When Gu Xiang Kai emerged around noon, yawning incessantly, Nan Yue was already eating her lunch set.
Perhaps because she had enjoyed that perfect roast duck, the meals provided by the inn now felt a bit difficult to swallow. However, Nan Yue didn't complain. She had dutifully finished her porridge in the morning and was now eating every scrap from her lunch box.
"Nan Yue!"
A crisp female voice rang out, and a figure lunged toward her like a projectile. "Wow, you're out too! That's great."
Nan Yue's nose twitched, and she looked a bit helpless. "Your scent has changed."
Zhu Xi Ning revealed a face with exquisite makeup, the rich fragrance of roses clinging to her as if she had just stepped out of a garden.
"It's perfume! I just finished a mission, so I went to buy new clothes, cosmetics, and perfume. Smells good, right?"
Nan Yue's expression was complicated. "There are still ten days left. You should be more careful with your points."
Zhu Xi Ning gave a dismissive nod. "I'm moving out! I'm going to stay at a luxury hotel in the east of the city. I'll probably be back in six or seven days."
Nan Yue was speechless.
Zhu Xi Ning had originally intended to invite Nan Yue to see if she wanted to split the room cost. After all, the hotel rooms in the east were larger than this, and there would be no problem with two girls staying together.
Her eyes shifted, and only then did she notice Gu Xiang Kai sitting across from them.
She froze for a moment. "Why are you with him?"
It seemed they knew each other.
Gu Xiang Kai flashed a fierce, toothy grin like a snarling stray. "He's my teammate."
Zhu Xi Ning's eyes widened. "You teamed up with the Wild Dog?"
Gu Xiang Kai's handsome face darkened, his eyes filled with a predatory aura.
"Gu Xiang Kai?"
Seeing that Nan Yue didn't seem to know the name, Zhu Xi Ning frowned and squeezed onto the chair next to her, sitting down unceremoniously.
"Yeah, Gu Xiang Kai, the famous Wild Dog of the digital cities."
"He's crazy and wild. You have to be careful not to get bitten if you get in his way."
Gu Xiang Kai clamped his teeth down hard on the cigarette butt in his mouth. "Likewise, Mad Woman."
Nan Yue thought to herself that their nicknames were actually quite a good match.
"He's my teammate. We collaborated on a mission and worked well together."
Zhu Xi Ning fell silent for a moment, sized Nan Yue up once more, and then left without another word.
She seemed to have something on her mind as she departed.
Nan Yue scratched her head, finding it a bit strange, though with Zhu Xi Ning's extravagant nature, it was impossible for her to stay in a common little inn forever.
Gu Xiang Kai let out a cold snort. "You're quite the prize. Plenty of dogs have their eyes on you."
Nan Yue looked at him hesitantly. "...You shouldn't insult yourself like that."
Gu Xiang Kai's roguish face twisted in frustration, taking a while before he could catch his breath.
"I was talking about that Mad Woman."
Nan Yue looked in the direction Zhu Xi Ning had gone, but she was long gone.
"I suspect she originally wanted to team up with you."
Nan Yue looked shocked. "Me? Surely not?"
Although teaming up became more common as one went higher up, it still required caution. Being able to talk outside of a mission didn't mean they could cooperate inside one.
When it came down to life and death, previous friendships meant nothing.
"She's somewhat famous. I'm not the one who came up with the Mad Woman nickname."
Gu Xiang Kai sat back lazily with his hands behind his head. "You know that some scavengers can awaken abilities, right?"
Nan Yue was aware of this because the academy had mentioned it many times.
Exceptional scavengers would have their talents unearthed through repeated missions, commonly known as awakened abilities, which allowed them to perform purification missions more effectively.
However, the probability of obtaining an awakened ability was low. It often felt like an empty promise; most people longed for one but had never met a living example.
"The mortality rate for scavengers in the Nameless City is the highest because they have nothing. They rely entirely on luck and personal ability to complete missions."
"But as you move up and scavengers earn points, they can exchange them for equipment at designated locations. Some powerful scavengers even obtain awakened abilities, which significantly lowers their mortality rate in missions."
Gu Xiang Kai bit his cigarette butt. "She is someone who obtained an awakened ability."
Nan Yue truly hadn't expected Zhu Xi Ning to be so capable. If she didn't squander her points like that, shouldn't she have been able to go to the high-tier letter cities by now?
Perhaps sensing Nan Yue's confusion, Gu Xiang Kai sneered. "Her ability isn't that powerful. It's a type of premonition, or rather, intuition. It allows her to sense danger or safety, so it's not easy for her to run into trouble. But because of that, it can only guarantee her safety to a certain extent. It's not very useful for exploration missions."
Nan Yue realized that such an ability was a double-edged sword.
It could certainly help a scavenger avoid harm, but it could also have the opposite effect, such as causing them to miss clues that coexisted with danger.
If Zhu Xi Ning relied heavily on this ability, her evaluation grade likely wouldn't be high each time. No wonder she was so poor toward the final days that she had to return to a cheap inn.
"Her ability is very suitable for teaming up, especially with someone brave and capable."
Gu Xiang Kai glanced at Nan Yue as he said this, his meaning clear. "The reason she approached you before was likely because she thought you were a good fit."
Nan Yue didn't reject this kind of purposeful approach. Looking out for oneself was a human instinct, and she hadn't lost anything from it.
"So she gave up because of you?"
Gu Xiang Kai looked at Nan Yue with curiosity. Previously, Nan Yue didn't like to speak much outside of missions and appeared very quiet, only showing a bit of an edge during the missions themselves.
Was it his imagination, or did this girl seem a bit more cheerful now?
"Zhu Xi Ning's ability dictates that she must be very cautious. She wouldn't rashly team up with you."
After a moment's thought, Gu Xiang Kai added, "Not to mention, she probably doesn't trust me."
For a girl with only an intuition-based ability, a 'Wild Dog' like Gu Xiang Kai was indeed likely to make her feel unsafe.
Nan Yue nodded indifferently. Caution was necessary. Even if Zhu Xi Ning proposed a team-up now, she wouldn't agree.
Without having gone through a mission together, no one knew a person's true colors.
Zhu Xi Ning moved out, but her room wasn't rented out, as if she were certain she would be back soon.
Zhu Xi Ning had previously added Nan Yue's account, allowing them to communicate via their watches. After resting for two days, she invited Nan Yue out for shopping.
Nan Yue also intended to get some new clothes, so she readily agreed.
Zhu Xi Ning didn't mention Gu Xiang Kai, and Gu Xiang Kai had no interest in going. He spent his days sleeping in his room, as if he were a pig reincarnated.
After an afternoon of shopping, Nan Yue bought two sets of clothes, both lightweight and easy to move in. She politely declined the leather boots and trench coat style that Zhu Xi Ning frantically recommended.
One set was a simple white T-shirt and loose trousers, and the other was a beige-gray tracksuit, costing her a total of 50 points.
Zhu Xi Ning was a bit disappointed and immediately dragged Nan Yue to a styling salon. Nan Yue had always had long hair, but after half of her braid was bitten off by Grandmother during the Qualification Exam, her hair had remained a mangled mess that reached her chest.
The stylist at the shop had a great attitude, calling her 'beautiful' with every sentence. Nan Yue didn't know what suited her, so the stylist patted his chest and promised to design a suitable look.
As Nan Yue was pressed into the chair, she looked up and saw her own eyes in the mirror. Her black pupils were like a bottomless abyss.
They looked exactly like that thing inside her.
Rate on N.U.
