State-Run Store and Unexpected News

Lu Xiu's steps faltered.

She instinctively wanted to quicken her pace and pretend she had not heard, but the voice had already caught up to her. "Oh my, isn't that Xiu Xiu? Why are you walking so fast, child?"

With no other choice, Lu Xiu stopped and turned around. An elderly woman with graying hair was hurrying toward her, a cloth bag dangling from her hand.

The old woman wore a faded floral blouse. Her face was deeply lined, but her eyes were bright.

Lu Xiu recognized her. It was Grandma Wang, who had once lived next door and had been her grandmother's close friend.

When she was little, Grandma Wang had often slipped food to her.

But after her grandmother passed away... Grandma Wang's son had supposedly found a good job and earned quite a few Survival Points. They had moved out of their old, rundown apartment, and the two of them had seen each other less and less.

After transmigrating, Lu Xiu had not wanted to interact with outsiders, afraid they would notice something different about her. She had even forgotten that her grandmother had such a close friend.

Only now, upon seeing her, did she remember.

"Hello, Grandma Wang." Lu Xiu lifted the brim of her hat, revealing her face as she greeted her.

Grandma Wang came up to her and looked her over from head to toe. Her smile deepened. "Xiu, I knew it was you. You're getting prettier and prettier, just like your grandmother when she was young!"

Lu Xiu did not know what to say and felt a little conflicted.

Should she be happy, or should she be modest...?

But Grandma Wang had clearly misunderstood.

She took Lu Xiu's hand and went on by herself. "You child, still so quiet. And... I told you to come to Grandma if you had any difficulties, but you never came even once. I went to knock on your door, and there wasn't even an answer. You worried me sick. The person your grandmother worried about most before she left was you. She told me again and again to look after you.

"I watched you grow up. How could you be embarrassed to ask me for help?

"Or do you think Grandma is too old to help you now? I am old, but my son has turned out all right. Why couldn't we take care of you?"

"...Sorry, Grandma Wang."

Lu Xiu came to her senses, realizing the old woman meant well. She said apologetically, "I've been a little busy lately."

"You really are..."

Grandma Wang seemed to think Lu Xiu was making excuses and gently shook her head. "Do you have enough Survival Points? Do you need Grandma to give you some? And where are you going?"

"I have enough Survival Points. I was planning to buy some food."

"To the State-Run Store?"

Grandma Wang nodded. "Perfect, perfect. I'm going there too. I was just on my way to the State-Run Store. Come with me, we're headed the same way!"

Lu Xiu froze for a moment.

The State-Run Store.

She remembered that term.

After the world became gamified, the old currency system had collapsed. Later, in order to ensure the basic livelihoods of vulnerable groups like the elderly and children, the authorities established a new currency system called Survival Point Vouchers, something like ration coupons.

The elderly and children could collect a certain amount of vouchers each month with proof of identity, then exchange them for rice, flour, grain, cooking oil, daily necessities, and the like at the State-Run Store.

It was also meant to give vulnerable groups a way to survive.

Otherwise, with Grandma Wang's condition, forget about dungeons... even running two laps would leave her struggling.

This was the only place that had done something like this after the world became gamified.

When Lu Xiu had lived with her grandmother, they had collected them every month as well.

"You haven't been collecting them, have you, child?"

Seeing Lu Xiu space out, Grandma Wang gave her a sympathetic pat, then rummaged through her pockets and pulled out a stack of vouchers, stuffing them into Lu Xiu's pocket. "I told you, you're all alone, without parents, so you can definitely still claim vouchers. Don't be embarrassed. Why won't you listen?"

"..."

Lu Xiu searched through her memories a little and felt even more embarrassed.

All right.

She really had been too shy before.

Of course, that had been the old her. She was different now. As long as she kept making dungeons, she could foresee that she would never lack Survival Points.

After the guild dividend from the [Resident Evil] dungeon was settled, she would be even less short on them.

"No, Grandma Wang. I have Survival Points."

Lu Xiu took the vouchers out of her pocket, intending to return them to Grandma Wang.

But Grandma Wang stuffed them back again, then took her hand. "Keep them... Come on, go to the State-Run Store with Grandma. I was just worrying about having no one to talk to."

Lu Xiu hesitated for a moment.

She actually wanted to be alone.

But she could feel that Grandma Wang genuinely cared for her. She really could not bear to make her sad, so she could only follow along.

After walking for a while.

Lu Xiu felt that staying silent like this was somewhat impolite. After thinking for a moment, she asked, "Grandma Wang, how has your son... been lately?"

She remembered that Grandma Wang's son was called Wang Baosheng. He was twenty years older than her, and she had met him a few times when she was little. He had seemed like a clever man.

"Ah, don't even mention him."

Grandma Wang sighed at that, but there was not much resentment in her tone. It sounded more like helplessness she had grown used to. "I don't know what he's so busy with. Ever since he joined some Architect Association, he's never home."

Lu Xiu's steps paused slightly before returning to normal. "An Architect Association?"

"Yes, but I don't understand what it does."

Grandma Wang shook her head. "He just told me it was something that specialized in studying dungeons. It sounded impressive, but at my age, I don't understand these things. The world has become like this, and Grandma doesn't understand anything anymore."

Lu Xiu said nothing and simply listened.

Grandma Wang continued, "He finally called yesterday. I thought he was coming home to see me, but instead he rattled off a whole bunch of things. Something about a [Resident Evil] dungeon appearing, and how nobody could figure out how it had been made. He said the higher-ups had all been shaken up and wanted to find that Architect.

"In the end, he did not even ask, 'Mom, how are you feeling?' He just said he might not be able to come back for a while and told me to take care of myself. I'd have been better off giving birth to a piece of char siu than him."

Beneath the brim of Lu Xiu's hat, her lashes trembled lightly. "...Maybe he really is busy with work."

"Busy, busy, busy. All he knows is being busy."

Grandma Wang sighed again, but quickly smiled. "Enough of that. Grandma's old, always going on and on."

Lu Xiu walked along silently.

She had not expected to hear news about the [Resident Evil] dungeon from the old woman.

And it was not particularly good news.

Construction Clubs did not have a very good reputation. Being found by them did not sound like a good thing.

She could not put off learning attack methods any longer.

Was the [Resident Evil] dungeon really that influential?

As Lu Xiu pondered, she remembered that the system panel had a forum entry. She planned to take a look once she got home.

Grandma Wang chattered all the way, from rising vegetable prices to Old Zhang next door's grandson getting into the Coordination Bureau, from her chronic back pain to who had gotten married. The old woman was clearly lonely. Having finally found a younger person to talk to, she could not stop herself from saying more.

Lu Xiu listened quietly the entire time and did not grow impatient.

The State-Run Store was not far away. They reached it after turning down two streets.

It was a modest two-story supermarket. A notice was posted on the glass entrance doors: entry with vouchers only.

There were quite a few people inside, but everywhere Lu Xiu looked, she saw elderly people with gray hair. Some lined up at the rice and flour counter, some picked through the grain and cooking oil section, and a few gathered together to discuss something.

The shelves held only the most ordinary, plain everyday necessities.

Lu Xiu followed behind Grandma Wang and watched her expertly pull out her vouchers to buy some meat and vegetables.

Lu Xiu also bought a few daily necessities.

Perhaps because she saw that Lu Xiu had bought so little.

After Grandma Wang finished shopping, she turned and asked, "You really don't want any? Grandma still has vouchers left."

"I really don't. I have enough." Lu Xiu shook her head.

Grandma Wang did not force the issue. She packed her things into the cloth bag and took Lu Xiu outside again.

Once they stepped out, the sunlight was already somewhat dazzling.

Grandma Wang stood on the steps outside the store, hitched the cloth bag's strap higher on her shoulder, then turned to look at Lu Xiu. The wrinkles on her face seemed even deeper in the sunlight.

"Xiu Xiu," she called.

Lu Xiu looked up.

"Grandma knows you're a strong-willed child who doesn't like troubling others."

Grandma Wang reached out and adjusted the brim of her hat for her. "But remember this: if anything really happens, you must come find Grandma. I still remember everything your grandmother said while holding my hand before she left..."

Lu Xiu opened her mouth, but in the end, she only managed one word. "...Okay."

Grandma Wang smiled and patted her arm. She seemed to want to say something more, but stopped herself. "All right, go home. Be careful on the way."

With that, the old woman carried her cloth bag and slowly headed in another direction. After taking a few steps, she looked back and waved at Lu Xiu.

Lu Xiu stood where she was and watched that slightly stooped figure disappear around the corner.

Then she turned around and carried her bags home.

After returning home.

Lu Xiu put the meat, eggs, and milk into the refrigerator, then eagerly opened the system panel and found the forum entry.

The moment she opened it, her vision went dark.

[Pinned][Ad][Hot]—Jianqu Construction Group sincerely invites the Architect of the [Resident Evil] dungeon to contact us! Join us! Let us discuss future cooperation! Jianqu Construction Group will never disappoint you! Anyone who knows this Architect and provides a verified lead will also receive a generous reward.

[Pinned][Ad][Hot]—Official Notice: The Architect of the [Resident Evil] dungeon, please do not trust any private Construction Club. Contact the Coordination Bureau.

[Explosive] Rational discussion: Just who is the Architect behind this [Resident Evil] dungeon?

[Help] Can any expert analyze the clearing strategy again? I can't get through it.

[Shocked] My cousin works at the Coordination Bureau. I heard the higher-ups held an emergency meeting overnight. He said he'd never seen such a huge scene before.

[Poll] Which system dungeon's rewards do you think can compare to the rewards from [Resident Evil]?

[Longsword] Longsword Guild appoints Zhao Heng to challenge the dungeon again...

Obviously.

The impact brought by the dungeon was far more exaggerated than Lu Xiu, its Architect, had imagined.

She browsed through the posts and quickly understood what had happened.

At first.

The dungeon's difficulty had indeed scared off many people, but after the items and skills awarded by the dungeon were revealed.

Everyone went crazy.

That much was clear from the poll post. The things given by [Resident Evil] were simply too precious.

Precious enough that everyone ignored just how disgusting the dungeon was.

"I only made a dungeon. How did it turn into me being wanted?"

Lu Xiu was somewhat stunned. "And both private groups and the authorities are after me? Are they crazy?"

She closed the forum, then sat on the sofa and thought for a while. Suddenly, she sprang to her feet, raised a slender finger, and summoned the system panel.

No.

She could not delay any longer!

She had to start making the next dungeon immediately!

She needed attack methods. She needed stronger means of protecting herself!