Chapter 5 Cannon Fodder Ex-Boyfriend 5 Help Me...

Gu Shiyu asked suspiciously, "What do you mean by 'green again'? You waited for the green light twice?"

"Ah... I didn't notice the first time..."

Qi Ziyan touched his nose, pulled out a tissue from the cardboard box next to him to wipe the steering wheel, lowered the air conditioning by two degrees, and then turned it back up in less than three seconds.

"Don't worry, I won't back down! I was just spacing out for a bit out of boredom, it's not as serious as you think. ...I'll be waiting for that idiot A before he goes to work, and as soon as he walks in, I'll drag him straight into the private room. I definitely won't let your plans go unfulfilled!"

"Okay, I'm driving right now, I'll talk to you later."

With that, Qi Ziyan quickly hung up the phone.

He started the car, preparing to drive away from the intersection.

Just before leaving, as if possessed, Qi Ziyan glanced in the direction of the convenience store again.

...

It's gone.

Behind the glass window, constantly battered by the heavy rain, only a light yellow wooden table and a snack shelf about a meter away remained.

The warm orange light fell on each beautifully packaged snack, refracting colorful rays of light, creating a scene as ethereal as a dream.

The boy who had been sitting by the window, along with the raindrop that had left a deep impression on Qi Ziyan, had vanished completely, like a fleeting bubble in a dream, washed away by the heavy rain.

So, is it just an illusion?

Qi Ziyan pursed his lips, his chestnut hair falling in front of his eyes. He tightened his grip on the steering wheel, and finally, out of frustration at the angry but unwilling cars behind him, he mercifully started the car, relieving the traffic jam on the road.

Meanwhile, Li Qingran, unaware that someone was mistaking him for a hallucination, had put his hat and mask back on. He took two boxes of white peach-flavored glass candies from the shelf next to the cashier and paid for them along with the transparent umbrella in his hand.

[Host, this is no longer a game world, so you don't need to give any special reward or compensation after someone helps you.]

These people are not game players who come to do quests, and you are no longer an NPC trapped in a fixed location, issuing repetitive quests and rewards.

Through the slightly ajar bus window, a cool breeze mixed with rain blew onto Li Qingran's face, leaving it wet.

The streets were bustling with people, all pedestrians and vehicles heading to their destinations.

It's no longer a pre-programmed, repetitive cycle; it's vibrant and real.

Li Qingran has become one of them, yet she has not fully become one of them.

The static in his mind continued to murmur something, but Li Qingran just silently looked out the window. He stood there for a long time, and only reached out to pull up the car window before his mask turned into a sticky, damp piece of chewing gum again.

He seemed to regain his ability to react in that instant, replying to 888:

"I see."

The bus swayed and rocked. Li Qingran sat in the last row, looked down, opened her box of glass candies, poured out a piece and popped it into her mouth. After feeling the rich peach flavor explode in her mouth, she slowly said:

"I've just gotten used to it. Besides, don't you think it would be easier if some of the rules of this world were like those in a game?"

For example, you can get a reward for your efforts, or you can leave work after completing a task...

【This... hahaha...】

The system, whose host it was responsible for, was still stuck in the small world and unable to escape after completing all the plot missions, let out an awkward laugh.

People often act busy when they're embarrassed, using this as a way to avoid the topic. But 888, lacking hands and feet and only responsible for one host, Li Qingran, could only awkwardly and clumsily try to change the subject with its mouth.

The weather is really nice today!

Boom—

Li Qingran lifted her eyelids and glanced at the increasingly heavy rain outside the window.

888: [...]

[Note: Logically speaking, this weather doesn't seem like good, but! But believe me, host, this kind of rainy weather is truly a rare treat for those undertaking missions with malicious storylines!]

Upon hearing this, Li Qingran finally became interested: "Tell me more about it."

This is mainly because in dark and damp environments, people's emotions are amplified to some extent, especially negative emotions such as anger and disgust. In this already oppressive weather, these emotions will elicit a stronger reaction.

888 showed its data panel to Li Qingran.

"Look, host, this is the result calculated by the main system based on data from many mission worlds. The probability of mission takers completing missions in rainy weather is as high as 70%!"

Furthermore, this is a plan devised by the main protagonist and the second male lead, so host, I have a feeling we'll definitely be able to capture 100% of the main protagonist's dislike and successfully leave work!

"Now that I've said that, don't you think the weather is actually quite nice today?" 888 concluded, seemingly summarizing but actually being cute.

"really."

Li Qingran nodded politely, and at the same time, in keeping with 888's excited excitement, expressed her happiness that she was about to leave work.

However, the fact that rainy days amplify people's various emotions doesn't seem to happen specifically to the protagonist.

Just as the bus was swaying and moving towards its destination, with a loud crash, Li Qingran's body lurched forward due to inertia, and a chorus of curses and complaints immediately rose from the surroundings.

Li Qingran looked outside and saw that in the hazy rain, all the vehicles on the road were stopped in place, like a dead snake, unable to move forward even an inch.

Amidst the complaints of the passengers, the driver reluctantly got out of the car and looked ahead to check the situation. However, because he was too far from the intersection, he couldn't find out the specific reason. He only knew that the entire road was now blocked, and vehicles had to undergo strict and careful checks when passing through the intersection, which was the main reason for the traffic standstill.

Judging from the location of their bus on the road, it might take another two hours before it's their turn to be inspected and leave.

"That won't do! I'm in a hurry to get home and cook!"

"Exactly! They're just making us wait here without saying anything, and rainy days are already annoying enough!"

"No way, who's so crazy as to check the bus in this heavy rain? The bus belongs to them, why are they checking it?"

...

After the driver shared the information he had gathered, the bus was filled with complaints.

Later, for some reason, the passengers started arguing, and the insults continued, starting with two people and then spreading to a group of people behind them.

Finally, the driver couldn't take it anymore and got out of the car to ask the drivers in front. He came back and told everyone that the only way for the passengers to get home sooner was for them to get off the bus and walk back.

According to the drivers who had previously driven the road, the group blocking the road did not strictly control pedestrians. They would let them pass after a quick check, but vehicles were different. They had to wait for the group to thoroughly check them before they could leave.

Passengers whose destinations were nearby, or those who couldn't wait, naturally chose to get off the bus upon hearing this, and Li Qingran was one of them.

While queuing to get off the bus, Li Qingran overheard someone behind her joking:

"Maybe it's some rich kid who ran away from home, causing us bystanders to suffer along with him."

His companion laughed and scolded him, saying that he had read too many novels and thought he was in a movie!

The noise gradually subsided after Li Qingran walked to the sidewalk with her umbrella.

Li Qingran tightened her coat and continued walking forward.

Just as the driver had said, the people blocking the road were indeed very lenient with pedestrians. They only scanned Li Qingran's face with a device, and after receiving a negative response, they waved him away.

While putting on her mask, Li Qingran glanced at the device in the man's hand. The bottom left corner of the screen seemed to show a portrait, which really looked like what the man on the bus had said: blocking off the entire street and wasting the time of thousands of people just to find a certain protagonist.

Could it be that Su Jingyi ran away?

Li Qingran asked 888, but the latter wasn't quite sure either.

Because a mission participant from the Time and Space Administration had previously neglected his mission and attempted to use the storyline to completely steal the protagonist's opportunities, trying to replace him as the new protagonist. As a result, that mission world collapsed and was destroyed, and some surrounding derivative worlds were also forced into a paused state, which has not been able to restart to this day.

This incident also caused huge losses to the Time and Space Administration, to the point that when the mission takers carried out missions later, the accompanying auxiliary systems could only have storylines related to the mission takers.

As for other details, including the plot development after the mission taker leaves, neither the mission taker nor the system can know the general outline.

[But it probably won't be the protagonist who's the bottom, right? Isn't the protagonist the top supposed to take him to catch them cheating?]

"……Too."

Li Qingran felt that 888's speculation made some sense, so she didn't waste any more time and continued heading towards the bar.

The distance is actually quite far, but as we all know, when one road is blocked, other roads connected to it will also be affected.

Unable to hail a taxi, Li Qingran was forced to resort to walking.

In order not to be late and miss the scene where she gets off work, Li Qingran chooses to take a shortcut.

A dark and deep alley, which looked unsafe, could save Li Qingran nearly twenty minutes of her time.

The raindrops pounded heavily on the raised bluestone slabs of the road, and also washed the ivy clinging to the walls to the ground.

Li Qingran walked very fast, leaving the lights, the crowd, and even the blocked road behind him.

He just wanted to get to the bar as quickly as possible.

Then hurry up and get off work.

However, just as he walked to a pile of furniture that had been carelessly discarded by someone, a hand suddenly reached out from inside and grabbed the back of his coat quickly and forcefully.

Before Li Qingran could even react, she was pulled into a pile of damp wood that smelled of decay.

His ribs slammed against a protruding corner of a table, and the pain instantly spread throughout his body. A deep, hoarse voice, carrying the lingering scent of gunpowder from a fire, reached Li Qingran's ears.

"Help!"

The rain had already soaked the owner of the voice completely, but his fingertips were still burning hot, and sharp canine teeth were faintly visible beneath his slightly parted lips.

The smell of gunpowder grew stronger, and the arms around her waist tightened their grip.

"Please, help me." Before Li Qingran could react and shake him off, she heard him say that again.

A note from the author:

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Meanwhile, 888, who had once again been thrown into the dark room, was still frantically banging on the door... [heart emojis]