Yi Luo slung his rifle and walked toward them. Brother Long didn’t feel any sense of danger at all—he just assumed Yi Luo was passing by. Having just survived by the skin of their teeth, his eyes were glued to the rich loot scattered all over the ground.
Beaming like a farmer celebrating a bountiful harvest, he said brightly: “Wow, so much loot dropped—Boss, you pick first! Uh, cough…”
Scanning the ground, he noticed that most of it was milk-tea ingredients. Scratching his head, he rephrased: “Boss, you take the special materials first, then pick.”
He Wuning nodded. After stuffing his pack full of special materials, only three items remained on the ground—a crowd-control-immune wristguard, a damage-reduction shield, and an unknown fragment.
He Wuning’s expression shifted slightly. That fragment—he already had one just like it in his inventory. Before the stone giant appeared, it had even given off a faint glow.
But its name was no longer “??? Fragment” as he remembered—it was now labeled “Administrator Permission Fragment.”
Without hesitation, He Wuning spoke: “I want that fragment.”
Brother Long blinked. “The fragment?”
Only now did he seem to notice the strange object. The chubby boy asked curiously: “What is that thing? Three question marks?”
Brother Long immediately elbowed him and shot him a warning look: “Why ask so much? The boss wants it, just give it to him!”
He Wuning arched an eyebrow. It seemed no one else could actually see the words “Administrator Permission Fragment.” He didn’t spell it out, only said: “Mm. You divide the rest.”
Brother Long felt a little embarrassed and wanted to insist politely, but He Wuning had already waved it off.
Looking into the distance, He Wuning saw Yi Luo approaching. Narrowing his eyes at this man who ranked above him on the player leaderboard, he asked to confirm: “That’s Yi Luo?”
“Yeah!” Brother Long was crouched, examining the dropped equipment. Both items from the stone giant were good quality—big upgrades for them. He handed the wristguard to Xiao Xue, the shield to the chubby boy, then clapped his hands like a hero hiding his merit and fame.
Turning to He Wuning, he explained: “Boss, you’ve never met Yi Luo? He’s really famous in the safe zone. Not arrogant at all, easy to talk to, and he’s saved quite a lot of people.”
He Wuning nodded. “Mm. First time seeing him.”
He gave Yi Luo a quick once-over. The man’s dark combat uniform emphasized his long legs and slim waist, radiating both power and elegance—just from his build you could tell he was a good-looking guy.
He Wuning casually withdrew his gaze. “Not bad-looking.”
Brother Long choked on his words. Seeing Yi Luo already at their side, he dared not respond. He wasn’t sure why Yi Luo had come, and assumed maybe he was just checking in after saving them.
Glancing down at the gear by his feet, Brother Long comforted himself: Surely he didn’t come here for a couple pieces of junk equipment.
But Yi Luo walked straight to Xiao Xue and asked: “Qi Xue, right?”
The girl nodded blankly, her cheeks tinged with red. Yi Luo then turned to the others, calling out their names one by one: “Long Teng, Lin Zhang, Fu Ziqi, Zhang… Baqi?”
The chubby boy stepped forward with a sheepish grin. “That’s me, that’s me. Zhang Baqi is me.”
Yi Luo chuckled, then opened his comms: “Missing children from District 13 have been located.”
Brother Long clearly bristled at being categorized as a “missing child,” but before Yi Luo he didn’t dare show anger. He only kept his head down, muttering under his breath: “Come on, did they really need to send Yi Luo himself to pick us up…”
Yi Luo stopped in front of him, looking a little exasperated. “Where’s the gun?”
Long Teng lowered his head and handed it over. Yi Luo shook his head. “Unbelievable. Do you know you nearly drove your father insane with worry?”
Long Teng didn’t dare make a sound. Qi Xue, uneasy, tried to plead for him: “It—it wasn’t Brother Long fault. I begged him to take me out here. I just really wanted to be useful…”
“Brother Long?” Yi Luo repeated with a trace of amusement. Long Teng’s face flushed crimson. “I’m older than them, so… so I told them to call me ‘Brother.’”
For a moment, He Wuning felt like he was watching a public-service TV show—rebellious teens being scolded by the police.
Seeing Long Teng’s repentant attitude, Yi Luo nodded. “When you get back, report to the shooting training division. Running around with a gun without knowing how to use it—you weren’t afraid of shooting your own people?”
Long Teng’s head shot up in disbelief. “Seriously?”
Yi Luo gave a half-smile. “Do I look like I need to lie to you?”
Long Teng’s face broke into a goofy grin, then he suddenly whipped his head around as if remembering something. “Right! Big Bro Level-1, I still haven’t asked your name. I’ll definitely repay you someday!”
Yi Luo looked at him too, as if he had long known he would be here. He asked for confirmation: “You’re He Wuning, right?”
He Wuning raised his brows. “Something you need?”
He stood up with the air of someone ready to leave, whether or not there was business.
Yi Luo didn’t mind his less-than-friendly attitude. Calmly, he nodded. “Yes. I’m here to fix your car.”
It took He Wuning a moment to realize what he meant. “Wait—you’re…”
“Xue Xun sent me,” Yi Luo confirmed with a nod. “I awakened today. I’m here to get a job.”
He Wuning closed his eyes briefly, for once feeling a rare, desolate kinship—like the sorrow of fellow hunters meeting the same fate. His tone softened slightly. “My condolences.”
Yi Luo, however, didn’t seem particularly grieved. Instead, he was very interested in He Wuning’s car. He gestured for the battered teenagers to come along, planning to fix the vehicle and then use it to take the runaway brats back “under arrest.”
He Wuning had no objections. It was just that the eager stares of the kids behind him made him want to put some distance between them.
Unfortunately, fate didn’t comply.
Yi Luo gave the pitiful-looking pink milk-tea car a once-over, then casually popped open the hood like he’d done it countless times before. He Wuning noticed his hands were covered in exoskeletal armor—not equipped with high-tech weapons, but with pliers, tweezers, and screwdrivers.
Clearly, the game had “punished” him with a twisted sense of humor.
While Yi Luo busied himself fixing the car, He Wuning had no choice but to face the group of kids. Feeling like he was up against an enemy, he asked Yi Luo: “Are you fast?”
Yi Luo paused suspiciously. “Repairing is a skill—you have to channel it. Won’t take long. Just chat with them a bit. They seem very interested in you.”
He Wuning stiffened all over, glaring at him like he wished to burn a hole straight through.
Completely oblivious to the trouble he’d just caused, Yi Luo left He Wuning at the mercy of the kids. With Yi Luo’s tacit approval, their eager eyes all fixed on him. The chubby boy beat Brother Long to it and blurted: “Brother He, I’m your idol!”
Brother Long smacked him on the head. “You said it backward!”
The chubby boy quickly corrected himself, clutching his head. “Oh! Oh! Brother He, you’re my idol!”
Brother Long, too, looked bashful. “Boss, you really are He Wuning, right?”
Normally, with his temper, He Wuning would’ve shot back something like ‘No, you are,’ but faced with this group of bright-eyed kids, he found himself cornered. Uneasy, he shifted backward a little and reluctantly gave a faint: “Mm.”
Brother Long’s eyes shone with admiration. “Brother He, what did you do before you came in here? How are you so amazing?”
He Wuning felt the wording was off—“before coming in” made it sound like he’d been locked up or something.
Resting his chin on his hand, he lazily replied without even lifting his eyelids. “An assassin.”
Brother Long slapped his thigh. “I knew it!”
“Brother He, your skills aren’t normal! You’ve got to be from the underworld!”
He patted his pockets—if he’d had one, he probably would’ve respectfully offered He Wuning a cigarette.
He Wuning stared at him for a moment. “…I was joking.”
Brother Long’s eager grin froze.
He Wuning frowned in confusion. “Not funny?”
Silence. Qi Xue whispered, “Not really very funny.”
Brother Long quickly covered her mouth. “For heaven’s sake, is now the time to tell the truth?”
Q-chan couldn’t hold back and snickered gleefully. “Sweetie, you’re a genius at killing conversations.”
He Wuning’s face darkened. He shoved it down with one hand. “Humans are talking. What’s a system butting in for?”
“Mmph! Mmph!” Q-chan struggled in vain.
Only then were the kids’ eyes drawn to the flashy little thing. Curiously, they asked: “What’s that?”
He Wuning’s expression turned grim. “A system.”
“Never seen such an ugly system before, huh?”
Q-chan clutched its chest. “Sweetie, if you talk like that, I’ll really be heartbroken!”
Seeing that even He Wuning didn’t like it, Brother Long finally relaxed and said openly, “Yeah, it is ugly as hell… though maybe Xiao Xue might…”
Qi Xue quickly denied it. “I don’t like it either!”
She looked like she was afraid her sense of aesthetics was being insulted.
Q-chan covered its heart, shattered and devastated. He Wuning glanced at them, then suddenly asked: “Did you bring money?”
He didn’t mean real-world cash, but in-game currency. Inside the Safe Zone was a trading center that had appeared along with the game in a back alley—rumor was it had originally been a closed-down convenience store, with the land repurposed by the game.
Players could sell items to earn game coins there, or use coins to buy equipment and materials, though such gear was generally inferior to monster drops.
The officials had also set up a marketplace in the old downtown mall where players could trade with each other.
Brother Long nodded eagerly like a bobblehead, instantly pulling out a handful of shiny game coins from his pocket and offering them up to He Wuning with both hands.
He Wuning stared at him wordlessly. “…I wasn’t asking you to hand it over. I mean later, you’ll help me grind a skill.”
He had no choice. After all, an awakened ability’s level capped the user’s own level. If He Wuning’s milk tea shop didn’t level up, he’d be stuck at Level 1.
Q-chan immediately perked up. “Sweetie, you’ve finally decided to run your milk tea shop! No time to waste, let’s pick a name first!”
A translucent naming box popped up in front of He Wuning. He said casually, “Random.”
It wasn’t like he planned on seriously running a milk tea car anyway.
Q-chan: “There’s no random naming function!”
He Wuning: “Then call it Idiot.”
Q-chan: “Insulting words are forbidden! Kids shouldn’t say stuff like that!”
He Wuning: “Tch.”
Q-chan: “Name confirmed! You’ve officially taken the first step toward operating your milk tea truck. Now let’s add an adorable shop sign!”
Yi Luo had just finished repairs and closed the hood when he saw Q-chan fly over. Suddenly, colorful little flags appeared hanging across the truck, each neatly printed with the single word: “Tch.”
He Wuning: “…”
Yi Luo looked it over with interest, then smiled at He Wuning. “You came up with that? Pretty unique.”
He Wuning clenched his fist. He’s mocking me.
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The author has something to say:
Mini skit (no responsibility):
He Wuning: Holding a grudge. Chapter 5. Mocked me.
Yi Luo: Objection.
He Wuning: Overruled.
Yi Luo: …Fine.
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