After Apocalypse, I Got Rich With Superpower

"Why won’t you sell to Zone 13."

Ordinary residents from Zone 13 came to the shop to buy things and angrily questioned.

"Blame the Zhang Family if you must, they’ve cut off your lifeline. They’re too greedy, and I don’t want the slightest involvement with you people from Zone 13. I’m just trying to save my own skin. If it weren’t for the Zhang Family constantly harming me, I’d treat you no different from anyone else."

The residents of Zone 13’s faces changed, suddenly realizing that it must be the Zhang Family who couldn’t let things go and had started causing trouble again.

Now they’ve really gone and angered Lord Buddha to the point where he outright refuses to sell anything to Zone 13. What are we supposed to do now?

The resources of Zone 13 are not as plentiful as everyone thinks, still cobbled together from various places. In terms of food energy and cleanliness, the products from Panpan Farm are the cleanest, with the richest and most gentle energy, renowned far and wide.

Nearby bases have all placed orders with Panpan Farm; people can’t even win a spot in line, let alone decide how much their own Base Commander should allocate to them.

"Come on, let’s go back and find those bastards from the Zhang Family, stirring up trouble all day long as if they’re sending themselves to an early grave. He ascends to immortality, not needing to eat, and thinks no one else needs to eat either? That’s going too far."

The residents of Zone 13 were also enraged, leaving their purchases behind as they headed back to their homes, preparing to join forces and make trouble.

"Starting today, we’re upgrading the cash register system. From now on, purchases will require an ID card, or you can get a membership card. It’s free to get a card, but you can only top it up with a hundred bucks at most, no more allowed. You can only recharge once it’s been used up, and each time you can only add a hundred bucks."

Right there and then, Li Pan thought of a little method to control hoarding.

The store staff didn’t argue with Li Pan’s orders, instead, they went to call the Base Commander.

Li Pan retracted the branches and went back to the courtyard. As she opened the door, she saw the Base Commander and Gao Wenbin among others waiting at the door.

"Come in, I’ll make you some tea."

"Sure, bring me some flower tea. The last one tasted pretty good."

The Base Commander wasn’t flustered; he had seen plenty of major and minor issues, what was there to panic about; it’s not like the base was running out of food.

Li Pan brought over the tea trolley, sat down in the courtyard’s pavilion and started to boil water for everyone’s tea.

"Ask away if there’s anything you want to know."

The Base Commander smiled, his demeanor as calm as a mild breeze, as if he was used to grand occasions.

"Liu Hu has brought the people back, I mostly understand the situation now, there’s nothing much to ask. Just don’t upset yourself over this, it’s not worth it."

The Base Commander gave her a kindly smile.

The first thing Li Pan saw when she looked up was the white hair on top of the Base Commander’s head, which had become more and more pronounced.

She reached out to touch the white hair on top of the Base Commander’s head, "Why is there more and more white hair."

"Getting old, that’s all. Don’t worry, I’m in great health. It’s just a lot of worry is all."

Seeing that her mood was off, the Base Commander tried hard to lighten the atmosphere.

"Why do we have to live so hard? I just want to eat well, dress warmly, and have everyone live a peaceful life. Did I do something wrong?"

Li Pan took a deep breath, smiling with a hint of loss and feeling wronged, her head felt confused, dizzy as if displaying symptoms of heatstroke.

Gao Wenbin lowered his head and let out a heavy sigh, holding back his irritation.

"Sister, don’t feel bad. Even if the sky collapses, we, your brothers, are here for you."

Li Pan shook her head, "When my parents died, we were just half-grown kids. It was the Base Commander and the uncles who looked after us, passing us around like a baton in a relay race, one by one they were entrusted with our care, each sacrificed themselves. In my memory, I was looked after by several different uncles and aunts, and none of them returned."

"Aunt Zhao was the first one to come and take care of me after my mother died, back when there wasn’t enough food to go around. She would give me food first every day, and only when I couldn’t finish, she would eat. This went on day after day, because the amount of food was only enough for one person, even if the head chef gave more, it couldn’t be too much. Aunt Zhao ate my leftovers every day, never having enough to fill her stomach, often holding her belly in pain, her face pale as a sheet, drenched in sweat."

Gao Wenbin looked up, unwilling to recall the past. The scars were too painful, still causing heart-wrenching agony at the slightest touch.

"Later, Xue Dong and I discovered we had superpowers, I was so happy, I could work and earn some money too. But Aunt Zhao never returned, I waited from dawn till dusk, and she never came back."

"Then it was Uncle Sun, and then Uncle Qian, and then you, Uncle Wang. I was so afraid that you wouldn’t come back, I would always count the heads..."

Li Pan’s tears fell unconsciously.

"Don’t poor people deserve to live?"

"Who said that, who said poor people don’t deserve to live?"

Jiao Ming’s loud voice came from behind.

They had received the news and came over from the farm, Xue Dong, Qin Jianzhong, and the others were all there.

"Brother, they’ve come again, they even beat up Zhengfei and Xiao Yun, they want to destroy these children, to hit out at me, I’m the one who has harmed everyone."

"Who said that, don’t blame everything on yourself."

Gu Ye had also come after being told by Xiao Yun that her sister wasn’t quite right.

"What should I do to protect everyone?"

Li Pan felt as if she was suffocating, the air in her chest ready to burn her up.

"Child, we got through tougher times back in the day, now we can eat our fill and wear warm clothes, we’re living better than before, these little troubles are nothing. They can’t keep it up for long, you have to believe me."

The Base Commander held the child’s hand, repeatedly comforting her with a loving tone.

"But I can’t accept it, I don’t dare to gamble, the person I’ve been waiting for hasn’t come back..."

Li Pan was overwhelmed by immense sadness and anger that hijacked all her rationality.

"They hope you’re doing well."

The Base Commander knew that every child had their own inner demons and scars that could not be opened nor touched, wounds that would never truly heal.

"I’m so stupid, after all this time, I still can’t protect everyone, I’ve let them down!"

Li Pan’s whole body was shaking.

"I really want to kill them all, every single one of them..."

Just a moment ago, vines had overtaken every street, and she had been forcibly holding herself back. At that moment, she truly wanted to let the vines smash through the houses’ windows, rush in, and kill every member of the Zhang Family, leaving none alive.

If they were all dead, there would be no more trouble.

But could it really solve the problem?

Not only would it not solve the problem, but it would also drag her and everyone at the farm down with her. She controlled her emotions, retreating calmly.

She trembled with pain all over.

"Pan’er, what’s wrong with you? Go find Pei Yuan quickly."

The Base Commander held Li Pan and yelled loudly.

"Uncle, I want to grow up, to protect everyone just like how the uncles and aunts protected me with all their might, but I haven’t done it well, I haven’t protected the children... "

Li Pan was filled with guilt, caught in her inner demons, her mental state a bit chaotic as she kept seeing herself as a child.

Xue Dong held her, his face white with fear, the rims of his eyes red.

"Pan’er, don’t say that, you’ve done very well."

"Yes, sister, you’ve done very well, you’ve made sure we all had enough to eat."

"I might have to go into slumber. Apparently, the Wood Element requires emotional control; anger can’t be allowed. Help me look after the farm, protect everyone, I’m sorry."

At that moment, Li Pan regained some clarity. She might have succumbed to her inner demons. Such a sudden outbreak was also due to the rapid progress in her upgrade over the past two years.