Volume 1: Days Moving Bricks at the Construction Site
Establishment of the Contract
Today’s customer is still not a god either.
Those sounds grew louder, like thunder exploding beside Shen Maomao’s ear. In the darkness, something entangled her ankle, feeling both slippery and disgusting.
She tripped and fell to the ground, her mind finally becoming a bit clearer.
The desire to survive made her grab the protruding door frame, engaging in a tug-of-war with the thing dragging her.
She saw Xuehua standing in the doorway with a nervous expression, and also Yan Nan, ready to close the door at any moment…
—along with Xiaolou, sitting on the ground holding her head.
In such a tense moment, her mind became even clearer. No one could save her; crying and shouting would only waste her strength.
But what use is clarity? It could only help her persist a few seconds longer, at most allowing her to witness herself being dragged into the unknown darkness, to be devoured by a monster hidden in the shadows…
Her strength was very limited, and she was about to lose her grip.
At this critical moment, a slender hand covered her wrist, forcefully pulling her inside the door.
Shen Maomao looked up, and it turned out to be Xiaolou!
Xiaolou still hadn’t recovered from the headache; she bit her teeth and tightly grasped Shen Maomao’s hand, her whole body leaning backward, forming a sharp angle with the ground, using her weight to contend with the thing holding Shen Maomao.
At the same time, the thing entwining her ankle also exerted force silently. Both sides exerted force simultaneously, and amid the struggle, Shen Maomao jokingly felt she might grow taller by two centimeters.
Xuehua and Yan Nan had no intention of helping, and Xiaolou didn’t expect them to come over.
Her head was still buzzing, almost fainting, yet she never let go of Shen Maomao’s hand.
Shen Maomao was worse off than her, as that strange tone never stopped for her, her mind was in chaos, and she had long let go of the threshold, relying entirely on Xiaolou’s persistence to avoid being dragged away.
This standoff continued for unknown minutes, and perhaps realizing they couldn’t take anyone away tonight, the monster hidden in the dark finally let go of Shen Maomao, and the two fell into the house due to inertia. Yan Nan, who had been waiting for a long time, immediately closed the door.
Once inside, all sounds vanished instantly. Shen Maomao lay on Xiaolou, unable to move even a finger. She was completely exhausted, lacking the strength to climb up from Xiaolou.
Yan Nan seemed to squat down and say something to Xiaolou, but Shen Maomao couldn’t hear anything. Her ears were full of buzzing, and a “thank you” reached her lips but went unsaid before she fell into a coma.
“Hurry up and get to work.” The next morning, Shen Maomao was awakened by Xiaolou.
Her mind was still a bit dazed, and she climbed up with her eyes closed, her head nodding as if she might fall asleep again at any moment.
A piece of clothing flew over overwhelmingly, covering her entire head.
Xiaolou said, “This is the work uniform. Quickly put it on, tidy up, and go cook.”
Shen Maomao became completely awake.
The work uniform was dark blue, with long sleeves, and came with matching pants of the same color.
Xiaolou put on her jacket, quickly tying her long hair into a high ponytail, looking very efficient.
After she wrapped her hair up, Shen Maomao noticed a green tattoo on the side of her neck, but she couldn’t see the specific pattern clearly.
Besides the two of them, no one else was in the room; Xuehua and Yan Nan were not present.
Shen Maomao recalled the terrifying experience of last night and sincerely thanked her while holding the clothes: “Thank you, Sister Lou, if it weren’t for you…”
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Xiaolou interrupted her: “Stop with the nonsense.”
So Shen Maomao silently put on the work pants and jacket, following behind Xiaolou as they walked out.
She looked at Xiaolou’s back and thought to herself: Sister Lou looks cold, but unexpectedly, she’s a good person willing to help others.
“No need to always stare at me,” Xiaolou said, as if she had eyes on her back. “Also, no need to think about how to thank me. From the moment I saved you, your life belongs to me.”
Shen Maomao: “???”
She quickened her pace to walk alongside Xiaolou, asking with a confused look: “How is it yours?”
Xiaolou said naturally: “Equivalent exchange, the contract is already established.”
Shen Maomao: “? What contract??”
Xiaolou, unusually patient, explained to her: “This is an item I got from the game. I can choose a player to sign a contract. I’m responsible for protecting them in the game, and they’re responsible for dying in my place. It’s that simple.”
Shen Maomao: “???” What the f*ck?
“Yesterday, I was able to save you because of that item. Otherwise, do you think I could have pulled against that thing on my own?”
True, Yun Shengjin also mentioned that players are fundamentally unable to contend with ghosts…
Shen Maomao didn’t dwell on it for too long. After all, if it weren’t for Xiaolou and her item, she would have been done for last night. If I think positively, as long as Xiaolou stays safe, I can survive too!
Thinking this way, I still can’t find any happiness in it!
She secretly wrapped her arm around Xiaolou’s shoulder and asked her: “Sister Lou, may I ask, how many times can your item protect me?”
Xiaolou smiled: “Once per game.”
Shen Maomao: “…” F*ck, why!
“Then how many people can you contract with?”
“Only one each time.” After finishing speaking, she gifted Shen Maomao a big smiley face again.
Shen Maomao couldn’t smile at all.
One each time, then where did the ones before her go?
Don’t ask; asking means it’s over.
“Sister Lou…” she called weakly.
Xiaolou gave her a glance: “Hmm?”
Shen Maomao: “Can you only take my soul and not touch my body?”
Xiaolou: “?? I’m not interested in your soul!”
Shen Maomao said aggrievedly: “You really are interested in my body!”
Xiaolou: “Who the f*ck is interested in your body!”
The two joked all the way, and the atmosphere was unusually relaxed. But once they reached the canteen, this atmosphere disappeared.
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Besides the two of them, everyone else had already arrived.
Yun Shengjin and Yan Nan were busy in the kitchen, while the others sat around two tables. Fourteen people were present, plus an extra foreman.
Golden Retriever sat honestly on one side, with two empty seats next to him. Seeing Shen Maomao and Xiaolou, he excitedly waved to them: “Over here!”
Xiaolou didn’t go over but instead turned to Shen Maomao and said, “Go work.”
Shen Maomao said, “The young couple is in the kitchen; it’s not very appropriate for me to go in…”
Xiaolou directly gave her a kick on the butt: “I told you to go, so go. Why so much nonsense?”
Shen Maomao QAQ: “Can’t you be a bit gentler to girls?!” She noticed that ever since signing that contract, Xiaolou had been especially rude to her.
Thinking about it, it makes sense; now that she’s her possession, why be so polite to her own things?
Had she known, she would have devoted herself from the start, maybe even be treated as a customer QAQ.
Customers are like gods, Sister Lou! How can you not understand!
With a footprint on her behind, she walked into the kitchen and, as expected, was met with disdain from Yun Shengjin and Yan Nan.
Dislike it as she might, there was no choice; her big sister told her to work in the kitchen, so she had to work well.
“Aiya! Brother Yun! How can a big man like you be in the kitchen! A gentleman stays away from the kitchen! Let me handle washing the vegetables!” She said while forcibly taking the half-washed vegetables from his hand and rinsing them in the iron basin herself.
Yan Nan smiled and said to her: “Rabbit, you go sit down; Brother Yun cooks well.”
Shen Maomao also smiled: “Hahaha, really? Then Brother Yun, thank you for your hard work; I’ll help you wash the vegetables.”
Yan Nan’s expression didn’t change and she turned to Yun Shengjin, saying: “Better forget it, the kitchen is small, and you’re making it quite crowded here, so better go sit in the canteen.”
Yun Shengjin nodded: “Okay.”
Shen Maomao pretended to be an emotionless peeling machine, numbly peeling potatoes.
What are these two up to? Why do they want to take her work? What will happen if she doesn’t complete her work? What happens if Yun Shengjin finishes work for others?
When Yan Nan finished cooking, the foreman wobbled into the kitchen and said: “Who broke the table last night?”
Yan Nan immediately pointed out the blond: “It was the blond-haired one outside; he also broke several bowls and wasted quite a lot of food.”
Shen Maomao’s heart skipped a beat, silently praying for Golden Retriever.
The foreman, thoughtfully, said: “So, these will be deducted from his wages.” After speaking, without further comment, he swayed away.
The two women served the food and carried it out, and Shen Maomao sat down between Xiaolou and Golden Retriever, listening to the foreman speak.
“After eating, we’ll officially start work!” The foreman stood up and said to Shen Maomao and Yan Nan, “You two who cooked can rest for two more hours, but you must wash the dishes. Everyone else, be at the middle building by 7:30 sharp to gather; we will start work from there. I’ll go ahead, and after you finish eating, come find me.”
It was already past 6:50, so they had to finish eating within half an hour and then go to work.
Shen Maomao focused on eating.
Brother Long, sitting across the table from them, spoke: “Blond-haired kid, aren’t you eating?”
Golden Retriever immediately got fired up, about to stand and retort, but Shen Maomao pulled him back.
She pinched Golden Retriever’s thigh, pretending not to see his twisted expression, and gave Brother Long a charming smile: “No one can escape the fate of finding it delicious, right?”
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With the table blocking his lower body, Brother Long felt confident and teased Shen Maomao: “Is it really delicious? Why do I smell something fishy?”
The other people eating showed dissatisfaction on their faces, but they didn’t want to anger a muscular strong man, so they could only swallow their dissatisfaction along with the food.
Shen Maomao blinked at Brother Long and smiled: “After all, I’m a fox spirit~” Not only seductive, but can also seduce and metaphorically break your third leg.
At another table, Yan Nan spat towards the air.
Brother Long wanted to say more, but Xiaolou suddenly interjected: “It’s 7:10.”
Only twenty minutes remained until work started, and Brother Long’s meal was only half eaten.
Now Brother Long dared not say more, and could only bury his head and quickly eat his rice.
Shen Maomao also breathed a sigh of relief, understanding that Xiaolou was helping her out, and she couldn’t help but show a grateful expression.
Xiaolou didn’t even look at her, focusing intently on her battle with the food.
Shen Maomao: “…”
Today’s customer still isn’t a god.
