Chapter 396: Chapter 154: Buying a Home Outright, Demolition Gifts, and a Beautiful Life of Hard Work

The snow had stopped.

Cheng Ye wrapped himself in a black raincoat wide enough to cover three people, standing in the bus like a moving "black tent," making him particularly conspicuous.

Sparsely scattered in the bus were some scavengers returning home and some uniformed staff who got on midway, all glancing at him involuntarily.

There was no malice, just sheer curiosity in their eyes, but being stared at made Cheng Ye a bit uncomfortable.

However, there was nothing he could do. If he took off the raincoat, the gold and red Fire Lotus Battle Armor inside would be even more eye-catching.

In the gradually peaceful Buffer Zone, he would undoubtedly be the most striking guy, and he was afraid he’d be surrounded with endless questions.

As for Master Zhang’s bus...

Before heading out, Cheng Ye had made a call but was informed that it was out of service.

Presumably, Master Zhang had been requisitioned by the Public Works Bureau and was likely driving a large truck to deliver goods in the Wilderness.

After all, with the Satellite City construction imminent, some materials definitely needed to be onsite first.

"I still need to get a car of my own as soon as possible..."

Standing by the back door of the bus, Cheng Ye watched the melting snow outside, pondering to himself.

Buying a car was certainly out of the question; he didn’t have the Contribution Points and permissions.

But he had over five hundred Contribution Points under the checkpoint’s system, enough to rent a Big Golden Cup for more than a month.

He wondered if he could buy it outright; if possible, finding a way to "borrow" some funds would be ideal.

Soon, the bus stopped at the bank station.

Cheng Ye bent down and got off, deliberately choosing familiar alleyways, sneaking back to the residential community like a thief.

Outside, most of the snow had melted, but inside the courtyard of the community, a thick layer remained, resembling a white velvet carpet.

Several kids aged six or seven were running wildly in the courtyard, clutching snowballs and throwing them at each other. Four unevenly built snowmen, missing an arm or an eye, exuded a childlike clumsiness nearby.

Perhaps they heard footsteps; the children turned their heads in unison.

Seeing the massive Cheng Ye nearly filling half the iron gate, like a black, heavy shadow, the kids froze, their snowballs dropping to the ground with a "plop," their eyes wide with surprise.

"Am I that scary?"

Cheng Ye muttered to himself and deliberately took a big step forward.

"Wow—!"

The kids burst out with a scream, dashed towards the corridor entrance, forgetting their gloves that had fallen to the ground.

Hahaha...

Cheng Ye stopped, stifling a laughter, eventually breaking into a silent chuckle.

Such a peaceful environment, even the unpleasant sewer smell in the air felt endearing.

Though he only spent a day in the Wilderness, back here, standing in the bustling courtyard, he completely relaxed.

But before he could indulge for long, the corridor door swung open with a "clang," and several adults quickly came out.

Some held brooms, some mops, and one middle-aged man even had a guard pistol, all with faces showing vigilance, eyes fixed on Cheng Ye.

Among them were familiar faces from the first-floor of Building Three.

Earlier, Old Sun was carried out during the rain and was saved by Cheng Ye during the Stand-In Starfish outbreak.

Ah, this... Cheng Ye awkwardly stopped in his tracks.

"Huh?!"

Seeing Cheng Ye, both Old Sun and the other adults were taken aback.

"Mr. Cheng?" Old Sun tentatively called out, his tone filled with surprise.

"It’s me." Cheng Ye quickly tugged at his raincoat collar, revealing most of his face, smiling sheepishly, "Dressed too strangely, might’ve scared the kids."

Ever since Huang Sheng and his companions propagated in the community, everyone in the electronics factory community knew the person who saved them that night was called "Mr. Cheng."

However, besides Old Sun, it was the first time for others to see him in person.

"So this is Mr. Cheng..."

Everyone’s eyes were filled with curiosity.

The young man in front of them looked even younger than in the rumors, his face chiseled.

Probably due to frequently integrating skills and honing his body, his skin had a healthy tan, and there was a soldier-like masculinity between his brows, giving an extraordinary sense of security.

Upon hearing "Mr. Cheng," several children hiding behind adults peeked out cautiously, their eyes sparkling as they scrutinized him.

Especially the little girl behind Old Sun, who opened her round eyes and loudly asked, "Dad, is this the man you said could do anything, punching the Infected Body so far away, chasing the fusion..."

Before she could finish, Old Sun interrupted awkwardly, "Kids sometimes talk nonsense..."

"Mr. Cheng, this kid just loves listening to stories, so I made a few up, hope you don’t mind..."

"It’s fine, children have wild imaginations."

Cheng Ye waved it off with a smile, his gaze sweeping over the adults and children gathered in the courtyard before suddenly realizing, "Why isn’t everyone at work today?"

"Mr. Cheng sure is a busy person, even forgetting the rest day!" Old Sun laughed heartily, explaining, "Since the end of that day, the Buffer Zone departments have been nonstop for over half a month. It wasn’t until yesterday that we got the notice that all employees would have a day off today, returning to normal tomorrow, and following a six-on-one-off schedule to give everyone a breather."

"Oh, I was so busy I forgot!" Cheng Ye smacked his forehead. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

So it’s a rest day.

No wonder he didn’t remember it; the checkpoint system indeed differed from other departments, adopting a weekly rotation system.

On reflection, the Buffer Zone was undoubtedly busy.

Not only did they have to deal with the aftermath of the Stand-In Starfish, but they also had to accommodate a large number of refugees, leading into the big autumn construction period. Taking a day off before the full launch made sense.