GCLA Chapter 16

Chapter 16: The Ineffectiveness of the RMB

 

Si Yino timidly hid behind Xiao Bai, stealing glances at Mao Mao. “Snacks… we ran out of them a long time ago…”

 

“Then how can we celebrate for Xiaolan Jiejie!” Mao Mao slammed the refrigerator door with a loud bang, crossed his arms in anger, and his fur stood on end. “I don’t care! Bring out your money!”

 

“Pfft!” Jiang Qian burst into laughter immediately. Mao Mao frowned at him. “Forget it, Jiang Qian, I know you’re so broke that you can only afford to drink dog’s blood.”

 

Drink dog’s blood! I looked at Jiang Qian’s pale face. Is it really safe for a vampire to consume dog’s blood? Isn’t it said that black dog’s blood can exterminate zombies?

 

Wait, this zombie must be the type Black Mei deals with.

 

Jiang Qian’s face also turned extremely awkward as he swiftly reached into his pocket. “It’s fine, I still have some.” After saying that, he pulled out a few… um… steel coins and placed them on the coffee table.

 

Qing Ming began rummaging through his pockets as well, retrieving a few crumpled bills.

 

Si Yino started opening Xiaobai’s mouth as if he had stashed money in there.

 

Seeing their pitiful and embarrassed state, I couldn’t help but speak up. “It’s okay, I have money!”

 

Instantly, everyone’s eyes lit up as they turned to look at me.

 

Goodness, you must all be really strapped for cash.

 

With great enthusiasm, I pulled out my wallet from my pocket and dramatically extracted a hundred yuan bill! Haha, suddenly I felt like a high roller!

 

Turns out, I’m the wealthiest one in this dorm room!

 

However, just as I revealed the hundred yuan bill, they glanced at it and went back to their own activities. Jiang Qian continued sipping from his blood bag while searching through the sofa cushions, as if hoping to find a few more steel coins. Qing Ming began looking under the coffee table, and Si Yino persisted in digging into Xiaobai’s mouth.

 

Uh?

 

What’s the meaning of this?

 

Do you think my money isn’t enough?

 

“Xiaolan Jiejie…” Mao Mao approached me awkwardly, looking at me. “RMB is not accepted here…”

 

I blinked my eyes. “Can it be exchanged, then? If it’s not Renminbi, can’t it be exchanged for the local currency here?”

 

“No…” Mao Mao pouted, and her grayish-white whiskers drooped from her face. She looked at me awkwardly. “And besides, the local currency is something imagined by the human world… We don’t use that here…”

 

“…” Alright, maybe I was overthinking it…

 

Jiang Qian handed a pile of crumpled bills and steel coins to Mao Mao and said while sipping from his blood bag, “The academy wants us to experience the life of mortals, so no one is allowed to bring money into the school. Here, you need to work and earn money for yourself. At Divine and Demon Academy, there are various tasks and jobs available. Today… we can only treat you to grilled skewers… We’ll treat you to something better once we earn some money!”

 

“Skewers! Great! I love them! Let’s go!” I immediately pulled everyone along. They looked relieved seeing my excitement. It seemed they were worried that I would mind their lack of extravagance.

 

Actually, celebrating with friends you like is always enjoyable, even with just a few cans of beer and some fried skewers. Who needs a lavish feast?

 

As soon as the door opened, it became noisy outside, as if it had exploded.

 

There were firecrackers, music playing, and someone shouting like a DJ, “Yo yo, check it out~~~”

 

Oh my goodness, I really underestimated these immortals.

 

Suddenly, with a “pop,” a champagne cork flew out, and Jiang Qian calmly opened an umbrella, then “whoosh,” the champagne poured down.

 

I looked at Jiang Qian, who held the umbrella for me. “You guys… seem to have experience with this!”

 

Jiang Qian nodded. “Living on the ground floor, this happens often.”

 

“Many of them do it on purpose!” Mao Mao said angrily. She must be a hotheaded girl. She stormed out. “You guys!” Suddenly, Si Yino ran to her side and covered her mouth. “Mao Mao, don’t cause a scene. We… can’t afford trouble…”

 

Mao Mao glared at them with frustration. Jiang Qian continued sipping his blood bag, and Qing Ming nodded in agreement. “Yeah!”

 

“This makes me so angry!” Mao Mao stomped her foot in frustration. “Smack!” A piece of cake was thrown down. Si Yino immediately pushed her away, and then Xiaobai swiftly opened its mouth and actually swallowed the cake.

 

“Burp~~~~” Xiaobai even burped, looking completely satisfied. Well, it got lucky.

 

As I gazed at Mao Mao’s frustrated expression, I swiftly approached her and took hold of her hand. “Alright, alright, let’s celebrate in our own way. Don’t let these things dampen our spirits. Come on! Let’s go and indulge in some grilled skewers!”

 

But… do they even have grilled skewers in the realm of immortals?

 

Yes!

 

Not only do they have grilled skewers here, but they also serve fried chicken and beer!

 

When I stood on the food street, I was utterly astounded!

 

The lengthy food street was adorned with rows of red lanterns, offering a diverse array of local and international delicacies. Even those obscure treats from countries I couldn’t recognize were available here!

 

“Oh my heavens!” I exclaimed, looking up at the sky and immediately dropping to my knees. “I will never leave this place! But why do you immortals need to eat?!” I sprung back up, puzzled, and glanced at Jiang Qian and the others.

 

Mao Mao beamed widely. “Even immortals relish the taste of exquisite cuisine~~~”

 

“And there are many half-god descendants here. They typically possess human bloodlines, so they experience hunger as well,” Jiang Qian chimed in.

 

Si Yino nodded eagerly. “I truly adore human food…”

 

I nodded in agreement. “Oh, I never imagined that immortals would also have a fondness for food.”

 

“How refined!” Qing Ming suddenly declared, his eyes sparkling with enthusiasm.

 

Jiang Qian took a sip of blood. “Indeed, immortals have their own standards, and food is one of them. Let’s go; there’s a fantastic skewer place nearby.”

 

“Awesome!” Xia Xiaolan exclaimed, determined to remain in this place forever.

 

The skewer shop was tucked away in the far corner of the food street. Due to being considered “unclean,” it was shunned by the upscale establishments for emitting too much smoke—much like people like us.

 

Moreover, it wasn’t even a proper shop; it was a simple stall with a few tables set up, just like those found in the mortal realm. When I laid eyes on the owner of the skewer shop, I was taken aback!

 

The owner of the skewer shop was related to Zhu Bajie (Pigsy) from Chinese mythology! He had the face of a pig!

 

The owner, with his bare torso and wearing only a leather apron, displayed a glistening body. Yet, he elegantly held a cigar in his mouth. I couldn’t explain why, but suddenly I found him rather cool.

 

I stood in front of the grill, my jaw dropping as I stared at him for a while.

 

He skillfully grilled lamb skewers, his small pig eyes fixed on me. “So, you’re a newcomer.”

 

“Yes, yes!”

 

His voice sounded slightly muffled due to the cigarette in his mouth.

 

“Did you think I was Marshal Tianpeng (Pigsy)?”

 

“Yes, yes!” I nodded once again.

 

“Pfft!” Needless to ask, it was Jiang Qian who burst into laughter.

 

Mao Mao and the others had already taken their seats, giggling on the side.

 

I stared at the owner in astonishment. “So… it’s not you?”

 

He coolly glanced at me with the cigar dangling from his mouth and said, “You’ve read too many novels.”

 

“…” It seemed I was mistaken. Then I turned my attention to the skewers beside him. “Grilling meat skewers… isn’t it a bit unusual?”

 

The pig owner squinted his eyes, paused his actions with the cigar, and suddenly raised his hand at a forty-five-degree angle, exhaling a long puff of smoke. “Hoo… That’s why I only grill beef and lamb skewers…”

 

“Pfft!” This time it was me who couldn’t help but laugh.

 

“Hahaha—hahaha—” Mao Mao burst into uncontrollable laughter. I thought to myself, this world is truly worth exploring!