My Romance Game Updated – Chapter 56
by Little PandaDaily Reward
With those annoying people gone, Ren Chenxi felt a great sense of relief. Zhang Tongqi, however, was still fuming. She flashed her long fingernails at the departing group’s backs, but a warning glance from Mu Ning made her reluctantly retract her claws.
“Heh, you still want to beat them up?” Chen Gu chuckled foolishly beside her. “Forget it, forget it~ The Boss isn’t giving them any more water. That’s miserable enough for them~ For people who used to waste so much water to suddenly have to conserve it… heh, just thinking about it is pathetic~” What had annoyed Chen Gu most was how that group had always leeched off their Boss. Now that the Boss had personally declared she was cutting them off, he was, of course, delighted.
But Zhang Tongqi felt differently.
“Pathetic my ass! What the hell do you know!” she shot back, rolling her eyes at Chen Gu. At Sun Jia’s insistence, the boys still didn’t know about the poisoning. Mu Ning’s plan was to wait until Sun Jia’s poison was completely purged and her wounds had healed before finding a way to get revenge on Fan Juntian.
Although the Fan family was basically on equal footing with the base leader in Nanhai Base, that didn’t mean Mu Ning and the others were willing to swallow this loss quietly. Besides, this was clearly no ordinary loss. If Ren Chenxi hadn’t discovered it in time, no one dared to imagine what would have happened to Sun Jia after getting addicted to that drug. In Zhang Tongqi’s mind, Fan Juntian’s insidious poison smoke had nearly killed Sun Jia, and he deserved to pay for it with his own dog’s life!
Fan Juntian, his dog legs,1 and that whole group with Dong Ting and Li Jie who had gotten Sun Jia injured—all of them had to pay the price!
Of course, they couldn’t make a move on Fan Juntian inside the base. Fortunately, he had a fixed habit of leaving the base a few times a week. Some speculated that he was using “searching for supplies” as an excuse to find better plants in the wild for making drugs. Those junkies were already completely dependent on drugs. For Mu Ning’s group, however, Fan Juntian’s time outside the base was the perfect opportunity for revenge.
The apocalypse was so chaotic; who could guarantee what dangers Fan Juntian might encounter in the wild? If something happened to him outside the base, the Fan family would have nowhere to even start investigating. And once Fan Juntian was gone, the lives of those disgusting bloodsucking insect giant infants2 back at the base would become increasingly difficult. Maybe, one day, they really would die of thirst!
As Zhang Tongqi gritted her teeth, secretly sketching out her revenge plot, Chen Gu nudged her, completely oblivious. “Hey, hey! What is it that I don’t know!”
And so, Chen Gu earned another eye-roll from Zhang Tongqi. But he didn’t get angry; he was in a good mood, after all. He’d gotten a Crystal Core Generator, which meant he could play games to his heart’s content, and they’d driven away those disgusting bloodsucking insects, finally free of them for good. Thinking about it, Xi-jie was truly their lucky star~ Oh, right! Xi-jie also had wound medicine to treat Xiao Jia’s injuries!
Remembering Sun Jia’s condition, Chen Gu pestered Zhang Tongqi again. “Right, how’s Xi-jie’s wound medicine working? Is Xiao Jia’s wound much better?”
“She just put the medicine on! You think it’s some kind of divine elixir? That you can see the effects immediately?!” Zhang Tongqi flared up at the mention of Sun Jia’s injuries. If the Boss hadn’t said the boys were too impulsive, why would they have to hide Sun Jia’s true condition! Looking at Chen Gu’s silly, simple-minded face… he really didn’t inspire confidence! Even if they didn’t rush off to get revenge on Fan Juntian’s group, their words and actions would surely give something away.
Fine, fine, the Boss was right. For now, it was best to wait until Sun Jia was detoxified and her injuries had improved before discussing revenge with the boys.
Ignoring Chen Gu, Zhang Tongqi turned to ask Mu Ning what she wanted for dinner. Seeing that he was being ignored, Chen Gu went back to hugging the Crystal Core Generator, a dopey grin on his face.
Ren Chenxi had originally planned for everyone to eat their own meals, but when Zhang Tongqi enthusiastically invited her to have some simple noodles together, she thought of the large vats of pickled vegetables in her inventory. Recalling their sour and spicy deliciousness, she couldn’t help but suggest, “Why don’t we just make some pickled vegetable noodles?” She would provide the pickled vegetables, and Mu Ning’s group would provide the rest. That way, she wouldn’t be taking advantage of them.
“Pickled vegetable noodles?” Zhang Tongqi was clearly taken aback by the suggestion. “Xi-jie, we don’t have any pickled vegetables…” They had cabbage, but it was too late to pickle it now. Besides, they didn’t have enough seasonings to waste on making them.
“Don’t worry, I do~” Ren Chenxi said, and with a Thud, she produced a large vat of pickled vegetables.
And so, amid the surprised shrieks and gulps of the girls, dinner was decided.
That evening, Ren Chenxi comfortably ate two bowls of Pickled Vegetable Beef Noodles. The steaming hot, sour, spicy, and crisp pickled vegetables, paired with the chewy, handmade noodles made by Wu Tong and Zhang Tongqi, were irresistible. Even though the girls had just had a feast for lunch, they buried their heads in their bowls and slurped away, slurp slurp, completely lost in the moment. Even though it was just an ordinary dish from before the apocalypse, in the girls’ eyes, it was a delicacy on par with their grand lunch.
In the apocalypse, even an occasional taste of such a precious delicacy was enough to satisfy the girls. The newcomers who had just arrived at the base today were especially moved. Because of the luxurious feast at noon and the Pickled Vegetable Beef Noodles at night, their hopes for their future life at the base grew a little brighter.
“Meow meow meow meow~”
As Ren Chenxi held her clean, empty bowl, reluctant to put it down after drinking all the soup, Tantan came rubbing against her leg again, purring, purr purr, and nuzzling up to her. Before dinner, Ren Chenxi had thoughtfully prepared a meal for Tantan as well: goose egg mixed with raw beef. The raw beef was provided by Mu Ning, while the goose egg was a monster drop Ren Chenxi had collected.
“Tantan~ Are you full too? Come, let me feel your little tummy~~”
The girls who were still eating their noodles watched Tantan acting spoiled and selling cute3 with Ren Chenxi, and for a moment, they felt that the noodles tasted even more sour.4
Mu Ning felt the same way.
After dinner, Jian Dan and the girls from S University were still buzzing with energy. Perhaps it was their first day at the base, or perhaps it was the two delicious meals in a row. In any case, after helping to clear the tables, they all squeezed into the bathroom together, excitedly discussing how to decorate it to make it a pretty and comfortable space.
Ren Chenxi considered herself an “old person” and lacked the girls’ boundless energy, so she didn’t join in on their renovation project. Cradling Tantan, she gave Mu Ning a simple nod and headed back to her room on the third floor.
Mu Ning watched Ren Chenxi’s retreating back, then glanced at the chattering girls in the now-lit bathroom. Feeling no interest in joining them, she turned and followed Ren Chenxi upstairs.
Ren Chenxi returned to her dim room and walked slowly under the ceiling light. She fumbled for the string hanging in mid-air—the light switch. The pull-cord switch felt a little unfamiliar, but what felt even more unfamiliar was the empty room, containing only a bed and a cat bed, surrounded by gray cement walls.
Looks like I’ll have to ask Tang Ying to help me decorate my room tomorrow, she thought.
Bending down, she carefully placed Tantan in its cat bed. She took off her jacket, tossed it into her inventory, and climbed onto the bed. But it wasn’t long before Tantan, meowing and purring, purr purr, jumped onto the bed as well. It expertly burrowed under her covers and curled up obediently beside her pillow.
“Tantan, you… I really don’t know what to do with you~”
Ren Chenxi feigned a complaint but skillfully scooped Tantan up and hugged it to her chest. Before the apocalypse, after she brought Tantan home from the vet, she had been so worried about it that she let it sleep right by her pillow. Who knew it would become a habit? When Ren Chenxi was away at class, Tantan would nap in its cat bed, but as soon as she returned, it would invariably jump onto her bed at night. No matter how many times she shooed it away or what she said, it wouldn’t listen.
What could Ren Chenxi do against such a spoiled, shameless cat? She could only continue to dote on it…
She gently rubbed her chin against Tantan’s small head, her voice a little hoarse. “It’s so good, Tantan, that you’re back by my side~”
“Meow meow meow meow meow~~~”
Cuddling the familiar little ball of fluff, Ren Chenxi thought she would fall asleep quickly. But perhaps because she had napped too long in the afternoon, she found she wasn’t the least bit sleepy. After playing with Tantan for a while, she habitually opened her inventory panel to do her daily check of important items, like crystal stones and cards. Especially the crystal stones. With such a huge haul today, how on earth was she going to spend it all?
Already wide awake, Ren Chenxi’s heart began to pound, and a wave of excitement washed over her.
With so many crystal stones, her first thought was naturally to do some gacha pulls. But before that, she had to check her existing cards. She had used up all her N-rank greasy cards and flash cards. She had one R-rank explosion card left. Then, thanks to Mu Ning, she had completed the reunion quest and received five SR explosion cards and five SR recovery cards. She had used one recovery card on herself and one on Sun Jia, leaving her with three… wait, why was there a new purple card behind the recovery cards??? She was certain she hadn’t used any crystal stones for gacha pulls yet!
Puzzled, Ren Chenxi checked the information on the new card and was stunned to find that it was an Invisibility Card!
An Invisibility Card… Suddenly, Ren Chenxi remembered something and hurriedly called up her quest panel. If she recalled correctly, last night she had seen a daily quest with an SR Invisibility Card as the reward!
The author has something to say:
Tantan: Meow meow meow~ I want to nuzzle with Master~ and cuddle with Master~ and sleep with Master~
Xixi: Okay~
Wooden-head (sourly): I also want to nuzzle, cuddle, and sleep with your Master!
Xixi: Get lost!
It’s so cold, so cold, so cold! The author also wants to hug Tantan to sleep! To all the darlings who have cats, let me know, is it warm sleeping with a cat~~~
Footnotes
- ‘Dog legs’ (gǒutuǐzi) is a derogatory Chinese slang term for a lackey, henchman, or sycophant.
- This combines two Chinese slang terms: a ‘bloodsucking insect’ (xīxuèchóng) refers to a parasite or leech who drains others’ resources, while a ‘giant infant’ (jùyīng) refers to a physically grown adult who is emotionally immature, entitled, and expects others to cater to their needs.
- The original text uses sājiāo màiméng (撒娇卖萌). Sājiāo means to act spoiled or throw a mild tantrum to get one’s way, while màiméng literally translates to ‘selling cute’—deliberately acting adorable to win affection.
- A pun in the original text. The word for ‘sour’ (suān) is also slang for feeling jealous or envious.
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