your strength isn’t enough to open new spaces yet, but you can bring in the small building inside the Chaos Blood Silk. The main door will open here, so you can freely enter and exit the building from this room.”
That was good news. The small building had many rooms and could be arranged comfortably. If she had to hide out for ten days or half a month, she’d have somewhere to stay.
Thinking of this, Tao Ming asked, “Can I bring food in? Will it spoil?”
“As long as it’s not alive, you can bring it in, and it won’t go bad.”
Wonderful!
Star had said before that the food from the Wei River was edible, but whether it tasted good was another matter. Since she could bring food in, she’d stock up on all her favorites—at least a few hundred packs of hot pot base.
“How much can the warehouse hold? What if it’s not enough?”
“At present, the warehouse base is a square with 100 meters on each side and 10 meters high. You can calculate how large that is.”
Tao Ming did the mental math—100,000 cubic meters. Yes, it was quite spacious!
“Will it get bigger in the future?”
“As your strength grows, it will naturally expand.”
“I have a few more questions…”
Star interrupted her, “I’m tired. I need to rest.” She dared not talk any longer, lest even her underwear color be revealed!
“All right, I’ll go now—I still have to watch the kids!”
With that, Tao Ming exited the Star Shift.
Star breathed a sigh of relief; never before had time felt so difficult to endure.
……
Sitting on the sofa, Tao Ming felt the road ahead was long and shrouded in darkness. After some thought, she decided to draft a plan for what to do once she reached the Wei River.
She found paper and pen and began outlining her plan.
Recalling what Nuonuo and Tao Bansummer had said, Tao Ming considered that the Wei River’s technology was underdeveloped, so many everyday items would probably be lacking. Maybe she could open a shop for daily necessities. Though her biological father had left her a trove of treasures, one could never have too much money.
But whose money should she earn?
Tao Ming pondered—wherever you go, women’s and children’s money is always easiest to earn. Besides, as a woman herself, it was fitting to sell such products.
She envisioned running a mother-and-baby store, stocking familiar items. What could she sell over there?
Infant formula? She wasn’t sure if the animals on both sides were the same, so she wrote it down for now.
Diapers? This miracle product was a must!
Clothing? The fashion there was probably different; she’d leave that for later.
Toys? Only the wealthy would buy them—poor people needed food first.
Cosmetics? There was surely a market!
……
By the time Tao Ming had filled a page, it was already time for bed.
She entered the playroom and called the two little ones to wash up.
Nuonuo cooperated fully with brushing teeth and washing her face, and Softy, seeing this, felt embarrassed to make trouble and completed her own routine smoothly.
When Tao Ming was helping Softy into her sleeping bag, she remembered Nuonuo didn’t have one. She comforted her, “I’ll bring one for you tomorrow, and some new clothes. What color do you like?”
“I like white,” Nuonuo replied quietly.
Since Softy had to go to kindergarten the next day, Tao Ming asked, “Nuonuo, do you want to go to kindergarten?”
Softy blurted out impatiently, “Mom, I don’t want to go to kindergarten.”
Nuonuo nodded, “I do. It seems fun.”
Tao Ming stroked Nuonuo’s hair. “Before we go to the Wei River, I want you two to really enjoy your childhood. It won’t be so easy once we’re there.”
Softy wilted, “All right, then we’ll go together tomorrow. But can she go to kindergarten?”
“I’ll handle it—you two don’t need to worry. But no fighting at kindergarten, okay? If you get into trouble with the other kids, you’re both strong enough to be dangerous.”
Tao Ming realized Nuonuo didn’t have household registration. That could be tricky. Well, she’d just say the paperwork hadn’t transferred yet, pay the fees, and let them attend for as many days as possible.
Softy rolled around on the bed, glanced at Tao Ming, and said, “Mom, Nuonuo is already at third-grade level, but I’m still in preschool. I want to learn more. I’m the older sister—how can I lag behind my little sister?”
Tao Ming was gratified. “Sure, you can study on your own after kindergarten tomorrow. But if you learn something, you mustn’t show off at school—otherwise, they’ll take you away for research!”
“Research? But I can’t eat that!”
Ah, in the world of a foodie, there was only food.
Softy’s eyes twinkled. “Mom, can I learn a bit now?”
What a strange way to phrase it.
Tao Ming didn’t want to discourage her. “Just ten minutes, then off to bed—Mom has things to do.”
“All right. Mom, what’s one plus one?”
Tao Ming always guided Softy’s learning. She answered, “I don’t know either, but we can figure it out. Hold up your left index finger—that’s one.”
Softy held up her left index finger.
“Now your right index finger—that’s the other one.”
Softy held up her right index finger.
“Now, what’s one plus one?”
Softy looked at her two fingers and said happily, “I know! It’s eleven!”
Nuonuo burst out laughing, and Tao Ming couldn’t help but join in.
Softy saw them laughing and started giggling too.
Once the laughter subsided, Tao Ming said, “Mom made a mistake, always showing you eleven like this. Count your fingers—how many are there?”
Softy counted, “One, two. I get it now, one plus one is two!”
“Very good! Today you learned that one plus one equals two. Time for bed!”
Softy settled in contentedly, Nuonuo snuggled beside her, and Tao Ming pulled the covers over them, told them a story, and soon both little ones were fast asleep.
Watching them sink into slumber, Tao Ming returned to the living room, took out her wedding ring, and turned it over and over in her hand, examining it closely.