"Shizuka's doing fine. After the dead virus broke out, I got her out of Fujimi Academy first thing, found us a safe little hideout. She took a shower, had some beer, then came running into my room stark naked, insisting on sleeping with me..."
Luo Jie kept his tone light, making sure to include the details about Ju Chuan Shizuka being drunk.
As he'd anticipated, after hearing that, the suspicion lurking in Nan Lixiang's sharp purple eyes faded considerably. A rare flicker of softness touched her expression, and she chuckled in bemusement. "That sounds just like her. She giving you a hard time?"
"You have no idea! I still can't bear to think about that scene—just the memory makes my back ache for hours..." Luo Jie rubbed his forehead with a.
Previous explorers' guides had mentioned that Nan Lixiang had a rather masculine personality—forthright and unpretentious. She didn't mind crude, suggestive jokes; in fact, the opposite was true. Acting like a proper, refined gentleman would only make her feel you were being fake, tanking her favorability big time.
In the original story, at the port airport in Bed City, her spotter had joked more than once about wanting to grope her chest. She hadn't gotten mad at all, just laughed and said, "When your shooting score beats mine, then you can grope all you want." That kind of blunt, explicit talk was almost unthinkable for most women.
As a seasoned veteran of innuendo, Nan Lixiang caught the implication in Luo Jie's words instantly. She gave him a meaningful glance downward and grinned. "So why didn't you push her down? Don't let Shizuka fool you—she's still a little virgin. You definitely wouldn't have been..."
Since it involved her best friend's privacy, Nan Lixiang whispered the last part right into Luo Jie's ear. The scent of a woman's sweat, mixed with a faint whiff of gunpowder, drifted into his nostrils—a strangely alluring combination.
"Forget it," Luo Jie shrugged helplessly and said to Nan Lixiang, "Shizuka has a really tough friend. If I'd dared to do that, her friend would've blown my balls off with a gun."
Nan Lixiang burst out laughing, reaching out to punch Luo Jie lightly in the chest. "Not bad. You're way better than those losers who used to chase after Shizuka. I couldn't stand those pretty boys—wave a gun at 'em, and they'd wet themselves and never show their faces again..."
Luo Jie laughed dryly. Now he understood why, with Ju Chuan Shizuka's... prominent attributes, she'd stayed single until twenty-seven in the original story.
Just picture the scene: A handsome, wealthy guy rings Ju Chuan Shizuka's doorbell with a bouquet of flowers. The door creaks open, and a big, black HK PSG1 semi-automatic sniper rifle slowly pokes out from the crack, silently pressing against his forehead...
That's scarier than any horror movie!
With a screening process like that, it'd be a miracle if anyone did dare to pursue Ju Chuan Shizuka...
"Alright, you pass the first question. Now, answer my second one." Nan Lixiang's expression turned serious, her tone sharp. "Why are you out here in the middle of the night? Your gear, your skills—none of this screams 'high school teacher'..."
"About that..." Luo Jie smiled faintly, meeting Nan Lixiang's beautiful purple eyes with a (open and unreserved) gaze. "Does it need explaining?"
"Doesn't it?" Nan Lixiang's eyes were intense, her ample chest practically pressing against his chest armor.
"Does it?"
"Doesn't it?"
"Does it?"
"Doesn't it?"
"Does it?"
"... No. Alright, it doesn't."
Nan Lixiang suddenly realized that this back-and-forth was getting them nowhere. This young man, who didn't look that old, was as slippery as a seasoned con artist. Even if they hauled him in and waterboarded him, they'd probably never get the truth out of him.
Besides, this disaster had hit the entire world without warning. Even America, halfway across the globe, hadn't been spared. Rumor had it the President himself had turned into one of the dead, and now the Secretary of Defense was acting in his stead.
In an end-of-the-world scenario where the very survival of human civilization was in question, whether this mysterious young man was a spy from some country stationed in Bed City didn't matter one bit.
"Now, it's my turn to ask." Luo Jie wasn't one to let someone grill him without firing back, even if that someone was a (babe). "Officer Nan, what's your squad doing here, in this mall crawling with dead bodies, in the dead of night?"
"I was impressed before, but now I'm starting to like you. It's been a long time since anyone dared to question me like this." Nan Lixiang pulled a pack of cigarettes from her pocket, gracefully tucking one between her lips. The white cigarette against her fiery red lipstick exuded a unique, mature feminine sex appeal.
"Well, to borrow your line..." She paused, "Does it need explaining?"
"Alright, it doesn't." Luo Jie came to a swift conclusion, taking a step back and waving a goodbye. "Then we'll be on our way, Officer Nan. Good luck to you and your team. Hope you complete your mission, come back triumphant, get a promotion and a raise. All that good stuff."
"Hey... wait a minute!"
Luo Jie smiled inwardly. He'd known Nan Lixiang wouldn't let him off that easy.
"What is it, Officer Nan? Did you lose something on me?" Luo Jie turned back, grinning. "If it's your face, no big deal. If it's your heart, though, I can't give that back."
Nan Lixiang's red lips parted, exhaling a cloud of mist, and she smiled too.
"If you weren't so smooth-talking, and maybe a little more mature-looking, I might even chase you." She flicked the half-smoked cigarette, with its faint lip print, onto the ground and crushed it under her foot. "Well, fine. I can tell you why I'm here. But in exchange, I want you to help me with this mission."
"Inspector! This is a classified operation! How can you just—" A SAT team member spoke up anxiously, but Nan Lixiang cut him off with a sharp look and a raised hand. "That's enough. I know what I'm doing. If anything goes wrong, I'll take full responsibility. It's got nothing to do with the rest of you!"
Here we go! A hidden quest, just as expected!
Luo Jie fought to contain his inner excitement, keeping his face neutral. He slung his sword back over his shoulder, crossing his arms, and said coolly, "Why should I help you? Officially, I'm just a civilian. I've got no obligation to charge into battle for the police. Unofficially, even with Shizuka in the picture, you and I are practically strangers. You think that's enough to make me risk my neck for you? C'mon, be honest with yourself—are you being stupid, or do you think I am?"
Luo Jie wasn't being difficult; he was negotiating with Nan Lixiang. Most hidden quests activated by NPCs didn't have fixed rewards. If you haggled the right way, you could often get some surprisingly good loot.