CH 9

There is no one left in the village. No humans, no animals, not even the villagers who did not speak before this. Lou Fan couldn’t accept it and ran to find the old man NPC. Not surprisingly, he is gone too. This is truly a deserted village.

It's over! His plan for getting equipment fell through! Lou Fan scratched his hair dejectedly, and a messy chicken coop formed on top of his head.

Chen Shuyang comforted Lou Fan, "Forget it, Brother Lou. Let's go and find daily necessities."

Lou Fan nodded, and Qin Tan said, "This village should have been abandoned long ago."

This fact is true. When they entered a few yards, they could see that the contents are all decayed. The items collapsed when touched, which means they are abandoned for a long time, let alone daily necessities.

Lou Fan is about to collapse, "My God, don’t tell me that we won’t even find toiletries!" He won’t be able to withstand it even if he doesn't have OCD.

Qin Tan curved his lips while looking at Lou Fan, "Don't worry, toiletries are very cheap in Lazuli. You can change for them with a sweet potato."

Hearing that, Lou Fan is finally relieved. With some food in hand, he will not die hungry, and with daily necessities in hand, he will not die dirty, so be it.

As they are passing through the radish flower field, they unexpectedly found that the flowers are still in full bloom. The pink and purple flowers are particularly conspicuous in this deserted village. Since Lou Fan didn't get any equipment, in the spirit of not missing out on any benefits, he asked Qin Tan and Chen Shuyang to help him pick the flowers. Chen Shuyang obediently took the order and helped to pick a lot of flowers. Then, he picked one from the flower field that he thought looked the best and inserted it into his book.

"Shuyang, why did you put the flower in the book?" Lou Fan happened to see it and asked curiously.

Chen Shuyang lifted his glasses and said confidently, "Make a bookmark."

Lou Fan chuckled. Although Chen Shuyang looked pitiful, Lou Fan felt that he is somewhat funny.

Qin Tan: "In Lazuli, you can also exchange stuff for weapons. Although it is not as good as bringing your spirit weapons, it is enough."

Chen Shuyang nodded vigorously. He cheered up and continued to pick the flowers until Qin Tan’s backpack is packed full. Then they found a few cloth bags along the way and planned to come back tomorrow to dig some sweet potatoes and potatoes to bring back.

On the 9th day, the 3 of them continued to hoard food and filled the cloth bags fully before returning. After returning to the resting site, while there is still time, Lou Fan continued to ask Li Xin some questions.

On the afternoon of the 10th day, the group set off from the village and walked towards the platform where they got off. When leaving the village, Lou Fan glanced back. The quiet village looked dilapidated, surrounded by mountains and forests. It did not look like how they first saw it when they arrived at this world. The village has once been full of people and bustling with noise, but it still couldn’t help sinking in the long river of time. Even though knowing that this is a parallel world, Lou Fan can't help but wonder if there is also a person named Yu Erniang who is treated like this in reality, and she too felt resentful for this.

Qin Tan is waiting for Lou Fan. Lou Fan turned around to catch up and walked forward side by side with him. The platform is faintly visible, and with his reliable teammate beside him, his nervous heart suddenly settled down.

The red and black old train stopped amid the sound of the whistle, and the people who had already swiped their watches and waited on the platform got on the train one by one. Lou Fan and Chen Shuyang got on the train together, while Qin Tan got in the next compartment. As soon as he got in the car, Lou Fan's originally aching arm began to itch. He pulled his sleeves up and saw that the scar that was about to scab had grown pink new flesh. 10 minutes later, his arm is as good as before. There are no wounds, not even scars. Lou Fan touched the spot. So, the train also has a scar removal effect, huh? Nice.

The train ran at a constant speed, and there is a layer of mist outside the window. Nothing could be seen so Lou Fan simply held the bow to him and closed his eyes to rest. After a while, the whistle sounded again. They have arrived - Lazuli Town.

Chen Shuyang got off the car in front of him and let out an exclamation. Lou Fan followed behind carrying a cloth bag. When he got off the car, it is as if he has returned to a human society again. There are many people around the platform.

The people of the Level 6 team are healthy and kicking when they got out of the car. At this moment, their tight spirit loosened up and they carried a relaxed smile on their faces. He Yong patted Qin Tan on the shoulder and said to the two standing together, "Thank you for this time. If you need anything, come to me at any time, or you can look for them too."

Looking at Qin Tan, who is staying silent, Lou Fan could only do the conversation himself, "Okay, I will look for you if there is a problem. I have written down your addresses. You guys should quickly go back and rest."

He Yong nodded, thanked the two again before taking his team away. The rest of the Level 1 team members have left long ago while some newcomers are standing still at a loss. At this moment, they suddenly found themselves to be out of place. Because they didn't build a good relationship with the seniors back in Luoyang Ancient Village, they are now completely clueless and don't know anything. They don't even know where to ask.

Qin Tan carried the backpack and took the cloth bags in Lou Fan's hand. Then he said casually, "Let's go."

Lou Fan nodded and motioned Chen Shuyang to follow.

Qin Tan took the two of them to walk for about 20 minutes, and they arrived at a hall-like place. Lou Fan looked around curiously along the way. The hall is empty, with only a few large machines in it. Qin Tan walked to one of them and motioned Lou Fan to swipe his watch. A map is displayed on it.

"These are houses or small bungalows. A house can be shared with 2 people, gray-colored ones mean no one is staying in it so you can choose at will." Qin Tan pointed at the boxes and said. Then he swiped the screen with his finger, and clicked on a house, "I live here, upstairs."

Lou Fan looked at the 2 houses built side by side. The bottom box of the house that Qin Tan pointed to is gray. He stretched out his hand to tap on that box. Then a confirmation popup asked whether he is sure with his choice. Lou Fan chose Yes.

Seeing Lou Fan had chosen his place, Chen Shuyang leaned in and asked with a smile, "Brother Qin, can I choose the house next to you?"

Qin Tan nodded, and Chen Shuyang immediately swiped his watch to select his room. The whole process is done in 5 seconds without any hesitation. After the selection, Chen Shuyang saw Qin Tan and Lou Fan staring at him. Feeling embarrassed, he touched his head and giggle silly-ly.

After they have chosen their place, the two happily followed Qin Tan back home. The houses are built of a uniform style. It has 2 floors, with a roof garden for the upper floor and a small courtyard for the lower floor. The area of the house is quite large, and it is just like a fully furnished unit. It comes with simple decoration, bedroom, study room, gym, and kitchen. At a glance, they thought they have arrived at a resort.

There is an exchange machine next to the living room. Lou Fan walked over and looked at it curiously. Qin Tan took out a radish flower from his bag and placed it on a tray below. The machine made a beep and the tray retracted into the machine. 10 seconds later, the screen of the exchange machine lighted up, but only 1 of the 4 categories is lit.

Lou Fan: "Does this mean we can only exchange for daily necessities?" He read the options out.

Qin Tan nodded, "Yes, it means these lighted options are equivalent to a radish flower."

Chen Shuyang felt like crying, "Brother Lou, will we starve to death?"

Lou Fan felt that something is wrong. He reached out and grabbed a handful of radish flowers from his bag. He didn’t count how many he took, but it seemed to be quite a lot. Then he put all of them on the tray that reappeared. The tray retracted again with a beep, and a countdown is displayed on the screen. This time, 30 seconds later, the screen lights up again. The four options, which are daily necessities, food and drink, medicine, and weapons and equipment are all lit.

Chen Shuyang opened his mouth wide and lifted his glasses. Looking at the screen, he turned his head and gave a thumbs up to Lou Fan who is smiling, "Brother Lou, your way is too brilliant. You can even do it like this!"

Qin Tan also looked speechless. He hadn't studied this exchange machine before. Last time, he had nothing to exchange. Naturally, he didn't know that he could stack items. If one has something to exchange, it is not difficult to find out about this. But Lou Fan's mind sure turns quickly, he immediately thought to do this.

Lou-Practical-Fan helplessly said, "Isn't this a basic thing? You guys don’t act like this, my pride will swell."

Chen Shuyang waved his hand immediately, "Brother Lou, is there such a difficult ‘basic thing’? Don't talk nonsense."

"Go and exchange for some food, then rest after eating. After you wake up, I’ll take you two out for a walk." Qin Tan stopped the two of them from talking, and also blocked Lou Fan's eager hand from the machine.

Eating is the first priority, as well as the daily necessities that he needs. Qin Tan didn't know whether the exchange mechanism could store the excess value. So, Lou Fan added the radish flowers one by one. They first exchanged for the daily necessities that they needed, and then put more flowers in to exchange for other things. Although there are quite a lot of radish flowers in their hands, they currently only have this item to exchange. As for the sweet potatoes, they were thrown aside by them three. But they needed a lot of things, such as food, medicine, and even weapons, so they had to save a little bit. Moreover, they need to inquire about intel.

Lou Fan grabbed his hair and felt almost sorrowful. What does it mean by ‘unable to make ends meet’? This is it! They must collect more things in the next world.

After dividing the exchanged items among them, Qin Tan said to rest early and took Chen Shuyang to his house. Lou Fan is left alone in his room so he took the toiletries and went into the bathroom without hesitation. After an hour, Lou Fan almost washed off a layer of his skin. He wiped his hair and came out of the bathroom wrapped in a bath towel, feeling like he is alive again. While taking a bath earlier, he looked at spots of black water on the floor. It makes him feel like he hadn't taken a bath for half a year, but the fact is that he only stayed in Luoyang Ancient Village for 10 days.

Lou Fan fell on the soft fabric sofa. After taking a shower, his exhaustion seemed to be washed away by water. His entire body felt soft, and it is so comfortable to wash with hot water on his body. Thinking about it, he slowly closed his eyes.

After a good night's sleep, it is already 12 hours later when Lou Fan woke up. He grimaced painfully as he rubbed his sore neck. He is a 1.8 meters tall young man and he curled up on a 2-seater sofa for a night. Such talent.

When Lou Fan got up to wash, his dirty clothes are thrown on the ground and he won’t wear them again. He turned on the exchange machine, put in a handful of radish flowers, and began to study the menu carefully.

There are 4 options on the home screen. After putting the radish flower in, a string of numbers is displayed in the lower right corner. Lou Fan randomly clicked into the daily necessities area. In addition to daily necessities, there are also all the things needed in daily life, such as clothing, shoes, and hats. Maybe because there are enough radish flowers in the balance, many of the grids inside are lit up. He flipped further back of the menu but saw nothing as everything is greyed out.

Lou Fan chose a comfortable leisure clothing and clicked on other options to check. Now, only the first 2 categories have more exchangeable options. As for medicine and weapons/equipment, there’s only 1 item that is lit. Scratching his hair, Lou Fan decided to leave it alone. Poor is poor, there’s no way.

Unscrewing a bottle of water, Lou Fan opened the French windows and walked into the yard while drinking. There is nothing in the yard, just a bare piece of ground. Lou Fan stood in it and took a deep breath. Then, Qin Tan's low voice that is carrying a smile sounded above his head, "Good morning."