By now, this place was already being called the City That Never Sleeps.
On that Little Straw Mountain, Mutated Sunflowers were planted all over the slopes.
The golden Mutated Sunflowers, like little suns one after another, radiated warm sunlight in all directions.
The entire Little Straw Mountain was filled with warmth, and the temperature here was clearly higher than in other places.
Even the water at the foot of the mountain had its ice melted by the warmth brought by these large numbers of Mutated Sunflowers.
This was also one of the very few stretches of water in the Mirage Snake Space that hadnāt frozen over.
Farther out, the water surface was already sealed in ice, and on the thick ice sheet there were many people with ice-saber boots on their feet, gliding across the ice.
Everyone had luggage on their backs, or tools like fishing rods, skimming over the ice as if flying.
Watching this scene, Liang Yuanās figure flickered, then he picked a team and followed after them.
Before long, that team stopped at an abandoned high-rise far enough away from Little Straw Mountain.
Inside the building it was brightly lit, and quite a few people had already gathered there.
Liang Yuan also walked toward this building, a hint of surprise on his face.
"What are all these people gathering here for?"
Once inside, Liang Yuan found that many of the higher floors in this apartment building had already been taken over.
It seemed this place had already become a temporary dwelling.
Just then, a group of people happened to be leaving a room and ran right into Liang Yuan.
Both sides halted their steps at once.
Liang Yuan smiled and said, "Hello, everyone."
In the group opposite, a middle-aged man looked at Liang Yuan, then smiled and said, "Hello, you here for ice fishing too?"
"Ice fishing?"
"Yeah, all of us are here to ice fish and catch fish."
"Itās not like before anymore, the temperatureās too low, lots of crops canāt grow well. The water surfaces are all frozen, and if you want to catch fish, youāve got to break the ice first."
Liang Yuan suddenly understood and smiled. "Iām just passing through and wanted to find a place to rest. I saw lights here, so I came over."
The middle-aged man burst out laughing. "Then youāve come to the right place. This is the temporary camp for us fishing nuts. Go on in and have a look; if thereās an empty room, just stay."
"If you want to fish, come with us."
Liang Yuan smiled. "Then Iāll go take a look with you."
The people here werenāt like those survivors outside, full of intrigue and scheming; they seemed quite warm and friendly.
Because the environment had always been closed off, resources here were very plentiful, and it hadnāt reached the point where people would kill each other over a single mouthful of food.
As the saying goes, when the granaries are full, one knows propriety. When material conditions arenāt extremely harsh, very few people will risk everything, killing and burning.
Following this group, Liang Yuan arrived at a nearby stretch of ice.
On the way, Liang Yuan also learned that this middle-aged man was a resident of Little Straw Mountain named Xiang Guorong, a local.
He was quite familiar with this area, having lived around here even before the Great Flood.
The patch of ice they were heading to had been a park before the Great Flood.
"This used to be the parkās lake. I remember people often came here to release fish back then. I canāt vouch for other places, but there are definitely big ones here."
Liang Yuan smiled. "Do many people know about this fishing spot?"
"Heh, not many. Only locals know. Kid, we really hit it off at first sight, thatās the only reason Iām telling you this. Donāt go blabbing it around." Xiang Guorong laughed.
Liang Yuan also smiled and nodded, agreeing.
The other man took a black cloth bag out of his basket, and as soon as he opened it, light flared.
Only then did Liang Yuan see that inside the bag was actually a small Mutated Sunflower.
Xiang Guorong laughed. "I spent quite a bit of money on this, let me tell you. Mutated Sunflowers are the number one treasure in our Mirage Snake Space."
"Our Mirage Snake Space used to be pitch-blackāyou couldnāt see a thing. Even going out was hard, and everyone was stuck on Little Straw Mountain."
"Ever since Mr. Liang brought back the Mutated Sunflowers and the Agriculture Department started promoting their planting, in just a single month theyāve turned Little Straw Mountain into the City That Never Sleeps."
"Now Mutated Sunflowers are a must-have whenever we go out. We call them the Flower of Hope; some people also call them the Flower of Yangshan."
"Itās a pity Iāve never been to Yangshan. They say Yangshan was where Mr. Liang and Mr. Li first rose to power."
As he spoke, Xiang Guorong set his things down and said, "In a bit weāll break open the ice. The light from the Mutated Sunflower will draw the Mutant Fish under the water over. Then filling the basket will be easy as pie."
"Oh right, weāve chatted this long and I still donāt know what to call you?"
Liang Yuan smiled. "My surname is Liang too."
"Haha, what a coincidence, same clan as our King of Yangshan."
"Xiaoliang, come over here, Iāll teach you how to break the ice and set the nets. Iām telling you, once you learn this trick, at least youāll never starve in this place."
"This Mutant Fish meat can fetch quite a lot of Points in this season."
Liang Yuan smiled. "Canāt all of you come out here to catch fish? There are still that many people buying?"
"Hey, thatās what you donāt know. It doesnāt snow inside our Space, and although the ice layerās thick, you can still dig through it. I heard the snow outside piles up more than ten meters deep. Trying to dig ice and catch fish there is harder than climbing to the sky."
"The fish we catch here get sent to a processing plant, then sold outside. Thereās never any problem selling them."
Listening to him talk about daily life here, Liang Yuan felt that the people in Mirage Snake Space were indeed living with a much higher happiness index than those outside.
Just as they were talking, the Space beside them suddenly twisted.
Right after, Li Qinghua stepped out of it and said, "Mr. Liang, Wu Ying and the others have already reached the Dark Abyss Mouth. Theyāve successfully set up the Spiritual Ability Radio, and we can contact them now."
Xiang Guorong stared at Li Qinghua in shock, then looked at Liang Yuan, and an excited look involuntarily surfaced on his face.
"You, you two, youāreā"
Liang Yuan smiled faintly and took out a Talisman Stone. "Brother, thank you for looking after me along the way. Donāt worry, Yangshan, Little Straw Mountain, and everyoneāweāre all going to live better and better."
Then he put down the Talisman Stone, and Liang Yuan and Li Qinghua stepped into the Space together, vanishing above the ice.
Only the middle-aged man called Xiang Guorong was left, watching the twisted Space slowly smooth out, while his heart remained stirred for a long time.
When Liang Yuan and Li Qinghua appeared again, they were already in a secret chamber on Little Straw Mountain.
Li Qinghua said, "Now that the Spiritual Ability Radios have been set up at the Dark Abyss Mouth, Yangshan, Meishan, Jueyun Slope, and Little Straw Mountain, information exchange between both sides will be much more convenient."
Liang Yuan nodded slightly. "Well done. And this Mirage Snake Spaceāyouāve developed it well too. Next, you all need to go all out to push your Main Attribute to 100 points. Three days. Three days from now, Iāll make a trip to Guangfu."
A look of shame appeared on Li Qinghuaās face. "Weāve dragged you down. Youāve clearly already given us the best resources and environmentā"
Liang Yuan shook his head slightly. "There was a gap between us and Guangfu to begin with. Thatās something only Time can make up for."
"I believe everyone will catch up sooner or later."
"These three days, I need to go into seclusion for Cultivation. You all shouldnāt slack off either."
"Yes, we will definitely not let you down," Li Qinghua said solemnly.
After a few more words of instruction, Liang Yuan entered the secret chamber.
During these three days, he would attempt to break through 100 points, formally step into the Middle Tier of his Genetic Species, and inscribe his Middle Tier Genetic Map!