Xiao Muyu lowered her eyes and said indifferently, “These points are earned with our lives. Because we’re teammates, I can’t let you bear the cost alone.”
Shen Qingqiu could see her sincerity and smiled, “Actually, we’re a team now, there’s no need to separate us. If you need something, I’ll buy it for you, and I’ll report my expenses to you as well. If I run out of points, I’ll just take some from you. Miss Xiao, is that okay?”
Xiao Muyu pondered for a moment and then nodded, “You’re right, we’re teammates. We should be transparent about these things. Let’s create a team account and share the points.”
After saying that, she looked Shen Qingqiu up and down, as if making a decision. “I’ll manage the account. You can ask me for points whenever you need them.”
Shen Qingqiu raised an eyebrow and joked, “You mean I should hand over my salary and let you manage the finances?”
Her words were not wrong, but the implication was a bit skewed. Xiao Muyu replied seriously, “I could let you manage my points too, but…” She glanced at Shen Qingqiu. “I have no issues with your character, but you seem like a spendthrift.”
She was very serious, not joking at Shen Qingqiu’s expense. Shen Qingqiu found her amusing and laughed, “Do I? Well, even if I did, it was because I was only responsible for myself. Now that I have you, I will be prudent and not waste money.”
Xiao Muyu felt something was off with her words and decided to keep quiet. Whenever she talked with Shen Qingqiu, the conversation always veered off in strange directions, and her mind would go blank in front of her. The less she said, the fewer mistakes she made.
Shen Qingqiu understood her well. She enjoyed seeing the usually intelligent Xiao Muyu become flustered in front of her; it was quite adorable.
So Shen Qingqiu didn’t say much more. She opened the control panel and looked at her points.
“I currently have 336.5 points. I need to buy some food and pay a month’s rent, which is 180 points. How much pocket money will you give me?” She leaned lazily against the table, tilting her head to look at Xiao Muyu.
“One month’s rent is 180 points? That’s equivalent to 18,000 gold coins?”
Xiao Muyu took a deep breath, realizing her highest points ever were only 150. Staying in a hotel for a month would cost two mission rewards. For ordinary people, two missions might not even be enough.
Shen Qingqiu nodded nonchalantly.
Xiao Muyu sighed, “Let’s not pay for a month in advance. After we sleep, the first thing we’ll do is move.”
Xiao Muyu rubbed her forehead helplessly. Such extravagance…
Shen Qingqiu, holding back laughter, quickly transferred her points to Xiao Muyu, leaving only 50 points for herself.
Then she changed clothes and walked out, saying, “Are you cursing me for being a spendthrift in your heart?”
“Uh…” Xiao Muyu was choked by her words and couldn’t help but cough, watching her elegantly leave the room with a dark expression.
Actually, Xiao Muyu had only 280 points left. In fact, Shen Qingqiu was the one with more points. But did she really trust her enough to give all her points away?
After all, didn’t she say the points had other uses? Wasn’t she afraid she would spend them all?
While taking a shower, Xiao Muyu thought that since there were both residents and players in the SkyNet world with everyday needs, given the absurd cost of living, they shouldn’t just earn money from missions. It was too risky.
She took a long shower, and when she came to her senses, she realized a lot of time had passed. She turned off the water, dried herself, changed clothes, and walked out.
Shen Qingqiu had already returned and set the table with food. Hearing movement from the bathroom, she opened the lids on the takeout boxes and said, “You’re finally out. If you had stayed any longer, I would have broken in…”
She looked up, and her words stopped abruptly upon seeing Xiao Muyu.
Since they were about to rest, Xiao Muyu had put on a silk nightgown.
The lake-green nightgown crossed at the neckline, and the fresh and elegant color complemented Xiao Muyu’s refined appearance, still damp from the shower, making it hard to look away.
Shen Qingqiu quickly looked down and noticed a pair of pale legs. She averted her gaze, pretending nothing was amiss, and said, “You must be hungry. Hurry and eat. I don’t really know your taste. How do you like these?”
Xiao Muyu noticed Shen Qingqiu’s unusual behavior but glanced at herself. Although it was a nightgown, it covered all the necessary places, so she said nothing.
After sitting down, she looked at the dishes on the table: two dishes and a soup. One dish was clearly spicy, with red chili oil. She glanced at Shen Qingqiu.
“Not knowing my taste, you bought such a spicy dish. Are you planning to stop me from eating?” Xiao Muyu raised an eyebrow.
Shen Qingqiu looked at the table: one dish was boiled fish slices, the other was blanched baby cabbage, and the soup was seaweed egg drop soup.
“Don’t you eat spicy food?” Shen Qingqiu asked instinctively, looking a bit surprised.
Xiao Muyu just smiled. While eating, Shen Qingqiu noticed Xiao Muyu frequently picked the spicy boiled fish slices.
She slowly chewed on a piece of cabbage, her eyes fixed on Xiao Muyu, her expression playful and proud. “I thought you’d like spicy food.”
Xiao Muyu was stunned for a moment, seeing a complex look in Shen Qingqiu’s eyes. Shen Qingqiu didn’t seem to eat much spicy food herself. “Are you afraid of spicy food?”
Shen Qingqiu paused, her lips pouting slightly in dissatisfaction, “Who said that? I’m not afraid of anything, especially not spicy food.”
She picked a few pieces of fish and put them in her bowl, then took a bite without changing her expression. “The boiled fish is well made. I thought you’d like it, so I bought it.” She then ate a few bites of rice.
Xiao Muyu didn’t say anything. She watched Shen Qingqiu eat, noticing the subtle tears in her eyes, and suddenly laughed.
It was a faint laugh, but it was genuinely heartfelt, like the warm sun breaking through the morning mist in the forest, full of poetic beauty.
Shen Qingqiu had always been the one to use her charm to dazzle others, but for the first time, she experienced being dazzled by someone else’s charm.
She didn’t know why, but seeing Xiao Muyu smile made her feel like the world was blooming with flowers.
Xiao Muyu ignored Shen Qingqiu’s somewhat dazed expression, the smile on her face not yet fading, as she leaned over to transfer the remaining fish from Shen Qingqiu’s bowl to her own. “It’s not embarrassing to not be able to eat spicy food. Why force yourself?”
Shen Qingqiu froze for a moment, about to retort, but Xiao Muyu handed her a tissue. “You’re about to cry.”
Shen Qingqiu blinked, quickly straightened up, and cleared her throat, “This is called being hydrated, who’s crying?”
Xiao Muyu chuckled to herself. She didn’t know why, but she suddenly didn’t want to probe Shen Qingqiu’s oddities anymore, because she herself was feeling odd.
With anyone else, Xiao Muyu would never allow them to get close to her. But this woman… she glanced at Shen Qingqiu again.
This woman, who appeared aloof and capricious in front of others, showed a different side to her.
Xiao Muyu was smart, and she knew Shen Qingqiu was smart too.
A smart person shouldn’t show so many flaws in front of another smart person.
This was something Xiao Muyu couldn’t quite understand. She continued eating quietly, not speaking again.
A person who doesn’t eat spicy food would not bring a heavily spiced dish to someone whose tastes they don’t know well. But then, what did it matter?
“Let’s eat,” Xiao Muyu said, and then she didn’t speak again.
Shen Qingqiu, focused on her meal, ultimately didn’t touch the plate of spicy boiled fish again.
After they finished eating and cleaned up, Shen Qingqiu also took a shower. The two of them slept deeply in the hotel, so much so that they missed dinner.
The next morning, Shen Qingqiu bought breakfast. While they were eating, Xiao Muyu said calmly, “After breakfast, I need to go to an internet café and also check out some apartments. As the difficulty of the missions increases, we’ll need to stay longer. It’s best to rent an apartment; otherwise, just the room costs could bankrupt us.”
“Internet café?” Shen Qingqiu was surprised. “What for?”
Xiao Muyu glanced at her, “To look up some information and maybe find a job.”
Shen Qingqiu almost choked on her soup. “What did you say? Find a job?”
“Do you think our points are enough to splurge?”
She looked Shen Qingqiu up and down. Her beige long coat over a caramel-colored turtleneck sweater, tall and elegant, made her look stunning even without a smile.
Since they met, Shen Qingqiu had already changed outfits four or five times, all of which were high-quality and stylish. Using points to exchange for money to buy things was too wasteful.
Shen Qingqiu glanced at herself and understood Xiao Muyu’s thoughts. She put down her chopsticks and leaned closer, “You’re still thinking I’m a spendthrift, huh?”
Xiao Muyu didn’t respond, just continued eating her noodles.
After eating, she put down her chopsticks and remembered the card Shen Qingqiu had drawn. Xiao Muyu frowned slightly and reminded her, “Shen Qingqiu, take out that doll card. Let me see it again.”
Mentioning this, Shen Qingqiu’s expression also turned serious. She took out the card and looked at the text on it again.
“The biggest issue is this phrase ‘the weaker the host, the stronger the doll’s combat power.’ Plus, the system’s malicious wording makes it feel off.
After all, in the missions, I’m a substitute for the innkeeper’s assistant. If I can’t control it, it’s not a bodyguard summoned but potentially a deadly threat.”
Xiao Muyu shared this concern. Looking at another line on the card, she pondered, “Your card has no rarity, which is unusual. It must be for a reason. Drawing a doll after clearing the third mission isn’t impossible, so the issue lies in the innkeeper’s assistant choosing you.”
“I remember now, it’s because I used the ‘Fire of Love’ candle on the assistant, causing it to choose me during the draw, resulting in this card.
I think I understand the warning now. It’s powerful, but it can have severe consequences if not used carefully.”
Shen Qingqiu had no choice but to use the candle on the assistant at that time.
Xiao Muyu, looking serious, reminded Shen Qingqiu earnestly, “Remember, unless absolutely necessary, do not use it.”
Then she shook her head, “In fact, it’s safer not to use it at all.”
Shen Qingqiu knew she was concerned for her, but she still wanted to playfully tease her, “But the items I drew aren’t very useful, except for the dagger. The only thing really effective against the mission’s monsters is the human-skin mask.
But it can only be used once per mission. If that’s wasted, then I’ll be going through the mission just to earn points.”
Before she finished speaking, Xiao Muyu handed her a card. Shen Qingqiu fell silent, staring at the ‘Zoetrope’ card in her hand, then looked at Xiao Muyu in confusion, “What’s this?”
“I already have a stopwatch. Keep this Zoetrope. If we’re forced to separate during a mission, you’ll have something to protect yourself. If we stick together, it doesn’t matter who holds it.” After saying that, she cleaned up the trash and got ready to leave.
Shen Qingqiu followed and offered the card back, “I was just talking. This is yours, you should keep it.”
Xiao Muyu didn’t take it back, “Keep it. Teaming up is not just about completing missions together; it’s also about sharing resources and trusting each other. You don’t have any defensive cards, so it’s best for you to have it. I have the Cage Needle and the stopwatch, which is enough.”
Actually, yesterday when she gave Shen Qingqiu the talisman, she had thought about giving her a tool card. After all, the tool cards Shen Qingqiu had were quite tricky and hard to control.
Shen Qingqiu looked at the card, then at Xiao Muyu’s back, and finally put it away, following her out.
As Shen Qingqiu sat watching Xiao Muyu frowning and occasionally tapping on the keyboard, she had a feeling that something significant was about to happen.
Xiao Muyu wasn’t fast, but she was exceptionally patient, frequently opening web pages and quickly searching for information.
As Xiao Muyu’s fingers moved faster and faster, a series of codes began to appear on the computer screen in front of her, which Shen Qingqiu barely understood.
Watching Xiao Muyu click the mouse and press the run button, Shen Qingqiu saw the code start scrolling rapidly on the screen. At the same time, a progress bar appeared and quickly reached 60%. By the time it hit 100%, the computer in front of Shen Qingqiu, which had not been logged into by anyone, began to boot up automatically. It logged into a website, which was the SkyNet Players’ Forum that Xiao Muyu had previously accessed.
“Muyu, what are you doing?” Shen Qingqiu asked, surprised but not entirely shocked. She had a feeling that Xiao Muyu should be very proficient in this field.
“Just testing if I still have some skills left,” Xiao Muyu replied, fiddling with the setup again. The computer in front of Shen Qingqiu shut down automatically, and Xiao Muyu started typing again.
“What are you trying to do?” Shen Qingqiu felt her heart pounding.
“Looking for the control center port of this SkyNet world,” Xiao Muyu said.
Author’s Note: Regarding computer programming, I’m a complete novice. Despite researching extensively, I’m still quite confused. I watched some videos and managed to grasp a few basic principles, so please don’t scrutinize this part too closely. Just enjoy the story as I make it up. Yay!
Xiao Muyu is up to something. Previously, an angel suggested that Xiao Muyu should try to hack the system. Here it comes.
