The handsome guy behind her looked like he had money, but the boss had seen enough people to know he looked fierce. He didn't look like the type to pay for a young girl.
"Yes, please," Nan Yue said.
The woman hesitated for a moment before taking a key and opening a room for Nan Yue in the middle of the hallway.
The room was much larger, lacking the cramped, boxy feel of the West District.
It consisted of two rooms: a large one with a bed and a desk, and a small sofa cleverly placed to serve as a living area.
The entryway was set up as a kitchen, featuring a refrigerator and a place for heating food.
The bathroom was also clean. It was small, but it had everything one needed.
What satisfied Nan Yue most was how bright the room was, featuring a small window that overlooked the neighboring community, with low buildings and a blue sky.
The soundproofing was also good. Despite the people passing by outside, Nan Yue heard nothing once she closed the door.
"How much per day?"
The boss looked at Nan Yue with a hint of sympathy. "16 points. Our inn has the best environment and facilities for short-term rentals in the East District. If you stay for more than five days, I can give you a discount."
Though she didn't hold much hope, the boss still performed her duty of explaining the amenities.
"The fast food shop at the entrance has a partnership with us. If you stay here, you can get three meals a day for two points."
Gu Xiang Kai didn't follow Nan Yue into the room. He just stood at the door smoking, seemingly uninterested in the superior living conditions.
"If I stay for ten days, how much can you lower the price?"
The boss sized Nan Yue up, hesitating. "For ten days... 15 points a day, and I'll include the meals."
Nan Yue nodded decisively. "Deal."
The boss was still in disbelief until Nan Yue swiped her points. She uploaded the room and meal cards into Nan Yue's ID bracelet. "Thank you for your business."
With her accommodation settled, Nan Yue felt much more at ease. Checking the time, she planned to take Gu Xiang Kai out for a meal.
Gu Xiang Kai wasn't picky. When Nan Yue took him to eat rice noodles, he went along willingly.
The rice noodle shop in the East District wasn't as well-located as the one in the mall, and it was cheaper, selling for one point a bowl. Nan Yue felt she had been ripped off at lunch.
Gu Xiang Kai ate quickly, finishing his bowl in a few bites, so Nan Yue had to order him another one.
Once he had eaten his fill, Gu Xiang Kai leaned back. "Alright, what is it?"
He had misjudged her before, thinking she was some innocent little rabbit.
Bullshit. What kind of little rabbit could drop 150 points on lodging the moment they arrived at the digital city state?
Even if he hadn't stepped in, he suspected the girl wouldn't have let that innkeeper bully her.
Gu Xiang Kai felt a bit of a headache. His judgment of people was truly lacking, and he always ended up losing out.
"I just wanted to thank you."
Nan Yue spoke indistinctly while eating her noodles.
Gu Xiang Kai snorted. "The digital city state isn't like back home. Not everyone is a naive, good person."
Nan Yue buried her head in her bowl and only looked up at Gu Xiang Kai after she was full.
"Well, didn't you step in to help anyway?"
Gu Xiang Kai let out a sharp laugh. "I just can't stand seeing a grown man bully a woman."
Nan Yue nodded solemnly. "Regardless of your reasons, if I owe a favor, I must return it. That is my principle."
Gu Xiang Kai's face was full of disdain, practically wearing a sign that said, "You're so easy to trick."
Nan Yue turned serious. "If you feel bad about it, I've just arrived and have some questions. If you don't mind, you could help me answer them."
Gu Xiang Kai stared at her for a moment. "...Fine, so this was the catch."
Indeed, ever since Gu Xiang Kai had stepped in, Nan Yue felt that while he looked like a hoodlum and not exactly a good person, he was probably the most upright individual she had met so far.
Furthermore, Gu Xiang Kai was capable and would know more than an average scavenger.
Gu Xiang Kai held an unlit cigarette in his mouth, slouching in his seat. "What do you want to ask?"
"About taking missions in the digital city state, things to watch out for in multiplayer missions, and a survival guide."
Gu Xiang Kai frowned as he looked over. "You've never been on a multiplayer mission?"
Nan Yue nodded, not intending to say more. But Gu Xiang Kai was a smart man. He cursed under his breath, biting down hard on the cigarette butt.
"A genius, huh?"
It was hard to tell if Gu Xiang Kai's tone was mocking or not. "This is the first time I've met someone who got a digital city state ID card right after leaving the beginner village."
Nan Yue admitted it openly. She didn't think she was an exception.
"There are plenty of geniuses."
Gu Xiang Kai tossed the cigarette onto the table. "There are many, but this is the first time I've seen a live one."
Gu Xiang Kai pointed his thumb upward. "The geniuses are all in the upper city states. They move fast—ordinary people can't even chase their shadows."
After speaking, Gu Xiang Kai leaned back with his arms crossed. "Let's take it one by one."
"We all come from the Nameless City, but people there don't realize that the so-called Nameless City isn't just one place. It's just a code name."
Gu Xiang Kai's smile was a bit cold. "Do you know how many Nameless Cities there are?"
"299."
Nan Yue's eyes widened. This was the first time she had heard this theory.
She and everyone around her, including the school teachers, had thought everyone was born, raised, selected, and left from the same place.
She had never imagined there were 299 city states similar to the one where she was born.
"This is City State 66. You must have noticed when you made your choice that there are 103 digital city states. As for the Nameless City, which is a rank lower than a digital city state, there will only be more, not fewer."
Nan Yue lowered her eyes. She now understood why that guard had called scavengers who just arrived from the Nameless City trash people.
Because the place they came from didn't even deserve a name.
No, it didn't even have a unique code.
299 city states, the places that birthed all scavengers, all shared the same name without even needing a way to distinguish them.
"Take it slow. This world isn't as beautiful as the books teach."
With a click, Gu Xiang Kai flicked his lighter and lit his cigarette. "We are nothing more than consumables."
Nan Yue thought of the drunkard in the West District who had cursed the Scavenger Project. "Consumables for whom?"
Everyone was a scavenger. Even the consuls who maintained order in the city state held part-time positions and had to complete missions alongside everyone else.
Gu Xiang Kai was stunned by Nan Yue's question. After a long silence, he said, "...This damn world."
Nan Yue felt like laughing, but she couldn't.
Because of the thing inside her, she didn't particularly resent the Scavenger Project.
If she hadn't entered the project, she might have died soon anyway.
Every night, she could feel that thing inside her body growing stronger, her fear becoming more blatant.
But now... she seemed to have found a way to suppress it.
However, for others, the pressure of living on the edge of life and death every day was simply too great. It was only natural they couldn't accept it.
Gu Xiang Kai wasn't one to complain much. After a couple of sentences, he returned to the main topic.
"In the Nameless City, you need to take a mission every six days. In the digital city state, it's every ten days. The higher the rank of the city state, the longer the rest period, and the higher the cost of living."
Nan Yue nodded. She knew this, but the reality was that most people would take missions before the deadline because they had no money to survive.
Rate on N.U.
