Transformed into a heartthrob's simp, every day is a battleground.

Chapter 265 Convenience Store

Looking at these similar red houses, Yan Xun thought of Du Yun, who lived alone.

The dog-owning neighbor he had met also lived in a house with a black roof... Du Yun didn't own a dog, but he had been helping pet rescue organizations.

But he remembered that Xiao He, whom he had visited, lived alone.

Or is it that Xiaohe doesn't actually live alone, and it just so happens that the other family members weren't home at that time?

Yan Xun noted this possibility and continued walking towards the convenience store.

The community was very quiet at night. Apart from Yan Xun, there were no other neighbors on the road. He quickly walked along the road to the entrance of the community and saw the 24-hour convenience store.

Just like in a quiet neighborhood, there wasn't a single customer in the convenience store, only a bamboo pole standing behind the checkout counter.

He was wearing a convenience store vest and staring blankly at the door until Yan Xun pushed open the glass door of the convenience store and came in. Only then did he snap out of his daze and hurriedly greet Yan Xun.

He cautiously glanced at Yan Xun out of the corner of his eye, "...You, hello?"

Yan Xun nodded. He walked to the snack shelf, picked out some snacks at random, and then went to the other side to get drinks and popsicles. "Are you alone?" he asked Zhugan after putting the things on the counter.

While sweeping up the snacks Yan Xun had brought, Zhu Gan took a moment to say, "There aren't many people here at night."

"I'm usually the only one here."

"Occasionally, people will come in to buy cigarettes, alcohol, snacks, and drinks."

He looked at Yan Xun and quickly finished scanning the goods for him... Yan Xun took out the cash his father had given him from his pocket and handed it to Zhu Gan.

Just like any convenience store clerk, Zhu Gan counted the amount, opened the cash register, gave Yan Xun change, and handed him the printed receipt.

Yan Xun didn't even look at it before stuffing it into his pocket.

"I feel like you and your roommate don't get along very well." Yan Xun tore open the plastic bag of the popsicle. "Are you really good friends?"

Bamboo Pole's expression froze for a moment, as if he hadn't expected someone to speak so directly.

He looked at Yan Xun for a while, "...someone has said that before."

"Who?"

"Other classmates, I guess," Bamboo Pole said uncertainly. "I forgot."

"Are you in the same profession as the crew-cut guys?" Yan Xun asked again.

Bamboo Pole listened and slowly shook his head. "No."

“It just so happens that we live in the same dormitory.” He thought for a moment, “The one who works at the amusement park is an athlete.”

"We just happened to be assigned to the same dormitory."

Yan Xun pushed the drink on the counter to Zhu Gan, saying, "This is on you."

Standing behind the cashier, Zhu Gan looked a little lost. "No need."

"Can't you drink while you're working?" Yan Xun asked.

Bamboo Pole nodded. "It's best not to."

"Then take it back to drink," Yan Xun said casually. "I feel like you two don't get along. Isn't the crew-cut guy obviously ostracizing you?"

Bamboo Pole could clearly sense the buzz cut's exclusion, and he gave a forced expression, "I know."

“But I have no choice,” said Bamboo Pole. “I don’t have the money to go out and stay.”

He stood behind the counter and said to Yan Xun, "That's why I've been thinking about getting a part-time job lately, to save more money..."

"That way we can rent a place outside."

Yan Xun, biting into his popsicle, looked at the bamboo pole and asked, "What if I lend it to you?"

How much more do you need?

Bamboo Pole's expression was a mixture of surprise and disbelief. "But you're only a junior this year."

“I have New Year’s money and I’ve also done part-time jobs,” Yan Xun said. “I can lend you as much as you need.”

Bamboo Pole was clearly confused again, as if he didn't understand why Yan Xun wanted to borrow money from someone he had just met... He knew he didn't have much money, and he had to be frugal every day to save money. The rent here was not low, and he was short a lot of money. Even if Yan Xun said he had money, he couldn't possibly ask Yan Xun for a loan.

“You’re only a junior in college,” Bamboo Pole finally said. “I don’t take money from kids.”

“Besides, if I leave…” Zhugan said to Yan Xun, “it would violate the rule that people in the house cannot stay away from home for 36 hours.”

"The previous advance payments will all be lost."

He said earnestly to Yan Xun, "So I think I should at least wait until these 30 days are over."

"Isn't it good?" Yan Xun suddenly asked, "Isn't it good to let his money go down the drain?"

He looked at the bamboo pole and said, "He ostracized you so much, making his money go down the drain. Isn't this a good opportunity for revenge?"

"As long as you go far away, he won't be able to find you."

"If all else fails, you can change your name."

Yan Xun said that he looked very serious and seemed not to understand what the bamboo pole was hesitating about.

After all, when they were still unaware of the 50% payment at Shu Fan's home, Zhu Gan was the first person to say he wanted to leave.

Now that he could leave this place and get revenge on Crew Head, it wouldn't be surprising from an outsider's perspective that Bamboo Pole chose to leave immediately, but he hesitated.

Bamboo Pole stood behind the cashier. He was extremely thin and tall, so he had to hunch over when using the machine. In addition, he rarely made direct eye contact with people, which gave him a timid impression.

After hearing Yan Xun's words, his expression showed no satisfaction after dealing with the buzz cut; instead, it was troubled.

He rubbed his fingers together, looking a little nervous. "...I still don't think it's a good idea."

He scratched his cheek with his fingers again, "Although he and I don't get along, it's a lot of money."

"...I think I'll pass."

He said to Yan Xun, "Thank you. If I don't have enough cash in a month, I will borrow it from you."

"I won't lend it to you for nothing; I'll give you interest."

While he was talking, Yan Xun had already finished his popsicle and was looking around for a trash can. Seeing this, Zhu Gan reached out and said, "Give it to me, there's one behind the counter."

Yan Xun handed him the wrapping paper along with the wooden stick, and then threw the bamboo pole into the trash can next to him.

"Whatever you want," Yan Xun said finally. "If you think this is good, I won't say anything more."

"I don't think this is a good idea," Zhu Gan hurriedly explained, seemingly worried that Yan Xun would be angry because of his attitude. He waved his hand anxiously, his face flushed red because he wasn't good with words. "I just..."

"Which school did you graduate from?" Yan Xun interrupted Zhu Gan and changed the subject.

Seemingly not expecting Yan Xun to suddenly change the subject, Zhu Gan swallowed the rest of his words and then answered Yan Xun's new question.

“Yunshan,” the bamboo pole replied immediately.

"Yunshan University?" Yan Xun indicated that he needed to buy another plastic bag and handed a coin to Zhugan.

Zhu Gan took a plastic bag from behind the counter and packed the snacks for him. "Yes." After packing the snacks, he handed them to Yan Xun.

"What a coincidence." Yan Xun picked up the bag of snacks. "I also come from Yunshan University."

Bamboo Pole also showed a somewhat surprised expression, then nodded and said, "After all, Yunshan is in this city... so it's not surprising." As he spoke, a smile appeared on his face, as if he hadn't expected Yan Xun to be his junior.

Yan Xun hung the plastic bag on his wrist, put one hand in his pocket, and said, "I'm leaving."

He waved, took a few steps forward, then looked back at the bamboo pole and said, "Remember to drink."

He was referring to the bottle of drink that was left for the bamboo pole.

Bamboo Pole nodded, then instructed Yan Xun, "Be careful on your way home."

……

When Yan Xun returned home, only one lamp was on in the living room; his parents had already gone back to their bedroom.

Yan Xun sat on the sofa and turned on the TV.

An old movie was playing on the TV. Yan Xun looked around but couldn't find the remote, so he could only sit on the sofa and watch the old movie... Perhaps it was because he opened the door too loudly, or perhaps the TV volume was a bit too high.

Lou Yanchuan opened his door and, having changed into his pajamas, wheeled himself to the sofa where Yan Xun was sitting.

He glanced down at the plastic bag Yan Xun had thrown on the table. "I bought quite a lot."

"Did you see the bamboo pole?"

“Hmm.” Yan Xun leaned back on the sofa, glanced at Lou Yanchuan beside him, and simply told him about his discovery.

"You suspect that only newlyweds or those about to get married can live in the red-roofed houses?" Lou Yanchuan repeated.

"Yes."

"The black roof might belong to a pet lover?" Yan Xun asked uncertainly, because he remembered that Xiao He's family also had a dog. "The white roof might be for a family of several people."

“We can visit the person with the black roof tomorrow,” Lou Yanchuan said.

“There’s one more thing that’s on my mind.” Yan Xun mentioned Yunshan University, “Zhu Gan and I all graduated from Yunshan University.”

"I plan to ask Du Yun and the others tomorrow."

"Check which schools they graduated from."

"Do you think a D-rank dungeon needs a dedicated dungeon map?" Yan Xun suddenly asked. "I remember your Human-Cat dungeon, wasn't it just a map of rewards and clues obtained from clearing other dungeons?"

The difficulty and rewards of the Human-Cat dungeon are self-evident.

Is it really necessary to go to such lengths for a D-rank dungeon that's only one level above an E-rank dungeon?

Before entering the instance, Yan Xun studied the instance map. The level shown on it was indeed between D and C. The main and side quests that had been triggered so far also met the requirements of this level instance.

That's why it's strange.

Yan Xun thought to himself, looking at Lou Yanchuan, "You asked me to bring you into this instance because you felt it was a bit strange, didn't you?"

"I do think this dungeon map is a bit strange," Lou Yanchuan admitted. "Generally speaking, low-level dungeons aren't made into maps."

"Dungeon maps only have a chance to drop after clearing high-level dungeons."

"While not every map can be S-rank, there won't be any low-level D-rank dungeons either."

“Generally speaking, most of the dungeon maps are around level B+,” Lou Yanchuan said. “It’s normal that Wen Yuanzheng doesn’t know this, but the old man couldn’t possibly not know.”

“But when Wen Yuan was about to trade to me, the old man didn’t object,” Yan Xun said.

Lou Yanchuan's face showed a strange smile, "He's about to become a god, why would he care about this kind of dungeon map?"

"His plan at the time might have included having you feed the nightmares."

Unexpectedly, it involved too many things in the end, and it turned out that Blue Gold was not the blood of Nightmare, but rather from a higher existence.

"So he's thinking about this instance again, feeling resentful, and wants to get some benefits from it?" Yan Xun guessed.

"The appearance of a D-level dungeon map was suspicious to begin with," Lou Yanchuan said. "He probably suspected that something else was hidden here, which is why he entered this dungeon..."

He then looked at Yan Xun, "I'd also like to find an opportunity to make you suffer a little."

Yan Xun pointed to himself, "Me?"

“You ruined his plans, and from his perspective, you absorbed so much blue gold,” Lou Yanchuan said. “He must think you took all the benefits from the last instance.”

"Especially since Qin Ke is dead, you and him are the only two people left who came into contact with the blue gold in that instance."

“He indirectly absorbed some of the Blue Gold’s power through Wen Yuanzheng’s body. Seeing the Blue Gold fragments swirling around you, he must have felt that the remaining power had entered your body.”

"They haven't made a move yet, probably because they're wary of the Sun God."

Lou Yanchuan analyzed, "He saw the sun god descend and directly drove away the nightmare... Just like you said before, he probably suspects your relationship with the sun god."

"I suspect you may have formed a pact with the sun god."

“He dares not act rashly, nor does he dare to show his true face.” Lou Yanchuan looked at Yan Xun. “Didn’t you say that you saw his true face as a middle-aged man?”

"So I guess he might have possessed the NPC Lin Wen," Lou Yanchuan said. "Unless the image you saw was also fake."

"Lin Wen is his true appearance."

Lin Wen's face appeared in Yan Xun's mind, as well as the middle-aged man he had seen at the end of the last instance... He shuddered, "Don't tell scary stories."

Lou Yanchuan opened the snacks Yan Xun had bought, saying, "It's just a guess, don't be so nervous."

"I'll go see Du Yun tomorrow," Yan Xun said, "and while I'm at it, I'll also go see that man who owns the dog."

"Look for clues at home and see if you can get any information out of Shuangshuang."

"I think you can also look carefully in my parents' room."

Lou Yanchuan nodded, indicating that he understood.

“I have a feeling,” Yan Xun said to Lou Yanchuan. “Yunshan University might be an important clue.”

"It's related to a possible hidden mission."

“I think we should be careful about the new rules that will appear tomorrow.” Lou Yanchuan looked back at the mailbox on the door. “If surviving for 15 days is the main quest, then there will definitely be rules that will give players a headache later on.”

Yan Xun looked at the mail port and recalled the scene he saw when he left home, "They had no shadows."

He said to Lou Yanchuan.

"I'm guessing the instance might be telling us that they're not human?"

However, it's a bit too obvious that Yan Xun's parents and Shuangshuang are just NPCs, not human.

Yan Xun pondered, "Could it be that they want to tell us that they are already dead?"

"The secret of this house is that they are all resurrected dead?"

If that's the case, then the secret is a bit too simple. After Yan Xun finished speaking, he waited for a while, and sure enough, no notification sound came.

This guess is obviously wrong.

"Never mind." Yan Xun stood up from the sofa. "We'll talk about the rest tomorrow."