257: Escape Artifact

Uncle Liu placed the box he brought on the ground: "Sister Jiang, my young master asked me to bring you goggles and sun-protective clothing."

"There are 12 sets in total; you and your friends each get one."

"These protective items can guard against up to level 5 UV rays. There are very few of them, so please keep them safe, Sister Jiang."

Uncle Liu told Jiang Fei the reason.

Only then did Jiang Fei realize that the Research Institute in the Underground City had long shared the technology for special protective equipment with the Base.

Due to the precious and limited materials, the goggles and sun-protective clothing produced by the Base were only available to important personnel, the wealthy, and military personnel.

Ordinary residents did not have them, but they could go to the Central Building to receive a free small ointment.

Uncle Liu left after delivering the items.

Jiang Zhengkang and the others all had protective equipment. Jiang Fei stored this batch of goggles and sun-protective clothing in the Supermarket warehouse.

After three days of adapting at home, Jiang Fei and the others could now be exposed to sunlight for one hour without wearing protective gear.

However, under the strong UV rays outside, they still needed to wear goggles and sun-protective clothing at all times.

As for Big Yellow, it no longer needed any protection and even began to comfortably lie on the windowsill, basking in the sun.

Jiang Fei looked envious.

Animals' ability to adapt to the environment was truly much stronger than that of humans.

The Base also restored power.

Ping An Small Mall reopened for business.

To be able to remove the protective gear sooner, Jiang Fei decided to go out every day to adapt to the light and help out at the store.

The pickup truck was completely scrapped and unusable. Jiang Fei switched to an off-road vehicle and drove towards Ping An Small Mall.

At this time, there were many people on the road going to work.

They walked in the shady areas.

Without special goggles or sun-protective clothing, they wore sunglasses, hats, masks, long-sleeved shirts, and long pants, and carried umbrellas for protection.

Those without sunglasses wore glasses with sun-protective film or medical goggles.

The Base did not change residents' work hours because of the sudden appearance of the sun.

Firstly, the Base needed to operate, and secondly, they wanted residents to adapt to the outdoor environment as quickly as possible.

People could not avoid sunlight forever.

The sun would not disappear.

There was no other good way besides letting their bodies adapt.

Survival of the fittest.

Those residents who couldn't endure it could only consider themselves unlucky and be blind for life.

Jiang Fei parked her car in a nearby parking lot and walked into the Small Mall.

Cloth curtains were hung on the doors and windows for shade.

There were no customers at the moment. Su Liuyuan and the others gathered around the cashier on the first floor, all looking down at the items in their hands.

"What are you doing?"

Su Liuyuan: "We're looking at how to use face masks."

"Ever since the sun came out, the air has become very dry, and sometimes I have to go outside to adapt to the sunlight, so my face is dry and peeling."

"Aunt Cao and Xiao Shi also have skin problems, so I took two boxes of soothing and moisturizing masks and gave them to them to apply."

"Captain, do you want to apply one?"

Since there was nothing else to do, Jiang Fei went to the restroom to wash her face, then came back and applied a mask.

Jiang Zhengkang, Niu Er, Han Yang, and Yao Jin didn't know how to apply them, so Su Liuyuan and Cao Xiuhong helped them.

Just as they put on their masks, the door opened.

Everyone instinctively turned to look.

The sight of their pale faces almost made You Yuxi turn around and run away.

"You guys are too scary..."

You Yuxi said, clutching her chest.

"Want one?" Jiang Fei picked up the mask box on the table.

There was one left inside.

So, including You Yuxi, nine people gathered around the cashier's counter, applying face masks.

"These masks are good. They have a lot of essence and the mask sheet is as soft as jelly. I'll take 10 boxes. You guys can calculate the bill later, and I'll have my driver go home to get the gold."

As You Yuxi spoke, she took out a special pair of goggles and a pink sun-protective shirt from her bag.

"Sister Jiang, my Mother was worried you didn't have protective gear, so she asked me to bring you these goggles and sun-protective clothing."

"The Research Institute doesn't have many goggles or sun-protective clothes. Su Liuyuan and their share will have to wait until the next batch is produced, which will probably be in about two days."

Jiang Fei: "No need, we all have protective gear."

"You can refuse future ones, but you must accept this one."

"My Mother told me I must deliver the protective gear to you. If I don't, I won't have dinner when I go home." You Yuxi looked at Jiang Fei with pleading eyes:

"The family is making beef short ribs for lunch today, and I want to eat them."

Jiang Fei & everyone: "..."

It turned out that the silly girl was also a little foodie.

Jiang Fei had no choice but to accept them.

Remembering that Mother You and You Yuxi both liked jewelry, Jiang Fei went to the storeroom under the pretext of "putting away the protective gear."

She took out two necklaces from the Supermarket warehouse.

The jade one was in a red box.

The diamond one was in a pink box.

She also gave Xiao Hei a beef bone to chew on.

There was a small window above the storeroom, allowing sunlight to shine in during the day.

Xiao Hei had long since adapted, happily carrying the bone and running into the sunlight to gnaw on it.

Jiang Fei felt envious again.

If she had the ability of animals to adapt to the environment, she wouldn't have to fear extreme cold or extreme heat.

Returning to the cashier on the first floor with the jewelry boxes, Jiang Fei gave them to You Yuxi:

"The red box is a gift for Madam You, and the pink box is yours."

You Yuxi curiously opened the pink box.

The necklace chain was inlaid with natural color diamond chips.

The pendant was a clear pink diamond, sparkling brightly in the daylight.

"So beautiful!"

"Thank you, Sister Jiang!" You Yuxi eagerly took out the necklace and put it on. With a wave of her small hand, she ordered another shelf of goods.

To support Sister Jiang's business!

After applying the mask, You Yuxi left happily.

Soon after, the You Family's driver delivered the gold and even helped move it into the storeroom.

"Oh, and Captain, the Base Leader's people came this morning, saying they were delivering goods for you. I had him park the truck at the back door of the storeroom."

Knowing what was in the truck, Su Liuyuan handed the car keys to Jiang Fei:

"The Base Leader's people will come to pick up the car tonight, so you can go transfer it now."

Jiang Fei took the car keys and went to the back door of the storeroom.

The truck bed contained hundreds of transparent boxes, filled with various gold ornaments.

The workmanship was average, and some parts were even a bit rough upon closer inspection.

Jiang Fei didn't care about this and put everything into the Gold Swallowing Supermarket.

System: [Ding—Detected gold: 260,000 grams]

[Ding—Congratulations to the host for successfully unlocking the third area of the 6th floor of the Gold Swallowing Supermarket [General Category - Area 2]. Gold needed to unlock the next area: 83,886,080 grams]

[Bonus reward: One Lucky Turntable spin]

[Would the host like to use it?]

"Use it."

After the familiar eerie music ended—

[Ding—Oh, my poor little unlucky fellow, I truly feel for you. The host has obtained "Escape Artifact"]

Jiang Fei now held two talismans, on which was written "Teleportation Talisman."

[Small tip: The Teleportation Talisman can teleport to any place in the world, with no limit on the number of people. Each talisman can only be used once, and does not include the return trip~]

You're quite the businesswoman.

Putting away the Teleportation Talismans, Jiang Fei used her mind to inspect the newly unlocked area.

The white fog had dissipated by two-thirds, revealing 10 extra-long double-sided large shelves.

Nine of the shelves displayed various flowers and green plants such as roses, jasmine, phalaenopsis, mint, money trees, spider plants, pothos, cacti, clivia, kalanchoe, schefflera, lucky bamboo, lilies, epiphyllum, bougainvillea, narcissus, hyacinths, lily of the valley, ranunculus, and lisianthus.

They were all planted in individual pots, varying in size, and growing vigorously.

The other shelf contained essential items for growing flowers and green plants, such as nutrient solution, gardening shears, anti-thorn gloves, spray bottles, bagged fertilizer, fungicides, rooting powder, yellow soil, leaf mold, perlite, ceramsite, and plant ash.

Soil minerals like leaf mold and perlite were packaged in sacks, with each sack weighing 100 catties.

She could build a small garden in the Supermarket when she had time.

And add a swing.

Just thinking about it was wonderful!

Jiang Fei went to the storeroom to collect the gold delivered by the You Family's driver.

[Ding—Detected gold: 2,400,000 grams]

Second Miss You is still so generous!

—

After going out for a week straight, Jiang Fei and the others finally adapted to normal light and no longer needed to wear protective clothing.

However, business at the Small Mall was not good.

The hot rain had scalded and killed some people, and they also had to get used to the sudden appearance of the sun. Residents were either recovering from injuries at home or were not in the mood to go out.

Foot traffic had drastically decreased.

Since no customers would come even if they stayed in the mall, Jiang Fei simply had everyone close early and go home to rest.

This day.

Jiang Fei drove from Ping An back to Fenglin Villa District.

As soon as she unlocked the villa's front door, she saw green grass everywhere, with colorful small flowers among them.

Did she take a wrong turn?