The special shop, huh. Completely different from the stores in the Nirvana Space, what it sells are choices. These choices don't enhance a player's strength, but they grant a certain degree of freedom and hope.
Mu Anqi didn't spend anything there for now. She wasn't very interested in mysticism or knowledge that transcended her original world. Things like magic or spiritual energy were too far removed from her, and dimensional travel wasn't something she could use yet either.
Better to draw a skill. If she could max out her passive that earned points as soon as possible, then maybe one day an S-clear could yield ten thousand points. Or if VIP discounts could go as low as 10%, that'd be nice too.
Thinking so, Mu Anqi spent 200 points to draw a skill.
[Ding! Congratulations on obtaining the skill: Money Makes the Ghosts Go Round! Detected that player already possesses the skill; skill "Money Makes the Ghosts Go Round" has been automatically upgraded.]
[Money Makes the Ghosts Go Round]: Allows full-time employment of creatures from the escape world. Wages can be paid in installments. (The employment amount is determined by the other party's willingness.)
This… does it mean she can directly rope ghosts over to her side? Mu Anqi looked at the description that said "determined by the other party's willingness," and couldn't help feeling that this skill saw right through her habit of threatening ghosts with force to make them give 100% effort for just one guansi of pay.
Speaking of which, ever since she got rich and well-equipped, she'd rarely needed to spend guansi to bribe ghosts anymore. As for using points to bribe other players, she hadn't done that even once…
Mainly because that skill was a limited-use one, always giving off a kind of "don't use it casually" feeling. But actually, if she did use it, it would probably be pretty handy, like during that fight with the pharmacist before, she could've spent 1 point to make him stop chasing her. The pharmacist probably wouldn't have liked it, but it would've distracted him!
She needed to go restock some items first. She'd used quite a few regular bullets this time, even though their attack power wasn't great, they worked fine against normal players. The best thing was that they were cheap and plentiful, 100 bullets for just 5 points!
Thinking this, Mu Anqi, who had switched to a rifle, happily bought 10 normal bullet cards. For the demon bullets, she bought 10 cards; for the ghost bullets, 30 cards, in preparation for the next Black Mirror Vortex. The arc grenades were very useful, she decided to restock two more. As for the artificial mini-suns, she'd better get five of those too.
After buying all sorts of miscellaneous items, the total came to 644 points after discount. Mu Anqi didn't look any further, the stuff in this shop was expensive. Ever since she switched to a rifle, she'd been consuming bullet cards one after another, and the accumulated cost of those cards alone had become a big expense. She was, after all, someone who needed to save up points to take the General on a trip. As long as she could safely clear games, she didn't need to buy too many items.
General Ji's level breakthrough required stability, and Mu Anqi felt that the General probably hadn't expected this game to end so soon. If the game had lasted the usual seven days… General Ji should have had enough time to come pick her up. But now, because the players had been acting so inhumanly, the game ended early, and the General's schedule was thrown off.
Mu Anqi felt a bit worried for her, but the voice of the General in her heart instead comforted her, telling her not to worry. Mu Anqi sighed, thought about it, and decided to spend one night in the Nirvana Space to give the General enough time to adjust her abilities. Spending 3.5 points on a meal, Mu Anqi took a long-overdue shower in the Nirvana Space, changed into her pajamas, and had a proper night's rest.
When morning came, she got up, washed, changed into sportswear, cleaned out the items in her storage ring, and only then, after informing Ji Huaichu in her heart, teleported over.
When Mu Anqi saw General Ji at the city gate, she suddenly felt that their relationship… was really a case of "long separations and short reunions." Not only that, even when they were together, most of their time was spent training!
Mu Anqi couldn't tell if it was her problem or the General's. Neither of them had much experience in romance, and they didn't really have any suitable examples to learn from. As for Zhao Guoguo and Si Suying… Mu Anqi had observed them. They still seemed to be in that ambiguous stage, the Schrödinger's "in a relationship" state. Calling them intimate didn't quite fit, they barely had any physical contact, hadn't even stolen a kiss while the other was asleep, and rarely even held hands. But saying they weren't close… well, their eyes told a very different story.
So, Mu Anqi hadn't tried asking Zhao Guoguo and Si Suying for dating advice. Compared to them, she actually felt that her progress with General Ji was pretty good.
"General?" Mu Anqi walked over, carefully observing Ji Huaichu's expression… it didn't seem any different from usual. "Was the promotion dangerous?"
"Not dangerous." Ji Huaichu took Mu Anqi's hand. "I've already purged plenty of Black Mirror vortexes and absorbed quite a lot of yin energy. This breakthrough just followed naturally."
It was just that breakthroughs on the Shattered Mirror Continent always attracted tribulation lightning, and that lightning was especially powerful against Taiyin-type ghosts. So yes, there was some danger. But the powerful ghosts who came out of the Black Mirror vortexes had already died once before; for them to become stronger was naturally more difficult than for the "natives" of the Underworld's shattered mirrors. Crossing the tribulation inside a vortex saved time and avoided interference, it was the most convenient option. Ji Huaichu simply didn't want to mention all this to Mu Anqi and make her worry.
Mu Anqi held Ji Huaichu's fingertips, carefully examining her, and only when she confirmed that the General was really fine did she believe it. "Then… next game, General, you'll take me with you?"
"Alright. I'll keep an eye out for the next Black Mirror vortex that appears."
"It doesn't have to be too easy either. I'm not who I used to be!" Mu Anqi thought of the Black Mirror vortex instance she'd once cleared under Ji Huaichu's lead, if it were her current self… with ample ammunition and overwhelming firepower, she could purify that whole bunch of ghosts directly. Storyline? She could clear it with or without one.
"We'll have to rely on luck for that." Ji Huaichu smiled helplessly. The appearance and formation of Black Mirror vortexes were completely random, no one could control them. As for the high-difficulty ones… they existed, but were rare. "This time, I miscalculated the timing and couldn't come pick you up. I'm sorry."
"I'm not a kid who needs to be picked up and dropped off," Mu Anqi waved her hand, not minding it at all. She looked in the direction Ji Huaichu was walking, it seemed she was planning to take her to Mu Xiaobai's place? "Are we… going to see Mu Xiaobai?"
"Mm. She's made a lot of cream cakes lately. You must miss her too, right?"
Mu Anqi blinked, feeling a faint pang of guilt, she didn't miss Mu Xiaobai, and after hearing what the General said, she didn't even want cream cake. What she wanted was pickled fish, boiled meat slices, spicy chicken…
She wanted hotpot. Spicy broth with sesame oil dip! She hadn't eaten spicy food in so long! Back in that tomb apartment, she'd been living off instant noodles every day!
Her mouth started watering a bit too much… Mu Anqi muttered softly, "General, I want hotpot. Real food."
"Then let's go eat."
The two of them knocked on Mu Xiaobai's door. Little Xia Fenghua, with cream at the corner of her mouth, came running excitedly to open it—only to come face-to-face with the expressionless Ji Huaichu.
Xia Fenghua: "…I've already finished my work!" She hadn't skipped her shift, and she definitely wasn't slacking off! She was a qualified employee!
Ji Huaichu gave her a calm glance. "I know. By the way, keep an eye out for any recent news about Black Mirror vortexes."
"Ah—yes!" Little Xia Fenghua answered seriously, watching Ji Huaichu walk inside.
"You've got cream on your mouth," Mu Anqi reminded her, quickly following after. As soon as she entered, she saw Mu Xiaobai holding a fork to her lips, and the small piece of cake somehow passed straight through the white paper and disappeared. That way of eating was something Mu Anqi had only ever seen in anime—but it wasn't her first time seeing Mu Xiaobai do it, so she wasn't too surprised. "Xiaobai! I want to eat hotpot, is that okay?"
"Sure." Mu Xiaobai agreed quickly. "I've stocked up on plenty of hotpot base—it's homemade. There are also lots of ingredients in the freezer. Before we start, would you like some fruit?" The hotpot base and ingredients had been prepared especially for Mu Anqi; after all, Mu Anqi often came over for meals, and Mu Xiaobai knew her tastes perfectly. She'd also stocked up on fruit for making her cakes.
Ever since Mu Xiaobai had become General Ji's exclusive cake supplier, the house had been remodeled once. With the help of ghosts possessing special abilities, led by Xia Fenghua, the kitchen area had been expanded to twice its original size—enough to fit two extra freezers and add a storage room.
"I can handle it myself." Mu Anqi didn't have the heart to let Mu Xiaobai run around taking care of everything. She took a bunch of grapes from the freezer and washed them, then cut up a pineapple. After placing the overflowing fruit platter on the table, Mu Anqi opened the fridge, took out a cream cupcake, and set it on a plate with a fork before placing it in front of Ji Huaichu.
Just as she was about to help with the rest of the ingredients, little Xia Fenghua caught the General's look and immediately stopped Mu Anqi. "You go sit with the General. I'll help instead."
"…Uh, but the pot's pretty big. Wouldn't it be hard for you to carry it?"
"?" Xia Fenghua's eyes widened. What did that mean? Was Mu Anqi saying she was short?! But with General Ji right there, Xia Fenghua paused for a moment and said helplessly, "I really can do it…"
In that short moment, Mu Xiaobai had already briskly brought out the hotpot and the induction cooker together, then poured in the boiled water. "It'll be ready soon, no need to trouble yourselves."
Ugh… in Mu Anqi's eyes, Xiaobai's image as an angel grew even more solid. She had never encountered another vortex creature in any Black Mirror world who combined so much cuteness, innocence, virtue, and thoughtfulness all in one! And with Mu Xiaobai's learning ability, she could even add "versatile" to the list.
Preparing the ingredients was simple, hotpot staples like fatty beef, meatballs, and shrimp paste were taken straight from the fridge. Mu Xiaobai washed some lettuce and napa cabbage, sliced tofu, soaked bean curd sticks, and finally arranged thinly sliced beef on a plate filled with ice cubes before bringing it to the table.
When the hotpot base came to a full boil, the fiery red oil roiling in the pot and occasionally releasing bursts of spice and chili aroma, all the dishes for the meal were already set on the table.
Mu Xiaobai turned back to the kitchen to chop up minced garlic and green onions. Mu Anqi followed, bringing out four sets of clean bowls and chopsticks. She quickly mixed up the dipping sauces, poured in some sesame oil, and with a grand wave of her hand, dumped half a box of fatty beef straight into the pot. Smelling the aroma of the hotpot, Mu Anqi swallowed hard, hotpot, the eternal god of food!
General Ji didn't seem particularly interested in hotpot. She slowly finished her cream cupcake, tossed the plate and fork into the trash, then took an empty bowl, added a symbolic bit of minced garlic, scallions, and sesame oil, picked up a slice of fatty beef, and ate it—
"Cough, cough!"