Chapter 51 (Update 1)
When Paopao came online, An Rou was napping on the edge of the bed, and Mi stretched out a hand in a daze.
Paopao subconsciously dodged and called out, "Boss?"
An Rou raised her head, her eyes blurry for a moment, then she regained consciousness: "Oh, you're here?"
"Boss, why are you sleeping here?"
The bungalow had no electricity, and no kerosene lamps. It was dark both inside and outside the windows. An Rou's night vision wasn't as good as a player's. She stared at Paopao's vague outline for a few seconds before shaking her head.
"It's okay, let's see if the employees can get to work on time."
After all, he is different from himself.
An Rou didn't want to know too much about offline life, and there was no point in asking too many questions.
An Rou got up to light the kerosene lamp. In the dim light, she could vaguely make out Paopao's hesitant expression.
"What's wrong?" she asked again.
"Boss..." Paopao's face flushed, "Can I work overtime from time to time in the future?"
He was so pissed off by the arena staff that he resorted to throwing money at them in a fit of rage. It felt good, but once he calmed down, he regretted it. There were so many arenas, and if this one didn't have a seat, he could just go somewhere else. Why bother renting a luxury room?
The monthly rent is 200,000!
Even if it were a five-star hotel, complete with treadmills, rowing machines, and other amenities, he wouldn't even bother. The school was only a few hundred meters away, so if he wanted to exercise, he could just go to the school playground.
Furthermore, the most valuable aspect of the deluxe cabin is the medical support system, specifically designed to monitor the vital signs of long-term online players. He can't stay away from home every day, and he wouldn't need it!
Fortunately, the arena took into consideration that rich people don’t have any credit issues, so no deposit is required for the luxury package. Otherwise, he really wouldn’t be able to withdraw 80,000 gold.
Then again, for young people like Paopao, appearances are more important than substance. He couldn't bring himself to move back to Xiaobao next month. He could only find a way to make more money.
Working half a day can earn you 1,000 gold, which can be converted into real money. If you work overtime for a month, you can earn 150,000 yuan - this is why Paopao gritted his teeth and asked for it.
It only took An Rou a few seconds to guess: the child was short of money.
But what kind of situation would make a boy who has just reached adulthood need to spend so much money?
Undoubtedly, Paopao had a good personality and a kind heart, and it was unlikely that he would use the money to commit any illegal acts. The gold coins Anrou had given him earlier were worth at least three hundred thousand, a huge sum for a child of his age.
Could it be that someone in the family is sick?
"Okay." An Rou agreed without hesitation. "It just so happens that I want to renovate the restaurant, and I can't do without your help. And—"
She returned to the bed, pressed Paopao's shoulder, and handed over 30,000 gold.
"These past few days, the corpses in the pickle jar have gradually exploded, yielding 500,000 gold. I was originally planning to wait until all the corpses crumbled before settling with you, but since we're talking about this, I'll give it to you in advance."
"Boss..." Paopao was overwhelmed by the huge surprise and was speechless for a moment.
This money plus the balance in the account is enough to rent a luxury bag next month!
But the surprises aren’t over yet.
An Rou continued, "What we just talked about were all gold coins. We also have a batch of props dropped by players. When we need them, we can sell them at the pawnshop and we'll give you a 5% commission as well."
When An Rou went to the pawn shop to buy a blank contract, she also asked about the prices of some weapons.
The lowest-tier gray weapons were worthless, ranging from tens to hundreds of gold. But once they entered the "red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple" tiers, their value instantly doubled and tripled. For example, the red Bone Burial Shovel she gave Paopao was worth at least 5,000 gold, while the orange Steel Fishing Net Anrou used to fish out pickled vegetables was estimated to start at 50,000.
Compared to weapons, the average price of auxiliary items is slightly lower, but the lower limit is higher. Resurrection cards, disguise cards, perspective cards, concealment cards, element cards... Aside from resurrection cards, other auxiliary cards are also divided into three levels: low, medium, and high, and their prices increase exponentially.
Among them, the resurrection card is the cheapest, regardless of the level, it costs 5,000 gold per card.
In other words, the hundreds of items An Rou had in her hands, once converted into gold coins, would be a huge sum of money. Granted, pawnshops were known for their unsavory tactics of buying low and selling high, but even if they sold them at a 50% discount, An Rou estimated she could at least recoup 2 million gold.
In this small piece of land in Zhongsu Town, she really has no shortage of money.
But there is one crucial thing missing - a corpse.
While watching Paopao go online, she went to take a look at the pickle jar. There were 11 bodies left in the morning, but after half a day, the number dropped sharply to 7.
Paopao didn't think much about it. After hearing Anrou's words, he said embarrassedly, "No need, boss. You spent a lot of money on building the farm and buying the restaurant. When the time comes, you can sell the props and don't have to give me any share. By the way——"
"Boss, you said you want to reform the restaurant? How do you want to reform it?"
An Rou picked up the kerosene lamp and motioned Paopao to follow.
The Soul Realm was starless and moonless, and the night was deep, as if a full inkstone had been turned upside down on the ground. The farm was some distance from the city walls, so the howling of the demented ghouls of the Unliving Land could not be heard, and it was far enough from the town to avoid the clamor of human voices.
The world was completely silent.
Paopao followed behind, and Anrou, who was walking in front, suddenly stopped and said, "Be careful behind you."
Paopao was startled when he suddenly heard a sound of air breaking behind him. Without thinking, he took out his bone shovel and slapped it backwards.
Metal struck metal, sparks flew, and illuminated a terrified face with wide-open eyes.
But it’s not about getting rich overnight.
A light screen popped up in front of Paopao's eyes.
[Mission Name: Secret Nest Xue Yong'an Farm]
[Mission Location: Eastern Suburbs of Zhongsu Town]
[Ghoul Level: SS (Highest)]
[Number of Ghouls: 2/2]
【Time limit: None】
[Difficulty Rating: SS]
Paopao was no stranger to this mission notification; it would pop up every time he saw the phrase "get rich quick." But this time, after glancing over it, he suddenly paused.
The mission name and the number of ghouls have changed!
Originally called "The Secret Hidden in Yongan Farm", it has now become "The Secret Lair". And the number of ghouls was originally only one!
The changes don't stop there.
An Routan said "Stop", and the numbers in the [Number of Ghouls] column began to jump.
3, 4, 5... and finally stopped at [5/5].
Four figures approached silently, then stopped at the same time after hearing An Rou's command, making dissatisfied gurgles in their throats. They were all living dead.
Paopao was stunned.
Since meeting An Rou, there has always been only one ghoul, Bao Fu, by her side. This makes Pao Pao feel that the boss has a strange connection with only Bao Fu, this particular ghoul.
But the current facts prove that the boss's ability is far more than that. Controlling all the ghouls? The ultimate bug among bugs!
Especially after the exchange of blows with the sneak attacking ghoul, Paopao could clearly feel the pain in his entire arm. The opponent was stronger than him!
Paopao's attention swept over the four ghosts one by one, and the light screen displayed their labels one by one.
They are all C-level ghouls, and in terms of level, they are only one level higher than the dementia ghouls.
But Paopao knew that ghouls were divided into levels similar to players, from C to SSS. Take the Bronze level, for example: Levels 10-29 were all Bronze players. He, a Bronze beginner at Lv15, couldn't possibly defeat a Bronze player at Lv25 or above!
The same is true for C-rank ghouls, except that they haven't been divided into sub-ranks. Furthermore, after the parasite dies, it can undergo a violent transformation, significantly increasing its destructive power, and its overall strength is much higher.
In other words, the C-rank ghoul that attacked him could make his arms ache and numb even before its physical body died. Even if a high-ranking bronze player came, he might not be able to succeed in a one-on-one fight.
Only silver players have the strength to deal with it.
What's more, there are four of them now, and they have surrounded him.
Paopao swallowed his saliva. Apart from Bao Fu, he was still very wary of other ghouls. He didn't dare to shift his gaze. He stepped back and approached An Rou.
"Boss, this..."
Before he could finish, someone in the sauerkraut shed not far away suddenly raised an abnormally long bone knife and stabbed it straight into the pickle jar from top to bottom.
A glimmer of soul flickered away.
"Everyone, stand down." An Rou swept her dignified gaze over the four ghouls. She held the kerosene lamp in front of Paopao, illuminating his face. "Remember this, he's your superior from now on. Anyone who dares to attack him will end up starving to extinction."
The fragrance of the soul was so close that the ghouls gnashed their teeth unwillingly, but they were ultimately no match for An Rou's power and disappeared into the darkness.
Paopao's heart, which had been stuck in his throat, finally settled down. Before he could breathe a sigh of relief, he heard footsteps and Anrou had already walked away.
He hurried to catch up, not leaving her side at all.
"Boss, what is this?"
An Rou hushed him and gestured for him to look at the pickle jar.
"One of them was in the tank for ten minutes, couldn't hold on, and exploded. It seems that not all the corpses that survived until now are gold players." An Rou said, "Do you think this one can make it out alive?"
Paopao finally realized that the fleeting glimmer of soul just now was because the sudden wealth had divided the resurrected players online into ghouls.
But originally, these players who had few resurrections left were used to feed the rich.
"Boss, why did you differentiate so many ghouls?" Paopao asked doubtfully, and suddenly he shuddered, "Could it be that someone has set their sights on the farm and needs us to prepare for battle?!"
He waited for a while, but got no response, so he looked at An Rou.
An Rou's eyes were fixed, her mouth was slightly open, and veins were bulging on her forehead and neck.
A state of suffocation and near death.
Paopao panicked: "Boss!"
Before his hand touched her, An Rou suddenly took a deep breath and a smile appeared on her face: "Not bad, it's coming out."
As she spoke, the heavy wooden lid of the pickle jar was flipped over with a bang, and a figure jumped out of the jar and landed in front of the two people.
His body was soaked with poisonous fluid, his exposed skin was a terrifying dark blue, his face was streaked with blood and tears, his eyes were bloodshot, and he glared at me angrily.
If it weren't for the light screen notification that popped up in front of him, Paopao would almost think that the player had successfully escaped.
"Through my experiments so far, I've discovered that ghouls' self-healing abilities are much stronger than players'. As you said, players are resurrected in poisonous water and need to drink life potions to detoxify, but ghouls don't need that."
An Rou paused and corrected herself, "It's the stronger ghouls who don't need it. Weaker ones, like that one, lost their bodies in the poisonous water and couldn't survive even if they transformed wildly."
Paopao followed her gesture and looked over, only to see several broken large vats a few meters away. A few gold coins could be vaguely seen among the messy clay fragments.
It must be the ghoul that An Rou mentioned that failed to "come out alive".
Describing the "corpse" that has survived to this day as "alive" and describing the ghoul that broke out of the jar as "living out" is weird no matter how you think about it.
However, Paopao didn't have time to think about these subtle thoughts, and most of his attention was focused on the ghoul in front of him.
He tugged at An Rou's sleeve and lowered his voice: "Boss, this ghoul is very different from what I remembered."
An Rou smiled slightly: "Is it because the expression is too natural, too much like a living person?"
Paopao nodded hurriedly. Even the living dead would have a certain degree of stiffness in their movements and expressions. Especially their eyes and mouth, which were somewhere between fear and anger.
But the ghoul in front of him didn't have his eyes wide open, nor did he turn down his mouth. At most, he was glaring like a normal person.
"This is also the result of my experiment." An Rou's tone was tinged with complacency. "The living dead are those whose souls have been partially eaten. When I asked Bao Bao to differentiate the first batch of ghouls, I discovered that the less souls were eaten, the more natural the living dead's expressions became. So this time, I asked Bao Fu to just give it a light lick."
It doesn't even count as taking a bite, at most it's like pricking the player's soul with a needle.
Paopao was once again stunned. It took him a while to digest Anrou's words. He asked hesitantly, "Then... why do we need so many ghouls?"
Too slow.
An Rou threw him a look of disdain: "What else can we do? The farm has expanded into so many industries, of course we need to recruit workers!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
