Chapter 8: Continuously Appearing Accessible Targets

Nico cheerfully pulled Anbi along, walking straight toward the door without looking back, letting out triumphant laughter.

【Ding! Nico’s affection increased by 10%. Current affection: 30%】

Ye Qingfeng stared blankly at their retreating backs, certain he’d been tricked by Nico, and even more certain that the Rabbit Den’s financial situation was worse than he’d imagined.

Whatever… at least I’m not cooking for free; at the very least, I can watch them every day—after all, they’re pleasing to the eye!

Damn capitalist! Don’t even think about wages—I’ll just live here for free, and when I’m short on Ding Ni, I’ll take up side jobs elsewhere.

And maybe once I have some Ding Ni, I can do whatever I want!

Seeing the two had already put on their shoes and were waiting by the door, he hurried over, scrambling to his feet and jogging toward them.

On the way from the Rabbit Den to the clothing store, Ye Qingfeng kept asking Nico about recent major events, mixing in basic information.

Fortunately, Nico was still in a good mood and answered his questions in great detail.

Through his indirect probing, Ye Qingfeng gradually pieced together the world’s general situation: it was a…

Post-apocalyptic world, born after the Zero Hollow went out of control and the old capital fell—also known as the New World, now called New Aelidu.

Inside the Hollow, space was twisted, filled with monsters and dangerous aetheric matter.

But these were common knowledge among ordinary citizens; Nico added some hidden details.

For instance, aetheric matter carries erosion risks; insufficient aether adaptation makes one extremely vulnerable, and even with over 60% adaptation, prolonged exposure risks transformation into aether Hai .

【Ding! Accessible target: Airen Qiao】

【Initial affection: 0%】

As Ye Qingfeng was organizing the information he’d gathered, they passed a tea-milk shop—suddenly, a broadcast rang in his mind. He looked up.

Four girls in school uniforms each held a cup of tea-milk as they left the shop, but that wasn’t the point.

Three girls chattered excitedly, surrounding one girl in the center—who was not only an accessible target, but also had a shark tail?

Just imagining sleeping with that plump, wiggly tail made him dizzy with delight!

As her body swayed, the tail flicked nimbly left and right—easily over a meter long!

This can’t be fake, right?

The girl seemed to notice Ye Qingfeng’s gaze; she turned sharply, glancing at him with a look of lazy resignation.

It was an utterly ordinary glance, lasting only one or two seconds—but a bead of cold sweat formed on Ye Qingfeng’s forehead.

Her gaze held only mild curiosity and a hint of appraisal, yet he was certain: this shark girl was terrifyingly strong.

“Se Feng! You like that shark person?”

Nico lightly elbowed Ye Qingfeng in the ribs, asking with playful curiosity.

“No no, I’ve just never seen a shark person before—I’m curious.”

Ye Qingfeng grimaced, clutching his side, snapping back to reality, and glared helplessly at Nico—she wore an utterly unconcerned expression.

He got angry for a moment, then nothing more happened.

Considering how hard Nico had worked explaining everything on the way, and that she’d paid for all today’s expenses, Ye Qingfeng decided to treat her.

Considering today’s sweltering heat, he dashed into the tea-milk shop, bought three cheapest plain iced tea-milks, and walked up to them with only 200 Ding Ni left and three milk teas in hand, beaming with eager devotion.

“Nico-jie, here’s your tea-milk! Anbi, yours too!”

Nico took the tea-milk without hesitation, inserted the straw, and sucked it down greedily.

Anbi murmured thanks, accepted the milk tea, inserted her straw, and sipped quietly.

Nico and Anbi walked side by side ahead; Ye Qingfeng followed behind, sipping his milk tea, marveling at the peaceful, comfortable life.

Nico-jie, though outwardly and temperamentally a wild, unrestrained big sister, was actually extremely cunning; Anbi, meanwhile, seemed both outwardly and inwardly a bit dim-witted…

The three wandered all day; near dusk, the streets were thick with a quiet, mysterious atmosphere.

The sunset’s glow gilded the buildings with orange-red edges, instantly turning the ordinary street into something poetic.

Dressed in new clothes, Ye Qingfeng trudged heavily behind Nico and Anbi, burdened with several shopping bags.

Since Nico had paid for all today’s expenses, her face was now grimly dark; Ye Qingfeng didn’t dare ask her to carry the bags.

Anbi is so thoughtful!

She’d voluntarily taken charge of tonight’s dinner ingredients…

Not only that—he’d once scoffed at others saying shopping with girls was exhausting; now he understood: it was agony!

Suddenly, a man sprinted out from a nearby corner, racing toward them; right behind him, a woman in police uniform chased after him, shouting: “Stop!”

The man dashed between Nico and Anbi, glared fiercely at Ye Qingfeng blocking his path, and barked:

“Get out of the way!”

Ye Qingfeng quickly sidestepped—but as the man passed him, he unhesitatingly stuck out a foot, tripping the fugitive; then, amid Nico and Anbi’s confused stares, he himself tumbled to the ground.

Both women tilted their heads in unison, staring at Ye Qingfeng and the scattered shopping bags around him, utterly baffled.

The pursuing officer hadn’t seen any of this; she sprinted past them, then spotted the fugitive lying on the ground—she immediately rushed forward and subdued him.

Anbi said nothing, watching silently, not moving a muscle.

Nico walked over, puzzled; she saw Ye Qingfeng wink at her. Though she didn’t understand, she stopped, deciding to wait and see what happened next.

The reason for his idea? It came from the system’s broadcast in his mind.

【Ding! Accessible target: Zhu Yuan】

【Initial affection: 0%】

After cuffing the man to a nearby streetlamp, Zhu Yuan turned to look at Ye Qingfeng, still on the ground, and the two women watching.

Seeing the two girls made no move, she assumed they didn’t know the fallen man.

“Sir, are you alright? Are you hurt?”

Zhu Yuan knelt beside Ye Qingfeng, her expression filled with concern, gently asking.

A unique scent instantly filled his nostrils.

It was a faint, clean body fragrance mixed with a light hint of sweat—not overpowering, but radiating vitality.

Ye Qingfeng wasn’t surprised; after all, Zhu Yuan had chased the fugitive all the way—this was normal. But the scent was so pleasant!

“I’m fine myself, but my family heirloom is broken!”

Without warning, Ye Qingfeng pulled a delicate glass gift item from one of the shopping bags and, as he tripped the fugitive, deliberately smashed it on the ground.

He knelt down, picked up several shards, and stared blankly at the glass fragments in his hand.

“Ah… sir, please don’t be too upset.”

Zhu Yuan gently helped him up; her body brushed against his, but she paid no mind, whispering softly near his ear:

“The Public Security Bureau will award you a reward for your bravery—maximum tier. It won’t match your heirloom, but please don’t refuse it.”

She felt guilty, since the fugitive’s escape had caused this accident.

Nico stared at Ye Qingfeng’s “heirloom,” suddenly recognizing it—she remembered the exact same color of the souvenir they’d gotten with the phone purchase.

She instantly understood, grabbed all the shopping bags with one hand, turned sharply to Anbi, clamped a hand over her mouth, gave Ye Qingfeng a reassuring glance, and hurried away with Anbi.

“Mmmmm…”

Nico timed it perfectly—on the way out, Anbi kept making muffled noises.

Seeing the two had left, Ye Qingfeng performed even more dramatically: he firmly flung the glass shards into the distance, lamenting:

“Ah… well! You too died for the peace of New Aelidu!”

Now there’s no evidence!

【Ding! Zhu Yuan’s affection increased by 10%. Current affection: 10%】

“Sir… may I ask your name?”

Zhu Yuan watched this scene with deep emotion, silently thinking: What a righteous man!

“Of course! I don’t change my name or hide my identity—Ye Qingfeng!”

Ye Qingfeng gazed steadfastly at the distant sunset, radiating pure righteousness!

“By the way, I still don’t know—what’s the name of this righteous officer?”