My Romance Game Updated – Chapter 91
by Little PandaLooting a Burning House
With such a massive commotion, it could only be the classless1 Fan family. And there was naturally only one reason they were pounding on the door: to find Mu Ning, the water-system esper, to help extinguish the fire.
Ren Chenxi was not a water-system esper, so she naturally wouldn’t—and didn’t want to—go downstairs. She simply stayed in bed holding Tantan, idling the time away until the voices downstairs gradually faded. Only then did she close her eyes with a hint of joy at others’ misfortune2.
While Ren Chenxi was coaxing herself to sleep, over in the Fan family territory, Fan Haotian stared at the flames shooting into the sky, looking like he was about to go mad.
Originally, he had planned for tonight to be like any other. He had called a few women to his room to continue enjoying a night of ecstasy. But just as he and the women were battling it out in the heat of passion, a sharp whistle suddenly rang out outside, scaring him so badly he went limp on the spot. Accompanying the whistle were screams of, “Fire! There’s a fire!” Fan Haotian’s first thought was of their precious patch of plants. He could only throw on his clothes haphazardly, pound heavily on the old man’s door next door, roar, “Something’s happened!” and sprint straight downstairs.
The moment Fan Haotian got downstairs, he saw the towering flames not far away. The fire was so massive that it nearly turned his running legs to jelly. But he didn’t dare go soft. He could only run desperately toward the blaze. Fan Haotian was terrified that if he was even a step too late, all of those precious poisonous grass and flowers would be completely destroyed.
However, by the time Fan Haotian rushed to the site of the fire, all he could do was watch anxiously as the blaze grew stronger by the second, showing absolutely no signs of weakening. He couldn’t help at all.
“Water! Are you all dead?! Hurry up and put out the fire!”
“Eldest, Eldest Young Master, but we’ve already poured all of our daily water into the fire! It’s useless…” a lackey3 nearby explained with a miserable expression.
Things were not like they were before. In the past, if a huge fire broke out, you could just find a fire hydrant and connect a hose to extinguish it. It was the apocalypse now. Even for the extravagant Fan family, their daily water was meticulously measured out and bought with crystal cores! Even as for the contaminated groundwater, they currently had no way to pump it up for use.
Clearly, Fan Haotian realized this as well. He could only roar furiously, “Then call the water-system espers! Tell them that as long as they put out the fire, I’ll give each person 100,000 Level 1 crystal cores!”
For such a massive blaze, how much water would it take to completely extinguish it?! Even if that amount of water were sold separately within the base, it would be worth far more than 100,000 Level 1 crystal cores!
The water-system espers who had been woken up by the Fan family heard about the fire. Originally, they had fought off their sleepiness and hurried over, thinking they could make a handsome profit of crystal cores. But upon hearing Fan Haotian’s opening offer, Jiao Xueyi, a 3rd-order water-system esper, immediately turned around to leave.
“Don’t go! You bastard! Put out the fire! 200,000 Level 1 crystal cores each, is that enough?!”
“Tsk tsk tsk, putting out such a huge fire will require so much water! For only 200,000 Level 1 crystal cores, Eldest Young Master Fan, do you think we’re public faucets?” Jiao Xueyi stared at the raging fire while haggling with Fan Haotian. “500,000 Level 1 crystal cores each. Anything less and we won’t do it!”
“You! You’re taking advantage of a crisis, aren’t you?!” 500,000 Level 1 crystal cores each meant that for four water-system espers, it would cost two million Level 1 crystal cores! Fan Haotian glared viciously at Jiao Xueyi, the ferocious gleam in his eyes rivaling the great fire behind him.
“No, no, no, the one taking advantage of a crisis is you, Eldest Young Master Fan, isn’t it?” Jiao Xueyi wasn’t afraid of Fan Haotian now. With Fan Juntian gone, he wasn’t worried about Fan Haotian releasing poison smoke to secretly harm him in the dark. “This price we’re giving you is already a discount! Otherwise, at our usual rates, this much water would cost a lot more than 500,000 Level 1 crystal cores~”
“If you put it that way…” Mu Ning, who had been quiet the whole time, also spoke up faintly. “I am now a 6th-order esper. The water I release is greater in volume and lasts longer, so I want two million Level 1 crystal cores.”
Mu Ning hadn’t originally wanted to join in the commotion, but the Fan family members had kept pounding relentlessly on the door. Afraid they would wake Ren Chenxi upstairs, she had intended to go down alone and drive them away. From the other rooms, the girls had let out various groans of complaint; they had stayed up late playing games and watching movies and were currently lingering in bed, so Mu Ning told them to keep sleeping while she went downstairs to handle it. However, Chen Gu and the others next door had beaten her to it and were already swinging their fists, ready to beat people up. But no matter how Chen Gu and the others tried to drive them off—even punching them two or three times—these Fan family members simply refused to leave. When Mu Ning opened the door, they were clutching their heads and shouting that as long as they helped put out the fire, they were willing to pay in crystal cores.
Hearing that the Fan family would pay crystal cores, Mu Ning’s mind stirred. Wanting to take the opportunity to fleece4 them for a sum of crystal cores, she called off Chen Gu and the rest. Then, Chen Gu and Mu Ning followed the Fan family members to the Fan family territory.
“Two million Level 1 crystal cores! Why don’t you just rob us?! Scram, scram, scram! This father isn’t lacking a single water-system esper like you!” Fan Haotian, already burning with anxiety and furious at Jiao Xueyi for demanding an exorbitant price on the spot5, was met with Mu Ning’s even more ruthless opening price. He was so furious his expression changed on the spot as he tried to drive her away.
“Tch! What do you mean ‘a single water-system esper’?! Our Boss is a 6th-order water-system esper!” Chen Gu and the others had only come with the mentality of watching a joke to see just how fiercely the Fan family’s fire was burning. Besides, they hadn’t wanted Mu Ning to help put out the fire in the first place; they were practically wishing for this massive blaze to burn the entire Fan family down to nothing! Now, hearing Fan Haotian driving them away, they immediately pulled on Mu Ning to leave. “Boss, let’s go, let’s go! Let’s not help them extinguish the fire. Just let the Fan family burn to ashes!”
“W-Wait, don’t go… Cousin, she—she’s a 6th-order esper!” the other Fan family members, who had been stewing in anxiety nearby, cried out. Seeing the fire begin to spread toward the luxury villa where they lived, they feared that if they delayed any longer, they wouldn’t even have a place to stay. Moreover, there were so many “finished products” made from poisonous grass and flowers inside the villa! “Brother! If this fire isn’t put out soon, I’m afraid we’ll have to go live in those broken-down rural houses in the future!”
Whether or not it was heaven playing along, tonight’s wind was blowing straight toward the Fan family’s luxury villa. Add to that the overgrowth of wild weeds typical of the apocalypse, which stretched all the way from this meticulously tended plot of land right to the front of their luxury villa. And it went without saying that the area surrounding the luxury villa itself was naturally enclosed by all sorts of wild grass and brush.
In truth, it wasn’t just the Fan family territory. Over in other parts of the base, it was the same situation with overgrown weeds. Even in the Villa Area where Mu Ning currently lived, parts that weren’t regularly maintained had wild grass growing rampant. The Fan family members spent all day obsessing over raising various poisonous things, putting all their focus onto their precious poisonous grass and flowers. As for the other random weeds, they couldn’t be bothered to care.
As a result, compared to the parts of the base where people came and went, this area belonging to the Fan family was lush and verdant, actually containing the most greenery. In the past, the Fan family had been somewhat proud of this; being surrounded by tall grass like this looked rather unique at a glance. Now, though! These people regretted it so much they could practically feel their intestines snapping!
Hearing that the fire was starting to spread toward where they lived, Fan Haotian didn’t even have time to be angry. He hurriedly looked off into the distance. Sure enough, the raging inferno was no longer satisfied with ravaging6 their precious patch of poisonous grass and flowers; following the wind, it looked exactly as if it were making a beeline straight for their luxury villa.
“N-No!” Inside the luxury villa were all sorts of supplies and drugs far more precious than these poisonous grass and flowers, as well as so many crystal cores. If the giant fire really burned its way to their villa… Fan Haotian simply didn’t dare to imagine the terrifying consequences. “Put out the fire! Quickly help me put out the fire! You are a 6th-order esper, hurry up and stop the fire from spreading! Two million Level 1 crystal cores, I’ll give them to you!”
Initially, only Qi Sheng’s faction had known that Mu Ning was a 6th-order esper, but a few days later, the news of Mu Ning’s advancement had spread throughout the base. Now that Fan Juntian wasn’t around, Fan Haotian finally realized with hindsight that he shouldn’t have been stupid enough to offend a 6th-order esper. But since he had already offended her, faced with Mu Ning asking an exorbitant price, he could only accept it.
Fan Haotian compromised, but Mu Ning didn’t immediately go to extinguish the fire at his urging. She just stared fixedly at Fan Haotian and said coldly, “Pay the crystal cores first!”
“Right! Pay the crystal cores first!” Prompted by Mu Ning’s words, Jiao Xueyi and the other water-system espers also caught on. “Settle the bill first, otherwise who knows if you’ll refuse to pay after the fact!”
“You! Don’t go too far!” If it weren’t for the fact that the entire base’s water supply rested on these four people, Fan Haotian would have disregarded everything and just had his subordinates swarm up and beat them. “By the time the crystal cores are counted, who knows where the fire will have burned to!!!”
“That’s simple~” Jiao Xueyi smiled with malicious intent. “If Eldest Young Master Fan uses higher-tier crystal cores to pay the bill, won’t we be able to count them faster~”
To fight the fire, Fan Haotian already had to cough up 3.5 million Level 1 crystal cores. Asking him to pull out higher-tier crystal cores to pay the bill was something he was even less willing to do! Originally, he had indeed intended to renege on the debt once the fire was put out, finding random excuses to send these people away with a few crystal cores and useless supplies. As it turned out, these people were unexpectedly so sinister, adopting a posture of outright refusing to extinguish the fire without settling the bill first. Plagued with urgency, Fan Haotian repeatedly gazed at the ever-spreading inferno. Finally, he could only grit his teeth and roar, “Fine! We’ll settle the bill! The moment one is paid, hurry up and go put out the fire for this father!!!”
Of the four water-system espers, Fan Haotian paid Mu Ning first. This was for no other reason than because Mu Ning was a 6th-order esper. The water volume her ability released was the greatest, the most plentiful, and likely reached the furthest. Furthermore, Mu Ning had brought a lot of people; with Chen Gu, Wei Yuze, and the others helping to count the crystal cores, the settlement would be a bit faster.
However, when Mu Ning finished settling her crystal cores and sluggishly went to extinguish the fire, she wasn’t very proactive. She merely suppressed the flames just enough to keep them from spreading further. Whenever the Fan family members nearby asked her anxiously, she merely replied that the fire was too fierce and that no matter how great the water volume from her ability was, she couldn’t suppress it alone; she needed the other espers to help. Originally, Fan Haotian had still been thinking that if Mu Ning could handle this massive fire on her own, he wouldn’t need the other three espers to help extinguish it, allowing him to save 1.5 million Level 1 crystal cores. Who could have expected…
To think Mu Ning was a 6th-order esper! Yet she was actually so good for looking at, not for using7! The water column she shot out clearly looked quite thick and large…
Left with no other choice, Fan Haotian could only proceed to pay the crystal cores to the remaining three water-system espers, urging them to hurry up and extinguish the fire.
What Fan Haotian didn’t know was that the water column Mu Ning was releasing to fight the fire merely looked very thick and appeared to hold a large volume of water at first glance. In reality, the inside of this water column was hollow; it was just a thin outer layer of water. Illuminated by the dazzling red glare of the firelight, nothing could be seen at all. As a 6th-order esper, Mu Ning was already highly adept at controlling her ability.
With the other three water-system espers joining in to fight the fire, Mu Ning openly continued to slack off8. She didn’t want to exert a single ounce of extra effort. She had literally watched Ren Chenxi set this fire; naturally, she hoped this patch of poisonous grass and flowers would be burned as cleanly as possible.
The author has something to say:
I saw some little cuties9 in the comments worrying that if this patch of poisonous grass burns, everyone will get hit with the drug addiction together~ Don’t worry, these flowers and plants haven’t been manufactured into drugs yet~ Some drugs are made from the fruit, and the plants themselves are non-toxic. Some of these flowers and grass can even be used as medicine~
It suddenly makes me think of an absurd god drama10 I watched before. Actually, not even before—just a little while ago, there was a drama where they destroyed opium by just directly burning it, and one of the comments was, “Take the brothers to inhale a huge puff~~~~” hahahahahahaha
Footnotes
- A common insult for someone behaving rudely, selfishly, or without basic decency.
- A Chinese idiom (xìng zāi lè huò) meaning to take pleasure in someone else's misfortune.
- A Chinese slang term (gǒu tuǐ zi), literally 'dog legs', referring to a lackey or henchman.
- A common internet slang verb meaning to trick, scam, or take advantage of someone financially.
- A Chinese idiom (zuò dì qǐ jià) meaning to demand an exorbitant or unreasonable price on the spot, often taking advantage of the buyer's urgent need.
- A Northern Chinese dialect word (huòhuo) meaning to squander, ruin, or use something up in a wasteful, destructive manner.
- All show and no go; pretty but useless.
- A Chinese internet slang term ('mō yú', from 'catching fish in troubled waters') meaning to slack off, dawdle, or do the bare minimum at work while pretending to be busy.
- An affectionate term used by the author to address readers in notes.
- Internet slang for TV shows with highly unrealistic, absurd, or logically flawed plots (often referring to anti-Japanese war dramas).
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