Garbage Day

"How is it? How does it look?" Chen Xiyao felt a little embarrassed, but she couldn't resist the temptation of getting a Storage Item, so she immediately changed into the new skirt.

The skirt really lived up to its name as an All-match item. Even with Chen Xiyao wearing an extremely unfashionable tracksuit top, the skirt paired with it gave her a lively, bright look.

"It's just a little awkward to take things out." Chen Xiyao tried reaching into the unknown dimension. This Storage Item had the same ability as Feng Xue's Storage Bag, automatically placing whatever she wanted into her hand, but reaching down like that still felt indescribably awkward.

For one thing, the posture really wasn't something she was used to. For another, she had some difficulty accepting it mentally.

"Maybe this equipment needs to be worn with safety shorts..." Chen Xiyao tried it a couple of times, then got caught between wanting to use the Storage Item and worrying that she might flash someone. She couldn't help voicing her heartfelt concern. Feng Xue was nearby sorting through the sheets of paper that had accumulated in a large pile of Tags after his failed attempts at crafting. Hearing her, he replied casually:

"You can try that when you get back, but I wouldn't get your hopes up. This Phantom Object works by blurring the concept of 'the unknown dimension.' If you wear safety shorts, then there's no risk of flashing anyone. It becomes a case of 'it doesn't matter if someone sees,' and that wouldn't be an unknown dimension anymore. The same goes for wearing it incorrectly. Using it as a battle skirt, a waist guard, or a scarf wouldn't work either."

"Is that so?" Chen Xiyao sighed helplessly. She put her pants and the pistol Feng Xue had given her into the unknown dimension. But when she reached for the pink remote-controlled toy, her whole body froze. Should she put it away or not?

Seeing Chen Xiyao's conflicted expression, Feng Xue swallowed the words he'd been about to say about putting her bodily waste into the dimensional space. It wasn't just her; he probably wouldn't agree to that either.

"Forget it. At least I can take things out whenever I need them."

It was another morning. Chen Xiyao woke from her dream and found Feng Xue among the dilapidated ceiling and mottled walls. As usual, he was dressed in a White Robe, and breakfast was still roasted meat. Eating meat every day was bound to get old, but ever since she noticed that the bloodier smell on Feng Xue grew stronger each day, Chen Xiyao had rarely made requests. She'd even started taking a few bites of the bran porridge she'd previously avoided, to get some roughage. As for vitamins, there were some in the half-cooked meat.

After taking care of her bodily needs as usual, Chen Xiyao figured they would be moving again today. But Feng Xue took her straight back to their previous lodging. Before she could say anything, he said solemnly:

"I'm going out in a little while. I probably won't be back until dusk. The Cross Sword Guild might search the whole city while I'm gone, so hide inside the cardboard box after I leave. There should be enough room for you to sit with your knees drawn up. That ought to let you hold out until I get back."

"W-where are you going?" Panic immediately appeared on Chen Xiyao's usually calm face. In this strange, counterintuitive world, she'd come to feel that she would be fine as long as she stayed with Feng Xue. The moment he left, though, she couldn't help panicking.

This wasn't because Feng Xue had deliberately conditioned or trained her. It was simply the gregarious nature of human beings at work. Just as the hardest part of surviving in the wilderness was overcoming loneliness, having someone to rely on was undeniably important when you were trapped in an unfamiliar world.

Feng Xue felt helpless about it. After all, today was Garbage Day, a workday for everyone in the Landfill Area. He was certain the Cross Sword Guild would send people out to search. If he went to the Garbage Dump as he was supposed to, then even if Chen Xiyao were caught, it would be hard for them to suspect him. His registered name was "Assassin," not "Feng Xue." But if he didn't go, then even if they failed to find Chen Xiyao, he would be marked as a prime suspect.

On top of that, Feng Xue now had nearly a thousand sheets of paper that could be turned into Phantom Objects, but his stock of materials was running low. He'd accumulated some elements related to different ways of dying by collecting corpses, but common elements such as [Items], [Weapons], and [Storage] were already completely depleted.

Even if it was just to turn those pages into Phantom Objects as quickly as possible, Feng Xue couldn't afford to miss out on the benefits of Garbage Day.

So he had to go!

After reassuring Chen Xiyao a little and promising that he would definitely come back, he handed her his White Robe, along with his Storage Bag, Sleeve Blade, and the Mist Field Skill machine he'd made earlier. Chen Xiyao was horrified.

You call that coming back for sure?

You're practically saying your last goodbyes!

"Don't panic. It's not as dramatic as you think. The place I'm going is one where carrying supernatural items would make me stand out." Feng Xue looked at the girl, whose tears were about to spill over, and felt a little helpless. Hearing him say that, Chen Xiyao seemed unconvinced.

"Are those things really that rare?"

"Yeah, very rare." Feng Xue nodded, then pointed to the stack of paper. "In Infinite City, knowledge is information, and information is power. So an ordinary person can go their whole life without seeing a single book. Books from your world are even more precious treasures. I was only able to make all this equipment by using them as a medium."

"Is that so? Then were those people trying to capture me because of the books?" Chen Xiyao looked at Feng Xue suspiciously, but he shook his head again.

"Knowledge-bearing objects from the outside world are all precious. A living outsider like you is even more valuable. Hey, do you know the story about merfolk weeping pearls?"

"I've heard of it." Chen Xiyao nodded. As a high school student, she still remembered the line from her textbook: "I fear a mermaid on the shore, shedding pearls beneath the moon."

"Then what do you think someone would do if they found a mermaid in real life?" Feng Xue's expression grew a little frightening. Chen Xiyao had only just begun to imagine it when a chill crept into her heart. She was no longer a little girl who believed in fairy tales, and she knew enough about human malice to understand that if merfolk really existed, they wouldn't be met with peace and friendship. They'd be kept captive and tortured in all sorts of ways, forced to weep and produce a great many pearls.

At that moment, she remembered Feng Xue saying earlier that he was Tang Monk. She understood her own situation a little more deeply.

Seeing Chen Xiyao's expression, Feng Xue gently patted her shoulder.

"All right, you've already seen what the cardboard box can do. Nothing will happen to you if you hide inside. My entire fortune is on you now, so make sure you keep it safe for me!"