So, How Did You Catch Me?

037

Shi Jiu hung on the fishhook.

She rubbed her eyes with her hands.

Muttering dazedly to herself, "Wasn't I sleeping?"

"Did I dream of Jiang Fu again?"

Jiang Fu snapped back to reality.

He quickly reached out, scooping up the somewhat damp girl from the fishing line.

Habitually pulling her into his arms.

Feeling that familiar embrace.

Shi Jiu narrowed her eyes.

"So it's not a dream."

"Then... how did you fish me up?"

Jiang Fu: "..."

It was true he'd fished her up.

But somehow the words felt off.

"Just... activated the Sequence."

Shi Jiu's eyes lit up. "You activated the Sequence?"

Sequence!

Aside from Sequence, nothing else could explain something this absurd.

By now.

Shi Jiu was soaked through.

Her cream-colored loungewear clung tightly to her body.

A cold breeze blew past.

She instinctively curled deeper into Jiang Fu's arms.

Jiang Fu sat on the small stool.

As Shi Jiu shifted in his arms.

His expression immediately turned a bit unnatural.

He quickly coughed to cover it up. "Yeah, Sequence... Fishing Fanatic."

Shi Jiu pondered. "Fishing Fanatic? So you fished me up?"

Jiang Fu: "...And fished up a sword too!"

Shi Jiu froze.

Muttering softly, "So it was a sword poking me... Hey, let me see what sword it is."

As she spoke.

Shi Jiu didn't wait for Jiang Fu to react.

She reached out and grabbed the sword that was rather uncomfortable to sit on.

"The hilt feels nice, should be handy to use..."

"Huh? No, wait!"

In her confusion.

Shi Jiu's hand tightened slightly, giving the hilt a gentle squeeze.

The next moment.

Her eyes went wide as she stared blankly at Jiang Fu.

Her face flushed crimson in an instant.

Jiang Fu's face turned red, his whole body frozen like a statue.

He sat on the small stool, not daring to move a muscle.

Shi Jiu slowly, slowly let go.

She blurted out, "S-sorry, I didn't mean to..."

Jiang Fu snapped back to the moment.

That line... why did it sound oddly familiar.

Like... he'd said something similar in a similar situation...

Jiang Fu quickly stood up.

"Hey... you're soaked through. Be careful not to catch a cold!"

"Let me take you back to wash up and change clothes..."

As he spoke.

Jiang Fu, holding Shi Jiu, whooshed straight back to the second-floor room of the villa.

He set her down on the bed.

Then fled the scene.

Shi Jiu sat on the bed, staring blankly at her own right hand.

Muttering to herself, "So... that makes us even, right?"

"Hm?"

Suddenly, she spotted the phone on the bedside table.

With a slight stir of her Spirit Power.

The phone screen lit up.

It was the game victory settlement interface.

"I really did fall asleep on the couch..."

Shi Jiu pressed her lips together.

Then broke into a sudden smile.

And stretched with utter contentment.

"...Being a female rogue isn't so bad."

As she murmured.

She leisurely peeled off her wet clothes and walked barefoot into the room's bathroom.

In the open kitchen on the first floor.

Jiang Fu rubbed his face hard with his hands.

Trying to forget that... several moments of sensation.

"...Forget it. If I can't forget, I can't forget."

"Culinary skill, Multiply by Ten."

"Chef God Descends!"

With that, he took ingredients from the fridge.

And started bustling about in the kitchen.

"Hm?"

"The Sequence Screen's countdown actually stopped."

"So that means the countdown only continues when I'm fishing... and if I stop fishing, the time doesn't get wasted?"

"That's great—truly worthy of the Divine Sequence!"

For a moment, Jiang Fu's mood lifted.

His movements became lighter too.

At the same time.

His Spirit Power stirred.

His phone floated in front of him, automatically refreshing the page.

...On the precautions for fencing goods.

Jiang Fu browsed for a while.

Then used his Spirit Power to dial a number.

The call connected quickly.

A somewhat cold female voice answered, "Hello, who is this?"

Jiang Fu, while flipping shrimp in the pan with a spatula.

Replied, "Sister Li, it's me, Jiang Fu."

The voice on the phone paused.

Then turned warm.

"Oh, it's Xiao Jiang. What's up?"

Jiang Fu didn't beat around the bush. He said directly, "Do you take stolen goods?"

Li Yue: "..."

"...What stolen goods?"

Jiang Fu: "Sister Li, you know how it is."

"Martial artists go to the Wilderness Area, bumps and scrapes are inevitable... people hurt each other... then gear drops all over the ground."

"I got lucky and picked up a bunch of gear..."

Li Yue twitched the corner of her mouth.

But soon.

She remembered the pile of Silver Moon Wolves from yesterday.

And the Storage Badge that held them.

A Storage Badge!

Made by a Space Sequence Martial Artist.

Not just a storage tool, but a symbol of status and identity.

Even many Transcendent Martial Artists couldn't get their hands on treasures of this level.

"Little Jiang, what kind of loot... I mean, gear do you have there?"

Jiang Fu's eyes lit up. "Combat Suits, low-grade Combat Suits. Should count as second-hand, I guess."

Low-grade Combat Suits?

Li Yue breathed a sigh of relief.

But a hint of disappointment crept into her heart.

"Alright, how many sets do you have?"

Jiang Fu's eyes brightened, and he quickly said, "Sixty complete Combat Suits."

"And ten sets missing the pants!"

Pants with eleven legs...

Might as well count those as nothing.

Li Yue: "..."

"How many? How many did you say!?"

Sixty sets?!

And ten without pants?!

Jiang Fu coughed. "Sister Li, you know, the Wilderness Area is dangerous..."

Li Yue sighed. "Alright, no need to explain."

"I'll take the Combat Suits. But second-hand ones can't be bought at full price."

"First, I need to check the wear and tear, the degree of depletion, before setting a final price."

"Are you sending them over, or am I sending someone to pick them up?"

Those two mysterious high schoolers were people even Supervisor Shen treated with care.

She had no reason to dig too deep.

...The money came from the Martial Artist Guild, but the favor was hers!

Jiang Fu's eyes lit up. "You can do pickup?"

"I'm at Blue Shore Manor Residential Area in District Nine, Bin City."

Li Yue: "Alright, I'll send someone right away."

"But my people can't get into Blue Shore Manor Residential Area, so keep an eye on your phone."

"Got it, no problem."

After hanging up.

Jiang Fu also breathed a sigh of relief.

Last night, he hadn't understood the situation.

So he hadn't pulled out those Combat Suits.

Just now, he'd searched the Martial Artist Forum for posts about fencing goods.

After comparing multiple angles.

He finally decided to sell these Combat Suits to the Martial Artist Guild.

Even though Bin City had a so-called Martial Artist Black Market.

That place was a den that devoured people without spitting out bones.

If Jiang Fu, this little rookie, went there, he'd definitely be eaten clean down to the scraps.

The black market was chaotic, a mix of dragons and snakes.

Jiang Fu was really afraid that Old Wu might make a move on him in that black market.

As for Li Yue, she was at the official branch of the Martial Artist Guild.

Safer and more legitimate, too.

Besides, Li Yue had already been intimidated by Shi Jiu's Storage Badge.

Jiang Fu didn't mind continuing to borrow Shi Jiu's authority.

Jiang Fu carried the tray with his Spirit Power as he arrived at the dining area.

Shi Jiu had already finished showering and changed into a fluffy panda-patterned loungewear set.

He sat quietly by the dining table.