Chapter 15: New Happiness Street

It was the sixth day since entering the game.

Su Ning looked out the window at the bustling crowd in the plaza.

Among the people coming and going, some walked toward the pharmacy, some headed out of the village, while others set up stalls right where they were.

The beggars were long gone, replaced by a blackboard with a group of children sitting on the ground, seemingly being taught something. Behind them, some elders stood watching from a distance. The scene was lively.

“Su Ge, how do you think I should style my hair? This headband of yours is so inflexible.”

Su Ning turned to look at Qiao Duoduo arranging her hair, not knowing whose girl she was.

Last night, upon seeing the exquisite headband with +5 Agility, she had been so excited that she forgot to eat, praising it endlessly with a stream of compliments. Now, she had become so shameless.

“Then tell me, how much do you think I could sell that headband of yours for outside?”

Su Ning looked at the small stall outside, genuinely curious. She had made a total of four exquisite headbands: one for herself, one for her mother, one for Qiao Duoduo, and the remaining one was just right to sell.

But Qiao Duoduo frowned, her expression full of pride.

“What nonsense are you talking about?”

After finishing her hair, Qiao Duoduo immediately regained her arrogant attitude.

“Come on, let’s go claim territory on New Happiness Street.”

The two of them took their certificates and found the guard captain, who promptly arranged a carriage for them.

Seeing the fat, strong horse before them, both girls were thrilled. This was a real carriage, just like in the dramas: one horse, two wheels, a simple wooden carriage.

“Please get on quickly. Da Hei will take you to New Happiness Street. The journey will take about four hours. We wish you a pleasant trip!”

The moment they got on and hadn’t settled yet, the carriage shot forward. When Qiao Duoduo opened the small window to look back, all she could see was the guard captain waving, gradually disappearing into the distance.

“Damn it!”

Su Ning couldn’t help blurting out a curse.

The windows weren’t small—one on each side, made of glass, with curtains inside. The interior of the carriage had rectangular wooden benches on three sides, each with cushions, fairly comfortable.

“We’re already far out.”

Qiao Duoduo pulled the curtains open, shrugged helplessly, and said,

“Four hours, no phone… this is just too much!”

Su Ning looked outside. The carriage raced past fields of crops.

Perhaps because it was a system-produced road, or maybe the roads were just good, the carriage’s shock absorption was decent, and neither of them felt uncomfortable.

Once out of the fields, the carriage quickly entered a thick fog.

What followed was a long wait.

“Duoduo, I’m bored.”

Su Ning rested her chin in her hands, utterly bored, but the carriage kept moving, swaying too much to allow her to concentrate on sewing.

“What should I make next? Hats, bracelets? Maybe I should practice wood carving, or make a few more magic wands?”

“Hats sound good. Or maybe a few short-sleeve shirts. Summer’s coming; thermal underwear is too hot.”

“Short sleeves it is. Large pieces—I need to study these carefully.”

Su Ning took out her professional apprentice sewing manual.

“Beep. Player’s sewing skill detected to have leveled up. Upgrade sewing manual?”

“Yes.”

“Congratulations! Player has received the Yellow-Rank Sewing Manual. Please continue your efforts!”

Su Ning was surprised. The system was so intelligent she wanted to shout “666!”

“Su Ge, I forgot to tell you yesterday. My master asked me, after arriving at New Happiness Street, to go to the Past Events Restaurant. Every night, two hours after the safe zone locks, I’m to assist in the kitchen.”

“That’s not bad at all! How long do you have to do this?”

“One month first. I’ll prepare some dishes to send to my master, then we’ll see if I continue.”

“My master only said she’ll eventually go to the capital. She wants me to send monthly creations, too.”

“That’s fine. About the crafting system—I confirmed with my master. It only unlocks after apprenticeship, with master’s permission. So not many will have it. From now on, I’ll rely on you. Also, because of this, the old man agreed to teach me brewing. But since time’s short, he just gave me some recipes. I’ll provide the food and drink; you can earn money off me.”

“That works. What about Huoyang?”

“Hire him as a bodyguard.”

“Perfect.” “Hahaha.”

No matter what, the two girls were full of hope for their future.

Indeed, in the entire game, few can find a master, and even fewer are allowed by their master to unlock the system.

After a long time, the carriage finally emerged from the fog into daylight.

But the road on both sides was terrifying. On the dark soil, semi-transparent “people” floated about. To be precise, they were ghosts, drifting slowly, sending chills down the girls’ spines.

“Su Ge, am I seeing things?”

“Seems not. I see them too. Must be new monsters.”

“Yes, monsters. Stay calm—we can win.”

Gradually, the land showed signs of greenery. The girls relaxed slightly.

“Duoduo, I suddenly think those ghosts earlier weren’t too bad.”

Su Ning’s voice was a little stiff. As the carriage passed, the green grew denser, now a meadow.

But in the distance, many red-and-black ropes were scattered about.

On closer look, they weren’t ropes at all—they were large red-and-black snakes, lazily crawling, occasionally raising their heads to look around.

“Su Ge, I think I see them too.”

Qiao Duoduo also saw them and nearly panicked. In the south, people catch and eat snakes, but in the northeast, snakes are rare. Not only is catching them uncommon, even seeing them is rare.

Although superstition is unreliable, elders at home always taught children not to harm snakes.

The two girls not only dared not harm the snakes, they were very scared.

Finally, the carriage slowly stopped.

“Beep. Congratulations, player has entered New Happiness Street. Mini-map added.”
“Beep. Congratulations, player has unlocked the online trade system. For details, click the trade panel.”

Qiao Duoduo was the first to step off the carriage. Dizziness surged, almost causing her to fall. A pair of slender hands caught her in time.

“Are you okay?” a gentle male voice asked.

Qiao Duoduo quickly steadied herself and stepped back. Su Ning, stepping off behind her, also steadied her and replied.

“Thank you. My friend just got dizzy from the long ride. Sorry to trouble you!”

The man looked under 20, average-looking, but with smooth, fair skin. Before the apocalypse, he probably would have been a cute young guy.

The man withdrew his hands, but his gaze fixed on Qiao Duoduo.

“I see you’re new. Why not join our team? We have a healer, a tank, and a dex-based attacker. Fully staffed.”

“Sorry, we already have a fixed team.”

Qiao Duoduo blurted out the lie without thinking. The man’s gaze made her uncomfortable.

“Excuse us.”

Su Ning didn’t think much—she just didn’t want entanglements with strangers. She found the man irritating. Being rejected, he still didn’t leave and blocked the way.

The man turned to move but continued speaking.

“My name’s Xu Ming. My team is the Tomorrow Squad. You’re welcome to join anytime.”

“Thanks!”

Su Ning smiled perfunctorily and quickly pulled Qiao Duoduo away.

Behind them, they didn’t know:

“Brother Ming, why are those two women so stuck-up?”
“Why did you ask them to join?”
“I saw that woman in the restaurant kitchen.”

Xu Ming silently resolved to get them to join, even if it took three attempts.

Meanwhile, Su Ning and Qiao Duoduo walked into a wide street. From afar, the shops seemed open, but in reality, the only customers were the two of them.

“Su Ge, the company building!”

Qiao Duoduo’s voice trembled with excitement as she saw the building ahead.

Indeed, this was the same New Happiness Street they had entered when pulled into the game.

Here, the street had pharmacies, inns, restaurants, blacksmiths, and even the nearest administrative hall.