This Was a Luck Emperor

Xin Jiu raised an eyebrow.

It was actually the second-ranked player. For them to suddenly send her a friend request now could only mean one thing: they had noticed the problem with the Snake God Mountain Service Area too.

Xin Jiu tapped accept.

Seeing that Xin Jiu had finally accepted her friend request, Sang Yi breathed a sigh of relief.

She had spent ages psyching herself up before daring to send that request.

[Heartless Dao Dabao: This service area is very dangerous.]

Straight to the point, without any small talk. That gave Xin Jiu a very good impression of the second-ranked player.

[I know.]

[Heartless Dao Dabao: Did you spend your points before entering the service area?]

[I did. What about you?]

[Heartless Dao Dabao: I sensed something was wrong before coming in, so I spent them all.]

Xin Jiu smiled. As expected of the second-ranked player, she was very meticulous. Xin Jiu suddenly felt that she did not quite deserve her first-place ranking, because without Bubu's warning back then, she might have brought at least half her points into the service area.

[Heartless Dao Dabao: Contact me anytime if you notice anything wrong. I'll also share any clues I find with you.]

[Sure.]

And so their first conversation ended, without a single wasted word throughout.

Actually, Sang Yi had wanted to say something else to Xin Jiu, but she was a little socially anxious and did not know what to say. She figured she should take first place in the next round instead. Then perhaps Xin Jiu would come talk to her first.

Xin Jiu glanced at Sang Yi's profile picture again. It was a picture of a fine horse.

She remembered Hash Brown Heavy Dependence mentioning in passing that Heartless Dao Dabao was probably a special forces soldier.

Why would a military guy have a name like that?

Xin Jiu was just about to close the private chat window when another red dot popped up. It was Hash Brown Heavy Dependence. Speak of the devil.

She tapped in, and over a dozen unread messages came at her like machine-gun fire.

[Number one, are you there? Are you there? Are you there?]

[Can you tell me why this service area is full of snakes?!]

[Snakes are my biggest fear, you know! My legs go weak whenever I see one!]

[Hey, are you there? Hurry up and reply!]

[...]

The corner of Xin Jiu's mouth twitched.

[I was dealing with something just now.]

[Hash Brown Heavy Dependence: Phew... glad you're okay. Do you know what's going on with this service area?]

[Did you spend your points before entering the service area?]

[Hash Brown Heavy Dependence: Yeah! Listen, before I entered the service area, an absolutely amazing item showed up in my system shop refresh, and I bought it on impulse. I ended up with only a hundred points left. Who would've thought I'd get a thousand points after entering the service area? It's incredible!]

"..."

Her speechlessness was deafening.

If the system had not happened to offer a top-tier item, Hash Brown would most likely have brought all his points into the service area untouched. Instead, he had spent his way down to a hundred, and the service area had subsidized him another nine hundred.

With luck like that, heaven really was chasing him down to spoon-feed him.

[Something's wrong with this service area. Be careful, and tell me if you come across anything that feels off. Let's share intel.]

[Hash Brown Heavy Dependence: But everything feels off to me.]

[Like what?]

[Hash Brown Heavy Dependence: Why isn't there a bathroom in the room?]

"..."

Xin Jiu did not intend to keep discussing these pointless topics with him. Anyone who could make it into the global top twenty was definitely no pushover. There was nothing to worry about.

Even while drinking his honey water, Bubu did not forget to remind Xin Jiu, "Don't reveal your identity as an inspector for now. The NPCs here are super vicious."

"I know."

Bubu nodded and scooped another spoonful of honey into the mineral water bottle. Xin Jiu felt helpless. Was he not afraid it would be sickeningly sweet?

"Have you rested enough?"

"Why?"

"We're going out to earn points," Xin Jiu said succinctly. "We have to stay here for three days. These points won't last."

Bubu screwed the lid onto the honey jar and handed it to Xin Jiu. "Then keep this for me. I'll have more when we get back."

Before leaving, Xin Jiu opened the trading hall and took a look.

As expected, the trading hall was quiet. Most of the listed items were not particularly useful, yet their prices were very high.

Everyone had only two hundred points left after paying for their rooms. Those two hundred points also had to cover food, drink, and emergencies. They practically had to stretch every point into two. Who could bear to buy items?

Sellers wanted points, while buyers could not bear to part with theirs. The trading hall would be all but useless for these three days.

The only way forward was to go out and earn points.

Bubu jogged over to Xin Jiu. "I'm ready."

Xin Jiu glanced at him. "Turn back into a little dragon and hide in my pocket."

They only had one waist token. If Bubu went out with her in human form, other NPCs might set their sights on him, and then they would be in for another fierce fight.

A conservative estimate put the local population at three or four hundred.

Two fists could not beat four hands, let alone so many.

Bubu turned back into a palm-sized little dragon and slipped into Xin Jiu's coat pocket.

Xin Jiu went down the stairs to the lobby. She Ling was still sitting lazily behind the counter.

"Heading out?"

"Yes."

"A little reminder for you. Even though you have the inn's waist token, don't get into arguments with the locals outside. If you push them too far, they'll eat people too."

She Ling's bright red lips spread into a grin, revealing two sharp teeth.

"Thanks for the reminder," Xin Jiu said evenly.

"Oh, where's your little brother? Isn't he going with you?"

"He isn't feeling well, so I had him stay in the room and rest."

"I see." She Ling propped her chin on her hand, the light in her eyes flickering. "Would you like me to have an employee bring him some hot water? When children aren't feeling well, drinking more hot water will make them better."

"No need."

With that, Xin Jiu walked straight out of the inn. Facing the direction she had left in, She Ling flared her nostrils twice.

...She smelled so good. Surely she would taste delicious.

The sight outside made Xin Jiu pause.

Outside stood a dense crowd of snake-headed, human-bodied NPCs, seventy or eighty at a rough glance. Some stood and others squatted, their snake eyes gleaming in the darkness. The air was thick with their rank stench.

They were waiting here to see whether they could snag a player without an inn waist token for a feast today.

But it did not matter if they got nothing today. They would definitely get to eat tomorrow.

Xin Jiu stepped through the entrance, and dozens of snake heads stretched toward her at once, every neck extending far out.

But when they saw the waist token hanging from Xin Jiu, they reluctantly withdrew.

Xin Jiu walked past them without a change in expression. Once they were far away, Bubu poked his head out of her pocket and muttered, "Disgusting."

"Stay hidden." She pushed Bubu back in.

The street looked different from when She Liu had taken her to the inn.

A large iron pot had been set up outside one shop. Something unknown was bubbling away inside.

The shopkeeper was stirring the pot with a long-handled ladle. Upon seeing Xin Jiu, it called out enthusiastically, "Want some meat? Fresh meat, only fifty points a bowl!"

Xin Jiu walked past it without looking aside.

A few steps farther on was a tavern, with the sounds of banter and finger-guessing games drifting out. Several drunken NPCs lay sprawled haphazardly by the entrance.

Beside the tavern was a very large shop.

Four large characters in flamboyant calligraphy adorned its sign.

[Small Investment, Ten-Thousandfold Profit]

Through the open doors, she could see several gambling tables inside, each surrounded by a crowd of NPCs.

Xin Jiu glanced at the notice standing nearby.

Even the smallest chip cost a hundred points. Who could afford to play?