"Heh, fifty tons of rice, twenty tons of chicken, duck, and fish—stockpiling all this just in case of the apocalypse. Young people these days are really loaded."
On the outskirts of the city, outside a slightly run-down warehouse.
Several middle-aged men, accompanied by a group of movers, unloaded the goods while sighing with emotion.
Yuhran stood some distance away, quietly observing, saying nothing.
The sun hung high overhead. He lowered his head and glanced at his phone—his visa was about to be approved.
A few days ago, he'd still been wondering how he was supposed to stockpile food over in Japan.
Now, he'd figured it out.
First, spend a lump sum to buy a batch of supplies and store them. Then, send everything through the two-world gate into the Frieren world.
Since that world had magic, long-term frozen storage was entirely feasible.
That way, once he arrived in Japan, he could take whatever he wanted to eat at any time—from the other world.
And there was no need to worry about anyone discovering it, because all the resources were stored in another world altogether.
"Fifty tons of rice plus meat cost me six hundred thousand yuan. My money's about to run dry again."
"And I still haven't bought seasonings or equipment. This cash really burns fast."
"If I weren't afraid that selling too much gold at once would draw attention… no, I've probably already been noticed. I've moved over a million yuan in total."
Yuhran narrowed his eyes and scanned the surroundings.
There was no helping it—the source of this money wasn't exactly clean. He couldn't shake the worry that he might suddenly be invited in for a 'chat.'
Though he had the two-world gate and wasn't afraid of them—
His family, on the other hand…
Yuhran's gaze returned to his phone.
He opened WeChat, transferred 200,000 yuan to his mother, then carefully typed out a few lines:
"Mom, I recently sold a piece of software and made a few hundred thousand. Take this money for now."
"I might be going abroad for a bit, so if you can't reach me for a few days, don't panic."
He didn't say which country, nor what software. The elderly didn't understand those things anyway.
As long as he checked in occasionally, that was enough.
Even if he was discovered, it wouldn't matter…
At worst, once he mastered magic and gained the power to reshape the world, he could come back and talk cooperation with them properly.
Buzz buzz.
Right after sending the message, his phone vibrated.
Yuhran glanced at it—it was a question-mark sticker from his mother. He didn't pay it much mind.
After chatting briefly, he put his phone away. Before long, the middle-aged men walked over and told him the unloading was complete.
Yuhran carefully checked everything, settled the labor fees, then strode into the warehouse.
Thud, thud, thud.
His footsteps echoed in the empty space, the air thick with the heavy scent of grain.
The air conditioning was running, but it was still stuffy. He subconsciously loosened his collar.
Watching the trucks gradually drive off into the distance, Yuhran thought for a moment, then pulled down the rolling shutter door, preparing to move the supplies.
Of course—he wasn't planning to do it himself.
...
"Where is this place?"
Miliarde removed the blindfold and looked around at the metal-walled environment, her expression tinged with confusion.
She couldn't sense any magical fluctuations at all—which made no sense. They'd only taken a few steps.
Even the temperature had changed.
The air smelled awful.
She instinctively covered her nose and mouth, frowning deeply. Seeing this, Yuhran reached into his pocket and handed her an N95 mask.
"Put this on."
It couldn't improve the air quality, but at least it would make her feel better.
At the same time, this confirmed a suspicion Yuhran had long held—
—Creatures from the other world really could enter the real world.
That meant his plan could proceed smoothly, which was undoubtedly good news.
Watching Yuhran put on his mask, Miliarde hesitated, tilted her head, then clumsily copied him and put the N95 on her face.
She took a deep breath. Though it was still uncomfortable, it was indeed much better.
Her brows relaxed slightly, and in an awkward tone, she asked:
"Yuhran, where have you brought me? Why have I never seen anything here before?"
Concrete floors, rolling shutter doors, iron windows, floating dust, mountains of rice sacks, and neatly arranged freezers—
Every single thing assaulted her understanding of the world.
If she didn't know for a fact that Yuhran couldn't use magic, she would've thought she'd fallen into some kind of illusion.
Yuhran shook his head and didn't explain in detail.
The two-world gate was his secret. Aside from himself, he wouldn't let anyone else know about it.
He simply replied, "A good place."
After the translator rendered his words, he asked Miliarde to use magic to move the food to the other side.
—There was an ordinary-looking door there, leading to a cellar in the Frieren world.
At present, they were staying in a village.
Seeing this, Miliarde looked momentarily confused. Food?
"From my homeland," Yuhran added.
At that, understanding flashed through her eyes.
You should've said so earlier.
Whoosh—
A transportation spell activated. One sack of rice after another floated into the air and flew through the doorway.
Watching this, Yuhran thought to himself:
"I probably need to learn their language. Or maybe learn Japanese."
"Relying on machines all the time isn't sustainable."
"I'll think about it after getting to Japan."
He nodded lightly. About forty minutes later, everything in front of them was gone, leaving the warehouse empty.
Yuhran walked over to Miliarde and asked:
"Thanks for the hard work. Did using magic feel smooth?"
Miliarde tilted her head, puzzled. "Why do you ask?"
Still, she answered, "Smooth. No effect at all."
After all, a mage's magic relied on their own mana, not the surrounding environment.
Hearing that, Yuhran couldn't help but sigh in relief.
If he learned magic only to find it unusable in another world, that would be unbearably awkward.
"I understand. Now, please put this on again. We'll meet again after some time."
Yuhran took out a black silk ribbon and gently waved it in his hand.
Miliarde frowned when she saw it.
Then she turned her head away.
"I don't want to."
"?"
"Why should I listen to you? Food from your homeland—does that mean this place is your homeland?"
She had a pile of questions she wanted to ask. At the same time, her gaze drifted toward the rolling shutter door nearby.
Beams of sunlight streamed through the gaps. She had a strong premonition—if she opened that door, she'd see the truth.
However, the moment she moved, Yuhran grabbed her hand.
Soft—no, wait.
Yuhran said seriously:
"Don't be willful. When the time comes, I'll tell you everything about my homeland—including how we capture time."
"If you still want to taste the food from my homeland in the future."
"Now, please put this on."
He emphasized it once more, lifting the black ribbon again.
Miliarde had no choice.
This guy… hateful human. Actually using food to threaten her.
Her brows knit together. But what could she do?
She could only give in.
"Next time…"
She pressed her lips together, turned her face away with a cold expression—but in the end, she still couldn't resist Yuhran's pull and was led back through the door.
Bang.
With a soft sound, dust stirred, and the warehouse returned to its usual silence.