Chapter 108: The Great Shopping Spree

Seeing Ren Wenwen roll down her car window, the first thought that popped into Yu Sheng's mind was, "The male lead and his motorcycle are such a great ship," and instantly his whole body visibly tensed up; only then did his second reaction kick in as he sized her up from head to toe: "... Did the Special Affairs Bureau assign you? You might as well set up a permanent post near my house."

But the moment he said that, the other party froze for a second, taking two seconds to react: "Ah, no, I just happened to be handling some business over here and passed by near your place."

Yu Sheng looked at this Miss with suspicion, trying to spot signs of a lie on her face, only to find she seemed genuinely serious.

"I'm a logistics clerical staff member," Ren Wenwen added very seriously, "Besides running errands to deliver documents, I generally don't go on field duty—so the colleagues definitely stationed near here must be from the Operations Department..."

Yu Sheng actually laughed: "You didn't deny the 'stationed' part, though."

"You must have guessed anyway, since '66 Wutong Road' is a new Otherworld," Ren Wenwen smiled, "Of course, if you mind, I can report back..."

"No need, you won't actually delete the post anyway, so don't go through that process," Yu Sheng waved his hand, speaking with a look of total indifference, "Anyway, you can't keep an eye on me, and you can't find 66 Wutong Road."

Ren Wenwen's smile instantly turned a bit awkward, and she quickly changed the subject: "So... you're heading out? Do you want me to give you a ride? I just finished my business and was about to head back to the bureau; nothing urgent right now."

To be honest, at this moment Yu Sheng was quite hesitant.

After all, the level of this "Shipper" was really hard for him to handle; if the other party started discussing the love-hate relationship between humans and motorcycles as soon as they got in the car, he truly couldn't take it, but he only hesitated for two or three seconds before nodding: "Then thank you very much. To the north entrance of Huaiyang Street, near the agricultural market."

While speaking, he cancelled the ride-hailing app order on his phone, and took Hu Li and Erin into Ren Wenwen's car.

Out of reverence for the "Shipper," Yu Sheng didn't dare sit in the front passenger seat; although that spot was empty, he firmly squeezed into the back seat with Hu Li.

Erin sat between the two of them—because even the doll felt that Human x Motorcycle was a bit too ahead of its time.

Ren Wenwen didn't react to this at all; she just drove while occasionally glancing at Yu Sheng in the back through the rearview mirror, and only after driving for nearly ten minutes could she not help but say: "Teacher Yu, when are you writing your new book?"

She even used the honorific "Teacher"—but those two words only made Yu Sheng feel creepy.

"Writing it, writing it," Yu Sheng quickly adjusted his expression, but his tone still sounded somewhat unnatural as he said, "I'm rushing the manuscript these past two days..."

"Is the new book still in the thriller and suspense genre?" Ren Wenwen immediately looked delighted, "Will the previous characters appear? Will there be guest appearances by old characters like in your previous works? Is the setting still in 'Jingshui City'?"

Yu Sheng instantly didn't know how to answer; after all, he hadn't even created a document for his new book, hadn't even named the new folder, and now he was stuck in a bottleneck caused by that weird CP, so he could only try to brush them off while attempting to change the subject: "... Keep it secret before the book launches; I don't like spoilers. Anyway, it will definitely be a good story... Let's not talk about that for now. What are you out doing today?"

"Running errands, of course. Our captain sent me out early this morning to deliver documents to a 'foreigner' who lives permanently nearby. I searched for several rounds; the place he lives is too hard to find... But it's still a bit easier to find than 66 Wutong Road."

"Foreigner?" Yu Sheng was somewhat curious.

"An Argledian. You know Argled, right? They call themselves 'the people favored by the stars.' They have very keen perception and calculation abilities regarding the stars and the universe. Many Argledians are also interested in the special nature of the Borderlands and live in Border City long-term to study this place; their relationship with the Special Affairs Bureau is quite good," Ren Wenwen said casually, "They look very similar to humans; you might have encountered Argledians before without realizing it..."

Yu Sheng listened thoughtfully to these wonderful facts that ordinary people wouldn't encounter, hidden beneath the daily life of Border City, and then suddenly felt the car jolt.

"We've arrived," Ren Wenwen in the front turned her head and said.

"So fast?"

"It was very close to begin with," Ren Wenwen smiled, "Do you want me to wait for you here for a while? Or shall I accompany you to look around? I'm quite familiar with this place~"

"No need, no need," Yu Sheng quickly waved his hands repeatedly, fearing the other party would use this opportunity to ask him about his new book again, "We'll need at least half a day to look around; I won't waste your time. Thanks."

While speaking, he dragged Hu Li and Erin out of the car as if fleeing.

The "Shipper" finally drove away into the distance.

Yu Sheng let out a long sigh, then immediately took Hu Li to a quiet corner, took out his phone, opened the "Border Communication" app on it, and started searching to see if there were any "Nodes" set up by the Special Affairs Bureau nearby.

And sure enough, he found one, right near the entrance of the agricultural market.

He took Hu Li and followed the phone's navigation over there, and indeed discovered an empty place; it was an empty storefront with a "Prime Shop for Rent" sign pasted on it. Although it was right in the middle of a bustling market, not a single person was in sight within a large area around its entrance.

Only a lone "Node" device stood incongruously on the empty ground nearby, occasionally emitting a faint hum.

Yu Sheng looked left and right, then placed his hand at the store entrance, holding his breath and concentrating, seriously recording the "coordinates" of this place.

Seeing this, Hu Li couldn't help but ask curiously: "Benefactor, what are you doing?"

"Leaving a record point for opening the door," Yu Sheng said casually, "Makes it more convenient to come back next time—there just happens to be a 'Node' set up by the Special Affairs Bureau here; I'll piggyback on their wifi... uh, I mean, piggyback on their dispel effect, so I won't scare people when opening the door in the future."

With no one around, Erin moved, poking her head out from Hu Li's arms and looking around curiously: "Even here has an Otherworld?"

"Just this shop right in front of us, marked on Border Communication as a Level L-1 Otherworld, 'Shop'," Yu Sheng pointed upward, "It's said to open at midnight; if you accidentally enter, you'll end up in an extremely huge grocery store. The danger level is very low; the main hazard is that everything sold inside is ridiculously expensive, and you must spend all the money on you before you can leave... By the way, anything you buy here will turn into sand once you leave the 'Shop'."

"... What a vicious Otherworld!" the little doll immediately exclaimed, and then couldn't help but sigh, "To think even this kind of Otherworld exists..."

"You can only call it a Borderland specialty," Yu Sheng sighed, "There are also Otherworlds that are meaningless and confusing in every way. But it has little to do with us; I'm just using this as a marker for opening the door."

While speaking, he had already finished recording the coordinates of this place, and then began, according to plan, to carry out a major shopping spree in the market.

First, he bought enough food for Hu Li on a wholesale scale—buying frozen chicken legs and rice, flour, oil, and grain here was much cheaper than in supermarkets.

The seller, seeing Yu Sheng as a strange "buyer," curiously asked if he was opening a restaurant, and very enthusiastically stated that if he bought in bulk long-term, they could offer a discount—Yu Sheng happily took down the other party's phone number, but he really couldn't explain to the person that he wasn't opening a restaurant; he was here at the agricultural market to purchase military hardware...

The kind of military hardware where one cruise missile equals twenty chicken legs.

Every few boxes he bought, he would take Hu Li to an empty corner and stuff everything he bought into her tail.

After the food shopping was mostly done, he also bought many vegetable seeds and some tools that might come in handy.

Erin couldn't help but mutter in his mind: "I wanted to ask when we left; what are you buying seeds for?"

"Of course to farm," Yu Sheng said with a look of absolute naturalness, "Did you forget my plan? I'm going to clear a plot of land in the valley and grow some melons, fruits, and vegetables."

"... You're actually doing it?!" the little doll was immediately shocked, "I thought you were just joking back then!"

"Farming is, of course, serious business," Yu Sheng said solemnly, "With such good land, don't you think it's a waste not to grow something? Besides, now that the Hunger Entities in that place are gone, there's no source for meat anymore; I have to grow something to make up for it... By the way, since you mentioned it, I need to buy some more chicks. When they grow up, they can lay eggs, and I can also stew them for Hu Li. Hu Li, can your tail hold living creatures?"

Hu Li immediately nodded proudly: "Yes! As long as I use immortal magic to protect the life force, keeping them for a month or two is no problem!"

Erin only spoke after staring blankly for a few seconds: "So you really did intend to go to the valley to 'restock' back then, right? You actually feel regret that the Entity-Hunger ate them all?!"

Yu Sheng kept a straight face, looking very serious.

But he truly did feel regret—had he known that thing couldn't regenerate after being eaten, he should have left one at the very end of his "Feast," so he wouldn't have to buy meat ever again...

(End of Chapter)