Chapter 48 Platinum Supermarket: "So you're paying so much attention to me?"...
If the cycle is broken, the supermarket will go bankrupt, and they will be able to clear customs ahead of schedule.
So the question is—how can we break this cycle?
While Shi Yu and his group of four were still trying to figure out a way to break the cycle, Qin Ke on the other side was already getting restless.
It was exactly 11 p.m.
Lu Boyue appeared at the supermarket.
No, it should be said that Qin Ke, disguised as Lu Boyue, appeared at the supermarket and found Shi Yu and the other three.
The "Lu Boyue" in front of me was wearing a pink shirt and black trousers, her hair was styled in a very fashionable way, and she looked quite presentable. She was still the same Lu Boyue in appearance, but her eyes were different from the previous Lu Boyue.
If they could guess that "Lu Boyue" was a player, then "Lu Boyue" most likely also knew about their guess.
All four of them became alert.
The first thing "Lu Boyue" said when she came over was: "I am not Lu Boyue."
The four people: ?
"Lu Boyue" added, "Actually, I'm just like you guys, a player too."
The four people: "???"
No one was surprised by this fact, since they had already guessed it. What surprised them was Lu Boyue's straightforward attitude.
"My real name is Qin Ke, the 'Ke' in 'to uphold one's duty.' You can see my name on the wealth list at a glance. You can go and see for yourselves. I can guarantee that my name is real, and I am a real person!"
Qin Ke's speaking style is not much different from that of "Lu Boyue" before.
However, perhaps the NPC "Lu Boyue" never existed, and the person behind the character was Qin Ke from beginning to end.
Upon hearing this, Shi Yu, Shen Su, and Jiang Yan actually opened their game panels to take a look. Although they couldn't see each other's game panels, they could see that their actions were synchronized and undisguised.
Qin Ke: "..."
The richest person on the list is Qin Ke.
After they finished reading, everyone fell silent.
Okay, that's awesome.
Qin Ke, with a "now you believe me" expression, said, "The reason I'm in this instance is because I was thrown in by the system as punishment, so my character and quest are different from yours. I won't go into the reason for the punishment." He added seriously, "After all, I also have my pride."
Lin Fengbai made a "poof" sound.
Shi Yu's lips twitched, and Shen Su turned his head to look at Shi Yu, a slight smile also appearing on his lips.
Jiang Yan looked at Shi Yu expressionlessly, then at Shen Su, and finally at Lin Fengbai.
Lin Fengbai is still more pleasing to the eye.
Lin Fengbai noticed that Jiang Yan was looking at him. He politely blinked at Jiang Yan, then blinked again, and finally realized that Jiang Yan seemed to be staring at him in a daze.
“I don’t like beating around the bush. I’ve come to you to make a deal,” Lu Boyue said bluntly. “Do you know anything about safe houses?”
They all looked at each other.
Although I don't know, judging from the name it should be a good thing.
"A safe house, as the name suggests, is an absolutely safe place in the game," Qin Ke explained to everyone. "For the system, a safe house is an item; for players, it's a refuge. Players can avoid all harm in a safe house, including..." Qin Ke spoke the last sentence slowly, his gaze gradually sweeping over everyone, as if he were implying something, "...the damage inflicted by the system."
Shi Yu thought to herself, "Just as I thought."
Lu Boyue, no, Qin Ke, can see the situation of other players and may even know their missions. This might be due to the authority granted to the NPC Lu Boyue.
"Of course, such a good item is extremely rare." Qin Ke's tone became cheerful again, with a hint of smugness. "You could say there are only two safe houses in the entire game, and I'm very lucky that one of them is right here in my house."
Qin Ke didn't hide anything and said directly, "I know what your mission is about. That's right, it was me a few days ago. I deliberately led you to investigate in the wrong direction. You can probably guess why. Our missions are contradictory. Actually, you can't blame me. There are forty players in ten dungeons, and I'm all alone. It's really not easy for me to deal with forty of you all by myself!"
"I know you've figured out the truth, and I know what you're planning to do, so let's make a deal, can we stop?" Qin Ke had a fawning smile on his face, but the smile was gone in less than three seconds. Qin Ke said with a straight face, "Of course, there's no room for discussion."
"So I'm going to make a deal with you."
Qin Ke rattled off a bunch of nonsense before finally getting to the point: "You guys stop investigating. Don't let the supermarket go bankrupt. In exchange, I'll let you into my safe house and provide you with shelter until this game is over. How about it?"
This turn of events was unexpected by everyone.
As a healthy and normal person from the new society, Shi Yu didn't want to kill or be killed in the game. This was also why they returned to investigate the supermarket to complete the mission ahead of schedule. Qin Ke's safe house could provide them with shelter and save them from the life-or-death struggle with other players.
Actually, this deal is not bad.
Qin Ke had already revealed so much to them, so Shen Su also revealed a little bit to Qin Ke: "Actually... we haven't thought of a solution yet. Mr. Qin, aren't you being a bit too impatient?"
Qin Ke: "You'll figure something out sooner or later!"
Shen Su: "..."
That statement is irrefutable.
Qin Ke continued, "But I really can't let the supermarket go bankrupt! That way I won't be able to complete my punishment, and I'll be in big trouble! Really, please understand me."
"You can enter my safe house without taking any risks or endangering your lives. Once the ten dungeons are merged into one and the final winner is determined, you can leave safely. At most, you'll receive slightly less reward at the end of the game."
"However, the reward is just game currency, because the chance of getting items is extremely low. I have plenty of game currency, so I'll give each of you 10,000 game currency after the game ends!"
Qin Ke's attitude can be described as very sincere.
He also seems very honest.
And there's money too!
They fought tooth and nail in the last dungeon, and in the end they only got a little over a hundred game coins. Qin Ke didn't even blink and said he would give each of them ten thousand game coins.
That's 10,000 game coins!
“Words are no proof,” Shi Yu said. “How can we be sure of the authenticity and validity of this deal?”
Qin Ke said, "We can have the system draft an agreement: if you don't target the supermarket, I will provide you with a safe house until the game ends, and those who breach the agreement will have their lives taken by the other party."
Shi Yu: "I'm fine now."
Chen Su: "I'm OK too."
Jiang Yan: "Let's draft an agreement."
Qin Ke summoned the system sprite and said, "You heard our conversation just now, right? You understand what we mean?"
A mature female voice replied, "Yes, Master."
Shi Yu could often sense the human-like aspect of the system. He guessed that the system sprite was just an artificial intelligence created by the system, not a real system. However, drafting a protocol would be enough.
In less than three minutes, several paper agreements fell down.
After everyone read the agreement and found no problems, they all signed it. Then Qin Ke led them to the safe house.
The safe house is a very cozy house.
Whether it's the room decor, the furniture arrangement, or even a tablecloth or a cushion, everything is in warm colors, giving people a comfortable feeling like they're back home.
The coffee table was filled with various snacks, a small refrigerator was placed against the wall, and a game console was on the sofa... It felt more like home.
The safe house was just a single room and a bathroom.
The room was big enough for Qin Ke to live in alone, but with so many people coming in all at once, it became cramped.
Upon entering the safe house, Qin Ke transformed back into his original form from Lu Boyue.
Phoenix eyes, pale skin, a red mole under her eye, long silver hair, a light gold silk nightgown... The difference between her and Lu Boyue was not just a little bit; it was a distance that Lu Boyue couldn't catch up to even if he carried a rocket.
But as soon as Qin Ke opened his mouth, Lu Boyue's feeling returned.
"Please sit down for a while. Help yourself to whatever you want to eat. There are drinks in the fridge, so please make yourselves at home!"
Shi Yu looked around at the place where there was nowhere to sit. The beanbag chair was naturally reserved for the only lady here, and the only other place to sit was on the floor... However, the floor was carpeted, so it wasn't impossible to sit there. Lin Fengbai was already sitting on the carpet and began to examine the snacks on the coffee table. He even took a piece of chocolate and gave it to Jiang Yan.
But Jiang Yan didn't answer. She didn't even move. She stared at Qin Ke's face for a long time before saying, "I think I've seen you before."
"In the game?" Qin Ke looked surprised, then laughed and said, "I don't think so. I disguise myself in the game. Only here am I my true self. And the live stream can't show the situation in the safe house, so even if you've watched my live stream, you shouldn't have seen me before."
At this moment, all four people's live streams were completely black, but they could still send comments, and the viewers were all cursing—
[A safe house? So Qin Ke was hiding in a safe house, that's why we couldn't see him!]
Why does the screen go black when I enter the safe house? What content is restricted to VIP users like us?!
[Release Yu Yu, my wife! I don't want to see that bastard Mu Zhuo!]
Qin Ke seems to look different every time he enters the game. If I weren't watching his livestreams, I wouldn't know which one is him. Has anyone seen Qin Ke's real appearance?
Never seen it before.
Never seen this before +1
...
Inside the safe house, Jiang Yan shook her head and said, "It's not a game, it's in reality."
Qin Ke's hand trembled as he held the bottle of soda.
When he finally came to his senses and looked at Jiang Yan again, she had already moved on from the topic and was squatting on the ground talking quietly to Lin Fengbai. She also accepted the chocolate that Lin Fengbai handed her.
Shi Yu and Shen Su stood by the wall and witnessed everything.
Shi Yu thought that it wasn't surprising that Qin Ke knew Jiang Yan, since Jiang Yan was a celebrity in real life. It wasn't surprising that Jiang Yan would remember Qin Ke after just one glance, given his appearance. The fact that Jiang Yan had met Qin Ke suggested that the two might have some kind of connection in real life.
Perhaps Qin Ke took the initiative to approach them for this reason.
Shi Yu didn't think that the person who consistently topped the wealth list could be a great philanthropist.
"What do you want to eat?" Shen Su nudged Shi Yu with his shoulder. "I'll get it for you."
Clearly, those who had just witnessed Lin Fengbai handing chocolate to Jiang Yan and attempting to imitate him were merely observing.
Shi Yu moved aside slightly and said, "I don't want to."
Shen Su then said, "I want to drink water. You're near the refrigerator, could you get me a bottle?"
Shi Yu looked at himself; after he moved over, he could indeed reach out and touch the refrigerator.
"..."
Shi Yu took a bottle of orange-flavored sparkling water from the refrigerator. Shen Su took it and exclaimed in surprise, "How did you know I like orange-flavored drinks?"
"Aren't all your lollipops this flavor?" Shi Yu glanced at Chen Su.
Shen Su smiled and said, "You're paying so much attention to me?"
Shi Yu: "..."
Shi Yu: "You're overthinking it."
Qin Ke has already begun directing the system sprite to expand the safe house.
Despite being called a commander, Qin Ke only gave one order: "The room is too small, you know what I mean?"
Little Elf: "Received, Master."
The house expanded very quickly, and several rooms appeared out of thin air in the blink of an eye. Furniture was automatically added, and the style was uniformly warm-colored.
In less than half an hour.
The one-bedroom, one-bathroom house was expanded into a large house with four bedrooms and a living room.
Little Elf: "Master, the expansion is complete. Please inspect it."
Qin Ke went to inspect it.
His expression wasn't good after the inspection.
Qin Ke summoned the little sprite: "Don't you want to see what you've expanded? How many people are there? Can't you count? Or do you not consider Mr. Lin a human being?"
Lin Fengbai whispered, "I don't actually need a room..."
He is a spirit pet, not a human, and he can sleep in the inventory.
Little elf: "I have no master."
Little Elf: "I thought Mr. Shen and Mr. Shi were sleeping in the same room."
Qin Ke: "So you even prepared double rooms for them? Should I praise you for being so clever?"
Little Elf: "Little Elf also thinks he's very smart!"
Qin Ke: "…………"
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