MS Chapter 27

Since entering the game has already been discovered by Zhong Liyu, Lu Qingjia no longer limited his activities to a small area.

This week, he took a day off to drive to the main city to hang out with Fatty.

After Fatty returned from his place, he was immediately set up for ten rounds of blind dates by his aunts and uncles.

When he saw Lu Qingjia, he burst into tears: “Bro, you had the foresight to get into a relationship early, so you didn’t have to deal with all this nonsense later.”

Lu Qingjia picked up a piece of boiled fish. This was a place he and Fatty often came to during college; the fish slices were tender, spicy, and flavorful, and they basically came here once a week.

Having avoided that idiot Zhong Ye for quite a while, he was now ravenous.

Lu Qingjia dipped the fish slices in the oil dip, which was fragrant, made with the restaurant’s secret spicy sauce and fermented black beans, and added some chopped scallions, celery, or cilantro according to personal taste, sprinkled with crispy fried peanuts and yellow beans, and drizzled a spoonful of spicy oil from the fish soup on top. It was truly unforgettable.

Enjoying his meal, Lu Qingjia smiled at Fatty and said, “Come on, since you’re treating, it’s only fair I listen to a few of your complaints.”

Fatty replied, “…Fine, let’s just say I feel sorry for you for not having any meat for so long.”

Then Fatty rambled on: “Oh my god, what kind of people do the women in my family know?”

“Look at the girls we usually know; just pull one out, and they’re all cute and interesting. Even if they’re a bit hot-tempered, they’re still generous and have their own merits.”

“Honestly, I came back full of confidence to find my springtime. To me, there’s no girl who isn’t cute. I have a broad aesthetic; I like all styles.”

“But do you know what kind of people my mom introduced?” Fatty raised a finger: “The first one sat down and immediately asked for a 500,000 yuan betrothal gift with no dowry, and after chatting for a bit, she cried about her family’s difficulties and asked me to help support her brother’s education and housing. While eating, her boyfriend came over wanting to beat me up—wait, girl, you already have a boyfriend, why are you here on a blind date?”

“Let’s not even get started on that; the worst was when I ended up with a gold digger. Are all the unreliable women in the world in my mom’s hands?”

Fatty said with lingering fear, “I’m really scared now. I’m done with this; don’t even think about setting me up on a blind date for a year—no, two years.”

Lu Qingjia looked at Fatty. This guy wasn’t even fat anymore; to be honest, Fatty had never been hard on the eyes.

He was chubby and cute as a child, and as he grew up, he didn’t seem greasy at all. He had good features, and if he lost some weight, he would naturally be a handsome young man. He was kind and sincere, and even though he could be a bit clueless, finding a partner wouldn’t be difficult.

After listening to Fatty complain for half a day, Lu Qingjia finally stood up when Fatty accused him, “Bro, you’re so miserable, yet you’re eating so well. Are you just using me as your side dish?”

Fatty, seeing him stand up, asked in confusion, “What are you doing? Not eating anymore? I was just joking; eat a bit more!”

Lu Qingjia walked over to a single table where a beautiful girl in a white shirt and black skirt, with a work badge around her neck, was sitting.

He gently tapped the table to get her attention. When she looked up and saw a strikingly handsome guy, her annoyance at being interrupted while eating vanished.

Lu Qingjia pointed in Fatty’s direction and said to the girl, “My friend has noticed you for a long time. He says you’re beautiful and have a unique charm; he couldn’t take his eyes off you when you walked in.”

“He’s just really shy and doesn’t know how to talk to girls. Would you give him a chance to get to know you? If you agree, we can exchange WeChat.”

The girl looked over and indeed saw a handsome young man sitting there. Although he wasn’t as dazzling as the one in front of her, she was self-aware enough to know that this level of attractiveness was not something she could easily handle. However, that young man fit her expectations for a partner quite well.

Plus, the way the handsome guy spoke was very pleasant; he praised her charm without focusing on her looks, which didn’t come off as frivolous. He also hinted that he hadn’t had a girlfriend before, suggesting a gradual understanding without any signs of impatience that some guys with good looks often displayed.

The girl, who was more on the conservative side, couldn’t help but feel moved and shyly nodded, adding Lu Qingjia on WeChat. Then Lu Qingjia handed the phone over to Fatty.

Until the girl gracefully left the restaurant, Fatty was still in a daze from this good fortune.

Then he pounced on Lu Qingjia’s leg like a tiger: “Dad! Your son’s lifelong happiness depends on you now.”

Saying this, he excitedly started sending friend requests on WeChat, and when the other side didn’t accept immediately, it was probably due to the girl’s modesty, but Fatty didn’t care.

He grinned from ear to ear, excitedly saying, “I told you, you really have a way with girls; no one around here can deny it.”

“Is it that you find girls too easy, so you go for guys instead?”

He nodded to himself, “Don’t say I’m wrong; you really can pull off something like this.”

“Hey! Was that guy who chased you down back then because you played with his feelings?”

Fatty kept rambling, not noticing that Lu Qingjia’s expression changed as he looked in a certain direction, and he simply tossed out, “I’m going to the restroom.”

Then he turned and disappeared.

“Hey, you—” Fatty was puzzled as to why he was acting like he was being chased by a dog, and when he turned around, he saw the guy who had smashed into his house before.

That guy still exuded a strong presence. In a mall filled with people, anyone passing by couldn’t help but be drawn to him.

Some young girls even gasped in admiration, quickly pulling out their phones to take pictures, only to find that no matter how they shot, the images came out blurry.

The guy was dressed meticulously, every detail polished; as a man, Fatty was sure he had groomed himself before leaving.

He was practically glowing.

Seeing the guy approach, Fatty felt it would be rude to pretend not to see him, so he awkwardly smiled, “What a coincidence.”

Zhong Liyu didn’t have a deep impression of Fatty; he only realized that to investigate how Lu Qingjia managed to enter the game under such circumstances, everything traced back to this guy.

Having just seen his profile photo, he could easily recognize him.

He nodded, “Not a coincidence; I’m here looking for Lu Qingjia.”

Fatty shivered: “Hey, didn’t you two break up cleanly? You can’t be thinking of coming back to stir things up after two or three years, right?”

Zhong Liyu choked: “Where did he go? He was just here.”

Fatty immediately understood; no wonder Jia Jia had just run off like a dog being chased, so he covered for him: “He probably went out. He said it was stuffy in the mall, so he probably went back first.”

Zhong Liyu scoffed, “Do I look like someone who can be fooled by anyone?”

After closing his eyes to sense for a moment, he quickly locked onto Lu Qingjia in the densely populated mall: “He actually went to hide in the restroom.”

Zhong Liyu hurried over, but Fatty pulled him back, looking horrified: “This is a public place; don’t do anything reckless!”

Zhong Liyu felt that Lu Qingjia was so smart, yet he liked to hang out with idiots: “What nonsense are you talking about?”

“Don’t treat me like a fool,” Fatty said. “Your expression looks like you’re going to do something to him, and you’re calling me nonsense?”

Zhong Liyu’s face turned red: “You’re talking nonsense; it’s not like that—”

Before he could finish, his expression changed, and he immediately realized what Lu Qingjia was about to do.

It was clear he was trying to hide from the game. Although even if he went into the game, he would be back in reality in two seconds.

But what if that guy used this time to come up with some decision? Zhong Liyu decided to take the initiative, so he didn’t argue with Fatty and immediately entered the restroom.

Without thinking, he jumped into a stall, only to find it already empty.

Lu Qingjia finally breathed a sigh of relief once he confirmed he had entered the game.

It was clear he shouldn’t have held any hopes; that idiot really came straight over.

To be honest, Lu Qingjia considered himself not an escapist; he faced challenges head-on in everything, but he just didn’t know how to deal with that idiot.

At this moment, the horror game popped up gleefully: “Hahaha, as expected, karma is a real thing; one thing brings down another.”

Lu Qingjia sneered: “I can’t take credit for that. Compared to some pathetic main gods who turn into little cats and dogs for benefits, I can only consider this a small matter.”

The horror game couldn’t hold its face: “Don’t go too far; if I hadn’t pulled you back earlier, you would have been done for by now, I’m telling you.”

Lu Qingjia: “So, I was being merciful, just stating facts without adding personal opinions; otherwise, you would have already been on some sedatives.”

Horror game: “…”

It was bullied enough; it might as well leave!

After driving away the main god, Lu Qingjia began to assess his surroundings.

This time, not all players were confirmed at once. Lu Qingjia found himself standing on a street, wearing a cheap work uniform, a white shirt and black pants, holding a stack of flyers, standing at the entrance of a busy square.

He glanced at the information on the flyer: [XX Beauty, European-style double eyelids, self-fat breast augmentation, special discount liposuction…].

This was a common type of small advertisement on the market. Looking at the cheap paper of the flyer and the unusually low prices listed, it was clear it wasn’t a legitimate cosmetic surgery hospital.

Perhaps because he looked good, even without actively handing out flyers, many girls still came up to take the things from his hands, and a few female students even approached him to chat, emboldened by the crowd.

“Hey, are you handing out flyers? Do you want us to help?”

“It’s fine; we’re just idle anyway. Let’s add each other on WeChat?”

Lu Qingjia smiled: “No need; these are just waste paper, not worth anyone’s attention. If you really want to help, could you throw them in the trash for me?”

The girls probably didn’t expect him to be so straightforward. Just as they were about to throw them away, a man suddenly rushed out—

“Hey, what are you doing? You can’t even speak when you’re supposed to be selling; you can’t even hand out a flyer properly? What a waste of a good face.”

This was a man in his thirties, slightly chubby, with thick hair slicked back with gel, shiny enough that an ant would slip off.

From the work badge on him, he was likely a manager in this activity area, as Lu Qingjia saw several others nearby handing out the same flyers.

After scolding Lu Qingjia, the man immediately turned to the girls with a smile: “Ladies, our company has recently launched various promotional activities. Would you be interested in learning more?”

The girls weren’t interested in that; they just wanted to flirt with the handsome guy.

The man was shrewd; seeing this, he said, “If you’re not interested, that’s fine. You can still learn about it. Our company is nearby, and if you go to learn more, we offer free skin assessments. Just register his employee number, and it counts as helping him complete his task.”

Saying this, he turned to Lu Qingjia: “Xiao Lu, take a few of these beauties with you.”

With that, the girls were willing, and a group left the square, winding into an alley behind a commercial building, walking for about ten minutes.

Thanks to Lu Qingjia leading the way, otherwise, the girls would have lost patience with such a long walk.

Finally, they stopped outside a building that looked quite decent. It was only five or six stories tall, clean and tidy on the outside, with a well-designed advertisement.

[XX Cosmetic Surgery Hospital] looked reasonably scaled from the outside, quiet amidst the hustle and bustle, giving a sense of professionalism.

Upon entering the lobby, two beautifully made-up receptionists greeted them.

After registering their names, the girls were taken to different consultation rooms. They might have felt a bit uneasy, but at this point, they were completely being led by the nose.

The man brought the customers in and urged Lu Qingjia to return to the square to continue attracting customers.

Lu Qingjia excused himself to go to the restroom. Although the man was dissatisfied, he had no choice but to go back first.

After the man left, Lu Qingjia nodded to one of the receptionists, as he could clearly sense that she was a player.

That receptionist exchanged a few words with her colleague and then came out, avoiding the crowded areas for a brief meeting.

The decor of this cosmetic hospital was quite nice, with a simple white tone, clean and flawless seating and decorations, subtly suggesting cleanliness and professionalism to the incoming clients.

There was even a garden behind the hospital, but its style differed significantly from the interior; the garden had a retro Chinese style, and in the middle, there was a well that looked just like the one from “The Ring.”

Lu Qingjia probably didn’t know much more about this place than the girls who had just been tricked into coming here, so he took out his phone to search for specific information.

He found that it had only opened in the last two years, but judging by the age of the building, although the interior was newly decorated and the exterior tiles hadn’t aged, it was clear from the structure and surrounding buildings that this place definitely wasn’t newly built.

However, he couldn’t find any information online about the previous identity of this building, even though it was obvious that the main structure couldn’t have been a residential area.

As Lu Qingjia was browsing the reviews of this hospital online, the receptionist approached him: “Let me introduce myself; my name is Yang Qian.”

“Lu Qingjia.”

“The instance task hasn’t been issued yet, but it should definitely be in this hospital because besides you, I’ve already confirmed three players,” Yang Qian said. “One is a cleaning lady, one is a nurse, and one is a doctor.”

“I briefly met them, and based on their coverage of the entire hospital’s activity area, I didn’t find any other players. Unless something unexpected happens, this instance should just be the five of us.”

“I just don’t know why your identity is so peripheral, and even your drop point isn’t in the hospital.”

This beautiful player was different from the lazy ones Lu Qingjia had encountered before; her gaze was sharp and determined, her posture straight and unyielding, exuding a military-like vigor. Her thinking was clear, indicating she was an exceptionally qualified player.

Although this instance had fewer players than before, just based on the quality of the players, it could be inferred that the difficulty of the instance was definitely not low.

Sure enough, after sizing up Lu Qingjia for a while, Yang Qian shook her head: “It seems there are two reasons: either the instance task or clues are not limited to the hospital, or your abilities in some aspects have led the game to feel the need to impose restrictions, thus increasing the difficulty of your initial clues.”

“How long have you been in the game?” Lu Qingjia asked.

“About three hours,” Yang Qian replied. “The other three players have been in for six hours, four hours, and two hours.”

“The one who’s been in for two hours is the doctor.”

“I’ve been in for less than twenty minutes.” Lu Qingjia tapped his fingers on his arm: “It seems the rules have changed this time.”

“The more convenient the identity for obtaining information, the less time you’re given. Based on the general cooperative relationship among players, this time difference doesn’t mean much; after all, once we meet, a lot of information can be shared. However, the game has done this.”

“This suggests that there may be competition in this instance,” Yang Qian continued.

With a smile, she said to Lu Qingjia: “Are you interested in forming an alliance?”

Lu Qingjia smiled back: “The instance task hasn’t come out yet; how can you be sure that our tasks won’t conflict?”

Yang Qian replied: “Extreme situations only exist in a small part; most of the time, conditions that seem conflicting on the surface can still lead to a win-win situation.”

“You might not know, but the first thing I did after entering the game was to understand the structure of this hospital. People like you who are out handing out flyers don’t really count as part of the company.”

“Most of them are summer workers hired from local universities nearby. Although they provide meals and accommodation, the place they stay isn’t the company dormitory but rather temporary rooms rented in nearby residential areas.”

“During the day, you go out to hand out flyers, and unless you bring customers back, you won’t have a chance to step into the hospital. Lunch is reimbursed within a limited amount and isn’t in the hospital cafeteria, and at night, you don’t stay here. Strictly speaking, besides being with fellow players, you don’t have the identity convenience to obtain clues.”

“Yet the game arranged for you to enter the instance last, even the doctor, who is most likely to grasp the core clues, has six times more time than you. This shows that the game has the greatest restrictions on you, meaning that in this entire instance, your overall evaluation is above all other players.”

“With such a player, unless necessary, I naturally wouldn’t want to stand against him.” Yang Qian positioned herself firmly: “Compared to the other three players, I’d prefer to cooperate with you—though they all seem quite confident.”

Lu Qingjia had seen smart women before, but the resolute sharpness that Yang Qian exuded still impressed him.

Moreover, she knew how to leverage her advantages; although she was being straightforward, her words subtly elevated him. Compliments from a beautiful woman usually satisfy a man’s vanity, especially when they are of such high quality.

Lu Qingjia curled his lips, finally seeing a more interesting player.

The players from the previous two instances had really failed to excite him.

He extended a hand: “It’s an honor to cooperate with a beautiful woman.”

Of course, he believed that similar conversations had definitely happened more than once.

After reaching a simple consensus, Lu Qingjia returned to the hospital lobby. To be fair, that man was indeed efficient.

In just a short while, he had brought back two more customers.

Seeing Lu Qingjia’s relaxed figure, he immediately got angry: “What’s wrong with you? I’ve brought back another wave of customers, and you’re still not back.”

“The company pays you to work, not to slack off. Hurry up and get to work, or I’ll dock your pay.”

Lu Qingjia smiled and took off the work badge around his neck, handing it to him: “Here’s your pay; now go do your job.”

The man was taken aback, then infuriated by the tone of someone encouraging their subordinate.

Just as he was about to curse, he saw Lu Qingjia heading into the customer reception room.

“Hey, what are you doing? Aren’t you supposed to be going there?”

Lu Qingjia opened one of the doors, and inside was one of the girls he had chatted with earlier.

At this moment, the beauty consultant in the reception room was enthusiastically recommending packages to her: “You have a great foundation; just a slight adjustment to your looks will definitely elevate you several levels. This isn’t even considered plastic surgery; which celebrity or internet influencer hasn’t done medical beauty?”

“This double eyelid package is great; it’s currently on promotion, with a professional doctor with twenty years of experience performing the surgery. Their aesthetic sense is really good, unlike those out there who only look good with makeup or on camera, but in reality, they look like swollen fish eyes.”

“I have recovery photos from customers here, from three days post-surgery, a week, and half a month; you can see it doesn’t affect your life at all.”

“And you mentioned feeling like you have too much fat on your back? With this promotion, the local liposuction is practically free.”

The girl looked a bit tempted, but her expression clearly showed that her financial situation wouldn’t allow it.