Chapter 26 The Anxiety of Disappearance

Just then, after circling the new car body and looking at Feng Xingshou in the front seat, he clicked his tongue in frustration: "Tsk! The car body is finally passable, but the wheels look too stingy. I need to get some tire upgrade blueprints as soon as possible!"

"Sounds a bit disappointing?" Kenji Hagiwara looked at her expression, realized the difference between the two of them, and immediately blinked, jokingly saying, "It seems that by 2025, the types and kinds of cars will be much better than this one!"

"Hmm! I guess so! I don't drive and don't know much about cars, but sometimes when I can't find a taxi, I'll take Didi. By the way, Didi is a company that was founded in Zhongzhou Country around 2012 or 2013, similar to a taxi company, to make it easier for people to travel."

"Since Didi Chuxing appeared, the cars I've ridden in have become increasingly beautiful and spacious. In the last two years, most cars have looked very high-tech, and the country has been vigorously promoting new energy vehicles for environmental protection," Feng Xingshou recalled, reflecting on the models he had ridden in and heard about.

I remembered that back in 2007, before Didi existed, I explained Didi's premium car service to Hagiwara, and then continued, "I heard that in first-tier cities, you don't even need drivers anymore; cars can operate autonomously through smart driving systems..."

"Wow! In just over a decade, things have developed to such an advanced level?" Kenji Hagiwara once again felt the difference that time brings, but since everything was within the scope of scientific principles, he could basically imagine it with his knowledge.

What Feng Jiang said didn't exceed the expectations of people in his era for the future development of technology, so he felt the difference but didn't find it incredible or think that he was too far behind the future era!

Feng Xingshou couldn't help but complain about his anxiety: "Yes! It's very advanced, especially after AI research has yielded results. All fields that AI can handle, such as pictures, novels, and artificial intelligence, have been impacted."

Various companies are still pursuing more advanced technologies, but this has also caused a large wave of unemployment. AI can perform tasks that do not require wages or social security contributions, and it can also save a lot of human resource management troubles, so it is naturally favored by capital...

"Forget it, this is an inevitable consequence of technological development. Let's not dwell on these depressing things. For now, we don't need to worry about the outside world. Our priority is to survive here and get back."

"Hmm!" Kenji Hagiwara looked at Fuu-chan thoughtfully, recalling the anxious look on her face when she talked about the advanced nature of AI. Memories from his childhood unconsciously surfaced in his mind.

The way Feng Jiang looked just now reminded me of how my father, who was supported by the US economy in Japan and whose auto repair shop was doing very well, was busy expanding. But when the US started to suppress and exploit him, my father was on the verge of bankruptcy and could only humbly beg for an extension.

He realized that Feng Jiang was likely someone whose professional life had been impacted or even threatened by the popularization of AI technology, and then he thought that it was also the early stage of the Yellowstone volcano eruption outside.

This will have a significant impact on all aspects of society and economic life in the future. He could understand why Feng Jiang was so anxious just now. He was already facing unemployment due to the advancement of AI technology in society, and was also dealing with the economic recession caused by disasters that would force countries all over the world to suffer...

But how could a pastry chef be affected by the development of AI technology? Having never witnessed a future where even stir-frying can be automated, and pre-made meals are widely produced at very low prices, he naturally cannot imagine the hardship and humiliation people would feel after their profession is replaced!

Given his personality, even if he couldn't imagine it, he still cared about her, and even felt that this road trip might represent an opportunity for her current situation:

"Feng-chan, how much storage space do you have in your backpack?"

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"Huh?" Feng Xing Shou didn't know why he asked that, but the trust she had built up over the past two days made her answer without hesitation: "The total volume is 5 cubic meters, but each type of item can be stacked up to 9999 times."

"It can actually be stacked, just like the item boxes in the game!" Kenji Hagiwara was about to ask how many item boxes could be stacked in the real game when he saw Kaze's face stiffen slightly because of his words, and she looked a little uneasy and nervous.

With his exceptional ability to read people's expressions, he began to have a vague suspicion, but he did not pursue the matter further or ask any other probing questions. Instead, he casually continued, "If we can accumulate this much, I think we can revise our future action plan."

"What action plan?" Feng Xingshou looked blank at what he said, and couldn't remember what plan he had made with him. Wasn't it just that he would teach him to drive, he would help him save Matsuda-san, and then send him back to the time when he almost died in the line of duty?

"Ahem!" Kenji Hagiwara coughed a little awkwardly, then said very naturally, "Of course it's my and Fuu-chan's survival plan in the game after rescuing Jinpei! I've been gathering information about the game and revising this plan these past two days!"

"Wasn't this supposed to be a driving lesson plan?" When did it turn into a survival game with himself? Feng Xing Shou was immediately confused.

“Teaching you to drive is just a side thing; survival is the main topic. Well, we’ll talk about that later. Let’s get to the main plan first.” Kenji Hagiwara thought of Fuu-chan’s earlier hasty interruption about using time to find the game’s weaknesses.

Having deduced that the game panel might have a surveillance function, he didn't go into detail about his purpose and plans, but instead told them his plan for their next move: "Since Feng-chan, your backpack has a considerable amount of space."

Even if the capacity is small, it is still very valuable. So after we finish dealing with Xiao Zhenping, we can try to collect as many of the resources that are destined to be destroyed in the past as possible when we enter other daily dungeons.

By sorting and organizing the collected materials, or by making identical containers and placing them in those containers, and then storing them in your backpack, you can accumulate a considerable amount of resources each season by doing this once a day.

When the season ends and we can return to Earth to rest, even if the Yellowstone volcano eruption causes economic instability and panic buying of supplies, we won't have to worry about daily supplies.

We can even sell some unwanted or overstocked supplies. The money from trading these supplies will be enough to cope even if the game affects our lives and work after we leave. What do you think?

He considerately avoided mentioning the unemployment issue, instead using the Yellowstone volcano eruption's impact on most people in society as an excuse to remind her that she could start stockpiling all kinds of goods now, so that she could use the resources she had accumulated in the game to alleviate the predicament caused by unemployment after returning to Earth.

"Very good, a very good method." After hearing what he said, Feng Xingshou quickly realized that it was true! Since the development of AI was inevitable and the economic losses that the Yellowstone volcano would cause to countries around the world were also inevitable, there was no point in worrying about these things.

It would be better to step out of these troubles like Hagiwara did and directly think of a solution. Although he was unlucky enough to be captured in this survival game, he was also lucky enough to gain the ability to carry a backpack. Of course, he should make good use of it, just like Hagiwara planned.

As long as you stockpile enough goods, even if you still can't find a new job after returning home, you can still make money by selling your stockpiled goods through certain channels, right? And it's a business with no initial investment; you only need to work for half an hour every day at noon…

After figuring it out, the anxiety she had been trying so hard to suppress instantly vanished. She happily said to Hagiwara, "Renji! Your brain is so sharp! You even came up with such a great idea. From now on, I'm going to stock up on goods and try to get rich through games, haha..."

"It's a little embarrassing to be praised for such a clever suggestion!" Although his warm and friendly face showed no sign of it.

Seeing his expression, Feng Xingshou couldn't help but tease him, "Tsk! You're embarrassed? I've never seen that before."

"Of course I'd feel embarrassed too! I'll let you meet me another time." Kenji Hagiwara teased her with a grin.

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o(￣ヘ￣o＃) This frivolous guy, even if he went into the women's bathhouse completely naked, he wouldn't blush. There's no chance to see him embarrassed! She thought to herself.

But the relief and joy after resolving her long-standing anxiety led her to excitedly suggest, "By the way, to celebrate the many upgrades to our car and that very useful plan we just discussed, let's treat ourselves!"

Today's reward includes two boxes of seafood pizza, and I remember I also have a bottle of oranges in my backpack. Let's splurge on lunch and have pizza and orange juice. It's a pity there's no alcohol. If there were alcohol, adding some red bean curd strips would be nice too.

Those are some of the more palatable snacks to accompany drinks in Zhongzhou Kingdom. By the way, what kind of fruit do you like? We have watermelon, strawberries, and the yellow peaches I got as a reward today. I haven't had fruit for several days, so it's a good opportunity to splurge a little today.

As for the steamed buns made this morning, we can save them for tomorrow noon, or the day after; there will be plenty of opportunities to eat them in the future! Let's satisfy our taste buds for now! (*^▽^*)

"Hey! Even if there's alcohol, you can't drink it! Are you planning to drive drunk?" She was secretly making plans! Hearing her say that, Kenji Hagiwara, unusually, revealed a half-moon eye and took out the handcuffs he always carried with him, reminding her: "Want to get a silver bracelet?"

"Uh... I don't want to!" Feng Xingshou looked curiously at the handcuffs in his hand. She had only seen them on TV and online videos, but had never touched them in real life. She wanted to touch them, but when she thought about the silver bracelet, she silently backed down.

Forget it, silver bracelets can only be worn by certain professions. What if I touch them and get unlucky? Just like ordinary people don't like riding in police cars, she quietly looked away from her curious gaze.

She quickly explained to Officer Sang, who was giving her a half-moon-shaped look, "I was just thinking that today is so close to the time of your friend's last text message, so it's best if we don't drive today."

"Let's move it to the more precise location you calculated. We can just enter the dungeon when it opens tomorrow. Don't worry, the traffic rule 'Don't drink and drive' is displayed everywhere in our country; even I, who can't drive, know it."

"Just remember that. If people find out that one of my students was drunk driving, I'll probably get a good laugh from Jinpei and the others." As he spoke, Kenji Hagiwara gently poked her forehead, signaling her to keep that in mind.

However, he did not object to her suggestion to temporarily stop driving today and tomorrow morning, because he himself was well aware that only four days was too short in proportion to the distance of the road journey.

If he chooses to travel this extremely precise distance in order to obtain the highway treasure chest, kill stronger monsters, and get higher-level treasure chest rewards, and then drives back to enter the dungeon tomorrow, even if his calculations are extremely accurate, there might still be an error of one or two days.

Therefore, it would be better to move the vehicle to the most precise location now and leave it there, waiting for the instance to open tomorrow. This would minimize the chance of error, and with their current resource reserves, they can afford to be delayed by a day...