After the update began, the first thing He Lingyu noticed was that the courtyard had grown.
The game had only said it would expand the yard, without specifying by how much. Now that she saw it, the game had completely dropped its stingy habits. The courtyard had expanded to three times its original size, and the fence had become a low brick wall, about waist height.
The layout of the buildings had shifted as well.
The restaurant now stood at the very front, facing the main gate.
Behind it was a two story inn.
The previously unnamed building now had a sign that read “Livestock,” set in the southern corner of the yard.
Xiao Bai’s doghouse had been moved closer to the gate, and it had been upgraded into a luxury version too. For some reason, a phrase popped into He Lingyu’s mind, when one person rises, even their chickens and dogs rise with them.
[Xiao Bai’s favorability toward you increased. Current favorability: 40.]
Wow. Upgrading a doghouse raised favorability by ten?
The newest addition was the fish pond in the northern corner of the yard.
Two seats had been set beside it, and a large sun umbrella stood nearby. It was clearly designed for fishing.
He Lingyu became even more certain when she saw the payment box.
[Fish pond unlocked. Insert coins to fish. Any fish, shrimp, or crabs you catch may be taken away. (Probability applies.)]
She did not know what kind of system the pond used, but she saw both freshwater fish and saltwater fish inside. It was bizarre, but this was a game world. Anything was possible.
The farmland had expanded too. There was even a separate fenced plot, filled with purified soil that could be planted.
There was also a payment box.
[Harvest service unlocked. Insert coins to harvest. After harvesting, replanting is required. Harvested items may be taken away.]
Oh. This game was really moving in an automated direction.
During the update, a shimmering film seemed to cover the restaurant’s exterior, flashing with golden light.
What interested He Lingyu most was the newly added livestock area.
It was divided into many stalls. The two pigs each had their own space, and both feed troughs and water troughs were full.
The chickens, ducks, and geese were separated by type, each group in its own stall.
There were raised nests inside, neatly laid with straw. It looked like it was not just for meat, they could probably produce eggs too.
After touring the yard, it was time to check the inside.
The restaurant’s first floor had doubled in area, and the number of tables had increased from four to twelve.
The style changed from shabby wood to modern. Wooden tables became glass topped ones, making the dining hall look bright and spacious.
The tablecloths were replaced with small orange floral prints, cozy and warm.
Beside the juice machine, there was now a beer dispenser.
Below it sat glass cups and beer mugs.
Even the old clunky desktop computer He Lingyu had always disliked had become a more standard setup, with the tower and monitor separated. It was still a bit old, but she was delighted anyway. Maybe it could even run Minesweeper now.
After checking around and seeing no further changes, she figured the update was complete.
About half an hour had passed. One by one, everyone came downstairs, and He Lingyu’s smug expression slowly surfaced.
See? Wasn’t the change huge?
She was like a puppy waiting for praise, her imaginary tail practically wagging nonstop.
“Xiao Yu’er is amazing! Our restaurant is so pretty now!” Hua Yue praised first.
He Lingyu did want the praise, but once she got it, she felt a little embarrassed.
“Yeah! Xiao Yu, you’re incredible. I was in the dorm and the room just whoosh, got bigger, and a bunch of new stuff appeared. It’s amazing, like some kind of simulation game,” Fatty said.
He Lingyu’s eyes widened. Wait. The dorm.
She had told them to go upstairs because she worried they would not be used to seeing the restaurant change instantly, and she had completely forgotten the dorm would upgrade too. They still saw it.
He Lingyu secretly checked everyone’s faces. When she saw no one seemed disturbed, she finally relaxed.
The moment Fatty spoke, several gazes shot toward him. He hurriedly covered his mouth, cursing himself for talking too fast again.
After giving Fatty a look, Mu Qingfeng studied He Lingyu’s expression. It did not seem like what he and Xiao Yan had suspected.
Maybe after spending time together, Mu Qingfeng felt He Lingyu was not that calculating. She seemed rather straightforward. After thinking for a moment, he asked directly, “Did you not want us to know how the restaurant changes?”
He Lingyu immediately waved her hands, shaking her head hard. “No, that’s not it at all. I was just worried that seeing the changes suddenly would be hard for you to accept, so I sent you upstairs. I forgot the dorm would change too.”
Once she said that, everyone’s tension eased.
Mu Qingfeng and He Lingyu exchanged a look. They both felt it was time for everyone to understand each other more clearly.
So they sat at the new tables and began Alive Restaurant’s first honest conversation.
“I never intended to hide anything from you. If I let you join the restaurant, it means I acknowledge you. Between companions, there shouldn’t be secrets.”
“Sister He, I have a question.”
Jun Buyan, who had been watching her closely, spoke first. “Since you treat us as your own people, I’ll ask directly. You’re not from this world, are you?”
He Lingyu startled. “You could even tell that?!”
The words slipped out before she could stop them. She quickly covered her mouth. Great, she sounded like an idiot.
Mu Qingfeng actually smiled for once. “Do you remember the first time we met?”
He Lingyu looked at him. Through that handsome face, she vaguely recalled what he had looked like back then, his face so black it had seemed like a gas canister had exploded on it.
Then she blurted, “You could tell even then?!”
Mu Qingfeng raised his brows and did not deny it.
He Lingyu could not even bear to imagine it. Back then she had gone outside the restaurant to help him up. If he had truly been a bad person…
A trace of fear lingered on her face.
“A clean little girl in the wilderness, wearing panda slippers. Does that look like someone from the apocalypse to you?”
Mu Qingfeng’s rhetorical question made her feel awkward. So all this time, had they been looking at her like she was foolish?
“Then you all knew early on, why didn’t you ask me? Auntie Yue, you knew too?”
She still could not quite believe it.
Hua Yue smiled awkwardly. “We thought you didn’t want others to know, so we quietly kept it to ourselves…”
He Lingyu could only feel speechless.
At the same time, she felt lucky she had met this group. If they were truly scheming, she would not have been able to handle them.
Once everything was out in the open, everyone felt relieved. He Lingyu no longer had to avoid certain topics or worry they would not adapt. She had overthought it, people who survived the apocalypse were clearly adaptable.
The others also no longer had to worry about accidentally letting something slip. It was a win for everyone.
After that, the atmosphere in the shop stayed light. With no other tasks pressing, He Lingyu decided to let everyone relax for two days.
Their “task” was to take turns fishing, trying to fully unlock the newly refreshed Edible Fish Guide on the computer.
Time passed leisurely for five days. The inn’s second floor rooms were all decorated, yet there was still no message from Jiaowo Base, and He Lingyu began to worry.
“Jiaowo Base didn’t change their mind, did they? They shouldn’t have. Did the food we packed make the leader unhappy?”
That was even less likely. Even He Lingyu, who had never truly gone hungry, would drool from the smell alone. For people who had survived over a year in the apocalypse, it would be impossible not to like it.
“Don’t worry. The longer it takes, the more it means we succeeded. If they were unhappy, they would have said so already. They wouldn’t leave us waiting. That leader doesn’t seem like that kind of person.”
Mu Qingfeng patted He Lingyu’s head, urging her to relax.
That night, Jiaowo Base still did not send anyone. Instead, a group of uninvited guests arrived.
He Lingyu had just changed into her pajamas and was about to sleep when she heard a knock.
She frowned in surprise. Who could it be? This late, no one usually bothered her.
When she opened the door, she found Mu Qingfeng, which only confused her more. Before she could ask, Mu Qingfeng lifted a finger to her lips.
“Shh.”
That brief touch made her freeze for a moment, and she awkwardly leaned away.
In a low voice, she asked, “What is it?”
“Come out for a second.”
Mu Qingfeng had originally wanted to speak inside, but after glancing at her pajamas, he changed his mind and had her step out instead.
He Lingyu did not understand, but she obediently stood in the corridor. Mu Qingfeng led her to the window at the end.
“Look down.”
He Lingyu peered through the gap. It was pitch black.
Then Mu Qingfeng pointed, and she finally saw a line of people crouching by the wall outside the restaurant, sneaking around.
“These are… what kind of people?”
He Lingyu had a guess. Could it be those idiots from Gaofei Base?
But why were they here so late?
Only He Lingyu knew the restaurant could not be damaged by outside forces. Others did not. She had fallen into her own blind spot.
Mu Qingfeng’s voice turned heavy. “They’re not here to bring kindness. Showing up at midnight like this means they want to catch us off guard while we sleep.”
He Lingyu finally understood. So it was a midnight raid. Gaofei Base was a known base, and yet they were resorting to a sneak attack.
He Lingyu smiled. Since that was what they wanted, she would let them try.
“It’s fine. Ignore them. Go back to sleep. If anything happens, we’ll deal with it in the morning.”
This time Mu Qingfeng was the one who froze. What?
The stunned look on his face amused He Lingyu. She let out a soft laugh. “Alright. Don’t worry. If I say it’s fine, it’s fine. Sleep first, we’ll talk after we wake up.”
He Lingyu looked confident, but Mu Qingfeng had seen Yuan Gaofei with his own eyes. He was not someone to take lightly.
“Go back inside,” Mu Qingfeng said.
He Lingyu did not argue. Mu Qingfeng could not force her, but he knew he would not sleep well tonight.
He turned and went up to the third floor. Just as he was about to enter his room, his gaze flicked to the two closed doors nearby.
“Boss, what’s going on? It’s so late, why aren’t you sleeping?” Fatty asked, rubbing his eyes. Xiao Yan said nothing, but his face was clearly dark.
Anyone would be irritated after being woken up.
“Come to my room. Something happened.”
The moment they heard something was going on, they were no longer sleepy. They hurried into Mu Qingfeng’s room, and Fatty even thoughtfully closed the door.
“What is it, boss?” Fatty asked cautiously.