Chapter 65

Chapter 65

The dirty, chaotic Slums were gradually left behind.

Guan Doujin gripped the steering wheel. “Let’s head to the Trading Center first. Since you won’t be living here anymore, there’s no point in keeping the house. We can at least sell it for some Points.”

Hearing this, Chu Yue’s eyelid twitched. “No need.”

“It is needed. You’ll be living with us from now on, so keeping that dump is useless,” Shen Yubi said, assuming Chu Yue was just being polite. “Besides, you wouldn’t be able to get used to living in a place like that anyway.”

“No,” Chu Yue cleared his throat. “I don’t have a house. The one I was just assigned was automatically taken by the System to pay off my debt.”

That house of his-he, the owner, hadn’t even caught a glimpse of it before it was gone.

“This…” Guan Doujin hadn’t expected things to be handled that way.

He asked, “How many Points did it cover?”

Chu Yue replied, “250.”

“Tsk, not bad. The System is being quite generous,” Guan Doujin praised.

Every Player was assigned a basic Model House upon entering the Nightmare Trading Center. Generally speaking, these houses were the hardest to trade away. Unless they were sold to those who had moved to high-level areas and then regressed, they could only be sold back to the System.

As far as he knew, the highest price the System offered for a buyback was never more than a hundred Points.

Being able to credit Chu Yue two hundred and fifty Points to fill his hole was practically an act of charity.

“In that case, let’s head home. I have to say, the System’s move made things a lot more convenient. Congratulations, Young Master, on escaping your Financial Deficit.”

Chu Yue remained silent, his face showing not a hint of joy.

“What’s wrong?” Shen Yubi asked, observing his expression. “Did you want that house?”

Chu Yue gave a bitter smile. “I don’t care much for the house, but I can’t strip off the title of ‘Financial Deficit’ just yet.”

“What? The System docked your Points again?” Guan Doujin was surprised.

What was with this System? They had entered the game together and completed the mission together, so why was there talk of docking Points?

From that single sentence, Chu Yue understood. “You guys weren’t docked?”

“No.”

He looked at Shen Yubi, who also shook his head. “Nothing was docked in the last Instance either.”

Chu Yue: “…”

So it was just shearing the wool off a single sheep, then.

The smile on Chu Yue’s face faded, and a hint of murderous intent appeared on his gentle features.

He tapped into the System and pulled up the Customer Service page again.

He would actively report the problem and fight for his rights.

[We are truly sorry, dear. We will verify this as soon as possible, dear.]

[However, we rarely make mistakes, dear. Generally, the judgment is correct, dear.]

Chu Yue: [Please resolve this as soon as possible.]

[Understood, dear. We have reported the issue, dear. Please wait patiently and do not rush us, dear.]

Chu Yue watched as the Customer Service representative “deared” him repeatedly without giving a real reply for a long time.

Less than a minute later, the other party sent another message.

[Please give us a positive review, dear!]

[Are you satisfied with the service of Customer Service Xiao A?]

[Unsatisfied / Poor / Average / Satisfied / Very Satisfied]

Chu Yue glanced at it and closed the window immediately.

How did they have the nerve to ask for a good review when nothing had been resolved?

He rubbed the bridge of his nose. He had only been in the game for a few days, but he already felt the System’s deep malice toward him.

The car sped down the road, and the scenery outside the window left Chu Yue dazzled.

The city wasn’t particularly large, but its styles were vastly different. All sorts of architectural types were mixed together, proving to be no less shocking than the Slums.

Shen Yubi filled him in.

The Nightmare Trading Center had existed for so long that no one knew when it first started running.

At any given moment, there were Players from various time periods in the game. Their differing requirements for living environments had created such an extraordinary urban architectural style.
“In this game, lifespan can be bought and sold. One Point equals one day. If you have Points, you can live for a very, very long time.

“And here, as time passes, the first thing deducted is the lifespan exchanged from Points. Because of that, most people can remain youthful forever.

“Except for those who were already middle-aged when they entered, no one can judge how long the remaining young people have actually lived based on their appearance.”

“Is that why we saw Players in all sorts of different clothing back at the Sunset Town Plaza during the last Instance?”

“Yes,” Shen Yubi said. “However, aside from a few people, most of the ancients have switched to modern clothing. After all, compared to those layers upon layers of robes, modern clothes are much more convenient.”

“Like me, for example,” Guan Doujin chimed in, tilting his head.

Shen Yubi glanced at him. “Like him. You’d never imagine this idiot was once a young general in his own era.”

“A young general?” Chu Yue was surprised; he truly hadn’t expected that.

However, seeing the man’s proficiency with a sword, he could have guessed a thing or two. After all, very few modern people knew how to wield a blade properly.

Guan Doujin drove fast. There were few pedestrians on the road, and in less than half an hour, they pulled up in front of a tavern.

Chu Yue got out of the car and looked at the small wooden building, slowly reading the sign above.

“Blank Tavern.”

An interesting name.

“Let’s go, get inside,” Shen Yubi called out to Chu Yue. “This tavern is run by Sister Jiang. Guan Doujin and I both live here.”

The tavern doors were open. Two men were sitting at a table inside, and behind the counter, a woman dressed in classical attire was pouring wine.

“Sister Jiang, I brought him back. I’m going to take him upstairs to see the room first.”

The woman behind the counter looked up and gave Chu Yue a gentle smile. “Go on then. You’ve just returned, so wash up properly and then come down for dinner.”

Chu Yue gave her a slight nod and returned the gesture with a faint smile of his own.

Shen Yubi shot Jiang Jiu a strange look but said nothing, leading Chu Yue upstairs.

Once they reached the 2nd Floor hallway, Shen Yubi began the introductions.

“Currently, only the two of us live on the 2nd Floor. You’ll stay in this room. My room is directly across, and those two over there belong to Guan Doujin. Sister Jiang’s room is on the 3rd Floor. There isn’t much up there, and we don’t go up there easily.”

Pushing the door open, Chu Yue had expected to see decor similar to the rooms in the Paper-Cut Goddess Instance. To his surprise, while the exterior looked one way, the interior was a completely different world.

It was a modern room with a classical aesthetic.

The lighting was excellent, making the entire space feel bright and airy.

A bed, sofa, TV, air conditioning, furniture, and appliances were all present. Even the bathroom inside was equipped with a shower and a toilet.

Seeing his surprise, a faint smile played on Shen Yubi’s lips. “Sister Jiang likes the living environment of her original era, but as a woman, she prefers the convenience of modern appliances. That’s how this style came to be.”

“It’s quite nice,” Chu Yue affirmed.

It was very convenient-a quiet retreat in the middle of the bustle that also saved time.

“Alright then, get settled first. There are fresh clothes in the wardrobe. Let me know if you need anything else. You can sleep for a bit; I’ll call you when it’s time to eat. This afternoon, I’ll take you around to see the rest of the place.”

With that, he stepped out, leaving Chu Yue to himself.

Chu Yue walked around the room twice before pushing open the window to look out. Since it was only the 2nd Floor, the view wasn’t spectacular, but…

It was already very good.

Chu Yue sighed inwardly. With conditions like these, things were truly already very good.