When this thought first emerged, Cheng Shuili didn't notice any issues until she recalled the miserable state of her early days, and only then did she realize...
“Cheng Shuili, wasn't working yourself to death from overtime in your past life enough? Stay calm!”
Cheng Shuili wished she could hold her own head and shake it to hear if there was any water sloshing around inside.
Whether or not Cheng Shuili had water in her brain, Su Rui didn't know; Su Rui only knew that she needed to replenish her own water.
Holding the glass cup that Cheng Shuili had specifically bought for her, she stood before the advanced water condensation device and was about to draw water when she suddenly heard Cheng Shuili ask: “Will the taste of this water be unpleasant? Do you want to try some mountain spring water?”
“Mountain spring water?”
Su Rui’s movements paused.
In any case, she couldn't imagine where Cheng Shuili would get mountain spring water in this wilderness. However, since she was the boss, it was normal for her to have some special abilities.
Su Rui already believed it. “Did you discover a spring in the manor?”
Cheng Shuili smiled without answering, took the glass cup from Su Rui's hand, and only revealed the answer as if a prank had succeeded: “It's Nongfu Spring, you know.”
Su Rui: “......”
This was just someone bored and looking for amusement at her expense again.
Fine.
She was used to it.
Cheng Shuili watched Su Rui return to drive with satisfaction, then opened the system panel to check her game coins balance.
After purchasing the night hunt, her game coins had dropped to just over forty thousand. But now, after the hard work of the past few days, the game coins in her possession had broken through the twenty-thousand mark, reaching an unprecedented figure.
A full two hundred and twenty-three thousand game coins!
Cheng Shuili didn't want to express any thoughts on this number.
Because the greatness of this number was self-evident.
However... today was indeed a free day.
Cheng Shuili looked around inside the vehicle and installed the radio batteries.
The dungeon was tomorrow; if she didn't use it today, she would have to wait until after the dungeon ended.
Better early than late; Cheng Shuili still hoped to use it now. Any special area would do; as long as she could enter, Cheng Shuili would have things to do.
Even the beastman town she had just visited was a place she had reasons to return to.
She didn't know what the key given by Director Xiong Ji could open, and she hadn't seen the NPC that Zhou Zhuxing mentioned would give seeds.
Cheng Shuili could already foresee that the next two hours in the beastman town would surely be very urgent.
The radio’s reaction this time was exceptionally fast; almost the instant Cheng Shuili installed the battery, it began to broadcast with a crackling, whirring sound!
“Crackle... crackle-crackle...”
Cheng Shuili leaned in closer and listened intently for half a minute before she could pick out three words from the countless crackles—gas station.
Gas station!
The last time Cheng Shuili went there could be traced back to when she first entered the Highway Survival Game; come to think of it, this radio was also found there.
She gently patted the constantly noisy radio, stood up, and went to inform Su Rui of the latest situation.
The vehicle traveled steadily on the highway, tires crushing fine gravel and emitting a faint rustling sound.
The scenery outside the window receded at a constant speed, the gray-white highway like an infinitely extending ribbon, with occasional clusters of withered yellow shrubs flashing past on both sides.
Su Rui kept her hands on the steering wheel, her gaze focused on the road ahead, the engine sound low and steady, and everything was extremely calm, until...
A blurry outline appeared on the horizon in the distance.
It was a solitary building; the red paint on the roof had mostly peeled off, but the remaining “gas station” lettering was still clearly visible.
Su Rui slowed the vehicle down until it stopped.
Su Rui had been to gas stations a few times, but that was an experience from before she became a servant.
Life nowadays wasn't just good; it was simply too comfortable. This period of time had been unconsciously elongated in her mind, making that previous time feel even more fleeting.
Recalling it now, many things were not remembered very clearly.
Su Rui frowned and sat in the driver's seat for a while, staring at that sign for a long time without remembering what she was trying to think of.
She shook her head and, just as she was about to sigh, heard Cheng Shuili’s invitation: “Shall we go together?”
Of course they should go together!
Su Rui stood up immediately and followed Cheng Shuili out of the vehicle.
The field of vision immediately opened up. Neither of them was here for the first time, so there were no nervous feelings; after getting out of the car, they entered the gas station from the entrance.
It was still about the same as when they last visited; as soon as they entered, a smell of aged dust rushed toward them.
The shelves were crooked and overturned, most of the goods had long been looted, leaving only worthless empty packaging bags scattered on the ground.
Cheng Shuili’s gaze swept around, and she soon noticed a figure. He was lounging against the back of a chair, with an emergency light flickering on and off above his head.
That figure was sitting behind the checkout counter in the very corner; it must be that monster merchant NPC who was widely circulated on the regional channel.
It was a sturdy skeleton wearing a faded leather jacket, its entire body was incredibly white, a cigarette that wasn't lit was dangling between its teeth, and a pair of hollow eyes were staring unblinkingly at the two of them.
Seeing the two approach, it pulled a stiff smile with the corners of its mouth, but its voice was lazy: “Yo, rare guests.”
Its voice was hoarse, as if it hadn't spoken in a long time, carrying a somewhat nonchalant air.
Su Rui finally remembered what she had forgotten.
This guy...
Wasn't this guy the monster merchant who had bought her?
After grabbing a loose thread, Su Rui’s thoughts cleared up. Thinking about it now, wasn't she sold right in front of a gas station back then?
That really wasn't a good memory.
However... was this guy also working a part-time job here delivering benefits?
Su Rui whispered the matter to Cheng Shuili, and Cheng Shuili couldn't help but raise her eyebrows.
The monster merchant didn't know what the two were whispering about, but since they had arrived on his home turf, being ignored by humans was still a bit awkward. He cleared his throat, attempting to pull their attention back:
“I don't sell things here, only information. Meeting is fate; I can give you a piece of news for free. Do you want to hear it now or later?”
Cheng Shuili had indeed heard of this, and she had also heard that this free piece of news was the most useful information for players.
Who wouldn't be curious?
Cheng Shuili and Su Rui exchanged a glance, the corners of their mouths slightly raised: “Hear it now.”
The skeleton merchant tapped the tabletop with his finger bones, producing a crisp “clack” sound.
He wasn't in a hurry to speak, but instead suddenly took an irregularly shaped black stone out of the drawer and pushed it toward Cheng Shuili to show her.
Cheng Shuili didn't touch it; just looking at the appearance of this thing, she remembered what it was.
Abyss stone.
The gold supply crate that had produced the screaming chicken had also produced one, and the special equipment evolution card required three whole ones plus a shadow essence.
As for how to obtain this thing, she still had no clue at all.
Rate on N.U.
