Chapter 160: 157 Life-Saving Straw

After some explanation from Li Duojin, Chen Xiaolin finally understood her current situation a little better.

They were currently having a very realistic "dream." The ones who arrived here were not their physical bodies from reality, but projections of their spirits, mirrors of their souls. Their actual bodies were still in an unknown state; having fallen into the dark river, they might be dying, or they might be drifting with the current, having luckily escaped.

Upon learning the truth, Chen Xiaolin was anxiously thinking about how to return to reality quickly, but when she thought about how she wouldn't know how to escape danger even if she returned, she couldn't help but dejectedly shut her mouth.

But soon, Chen Xiaolin thought that this was a magical little shop, and perhaps she could find a way to help herself out of trouble here. She immediately asked Lin Ling with a face full of anticipation: "Boss, do you have any magical items here that can help us escape danger?"

Looking at the young-faced Lin Laoban with his harmless smile, combined with Lin Ling's unique peaceful temperament, Chen Xiaolin was not that guarded against Lin Ling, but this did not mean she trusted him completely.

From the respectful attitude of everyone else present toward him, to Lin Ling's act of throwing the suspected abnormal bones from the cave into the fish tank, she could realize from various details that the "young man" before her might also be an Abnormal existence.

"I do." Lin Ling smiled and nodded, then he turned and reached his hand into the fish tank.

Chen Xiaolin's eyelids twitched wildly. She had witnessed with her own eyes that strange octopus gnawing a human thigh bone raw; she didn't even dare to imagine what the result would be if a living person stuck their hand in there.

But miraculously, Chen Xiaolin saw that when the octopus discovered Lin Ling reaching into the water, its yellowish eyeball actually revealed a look of human-like fear. Several tentacles flailed in a panic, wanting to escape, but it was no match for Lin Ling's casual, effortless grab. The captured octopus showed despair in its eyes, without even a trace of resistance; its whole body went limp, and it was pulled straight out of the water.

Seeing this scene, Chen Xiaolin was even more convinced that Lin Ling was an Abnormal existence wearing human skin.

The scene that made Chen Xiaolin tremble with fear continued. She saw Lin Ling play with the octopus in his hand for a moment, and then those clean, fair hands directly grabbed the octopus's head.

Chen Xiaolin swore that she would find it hard to forget this moment for the rest of her life. She locked eyes with the octopus's terrified gaze, and the other party's fear was well conveyed to Chen Xiaolin's heart. As the octopus's two eyes were squeezed out of its body by those slender, long fingers and dropped onto a metal tray on the table that seemed to have been prepared early on, Chen Xiaolin felt countless electric currents tearing through her sanity, surging through her entire body along with the sound of "large and small pearls falling onto a jade plate," and she shuddered from the inside out.

Lin Ling gently placed the eye-less octopus back into the fish tank, ignoring the sightless octopus as it went crazy, darting around in the tank. Rapid, messy bubbles surged from its body, and every single bubble seemed to carry its endless, desperate shrieks.

In such a crazy scene, Chen Xiaolin found that everyone else around her looked indifferent, ignoring the cruel scene just now. In this space, it seemed she was the only one who was the most abnormal.

"If you two eat this eyeball, you will gain the ability to live underwater," Lin Ling said with a smile, picking up a handkerchief nearby to wipe the sinful mucus covering his hands.

"Thank you for your grace." Li Duojin smiled and was about to accept it, even asking about the price of the item.

Seeing this, the dazed Chen Xiaolin immediately sobered up, hurriedly stopped Li Duojin's action, and said to Lin Ling with a dry laugh: "Uh, Boss, I have some questions about these two eyeballs. Could you introduce them in more detail?"

Patter.

A black cat with unusually large paws darted out from somewhere and landed on the counter. Then, it walked to Lin Ling's side with an elegant and noble gait, curled up into a docile ball under Lin Ling's thick, warm hand, and stared at Chen Xiaolin with a pair of golden cat eyes in a cozy and lazy posture, as if to see through her heart.

"Of course I can." Lin Ling stroked the cat and said with a gentle smile, "After eating the eyeball, you will shed your human bodies and transform into bodies that can move freely underwater, which is more than enough to help you escape your current difficult situation."

Chen Xiaolin felt her teeth frozen by the chill surging from her heart, and she asked with a wooden smile: "Um, I'm quite satisfied with my current human body. May I ask if there is any other method that can help us escape our predicament while retaining our original bodies?"

"Don't be too greedy, Miss Chen." Li Duojin patted Chen Xiaolin on the shoulder and reminded her.

Chen Xiaolin glared at him, hoping he would shut up; she was doing this for their sake too.

Lin Ling blinked and nodded, "Naturally, there is."

As he spoke, he walked out from behind the counter, pushed a ladder to one of the merchandise shelves, stepped onto the rungs to reach the top layer, took out two withered yellow straws from the shelf, and handed them to Chen Xiaolin and Li Duojin respectively.

"Straw, what is the use of this?" Chen Xiaolin asked curiously. Although the feeling of touching it was no different from ordinary straw, she wouldn't be naive enough to think this was just ordinary straw.

Lin Ling explained with a smile: "Have you heard of a 'life-saving straw'? The function of this straw is to save your life at a critical moment."

"Are there any side effects?" Hearing Lin Ling's explanation, Chen Xiaolin was a little tempted, but she still maintained the necessary vigilance.

Lin Ling: "There aren't really any side effects, it's just that its 'life-saving' is full of uncertainty. At its best, its life-saving effect can let you walk away from a crisis unscathed, but at its worst, it can only manage to preserve your life; as for the condition of your body, it cannot be fully guaranteed."

"Are those the only side effects?"

"Mm." Lin Ling nodded.

"Okay, then I'll take it." Chen Xiaolin said with renewed spirit, then asked in a wilted tone, "Uh, may I ask what I have to pay to buy this?"

In such a bizarre place, the bargaining chip must be very unusual, right? Maybe she would have to dig out her heart and lungs, shorten her lifespan, or give up her conscience... just like the plots in movies and novels.

"That will be two hundred yuan, please." Lin Ling was suddenly beaming, unable to stop smiling.

Chen Xiaolin was stunned, "Two... two hundred yuan? Cash?"

"That's right." Lin Ling nodded as a matter of course, "Naturally, I am running a business here; it couldn't possibly be charity given away for free."

Chen Xiaolin was speechless. She silently fished out two hundred yuan in cash from her pocket, pushed it in front of Lin Ling, and cautiously asked: "So, just two hundred yuan?"

Lin Ling picked up the banknotes and looked at them carefully against the light, as if checking for counterfeits, then smiled and said to Chen Xiaolin: "Mm, just right."

"Thank you again for your grace. We won't disturb you any further, Venerable." Li Duojin had a look of immense gratitude, bowed, and then pulled the bewildered Chen Xiaolin out of the small shop.

Hearing Li Duojin's form of address for Lin Ling, Chen Xiaolin's expression changed abruptly. She suddenly remembered the story of the "Merciful Venerable" that Li Duojin had told her in the car.