"Who are you?" Team leader Lu Yuanfan protected Zhou Ying, who was speaking, behind him and looked at Lu Yao warily.
There were five people in this team, all of whom were born after the Day of Impermanence. The oldest, Lu Yuanfan, was only seventeen years old, and the youngest was fifteen.
They looked at Lu Yao with curiosity and more vigilance.
This time the Eternal Night was longer than before, and the prepared food was almost consumed. Several people formed a team to look for food.
The Eternal Night was a relatively safe period during the Day of Impermanence. Most of the mutant plants and animals were dormant, and children dared to come out at will.
The problem was that the Day of Impermanence had lasted for twenty years, and the places where food could be found outside had been searched for several rounds, and even the garbage bags that had been used to hold food could not be found.
The team walked a long way in the dark and almost got lost when they were attracted by the lights here.
In the abandoned old shopping mall, the bright and strange little shop was a trap.
But this shop was a little different. The big sign light and the strange name of the shop all tempted the little curiosity of the boys and girls.
Lu Yuanfan didn't want to come over. He was a little older and had been on missions with adults before. He had seen too many things that cheated people.
But the four team members wanted to go into the store to take a look. If they didn't find other food, they would have to go back hungry.
If they were unlucky, they would starve to death. It's better to
be brave and try. Lu Yao thought to himself, there are so many of you, and I should be the one who is afraid. Why are you all so vigilant?
But there is no harm in being a little more vigilant.
She took a step back and said without being overly enthusiastic: "My name is Lu Yao, the owner of this blind box store. If you are looking for food, there are hot drink blind boxes and new instant noodle blind boxes, you can try your luck."
Hot drink? Instant noodles? Blind box?
Among the three words, only "hot drink" is familiar to them, and they know that it is something hot and drinkable.
This alone has made the team members restless.
Lu Yuanfan was still very vigilant, but the girl named Zhou Ying who entered the store first had already turned around and walked towards the blind box machine, and the other three team members followed.
Lu Yuanfan: "..."
Zhou Ying curiously leaned on the transparent glass in front of the hot drink blind box machine, "Are there drinks in the 'hot drink blind box'?"
Lu Yao stood next to the blind box machine to guide customers who were playing the blind box machine for the first time, and to observe the customers' expressions, words and deeds, to understand this world from the side, and to make reference for new products in the future.
"Yes, this machine is full of delicious hot drinks, with a total of ten flavors. Customers go to the machine over there to exchange blind box coins, and put coins in this coin slot to draw a flavor of drink."
They have never seen such a strange machine since they were young. Zhou Ying actually asked the question subconsciously, but he didn't expect the owner to answer it. Lu Yao
didn't show much expression on his face when he spoke, but his tone was calm and his attitude was gentle, which was different from most of the strange adults they had met.
Zhou Ying was just lively, not stupid. She knew that she couldn't trust strangers easily, but she somehow felt that this shop owner was very reliable, which made her feel at ease.
She walked to the machine for exchanging blind box coins, read the operation process clearly, took out a green crystal core from her pocket and was about to put it in.
A teammate stopped them and said, "Is this a scam to steal the crystal core? Those things are in boxes and we can't touch them, so how do we know if they are empty shells?"
Lu Yuanfan came over and heard what his teammate said, nodding in agreement, "Yes, the Eternal Night has lasted almost ten days longer than in previous years, and everyone's stored food is almost gone. How could anyone be kind enough to open such a store at this time? Zhang Bai is right, she must be trying to steal the crystal core."
"Ah, it smells so good, what is this?"
"It smells so sweet, and it's really hot!"
The three of them were struggling in front of the currency exchange machine, and two teammates next to them suddenly exclaimed.
Zhou Ying, Lu Yuanfan and Zhang Bai turned around immediately, and saw two teammates surrounding the young woman who claimed to be the owner, staring at the thing in her hand.
Seeing that they were really dawdling, Lu Yao took out a blind box of hot drinks from the warehouse and unpacked it on the spot.
The outer packaging was the same, and she had deliberately messed up the order when she put the goods on the shelves. She didn't know what was inside before opening the box.
She first handed the can to the two people in front of her. This was the newly made batch of hot drinks, and the style description on the packaging had been changed to ten.
But it was just based on the original five, and five more choices were added.
There was no change in taste between the batch in the morning and the batch that had just been delivered, and they were all made by Qi Chen.
The two children weighed it in their hands and felt that it was hot, so they were already 80% convinced.
When Lu Yao opened the can, the rich sweet fragrance spread with the heat, and the two of them kept twitching their noses and unconsciously made swallowing movements.
Zhou Ying and the others gathered around immediately. The sweet fragrance in the air could be smelled from a long distance away.
Lu Yuanfan pursed his lips and could not utter a word.
Lu Yao knew that hot cocoa was available as soon as he smelled it. He was lucky. The child would find it hard to resist this charming sweet taste.
She took a sip first and then handed it over. "If you don't mind, try it? This is hot cocoa, very fragrant. My blind boxes are all genuine, honest."
Lu Yuanfan was nervous, fearing that some team members would be impulsive. Fortunately, they just looked at Lu Yao with desire and restraint... the half-opened can in their hands.
This smell is really sweet.
The next second, Zhou Ying reached out, took a sip, and his dark eyes suddenly lit up, "It's delicious, sweet, fragrant, and especially smooth."
The weak willpower of the others collapsed instantly, and they took it one after another.
"Hmm!!! Delicious!!!!"
"So sweet!"
"I've never tasted anything so delicious!"
"Can I have another sip?"
There was still a little bit left, and the can was handed to Lu Yuanfan.
Lu Yuanfan: "..."
He took it, glared at Lu Yao angrily, stretched out his finger to dip a little, and licked it carefully. The light bitterness spread on the tip of the tongue first, followed by a long and delicate sweetness, which spread layer by layer in the mouth.
Lu Yuanfan's eyes widened, savored it for a while, and raised his head to pour the remaining hot cocoa that had already cooled into his mouth.
Beside him, Zhou Ying couldn't wait to ask, "What are these things in that machine?"
The effect of planting grass has been outstanding. Lu Yao is satisfied, but still looks calm.
"The hot drink blind box machine contains drinks. In addition to hot cocoa, there are other flavors. The instant noodle blind box machine next to it is a new blind box. The category is instant noodles with six flavors."
She has discovered that these children don't seem to know what hot cocoa and instant noodles are.
This world is different from what she originally expected.
The instant noodle blind box and the hot drink blind box are both 15 yuan per draw.
The team members gathered in a circle to discuss for a while, and finally decided to exchange for 30 yuan blind box coins and draw two to try.
Lu Yao stood aside and watched them throw something called crystal core into the redemption machine, and what came out was a round coin with a face value. The crystal core has different colors, and the exchanged coin value is also different.
Lu Yao asked the system: "Those crystal cores thrown in are actually compressed, right?"
System: [...The shopkeeper is smart.]
The size and color of the crystal cores are different, and the energy contained is also different, so the value is naturally different.
The crystal cores dug from mutant animals and plants are irregular, and the redemption machine just compresses them according to the energy they contain and quantifies them into blind box coins for easy use.
Lu Yao: "Then what use is this kind of crystal core coin to me?"
The system inexplicably felt a little guilty: [...As far as I know, people in this world use crystal cores as energy, which can be used to generate electricity, make weapons, and burn for heating. They are actually aggregated energy blocks with infinite possibilities. The shopkeeper can try to develop other uses. 】
Lu Yao: "...In short, it is of no use for the time being."
System: [...You can't say that. Its use in this world is the same as its time in the Dreamland. 】
Lu Yao has become accustomed to this kind of start. Others open blind box stores and burn the money of players and krypton gold bosses.
Only she, no matter what store she opens, will burn her own money.
In front of the blind box machine, Zhou Ying and Lu Yuanfan each held a 15 yuan blind box coin, ready to draw a box.
Lu Yuanfan drew a hot drink, and after inserting the coin, a small red light lit up next to the blind box machine, and with a clang, a can of drink fell out.
He took out the drink, and his hanging heart finally let go. It had weight, and it was still hot in his hand, just like the one opened by the store owner.
Zhou Ying stood in front of the instant noodle blind box machine. After inserting a coin, the small red light next to the blind box machine lit up, and a box of things fell out.
She took it out. This box was different from the hot drink box. It looked very small when it was placed in the machine.
After taking it out, the box seemed to have become a little bigger. I don’t know why.
After the box drawing was over, the team members gathered in a circle and prepared to open the hot drink blind box first.
Lu Yuanfan put his hand on the can, ready to open it, and he was a little nervous.
They gathered together to look at the style pictures. Except for the hot cocoa they had just drunk, all the others were drinks they had never seen before.
Each name is extremely tempting, which makes them look forward to the unknown.
"Click--", the lid opened, and a strange floral scent mixed with a slightly sour sweetness rushed out.
The team members were stunned for a moment, and then they were ecstatic, as if they had drawn a new flavor.
Zhou Ying leaned in to smell it, "What a nice fragrance, too sweet. What flavor is this, honey grapefruit tea, or matcha latte?"
Lu Yao could smell the scent without getting close.
She was a little surprised that these children didn't know the fragrance of osmanthus or brewing wine.
"This is osmanthus wine brewed with longan tea, which helps you sleep." Lu Yao explained.
The five children took turns drinking it, licking their lips and curling their eyes. It was so delicious.
The osmanthus was fragrant, the brewed wine was sour and sweet, and it was paired with the unique rich fruity aroma of dried longan. It was sweet to the heart.
In terms of taste, the children might prefer hot cocoa, but this was the first time they had a drink with such a complex flavor. The more they savored it, the more addicted they became.
A cup of osmanthus wine brewed with longan tea was quickly finished after one sip by each person, and everyone's eyes were focused on Zhou Ying's hands.
On the rectangular paper box, the words "blind box of instant noodles" were written, and on the side there were pictures of the styles - pickled pepper beef noodles, Jiaojiao turkey noodles, spicy pork ribs noodles, mushroom chicken soup noodles, Yiyi seafood noodles.
Zhang Bai pointed to the style picture of the blind box of instant noodles and said, "Why is there no hidden item in this?" He
didn't know what the hidden item was, but he was quick to notice the difference.
Lu Yao added: "There are a total of ten hidden items in the blind box machine of instant noodles, but the hidden items are not styles, but small ingredients. Every flavor of instant noodles may have hidden items."
The team members still didn't quite understand the meaning of hidden items, and they were ready to see what this thing called instant noodles looked like.
Zhou Ying opened the box, revealing the packaging inside, and poured out several independent small packages, "What are these?" Lu
Yao walked over to take a look, and said with a smile: "Emperor of Europe, he hit the target with one shot and drew a hidden one."
Hidden?
Everyone looked at the small packages scattered on the ground, a little puzzled: "Is this a hidden one?"
Lu Yao helped them to sort it out, "There are only these things in the ordinary style of instant noodle blind box, noodles, seasoning packets, soup packets, and a set of tableware. And in your package, the extra package of spices and this vegetable package are small ingredients that only have hidden ones."
In the entire package, only the two packages of small ingredients in the owner's hand were different from the other ingredients.
Zhou Ying didn't quite understand what "Emperor of Europe" meant, but she knew she had drawn something good, and asked happily: "How do you eat this?"
Lu Yao patiently guided them to read the operating instructions on the box, and pointed to the water heater not far away.
Zhou Ying followed the instructions and made instant noodles.
She drew spicy pork rib noodles. When the hot water rushed to the noodles and seasonings, the tempting aroma immediately spread. It was completely different from hot drinks, but it was even more mouth-watering.
Fill it with hot water, wait for a while, and finally put in the hidden condiments.
In the expectation of everyone, Zhou Ying tore open the condiment bag.
The first bag turned out to be two pieces of cooked pork ribs, and there was a fragrant smell as soon as it was torn open. Another bag was blanched fresh lettuce leaves, exuding the unique fragrance of green vegetables, and it can be eaten after soaking in the hot noodle soup.
The team members were all stunned. There was meat and vegetables, and it looked like animal meat and vegetables that had not mutated.
In fact, Lu Yao wanted to add a fried egg to the hidden, but was limited to 500 grams, so he could only endure it for the time being.
When the blind box conditions were relaxed, she added the fried eggs that were crispy and fragrant.
Zhou Ying couldn't help it. She used a fork inexperienced way to pick up a handful of noodles and slurped them into her mouth. Her eyes widened and it took her a long time to come back to her senses: "Is this noodles? It's springy and smooth, and it's so fragrant that you can bite your tongue. It's too delicious!"
Zhang Baishi couldn't help it and squeezed over: "Yingying, give me a bite."
Lu Yuanfan stood aside and swallowed his saliva. The taste of instant noodles was like a smell bomb, constantly teasing his fragile nerves. He wanted to eat it.
The five people shared a bucket of instant noodles, and they supported their hands on the floor, still not satisfied.
There were only two pieces of ribs in a box of noodles. Zhou Ying picked off the meat with her hands and divided it into five portions. Everyone tasted it.
After a short break, the five people took out the remaining crystal cores and managed to scrape together 60 yuan of blind box coins.
They discussed repeatedly that the instant noodle blind box was more cost-effective and more filling than hot drinks. But the hot syrup was also irresistible.
In the end, they decided to draw a hot drink blind box and three instant noodle blind boxes.
This time, the other three team members drew.
The way to get the blind box is particularly interesting to them.
Every time, they are waiting in a serious manner and full of tension.
Lu Yao watched with relish on the side. The greatest fun of playing blind boxes is to satisfy curiosity.
This group of children has fallen.
After drawing four blind boxes, Lu Yuanfan led the team members to leave.
Zhou Ying walked to the door and looked back at Lu Yao, "Shopkeeper, will there be new blind boxes?"
Lu Yao nodded: "Of course."
The five-member team moved forward in the eternal night, leaving a small piece of crystal core for lighting, holding the blind box they had just drawn in their arms, and feeling excited.
Zhou Ying's brother Zhou Yan led a team and met them halfway. He scolded them with a cold face: "Don't you want to live? You sneaked out at this time. I don't know how worried the adults are?"
The children shrank their heads and stood together. Zhou Ying wanted to speak several times, but was scolded by Zhou Yan and dared not speak.
The eternal night was prolonged, food was scarce, and everyone was hungry.
The children ran out without telling the adults, thinking that they could find food. They didn't know how dangerous it was outside, and their parents were almost scared to death.
God knows how difficult it is to raise a child after the appearance of the impermanence sun.
At this age, every bite of food eaten by young boys and girls is the food saved by their elders and siblings.
If they died outside, who could bear it?
Zhou Yan was almost mad. He had just finished his mission and returned to the base when he heard that his sister was missing.
Without taking a breath, he immediately went out to look for her.
Zhou Ying wanted to wait until his brother had lost his temper before telling him about their great gains on this trip.
But Zhou Yan had been talking for nearly 20 minutes and had not finished reading.
A team member next to him advised him to go back and read again, and was scolded by the Pi Tou several times. No one dared to plead for mercy.
At this time, Lu Yuanfan took out a hot drink blind box from his arms and held it in front of Zhou Yan, "Brother Zhou Ying, we found a magical little shop outside this time. We can extract food with crystal cores. This is the drink we brought back. It's really drinkable."
Afraid that Zhou Yan would not believe it, Lu Yuanfan acted decisively and tore off the lid on the can. The sweet taste emanated with the heat.
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