Players, Please Board the Train

Xu Huo summarized the key points. Yan Jiayu, learning that Jiangjiang was a player, said with slight regret, ”If she weren’t a player, we might have been able to go into business together. Her paintings would definitely have people fighting to buy them. In any reasonably normal game district, psychologists are a very popular profession.”

Xu Huo didn’t think she needed to see a psychologist. ”Are you short on money?”

Yan Jiayu nodded honestly. ”There are too many fun things in the game. Bubble gum that makes you hiccup for half an hour, cotton candy that lets you blow bubbles like a fish after eating it, stickers that stick to your shoe soles and let you skate, posters that imitate animal sounds, portable stools that taste like chocolate, umbrellas that make it rain automatically... Apart from buying items and potions, my money basically goes toward stuff like this.”

Xu Huo was speechless for a moment, then said, ”About last time during the Double Snake incident, you came to help. I should give you a share of the spoils. How about I just pay you in cash instead?”

Yan Jiayu nodded eagerly.

Xu Huo gave her a million White Bills.

”That’s way too much.” Yan Jiayu was shocked. ”Did you hit the jackpot or something?”

”The Special Defense Department paid me. Might as well use it.” Xu Huo smiled.

”Then I won’t be polite!” Yan Jiayu accepted it readily, then added, ”I bought some interesting items in other districts. If you like any of them, you can have them all!”

There was no rush. Xu Huo told her to eat first.After eating, the two needed to find a place to rest, but everywhere was packed right now. Yan Jiayu looked around and couldn’t even find a spot to pitch a tent, so she said, ”How about we go up to the rooftop?”

”There are plenty of people on the rooftop too.” Xu Huo glanced toward the underground parking garage. ”Let’s go steal a car instead.”

The two headed down to the parking garage. Yan Jiayu spotted her target immediately - an off-road vehicle was shoving a sedan out of its parking spot. Terrified adult screams and children’s cries rose one after another. She stepped on the cars beside her, vaulting over in a couple of bounds, and landed hard on the off-road vehicle’s hood, leaving two footprints behind before swinging her staff at the window!

A transparent bubble of water blocked the window. The passenger leaned out and roared, ”What the hell are you doing?!”

”Stopping a crime!” Yan Jiayu declared with righteous indignation.

Both people in the car were momentarily stunned. The passenger cursed ”Psycho!” and hurled a potion at the hood. Yan Jiayu lost her footing and slid to the front of the car. The player in the driver’s seat seized the opportunity and floored the gas pedal!

Yan Jiayu slapped a traffic cop hat onto her head and made a stop signal at the car. When the vehicle screeched to a halt just inches from her clothes, she leaped to the driver’s side, ripped the door off barehanded, and yanked the driver out of the car!

The player was furious and humiliated. He raised both hands, aiming to slam them against her ears, but before he could even touch Yan Jiayu, he was flung away by some strange force, flying over a dozen cars before barely managing to stop. Before he could even find his footing, Yan Jiayu appeared right in front of him and smashed his leg with her staff!

The man let out a miserable scream and was about to use an item, but unfortunately, before he could even get the words out, he was kicked away.

After shoving him against the wall, Yan Jiayu finally turned back.

The passenger player had already been hauled out by Xu Huo and was kneeling on the ground begging for mercy. ”Big brother, big sister, I won’t dare do it again! I’ll give up the spot right now!”

They got the car smoothly. The sedan from earlier had also driven off out of fear, so they got a parking spot too. Yan Jiayu rummaged through the supplies in the car. ”There’s a bunch of flatbreads and dried meat. These things get hard as stone after a few days. Are they still edible?”

The passenger didn’t dare run. He stood nearby and said cautiously, ”Soak them in water and they taste great. My mom made those for me.”

”Your license plate isn’t from the safe area, and the car is covered in mud. Did you come from far away?” Yan Jiayu took a bite of the flatbread, found it tasty, and handed a piece to Xu Huo. ”Is your mom dead?”

The passenger’s face twitched. ”My mom is alive and well!”

Yan Jiayu gave him a strange look. ”You ran to the safe area to take shelter, and you didn’t bring your mom?”

”She’s better off staying in the mountains than following me.” The passenger spoke with brutal honesty.

Yan Jiayu nodded in agreement and broke off half a piece of flatbread for him.

Two people sat in the car, one stood outside. The three of them ate flatbread in a desultory fashion. The passenger was worried about his companion and kept glancing toward the corner, but Yan Jiayu said, ”That guy ran off a while ago. Will he come back with people to settle the score?”

”No, no, absolutely not!” The passenger said hurriedly. ”You two can tell from our skill level that we don’t have any capable friends!”

That made sense.

Xu Huo took the driver’s seat and Yan Jiayu took the back seat, but they still let the passenger keep his spot.

The man climbed into his seat with a mournful face, not even daring to look at Xu Huo.

Plenty of people were settling down here too. Some had slipped away quietly when the fight broke out, but once things went quiet, they drifted back one by one - not every parking garage allowed people to spend the night.

After that little incident blew over, the people packed in here gradually began to relax. Quite a few gathered in clusters to cook something to eat. Some chatted and laughed, some drank, and it was fairly lively.

After dark, Yan Jiayu got hungry again. Catching the delicious smell of food in the air, she said to Xu Huo, ”I’m going out to buy food. Do you want anything?”

”I’m not hungry for now,” Xu Huo said.

”What about you?” She asked the passenger.

The passenger was flattered. ”I’m not picky. Instant noodles are fine too.”

Yan Jiayu patted her small backpack and said generously, ”I’ll make sure you’re stuffed!”

She had just stepped out when the sound of fighting erupted outside. It seemed someone was running toward the underground parking garage. The commotion put everyone on edge, but it disappeared a few seconds later.

Before long, Yan Jiayu returned with several large bags of food. Besides her own meal and various snacks, she had also brought the passenger three cups of instant noodles plus a thermos of hot water.

The passenger hugged his instant noodles while eyeing the lobster in her bowl with unabashed longing.

”Someone was fighting at the entrance.” Yan Jiayu said. ”I chased them off. We finally found a decent spot, and I don’t want to have to move again.”

Xu Huo nodded. ”If there’s more trouble tonight, I’ll handle it.”

Yan Jiayu thanked him, wolfed down her food in a whirlwind, chewed a pack of dried meat, and then lay down to sleep.

Xu Huo gathered the trash and carried it out of the car.

”Big brother, you shouldn’t have to do that! I’ll take care of it!” The passenger scrambled to follow him out.

Xu Huo didn’t say much. He handed the bag to the man but followed behind him.

Hearing footsteps behind him, the passenger started trembling before he’d even taken two steps. ”Big brother, you really don’t need to follow me. I won’t run...”

No one answered him.

”Really, I swear, I absolutely won’t run. Even if I did run, I’d have nowhere to go...”

”...”

”B-Big brother, I’m about to throw out the trash. If it’s not too much trouble, could you please not stand behind me...”

The passenger, terrified he’d be dumped in the garbage can along with the trash, stood frozen in front of the bin for a long moment before daring to turn around - only to discover that Xu Huo, who had been walking behind him, had already vanished!