As night fell and the sun set, the city truly came alive, with Japan lights flashing brightly and an increasing number of pedestrians outside.
"Big Brother, my grandpa told me that a person's luck is like a line; although you don't know where it will ultimately go, it always fluctuates up and down. Do you think that's true?"
The two sat on a bench in the square, each holding a bowl of cold noodles. Zhang Chulan suddenly asked, looking at the bustling crowd in the square.
Yang Tao, who was intently savoring his food, heard Zhang Chulan's somewhat disheartened voice and said with a smile, "This is just the beginning!"
"You think your luck is bad because you haven't seen enough. Zhang Chulan, do you know what despair is?"
"Despair?"
Zhang Chulan shook his head slightly and replied, "If you ask that seriously, I really don't know."
"Then I'll let you experience it sometime! But regarding luck, I can help you change it. Do you want to try?"
Zhang Chulan instantly perked up upon hearing Yang Tao imply that he could change luck.
His previous dejected look vanished in an instant.
"Really?"
"Of course!"
Yang Tao took a [Hat of Superstition] from his backpack and handed it to Zhang Chulan. Looking at the hat in his hand, Zhang Chulan's face turned green from the reflection of the hat.
"A green… green hat?"
"Exactly. It can improve your luck. Whether you believe it or not is your problem."
With that, Yang Tao continued to finish the cold noodles in his hand. He hadn't eaten this in a long time, and now that he was eating it, he found the taste quite good.
Zhang Chulan hesitated for a long time before saying:
"This… this is just an ordinary hat…"
His words sounded like he was explaining to Yang Tao, and also like he was trying to convince himself. After speaking, he picked up the [Hat of Superstition] and put it on his head.
Beep beep…
As soon as he put it on, his phone in his pocket suddenly rang. Zhang Chulan pulled out his phone and saw that it was a message from someone nearby.
"Someone actually added me?"
"Wow, what a beautiful girl! Big Brother, is this hat really that effective?"
Yang Tao heard Zhang Chulan exclaim loudly, turned his head to glance, and immediately saw the name Liu Yanyan, saying, "She's from Quanxing, it's a trap!"
"Huh?"
However, Zhang Chulan quickly accepted this reality and said with a faint smile, "You're right, how could a loser like me have a girl actively add me…"
With that, he was about to reach out to decline Liu Yanyan's friend request, but Yang Tao stopped him.
"Wait…"
With that, he stood up and threw the empty plastic bowl in his hand into the trash can.
"Don't decline, add her first. This little girl is very interesting."
At the very least, she should be worth 0.5% - 1% of exploration value. A small fish is still a fish, much better than coming up empty-handed.
Looking at Zhang Chulan's bewildered expression, Yang Tao reached out, took out his phone, and directly tapped 'agree'. Soon, the other side accepted the friend request.
Zhang Chulan said somewhat excitedly, "Big Brother, don't mess around."
"Don't worry, how could I…"
I won't mess around.
A brilliant smile appeared on Yang Tao's lowered face. Soon, a message came from Liu Yanyan's side.
[Hello, are you Senior Brother Zhang Chulan?]
Yang Tao's fingers flew up and down, and soon a message was sent out. Zhang Chulan wanted to stop him when he saw the first line of text, but Yang Tao's hand speed was simply too fast.
[An acquaintance introduced you? Alright, 1980 for an overnight stay. Do you understand the rules?]
"Big Brother, what are you doing?"
Zhang Chulan was almost frantic, reaching out to grab his phone, but how could Yang Tao let him have his way? He put his hand on Zhang Chulan's head and said, "I just said, she's from Quanxing."
"Even if she's from Quanxing, I, your little brother, still need to save face, okay? If this gets out…"
"If it gets out, wouldn't you, kid, hit the jackpot? 1980 a day, 190,000 in ten days. In a year, you, kid, earning a million isn't a dream…"
"Ah, Big Brother, who taught you math? And don't even talk about a year, I'd die in bed in a month! Big Brother, stop messing around!"
Ding-dong.
The phone rang with a new message notification. Instantly, their playful scuffle stopped, and both turned their heads to look at the phone.
[What rules?]
Zhang Chulan fell silent. At this moment, he believed Yang Tao's words. He didn't know if the other party was from Quanxing, but she was definitely not a good person.
This time, he didn't stop Yang Tao's actions, but simply sat obediently on the side, watching Yang Tao trick the person on the other end.
Ding-dong.
A few minutes later, a red envelope of 1980 was sent over. Yang Tao opened it without hesitation, performing a series of actions that left Zhang Chulan dumbfounded.
"Big Brother, are we committing fraud?"
"Yes, don't be lucky."
Yang Tao nodded lightly and said, "But we didn't trick her, and she wouldn't dare to report it. With her theft, desecration of corpses, intentional injury, and then prostitution and kidnapping, it's enough to put her behind bars for ten years."
Looking at the address sent on his phone, Yang Tao smiled. This Liu Yanyan was just a spoiled rich girl. Today, no matter what, he had to teach her a lesson and let her know that freedom comes with a price.
Zhang Chulan was very smart and instantly understood everything upon hearing Yang Tao's words.
"You… you mean, she stole my grandpa's body?"
Yang Tao stood up and said, "Mm, let's go meet the people from Quanxing."
Seeing Yang Tao leave, Zhang Chulan immediately stood up and followed him, asking anxiously, "Big Brother, you keep saying 'Quanxing, Quanxing,' what exactly is this Quanxing?"
"Simply put, they are the terrorists of the Outcast World."
Yang Tao felt his summary was very accurate. He glanced at the address on his phone and continued:
"Quanxing originates from the Daoist Yang Zhu school, from the phrase 'preserve one's nature and maintain one's true self, not being swayed by external things.' It pursues the realm of 'not sacrificing a single hair to benefit the world, nor taking a single hair to harm the world.'"
"However, some people misinterpreted its meaning, turning into the 'Quanxing demons' who only know how to take and are utterly selfish, without understanding the principle of not taking even a single hair."
Zhang Chulan nodded, half-understanding.
The two hailed a taxi and arrived at the address Liu Yanyan had sent.
Looking at the house number on his phone.
"We're here, let's go up."
Zhang Chulan nodded seriously. Although he was a bit confused as to why he suddenly followed Yang Tao to find Quanxing, he couldn't just abandon his grandpa's body.
The two arrived at the door of the room Liu Yanyan had reserved.
Zhang Chulan reached out to knock on the door, but Yang Tao, with a look of disappointment, stopped him: "Let me do it."
Zhang Chulan: "???"
The 'Rule' class item [Wooden Button] was pressed against the wall by Yang Tao. With a gentle press, the originally locked room door opened automatically.
Yang Tao walked directly into the room and shouted, "FBI! Everyone, hands on your head, squat down!!"
Bang…
A zombie was instantly blown apart by Yang Tao's gun, its shriveled body falling directly to the ground.
Bang.
A .50 caliber bullet pierced through the wooden bathroom door, taking down another zombie hiding in the bathroom.
The zombie hiding behind the curtains also couldn't escape the fate of having its head blown apart.
Liu Yanyan was completely stunned now. Looking at the warm muzzle pressed against her forehead, her body trembled like a sieve.
"Stand up and come with me."
As he spoke, Yang Tao used his thumb to cock the hammer on the back of the revolver.
The crisp click echoed deep into Liu Yanyan's soul.
Zhang Chulan's expression was now indescribable; his mouth was wide open and he couldn't close it