Volume 1: Days Moving Bricks at the Construction Site
Clearing Customs!
Her hearing has recovered!
These two options sound like very good choices, since one can leave directly, then why still make the effort to find the foreman?
But as everyone knows, NPCs are not completely trustworthy.
Options are filled with uncertainty, not necessarily just “go, or not go”; they could also be two different, even completely opposite tasks.
This kind of “should I go or not, can I or can’t I” question, Xiaolou has personally experienced many times. She has tried choosing not to go and ended up being hunted, and also experienced undertaking hidden tasks and almost getting trapped in the game world.
Of course, there are also people who choose not to do tasks and leave directly. What kind of option one will encounter often depends on luck, fortune, and character.
If you choose to do a hidden task, or choose the correct side quest, then there is a possibility of obtaining a random item. For example, her life-saving item and the contract item with Shen Maomao…
Game creators do not care what players are thinking in their minds; options are not about how players choose, but about wanting players to guess what the creators are thinking, and how they want to choose.
Returning the question to the original point—no one can figure out what the game creators are thinking.
But according to Xiaolou’s long-time gaming experience, she can probably figure out the creators’ patterns.
In this kind of game, generally speaking, choosing to help is certainly not a problem.
So she only hesitated for a few seconds before nodding and agreeing: “Okay, I’ll help you, you let them go first.”
“Okay.” The man agreed.
Golden Retriever just wanted to refuse, saying that as a man, he couldn’t run first, but Xiaolou kicked him into the light circle behind the man, and he disappeared from their sight.
The woman gently placed Shen Maomao on the ground, using her index finger to gently push her back, signaling her to go in quickly.
Shen Maomao looked back at Xiaolou worriedly, but saw Xiaolou raise her chin towards her.
“You’re telling me to leave quickly, right?” She held onto the woman’s finger and asked seriously, “Sister Lou, can I know your name?”
After spending a few days together, she still didn’t know Xiaolou’s real name. What kind of woman is willing to sacrifice her life for Xiaolou?!
Xiaolou lightly curled the corner of her lips and said three words.
Shen Maomao: “…” Cao, I can’t hear.
The woman’s big hand gently nudged her little head, seemingly anxious that she still hadn’t left, and grabbed her clothes, about to throw her into the light circle.
Shen Maomao only had time to shout to her, “My name is Shen Maomao! I study at Jiangcheng University! You must remember to come find me!!!”, before she followed in Golden Retriever’s footsteps and was pushed directly into the light circle.
A feeling like being thrown into a tumble washing machine came over her, and Shen Maomao’s vision spun, making her almost throw up.
When she opened her eyes again, she saw the familiar streets of the university town. The cool night breeze brushed through her short hair, and the continuous shouts of street food vendors filled the air, with the mixed fragrances of various foods, each smelling delightful.
She later realized—this is the real world. She had come out alive from that game…
And her hearing was restored!
Shen Maomao’s legs gave way, and she knelt down on the ground.
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Nearby passersby were startled, but no one dared to help her up, fearing she might be staging an accident. A small vacuum area formed around her as passing pedestrians turned back to glance at her several times.
She sat on the ground for a long time without getting up, almost crying tears of joy.
Having been missing for five days, she still didn’t know how things were at the school. Did Ren Yue report to the police? With her missing for so long, did the police notify her family?
Thinking of this, she quickly got up, sat on a roadside bench, and took out her phone to call Ren Yue.
After a long time, the phone was finally connected. Ren Yue on the other end immediately said: “Maomao! Are you okay?!”
Everything that happened before entering the game came back to her mind. Shen Maomao felt a bit timid about others calling her name, and didn’t answer for a long time.
Ren Yue was anxious: “Maomao? How are you? I’m waiting for you at the dormitory entrance, if you don’t come back soon, they will close the dormitory! That crazy person didn’t do anything to you, right?”
“Mm?”
Ren Yue: “You’re not scared silly, right? I got through to my master’s phone, she said she secretly slipped away from the internet cafe’s back door, and has now safely arrived at the hotel.”
Shen Maomao: “Mm mm mm??”
Ren Yue: “What exactly happened to you? Where are you now? Is that crazy person still following you? Do you need me to come get you?”
Shen Maomao seemed to understand: “I’m okay, you go back first, I saw a place selling barbecue by the roadside and want to pack some to take back, do you want any?”
Ren Yue sighed with relief: “You really have a big heart, I want two skewers of gluten and one skewer of bread slices! The kind with egg!”
“Okay, then I’ll hang up first to pay.” After hanging up the phone, she returned to the phone’s home screen, and dazedly looked at the time on it.
The phone displayed April fourth at 10:42 PM, one hour and eighteen minutes before the Qingming Festival, exactly the night she went out with Ren Yue.
It turns out that after she entered the game world, time in reality stopped.
Standing beside the barbecue stall, Shen Maomao fell into deep thought.
She first went out with Ren Yue, and no matter how much they searched, they couldn’t find the internet cafe. While preparing to return, they encountered that ghost thing called “soul substitute” on the road. To save Ren Yue, she grabbed the ghost’s paper money and was chased far away. When she finally managed to shake off the man, thinking she had successfully escaped, she received a phone call from who she wasn’t sure was really Ren Yue, was called by her name, and then she responded, accepting the “fire,” becoming that person’s substitute ghost. Once she entered the game, she even used Ren Yue’s face…
It seems she entered the game in place of Ren Yue.
That person originally wanted Ren Yue to enter the game for him, and the game’s modeling was probably already done. However, she intercepted it halfway, so they simply had her go in instead…
“Your skewers are ready! It’s ten yuan in total, do you want to scan the code or pay cash?”
“Ah… thank you.” Shen Maomao snapped back to reality, took the packed skewers from the stall owner, and used her phone to scan the code, “The money has been transferred.”
The stall owner smiled: “Take care, come back often.”
So kind and amiable, no need to worry about safety, and there’s delicious food too!
Shen Maomao took a bite of the gluten, moved to tears.
Stall owner: “?” Is it really that good? How did he not know??
The snack street was very close to their dormitory, and Shen Maomao reached the dormitory building’s main entrance in less than three minutes.
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At the entrance, a beautiful figure was standing under the light bulb, feeding mosquitoes. As soon as she saw Shen Maomao, she quickly came up: “Quick, quick, quick, there are only a few minutes left before the dormitory closes!”
Shen Maomao handed her the skewers: “Your gluten and bread slices!”
Ren Yue immediately forgot about her best friend, grabbing the delicious food: “Let’s go, let’s go, go back and make them drool!”
While climbing the stairs, Ren Yue asked her: “How did you shake off that pervert? It was really scary, I won’t dare to go out at night anymore…”
Without waiting for her to answer, Ren Yue continued talking to herself. In her impression, it seems all supernatural situations received a reasonable explanation. The internet cafe that couldn’t be found on the map was because the master reported the wrong name, and the soul substitute man turned into a madman with mental issues…
Shen Maomao looked at her, with smiling eyes due to the delicious food, and sighed inwardly.
Ren Yue, oh Ren Yue, what kind of little dog’s life is this.
These scary things, it’s better for timid you not to know.
She also lightly curled her mouth, jokingly scolded: “I told you not to go out, in the middle of the night there are all kinds of people on the road. Next time, if you act recklessly, even if you treat me to a meal, I won’t accompany you!”
Ren Yue: “When did I say I would treat you to a meal? Sister, wake up, what beautiful dream are you having?”
Shen Maomao: “I was so frightened and you don’t treat me to a meal? Are you even human?”
The second day was the day Ren Yue and her wealthy master were to meet in person, and it was also the Qingming Festival.
Shen Maomao felt that the wealthy master was suspicious, so she strongly insisted on tagging along to freeload a meal, and assured that she wouldn’t feel awkward in the three-person scenario.
Ren Yue couldn’t argue with her and had to bring her along to the appointment.
The wealthy master had reserved a spot in a very high-end coffee shop. Shen Maomao and Ren Yue, like country bumpkins just entering the city, looked at the fancy English on the menu and didn’t know what to order.
Fortunately, the service guy was very considerate and directly recommended the shop’s signature coffee for the two of them, sixty-one per cup.
Ren Yue felt a bit of heartache, and after the waiter left, she quietly said to Shen Maomao: “Wow, this place is so expensive, this trip directly wiped out two days of my living expenses.”
Shen Maomao also regretted: “This could have been enough for me to have a small hot pot.”
The two poor souls shed tears over the served coffee, every sip they drank tasted like money.
Ten minutes before the agreed time, a mature woman wearing a dark blue trench coat pushed open the cafe’s glass door.
Shen Maomao was just facing the glass, and without paying special attention, she could clearly see the two overlapping C’s on the trench coat’s metal belt.
“Is that your master?” Shen Maomao lightly tapped the table, prompting Ren Yue to turn back and look.
Ren Yue turned around and immediately, with surprise and joy, went up: “Master, over here!”
The woman curled her fiery red lips and sat beside Ren Yue, asking, “And this is…”
Ren Yue said: “Maomao is my best friend! I’ve told you about her!”
“Oh~,” the woman raised an eyebrow, “So it is her.”
Ren Yue: “Maomao, this is my master!”
Shen Maomao awkwardly smiled, and the wealthy woman also gave her a polite smile.
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Shen Maomao had already begun to regret tagging along.
The two people across from her leaned in closely, chatting intimately about last night’s events and the game. She sat on the opposite side like a fool, stirring her coffee with a spoon.
She had been mistaken; she wasn’t just awkward, she was awkward to the extreme.
Ren Yue and the wealthy master chatted endlessly, so Shen Maomao played a phone ringtone and pretended to take a call, saying: “Hmm? I’m out with Ren Yue… Hmm hmm… Okay, I’ll head back first.” After speaking, she stood up.
Ren Yue then noticed her: “Ah? Maomao, you’re leaving?”
Shen Maomao said: “Something suddenly came up at the club, I need to go first. Please cover the money for me, and I’ll pay you back when I return. You two keep chatting.”
“Alright then, be careful on your way.”
Shen Maomao smiled: “Wish you both have fun.”
After finishing speaking, she quickly walked out of the coffee shop. When she turned back, she could still see through the coffee shop’s glass wall the expressions of the two people happily chatting.
F*ck, I really shouldn’t have come.