On the 247th day of the operation of Smiley City, in a certain one-star copy.
A group of players had just escaped from a monster's mouth and were running frantically in the ancient city.
These are five middle school students, three boys and two girls, all wearing the same school uniform.
Some of them were almost exhausted, moving their legs with difficulty, their faces full of tears of despair, but they dared not make a sound for fear of attracting the monster's attention again.
My heart was about to explode, and my mind was full of thoughts about giving up. I didn't want to run away anymore, so I might as well be eaten by the monster here, and be done with it!
Thinking of this, the person at the end of the team actually stopped.
She supported herself on her knees with her hands, gasping for breath, tears falling to the ground.
The people in front noticed that she had fallen behind, so they quickly stopped and shouted in a low voice, "Huang Xiaomo, hurry up and catch up! Don't stop!"
Huang Xiaomo cried and shook her head, "I can't run anymore. You guys go away and leave me alone!"
When several classmates heard this, their faces changed and they quickly ran over.
"Don't be like this!"
"Come, let's run with you!"
"Think about your parents and hold on a little longer, okay?"
"Don't stop here, it's dangerous!"
Huang Xiaomo wanted to say that she was afraid of death too.
Just now, she saw with her own eyes a new player being chewed and swallowed by the monster. Her scalp was numb. If she was not really out of strength, who would stop at this time?
She just really couldn't run anymore.
Huang Xiaomo broke down crying and couldn't even stand up straight, while the other four students looked at each other in bewilderment.
At this moment, a house on their right suddenly changed its appearance, from the gloomy wooden houses in the ancient city to a white-walled cottage with a very holiday style, which scared the five of them.
After seeing the inside of the small house clearly, one boy exclaimed in surprise, "It's a safe house!"
*
Several waves of players have entered the safe house today.
Some players were sitting on the sofa in a daze, probably thinking about life, or considering what to do after returning to the dungeon.
Some players were sleeping soundly in the guest rooms.
Some were devouring pasta and fried chicken.
…Some were playing games with Tuanzi.
Xia Jing had just brought out a few glasses of soda when he saw five middle school students trembling as they pushed the door open. He smiled gently and said, "Welcome to the safe house."
Upon seeing Xia Jing, Huang Xiaomo's deskmate, another girl among the five people, excitedly grabbed her arm and whispered, "It's the beautiful manager of the safe house!"
Huang Xiaomo's eyes were still tearful and she was a little confused.
She stared at Xia Jing blankly, feeling that seeing this beautiful store manager was worth hearing about.
When she saw other players discussing safe houses on the Smiley City forum, all she could think about was how great it would be if the five of them could find a safe house every time they entered a dungeon.
She didn't care how many delicious foods or fun things there were in the safe house, nor did she care whether the manager of the safe house was tall or short, fat or thin. She just wanted to have a safe place to hide in a dangerous place.
But when she actually met this person, she realized that there was a reason why this person was mentioned so frequently.
The young man had a tall figure, and his hands, wrists, and neck were all beautiful. His face was even more picturesque, with narrow and long phoenix eyes that held a hint of a smile, and his slightly curved, beautifully shaped eyes that seemed to contain a spring breeze.
Just by taking a look, Huang Xiaomo's heart, which was about to collapse due to fear, inexplicably stabilized.
After Xia Jing handed the soda to the earlier guest, he turned and walked to the front desk and put the monster body parts paid by the five children on the electronic scale to weigh them.
He narrowed his eyes with a satisfied smile, briefly explained the rules of the safe house to them, and asked, "Would you like something to eat? If you're tired, you can go directly to the guest rooms to rest. Your rooms are located on the left and right at the end of the corridor."
The five middle school students looked at each other and shouted in unison: "We, we want to eat!"
After hiding in the ancient city day and night for three days, they were almost starving to death!
…
After Xia Jing entered the kitchen, the five middle school students sat down at the empty rectangular dining table in the living room.
"Huang Xiaomo, are you feeling better now?" a male classmate asked with concern.
Huang Xiaomo sniffed, nodded heavily, and whispered, "I'm sorry for making you worry."
"Don't say that. We all understand. I can't run any longer. Luckily I found a safe house. Otherwise, I'm really worried I wouldn't make it to the end of this dungeon..."
"Speaking of which, it's really comfortable in the safe house..."
Huang Xiaomo looked around with her friends.
The style of the safe house is very fresh and simple. There are pots of quietly blooming flowers on the windowsill, and there is also a small goldfish tank with two goldfish sleeping face to face in it.
There was a wooden cabinet next to their dining table with a microphone on it. The soothing music flowing in the safe house at this moment seemed to be flowing out of the microphone.
After Huang Xiaomo calmed down, she stood up and walked to the microphone curiously to take a look, wondering if this was a microphone-type speaker?
As soon as she reached out to touch it, the small microphone twisted and avoided her fingertips.
Huang Xiaomo froze.
The small microphone quickly straightened up, looking serious as if the momentary bending was just an illusion of Huang Xiaomo, and it was just a serious microphone.
Huang Xiaomo: "…"
She withdrew her hand awkwardly, then suddenly realized something and looked around the entire safe house with a completely new perspective...
When I walked back to the dining table, several classmates were discussing in low voices.
Like other players, they usually have the habit of accumulating monster body parts, and the five of them still have some stocks in their hands.
They hesitated for a moment between using their extra body parts to extend their rest time in the safe house or going to the small supermarket to buy monster items, and finally decided on the latter - hiding here all the time was not a good idea, they had to find a way to pass the dungeon!
At this moment, Xia Jing brought up two servings of fried rice. Tuanzi, who had returned victorious from the game, had a large plate of fried chicken on his head, which made Huang Xiaomo, his deskmate, exclaim "How cute!"
The delicious smell moved the five children so much that they were almost in tears.
Who would have thought that they could have such a delicious meal after entering such a dangerous dungeon!
A boy picked up a chicken drumstick and started chewing it. After taking a bite, he exclaimed in surprise: "Wow, this is so delicious!"
The fried chicken had a crispy crust and the meat inside was tender and juicy. It was simply better than any fried chicken they had ever eaten in the real world!
The boy asked Xia Jing in shock: "Manager, did you make this yourself?"
Xia Jing thought about it and nodded seriously: "Yes."
Huang Xiaomo, who was sitting at the same table, had just tasted some fried rice and it was also super delicious. She said admiringly, "Manager, your cooking skills are amazing!"
Xia Jing smiled: "Really? It's actually quite simple."
"Manager, manager, there's no menu here. Does that mean we can order anything?"
Xia Jing continued to smile: "Yeah, that's right."
Huang Xiaomo subconsciously asked, "Does this place have all the ingredients?"
Hearing this, Xia Jing's eyes turned and looked at her, and the smile on his lips slowly widened.
He said slowly: "As long as you want it, you can make it happen."
The word "change" caused the food in the five children's throats to get stuck.
They were confused.
...Change?
How to change and what to use?
Seeing their confused faces, Xia Jing's smile deepened.
He gently reminded, "Everything you see, touch, and eat in Smiley City is all transformed from the same energy in different forms."
Five children: "…"
Xia Jing blinked and suggested sincerely, "So if you really can't find any food in the dungeon and are too hungry, you can find a way to cook the monster parts you've saved to replenish your energy."
After thinking about it, Xia Jing added: "If you can accept it, eating it raw is no problem."
Five children: "..."
There's a problem, a big problem, the fried chicken suddenly doesn't smell good anymore!!
They all froze there, not daring to eat or swallow what they had in their hands or in their mouths, but not daring to throw it away or spit it out in front of Xia Jing.
Xia Jing had enough fun.
He chuckled, said happily, "Then please enjoy your meal," and turned to leave.
Huang Xiaomo came to her senses and tugged at the corner of Xia Jing's clothes.
Xia Jing turned around again. Huang Xiaomo hesitated and asked, "Manager, do you have any suggestions regarding monster props?"
After hearing what Huang Xiaomo said, the other four students were stunned for a moment, and then they stopped being pretentious. They quickly swallowed their food and looked at Xia Jing eagerly.
Xia Jing glanced out the window thoughtfully.
In the one-star copy "Night in the Ancient City", he remembered that the main monster in the copy was a monster made of condensed loess. It could appear anywhere as long as it sensed the presence of the players.
If it is hit by a knife, it will scatter on the spot, and ordinary weapons cannot kill it at all.
A male student hesitated and said, "We think the only way to kill this monster is to burn down the entire ancient city. We have such props, but the entire map of this dungeon is only this big. If we burn down the entire ancient city, we will have nowhere to escape... Manager, do you have any suitable monster props you can recommend?"
After the monster's attack parts are removed by the player, some will retain pure attack performance, some will only retain pure defense performance, and some will have both attack and defense.
The Safe House Supermarket is recognized as the headquarters of monster props. Although it is not complete, it definitely has the most in the entire Smiley City.
There should be something here that can protect them from the fire, right?
Five pairs of young and clear eyes looked at Xia Jing anxiously.
When Xia Jing is in a good mood, he never minds giving others some ideas, not to mention that these five children are quite cute.
He thought for a moment, narrowed his eyes and smiled, "You can use any monster-protective items on the shelves of the small supermarket that are priced above 1,000g."
Before the children had time to be happy, they hung their heads when they heard the number 1000g.
They only had about 500g of monster body parts on hand, and they had thought that should be enough...
Seeing them dejected, Xia Jing's eyes turned slightly, and he leaned one hand on the back of a chair and tapped it lightly with his fingers.
Huang Xiaomo was wondering at a loss what to do after they left the safe house when she heard a clear, spring-like voice slowly falling from above her head.
"All instances in Smiley City are not designed to kill all players, so they will definitely leave a way for players to survive."
"Monster items can be a shortcut for players to clear a level, but even if there's no shortcut, there's always a 'key' inside the dungeon."
The five children looked up immediately.
The handsome young man said, "If I remember correctly, there should be a secondary monster in this dungeon."
Huang Xiaomo quickly said, "Yes!"
After Xia Jing said this, the children immediately had an idea.
"Oh right, that secondary monster seems to wrap itself up before attacking us. Fire won't hurt it, but throwing a knife at it can break its skin!"
"Then its coat should be its attacking part. If we take it off, it might become a defensive monster item!"
"Oh, that's right, we didn't catch up..."
"We just wanted to kill the main monster as soon as possible, but we didn't expect the secondary monster in the dungeon to be so important!"
Seeing everyone cheering up, Huang Xiaomo finally felt a glimmer of hope in her heart.
She raised her head and looked at Xia Jing with sparkling eyes.
She remembered what an old player had said in the forum.
"Everything in the copy is a clue."
She didn't understand this sentence at first, or rather, even if she knew the meaning of this sentence, she didn't know how to think about it.
After hearing Xia Jing's concise analysis, Huang Xiaomo suddenly seemed to understand what kind of thinking players should maintain in the dungeon.
When people are in despair in a difficult situation, it is easy to overlook that there is a rope in the predicament that can help them climb up.
In fact, if you are calm enough, you will find that the end of the rope is lying at their feet.
At this moment, Huang Xiaomo took a deep breath. She felt that she could try harder and be braver.
She said hoarsely, "Manager, thank you."
Xia Jing paused, smiled and said, "You're welcome."
but...
He glanced outside and thought that the safe house seemed to have stayed in this copy for too long.
Just as this thought came to mind, another figure hurriedly pushed open the door of the safe house and rushed in.
The man was burly and had a scar on his face. He panted and scanned the entire safe house vigilantly, then his eyes fixed on the five children at the dining table.
The five children's discussion came to an abrupt halt.
Xia Jing glanced at them and clearly felt the fear and disbelief that instantly rose in the five children.
The scarred man laughed maliciously. "Hey, I was wondering why I seemed to be the only one left in this dungeon. So you guys sneaked into the safe house?"
Huang Xiaomo clenched her fists.
In this dungeon, besides the monsters, there is also this person...
This person was an old player with much more experience than them. He was very cunning and insidious. Four of the five new players who died before were killed by him.
Now, he is the only remaining player in the entire dungeon besides them.
How come even he entered the safe house...
Huang Xiaomo bit her lip.
The intrusion of the scarred man suddenly changed the atmosphere in the safe house.
He swaggered over and, upon seeing the fried chicken in front of Huang Xiaomo and the others, he reached out and scooped it up to start chewing. He sneered as he gnawed, "I was desperately trying to escape out there, and you guys are so comfortable here, with food and drinks!"
The five children said nothing.
The children's silence seemed to satisfy the scarred man's desire for control, making him feel that no matter where these five little ghosts escaped, they were still in the palm of his hand and could be sacrificed at any time.
Feeling proud, he raised his eyes and noticed Xia Jing, his eyes suddenly became lustful: "Are you the manager of the safe house?"
Xia Jing turned his gaze away from the children and replied calmly, "Yes."
"Hiss," the scarred man's eyes swirled around Xia Jing like a snake, "Then I paid to come in, and I can also order food, right? Beauty, why don't you make something for me?"
The greasy tone of voice made the five children's faces twist.
Xia Jing paused and just smiled and said, "Excuse me, what would you like to eat?"
"Anything is fine," the scarred man licked his lips. "Nothing that my little beauty doesn't cook tastes good!"
Huang Xiaomo was almost nauseated. She looked at Xia Jing worriedly, but Xia Jing's expression was as gentle as ever.
His eyelashes cast a shadow in his eyes, the corners of his lips curled slightly, and his voice was gentle: "Then, please wait a moment."
*
As soon as Xia Jing entered the kitchen, the scarred man sneered at the children and asked, "Hey, how many monster parts do you have left?"
A boy said warily, "It was all used up when we came in. It's gone!"
The man with the scar naturally didn't believe it. These kids were very smart, but how could they be smarter than him?
He grabbed another chicken leg and gnawed on it, staring at them menacingly as he threatened, "You'd better behave yourself. We'll eventually have to meet in that dungeon. Be good now, and I'll be gentle with you later. If you don't behave now, then after we get out..."
He grinned and said, "I have plenty of ways to kill you."
The five children immediately became angry.
Huang Xiaomo lowered his head, clutching his pants tightly with both hands.
At this moment, her deskmate exclaimed - the man with the scar actually touched her face!
The three boys immediately stood up to block him and shouted, "What are you doing!"
The scarred man smiled sinisterly: "Touching it will make a piece of flesh fall off. What are you doing? Want to fight? Have you forgotten that violence is prohibited in the safe house?"
The boys were shocked and angry: "—You!"
Huang Xiaomo had had enough.
She had just regained the desire to live, why should she encounter this kind of trash again!
But perhaps she was too angry, at this moment, those words once again came to her mind.
"Everything in the copy is a clue."
Xia Jing's analysis told her that all the clues could be used.
Huang Xiaomo's heart moved slightly.
On the other side, three boys were still confronting the scarred man.
They didn't dare to take action, but they had to stop the scarred man from harassing the two girls. As they pushed and shoved, the four of them gradually approached the wooden cabinet next to the dining table, and the scarred man's back was about to touch the small microphone that was being used for singing.
Huang Xiaomo mustered up her courage and suddenly shouted, "Little microphone, don't let him knock you over!"
Huang Xiaomo's sudden words stunned the three boys and the man with the scar.
The small microphone behind the scarred man shuddered, as if it had been singing too passionately just now, and now it suddenly came to its senses, suddenly bent the pole, and hit the scarred man on the back!
The scarred man jumped up in fright and turned around, asking in confusion, "What the hell is that?"
Huang Xiaomo swallowed her saliva. Seeing that this trick worked, she didn't care anymore and said in a shocked tone: "Little microphone, he actually said you are a ghost!"
Scarred man: "?!"
Small microphone: "!!"
Then, the scarred man saw with his own eyes that the pitch-black, unremarkable microphone in front of him suddenly split open from the top, revealing two rows of densely packed sharp teeth.
The music in the safe house suddenly stopped, and the small microphone opened and closed its mouth angrily "clicking" and "clicking", as if cursing "Come here if you have the guts!"
The scarred man's eyes were bloodshot - this guy is actually a fucking monster!
He yelled "Fuck!" and took a step back, bumping into three boys and having no time to escape!
Huang Xiaomo slammed the table and stood up: "Little microphone, he actually called you a fuck!"
Scarred Man: "??? What, I'm not, I don't have-"
Small microphone: "Ka-ka-ka-ka--"
It suddenly bent down and kicked, flew up on the spot, and pounced towards the scarred man angrily!
The three boys were also scared and ran away. The man with the scar howled and turned around to escape!
Suddenly, a strange sight appeared in the safe house.
The burly man was running, and the microphone monster was chasing him, jumping on the ground and leaning on a pole. It was quite ferocious!
Scar Man never expected that there would be a monster in the safe house. Where is the safe house?
By the way, this monster is too arrogant. It's just called a ghost, but it is a ghost!
The scarred man gritted his teeth and saw a sign hanging on the door in front of him with the word "Kitchen" written on it. Without thinking, he pushed the door open and closed it.
He took a breath and suddenly thought, kitchen? Wasn't that beauty cooking for him in the kitchen?
The scarred man's expression suddenly turned gloomy - he was raising a monster in the safe house, right? Even after raising a monster, he didn't allow customers to use violence in the store, causing him to be so embarrassed by a small monster. See if he doesn't teach the store manager a lesson!
The scarred man immediately stood up straight and walked towards the kitchen with a vicious look on his face.
Seeing the young man's slender back in the depths of the room, the scarred man sneered and said loudly: "Little beauty, your place is very interesting!"
The young man paused and turned around.
The scarred man said arrogantly: "You put such a monster in the safe house. I really can't do anything to it, but have you ever thought that I can do more to you-"
The young man held a monster's head in one hand and a huge monster's eye in the other. The apron he was wearing was splattered with blood, and a trace of blood flew to the corner of his eye, adding a bit of beauty.
The scarred man's words stopped abruptly and he froze in place.
Xia Jing smiled: "Hmm?"
Scarred man: "..."
Xia Jing: "Ah, are you here to urge for the meal? Please wait a moment."
He turned around, and when he turned back a few seconds later, the monster's body parts in his hands were gone, replaced by a plate of pasta and a steak.
Xia Jing said gently: "Okay."
Scarred man: "..."
Where the hell did this food come from? Don't think he's a fool. A few seconds ago, the things in his hands were the monster's head and eyes. Where on earth did these two delicacies come from? It can't be what he thought, right? No way!!!
The scarred man's face gradually turned blue, the corners of his eyes twitched nervously, and he took a step back with his left foot.
Xia Jing blinked: "Don't like it? If you don't like it, I can replace both of them with fried chicken."
fried chicken.
The scarred man was struck by lightning instantly.
…
With a loud bang, the scarred man rushed out of the kitchen with a pale face.
As soon as he came out, he grabbed the collar of a male classmate next to Huang Xiaomo and yelled, "Do you all know this? This fried chicken, this fried chicken—"
A light voice reminded him: "Sir, violence is prohibited in the safe house."
The scarred man turned around in horror and saw the handsome young man coming out.
The blood on his body had disappeared, but he was still holding the two meals in his hands, except that the pasta and steak had all turned into fried chicken!
fried chicken!!
The scarred man cursed loudly, let go and ran away. Tuanzi happened to pass by and kicked him without thinking: "Get out of here!"
The golden retriever dodged swiftly, then narrowed its eyes, and bit the scarred man's leg with a howl!
Scarred Man: "Ah ...
The little microphone also jumped over and bit the scarred man's head!
Immediately afterwards, the man, the dog, and the monster were all sucked out of the door of the safe house by a huge suction force and fell to the ground three or four meters away from the door!
In the safe house, no matter who was thinking about life, playing games, or chatting, they were all attracted by the noise and gathered by the window following the gossipy nature of human beings, looking at them curiously with their big eyes.
Xia Jing also put down two servings of fried chicken, walked to the window, and leaned against it gently.
Five children were beside him, each covering their eyes with their hands, and admiring the beautiful scenery outside the house through the gaps between their wide-open fingers and middle fingers.
Outside the house, the golden retriever raised its claws and slapped the scarred man's face wildly, while the small microphone kept pulling the scarred man's hair!
"Violence is indeed prohibited in the safe house," Xia Jing bent his elbows and supported his chin lazily as the evening breeze from the ancient city blew in from the window. "But it's only allowed in the safe house."