The Post-Apocalyptic Big Farm Owner

Chapter 4: The

Spatial Spring Having battled the same company for so many years, Li Ba knew that bastard Li Chao’s underhanded tactics inside and out. When he agreed to go to work with Yan'er, he had already told her everything about his rival’s character, instructing the young girl to play along. That was the only way to avoid trouble—and it also gave them a good chance to reap some benefits. Sure enough, the more ruthless Li Ba acted, the less likely Li Chao was to give Yan'er a hard time. On the contrary, he deliberately gave Yan'er plenty of food, directly slapping Li Ba in the face. Li Ba would have loved to be humiliated like that several times a day. After receiving the food, Li Ba took advantage of a moment when Li Chao and the others weren’t looking to shoot Yan'er a glance, signaling her not to wander off and to take care of herself. Though the little girl wasn’t very old, she was incredibly quick-witted; she blinked her big eyes in response. Relieved, Li Ba scurried off to a secluded corner and sat down. He took a few bites of the bran bun, then scanned the area with a shifty gaze. Once he was certain no one was paying him any mind, he sprang into action. He unwound the bandage wrapped around his left hand, revealing the strange tattoo on his wrist, and examined it closely. The tattoo was peculiar, composed of many bizarre patterns; at first glance, it looked exactly like the design engraved on the bracelet. He ran his hand over it but felt nothing. Li Ba pondered for a moment, then began to half-close his eyes, concentrating his mind while muttering, “Let me in, let me in…” Suddenly! The light around him shifted. He opened his eyes to find himself in a hazy mist, and a square Tower appeared before him. “Ah! I really made it inside!” Entering this mysterious space for the second time, Li Ba was no longer flustered; instead, his face was filled with excitement and inexplicable delight. Just as he had surmised, the bracelet given to him by the old man was a treasure. After the blood ritual to recognize its master, it had transformed into a tattoo hidden within his body—and it contained this mysterious space, allowing his consciousness to enter it. Once the initial surprise had subsided, Li Ba began to carefully survey his surroundings. He intended to figure out the situation here—or rather, to understand the bracelet’s miraculous functions—as quickly as possible. A hazy mist shrouded the space. As Li Ba approached, he was immediately blocked by an invisible barrier. The same was true of the Tower; it seemed enveloped by a mysterious force that prevented him from entering. After surveying the area, Li Ba realized he could only move about within the ten or so square meters of land in front of the Tower. He then walked over to the stone trough in the center of this area, reached out to scoop some water, and found that his hand passed right through it—he couldn’t even touch the spring water inside the trough. Sitting beside the stone trough, Li Ba scratched his head and began to ponder. After a while, still unable to figure it out, he muttered to himself, “I’ll try this first: can my consciousness move in and out freely?” With that in mind, he focused his mind and blurted out two words: “Get out!” With a whoosh, Li Ba opened his eyes—his consciousness had already returned to the outside world. “Go back in!” “Come out!” “Go in!” In just a few minutes, Li Ba’s consciousness entered and exited that mysterious space dozens of times, gradually becoming more familiar with it and mastering the technique. As long as he focused his mind on the tattoo on his wrist, his consciousness could enter instantly; afterward, with just another concentration of his will, he could easily emerge from that mysterious space. “Amazing!” Li Ba was overjoyed. Glancing at the bran bun lying on the ground, a strange thought suddenly crossed his mind. He had once read xianxia novels that described storage artifacts capable of holding items—could this bracelet’s space possess the same magical function? No sooner said than done. Li Ba fixed his hopeful gaze on the bran buns on the ground, concentrated his mind, and a single word sprang to his mind: “Store!” No sooner had the words left his mouth than the bran buns on the ground blurred for a moment and actually vanished without a trace. The next moment, Li Ba sensed that two bran buns had appeared inside the mysterious space—one of which had already been nibbled down to less than half its original size. He never expected it to actually work! At that moment, Li Ba’s excitement was beyond words. In the blink of an eye, his consciousness entered the mysterious space, and as he looked, the two bran buns were right there on the ground in front of the Tower. This time, Li Ba actually felt that he could control those two bran buns. With a flick of his finger, the two buns floated up as if guided by invisible threads, dancing through the air as Li Ba willed them to rise and fall, veer left and right. “Go!” Li Ba gave his hand a slight flick, and with a “plop,” the two bran buns fell straight into the stone trough. When he maneuvered them to fly out of the trough, they sent up a few splashes of water—the buns were already soaked. Whoosh! As his consciousness returned, Li Ba flipped his hand, and two pieces of bran buns appeared in his palm—damp and exuding a faint, refreshing fragrance. He took a bite, and the aroma lingered on his palate. Of course, the bran buns themselves weren’t that delicious; the fragrance came entirely from the spring water they’d been soaked in. After devouring both rice cakes in one go, Li Ba wiped his mouth, looking as though he still wanted more. He hadn’t expected the spring water inside the bracelet’s storage space to taste so good; simply dipping the rice cakes in it left an endlessly satisfying aftertaste. Glancing around, Li Ba spotted an empty mineral water bottle not far from him. Without drawing attention to himself, he gave a slight wave with his left hand, and the bottle vanished instantly. He closed his eyes slightly. Within seconds, Li Ba flipped his hand, and the mineral water bottle reappeared, now filled to the brim with spring water. From his earlier experiment, he’d learned that while his consciousness couldn’t physically touch the water inside, the physical object on the outside could. He gave it a try—and sure enough, he managed to bring out an entire bottle of spring water using the empty bottle. He took a sip. The spring water brought from the bracelet’s storage space felt crisp and sweet as it went down his throat—hundreds of times better than any drink he’d ever had before the apocalypse. The taste was indescribably wonderful. With a few “gulp, gulp” sips, the bottle was drained. Li Ba, still not satisfied, filled two more bottles from the bracelet’s storage space and drank them down before letting out a contented belch. He leaned against the wall, his face radiating contentment. After resting for a while, when the whistle blew signaling the start of work, Li Ba stood up, feeling completely refreshed. His earlier fatigue had vanished, and his entire body was surprisingly brimming with energy. He pumped his fist, and after a moment of surprise and delight, he laughed heartily as he walked toward the construction site. By evening, when work wrapped up, Li Ba was still full of energy. An entire afternoon’s labor hadn’t left him the least bit tired, nor did he feel the slightest bit hungry. What’s more, the whip marks on his shoulders had scabbed over and healed in just a few short hours. This was clearly inseparable from drinking the spring water from the bracelet’s storage space. Li Ba knew this all too well. With a bracelet this miraculous, the spring water contained within its space surely wasn’t ordinary! When work was done, they began distributing the bran buns again, but the portion had been cut in half—just one bun per person. After receiving his share, amid the taunts and mockery of Li Chao and the others, Li Ba led Yan'er back to the refugee camp outside the city. “Uncle Li, look—I managed to get quite a few tasty treats today!” As soon as they got home and closed the door, Yan'er mysteriously pulled six or seven bran buns and a small slice of melon from her bosom. These were all handouts from Li Chao; she hadn’t had the heart to eat them all, so she’d secretly stashed them away to bring back and share with Li Ba. Li Ba was deeply moved. “I’m not hungry. You keep them for yourself!” He wasn’t lying. Ever since drinking the spring water from the bracelet’s storage space at noon, he’d been doing heavy labor all afternoon—not only did he feel no fatigue, but he wasn’t even the slightest bit hungry. Of course, this wasn’t because he’d eaten two bran buns; in the past, he would’ve been starving by now. This must be thanks to the spring water from the storage space. Seeing that Li Ba wouldn’t eat, the little girl blinked her big eyes and, for some reason, began to cry. Li Ba panicked at the sight and quickly took the bran buns from her hand, along with a small slice of melon, saying, “Uncle really isn’t hungry. Let’s save this food for tonight, okay?” Yan'er nodded upon hearing this and wiped away her tears, leaving a few more streaks on her already grimy little face. Li Ba watched this, and an indescribable tenderness welled up in his heart for the little girl. He wasn’t exactly a saint; adhering to the survival rules of the post-apocalyptic world, his heart was as hard as iron—he never felt pity for anyone, much less meddled in others’ affairs. Last night, on a whim, he’d saved the grandmother and granddaughter. In the end, the old woman died, giving him a bracelet on her deathbed and entrusting the little girl to his care. In that moment, his heart had softened, and, as if possessed, he’d actually agreed. In this post-apocalyptic world, he was just an ordinary person who could barely survive on his own—let alone with a little burden in tow! Li Ba knew better than anyone how harsh life could be, but after spending just one night with her, he felt a special connection with the little girl and couldn’t bear to abandon her. Adopting a “take it one step at a time, live one day at a time” attitude, he took the little girl, Yan'er, in. It had been over two months since the apocalypse struck, and this was likely the first good deed Li Ba had ever done. He wasn’t exactly a saint—he didn’t do evil, but he never went out of his way to do good either. This was his first time trying to be a good person, and to his surprise, his character shone through, earning him a treasure—a treasure brimming with magic that might just change his fate! “Yan’er, no matter what the future holds, as long as I’m alive, I’ll never let anyone bully you!” Holding Yan’er close, Li Ba made the first vow of his life.