"Yeah, I'll take the van," Lin Li said to Wang Xiaoming.
"Mr. Lin, we have the van in four colors: black, yellow, white, and silver. Which one would you like?"
As Wang Xiaoming spoke, he picked up a brochure from a nearby desk and handed it to Lin Li.
Glancing through the brochure, Lin Li, who was set on keeping a low profile, naturally chose the most common color: silver.
This car rental company, Jixing Car Company, which hadn't been open for long, was surprisingly efficient.
After registering his ID number and filling out a form, Lin Li paid the rent and security deposit, and immediately got the car keys from the salesman. The whole process took less than fifteen minutes.
VROOM...
A silver van drove out of the Jixing Car Company parking lot. Although it was a used car, it was still in pretty good condition.
'I guess this makes me a car owner, in a way!'
It had been several years since Lin Li got his driver's license, and he hadn't touched a car since. After getting the silver van on the road, he immediately slowed down to a jaw-droppingly slow speed.
A car behind him, unable to stand the slow-moving van any longer, changed lanes to overtake it.
As he pulled up alongside the van, the driver, a man in his forties, irritably yelled at the nervous-looking Lin Li.
"Hey, do you even know how to drive? You're going so slow, you might as well be riding a bike!"
Lin Li wasn't an unreasonable person and knew he was in the wrong. He said apologetically to the driver, "Sorry, I'm a new driver."
"..." The irritable driver was speechless when he heard Lin Li was a new driver. Then, he offered a well-intentioned piece of advice. "You should probably find a place to get used to the car! You don't want to get into an accident somewhere with complex road conditions."
"Okay, thanks for the heads-up."
After giving Lin Li the warning, the irritable driver drove off.
The novice driver, Lin Li, took the van to a stretch of road with light traffic. He drove back and forth a few times, gradually getting the feel for driving again, and his speed returned to normal.
"Whew... okay. Next, I need to go stock up at the supermarket." Having regained his driving sense, Lin Li stepped on the gas and headed toward the large supermarket he usually frequented.
...
"That'll be five hundred and twenty yuan, sir. Do you have a membership card?"
"No. I'll pay with my phone."
"Okay, please show me your payment code."
BEEP.
After paying, Lin Li walked out of the supermarket carrying two large bags full of groceries.
CLICK...
THUMP.
He placed the two large bags on the front passenger seat, closed the door, and then drove off toward a pharmacy.
On the way to the pharmacy, as the van entered a deserted stretch of road, Lin Li slowed down, reached out his right hand, and touched the two large bags on the passenger seat.
With a single thought, the two bags, filled to the brim, vanished from the passenger seat. Lin Li had stored them in the Mysterious Small Island.
The pile of things he had just bought were all convenience foods Lin Li was preparing for his operations in the wilderness. They had a shelf life of at least a few months, so there was no need to worry about them spoiling on the Mysterious Small Island.
Of course, Lin Li wasn't planning to stay overnight during his trips to the wilderness, but even if he were, he could store fresh ingredients on the Mysterious Small Island.
As long as it wasn't the flesh and blood of a Mutant Beast that had been fresh for less than an hour, it could be stored safely on the Mysterious Small Island.
...
After buying another tube of healing ointment at the pharmacy, Lin Li then went to the wet market to buy some groceries.
「10:20 AM.」
Lin Li drove his rented van into the Ping'an Garden District.
As he entered the residential complex, he stopped by the security booth to register his vehicle's information.
CREAK.
After parking the van in a parking space, Lin Li opened the door and got out.
Looking at the parking spot, he couldn't help but think, 'This parking space has been sitting empty for so many years, and today it finally gets used...'
'I was even thinking about selling it or renting it out since I wasn't using it. Good thing I didn't make a decision back then. Otherwise, I'd have to go to the property management office now and pay to rent a spot.'
After grumbling to himself for a bit, Lin Li started walking toward his home.
"Huh? Lin, you bought a car?"
A somewhat familiar voice sounded in Lin Li's ear. He turned around, and upon seeing who was speaking, he thought in astonishment, 'How is it Ms. Wang again? I've run into her three times in two days!!!'
"Hello, Ms. Wang." Lin Li smiled and greeted her. "I didn't buy this car, I'm renting it..."
"Renting it?"
"Yeah." Lin Li nodded but didn't explain why he was renting a van.
Just as Ms. Wang was about to ask Lin Li why he was renting a car, her phone suddenly rang.
It seemed a family member needed her for something, because after answering the call, Ms. Wang hurried away.
'What is with Ms. Wang? Our paths cross way too often!' Lin Li muttered to himself as he watched her leave, then continued walking home.
...
He wouldn't have to climb the stairs to get home this time because the elevator had been fixed. It was about time, he thought; it had been out for so long that if it weren't fixed soon, the residents would probably start calling to complain.
DING.
Arriving at the sixth floor, the elevator doors opened.
Lin Li stepped out of the elevator, took his keys from his pocket, and was just about to open his door when he heard another door open behind him.
CLICK.
Two figures, one large and one small, emerged from the doorway. It was his next-door neighbors.
"Mr. Lin, hello!" said Xia Qing, who had a bag slung over her shoulder and was holding her daughter Zhou Tongtong's hand, greeting him the moment she saw him.
Hearing the voice behind him, Lin Li opened his door and then turned to look.
Xia Qing, with her long, flowing hair and oval-shaped face, was wearing a floral-print dress and a pair of low-heeled sandals today.
Her daughter, Zhou Tongtong, was also wearing a matching floral-print dress. It seemed they were wearing a mother-daughter outfit.
"Hello to you both. Are you heading out?" Lin Li responded with a smile.
"We are! I'm taking Tongtong to her swimming lesson," Xia Qing said with a nod and a smile.
"But it's almost time for lunch. You're going to a swimming lesson now?" Lin Li asked, a bit puzzled.
"Tongtong's lesson is this afternoon," Xia Qing explained. "I'm going to take her to walk around town for a bit first, we'll eat lunch out, and then I'll take her to her lesson."
...