Chapter 90: Bread

In Hub Town, inside a retro conference room.
“Is that Yang Zicang alone really up to the task?”
Beside the oval table, Zhu Yin and several town administrators gathered. A man in a suit stared at Zhu Yin.
“Xiao Yin, it’s not that we brothers don’t trust you, but handing such a critical mission to a complete stranger just feels unsettling.”
“Exactly, Deputy Mayor. You should have discussed this with us. Now that last manual is gone just like that.”
Being the owners of the town, they did not mince their words.
Beside Zhu Yin, the man with a round-brimmed hat and a curled mustache exhaled a puff of smoke:
“Brothers, this matter itself was an extra contingency plan, wasn’t it? Calling it a plan is overstating it. What can we really scheme? We can only rely on luck.”
A man with the appearance of a dignified elder by the table spoke resolutely:
“But none of us have wasted this much time here, haven’t we, all for that one thing?”
Zhu Yin tapped the table with her finger. “Enough bickering. Finding a perfect candidate like Yang Zicang is the only opportunity we have right now. If you all believe our prior thorough vetting was sound, then why has no one managed to retrieve that thing yet?”
Everyone fell silent.
“Still, we need some reassurance—at least to know if he’s seriously doing the work for us, A Yin.”
“It’s been days. Yang Zicang hasn’t even activated his cargo team qualification. When will your reputation finally take off?”
“Nobody knows what he’s doing without reputation. I have reason to believe he’s guarding against us—this is distrust toward everyone.”
Just as several people pressed aggressively, a faintly oppressive, obscure mental voice suddenly rang out in everyone’s minds.
[The order letter you have tagged has been activated. Hub Town has generated the 1782nd Construction Team. Current Person in Charge: Yang Zicang.]
“Hmph, talk of the devil, and he doth appear.”
Zhu Yin let out a sigh of relief and rubbed his temples.
About an hour later, the group, having discussed town management, walked out of the meeting room. An elderly man lingered at the back, walking alongside Zhu Yin, and said:
“Xiao Yin, empathize with the earlier dissatisfaction from everyone. The reason we still refuse to leave is to grasp that fleeting hope. Clawing our way to Hub Town’s level guarantees a higher chance of obtaining that thing than back over there, right?”
“I understand—they think I’m rash, giving him that thing as soon as he arrived. But none of those capable folks, for all their excellence, ever managed to climb to my position, have they?”
Zhu Yin walked out of the meeting room unhesitatingly. When passing a newspaper rack at the doorstep in the hallway, he, already past it, stepped back two paces, picked up a freshly printed weekly, and glanced at it.
It had just been delivered, the smell of ink still lingering.
The Journal of Lost Frequencies (Premier’s Internal Reference Edition)
A faint smile curled at the corners of Zhu Yin’s lips.
The elderly man, who had walked out, watched the deputy town head’s revitalized, driven back, and also took a copy of the weekly from the rack.
He flipped through a couple of pages, and his gaze naturally fell on the ranking list on the last page.
— This Week’s Emerging Dream-Builder Popularity Rankings in the Frequency-Loss Land:
Tianyuan Goods-Building Team, Popularity Score: 60
Authentic Daily Necessities Association Goods-Building Team of Frequency-Loss Land, Popularity Score: 50
Wang’s Precious Metals Goods-Building Team, Popularity Score: 45
Jiaojiao’s Most Beautiful Goods-Building Team, Popularity Score: 45
Aba’s Collaborative Goods-Building Team, Popularity Score: 40
…
Porridge People’s Goods-Building Team, Popularity Score: 25
Bridge Cave Permanent Help Goods-Building Team, Popularity Score: 20
Yang Zicang, Popularity Score: 15
Frequency-Loss Land Water Well Management Goods-Building Team, Popularity Score: 10
“Wait a minute.”
The old man’s hand trembled slightly.
He stared at that name, double-checking before confirming that there were no three characters for “Goods-Building Team” after it.
Although both teams and individuals could appear on this list, the influence a team could create in the same amount of time was far greater than that of a lone individual! So, it was rare to see a personal name on this sheet before.
“Yang Zicang? Didn’t that guy just get here two or three days ago…”
New Goods-Building Teams popped up every week, or reappeared after falling off the list, but the name Yang Zicang had exploded like a depth charge, deeply captivating his attention!
The old man flipped the newspaper back and forth, searching, but found no report on Yang Zicang’s legendary deed.
It could be that he was using a pseudonym, or reporters hadn’t managed to record his story before it wrapped up.
“Impressive, this kid.”
In the corridor, the two people ahead stopped in their tracks.
“Tianlu, why aren’t you leaving yet?”
The old man handed over the newspaper with a strange expression: “Take a look for yourself.”
The two walked back and glanced at the news; it was mostly fillers—high-value lost frequency scenes appearing somewhere, settlement zones being born or destroyed somewhere else, or even some nonsense about a pretty flower blooming with pleasant petals.
Mi Tianlu tapped the back of the newspaper with his hand, producing a crisp “crackling” sound like paper trembling.
Two pairs of eyes scanned the list, and then, shocked, they picked up the newspaper together.
“This one with fifteen popularity points—is that the kid chosen by Zhu Yin?”
“Otherwise, who else in the world would take such a weird name?”
“Appearing on his own on this list is quite a scheme. It definitely draws more attention!”
“This is the closest we’ve ever come to success.”
“Wait, he just established the Build and Utility Crew—what a shame.”
……
In a hollow sheltered from the wind, the group leaned against the earthen slope.
Yang Zicang was speechless. He never expected to inexplicably earn over a dozen popularity points. As for that incident… if only he hadn’t registered the Build and Utility Crew, he would have been more easily noticed.
The young man turned his head: “What time is it, any of you know?”
“Uh, bro, aren’t you making things hard for us?” Several people shrugged.
But the big guy Lyu Zhi squatted down, inhaled loudly through his nostrils, and said, “It should be around five or six in the afternoon—about rush hour.”
“Wow, you’ve got that skill, man. How the hell do you figure out the time by sniffing?”
“Is that your ability?”
Xu Xiuchuan bent down, looking at him curiously. Fan Xiuyun also crouched down to sniff but couldn’t detect any particular scent.
“Stop sniffing. It’s an old habit I picked up from my commuting days.”
Lyu Zhi turned around and, staring at Fan Xiuyun and Xu Xiuchuan, explained, “The company next door would head out for dinner around this time every day. I’d be stuck working overtime, watching them walk back and forth past the office glass wall with delicious food in hand. With long-term excessive gastric acid secretion, I got chronic gastritis. Every afternoon at this time, I get unbearably hungry.”
“……”
The group exchanged awkward glances—none of them had eaten lunch yet either.
After saying this, Lyu Zhi broke into a cold sweat, realizing he’d hit a nerve by bringing it up.
“I’m going to rest now. You guys stand guard, and tonight we’ll eat midnight snacks.” Yang Zicang turned over and went to sleep.
At the mention of midnight snacks, images of hotpot, barbecue, and spare ribs soup flooded everyone’s minds—but in the end, they all thought: even just getting some actual bread would already be wonderful.
Spearing their thoughts, Yang Zicang opened one eye and said, focus instead. “By the way, I’m thinking of starting a procurement team to sell things too, what do you think?”
“Awesome!” several of them cheered.
Hearing their whoops of joy, Yang Zicang gave a faint smile, closed his eyes, and started to rest. Half-awake, he dreamed of a vast landscape where people lived in peace and joy.
One day, that land without warning, was destroyed—turned into nothingness.
In the endless black night without stars, Zuo Feixian stood silhouetted at the entrance of a wide, deep cavern.
He propped himself up on his broad and imposing shoulders, his whole body wrapped in turf, exuding a desolate and majestic aura, his eyes somberly fixed on him.
{This place… is not the end. Take what you desire as soon as possible and leave.}
“What I desire?”
Memories surged in Yang Zicang’s mind. He felt his surroundings growing unreal, then remembered the purpose of his entry here.
{Do not think. Be careful—they are watching.}
“They? Who are they?”
{Those who seek the glittering, those who pursue the past.}
Yang Zicang lowered his head in thought, yet felt on the verge of falling asleep again.
{Allow me to come to your side. In a looming crisis, you will receive my help—if you are willing to accept the terms I set forth.}
His phrasing differed slightly from normal speech order, but Yang Zicang understood it as bringing him a certain condition; if accepted, his help would be given.
Suddenly, Yang Zicang could feel his own existence.
He stood up and looked at himself, then raised his head to scrutinize the figure ahead. Zuo Feixian’s features grew blurred, as if about to form into another person, yet they never became clear.
“Whose dream is this?”
{This is the dream of half a foray-place.}
The dream collapsed into nothingness.
{Do not become the protagonist here. Your path is still long.}
Upon waking, lying inside his blanket, Yang Zicang pondered over this somewhat vague dream as the sound of the train already arose in his mind.
He stepped out and said with a yawn, “What do you all want to eat?”
“Bread!” they all said in unison.