Chapter 28 Chapter 28 Crowds gather in the market
Pondering the solution to her sudden nighttime safety issue, Chang Ruijia couldn't rest peacefully the entire night. She did have a keen sense of danger, but she couldn't guarantee that that sense would still wake her in time after falling asleep.
Furthermore, were the accomplices of the attacker truly gone? What if they had simply fled to the side, waiting for her to let her guard down before returning?
Under the pressure of numerous things, Chang Ruijia didn't even dare to feel sleepy. She could only open the page of Kanyidao Mall and think about other things to divert her attention, waiting for daybreak to make plans.
Fortunately, the functionality a bed provides each night is no mere show.
When Chang Ruijia's body finally couldn't control the fatigue brought by the day's hard work, a surge of abundant energy swept over her body from the bed under her.
In the pitch-black night, Chang Ruijia clenched her fists, which had regained strength, and felt her body filled with energy again, and smiled silently.
The longer she spent with this bed, the more she realized that this bed was simply the biggest cheating tool.
Even if they wanted to attack her while she was tired, what could they do? With her bed's ability to wash away fatigue, would she be afraid of someone who had pulled a long, hard night?
Chang Ruijia is now looking forward to it. If that group of people really want to take action, maybe she can continue to pick up a lot of big bargains.
When the sleepiness in her heart slowly faded away, Chang Ruijia regained her spirits. She stretched herself and began to grope on the bed with her hands.
The function of floating objects has been refreshed again. So, the floating object function of the person who tried to find trouble but was swallowed last night should also have been refreshed, right?
She was actually quite curious about what kind of thing could give him the ability to control his vision even in the dark.
Putting aside the things that were already very familiar in her hands, Chang Ruijia focused on groping for the new things that had appeared on the bed to see if she could find anything new this time.
Finally, the ones that were specially picked out and put aside, Chang Ruijia roughly counted them and found that there were a total of five kinds that had never appeared on her bed.
It seems that this is not the first time that person has done such a thing! Chang Ruijia raised her eyebrows in understanding.
Being able to devour so many things from other people in such a short time after gaining the devouring ability, it seems that the person is not a kind-hearted person.
But unfortunately, he ran into me who had a cheating artifact! Thinking of the man's expression when he saw that she had taken out the camping light and had nowhere to hide, Chang Ruijia couldn't help laughing out loud.
This is called hunting eagles all your life, only to be pecked in the eye by the eagle in the end.
The sky was still as dark as ink, and Chang Ruijia didn't want to take out the camping lamp to attract attention, so she was not in a hurry to see the true appearance of these items. She just rubbed them in her hands to feel their general shape.
If she could relate other things to everyday life after just a few simple touches, then the last thing was the only thing that piqued her interest.
It was something that looked a bit like swimming goggles, but compared to the simple-shaped swimming goggles that fit the human body perfectly, that object seemed to have a lot of equipment that felt particularly complicated to the touch.
Night vision goggles.
Thinking about the man's behavior of being able to detect her location even in the dark, this answer suddenly popped up in Chang Ruijia's mind.
Whether it is true or not, we will know everything by testing it.
Chang Ruijia carefully put it on her head. The moment she opened her eyes again, everything in the darkness appeared clearly in front of her.
The waves rising and falling with the breeze, the clouds in the night sky, and the clear outlines of several strange yet familiar objects in the hands.
Looking at the clear outlines of several objects in front of her, Chang Ruijia immediately confirmed her previous guess that the person who came to her door was able to clearly find her location only by using night vision goggles.
Although the originally colorful world now only has a few strange colors left under the effect of night vision goggles, being able to see the dangers around you clearly in the dark is already the biggest advantage.
After discovering the new little toy, Chang Ruijia's night, which she originally thought was boring, suddenly became interesting under the help of the night vision goggles.
Interesting times always pass by in a flash, and soon the originally dark night began to gradually become brighter from the horizon.
Chang Ruijia quietly packed up the things in her hands, preparing to leave this place of trouble that kept her awake last night after dawn.
But before the light could see everything around clearly, I suddenly heard a faint noise and the sound of countless water breaking.
Could it be that the group of people who escaped last night finally couldn't bear it anymore? Chang Ruijia's heart suddenly jumped up, and she clenched the kitchen knife in her hand and looked towards the direction where the sound came from.
But gradually, everything that happened before her eyes made her a little stunned.
Not far from her, the sea surface that was empty last night was soon occupied by countless floating objects coming from all directions, and there was a sense of order.
What is...going on?
Chang Ruijia looked at the crowd in front of her in confusion. When she left the crowd, most of them had a tendency to fall apart due to the "swallowing". Why did they gather together again now?
Looking at the bustling and even slightly noisy crowd in front of her, Chang Ruijia did not dare to join the crowd without hesitation and directly ask someone about the situation. Instead, she carefully observed from the side.
The situation before me is just like Sun Wukong encountering countless beauties in the wilderness. There must be something wrong when things are abnormal!
But nothing happened.
Thanks to her fairly good eyesight, Chang Ruijia saw several times that people in the crowd were running towards their goals with a clear purpose, and then something was moving between two floating objects that were not too close.
Chang Ruijia paddled forward tentatively, but even when they saw a stranger appear nearby, the group of people did not react in any special way. They just glanced at her with some curiosity.
Before Chang Ruijia could take the next tentative step, someone in the crowd had already paddled towards her impatiently.
Seeing someone approaching, Chang Ruijia became alert all of a sudden, just waiting for his next move, wanting to know what he was going to do.
But the person who came was not as aggressive as Chang Ruijia had imagined. Instead, he stayed in a very measured position where he could not be misunderstood but still hear the sound.
"Girl, are you new to this market too? Do you have anything to exchange? Food? Fresh water?" No one looked at Chang Ruijia's vigilant look and said cautiously.
Market? Chang Ruijia pondered these two words, which were very common in the past, but asked in confusion, "Market? What market? I was just accidentally washed here by the waves last night. I've never heard of a market."
While asking Chang Ruijia questions, the visitor's eyes were already moving around on the bed under her.
Looking at the various items on the bed that had not been put away since they appeared last night, as well as the fully equipped awning and camping lights, the envy in his eyes could hardly be concealed.
When Chang Ruijia realized his gaze, she had already tightly grasped the kitchen knife in her hand on the bed, fearing that the man might rush towards her without warning in the next second.
It wasn't that she was overly cautious, but based on her experience of being among crowds for a few days, this reaction was completely normal.
In the past, a bare bed would cause so much trouble, not to mention the canopy and camping lights that were not removed in time this morning, which attracted the greed of many people.
But she didn't expect that as her vigilance continued to soar, the man's almost uncontrollable envious eyes were retracted with great difficulty.
"It's normal that you haven't heard of it." The man looked at her again with a much calmer look in his eyes, and began to introduce himself to Chang Ruijia. "We are a spontaneous organization. We want to use the things that appear every night to exchange for some of our most urgent needs. Sister, if you have any extra things, you can also try to see if you can exchange them with us. We all exchange with each other through negotiation, and you won't suffer any loss."
"Really?" Surprised by the man's envy but not greed, Chang Ruijia quickly replied, "Thank you for the introduction, big brother. I'll take a closer look and see what happens."
"Okay, we're not the type to force a trade," the man said with a hearty laugh. "If you don't like what you're looking for, you can choose not to get involved. But be careful of those who frequent the trading area!"
Taking the big brother's words to heart, Chang Ruijia sorted out the things on the bed that she had not had time to put away, carefully picked up the kitchen knife in her hand again, and started slicing around the large group of people who were trading.
When there are so many people around like this, it is better to keep some of your cards to yourself if you can. This way, even if something unexpected happens, you will have an unexpected solution.
However, just as Chang Ruijia was walking around the crowd of people doing business, she suddenly saw a familiar figure.
She sat upright on a panel of unknown material. Even after a long time, her clothes were still neat and dignified. Her long, slightly curly wisteria-colored hair fell quietly on her chest.
It was the young lady I had met several times! Chang Ruijia's eyes lit up instantly.
Although she had not been able to talk to the young lady before due to various reasons, they had greeted each other countless times since the first time they opened their eyes on the sea.
It can be said that in the chaotic crowd before, apart from the armed police who could make people feel infinite sense of security, this young lady gave Chang Ruijia the most friendly feeling.
Moreover, in the crowd that had fallen apart before, Chang Ruijia had brushed past the young lady several times, but there was absolutely no intention of her and the young lady to attack each other.
Therefore, the moment she saw the young lady, Chang Ruijia couldn't help but excitedly called out, "Sister, sister! Here! Do you still remember me?"
I don’t know if it was because Chang Ruijia’s voice was too soft, or if it was a problem with that young lady herself, but when everyone else around looked over, that young lady still showed no intention of turning around.
After calling out many times without success, Chang Ruijia had no choice but to get up from her bed and move over, calling out softly as she did so.
Just when Chang Ruijia thought that they were not destined to be together today and was about to stop paddling, the young lady suddenly looked at her with a sharp look.
After being stared at by that gaze for a moment, Chang Ruijia endured it again and again and did not subconsciously throw the kitchen knife in her hand away, but she was secretly shocked in her heart.
Was this the same friendly-looking young lady she remembered? How could she...how could she have such a creepy look?
However, just when Chang Ruijia was frightened and stood still, wondering whether she should retreat directly, the young lady seemed to remember that she was guarding a bed, and the look in her eyes slowly changed from fierce to the look she was most familiar with before.
Huh! Chang Ruijia let out a long breath. She said that in addition to her usual keen sense of danger, her ability to recognize people seemed to be quite good. How could she have made a mistake?
Before Chang Ruijia could take the next step, the young lady took the lead in picking up a long object from her side and slowly controlled the object under her to move towards her.
Looking at the young lady's puzzled tilted head, Chang Ruijia, who was used to communicating with Xiao Yi, subconsciously understood what the young lady meant.
How did you get here?
"Oh, I was accidentally blown here by the waves last night. When I opened my eyes this morning, I saw a crowd gathered here, so I thought of coming over to ask about the situation." Chang Ruijia explained with a smile.
Seeing the young lady's understanding look, Chang Ruijia continued, "Young lady, have you been to the market here before? Can you give me a brief introduction to the market?"
Compared to the older brother she just met for the first time, Chang Ruijia still felt that this young lady, who she had never said hello to but had met several times without any problems, was more reliable.
Listening to Chang Ruijia's request, the young lady seemed to have encountered some difficulties and remained silent there, pondering.
"Ah, it's okay." Seeing that the young lady seemed a little embarrassed, Chang Ruijia quickly waved her hand, "If it's really inconvenient, I can look around more by myself, young lady, there's no need to be so embarrassed."
Looking back at the ample distance between them and the crowd, and looking at Chang Ruijia with a kind face, a trace of helplessness flashed across the young lady's face.
"I can introduce you, but please stop calling me a little sister."
Oh shit!
Chang Ruijia was shocked when she heard the young lady speak for the first time. She opened her mouth wide and was unable to recover for a long time.
This deep and magnetic voice... is it definitely coming from this delicate and dignified young lady in front of me???
"Miss, Miss, what are you doing..." Looking at the little sister who was not far away from her, Chang Ruijia was shocked and lost her mind for a moment, and couldn't help muttering to herself.
"Why are you so stubborn, little girl? Men are not allowed to wear women's clothes yet?" As if thinking of something difficult to say, the young lady, oh no, the young man said with gritted teeth.
"Shit!" Chang Ruijia cursed again in her heart. The beautiful and considerate young lady she had always thought of actually changed her gender right in front of her eyes?!
"You you you you, me me me..." Chang Ruijia's language system was in a complete mess. For a moment, she looked at the beautiful and dignified young lady in front of her and didn't know what to say.
Although technology was advanced enough in the past, she had indeed seen many cross-dressing men on the Internet, but what could be more shocking than seeing a living person transformed right before her eyes?
"Ha, ha, you look pretty good in this outfit." Chang Ruijia hesitated for a long time, looking at the look of the young lady in front of her who was about to explode, and squeezed out these words from between her teeth.
"I know," Lu Baian said with gritted teeth in his heart, as he closed his eyes uncontrollably due to the anger he felt at Chang Ruijia's words.
If he hadn't been considered good-looking in these things by everyone, he wouldn't have been forced by his mother and annoying sister to change into this Lolita outfit every time he went home.
It was not the case that he just took two photos reluctantly and in the blink of an eye he appeared in this strange world wearing this outfit and could not find any replacement clothes!
If possible, Lu Baian would rather have never appeared in this world than have to face himself living among people in this image.
That's why he lived in this world for a long time, but always pretended to be a mute who couldn't speak.
“Eh?!!!”
Chang Ruijia, who was immersed in the sudden change of the little girl opposite her into the little brother, suddenly came to her senses when she heard Lu Baian's voice.
Although she had never spoken to the "young lady" in her impression, why did the voice that suddenly appeared in her ears sound so familiar, as if she had heard it somewhere?
Pondering over this extremely familiar voice, Chang Ruijia suddenly realized something and clapped her hands, saying, "That day when I was being chased by the crowd, the voice that reminded me to be careful was actually you who made it in my ear!"
"I clearly greeted you that day, and you just realized it?" Seeing Chang Ruijia's face change again and again, Lu Baian continued to look at her with gritted teeth and said, "It seems that you are really immersed in the temptation of this beautiful young lady and can't extricate yourself!"
Thinking of the day when their figures crossed, the young lady nodded and smiled at her in a friendly manner, Chang Ruijia shrank her neck. "Who would have thought that the deep male voice that suddenly came to her ear was actually from a beautiful young lady? I didn't guess the meaning of that look, so it's normal for me to just walk away!"
Lu Baian took a deep breath and explained helplessly, "At that time... there were too many people around. If I had warned you directly, someone would have heard it in advance. Besides, I didn't want to be so embarrassed as to speak directly, so I had to use some special means."
Hahahaha, I get it, I just don't want anyone to find out that I'm a crossdresser! Chang Ruijia knows this kind of thing very well.
"So that's it!" Since Lu Baian didn't explain in detail, Chang Ruijia wouldn't be curious to find out what the special method was. After all, it was other people's privacy, so she just nodded in understanding.
Finally, he could stop hearing Chang Ruijia calling him "Little Sister" all the time. Lu Baian relaxed and said, "I've been in this market for a few days, so I don't know much. Do you need me to explain it to you again?"
"Of course!" Chang Ruijia didn't expect that just to find a guide for herself, she would reveal a big secret. But now that things have come to this, it doesn't seem right to tell him that there is no need to explain.
"My name is Lu Baian. Just stop calling me little sister. You can call me anything you want." Lu Baian turned around and paddled towards the crowd at the market. "It's more convenient to explain things closer to the crowd, so I have to use this special way to communicate with you."
Looking at Lu Baian walking in front of her with his lips tightly closed, but the deep male voice still ringing in her ears, Chang Ruijia pinched her ears uncomfortably.
I don’t know why, the man who was talking was walking in front of me, but his voice ringing in my ears always made me feel particularly strange.
However, she could also understand why Lu Baian did this. After all, for some embarrassing things, it was enough for only one person to know, so as not to be publicly executed in public. That would be too shameful.
Although she let Lu Baian lead the way, Chang Ruijia was the first to stop paddling inward at a suitable distance from the crowd.
Although she could trust Lu Baian to explain things about the market to her, it did not mean that she could let down her guard and go into the crowd with him, in case something unexpected happened in the crowd. So some things still needed to be done in moderation.
I don’t know if he noticed Chang Ruijia’s actions, but Lu Baian in front of him slowly stopped rowing and started explaining to Chang Ruijia a few meters away from the crowd.
"This market wasn't forced together by anyone. You should have seen the previous storm. To avoid the rain, even though they were worried about being swallowed by each other, a group of people gathered here out of fear."
"Later, some people realized that even if there were fixed floating objects every night, just one single object wouldn't allow them to live better, so they started trading with each other again."
Looking at the growing crowd, Chang Ruijia nodded, and these things were no exception.
For people who can only get one fixed thing every night, in addition to devouring, trading is imperative.
Even if people disperse at first because of fear of the crowd, as time goes by, they will eventually gather together again because of the shortage of their own items.
"...Later, it gradually developed into the current market with an ever-increasing number of people."
"People are still trading directly now?" Chang Ruijia frowned as she looked at the crowd in front of her. "Could it be that the rise of a market can curb people's greed?"
"Of course not," Lu Baian said in a low and slightly sarcastic voice, "where there is a contrast in the crowd, greed will never be abandoned. There was also a lot of chaos in the market at the beginning."
At the very beginning? Looking at the surprisingly orderly crowd in front of her, Chang Ruijia understood that there must be something restraining their actions.
"...Later, the crowd spontaneously established rules. If anyone dared to cross the line in the market, they would be expelled. No one would trade with those who did not follow the rules anymore."
"Between devouring an item that doesn't fully satisfy your needs at once and being able to trade frequently in the future, a person with a clear mind will know what to choose."
As he spoke, Lu Baian looked towards the vast ocean outside the market. "However, there are also many people who have exploited loopholes in this rule. When the market disperses every night, that's when they choose to strike. I just don't know what methods they use to accurately search for everyone leaving the market in the dark."
It's night vision goggles!
Although Chang Ruijia did not see those tragedies happen, but thinking about what happened to her last night, she still said it in her heart with certainty.
It must be the night vision goggles that give them such convenience.
This also explains why she was suddenly besieged by that group of people last night.
It seemed that due to the influence of the storm and the subsequent continuous surge of waves, she had quietly approached the place where the market was held.
The bed beneath him, as always, attracted the greedy gazes of those who were already lurking around the market.
"But don't worry. In the daytime market, as long as you don't attack others in public, generally nothing bad will happen." Lu Baian reassured Chang Ruijia, "If you are exchanging something at the market, you can do it without worry."
"Okay, thank you!" Looking at Lu Baian's sincere eyes, Chang Ruijia said with a smile.
Even if those people still want to attack her, they will have to think carefully about whether they can get away with it with her who has night vision goggles and a camping light!
Thanks to Lu Baian for the detailed introduction, Chang Ruijia has gradually formed a partial understanding of the market.
However, seeing is believing after all, so she still needs to prepare to enter the market in person and explore the crowd carefully in order to make a better judgment.
"Um..." Seeing Chang Ruijia seemed to be about to go directly into the market, Lu Baian's voice suddenly sounded a little nervously in her ear, "I have introduced so many things to you, can we discuss something?"
Chang Ruijia looked at Lu Baian with some understanding.
She said that they were not related, and even if they had met briefly many times before, it was not necessary for Lu Baian to introduce her to such a detailed extent.
Sure enough, people still have something to ask for!
"What are you going to do?" Chang Ruijia glanced at Lu Baian with sharp eyes.
Even though they had a friendship as mentioned before and a relationship of being consulted this time, if Lu Baian dared to make some inappropriate requests, Chang Ruijia would not mind having a good "communication" with him.
After all, in this world, if you do things simply based on relationships, you would have been eaten alive by others long ago.
"I, I want to discuss with you whether I can change into normal clothes!" Lu Baian closed his eyes, and a somewhat embarrassed voice sounded in Chang Ruijia's ears.
In fact, as early as when they first met, he had already noticed the many spare clothes on Chang Ruijia's bed.
For him who was wearing Lolita, this was simply the greatest temptation in the world.
Although most of Chang Ruijia's clothes may be women's styles, it is enough for him to be able to change out of this Lolita outfit that is particularly eye-catching in the crowd.
And precisely because he had no clothes to change out of this Lolita outfit, the wig that his sister had put on his head, although it could be taken off at any time, was still not taken off.
After all, although a long-haired Lolita girl is more conspicuous, being considered a beautiful girl is much better than a short-haired boy wearing Lolita in the crowd!
Later, when they met for the second time, he initially thought that with that reminder, although it was a bit shameless, he should still be able to exchange it for this set of clothes.
Unexpectedly, Chang Ruijia ran so fast in the crowd at that time that she disappeared in the blink of an eye. We could only suppress the matter.
"Pfft!" Seeing Lu Baian's almost unbearable expression, Chang Ruijia couldn't help but burst out laughing, "Everyone comes to this world with the most commonly used things. I thought your Lolita outfit was also..."
"The thing I use most often is the phone under me!" Lu Baian said angrily, "Didn't you realize that your first clothes were the ones you wore before you came to this world?! I was forced to wear these at the time!"
Under the threat of his mother who has the final say and his sister who is a troublemaker, he thought it would be okay if he didn't show his face in the photo, but who could have thought that such a thing would happen!
"Okay, don't be impatient," Chang Ruijia suppressed the smile that she couldn't control. "You don't think that an exchange of information can be exchanged for a whole set of men's clothes, do you? There must be something I like."
Men's clothes?
Seeing Chang Ruijia's unfazed look, Lu Baian's eyes suddenly lit up. He was already very satisfied to be able to change into a normal set of women's clothes, but he didn't expect that she actually had men's clothes in her hands.
"Exchange! I have something!" Lu Baian said impatiently, "I have a cup, a computer, a trolley, a watch... whatever you want to exchange!"
These things are all external possessions to him. Now his only wish is to change into normal clothes as soon as possible. He really can't stand such a life.
"Watch?!" Chang Ruijia's eyes suddenly lit up when she heard that Lu Baian actually had a watch in his hand. She really couldn't stand this kind of life where she had no concept of time and could only rely on looking at the sky.
"Then let's exchange the watch. Add to that the information about the market you mentioned this time, I think it's enough to exchange for a full set of normal clothes."
"Okay!" Lu Baian couldn't wait to exchange with Chang Ruijia. When he got a normal set of men's clothes, he almost cried out of joy.
God knows how long it has been since he appeared in this world with a normal appearance!
However, after getting the clothes in his hands, Lu Baian did not rush to find a place to change them like before.
After all, there is no place on the sea that is not visible to people. If you want to change clothes in privacy, you have to wait until night falls.
In order to repay Chang Ruijia for supporting these two sets of clothes, even though he had already exchanged the watches, Lu Baian still walked in front, intending to take Chang Ruijia to have a good look around the market.
There was nothing wrong with visiting the market. On the contrary, Chang Ruijia was very happy that Lu Baian took the initiative to make this request.
Even though Lu Baian had already told her all the details of the entire market, no one would know whether what he said was right or wrong without having personally walked through it, so she was still very relieved to have him as the person to "step on the minefield".
However, after really entering the market, looking at the group of men around who, although they did not do anything excessive, were still whistling at Lu Baian in front of them, Chang Ruijia could not help but smile in her heart.
Ah, this... Have you ever thought, brothers with lustful eyes, that there may be a kind of people in the world who are extremely beautiful in appearance, but are the ones who can be taken out and compared with you in size.
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