I'm a Good Person; I Never Rob People

Honestly, Gu Mian had been afraid an eighty-pound hammer would suddenly reach out from inside and smash his head to pieces.

But apparently, this game was reasonable. It was not as violent as he had imagined.

The first thing he saw after opening it was a letter.

"An apology letter?"

"Dear player, we sincerely apologize for the inconvenience you experienced in the Vengeful Spirit High School dungeon."

"At the same time, we hope that in future dungeons, players will refrain from further extreme behavior. Otherwise, you will bear the consequences yourself."

Naturally, no one else had received this apology letter.

The other players had already left the dungeon when it collapsed, so this apology letter belonged to Gu Mian alone.

Who the "certain player" mentioned in the apology letter was went without saying.

At that moment, Chu Changge leaned over to look at the apology letter on Gu Mian's panel as well.

"I saw that announcement ages ago. I originally guessed it had something to do with you, but I never expected the game to send you an apology letter after you crashed a dungeon. If it were me, I'd have smashed your damn head in already."

Gu Mian glanced at him. "What game blames the player for operating incorrectly when its server crashes?"

Besides, although it was titled an apology letter, every line of it was clearly a threat!

Threat or not, Gu Mian continued reading. The real compensation was below.

A yellowed slip of paper, like a movie ticket, appeared before him.

[Dungeon Exchange Ticket (Single Use)]

[Choose a designated dungeon to enter once. You may enter as a team with teammates. Fill in the dungeon and player names to use.]

All dungeons were currently matched at random. You never knew which dungeon you would enter the next second.

But with this, things were different. He could enter any dungeon he fancied whenever he wanted.

However, Gu Mian did not have any dungeon he particularly wanted to enter for the time being, so he set the ticket aside.

There was also some Game Currency as compensation below.

[Game Currency ×100]

A full day had passed, yet all the Game Currency possessed by players worldwide still had not added up to one hundred thousand. The Mall System would not open until they gathered one hundred thousand, so Game Currency was useless for now.

After going over the panel again on the bed, Gu Mian finally got up to turn off the lights.

He needed to sleep early. He was going grocery shopping with Fatty tomorrow morning. With that thought, he closed his eyes.

The next day, when dawn had only just begun to break, the alarm clock by his bed rang.

Gu Mian was a miserable intern doctor, and he lived far from the hospital, so he had to get up very early.

Fortunately, there was a supermarket nearby that sold freshly made scallion pancakes. He could stand at the bus stop and eat while waiting for the bus.

But Gu Mian had eaten those pancakes for years, and the supermarket still showed no intention of changing its breakfast selection. Now, the mere sight of one made him feel a little nauseated.

But things were different with Fatty around.

Looking at the steaming porridge on the dining table, Gu Mian suddenly felt the urge to keep Fatty captive.

Fatty was quite skilled at making porridge.

It was thick without being overly gluey, and it contained red dates and rock sugar. Gu Mian drank half the pot in one go, leaving the other two seemingly still hungry.

"It's fine." He wiped his mouth with a napkin. "We're going to the supermarket in a bit anyway."

Though the supermarket might not even be open.

When they left, Gu Mian deliberately glanced at the counter by the entrance on the first floor of the apartment building.

The antique-looking counter was still there, and the rattan chair was still lying sideways as before, as though no one had returned.

He breathed a sigh of relief.

Chu Changge also glanced at the rattan chair. "Your landlord still hasn't come back?"

Gu Mian shrugged. "Who knows?"

The sun still rose in the east.

Even though the world had changed, Earth's direction of rotation remained remarkably stable.

The sun rose hazily, warm sunlight spreading across the ground. Streets and alleys alike were veiled in a pale golden glow.

Above them was a clear, cloudless sky stretching for miles, and even the air carried a crisp freshness.

"The weather's nice today." Gu Mian looked up at the sky.

Traffic conditions were still terrible. If anyone really wanted to drive, they could only ride a bicycle.

But Gu Mian did not even own a bicycle, so the three of them could only proceed on foot.

Not far from the apartment was a ticket booth, similar to the two beside Lianhua Hospital.

None of the three wanted to enter another dungeon for the time being. Naturally, neither did the other players, so the ticket booth was empty.

Looking inside, they saw only a female NPC sitting behind the window in utter boredom, so bored she was nearly banging her head against the glass.

A few more steps brought them to a large supermarket.

Sure enough, just as Gu Mian had expected, the supermarket was closed.

The massive rolling shutter door sealed the supermarket tight. Quite a few people stood outside, all of them dumbfounded.

"What do we do?" Fatty pulled a long face.

Gu Mian turned around. "There are plenty of supermarkets around here. Let's check somewhere else."

Unexpectedly, the major supermarkets that normally regarded one another as bitter rivals had all taken the same action today.

Not a single one had opened along the way. Had they issued some kind of unified policy?

Gu Mian wrapped his white coat more tightly around himself. "This is seriously bizarre."

Though the large supermarkets were closed, some small convenience stores were still open, although not many.

Long lines had formed outside those convenience stores, visible from a great distance.

As they passed one convenience store, Gu Mian looked over.

Only one person could enter at a time. After that person paid and left, the next person was allowed in.

A man who looked like the owner stood behind the door with an iron rod in his hand. He apparently feared someone might rob the place, while the owner's wife stood behind the counter handling payments.

A customer inside was haggling with the owner.

"This is way too expensive!" A somewhat stoop-shouldered middle-aged man held several packs of instant noodles.

Gu Mian recognized them as Kang Shuaifu braised beef noodles.

The slightly plump owner's wife stood behind the counter with her hands tucked into her sleeves, her face glowing red. "Expensive? Take a look at how many stores on the street are still open. If you can't afford a hundred a pack, then don't buy them."

Well, damn!

Just look at that arrogance.

These open convenience stores had basically raised their prices dozens of times over. They wanted to profiteer from the situation.

Gu Mian remembered that during Japan's nuclear leak years ago, certain salt merchants had worn exactly the same expression.

The stooped man lowered his head and fell silent for a while. He rubbed the items in his hands a few times before finally reaching for his money.

He pulled out several crumpled bills, all tens and twenties.

He counted them one by one, smoothed them flat, and handed them to the owner's wife.

The owner's wife accepted them with some disdain and counted them, then raised her voice to call out the door, "Next."

Fatty kept shaking his head beside them. "The world is going downhill! People's hearts are no longer what they used to be! Are we really going to be unable to afford food in the future?"

"Let's see once the Mall System opens," Gu Mian said.

But they still needed to eat right now. Who knew when the Mall System would open?

Fatty looked at the long line. "So should we buy food from these convenience stores first?"

Gu Mian had no habit of stockpiling food, so there was nothing edible at home.

Chu Changge was away from home every day, and several generations of mice in his place had probably starved to death already.

"But I don't think I have enough money..."

As he spoke, Gu Mian took out a fifty-yuan bill and several coins. "This is all the cash I have on me. What about you two?"

The other two exchanged looks.

Chu Changge took out a five-yuan bill and a ten-yuan bill.

Fatty took out two fifty-cent coins.

Gu Mian: "..."

It looked like they could only rob someone.