Just as Gan Lan was about to scream, the little girl standing in front of her suddenly spoke up.
"What took you so long? I’ve been cleaning up all by myself for ages! This place is super scary!" Shrimp said to Gan Lan, her hands on her hips and her cheeks puffed out in anger.
Gan Lan was left speechless. That had scared her half to death.
However, looking at Shrimp, who was even shorter than she was, she finally felt a bit of comfort. Even though she drank nutrient supplements every day, they didn’t seem to have much effect anymore. After drinking them for so long, aside from the initial two centimeters, she had only grown a total of three centimeters.
"I’ve been waiting outside for a long time. When I didn’t see you, I thought you hadn’t arrived yet," Gan Lan said, clutching her suitcase with an innocent expression.
"Well, alright then. I forgive you. Come inside with me!" Shrimp bounced along, leading the way. Her behavior on the way in—screaming while simultaneously kicking away various crawling bugs—was truly a sight to behold.
This instantly washed away Gan Lan’s initial fear. Now, she even felt the urge to laugh.
Once inside, Shrimp turned on the lights. They flickered on for a brief moment before immediately going out, plunging them back into darkness.
"Ah! What is this rundown place? What kind of garbage lights are these? Since the day I was born, this is the first time I’ve ever seen such a dilapidated dump. I’m going to die of anger!" Shrimp kicked away another Ugly Shrimp. Gan Lan’s eyelids twitched at the sight.
"Partner, hurry up and buy some fluorescent lights, bug repellent spray, and daily necessities," Shrimp urged her.
Gan Lan didn’t want to buy anything. She only had ten thousand Credit Points, which she needed for seasonings and spices. If she spent it all now, what would she use to cook the Ugly Shrimp?
But looking out at the pitch-black night, where she couldn’t even see her own fingers, she reluctantly turned on her Light Brain. She browsed the Star Network and picked the cheapest fluorescent light available for twenty Credit Points. According to the reviews, it only malfunctioned occasionally, but given the low price, it was a steal.
She ordered two immediately. Then, pinching pennies, she bought a bottle of repellent spray. Such a tiny bottle cost a whopping one hundred Credit Points! It was a complete ripoff. After checking the maximum area one bottle could cover, she gritted her teeth and bought two more. She had no choice; she was opening a shop, after all. Having Ugly Shrimp and various crawling bugs running around would be disastrous.
She also bought a few bottles of stain remover, as the walls looked incredibly dirty.
After purchasing all the necessary items, her ten thousand Credit Points had dwindled to eight thousand. And that was with her specifically choosing the cheapest options. Her heart ached so much she could barely breathe.
Gan Lan and Shrimp waited in the darkness for a while. Neither of them spoke. The only sound was a faint RUSTLE, adding a creepy effect to the pitch-black night.
Before long, footsteps approached. Shrimp jumped up faster than Gan Lan. "I’ll go get the delivery. Wait here!"
Gan Lan rubbed the goosebumps on her arms. Just then, an unknown creature crawled across her instep, followed by another one that stopped right on top of her foot and stayed there...
Her heart leaped. She opened her mouth to scream, but before the sound could escape, her leg acted on its own. She kicked frantically, trying to shake off whatever was on her foot. Once she managed to fling it away, she bolted outside, not even bothering to grab her luggage.
She was usually quite brave, but the gloomy environment and the strange crawling bugs kept her nerves tightly strung. She felt absolutely terrible right now.
She ran and shouted, "Shrimp! Where are you!?"
Her sharp eyes caught Shrimp’s silhouette. Without a second thought, she threw herself into the girl’s arms, hugging her tightly.
Shrimp, who was carrying the delivery box, was hit by the sudden weight and nearly fell over. Unable to even stand steady, Shrimp desperately tried to pry Gan Lan off her, but Gan Lan was clinging on for dear life.
"Damn it! You’re way too heavy! Get off me!"
After finally being pried loose, Gan Lan smiled awkwardly. "I thought you got lost, so I came out to check, just to check..."
Shrimp snorted. She had never seen such a coward.
Feeling embarrassed, Gan Lan smiled apologetically and reached for the delivery box in Shrimp’s hands, offering eagerly, "Let me help you carry that. It’s too heavy!"
"No need, you weakling!" Shrimp dodged Gan Lan’s hands with a look of disgust. Saying this, she ignored Gan Lan and walked back into the shop on her own.
Gan Lan didn’t feel like talking anymore, either. Her recent actions reminded her of the time she had clung to Professor Ye’s thigh, crying and begging to borrow money. It was still a little shameful to think about.
But the first time is the hardest, and the second time is a breeze. She had already clung to someone before, so as long as she didn’t feel awkward, everyone else would be the awkward ones. Besides, she wasn’t heavy at all!
Once Shrimp installed the fluorescent lights, the whole room lit up, revealing a chaotic mess that was hard to look at. They sprayed the repellent, and once all the Ugly Shrimp and bugs had scurried outside, Gan Lan hurried to shut the doors and windows to keep them from coming back in.
Then came the cleaning. She really missed her auto-cleaning house. When everything was finally done, Gan Lan looked at the somewhat clean room and collapsed onto her sleeping bag. Yes, a sleeping bag. Anything else was too expensive to afford. She would just have to make do with it for a few days. Once she made some money, she would buy a bed.
She felt like she had instantly returned to square one. No, she had regressed from square one. Things had become even more miserable.
She looked around the empty room and then at Shrimp, who was sitting off to the side, powered down. To save the energy box, Gan Lan had discussed turning her off for the time being. Otherwise, there was simply no money to pay for high-grade energy.
Even though she was exhausted and starving, Gan Lan chose to sleep first and find something to eat when she woke up tomorrow. She had brought instant noodles, but with only a few packets left, she couldn’t bear to eat them right away.
She slept terribly. The environment was unfamiliar, and the sleeping bag was uncomfortable. As she slept, she kept feeling as if something was crawling over her, causing her to jolt awake suddenly. She would clutch her stomach, close her eyes, and drift back into a groggy, half-awake state. It was utterly miserable.
As the sky just began to lighten, Gan Lan struggled to get up. She was simply too hungry, and there was still a lot to do today. She needed to clean the storefront and organize the kitchen. But the most important thing right now was to make a bowl of instant noodles. She couldn’t stand the hunger any longer.
While sitting and waiting for the noodles to cook, Gan Lan felt like she was forgetting something. Her head was foggy, and she just couldn’t put her finger on it.
She brushed the thought aside and dug into her food. SLURP, SLURP. After finally getting something in her belly, it hit her—she had forgotten about Shrimp! The robot was still sitting in the room like a wooden dummy.
She hurriedly turned Shrimp’s switch back on. When Shrimp opened her eyes, Gan Lan asked casually, "Want some noodles?"
Shrimp rolled her eyes and stretched, her body letting out a mechanical CLACK CLACK sound. It was rather eerie.
She had only been here for a few hours, but Gan Lan had already lost count of how many times she had been thoroughly creeped out. Her poor heart couldn’t take much more of this.
"I’ll pass. I don’t eat human food. Just remember to replenish my high-grade energy. I only have enough left for one week. If you don’t start making money, you won’t even have your one and only helper." Shrimp stood up, not even glancing at Gan Lan’s bowl of instant noodles. "I’m going to start cleaning. Hurry up and finish eating!"
Gan Lan was speechless again. Why were all the robots she met like this? Aside from not eating food, Shrimp’s mannerisms and expressions were exactly like Gulu’s. Could they share the same creator? Still, Shrimp was much better than Gulu; at least she actually took the initiative to help with the cleaning.