Wu Jun and Xu Minli went back and forth, but the gist was the same: they weren’t comfortable with Xu Fei, a young woman, renting a place on her own.
Xu Minli said, "Feifei, you’re your dad’s only daughter. He entrusted you to me. If anything were to happen to you, how could I ever face your father?"
Wu Jun said, "Xu Fei, if you really feel awkward living with me, then we’ll just do as I said before. I’ll move out."
Xu Fei looked at her aunt, then at Wu Jun. She could hear the genuine concern for her in their words.
In the end, Xu Fei couldn’t hold out against their relentless persuasion and agreed to move into the small supermarket. Blushing, she said, "Then I’ll have to impose on you, Wu Jun."
Wu Jun said, "It’s no trouble at all."
"Then I’ll leave her to you, Wu Jun," Xu Minli said with a cheerful laugh. "I’m entrusting Feifei to you. You two... get to know each other well."
Hearing her aunt’s words, Xu Fei’s face turned even redder, and she couldn’t even bring herself to look Wu Jun in the eye.
"Don’t you worry, we..." Wu Jun trailed off, choking on his words. ’What did she mean, "get to know each other well"? It sounded like she was telling us to start dating.’
The three of them chatted for a few more minutes before Wu Jun went upstairs to help Xu Fei with her luggage. Xu Fei hadn’t been in town for long, so all her belongings fit into a single suitcase. That very night, she moved into the supermarket.
Wu Jun’s small supermarket was part of a unit with a three-bedroom, one-living-room, two-bathroom layout. At 120 square meters, it was almost twice the size of Xu Minli’s place.
Even though the rooms were filled with merchandise and shelving, it was still much more spacious for two people than Xu Minli’s 70-square-meter apartment.
Wu Jun gave her his large bed, moving his own bedding into the room used for general merchandise. He planned to make do with a makeshift bed on the floor for the night.
By the time they finished getting everything settled, it was already past ten o’clock. Wu Jun and Xu Fei walked Xu Minli out of the supermarket.
"You two get to bed early. You wake up so early every day, so be sure to get some rest. I’m heading up now." Xu Minli waved to them and turned toward the elevator bank.
Wu Jun: "..."
Xu Fei: "..."
’Why did "you two get to bed early" sound so awkward?’
After seeing Xu Minli off, Wu Jun and Xu Fei went back inside. Wu Jun, bringing up the rear, locked the supermarket door with a CLICK.
Hearing the sound of the door locking, Xu Fei’s heart couldn’t help but pound. ’This is the first time I’ve ever lived with a guy... And it’s Wu Jun, the man I like so much.’
"What’s wrong, Xu Fei? Still getting used to things?" After locking the door, Wu Jun turned to see her standing frozen in front of the checkout counter. He smiled and said, "You’ll get used to it in a few days. It’s always a little strange being in a new environment at first."
"Yeah, I’m still getting used to it," Xu Fei said, her face flushing. "Wu Jun, I’m going to head to my room. You get some sleep soon, too." She then walked toward the bedroom Wu Jun had given her.
After seeing Xu Fei go into her room and lock the door, Wu Jun turned and entered the spare bedroom where the general merchandise was stored.
Once inside, he laid out his bedding and lay down.
’I’m used to sleeping on a bed that cost thousands, so sleeping on the floor feels a little weird. But I’ll get used to it. Can’t let a delicate girl like Xu Fei sleep on the floor!’
Lying there until 11:50 PM, Wu Jun suddenly jolted up from his spot on the floor.
’The Resource Guardian mission starts at midnight tonight. Even though there’s nothing I can do to help and watching will just make me anxious, I won’t be able to rest easy if I don’t.’
’Imagine falling asleep, only to wake up and find the game has been unbound from me, sending me right back to square one. Who could possibly stand that?’
He pulled out the phone bound to Resource Tycoon, unlocked it with his fingerprint, and opened the game.
In the game, 38 Farmers had gathered around the small thatched hut labeled "Main City," standing in grim formation.
The last time, the lineup was 10 versus 10. The Farmer faction was crushed, and the Main City nearly fell.
According to Xiao Hong, tonight’s mission was against the same wave of beasts as last time; the next wave wouldn’t spawn until this one was eliminated. Tonight was the night to settle the score.
This time, the battle lineup was 38 versus 9. They had an absolute numerical advantage, making their odds of victory much greater than before.
Considering their "impressive" performance last time—losing nine to kill one—Wu Jun was still uneasy. He steeled his resolve and dumped the entire 200,000 he had made selling rice over the last two days into the game.
After exchanging the money for Game Coins, he recruited another 20 Farmers, changing the lineup to 58 versus 9.
As soon as it struck midnight, several beasts shot out from off-screen and began attacking the Main City. The 58 Farmers launched a counterattack, swinging their hoes and pickaxes as they engaged in a melee around the city.
The game screen didn’t show the brutality of the fight, only the constantly dwindling numbers on both sides. Wu Jun, sprawled on his bedding, grew more and more anxious as he watched, completely unable to intervene.
At this stage, the Main City’s level was too low. There were no walls, and he couldn’t purchase any defensive structures. He could only rely on the Farmers to fight hand-to-hand. The battle lasted for an hour. At 1:00 AM, the outcome was revealed.
Wu Jun glanced at the in-game battle report: All 9 enemy [Wasteland Wolves] eliminated. Friendly losses: 35 Farmers.
In just one hour, he had lost 350,000. All the money he had earned in the last few days was gone. Wu Jun’s heart ached at the sight. ’This game is a fucking money pit!’
Two messages popped up in the game:
[Congratulations, City Lord Wu Jun! Your Resource Guardian mission was a success. You will now receive a reward.]
[Congratulations, City Lord Wu Jun! You have acquired one mu of Rare-Quality Paddy Field.]
Seeing the reward of one mu of Rare-Quality Paddy Field, Wu Jun felt a surge of anticipation.
’The rice from the normal paddy fields in the game is already OP enough to crush any other rice on the market. How heaven-defying will the rice from a Rare-quality field be?!’
’Whether spending that 350,000 was worth it will only be revealed after tomorrow night’s harvest. No point in worrying about it now.’
After checking the rewards, Wu Jun tapped the screen to open his in-game personal information.
[Resource Tycoon]
Bound User: Wu Jun, Male, 27 years old.
Current Main City Level: 1.
Current Population Capacity: 100.
Current Resources: 38 mu of Normal-Quality Paddy Fields, 1 mu of Rare-Quality Paddy Field.
Current Product: Rice.
Current Production: 23 tons of rice/day.
Current Population: 23 Farmers. (Summonable)
Account Balance: 0 Gold Coins.
Inventory: 67 tons of Normal-Quality Rice. (Withdrawable)
Although he still had 38 mu of paddy fields in the game, with only 23 Farmers remaining, his daily output was just 23 tons.
Wu Jun had already sunk all his cash into the game, so he couldn’t afford to recruit any more Farmers. He’d just have to make do for now.
At the same time, Wu Jun resolved that upgrading the game was imperative. Otherwise, he would keep losing over 300,000 every week. He’d just be pouring all his earnings back into the game, working his tail off for nothing.
In-game matters had settled down for the time being. With a week to go until the next mission, he could finally have some peace.
Wu Jun glanced at his watch. Another hour had passed without him realizing it. It was now a few minutes past 2:00 AM.
He put away the phone bound to Resource Tycoon, pulled the covers over himself, and went to sleep.
All night, Wu Jun dreamed of upgrading the game.
’Upgrade the Main City, buy defensive structures, and slaughter those damn wolves that caused him such heavy losses!’