This Was Precious Food

"Ring, ring..."

"Hello?"

"Ah, Yang, I heard your uncle say that you've bought a villa in Heyang and even an Audi? What's going on? You never said anything to me or your dad."

"Ah, that? I was planning to tell you when I went back in a few days. I recently took on a project and found a new way to make money. I made a bit of cash—enough to buy an apartment in downtown Linhai City, but quite a lot in Heyang, so I bought a villa..."

"There are still many important matters here that haven't settled down, so I don't dare relax too much. I was thinking I'd wait until things here were stable before going back to tell you. For the next few days, don't let Dad do any exhausting or heavy work..."

The bright headlights illuminated the pitch-black road, making it look as though a ferocious beast were prowling forward.

Just after he hung up with Chen Qian, his phone rang again. His mother was calling to ask about Li Yang's earlier social-media post. Li Yang chuckled and explained it to her, while inwardly considering how to arrange things for his parents next.

His father and mother knew how to use smartphones, but only the simplest functions. They couldn't understand things like social-media feeds. They had learned about his post because relatives had called to tell them.

But... the Apocalyptic World had now yielded some promising initial results. For the short term, it was enough for him to return home and settle his parents without worry.

After hanging up, Li Yang watched the road illuminated by the headlights and thought to himself.

In the Apocalyptic World, he would not continue to the next stage of in-depth exploration until the Gene Testing Device arrived. To obtain that device, he first had to earn enough 'Base Currency.' It was probably the universal new currency used under the Apocalyptic World's current system, named directly after the entirely new form of settlement known as a Base City.

In that case... he would have to trade food.

In the technologically advanced Apocalyptic World, food was the only thing he could trade.

He would keep at it until he had gained enough to satisfy his needs.

Li Yang glanced at the bag of rice, bag of flour, and sack of vegetables in the trunk, sinking into thought.

Those supplies might not be enough to feed them for three months, but he had to consider their identities.

As Li Yang's slaves, their possessions—and even they themselves—belonged to him. Whatever they traded was originally his own property anyway.

So how much food he gave them did not depend on what they traded to him. It all came down to a thought from him.

In other words, he was the master. He could do whatever he wanted.

Of course, for that woman's sake, Li Yang did not mind using the form of a trade. The man was his slave, after all, but the woman was not.

"I'll have to find a way to make her put on a Slave Collar too."

Li Yang's thoughts stirred. With its headlights cutting through the dim night, the car pulled up outside the suburban house.

Li Yang shut the car door, got out, opened the door, and carried all the food from the car inside one item at a time. He then locked the door from within, took the newly purchased detector to the second and third floors, and checked the radiation levels.

Zero.

Li Yang's eyes flickered. He used the newly purchased device from Earth to check whether anything he had left here had changed. Only after confirming that everything was exactly as before did he let out a sigh of relief. He then picked up the large bag of packaged food, slipped the detector into his pocket, grabbed the bag of rice with his other hand, and returned to the Apocalyptic World in a single movement.

"Whew~"

After glancing at the Apocalyptic World outside, which had likewise entered dusk, Li Yang exhaled. He checked the video feed from the first drone and saw that Yu Dong and Chang Yanyan were still on the rooftop. Satisfied, he nodded, secured the rice, flour, and eight boxed meals to the agricultural pesticide drone, and sent it into the air, flying toward the target rooftop through the dusk.

"Bzzzz..."

The drone's spinning blades produced an enormous roar. Amid the buzzing, it flew all the way to the roof of a building two kilometers away.

Li Yang set it to fly automatically along the previously programmed route, then took out the newly purchased Radiation Detector and casually measured the surroundings.

The radiation index shot up.

"Just as I thought."

Li Yang's gaze flickered. He swept the Exoskeleton Armor as well, and it still contained radiation. He tossed down the remote control, grabbed the armor, and flashed back into the house. There, he scanned it again.

Radiation index: zero.

He returned to the Apocalyptic World once more and swept it with the Radiation Detector.

Radiation detected.

"Whew~"

After confirming this, the corners of Li Yang's mouth rose high. A profound sense of security instantly welled up inside him.

The World Gate really did have a purifying effect!

"If that's the case, then I can explore this world without worry."

A smile spread across Li Yang's face. He turned to the drone controller. The drone had arrived just then, so he sat down in a chair and watched the monitor.

"It's here, it's here! That lord didn't go back on his word. He really sent the goods!"

"Wonderful! Looks like it isn't time for us to die yet."

On the rooftop, the Exoskeleton Armor on the slave Yu Dong seemed to have been repaired, and he had gotten to his feet. The toolbox on the ground had also been put away. The two stood beside the rooftop railing, staring excitedly at the approaching drone, their eyes firmly fixed on the food mounted atop it.

Being alive was, in itself, intensely alluring.

Watching their reaction, Li Yang curled his lips slightly. He controlled the agricultural pesticide drone as it slowly descended and landed before them.

"Open the box on top. It contains prepared food. I don't think anyone could refuse its aroma."

"You don't need to open everything. Two boxes will do."

"This is your reward. It should last you for a while. I believe you understand how precious uncontaminated food is and what it's worth. At the same time, I hope the two of you will show me the sincerity and loyalty I'm due."

Li Yang watched the scene on the screen and spoke unhurriedly. As soon as he finished, the two people on the rooftop followed his instructions, untying the items fastened to the drone one by one. Following Li Yang's orders, they took off the eight boxed meals and opened two of them.

In an instant, the fragrant taste of carefully prepared food from the peaceful era flooded their palates. The people of the Apocalyptic World, who had subsisted on bland nutrition bars extracted from indescribably awful ingredients, froze. Then they snapped back to reality, immediately using the Radiation Detector to check the radiation index on the food. Once they confirmed it was zero, their breathing instantly grew heavy.

Chang Yanyan pursed her lips. Gritting her teeth, she drove the Mechanical Exoskeleton away. After a while, she returned, and an identical Slave Collar had appeared around her neck. She then respectfully fastened the controller to the drone.

"Looks like you know what's good for you. Now go ahead and enjoy the delicious food."

Li Yang watched everything with a smile. Once the controller had been secured to the drone, he immediately piloted the agricultural pesticide drone back. His unhurried voice traveled through the first drone.

The man and woman immediately grabbed the food before them and wolfed down the delicacy they had not tasted in more than ten years. As they ate, tears actually streamed down their eyes.

I'm changing the title again. This time, it's:

Two Worlds: I Am Homelander!