Discerning Talent

At six in the morning, Xinxue finally decided to rest for two hours and lay back down on her small, makeshift bed.

Ever since following Cheng Shuili, her standard of living had truly improved by a significant margin, and she had managed to maintain it ever since.

She closed her eyes, made the sign of the cross over her chest, and silently whispered, "I am grateful to Crow."

Yes, the first believer of the Crow Cult was none other than Xinxue Chuji.

At the same time, Qi Wanyi woke up bright and early. She checked the messages in the small group, and upon finding that Xinxue had pulled another all-nighter, she shook her head helplessly.

If things went on like this, wouldn't Xinxue eventually just work herself to death?

It wasn't raining outside, and since Qi Wanyi had already read Xinxue’s messages, she wasn't particularly surprised.

On the other hand, Cheng Shuili, who had just opened her eyes, was different. She rubbed her messy hair and stared out the window for a long while. After confirming that only a few dim-witted monsters were staring at her—and that these things were dry—she couldn't help but furrow her brows.

Wasn't it supposed to be acid rain?

Where was the rain?

How could there be any sign of acid rain outside like this?

Frowning, she stood up and leaned against the window.

Never mind the acidity, where was the rain itself?

Cheng Shuili frowned and opened the regional channel. While doing so, she saw the message Xinxue had posted in the group. However, based on her understanding of Xinxue, this person shouldn't have said anything useful.

Cheng Shuili always prioritized serious matters, so she naturally ignored the unread messages and went straight to seeing what the regional channel was talking about.

"Sunny days~ Sun~ Please stay out a bit longer!"

"This is the first time I've ever liked the sunshine this much. Before this, I only liked rainy days."

"Sigh... is there really no other way? I really don't want to buy things from that profiteer Xinxue again."

"You still don't want to buy? Are you even able to buy anything anymore?"

"Huh?? What do you mean? It’s sold out?!! No! I only bought six! That's not enough at all!"

"She really isn't replying to messages. I’ve been waiting for a long time and even offered twice the price, but she hasn't replied to me. It can't be that she's actually sold out, right?"

"Is this guy doing hunger marketing? This person is truly wicked to the core!"

"Wicked to the core!!"

Cheng Shuili: "???"

What was going on?

The rain had definitely fallen, but it was sunny now.

And Xinxue had actually sold goods?

Cheng Shuili knit her brows, finally remembering the messages she had ignored.

Oh... Xinxue was actually talking about business this time.

How rare.

While sighing, Cheng Shuili carefully read these latest messages and sent a copy to Glory and Chen Qingshan before sending a message in the group.

【Crow Takes Flight】: Good job. I’ll give you extra food at noon.

Xinxue didn't reply; she was probably still resting.

Cheng Shuili closed the private chat page and looked at the rainproof tarp on her vehicle. It was good; it was very safe.

But... did the impact of the acid rain actually lower durability?

Cheng Shuili thought about her own vehicle; the durability bar... it seemed to be infinite?

Eh?

Did that mean it didn't matter if Cheng Shuili didn't use a rainproof tarp? Her vehicle was immune to acid rain!

Cheng Shuili’s eyes widened, and she suddenly started looking forward to the acid rain coming.

If it rains for one hour and stops for three, the next acid rain would be at eight o'clock.

Cheng Shuili shook her head, went to the bathroom to wash up, and started her day.

Today's breakfast was also delicious, but unfortunately, the guess Cheng Shuili and Su Rui had was correct; the reason Su Rui could taste things yesterday was indeed because it was a rest day.

For Su Rui, this occasional reward actually felt more like a punishment.

The day before yesterday, she could still calmly accept that nothing had any flavor, but today, she couldn't even find the energy for her favorite ice cubes.

Cheng Shuili watched from the side, feeling that the system was truly harmful.

As soon as eight o'clock arrived, Cheng Shuili very deliberately removed the rainproof tarp. Only after confirming that her vehicle’s durability hadn't changed did she cover it back up and, feeling satisfied, told Su Rui to drive.

Might as well keep the rainproof tarp on; having one was always better than not having one.

Cheng Shuili sat in the carriage with her legs crossed and, for once, opened a bag of chips to eat. These were the snacks Liang Shanbo had sent over that Su Rui hadn't finished yesterday.

She hadn't eaten them yesterday, and now that she had lost her sense of taste today, she wouldn't eat them at all.

They could only be finished by Cheng Shuili.

She had just put a chip into her mouth when she received a message from Ailin.

【Ai Mi Li】: It's taken care of.

Brother Invincible was taken care of? Cheng Shuili pulled up her blacklist and took a look; Brother Invincible’s profile picture had already gone gray.

Ailin was truly quick and efficient!

【Ai Mi Li】: Boss, you have no idea how poor he was. He didn't even have clothes left, just wearing a pair of boxers. His body was completely exposed, and that belly, that fat... tsk tsk, truly disgusting.

Cheng Shuili: "......"

There was no need to mention such details.

Cheng Shuili immediately stopped her and ended the conversation with a "Thank you for your hard work."

Ailin had handled this matter very neatly, and Cheng Shuili was very satisfied, once again affirming her initial decision.

Hmm, she truly had a discerning eye for talent!

The talent she had discovered with these discerning eyes wasn't just this one; Cloud's Nemesis and her partner were clearly rare talents as well.

Cheng Shuili had originally thought that their joining might take a very long time, requiring a very lucky day far in the future.

But she hadn't expected this day to come so quickly.

......

The number of people suffering from insomnia was highest on the final day of the disaster.

Cloud's Nemesis was also one of the many who dared not sleep; she didn't know what this disaster was, nor did she know how to face it.

Mr. Dumpling whispered words of comfort to her, but in truth, he wasn't doing much better himself.

Apart from those plant seedlings, they didn't have anything presentable in their hands.

Food... if you didn't count the meal the Crow had given them, they hadn't eaten a single hot meal. Even now, they were gnawing on compressed biscuits and taking multivitamins every day. As for the vehicle... both of them were at level two, just barely able to defend against level-two monsters. As for the shards needed for the next upgrade, the two of them hadn't even saved up enough for one person.

Logically speaking, they shouldn't have ended up in this state. Plant seedlings were indeed valuable, but now almost everyone knew that these things were incredibly delicate; without a certain level of strength, even if you bought them, you could only watch them die.

Therefore, other than the Crow, they couldn't find a single buyer for them.

This was also the reason why the Crow had been able to drive the price down to one-tenth; because they had no choice from the start.

When the acid rain arrived, the two of them hadn't hung up their voice call yet. At first, Mr. Dumpling heard the sound of rain, and being very clever, she realized almost immediately what this disaster was.

But what was the use of knowing?

Rainproof tarps had already been hyped up to astronomical prices. They could barely afford the items in Xinxue’s hands, but they could only buy a few...

The acid rain was going to fall for seven consecutive days! Six hours every day!

And one rainproof tarp could only last for half an hour. To survive one day required twelve tarps; for the two of them, that was twenty-four...

How could they possibly afford that?