The bakery is… trending!
by M1zushiAfter a moment of hesitation, he opened the long-muted chat with Jiang Xiao.
“Thank you for your blessing. Since I don’t know when I’ll get the chance to repay you during a mission, I figured you might like money, so I took the liberty of promoting your bakery a bit. Wishing you all the best.”
Uh…
He did indeed like money, but…
Ling Qiu had once said that poverty shouldn’t change one’s integrity.
But he’d also said reciprocity was key to fostering mutual growth.
An Yu wrestled with his thoughts before replying: “How deep is your blood storage? How many Zhu Taos can it cover?”
Jiang Xiao replied instantly.
“Thank you for your reply. According to mental calculations, my current blood storage only covers about 0.3 Zhu Taos, but that’s due to the limited mental strength regular adherents can contribute. Without factoring in mental strength, the blood storage limit is unknown.”
An Yu hesitated before sending a polite response: “Well, if the opportunity arises, perhaps we could test it during a future mission.”
“Understood. Thank you for your blessing.”
Even through the screen, An Yu could almost picture him bending over in gratitude, his red eyes alight with fervor.
An Yu: “I’ll let you know if we release any new products in the bakery.”
“The Jiang family media and marketing teams are at your disposal anytime. Friendly reminder: Corner Bakery is already popular, so limiting purchases per person could help maintain its momentum.”
Ten minutes later.
Corner Bakery put up a sign that read: “Each person is limited to two of each type of bread.”
Standing on a bench by the door with a loudspeaker, An Yu announced, “Hello, if you can understand what I’m saying, it means you’re still rational. This is an ordinary bakery. Impulse buys may not bring you happiness, and stockpiling bread will only lead to waste. Our production is limited, so please treasure food, buy in moderation, and avoid scalpers. We can’t guarantee these loaves will fix your life, but we can promise that anyone following the rules will get their bread.”
The crowd finally settled down a bit.
An Yu threw away the loudspeaker and retreated to the temporarily closed dining area, breathing a sigh of relief.
He always felt that his speech just now was very familiar. After recalling it for a long time, he realized that this was what he said to the humans who infiltrated the aberrant tide in District 53.
By lunchtime, all the bread was sold out.
Maddie and Xu Shuangshuang sat across from him, exhausted. Maddie lay slumped over the table, while Xu Shuangshuang sprawled back in her chair.
“Boss, I’m quitting—” Xu Shuangshuang said despairingly. “I took this job for the peace and quiet, not for a death race.”
“Boss, I’m quitting too—” Maddie echoed weakly. “I love baking, but this job has turned it into a nightmare.”
An Yu chewed his lip and was in a dilemma for a full minute.
“Don’t quit. I’ll give you both a raise.”
Read at Mizushi Novels
Visit Mizushi Novels
They perked up instantly.
Support the original translation
Read on Mizushi Novels
Don't scrape
Don't copy
Read at Mizushi Novels
Visit Mizushi Novels
Maddie, meanwhile, asked for double the salary, along with at least two assistants and two more commercial ovens.
Support the original translation
Read on Mizushi Novels
It wasn’t a matter of cost but space—the kitchen was already cramped, and two more commercial ovens would take up significant space.
Don't scrape
Don't copy
When things got tough, he just wanted to curl up somewhere quiet to hide.
Read at Mizushi Novels
Visit Mizushi Novels
“One person’s time is in disarray,
Support the original translation
Read on Mizushi Novels
A crowd’s time is in disarray,
Don't scrape
Don't copy
I don’t understand it. It’s even worse than the one about the dead rabbit.
Read at Mizushi Novels
Suddenly, his terminal buzzed.
Visit Mizushi Novels
Support the original translation
Qin Zhilu’s voice, steady as always, came through: “I heard you woke up.”
Read on Mizushi Novels
Don't scrape
An Yu had no knowledge of the Main City.
Don't copy
Read at Mizushi Novels
“Uh… what?!”
An Yu stood up abruptly, staring blankly at the phone. “Is that even possible?”
Visit Mizushi Novels
Support the original translation
A soft laugh came from Qin Zhilu over the phone.
Read on Mizushi Novels
Don't scrape
Perhaps Qin Zhilu was simply too distant a figure, and whenever his cold and composed demeanor softened even slightly, it gave An Yu an unusual sense of security.
“I’m planning to buy the convenience store next to your bakery,” Qin Zhilu explained. “You can renovate it—expand the bakery into part of the space and turn the rest into a street-facing apartment.”
“The one right next door?” An Yu could hear his own heartbeat. “What’s the catch?”
“No extra conditions,” Qin Zhilu said smoothly. “Except that you owe me a mission—you mentioned it yourself when you forgot to bake the bread. Remember? There’s one now. Come with me.”
Qin Zhilu’s tone was casual, almost indifferent.
But the more indifferent he sounded, the more uneasy An Yu felt.
“We agreed I get to choose the type of mission,” An Yu hesitated. “And that it has to be safe.”
“Mm,” Qin Zhilu replied without concern. “But you’ve only been on two missions. What do you know about safe missions?”
“…” An Yu couldn’t argue with that.
“Let’s go with this one. I’ve already chosen it for you,” Qin Zhilu’s tone suddenly turned serious. “Besides, this mission needs you.”
“Why?” An Yu froze. “What are the personnel requirements?”
“No requirements. Open to everyone.”
“Oh…” An Yu exhaled in relief.
Missions typically had specific personnel requirements—powers, team size, or overall ranking.
Those with no restrictions at all were usually trivial, low-grade missions that veterans jokingly called KPI-padding freebies.
After hanging up, the Ladder automatically displayed a message:
- New Mission: [High Mutation Risk Orphanage] has been posted. Protectors, please check for details!
An Yu’s gaze lingered on the blood-red mission title and he suddenly had a bad feeling.
[Emergency Recruitment]
The High Mutation Risk Orphanage abruptly ceased its routine reports to the Main City seven days ago and has been confirmed as out of contact. Drones detected extremely abnormal frequencies, unmatched by any known aberration types, leading to strong suspicion of a new form of super-aberrant. Four advance teams of Protectors have attempted to enter the orphanage but were forced to retreat.
Mission 1: Enter the orphanage
Mission 2: Restore order
Assigned Personnel: Law, Corner.
Requirements: No restrictions on personnel, aberrant type direction, or combat power; registration is automatic approval. Protectors, please participate accordingly to your capacity.
Special Notes: While every individual in the orphanage is at risk of mutation, they remain human children—and our future—until the transformation occurs. Due to the vague nature of the preliminary investigation, the Main City is committed to providing the maximum resources necessary to protect the ordinary children in the orphanage.
The High Mutation Risk Orphanage was the place where An Yu spent the first eight hazy years of his life.
Though he wasn’t conscious much during his time there, he vividly remembered everything that happened.
The orphanage housed children from all over the world who were suspected to be infected: children whose parents had already undergone mutation but showed no signs themselves, abandoned children under six with dangerously low genetic entropy, and little strays like An Yu who were picked up from the wild.
It was vast, with its own “ecosystem,” resembling a miniature version of the Bait Cities.
An Yu stared blankly at the air for a moment before messaging his Commander: Why does it have to be me?
Qin Zhilu replied swiftly: Because in the entire Spire, only you can knock on its door.
It took An Yu a moment to process this. When he finally understood, his hand instinctively touched his right eye.
So much time had passed that he had completely forgotten—every child from the orphanage carried a lifelong “ID,” encoded in the iris of their right eye.
That ID was their permit for everything during their time in the orphanage.
It was also the key to return home.
Author’s Note:
[22 Main City‘s Magical Realism]
In the world twenty years after the disaster, elites and the grass roots have been strictly segregated.
Theoretically, the Main City should be surrounded by pure interests, efficiency, rationality, and indifference.
Yet, among these human elites, there are glimpses of the vulgar world of the past.
Even under the pressure of harsh elitism and survival of the fittest.
They still follow superstitions, check out internet celebrities’ drama, gossip, and slack off at work.
Men still enjoy watching female streamers, whether real or virtual.
Women still cry over the cuteness of cat memes online.
Even though humanity’s string is getting tighter and tighter.
These clever individuals always find ways, however fleeting, to bask mischievously under the sun, just like in the past.
0 Comments