There Must Be a Reason

Chapter 16: There Must Be a Reason

"He actually agreed?" Huangfu Miaomiao was extremely surprised.

Even if the other party didn't know much about cards, they should still be able to tell from the name that the Jellyfish card's traits were better suited for water—entering the tunnel would make it hard to unleash its power.

"Expected." Feng Ling smiled, set down the tablet, and got up to blow-dry her hair.

Huangfu Miaomiao picked up the tablet and glanced at it, then turned her head to look at Feng Ling. "Are you going?"

"I am," Feng Ling said with a smile, glancing at her. "You're coming with me."

"I have to go too?!" Huangfu Miaomiao panicked. "I haven't slept all night, and I haven't eaten!"

"Just suck down a few packs of jelly, that's fine."

"Jelly?"

"The stuff you were sucking on in the car." Feng Ling said.

Huangfu was stunned for a moment, then realized. "That's Nutrient Paste! You need Points to buy it! Two Points for one small pack!"

"Two Points?" Feng Ling wanted to laugh at that. She asked Huangfu Miaomiao, "How many Points do you have left?"

Huangfu Miaomiao's mouth drooped, and she answered, "Sixteen."

This time Feng Ling really couldn't hold it in. She clutched the hair dryer and burst out laughing!

She'd always thought she was broke, but she never expected this little Xenomorph to be even poorer than her. Sixteen Points—could it get any more ridiculous?

"Sixteen Points and you still wanted to sign a contract with me, giving me fifty milliliters of Restorative for free every day?" Feng Ling taunted mercilessly. "You wouldn't go bankrupt after just two days, would you?"

Huangfu Miaomiao bit her lower lip, a little defiant. "If we signed the contract, I'd definitely do as many missions as I could and earn more Points."

Feng Ling thought to herself that she was pretty motivated.

"There are two packs of instant noodles in the kitchen. If you want to eat, cook them yourself. I'm heading out." Feng Ling put down the hair dryer, ran her fingers through her hair a few times, tied it into a simple ponytail, and went to the bedroom to change.

Both of them were women, so Feng Ling had nothing to be shy about. She didn't close the door.

Huangfu Miaomiao followed her like a tail, asking anxiously, "Where are you going? To do what? When will you be back? Don't you need to rest? Aren't you tired?"

Feng Ling really didn't feel tired. Her energy seemed especially abundant. The only problem was that she'd eaten too much instant noodles last night, all the same flavor, and it was making her a little nauseous.

"That's too many questions. You only get to ask one." Feng Ling pulled on a hoodie and slipped into some athletic pants.

Huangfu Miaomiao's mouth opened and closed, her face full of conflict as she watched Feng Ling dig her ID and bank card out of her suitcase, then head for the door.

Seeing Feng Ling about to leave, she finally couldn't hold back anymore. She chased to the doorway and asked, "What if we run into players outside?"

Feng Ling said, "Call the cops~"

Huangfu Miaomiao: "..."

It was so bizarre. It felt like a madman had suddenly blurted out something a normal person would say.

Click—

The door closed.

Huangfu Miaomiao stood by the door in a daze for a while, then shuffled back to the sofa and sat down.

The room was big. With Feng Ling gone, it felt even more empty. Huangfu Miaomiao didn't know what to do with herself.

She was hungry. Her body was tired and sleepy. Ever since those two men—one fat, one thin—had caught her, she hadn't had a proper rest.

The sofa here was so soft. Maybe she should just sleep first... But what if a player ran into the Hidden Boss? She'd only just settled down. She didn't want anything to happen to Feng Ling!

Huangfu Miaomiao opened the Player Forum and carefully read through the new posts.

Every post with "Boss Hunt" in the title, she clicked into, terrified that someone might have posted Feng Ling's whereabouts and exposed her.

As she read, the words seemed to get pasty, turning thick and abstract... Her eyelids started fighting each other. She couldn't hold on anymore and fell asleep on the sofa.

When Feng Ling came back, Huangfu Miaomiao was sleeping soundly.

Her small, thin body was curled up on the sofa, her face and mask hidden beneath tangled hair, her severed arm exposed. She looked especially pitiful. Even though the wound had healed thanks to the injected agent, the half of her arm that had been melted off would never grow back.

Feng Ling watched her from the side and thought: She looks just like a dog.

She actually liked small animals. But ever since she was little, stray cats and dogs would take a detour when they saw her, and the animals in pet stores would bare their teeth at her too. So she'd never raised any proper pet.

Who would've thought that now, she'd end up raising a Xenomorph.

Feng Ling set the children's clothes and shoes she'd bought by the sofa, then sat down beside them and took out her new phone.

—That Super Strong Super wanted to pull her into a group, and not having a phone was really inconvenient. So she'd gone out early in the morning, found an ATM to withdraw cash, then headed to a service center to handle the paperwork. She'd even gotten a secondary SIM card for Huangfu Miaomiao. All in all, she'd been busy all morning.

Feng Ling installed the essential apps and joined Super Strong Super's group.

The moment she entered, she saw someone complaining that the timing was too tight and they couldn't buy a suitable train ticket.

Super Strong Super said: Why don't you buy a plane ticket?

That person shot back directly: There's not even a trace of the Xenomorph yet, and you want me to buy a plane ticket? Throw a few thousand in before I've seen a single cent of the reward? You think everyone's money grows on trees?

Feng Ling thought: That makes sense.

The next second, Super Strong Super kicked that person out of the group.

[Super Strong Super: Everyone must be in the tunnel by 7 AM tomorrow at the latest! Anyone who can't make it, leave the group yourself!]

[Super Strong Super: Those staying, change your name to your forum ID so people can recognize you!]

One by one, people left the group.

In the end, only six remained.

Someone named "Energetic Girl Li Kui" said in the group: How about tonight instead? The sooner we finish, the sooner we get paid.

Super Strong Super seemed in a hurry too, asking everyone: Is tonight okay? Can you all make it?

Feng Ling glanced at the sleeping Huangfu Miaomiao and replied: Too tight on time. Let's stick with 7 AM tomorrow.

[Super Strong Super: Then it's settled for 7! First, get to Jiangkou City's train station. I'll send the exact location at 6 AM tomorrow. Don't be late!]

Jiangkou City was a small fourth-tier town very close to Qingjiang City, only a two-hour drive away.

Feng Ling opened her phone's map, selected Jiangkou City, and zoomed in—

The terrain here was relatively flat, with no coal or iron mining industries. Just from the map, she couldn't tell where any underground tunnel might be.

"Looks like I can't scout ahead after all~" Feng Ling felt a bit regretful.

She liked actions that were planned and orderly.

Even without scouting, she still needed to prepare the necessary gear. The lighting conditions in the tunnel were probably terrible, maybe even nonexistent. She'd have to buy emergency lights and flashlights, plus sturdy ropes, slip-resistant shoes. A hammer, axe, and shovel would also be good—they could serve as both tools and weapons...

Feng Ling's finger scrolled across the screen, product images from the online Shop filling her view.

Why couldn't there be anything cheaper? An axe was priced at eighteen hundred. Why didn't the merchant just go rob someone?

Ding—

A text message popped up as a notification:

[Your electronic bank account received a deposit of 1,000,000 yuan on May 11 at 10:25.]

Feng Ling was slightly stunned.

She clicked to place the order and confirmed payment.

An axe priced at eighteen hundred—the merchant must have his reasons for doing so.