Xia Tianlai: He's so rude!

After a short rest, Lu Wen climbed out of bed when his body clock signaled that it was time to get up.

This body clock I picked up working that damn job is still fucking hounding me after all this time!

After that vicious inward complaint, Lu Wen changed back into the Green Goblin Battle Suit and left the little room Bai Yuekui had arranged for him.

Daytime was when Dragon Bone Village truly came alive.

Light pipes at the top of the cavern channeled natural sunlight down from the mountain's outer face, illuminating the man-made terraces.

Compared with the barren Wasteland outside, these stretches of green were so pleasing to the eye.

Thanks to his elevated position, Lu Wen immediately spotted the elderly people doing their morning exercises in the square below.

"Well, damn~ No wonder people online jokingly called this place Ragnarok. These old folks really have some moves!"

The old men and women below were doing somersaults, ramming into pillars, spinning upright on horizontal bars, and even hanging themselves by the neck to exercise their cervical spines...

It was exactly like the hardcore workouts of old folks around the country that he had seen online back then!

"Who would've thought! Even this kind of workout became a tradition," Lu Wen remarked.

Standing up there, he looked around and recognized a few distinctive people by their clothing.

Guayan with his mohawk, the bald Wulanhaisang, and Amuer, who had awakened sonic abilities...

He didn't see Bai Yuekui and the others, though. They were probably still asleep. He also wondered where they had put the Vulture Squad members he had captured last night, and whether they had woken up.

"Young man, you must be the guest Boss Bai brought back."

Just as Lu Wen's thoughts were wandering, an aged voice came from below the stairs.

Lu Wen looked down and saw an old man coming up with his hair tied in a high bun.

From his appearance, Lu Wen recognized him as Xiadou's father, Xia Tianlai.

"That's me. Does she need me for something?" Lu Wen gave a slight nod in greeting.

"No, the boss and the others are still resting. She asked me to show you around Dragon Bone Village once you woke up and get you some breakfast along the way."

Xia Tianlai stroked his beard as he spoke.

He didn't yet know about Lu Wen's mysterious origins. He simply assumed he was a survivor from another surface settlement whom Bai Yuekui had brought back to exchange survival techniques.

"Sorry for the trouble, then."

He happened to be a little bored. Since Bai Yuekui was still resting, he might as well wait.

He followed Xia Tianlai all the way to Allgoods Market. Lu Wen felt that the place was much like the big flea markets he had visited as a child!

Having a place like this in the apocalypse really added a great deal of everyday bustle.

Xia Tianlai took Lu Wen to Rice Is Steel, the only restaurant in Dragon Bone Village, for a mushroom breakfast. Xia Tianlai paid.

Xia Tianlai was very talkative, pointing out the village's merits to Lu Wen now and then along the way. His desire to get him to stay couldn't have been more obvious.

Xia Tianlai thought, This young fellow has a fine build! Not bad-looking, either. If he could travel outside on his own and run into the boss, he must be pretty capable!

What the village lacks right now is young people. It would be great if he saw its merits and stayed.

Dragon Bone Village was a nice place, run with a great deal of human warmth amid the apocalypse! But...

The more Lu Wen listened, the more something seemed off~

"Old man, don't tell me you've taken a liking to me and want me as your son-in-law!"

Xia Tianlai's smiling expression abruptly froze. The hand stroking his beard trembled, pulling out several hairs!

Ignoring the pain in his chin, Xia Tianlai immediately changed his expression! He made an exaggerated leap to one side to put some distance between himself and Lu Wen, then pointed at the tip of Lu Wen's nose.

"You little brat! I treated you to breakfast and acted as your guide, and in the end, you're actually after my daughter! Pah! You're shameless!"

You little punk, I wanted you to stay as a resident, but you want to get your hands on my precious daughter! Not a chance! He had no desire to end up like Belenkov, guarding against pigs from outside every day.

The corner of Lu Wen's mouth twitched. He felt that both of them seemed to have gotten the wrong idea! But...

Lu Wen reached out, grabbing Xia Tianlai's beard as fast as lightning.

"Hey! Who are you calling shameless, you little old man! Weren't you enthusiastically introducing the village to me and hinting every which way that I should stay?

"Don't think I don't know you're Xiadou's dad. If you weren't so attentive because you'd taken a liking to me, what else could it be! Was I wrong to think that?"

Lu Wen tugged lightly on Xia Tianlai's beard, controlling his strength just right so that it hurt without tearing it out.

"Let go! Let go already! You're going to pull my beard out!"

Lu Wen released Xia Tianlai. The little old man's eyes had even watered a little from the pain.

"Ow~ My beard! This brat has no manners. Where did Boss Bai find you! Ow~" Xia Tianlai muttered, holding his beard.

"Hey~ Xia, Boss Bai wants you to bring the guest over to see her."

Lu Wen looked toward the booming voice. An extremely burly old man stood by a building on the upper level, calling down to them.

That should be Belenkov.

"Got it!" Xia Tianlai shouted toward Belenkov, then glanced at Lu Wen again.

"Come on, the boss wants to see you! Ow~"

With that, Xia Tianlai looked at Lu Wen, then walked ahead on his own, stroking his beard.

They climbed several dozen meters up the spiral iron staircase beside the dragon skeleton's spine. The space here was much narrower than on the lower levels. The buildings were mostly alloy and tempered glass, their style leaning toward old-world research facilities, utterly different from the bustling everyday atmosphere below.

At the very top, by the dragon skeleton's cervical vertebrae, were Bai Yuekui's residence and the meeting hall. It had the best view, with enormous observation windows overlooking the entire village.

The interior was minimalist, with only a wooden table and a few chairs, so clean that it hardly looked as though anyone lived there year-round.

"Boss, I brought the brat."

Bai Yuekui looked at Xia Tianlai's aggrieved face with some curiosity. "What happened to you?"

"Hmph~ This brat! I kindly introduced the village to him because I wanted him to stay, but he actually had his eye on my daughter! And he pulled my beard! So rude~"

Looking thoroughly aggrieved, Xia Tianlai complained to Bai Yuekui about Lu Wen's "misdeeds"!

"So it's my fault! You were so attentive, looking at me with that kindly face! Exactly like when my family used to find people to set me up on blind dates! Of course I misunderstood and thought you wanted me as your son-in-law!"

Lu Wen shrugged, indicating that he hadn't done it on purpose either~

"You! You're utterly shameless!"

"Thanks for the compliment, but that was a little bland. Keep that in mind next time. I'll let it slide this time." Lu Wen "humbly" accepted Xia Tianlai's praise.

Xia Tianlai stormed off, saying as he went that if he stayed any longer, Lu Wen would make him so angry he would have a heart attack.

"All right, Xia's getting old. Stop teasing him. Come on, let's talk business." Bai Yuekui chuckled and beckoned Lu Wen over, motioning for him to sit across from her.

"All right, what do you want to discuss first?" Lu Wen asked as he sat opposite Bai Yuekui.

"How much raw material for Miracle K can you give me?" Bai Yuekui got straight to the point.

"Your order didn't specify a quantity. Even if I only gave you one vial, that would count as completing the task! But..."

Lu Wen paused briefly, then turned his hand over and took out all the data and documents, along with three crates of concentrated Miracle K raw material.

"Besides what the order requires, I'll give you these! My additional condition is that you make me a copy of the Miracle K information and instructions for use. How about it?"

"Deal! Follow me."

Bai Yuekui agreed readily, picked up the documents on the table, and led Lu Wen into the back room. This was where she actually spent her daily life.

All kinds of instruments and equipment were scattered throughout the room. Bai Yuekui led Lu Wen to a device that looked much like a printer and placed the documents inside.

Then she closed the lid and switched it on. Soon, they could hear the rustling of pages turning inside.

Before long, the data on the pages had been scanned by the machine and uploaded to the computer. Bai Yuekui sat at the computer and worked on it for a while longer, added a few things, then downloaded everything onto a USB drive and handed it to Lu Wen.

"Here. This is all the information, along with the data from my experience using Miracle K. Want to check it?"

Lu Wen reached out and took the USB drive.

"No need. I still have that much trust in you."

"All right, then we can settle up."

As soon as Bai Yuekui finished speaking, Lu Wen received a system notification: the order was complete, and the points had been credited to his account.

After looking at the system panel for a little while longer, Lu Wen turned his gaze to Bai Yuekui's face as she waited quietly for him.

"All right, Boss Bai! The system task is complete. Next! It's time we discussed a private deal."