"ah?"

Madison looked bewildered. He glanced at the delicate lunchbox held in the arms of the petite and beautiful girl in front of him, then at the bandage wrapped around her forehead and the hospital gown she was wearing.

For a moment, Madison didn't know what to say.

Is it inappropriate to directly ask someone for a boxed lunch?

It makes it seem like he's bullying the weak.

"Sir, would you like a boxed lunch? The cafeteria has some new dishes, would you like to try them?"

Seeing the other person hesitate, Mingmei pressed on, almost handing the lunchbox to their face, as if afraid they would refuse: "I'm a patient, and I've walked so far to bring this lunchbox here. If I can't sell it, I'll have to send it back... Sigh~ How miserable am I?"

"Huh? You didn't eat this yourself?" Madison was taken aback, realizing that he seemed to have misunderstood.

"Yes? Our cafeteria recently launched a meal delivery service. They knew I was in the hospital, so they specifically asked me to promote it there."

Mingmei can lie without batting an eye these days, without ever considering whether players will suspect her. After all, will her lying affect your ability to buy lunch boxes?

Just like Lu Xiaoyao, no matter what Mingmei does each time, she just won't buy when she should.

Like Mu Chen, Mingmei didn't even need to ask him to buy it; he would come and buy it on his own initiative.

"I……"

Madison glanced at Mingmei, this petite woman. Her empty hospital gown made her look so thin, small, and pitiful. She had to come to the hospital to do business even when she was sick. Sigh.

He turned and glanced at Wang Wenfei again, and saw that she also nodded.

Madison thought to himself, "Sure enough, the other party has taken pity on me, which is why they asked me to help them agree."

So he nodded and said, "Okay, then~ You put the lunchbox in..."

Before he could finish speaking, Madison's game system emitted a notification sound: [Ding—Congratulations, player, you have discovered a mysterious merchant. Please purchase your desired items within the time limit!]

Madison: ? ? ? ?

"You... my God?" Madison, who had been wearing a cool guy face, suddenly felt sorry for the mysterious businessman in front of him!

In that instant, Mingmei noticed that the other person's face suddenly seemed to want to compete with the comedian.

"Your sky is still here..."

Amused by Madison's change of expression, Mingmei also chimed in with this comment.

"Pfft~"

Wang Wenfei, who was reminding Madison from the side, never expected it to be so funny.

"Are you buying it or not?"

Seeing Madison's ever-changing expressions, Mingmei had to remind him to hurry up.

"Oh, okay! I want them all!"

Gritting his teeth, Madison bought them all – three credit points!

If he performs poorly in this game, he'll have to pay out of his own credits, but that's not a problem for Madison!

"I hope the mysterious merchant girl will continue to be this good in the later parts of the game, and that her teammates will also be supportive."

After saying that, Madison looked at Wang Wenfei with great gratitude, making Wang Wenfei feel a little embarrassed. She said, "It's nothing. Haven't you encountered the mysterious merchant in the game before?"

When Wang Wenfei casually mentioned it, Madison actually nodded seriously: "It should be."

Mingmei and Wang Wenfei both fell silent.

No way?

Is it possible to not encounter the Mysterious Merchant in a game of this caliber?

Even if there's no sunshine, aren't there other NPCs?

Mingmei couldn't help but start to doubt her own life—could she be the most proactive and aggressive of all the mysterious businessmen?

Have you ever completed the game?

Mingmei couldn't help but ask him quietly, and the answer was obvious: there really wasn't.

Live stream viewers: [...]

Is this guy really that unlucky?

"Could it be that you don't remember because of the memory suppression during the game?" Wang Wenfei thought of the game mechanics.

"Although many of my previous memories were suppressed in the game, I am certain that I have never met the mysterious merchant."

Madison sighed and said, "Even if the memories are suppressed in the game, when we meet again and open the Mysterious Shop, the process will feel somewhat familiar, right?"

As he spoke, Madison glanced at Mingmei with a wistful look: "But you really look unfamiliar, and the electronic notification sound that just reminded me of you also sounds unfamiliar. Come to think of it, I really have never met you before."

[I can vouch for it, hahaha. The person streaming this was my deskmate, and he really is like that. Every time after a game, when he hears someone mention the mysterious merchant, he's always questioning the meaning of life, hahaha!]

[And another thing, I remember one game where he teamed up with an upperclassman, and the upperclassman discovered the Mysterious Merchant but didn't tell him. Hahaha, he only found out after the game was over. That was the closest he ever got to the Mysterious Merchant!]

Hahaha, that's so pitiful, just look at that.

This is so tragic!

That's for sure, isn't it?

Seeing the bright and cheerful comments in the other player's live stream chat, I felt deep sympathy for him, and I was also afraid of the players who were hiding mysterious merchants.

Mingmei felt quite lucky about this; apart from encountering Lu Xiaoyao, her biggest nemesis, in every game, nothing particularly outrageous had happened.

Lu Xiaoyao, who was working overtime late into the night repairing the mecha, felt a chill run down her spine.

"Ah!" Lu Xiaoyao rubbed her nose, staring at the mecha in front of her with resentment. "How come an important part is missing?"

Increasingly angry, Lu Xiaoyao finally dialed the logistics parts configuration video call in a fit of resentment.

Hello.

"Why are there no energy crystals left for the Azure Wolf Mech?!"

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!