CH 36.2

[Banana: Technically speaking, the mission world for Shimane has ended but it's still the same Chapter 36 on the outside so I can't change the title while keeping the word Part 2, you get what I mean?]

Everyone has been in a tense state for a few days so knowing that they have returned safely to Lazuli, their bodies started to feel the fatigue the moment they relaxed. Seeing Lou Fan yawning constantly, Qin Tan took his backpack and said to everyone, "Go back first and have a good rest. If you have anything to say, we’ll talk about it tomorrow. Everyone has been tired for a few days, and we have half a month to talk."

No one thinks that Qin Tan is chasing them away, they only felt that Brother Qin is really a reliable team leader, someone who is thinking of everyone’s welfare. Only Lin Man Man suddenly felt that she is disliked by him.

Probably because of too much physical exertion, when Lou Fan woke up, it is already 1.00 pm. But today it rained in Lazuli.

After Lou Fan finished washing up, he went upstairs to find food. His index finger pressed the fingerprint lock, and the door opened with a beep. On the coffee table in the living room are freshly washed fruits, and there is a pot of cooked porridge on the dining table. Lou Fan heard some noise in the kitchen. He picked up a piece of fruit and put it in his mouth, then dumped everything in his backpack on the ground. This time, their harvest has been quite fruitful - they collected more than 100 clocks. In addition, Lou Fan also collected a whip, a spooky doll, a bottle of wine, and a handkerchief.

When Qin Tan walked out of the kitchen, he saw Lou Fan sitting cross-legged on the ground with a small pile of clocks in front of him. He is playing with a whip in his hand, and the spooky doll is placed far away from him. Qin Tan wiped his hands, walked over, and picked up the doll, "You don't like this, right? Then let’s register this thing at the electronic screen and exchange it away."

Lou Fan nodded, "Yeah, let’s do that. The doll creeps me out."

After a while, the other 5 people came to the house. Lin Man Man and Gong Yi came over with things in their hands. Wen Lang got caught by Qin Tan to cook lunch, while the rest chatted in the living room.

Chen Shuyang took the things in Lin Man Man's hand to see. "Man Man, what animal's tooth is this?"

Lin Man Man nodded and said, "It's the monster's teeth. We are responsible for finding the monster. The intermediate team’s task is to kill the monster."

Lou Fan turned his face sideways, frowned, and asked, "Just kill the monster?"

Gong Yi nodded, "Yes, the intermediate team only needs to kill the monster."

Chen Shuyang asked, "Brother Lou, what's wrong?"

"Something's wrong." Lou Fan pondered and said, "Last time, our task is to look for a sunken ship. It seems simple, but we need to find the location of the sunken ship first and kill the fish monsters to get small pearls to breathe underwater. You already know how difficult is it to deal with fish monsters, right? Besides, the Black Scorpion’s team got destroyed. But the mid-level team Man Man mentioned only needs to kill the monster. Isn't that something not right?"

After Lou Fan said this, everyone felt that as the low-level team, Lou Fan and Qin Tan’s task (during Lao Ye Temple mission world) is indeed not easy. Wen Lang came out of the kitchen and happened to hear the question. With a smug look, he said, "Well, you should ask me."

Qin Tan at the back gave Wen Lang a kick and said, "Just say it."

"Oh." Wen Lang answered honestly, "The task is determined according to the strength of each team member. I believe you all know how smart Lazuli is. After each team is formed, it will issue tasks according to the strength of the team."

"So we are considered stronger?" Lou Fan asked.

Wen Lang made an exaggerated expression, "Brother Lou, are you not sure about your position? You and Brother Qin are very strong, a’ight?" Then he flipped his non-existing bangs and added, "Of course, I’m a very capable member too."

Everyone turned back to do their own thing, and no one paid any attention to Wen Lang. Wen Lang couldn't help but want to whip out his chain whip to express his anger. Lou Fan ignored him and asked everyone to take out their clocks, "Take out the clocks, let me see if they are worth anything."

Everyone’s backpacks are dead heavy, and the clocks poured out to pile up into a hill. Rubbing his hands excitedly, Lou Fan walked to the exchange machine and put a watch on it. Frowning, he changed another clock. Tsk, the Hell?! Lou Fan is so angry that he wanted to smash the pile of clocks; they painstakingly carried them back and this is what he gets?

When the other members saw Lou Fan’s expression, they realized that the clocks might not be as valuable as they thought, so they went over to take a look. A watch is only worth 20 points, while a bigger clock is worth 25 points. It really doesn’t worth much.

Qin Tan: "Fortunately, we have a lot of them."

Lou Fan glanced at Qin Tan, is that a word of consolation? It’s not sincere at all.

"Forget it, divide the clocks equally and take what you like." Lou Fan waved his hand, "You can use it to buy whatever you like!"

Lou Fan didn't give up, and put the whip on the exchange machine again, which finally lived up to his expectations as it is worth several piles of clocks. The weird doll has similar worth so Lou Fan finally smiled and narrowed his eyes. The points that can be exchanged from the wine and handkerchief are slightly higher than the clocks. Unfortunately, exchanging rare equipment items away would be too wasteful. It would be nice if there are equipment available on the exchange machine. Then they won't have to go to great lengths to exchange it with others.

As a newsmonger who only gets his information from the grapevine, Wen Lang has no idea about the exchange of high-level items. It happened that they are going to Tong Fei's party tomorrow, so Lou Fan planned to ask them about this information before releasing the news via the electronic board.

The next day, Lin Man Man and Gong Yi came to Qin Tan to plan a training plan. They are familiar with the training plan set for the first time so this time Qin Tan planned to formulate training related to using weapons. Lin Man Man borrowed points from Lou Fan and exchanged them for a sword as a weapon.

When Lin Man Man and Gong Yi are about to leave, Lou Fan stopped Lin Man Man.

"Man Man, stay here. I have something to trouble you."

Lin Man Man turned back, sat opposite Lou Fan, and asked, "Brother Lou, what's the matter?"

Seeing her nervous look, Lou Fan said with a smile, "It's nothing important, it's just that we are going to a gathering with 3 girls tonight and I want to take you with me. It would be more convenient to have you since the rest of us are guys."

Lou Fan just got reminded of the gathering and then realized that Tong Fei and the other 2 members are all girls. Although they might not mind, Qin Tan’s side is all men. It doesn’t feel very good to go like this so bringing Lin Man Man along would be better.

Jiang Dong chose 2 bottles of wine from the exchange machine while the others didn't need much. In the afternoon, everyone walked to Tong Fei's residence. Tong Fei lived in the southwest area and it’s not too far away so they just went for a walk.

Tong Fei lives on the ground floor, and there are many flowers in the small garden, which are blooming brightly. When the 6 of them arrived, Tong Fei is resting on a reclining chair in the small garden with her eyes closed. Hearing the sound of movement, she opened her eyes and saw them coming. She smiled and said, "Come in, come in." Her tone is casual like she’s greeting an old friend for many years.

The group of 6 people entered the house, and they can see the table is already filled with hot dishes that had just been made. Lou Fan grinned, "Jiang Rou and Xiaoyun's skill is very good, I can have a good time today."

Tong Fei was pouring tea when she heard that. She looked at Lou Fan and asked, "How do you know if I didn't help to make it?"

Lou Fan said as a matter of course, "Looking at your appearance, you are not someone who cooks. It's enough for you to be in charge of being beautiful."

Who doesn't like to listen to praises? Tong Fei is no exception. Seeing Lin Man Man standing beside Lou Fan, she raised her eyebrows, then turned her head to look at Qin Tan.

Lou Fan pulled Lin Man Man over and introduced, "This is Lin Man Man, my sister. I brought her here to introduce you guys."

Tong Fei showed an inexplicable smile, "Man Man, come and sit here. The rest of the guys can sit wherever."

Lou Fan: "..." Isn't this bias too obvious?

But Lou Fan didn’t mind. He sat down and began to ask Tong Fei about the exchange of equipment.

Speaking of serious business, Tong Fei also put away her joking attitude and said, "The probability of exchanging items depends on your luck. There are mainly 2 ways. One is that you have the item you like from the electronic board so you can exchange your item with the seller, but this depends on the seller's requirements. The second is that you are the seller and the person who finds you may be able to come up with something you are interested in. However, if the item has a special purpose (can only be used under certain circumstances), then the quality might not be good. After all, the seller may not have used it before."

Lou Fan fell in silence. He belonged to the category where the seller has never used it, and he has no idea how to use that creepy doll.

Tong Fei’s lips that are painted with auntie’s color lipsticks touched the cup as she took a sip of coffee. She said slowly, "These are all uncontrollable variables so you might as well just check out the board if there is anything you want. If there’s nothing, then you simply post the information of your item and wait for someone to come to exchange it. It's that simple."

That’s right! Why does he need to think so complicated? Since no one knows about the item, he should just depend on his luck and wait for a response. Lou Fan felt relieved and went to see the two girls cook, while the rest played the game console and board games in Tong Fei's house. All in all, it’s not boring at all.

By the time all the dishes are ready, Lou Fan is drooling and he urged everyone to sit down quickly. All the dishes he listed are there, the brightly colored food really whetted his appetite.

"Come on, raise your glass." Tong Fei stood up and raised her glass. She called out, "To celebrate our survival once again, and to wish our next mission a success."

Everyone raised their glasses and toasted, making a crisp tinkling sound.

Qin Tan took a piece of boiled fish and put it in his bowl. After he picked out the bones, he then put it in Lou Fan's bowl. On the other side, Jiang Dong reached out to pick a piece of sweet and sour pork ribs, and Wen Lang's chopsticks are aiming for the same piece too.

"Hey, I saw it first." Wen Lang growled.

Jiang Dong calmly refused to give in, "I picked it first."

Wen Lang clenched his chopsticks, "Mine."

Jiang Dong picked the meat up closer to his bowl, "I just like this one."

Tong Fei smiled and shook the red wine, acting as if she is not looking, but everything is within her sight. Jiang Rou and Wang Xiaoyun grinned and whispered to each other as their eyes swept around.

"Look, look! Remember what I told you!" Wang Xiaoyun is so excited that she fiercely chomped a bite of the chicken leg.

Jiang Rou nodded her head in excitement, "Yes, yes, you are right. I almost cried with excitement."

Lin Man Man approached the two of them blankly and asked mysteriously, "Sister Rou, what are you talking about?"

Jiang Rou glanced at Lin Man Man sideways and showed a wretched smile. She patted her head, "You are too young, I will tell you when you grow up."

Lin Man Man: "..."

After eating, Lou Fan is so full that he is unable to walk and slumped on the sofa to rest. During a chat, the talk about Lin Man Man going into the mission alone comes up and Tong Fei slapped her thigh.

"I just have an idea, but it's just a plan." Tong Fei said, "I’m thinking to organize a women-only team. Man Man, do you want to join me?"

Lin Man Man didn't even think about it, and nodded immediately, "Yes, I want to join Sister Feifei’s team."

Lou Fan raised his eyebrows, "Okay, then I'll leave Man Man to you."

Lin Man Man looked excited, "I will work hard, Brother Lou."

Lou Fan didn't expect going to eat a meal will solve 2 things for him. Lin Man Man is a hardworking girl, and Tong Fei has a good character. Lou Fan felt that if Lin Man Man could follow Tong Fei, the benefit won’t be lesser than following him. Originally, he planned to bring Lin Man Man along with him next time, but now it seems that he doesn't need to do that anymore. After he exchanged away the weird doll, the next task should be almost time.

The next day, Chen Shuyang stayed to train at home while Lou Fan and Qin Tan went to the North Square bazaar. The bazaar is lively, with huge electronic screens scrolling messages for exchange. Lou Fan looked up at the screen for a long time and his neck felt sore but he still didn't see anything he liked.

"Forget it, I have a hard time choosing so let's go to the registration counter." Lou Fan said to Qin Tan who is still watching the board and walked to the registration office by himself.

There are 2 staff at the registration counter. The electronic screens are said to belong to an organization that manages the electronic screens. However, there is a fee to be paid to put up messages on the electronic screen. Also, a part of the fee will be charged if the exchange is successful, which is paid half and half by the 2 parties. As for the fee, one could give points, or with things which the staff will see how many points are worth on the spot. Lou Fan walked up to the counter and bowed his head, showing a smile with a row of gleaming teeth.

One of the staff is a girl, and when she looked up to see Lou Fan, her face turned red. She screamed in excitement a few times in her heart, how could there be such a good-looking young man? Lou Fan’s appearance is between youthful and mature, he is handsome and bright but also has a calm temperament.

The man next to the girl also got stunned for a moment. Suddenly seeing such a good attitude person here, he is a little uncomfortable. Everyone knows whoever came to exchange stuff on the electronic screen is a powerful character. Hence, those people always wear a look that said ‘I am a bigshot, don't mess with me’. Who would have such a smile on their faces?

Both of the staff stayed stunned until Lou Fan asked again, "I want to register for an exchange, how do you charge?"

The man coughed lightly, and the girl came back to her senses. With a smile on her face, her attitude is very friendly, "Hello, what do you want to register? Is it information exchange or item exchange?"

"It's an item exchange."

The girl took out a form and said, "Then, fill in the information first and briefly describe the item here. The registration fee for item exchange is 20 points."