Chapter 96

Chapter 96

Chapter 96

The streamers were already suspicious of each other, and now that many of their abilities had been taken by the NPC, the situation became even more unpredictable. So, as soon as they stepped out, the twelve of them immediately went their separate ways without any hesitation—it was entirely normal under the circumstances.

Exhausted and barely able to walk, Xi Yu felt like a broken machine and needed Luo Xi's support just to keep his balance.

Seeing his listless expression, Luo Xi comforted him, “You’re just not used to it. What they call 'physical strength' should refer to combat ability. If it made people completely unable to move freely, that wouldn’t just be unfair—it would be something else entirely.”

Xi Yu nodded and tried letting go of Luo Xi’s arm to walk on his own.

Luo Xi patiently stayed by his side, sharing his observations and conclusions: “That NPC Hu Sigu always tries to act mysterious, but she only took away five types of abilities. First, appearance; second, physical strength; third, luck; fourth, one of the five senses; and fifth, one part of the body... The price depends only on the strength of the ability, not its type. So each ability must have a unique use. Losing any one isn't scary—what’s scary is the compounding losses from the second or third day.”

His reasoning made perfect sense, and Xi Yu fully agreed, calming down as a result: “Exactly. Right now, the priority—aside from understanding what the abilities do—is figuring out what the silver is for.”

Luo Xi nodded: “Hu Sigu was very clear. You need money for lodging. If you have a place to sleep, you can avoid being harmed by the corpse ghosts. So, shall we first check the cost of a place to stay?”

Xi Yu made a sound of agreement. Seeing a beggar-like NPC at the corner of the street up ahead, he slowly walked over and asked, “Hello, we’re from out of town. Could you tell us where we might find a place to stay?”

The beggar looked dazed and dull, but after a long pause, pointed to the end of the road: “Inn.”

Xi Yu smiled. “Thank you.”

Seeing how slowly Xi Yu was walking and noticing that the area didn’t seem dangerous, Luo Xi suggested, “You stay here and get used to your condition—I’ll go take a look. The others are probably looking for a place too, so we can’t waste time.”

Xi Yu had no choice but to watch Luo Xi’s long strides quickly disappear.

Although the sun had risen a bit more by now, visibility in Taoyuan Village was still very low. The mist was like camouflage on a map, making it hard to recognize the surroundings.

Fortunately, the area was quiet and there were no eerie or suspicious noises.

Luo Xi must have been worried about Xi Yu’s safety, as he soon rushed back, shaking his head: “No good. The inn is too expensive—fifty taels per person per night. That’s not normal. Some streamers don’t even have that much. I asked around, and there’s a shelter in the corner of the village that allows overnight stays—and it’s cheaper.”

“Cheaper always comes with conditions. Is it a limited-spot thing?” Xi Yu asked anxiously. “You’d better go quickly.”

“It’s a bit of a distance. I can’t leave you here—at this point, even Du Li could probably stab you to death.” Luo Xi clicked his tongue, then suddenly reached out and, without allowing protest, lifted Xi Yu into his arms.

Surprised, Xi Yu felt a mix of shyness and discouragement. He and Luo Xi were close, but he had never felt so useless around him before.

Luo Xi quickened his pace, holding Xi Yu more steadily and joked, “Thanks to this game, I get a chance to mooch for once. Honestly, I probably won’t be worth anything these next couple of days—I’ll be living off the silver in your hands.”

Xi Yu hesitated, then simply chuckled lightly, saying nothing more.

Compared to the inn, which still maintained basic cleanliness and decency, the condition of the shelter was far worse.

As soon as Luo Xi arrived at the entrance and gently set Xi Yu down, several ragged NPCs walked out, bringing with them a stench of long-unwashed blood that made one feel physically uncomfortable.

But the streamers only cared about staying alive. As long as it saved silver, they didn’t care about the living conditions.

Luo Xi took the initiative to greet the NPC at the counter: “Hey, if we want to stay at the shelter, what’s the rate?”The girl doing the abacus didn't even lift her eyes: "You can only check in at dusk. Twenty taels per person per night, fair for all."

That was a reasonable amount.

Xi Yu stepped closer and asked, "Are there any conditions? Do we need to make a reservation?"

"You can check in anytime you want, as long as you can pay." The girl finally looked at them. "But our shelter only accepts good citizens. If you want to stay, you must have a laborer’s waist token. Otherwise... even the Emperor himself couldn’t get in."

Just as expected.

Xi Yu smiled. "Laborer? Where can we find such work?"

NPCs were always friendly to him. The girl smiled too: "Go take a look at the bulletin board on the westernmost edge of Taoyuan Village. If anyone needs help, they'll post a notice there."

Luo Xi raised an eyebrow: "They don’t even pay half a tael for labor?"

The girl snorted and gave the same reply as Head Constable Situ: "Half a bun is already generous. These days, just having a place to stay is a luxury. Want to make money? Dream on!"

If the goal was survival, then food and water were also important. Luo Xi, calm and composed, continued asking, "If half a bun isn’t enough, where else can we find food?"

"Go check out the bun shop. There are vendors in the old market to the south during the day." The girl waved her hand. "Alright, alright, stop bothering me. I’ve got accounts to do. Get going."

Just then, Du Li and Su Ziyan walked into the shelter one after the other.

Because he had lost his hearing, Su Ziyan looked uneasy, his young face no longer smiling like before.

Xi Yu wasn’t in much better shape. He gently parted his lips and whispered, "Hang in there."

"They've got money, don’t worry about them." Luo Xi immediately put an arm around Xi Yu's shoulder and prepared to leave.

Du Li frowned in disgust at Luo Xi’s mask: "So what if you’ve got money? Not like you. Forcing trades with NPCs. Your looks aren’t even worth more than Hu Si Gu’s mask. If she met you, she’d—"

Halfway through her sentence, she shut up as Luo Xi approached with clear bad intentions.

"Of course money’s good, but you’ve got to keep it safe." Luo Xi wasn’t angered by Du Li. Instead, he grinned mischievously: "Guess—if I figure out the price of killing, who would be the first person I go after?"

Since only Xi Yu, Su Ziyan, and Du Li had received 150 taels, Du Li naturally grew nervous.

Fortunately, Xi Yu was still focused on the laborer matter and tugged lightly on Luo Xi’s arm.

Only then did Luo Xi give Du Li a cold glance and walk away.

Su Ziyan, not very good at reading lips, asked in confusion, "What if someone comes to rob us?!"

Du Li snapped, "I’ll protect you. And stop talking so loud! Trying to make me deaf too?!"

Su Ziyan looked gloomy but had no way to argue.

Meanwhile, Luo Xi was moving quickly and soon reached the bulletin board with his “sickly pretty boy.” The information from the NPC was accurate — five job notices were posted here, each one hiring two people, with different types of work.

After being put down, Xi Yu read carefully and said worriedly, "There are only ten spots. That means two streamers are bound to go without jobs. If they don’t want to be torn apart by zombies tonight, they’ll have to spend fifty taels at the inn… I have to say, Yuntai’s planning is getting more and more psychotic."

Luo Xi shook his head wordlessly. "Only a psychopath could come up with rules like this."

Xi Yu reached out to touch one of the job postings and looked at Luo Xi: "What now? Split up?"Luo Xi frowned and stared.

【Constable Situ’s Assistant】

【Requires individuals who are intelligent and physically strong to assist in casework】

【Slots: Two】

【Aunt Hu Si’s Shop Assistant】

【Young people with good fortune and attractive appearance are welcome to apply】

【Slots: Two】

【Doctor Yan’s Apprentice】

【With many recent patients, the doctor needs apprentices who are bright and keen of the five senses】

【Slots: Two】

【Servant of the Lin Residence】

【Miss Lin is unable to manage the large estate alone and requires servants with proper features and a blessed spirit】

【Slots: Two】

【Swordsman’s Attendant】

【Hero Chi carries great responsibility and seeks strong, able-bodied attendants to assist him】

【Slots: Two】

After pondering for a while, Luo Xi let out a helpless laugh: "So the abilities pawned at the pawnshop correspond to these. Each job actually requires two abilities. If a person loses too many, in the end they’ll be unable to handle any kind of work, and then, for lack of gold and silver, die on the streets."

"What kind of zombie game is this… in the end, it’s just tormenting our logic and decisions." Xi Yu gave a bitter smile. "Now I can only choose between Aunt Hu Si, Doctor Yan, or the Lin Residence. You can only go to Constable Situ, Doctor Yan, or the swordsman. The only job we both qualify for is the doctor’s apprentice… sticking together won’t be easy."

Luo Xi clearly didn’t feel at ease about Xi Yu and thought hard but couldn’t make a decision.

In the end, it was Xi Yu who showed courage: "Let’s split up. I believe each of the five NPCs corresponds to a different piece of intel. I’m not the only streamer who lost strength and can’t fight. I’ll be careful — you be careful too."

Caring for someone doesn’t mean treating them like a delicate flower in a greenhouse. Besides, Luo Xi never doubted Xi Yu’s ability. He nodded: "Alright. I suggest you go to Aunt Hu Si. She’s clearly a core NPC and probably knows a lot."

Xi Yu asked, "What about you?"

Luo Xi glanced at the job postings: "I’ll go to Constable Situ. It says the job is solving cases. I believe the cases will definitely be related to the other NPCs, so I’ll probably have chances to move around and check on you too."

With the decision made, Xi Yu no longer hesitated: "Okay, let’s make the most of our time and go."

Luo Xi grabbed his hand: "I’ll walk you back to the pawnshop first."

Xi Yu stopped him: "No need. If Constable Situ’s slots fill up, it’ll be a problem."

Luo Xi gave a short laugh: "That NPC has the harshest requirements — both strength and intelligence. There aren’t many streamers in our group who can fight. The strongest are probably Dan Yun and that loudmouth, rude Hong Feng, but neither of them has ever seemed particularly smart. I don’t think any streamer would choose Constable Situ first. Besides, recruitment isn’t just about signing up — you’ve got to complete a task. No rush."Xi Yu could never outtalk him and nodded helplessly.

Only then did Luo Xi make a show of wanting to hug him.

Unexpectedly, Xi Yu stepped back to avoid it: “I’ve gotten used to this body. I can’t always rely on you.”

Luo Xi, for some reason, felt dissatisfied: “What’s wrong with relying on me?”

If I rely on you… then how can I protect you?

That’s what Xi Yu was thinking, but he didn’t say it out loud. He only replied calmly: “Let’s go. The game’s just begun. Judging by how Aunt Hu Si treats you, it’s more like you’re relying on me to survive.”

Luo Xi, worth only ten taels of silver, had no rebuttal.