Watching the Fun

"That's because you didn't see the grandeur of previous festivals; it was a hundred times more lively than this."

[Did you celebrate Chinese New Year when you were a child? What was it like?]

"Anyway, there won't be any more days like that in the future, so does it really matter whether you know it or not?" Lin Nieran paid the bill and then asked Lin Yi beside him, "What do you want to eat?"

Lin Yi twirled the dagger. "I don't want anything."

Lin Nieran: "You said you wanted Sour Candied Fruit? Okay."

"That's because you like to eat it, I don't eat that stuff!" Lin Yi retorted angrily, "And I can't eat it anyway!"

"Ah, I know, that's why I bought it for myself." Lin Nieran chuckled to himself, "But I'll still buy a few bars of Chocolate."

Lin Yi's favorite food is Chocolate, but he doesn't like the particularly "high-end" Chocolates. He prefers the cheap kind with a saccharin taste.

Lin Yi snorted, but ultimately said nothing more.

Lin Nieran shopped from one end of the street to the other, spending all of the more than 50,000 yuan in cash he had with him.

He earns more now than before, but he also spends more, having to support several mouths to feed.

As he paid, he muttered to the system, "007, why can't I only get money from a lottery using anonymous Bank Cards, and not by redeeming Points? I'm really short of money."

"Look, prices have gone up again this year. This bag of rice used to cost only 1,000, but now it costs 1,100. I remember it only cost a little over 900 last year."

007 asked, puzzled, "[Wouldn't it be faster for the host to exchange Weird Object for money with the Authorities? The function of exchanging Points for money will only be unlocked after the system upgrades.]"

"That won't work. Trading money with them makes it easy for them to trace the account," Lin Nieran sighed. "It seems I'll have to rely on myself."

If the Authorities discover that he is the mastermind behind the Judgment Office organization because of money, wouldn't all his previous efforts be in vain?

After wandering around for a while, he bought most of the basic necessities, but he couldn't find a place to buy the Chocolate that Lin Yi liked, even after searching several places.

Finally, having no other choice, he bought a few pieces of chocolate that Lin Yi didn't usually eat, ones that had a bitter taste. He jokingly told him that since it was just for smelling, as long as it was Chocolate, it would be fine.

Lin Yi was so angry that he grabbed a knife and was about to slash him again, Lin Nieran quickly promised that if he saw something Lin Yi liked in the next few days, he would buy it for him again.

As Lin Nieran left the store, he glanced at the Chocolate packaging, and some scenes from his memory gradually overlapped with it.

He put the Chocolate in his coat pocket and went to the dried goods store next door to buy Dried Fish.

"Hey Boss Lin, you're here again! I just bought three big bags of Dried Fish a few days ago. Are you buying more today?" the dried goods shop owner greeted him warmly.

Lin Nieran recalled the Black Cat sneakily stealing food and laughed, "Yes, my family loves it. Let's buy more this time, ten bags, please."

"Wow, so much! This is going to empty my entire inventory!"

After paying over ten thousand yuan to take away the Dried Fish, Lin Nieran put most of his belongings into his Dimensional Space, carrying only a few light but bulging bags of things as he walked back.

On the way back, the sun climbed into the sky after a long absence, casting a not-so-warm light. There were also many more pedestrians on the road, and Lin Nieran chatted casually with acquaintances as he walked.

An old man shoveling snow outside chuckled and said, "Boss Lin, you've bought so much stuff for the New Year!"

"Yes, Uncle Wang, are your children coming home for the New Year this year too?"

"I'm back this year! At least I'm not stuck in Instance anymore. It's so dangerous out there. I wish my son could run a peaceful shop like you, I'd feel much more at ease."

The middle-aged woman next to him exclaimed, "Uncle Wang, you're dreaming! Boss Lin's skills are so exceptional that even the Authorities wants to invite him; he's not just an ordinary shop owner."

Lin Nieran smiled and said, "Aunt Yuan, you're too kind. I'll be going now. You all continue with your work."

After walking a few steps, I ran into several familiar faces not far away.

Tao Yuan saw Lin Nieran and raised her hand to greet him, "Boss Lin, you've come back from buying New Year's goods so early in the morning?"

"It gets too crowded if we go too late, and we don't want to squeeze through." Lin Nieran's gaze swept over Cheng Shanshi, and he asked with a smile, "Is this the new team member you found yesterday?"

"Yes, a newbie. We're going to train him on missions to help him get used to it."

Cheng Shanshi smiled in response, appearing awkward and reserved.

Lin Nieran said, "Then I wish you good luck."

After saying goodbye to them, Lin Nieran returned to the shop, tossed his things into the Boundless Land, and the Butler guarding the house waved his hand, causing all sorts of items to float lightly into the warehouse, where they were then lined up and placed one by one.

Meanwhile, the five members of the Calamity Crossing Squad had entered their first B-Rank Instance of the day, and with Cheng Shanshi's help, they cleared it smoothly in no time.

After coming out, An Ying and the others were still a little unaccustomed to it.

"I've never experienced such a smooth Instance before." Wang Ding took off his glasses, wiping them as he muttered to himself, "Important characters just stumble upon me without me even needing to look for them, clues fall into my hands, the mission objective is right in front of me, and the path I randomly choose is the right one..."

Mi Chuchu looked around. "Did we really beat the game? It feels a little unreal."

"What kind of miserable lives did we go through before?" Tao Yuan almost shed a tear of bitterness.

An Ying tilted her head and looked at the silent boy carrying the basket. "Impressive."

Mi Chuchu was a little annoyed. She had cleared the Instance without even playing a role, and the ease with which it went made her feel suspicious.

"Cheng Shanshi, let's do it again--"

Before she could finish speaking, she suddenly noticed that the boy's expression was a bit off.

The pleasant atmosphere that had surrounded him suddenly became oppressive, forming a thick, dark mass around Cheng Shanshi that appeared and disappeared intermittently, emanating an unpleasant aura.

The four of them took a few steps back, watching him warily.

"If I were you, I'd slap him a few times right now to wake him up."

The sudden sound startled them, and they turned to look behind them.

At the top of the alley, the Gray-Eyed Youth was half-squatting and smiling at them. He wore a Teardrop-Shaped Earring with Gold-Trimmed and Green Gemstone base on his right ear, the reflected light making An Ying squint.

"Ravenhall Speculation?"

The expressions on their faces instantly turned grim.

Wang, resting his chin on his hand, chuckled, "Is he calling me? It sounds more like he's barking like a dog."

Tao Yuan held the Chainsaw horizontally in front of her, glaring at him warily. "What are you planning to do now? Get out of here."

"Don't misunderstand, I'm not here to see you." Ravenhall pointed to Cheng Shanshi, whose aura was strangely unsettling behind them, and said, "I'm here to see him."

The group turned around, following his gaze. "What do you want to do?"

Wang smiled and said, "Such a powerful Ability to Control Luck is wasted staying in the Authorities and following the rules. Joining the organization would be a good choice."