Old Mo has lived in Moon City for more than half a year and is very familiar with the whole city. The restaurant he took us to was indeed very nice. This hot pot restaurant is located on the top floor of the building, and the floor-to-ceiling windows in the private room offer a panoramic view of the city's nightscape.
The hot pot restaurant was self-service, and to accommodate teammates who don't eat spicy food, everyone chose a half-and-half pot.
The food here was fresh and cheap. Ye Qi was stunned when he saw a plate of fresh mutton priced at 500 gold coins. He grabbed twenty plates of mutton with both hands in one go. The others followed suit and picked out vegetables. Meat dishes cost 5-8 RMB, and a large plate of vegetables only cost 2 RMB. It was so cheap that everyone was moved.
After a week of eating biscuits at sea, the aroma of hot pot made everyone's mouths water. Once the food was cooked, they immediately began to dig in without hesitation. Ye Qi exclaimed as he ate, "Finally, we're living a normal human life! This hot pot is so delicious!"
Long Sen also said, "Things in the main city are super cheap. It's a pity we can't bring food into Secret Room World, otherwise we could buy some vacuum-packed meat and vegetables and cook hot pot at sea."
Qu Wanyue laughed and said, "Hot pot on the sea? Your idea is too extravagant!"
Upon hearing this, Xiao Lou said, "Actually, Long Sen's idea might be feasible. We can't bring items into the Secret Room World, but we can bring cards. After this Weekly Routine, I realized that we don't have enough life-related cards. Cards like laundry detergent and dryers aren't very powerful, but they're very useful in the survival room."
Yu Hanjiang nodded: "That's right, we should collect more household item cards in the future."
Old Mo said, " There's a card trading market in Moon City. We can go check it out another day. The trading market only sells cards produced from low-level dungeons. There won't be any S cards, and even A cards are rare. The few [ Nine Palaces Grid ] cards I have were bought from the market."
Xiao Lou asked curiously, " Won't the local residents find it strange that Challengers are trading cards with each other? And the Hunter Alliance knows the uses of the cards. If they find out and buy the cards, wouldn't that be very disadvantageous for the Challengers?"
Old Mo explained, "The trading market is managed by the [ Eternal Kingdom ] guild and is an underground black market. It's only open from 3 PM to 4 PM, Monday to Friday. This time period is during weekdays, and the natives are mostly in school or at work, so no one would go there to buy cards." Old Mo paused, then continued, "Moreover, the black market doesn't allow the sale of combat cards; it's all resource cards. Hunters wouldn't find them very useful. The combat cards they have definitely not been bought, but obtained after killing people."
Upon hearing this, everyone felt a chill run down their spines.
The more people a Hunter kills, the more cards they get. Old Mo said that last time during Weekly Routine in the Diamond Secret Room of [ Rotating Maze ], only 20 out of 100 people died. So, the Hunter Alliance must have taken all the cards from the 80 Challengers who were killed—the strength of this organization is truly beyond everyone's imagination.
Xiao Lou said, "Let's go to the trading market tomorrow afternoon and see if we can buy any useful resource cards."
The group ate and chatted, and soon finished all the dozens of dishes.
After eating and drinking to their hearts' content, CEO Shao went to pay the bill. The meal for the eight people only cost 20,000 gold coins. Recalling how they had spent 100,000 gold coins on breakfast on the cruise ship and all of them had stomach aches, Shao Qingge couldn't help but regret it. It was much more enjoyable to spend money in the main city. Spending money in spa- like escape rooms not only didn't get you anything good, but it also made you suffer.
When they went out, the eight of them stood by the roadside trying to hail a taxi. It was the evening rush hour, and they waited for a long time but couldn't get one.
Looking at the traffic flowing by on the street, Xiao Lou said helplessly, "Eight people sharing two cars is such a hassle. I remember houses and cars are very cheap in this world. CEO Shao, do we have enough money to buy a car right now?"
Shao Qingge said, "Of course it's enough, it just depends on what car Professor Xiao wants to buy."
Xiao Lou suggested, "How about we buy a small tour bus?"
Shao Qingge looked at him with a puzzled expression: "Why buy such a big tour bus when you can just buy a seven-seater minivan with a driver and seven seats?"
Xiao Lou explained, "Our team will definitely add more people in the future, so we'll buy a small tour bus all at once. The small bus can seat a maximum of 18 people, right? A premium contract book can only bind a maximum of 15 teammates, so it's better to be prepared."
Shao Qingge understood: " Professor Xiao is indeed farsighted. But, such a big car, will anyone know how to drive it?"
Old Mo volunteered, "I can drive. I got an A license in the real world, and I can drive big trucks and buses."
Ye Qi gave a thumbs up from the side: " Uncle Mo, you're such a pro! Is there any vehicle you can't drive?"
Old Mo laughed and said, "I can't drive a tank."
Everyone: "..."
This doesn't even warrant driving a tank.
Xiao Lou smiled and looked at Yu Hanjiang: "Then it's decided. We'll go buy a car tomorrow morning, which will make it more convenient to travel around the city. As for accommodation, staying in hotels all the time is quite troublesome. Why don't we rent an apartment?"
Yu Hanjiang nodded in agreement: "Completing all the secret rooms definitely won't be something that can be done in a day or two. Everyone needs to be prepared for a long battle. It's not a solution to have to worry about where to stay every time we come out of a secret room." He looked at Mo Xuemin and said, "Old Mo, you know the main city best. Can you find a suitable place to rent as soon as possible?"
Mo Xuemin patted his chest: "No problem. I know a lot of real estate agents. My previous team rented a five-story detached villa in the western suburbs..."
There are many rooms; it can accommodate 15 people. I just checked out of the apartment last week, and I'll contact the landlord now.
After saying that, he ran to a public phone booth and called the landlord using the number he remembered. The reply he received was that there were no new tenants at the moment, and they could continue to renew their lease.
When Mo Xuemin returned after making the call, her eyes were filled with joy: "The house is still there. If everyone agrees, let's move in tonight! The landlady is a very nice person. She lives nearby and can give us the keys."
Xiao Lou nodded: "Okay, let's go back to the hotel to check out and move all our luggage to the new house."
A taxi pulled up, and Xiao Lou flagged it down, letting Lao Mo, Liu Qiao, and the Longqu Couple get in first to go to the hotel. After waiting for ten minutes, a second taxi arrived, and the remaining four hailed a ride to the hotel, where they met up in the lobby.
To avoid not being able to get a taxi again, the group asked the driver to wait at the hotel entrance and pay by the hour.
After arriving in Moon City, Xiao Lou only paid for a week's stay at the New World Hotel and was checking out today. The young lady at the hotel reception kindly suggested, "Our check-out time is before noon the next day. It's already quite late. You can stay another night and check out tomorrow morning."
Xiao Lou smiled and said, "No need, we've found a place to stay."
The receptionist nodded and quickly processed their check-out. The group went back to their room and quickly packed their belongings—just their phones and laptops, not even extra clothes. They then took a taxi and headed to their new home.
The taxi soon stopped in an upscale residential area.
When Lao Mo and his team rented a house, he personally selected the property.
The detached villa has a wonderful environment. The whole community is full of flowers. The five-story wooden villa is surrounded by flowers, just like a castle hidden deep in the forest in a fairy tale. Xiao Lou fell in love with the house at first sight.
The landlady was very welcoming; she rushed over late at night to give us the keys, and we signed the contract on the spot. The monthly rent is 300,000 gold coins, roughly 3,000 RMB, and the deposit is also 300,000 gold coins. We'll rent for one month first; if we want to renew, we just need to give three days' notice.
Once inside, everyone discovered that it was a dream home.
The solid wood style of the decoration makes the whole house simple and refreshing. The first floor has a spacious and bright living room with an 8-meter-long floor-to-ceiling window balcony. Walking onto the balcony, you can connect to a large garden, which is full of flowers.
The restaurant is spacious, with a long table that can seat more than ten people. Next to the sliding door is the kitchen, where four or five adults can stand and cook together at the same time.
Stepping out of the restaurant's floor-to-ceiling windows, you'll find a swimming pool with crystal-clear water. Tall, broad-leaved trees surround the pool, and a row of lounge chairs sits along its edge.
The second to fourth floors are all bedrooms, and the fifth floor is a spacious terrace where you can invite a few friends to drink and have a barbecue.
The walls inside the room are decorated with some exquisite paintings and many unique little decorations.
Looking at the familiar surroundings, Mo Xuemin's face flashed with a complex emotion. He lowered his voice and said, "When we rented this house, we planned to stay for a few months, so we tidied it up a bit. We bought a lot of the furniture ourselves. I never expected..."
Unexpectedly, during a Weekly Secret Chamber encounter with Hunter, all of my teammates were wiped out.
Mo Xuemin's fingers trembled slightly. Xiao Lou walked over and gently pressed his shoulder, saying, "Old Mo, let's not think about the past anymore. It wasn't your fault that your teammates were wiped out. This house is beautifully decorated, let's stay here."
Ye Qi quickly changed the subject, saying, "Come on, let's assign bedrooms!"
Mo Xuemin composed himself and led everyone on a tour of the bedrooms, saying, "This villa has five rooms on each of the 2nd to 4th floors, for a total of fifteen bedrooms. The landlord specially renovated the rooms for us ' outsiders ' to make them more suitable for rent. The bedrooms are all about the same size, and there are two shared bathrooms and showers on each floor. You can choose whichever you like."
Ye Qi scratched his head: "They all look pretty much the same, I can sleep anywhere."
Liu Qiao said, "Whatever."
Qu Wanyue smiled and said, " Professor Xiao, why don't you make the arrangements?"
Xiao Lou thought for a moment and said, "How about this, Teacher Qu, Xiao Liu, Long Sen, and Lao Mo will stay on the third floor, and the four of us will stay on the second floor. If any new teammates come, they can stay on the fourth floor. There are plenty of rooms, and everyone can adjust their schedules if they want to."
No one objected. Qu Wanyue said, "There's one more thing. I want to go to the mall tomorrow to buy a few sets of clothes to change into. I've been wearing this outfit for almost a month since I entered Card World..."
Liu Qiao also said, "We really should buy some clothes to wear during the changing season."
Old Mo said, "You've all probably noticed, right? Before entering the escape room, the Guardian will clear all our supplies. You can't even sneak a lighter in your pocket; you can only bring a card holder. However, your clothes won't be cleared, so we can prepare several sets. In future survival escape rooms, we can wear summer clothes underneath, a sweater on top, and then a coat. If the escape room is in summer, we can take off all our coats; if it's in winter, we won't freeze to death in short sleeves."
Everyone: "..."
Layer upon layer, with clothes prepared for several seasons to cope with different enclosed room environments, everyone was quite helpless.
Xiao Lou nodded with a smile: "Old Mo's idea is good. Everyone, take a rest first. Tomorrow morning we'll go to the mall to buy clothes and daily necessities; in the afternoon we'll go to the trading market to look at cards; and in the evening we'll meet Mr. Old Gui —we need to hurry and prepare to continue our journey."
Once inside the main city, aside from the weekly World Weekly Routine, there's no mandatory challenge from Monday to Friday, allowing Challengers to rest and regroup. Xiao Lou's plan is to first...
Spend a few days contacting Mr. Gui and the Intelligence Bureau to develop a plan for clearing the game, opening the secret room before midnight on Friday night, and avoiding the Weekly Routine using the techniques that Brother Jiu taught them.
At 11:30 p.m., everyone lined up to wash up and prepare to rest.
Xiao Lou and Yu Hanjiang went to the room on the second floor together.
Designed by Lao Mo, this villa exudes the warmth of "home" in every detail. For example, the paintings in the hallway, the flower rack on the balcony, the decorations in the bedroom, the soft beanbag chair, and the clean bedding...
Finally, everyone has a place to live in this world.
But this is not their home. They are just passing through, and they will have to go back someday.
Yu Hanjiang entered the bedroom, pushed open the French windows, and gazed at the layers of trees outside, his thoughts churning. Suddenly, Xiao Lou's voice echoed in his mind: " Captain Yu, are you still daydreaming? Aren't you going to sleep?"
Yu Hanjiang was slightly taken aback and said, "You... are you trying to get me to sleep?"
Xiao Lou said gently, "This Weekly Routine took seven days at sea, and you chopped up so many sharks. You're exhausted and need to rest. Don't think too much about it. We'll talk about it tomorrow. Go and get some rest."
Yu Hanjiang nodded: "Okay, I'll listen to you. I'll go to sleep now, you should get some rest too."
Since becoming a policeman, his schedule has been chaotic. It's common for him to be on missions in the middle of the night and to have his days and nights reversed. No one has ever cared when he goes to sleep. But just now, when he heard Xiao Lou gently urging him to rest early, for some reason, a warm current suddenly welled up in his heart. It felt like someone had put a hand warmer in his hands when he was freezing and about to lose consciousness in the dead of winter.
Even the blood in my whole body, and even every pore, became warm.
It feels so different to have someone care about you...
Yu Hanjiang obediently took a bath and went to bed.
He tried to contact Xiao Lou using " Telepathic Connection " but found no response; it seemed he was already asleep.
Xiao Lou seems to be really tired; he fell asleep instantly.
Yu Hanjiang smiled slightly and closed his eyes with a happy expression.
That night was the best sleep he had had since joining Card World.