14 Menggui High School (14)

They're stealing!

However, the salesperson who was asked this question turned pale and did not answer it for a long time.

Qin Fu'an turned his head to look at him, and after noticing the obvious struggle on his face, he suddenly realized, "It seems there are other ways."

However, as one of the employees under his supervision, the sales staff could not inform him of this method.

Qin Fu'an didn't care. He didn't have much of a craving for food. On the contrary, he could sleep for a thousand years and had long since achieved the ability to abstain from grains.

If I hadn't woken up to find the world had changed drastically and hadn't deliberately spent many years in the human world, I might not even recognize the names on the food packaging on this shelf right now.

When he pointed it out, the sales clerk looked a little flustered, but before she could explain, several figures squeezed into the small supermarket.

They were his strange colleague who was on duty guarding the small supermarket with him, and the three players who were caught by him and tied together with strange threads and led in.

Chen Qi, Bai Song, Ya Ke.

Qin Fu'an matched their faces with their names one by one, ignoring the sudden look of surprise and pleading for help on their faces when they saw him, and walked up to them with a smile on his lips.

At the same time, the sales clerk had already forcibly pulled back her colleague who was trying to attack Qin Fu'an.

For the time being, no one came to disturb Qin Fu'an and the three players in this small area.

"Boss, we've gotten separated. Besides the three of us, we don't know where Nanzhu and that newbie are..." Yake twisted the tightly bound silk threads around his body, trying his best to plead for the survival of the other two players as well.

As he said this, Chen Qi and Bai Song, who were standing next to him, also looked at Qin Fu'an expectantly, their expressions full of unknowing anticipation.

Looking at the genuine worry and pleading in their eyes, Qin Fu'an glanced at the comments scrolling across the screen, wondering how long the group could remain kind. Suddenly, he understood why this so-called unlimited live stream room had set up three beginner dungeons for new players.

Because of their still naive nature, if they were to enter regular dungeons and play with veteran players too early, they would probably all get ripped off badly.

It might end in a tragic fate where there is no chance of survival, and only one in ten survives.

However, it cannot be denied that Qin Fu'an really likes this kind of innocent and kind-hearted human being.

Because these kinds of people are much easier to deceive and manipulate than veteran players who have witnessed fierce competition and battles.

So he raised an eyebrow and smiled, replying in an almost gentle tone, "Don't worry, I've already rescued them and sent them back to the classroom. You'll see them soon."

Upon hearing this, the three men who had been secretly wary of him all breathed a sigh of relief. The joy and closeness in their eyes became even more obvious. Even in the small supermarket that had almost killed them, they exuded a relaxed and confident aura.

"Boss, you're such a good person! We're so lucky to have met you in this dungeon!" The most talkative of them all flashed a bright smile with eight teeth and chatted with him in a very familiar manner. "By the way, how did you subdue these monsters? I thought we were all doomed!"

Upon hearing this, Qin Fu'an sized him up for a moment, and then asked, "You've all gone through several dungeons, and your personal attribute points have increased somewhat. Haven't you thought about fighting back when you encounter monsters?"

This is also what puzzled Qin Fu'an. This is an infinitely bizarre game that could be deadly for humans, but whether he observed Nan Zhu or other players, he found that they all seemed to be somewhat fearful and shrinking when facing the monsters. No matter what the situation, their first reaction was to avoid and run away, and he had almost never seen them fight back.

“Uh…” Ark was caught off guard by the question. The usually talkative man seemed to have been suddenly grabbed by the neck, and he could only stammer for a long time without being able to utter another word.

On the contrary, Chen Qi and Bai Song, who were standing nearby, shook their heads bitterly at Qin Fu'an upon seeing this.

“It’s no use,” Bai Song said helplessly. “We are new players, and we only managed to clear the dungeon by luck. The points and attribute points we get are pitifully small, and there are several attribute points to allocate. I didn’t put any points into strength.”

He put all his attribute points into agility, which is why he was able to escape so quickly.

"I chose Intelligence because I had an important exam to take before entering the game..." Chen Qi pursed her lips, actually regretting her impulsive choice.

Yak weakly raised his hand: "Well, I do have some strength, but as you can see, I wasn't very strong to begin with. Even with the attribute points, I'm only slightly stronger than an average person."

So, in conclusion, it's not that these three people didn't want to fight back, but that they were well aware that they simply didn't have the ability to do so.

"Besides, we don't know the abilities of the monsters, nor have we awakened any offensive superpowers, so when we encounter them, we can only run away." Chen Qi's expression was not good, but he still told her everything.

It wasn't out of trust in Qin Fu'an, but rather out of gratitude.

She knew very well that she had been saved, and that in the next few days, they would inevitably still rely on Qin Fu'an's strength. So instead of hiding it, she decided to be open and tell him all the information he wanted to know.

Survival is the most important thing.

"Among us players, I guess Nanzhu has awakened her skill, but it's probably not in an attack direction," Bai Song guessed in a low voice.

These are all players who have experienced several dungeons. When they first enter a dungeon, the only ones who can step up and organize the overall situation are either social bullies, players who want to show off and win the audience's attention, or people who are quite aware of their own abilities and resources.

Nan Zhu's personality is unlike the previous two, so she must have a powerful trump card in her hand to stand up for herself.

Coincidentally, not only Bai Song, but the other two players thought so too. After all, Nan Zhu had previously revealed that she had entered a lost dungeon. The fact that she was able to survive in a dungeon where even veteran players were trapped shows how powerful her trump cards are.

This is also the biggest reason why these players have always followed the arrangements of the Nanzhu organization.

Seeing the thoughtful expressions on the three faces, Qin Fu'an decided to retract his earlier opinion that they were naive.

Those who survive any game instance, aside from luck, are mostly not reckless and naive fools.

Of course, luck is often more important than intelligence and ability.

Qin Fu'an didn't delve any further into the backgrounds of the players. After clarifying the situation, he directly revealed his purpose in rescuing them.

"Why were you being chased by these two sales clerks?" he calmly stated, "If it was a case of forced buying and selling, I think the chase would have ended when you left the small supermarket."

But in fact, they were nearly hunted to death.

Upon hearing this question, the three men who had been so responsive just moments before fell silent.

Moreover, they all looked rather unwell, as if they had been asked something embarrassing, and their eyes were filled with evasiveness.

He looks guilty.

At that moment, the two sales clerks who had been eavesdropping suddenly became assertive.

One of them jumped out angrily, pointing at the three and loudly accusing them: "They stole things! Our supermarket is doing a good job. Although no students usually come to our supermarket to buy things, they are all very well-behaved and never steal. But out of these five people, four of them stole our things!!"

Since the students couldn't control their hands and feet, the sales clerks naturally had no choice but to chase after them and cut off their unruly hands and feet.

Qin Fu'an raised an eyebrow upon hearing this, looking at the three people who were almost bowing their heads to their chests.

Theft... even in the human world, such a thing wouldn't end well if discovered, right?

"I...I didn't mean to..." Chen Qi was the first to muster the courage to defend herself. She frowned and never looked at the shelf next to her. Looking up at Qin Fu'an, she explained clearly, "I don't know what happened to me at the time. When I got to the shelf, I had a special impulse. It was like I had to have that thing. I was trying my best to control myself, but my hands and feet just wouldn't listen and I took it!"

As she spoke, she opened her palm, revealing a jelly that she had been tightly clutching in her hand.

Qin Fu'an looked down and saw that it was an ordinary-looking jelly, if you ignored the unknown eyeball encased in the transparent jelly.

With Chen Qi taking the lead, the other two, who hadn't yet understood why they had crossed the line to steal, seemed to be reminded and suddenly realized what they had done and took out the items they had "stolen".

In Bai Song's hand was a box of well-packaged band-aids, and in Ya Ke's hand was a jar of golden and tempting honey.

Three different things, but what they have in common is that all three seem to have something strange that shouldn't exist.

The picture on the band-aid box is a broken, bleeding finger, while inside the honey jar is a motionless bee.

"Stop making excuses. You stole, and that's it. Our store's security cameras have all recorded it clearly! If you don't return the items and get punished, you won't have a good time in the entire Ghost Realm, even if you leave school!"

The salesperson spoke arrogantly and fiercely, but it didn't seem like he was lying.

The three players flinched, but none of them wanted to return the item.

This time, before they could even speak, Qin Fu'an already knew the reason.

Because when he looked at the three items, their effects were displayed on them.

Bright Eyes Jelly: Eating it will enhance eyesight and provide some resistance to all eye-related monsters.

High-efficiency adhesive bandages can treat all kinds of physical injuries to the body. With just one application, broken limbs or shattered internal organs can be restored to their original condition.

Golden Nectar: ​​Feeding honey to any living being can control and manipulate it for up to three hours.

After examining the three items that could be considered "props," Qin Fu'an turned to the indignant sales clerk and asked, "What was the other missing item?"

"It's a bubble machine!" the salesperson answered without hesitation. "This bubble machine is a new toy that our boss developed recently. Most of them are distributed to kindergartens and primary schools. There's only one in Menggui High School that's being displayed as a sample."

"Who took it?" Qin Fu'an's light green eyes quietly observed the group.

The salesperson didn't answer. The three people he asked thought for a moment and then told the truth.

"It's Nan Zhu." They didn't want to betray Nan Zhu, but Qin Fu'an would save everyone, so it shouldn't be considered betrayal, right?

What's more, all three of them were caught here, but Nan Zhu was the only one who managed to escape and even benefit from it. In fact, they were a little resentful.

After their eyes met, this subtle imbalance seemed to be magnified many times over without anyone noticing.

Just like being driven by desire to steal those goods, except that at that time they still had their own consciousness and thoughts of resistance, but when they looked at Qin Fu'an, they did not notice anything unusual.

Qin Fu'an recalled the scene where Nan Zhu had insisted on rescuing Zhao Jiayue from the sales clerk's mouth.

If, as the three people said, Nan Zhu had his own trump card and even stole special items from the supermarket, then he should have been able to save Zhao Jiayue in the critical moment no matter what.

But the other party didn't.

Was it because it was all an act before, or because she sensed Qin Fu'an's approach, or... was it for some other reason?

A thoughtful look flashed in Qin Fu'an's eyes, but he didn't immediately delve into Nan Zhu's true purpose.

He needs to deal with the things at hand.

“If you don’t return these three items, then be prepared to be cursed, or earn enough credits in the next few days to buy them.”

Qin Fu'an gave the three people three choices.

Two sales clerks were watching Qin Fu'an closely, but they were very polite to him. While the three of them were hesitating, they approached Qin Fu'an and asked him if there was anything he wanted to buy.

"We can give you a 30% discount!" The sales clerk looked at Qin Fu'an with eager eyes.

Qin Fu'an, however, thought of the candy he had taken that morning.

He negotiated with one of the sales clerks for a long time and finally paid a small price to get the candy.

"Let's wait a little longer," Qin Fu'an replied politely. "Perhaps I'll come here to buy some things tomorrow."

As for why not today?

Since the homeroom teacher who was taken to the principal's office has not returned yet, I wonder if the respected homeroom teacher has managed to secure some salary and benefits for the teaching staff.

Qin Fu'an was full of anticipation, so his eyes and brows were full of bright smiles, making him seem like he was from a completely different world from the zombie-like student NPCs in the school.

During the conversation, the three players next to them had also made their decisions.

“We…we will return these things,” Bai Song said through gritted teeth, stating the three’s decision.

Qin Fu'an was not surprised by their answer.

When Bai Song and his two companions saw the obvious disappointment and regret on the faces of the two sales clerks, they felt a sense of relief.

It seems they did the right thing.

After Qin Fu'an sent the three listless players back to the classroom to do their homework, the two sales clerks, for some reason, also lost their earlier enthusiasm and instead looked at him cautiously, not understanding why this devil was still lingering there.

Seemingly sensing the two strange looks on their faces, Qin Fu'an's eyes curved slightly. He casually picked up a honey jar from the counter and fiddled with it, asking in a seemingly nonchalant manner, "You only returned three items, including the bubble machine your boss specially made... are you just going to let it go like that?"

One of the sales clerks grinned bloodthirstyly and replied, "Of course not. If she doesn't return the stolen goods, I guarantee she'll never graduate from Menggui High School in her lifetime."

It seems Qin Fu'an's guess was correct. In any world, the consequences of students stealing from schools are extremely serious once discovered.

Qin Fu'an thought of the chocolate Nan Zhu had given him and decided to show some kindness. He said to the two ghosts, "Speaking of which, after I became a substitute teacher, she was also my student. If a student doesn't follow the rules, I, as the teacher, also bear responsibility."

He raised his eerie green eyes and looked at the two ghosts, then slowly said with a smile, "How about this, I'll have her return the goods and write you a three-thousand-word self-criticism. That way, your boss shouldn't punish you for losing the goods."

Seeing the two strange creatures' momentary attraction, Qin Fu'an revealed his true intentions. He waved the honey jar in his hand and said almost seductively, "In exchange for recovering all your stolen goods, why don't you give me this jar of the cheapest honey? It's a good exchange, and we might have more dealings in the future. We can do each other a favor then, what do you say?"

He observed that, compared to the other two stolen items, this jar of honey actually had the most restrictions on its use.

Therefore, it is also the cheapest among them and best shows one's goodwill towards them.

Sure enough, after he finished speaking, the two hesitated for only a moment before nodding in agreement.

And perhaps because he felt that he was different from the other thieves, Qin Fu'an became almost completely unguarded during their conversations, and unknowingly revealed a lot about the mysterious high school while making sarcastic remarks.

Amidst a barrage of dazzling starlight comments and various rewards and praises, Qin Fu'an finally got what he wanted after circling around for most of the day.

He could have simply snatched it from the player, but firstly, he didn't know if the item would be cursed or transferred, and secondly, he didn't want to establish an adversarial relationship too early.

He wasn't particularly interested in whether he could beat the game or not; even if he didn't beat it, the game wouldn't kill him.

But he was curious about the game, about Xie Yunhuai, and about a strange world.

And, will the attribute bonuses and skill items after clearing the level be useful to him?

The real world has long entered the Dharma-ending Age, and even metaphysics has come to an end, let alone cultivation and advancement. Even someone as powerful as Qin Fu'an can only rely on long periods of sleep to resist the erosion of time and the decline in the level of his soul and body.

If this infinitely bizarre game can truly benefit Qin Fu'an and increase his cultivation, Qin Fu'an wouldn't mind pretending to be an ordinary human and playing it properly for a long, long time.

Filled with the novelty of experiencing the game, Qin Fu'an wandered around the campus, taking advantage of the fact that he didn't have to rush to finish his homework, and leisurely made his way back to the classroom.

As soon as I returned to my seat, I met my deskmate's disapproving and slightly inquisitive gaze.

"You came back too late, it's already cold." Xie Yunhuai pursed his lips and placed the food box, which still had half a meal left, on Qin Fu'an's desk.

Qin Fu'an looked down. The lunchbox was clearly divided, with exactly half left, no more and no less, as if it had been measured with a ruler.

He inexplicably felt like laughing, and a smile crept unrestrainedly onto his handsome and imposing eyebrows, softening his originally unapproachable demeanor.

Xie Yunhuai, however, felt that he was having another episode and frowned, asking, "What are you laughing at?"

Xie Yunhuai could tolerate it before, but after enduring it for a while, he realized that Qin Fu'an was a person who could not be judged by normal thinking, so he simply couldn't tolerate it anymore.

Meeting his questioning gaze, Qin Fu'an glanced out of the corner of his eye at the soft tentacles that were happily reaching in through the window, eager to open the food box and feast, and his smile deepened.

"I wasn't laughing at anything," he replied with a smile. The next second, however, he turned his head and leaned closer to his classmate, who was pursing his lips and not saying a word. He asked in a clear, low voice, "You're clearly very hungry, so why don't you finish eating? Do you know that going hungry like this will cause malnutrition and stunted growth? You're a high school student... this is the time when you're growing."

As he spoke, his warm breath gently brushed against the boy's cold neck and earlobes. Xie Yunhuai leaned back slightly, uncomfortably, and then, after catching his breath, replied in a cool voice, "You didn't eat either."

He didn't know how Qin Fu'an had managed to get such a lavish lunch, nor did he know why Qin Fu'an would be so kind as to give him all the food, but... Xie Yunhuai knew that Qin Fu'an hadn't eaten yet.

This was originally Qin Fu'an's lunch.

[Author's Note]

Yunzai: One minute, two minutes... half an hour, and you're still not back for dinner?

Anzai: Now I can make honey water for my little deskmate to sweeten his mouth.

Super long update! I'm patting myself on the back!

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Thank you to the little angels who watered the nutrient solution:

Two bottles of "Clear Rain and Lonely Boat";

Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!