Chapter 30: Hunger

Mo Qi, led by Liao Ruxue, went to the kitchen to find something to eat. When he saw the chicken legs and meat in the kitchen, the hungry Mo Qi deeply felt the unevenness of the world. To him, all real-life games were plagued by the necessities of life, whereas for Liao Ruxue, real-life games were about holding a high position.

Mo Xiaohong sat in front of the stove gnawing on a chicken leg, her hands and mouth covered in oil. Fortunately, she cherished the old clothes given to her by Mo Qi and carefully avoided getting oil on them.

Upon seeing Mo Xiaohong, Liao Ruxue furrowed his brow. In the past 35 days, he had participated in many games, encountering numerous players and ordinary people, as well as monsters, but none had disgusted him as much as Mo Xiaohong.

“I still have some matters to attend to at the Mansion. With so many people to manage, any relaxation could lead to trouble. Your accommodation is arranged; see you tonight,” Liao Ruxue said.

After he left, Mo Qi sat beside Mo Xiaohong, and the father and daughter ate together.

Mo Xiaohong finished eating before Mo Qi did; she was the first to feel full. Seeing her stop eating, Mo Qi temporarily set down his chopsticks and took out a piece of scrap cloth from his pocket. It was leftover from altering clothes for Mo Xiaohong; Mo Qi was quite thrifty and kept everything he could.

He found hot water in the kitchen to soak the scrap cloth, gently wiping the oil from Xiaohong’s mouth and hands. As he wiped, Mo Qi noticed that all ten of Xiaohong’s fingernails were nibbled bare, and if she continued, she might really end up eating her hands.

“Don’t bite your nails, it’s not hygienic,” Mo Qi advised.

“Okay,” Xiaohong replied quietly, looking at Mo Qi with eyes that held no trace of gloom.

“I need to make a trip to the bookstore to deliver the food supply receipt to Lin Fuwang. I’ll be back shortly. Will you stay at the Mansion or come with me?” Mo Qi asked.

“Will you be back before dark or after?” Mo Xiaohong didn’t answer directly.

“I should be back before dark,” Mo Qi said.

“Then I’ll stay here. Daddy, you must come back before dark,” Mo Xiaohong earnestly advised.

This child, just as Liao Ruxue had said, was full of uncertainties, but Mo Qi always felt a soft spot for her.

“Alright, I promise I’ll be back,” Mo Qi assured her.

He first brought Mo Xiaohong to the room Liao Ruxue had prepared for him. Despite making little progress on his mission in the past three days, Liao Ruxue had firmly grasped control over the Mansion’s power. He had directly arranged for a suspicious father-daughter pair to stay near the Grand Marshal’s Hall without anyone daring to object. With such authority, future actions would be much easier. Mo Qi truly owed him a favor.

Due to his promise to Mo Xiaohong to return early, before leaving the Mansion, Mo Qi drew SR cards five times in a row, spending 5000 points. He obtained 5 SR cards, but two of them were duplicates. Additionally, he received 45 R cards, with over 30 of them being Clue Finders, which seemed to flood the pool.

Xiang Zhuo had mentioned before that there are only 10 common SR cards in the card pool. Once all ten are drawn, the probability of drawing new cards decreases significantly, leading to more duplicates.

Nevertheless, players would still strive to accumulate enough points to draw cards, because beyond the 10 common SR cards, all other cards are rare and could be critical in defeating enemies.

Mo Qi packed away his cards and left the Mansion, heading back to the bookstore.

When the rain stopped, all the town residents would gather at the grain depot to collect their rations. The road from the Mansion to the bookstore was sparsely populated. Mo Qi returned to the bookstore smoothly. The front door of the bookstore was tightly shut, but Mo Qi had a key to the back door. He quietly entered through the rear entrance.

Upon entering, Mo Qi heard the sound of tearing paper and chewing. He quietly approached inside the bookstore and saw Lin Fuwang enthusiastically gnawing on a newly opened bestseller.

Mo Qi frowned. Even if Lin Fuwang was very hungry, he should have had something for breakfast, even if it was just stale steamed buns. It was hard to imagine him being so hungry that he would resort to eating paper.

The paper nowadays was made from plant materials and could indeed be consumed if necessary, but under normal circumstances, who would eat paper? Lin Fuwang’s current state didn’t seem like he missed a meal; it was more akin to starving for seven days and nights.

Mo Qi intentionally kicked a book to make some noise.

“Shopkeeper!” Lin Fuwang, seeing Mo Qi, blushed and hid the half-eaten book behind his back. “I’m sorry, I was just too hungry. I didn’t think this book would sell anyway, so I thought I’d have a few bites. I, I’ll pay for it.”

Mo Qi’s expression remained calm. “It’s alright. There are plenty of these books, a few sets getting worn out is acceptable. Just be careful about the ink stains on them. Eating too much isn’t good for your health.”

“I know, but I couldn’t resist,” Lin Fuwang rubbed his stomach. “Shopkeeper, did your books sell?”

Mo Qi handed over the food supply receipt. “I managed to exchange some rations. Here, all of these are for you. Consider it as a supplement to your salary. From now on, don’t stay in the bookstore anymore. Go home.”

With 10 kilograms of grain, it would be enough for Lin Fuwang to eat for three to five days, and with careful rationing, it could last him a dozen or twenty days. During this time, Mo Qi and the others would have ample opportunity to tackle their mission.

Lin Fuwang understood numbers and exclaimed, “10 kilograms! Shopkeeper, did you really exchange that much grain for those few books?”

“Not entirely. I also received some wages for my work at the Mansion, and I allocated some for you,” Mo Qi replied. “Fuwang, I have something to ask you. What did you eat this morning?”

Lin Fuwang looked even more embarrassed. “In the morning, we had 5 steamed buns. Shopkeeper, you said to save them for the whole day, but I was too hungry. I ate 4 of them in one go. You’re so kind; you even shared half of your bun with me.”

Mo Qi’s expression grew more serious. He continued to ask, “Fuwang, I’ve been feeling faint from hunger lately, forgetting things. Where have I been these past three days? What did I say to you? How much do you remember? Tell me everything as it happened.”

Mo Qi had specifically obtained the 10 kilograms of grain to ask Lin Fuwang about these matters, knowing Fuwang would recount every detail with the utmost care. Liao Ruxue also understood this and was equally eager to know what Mo Qi had discovered over these three days, hence his easy agreement to exchange food for bestselling books.

Mo Qi tucked the food supply receipt back into his sleeve, indicating he would wait for Lin Fuwang to finish speaking before handing it over. Lin Fuwang eagerly watched Mo Qi’s sleeve, swallowed nervously, took a bite of the book, and began slowly recounting what had transpired in the past few days.

“It was about three nights ago, in the middle of the night. Shopkeeper, you were resting in the inner room, and I had laid out my bedding on the empty shelves in the bookstore, sleeping soundly. I heard some noise from the back door, woke up, and saw you quietly walking out through the back door.

“As soon as you stepped out, it started drizzling outside. You went back inside to get an umbrella. I groggily asked where you were going, and you said there seemed to be some commotion outside, so you were going to check it out.”

“I slept through the whole night, and in the morning, I saw you come back with a large bundle of steamed buns. You said the town had been restless these days, so you wanted to stock up on food. You hid the buns in the book crates, which were stacked with bestselling books. It was chaotic that day; people kept barging in throughout the morning. You even moved the rice from the backyard directly into the shop. When people came, they took the rice and left without causing trouble for us. They didn’t even check the book crates, so our buns remained hidden that way.”

“After a few waves of people came, they were all taken away by the military. The officer came to count how much grain we lost. You had just given us a receipt for 20 kilograms of grain when creditors came knocking. You gave them the receipt.

“I was busy all day and didn’t drink water. In the evening, I went to the river to fetch a bucket of water. You are very particular, saying that raw water is not clean, so I didn’t drink any water. After drinking water, I started eating steamed buns. The buns were delicious, and I ate five of them in one go.”

“At night, I was thirsty and hungry again, so I got up to drink water and eat steamed buns. I saw you leaving again with an umbrella. I asked where you were going, and you said you were going to the grain depot.

“The next morning, as I drank water and ate steamed buns, you returned with Xiang the butcher from the town who butchered the pigs. He had some injuries and brought a piece of meat. You stewed the meat, and I probably ate half of the pot.”

“After the rain stopped, you and Xiang the butcher took me to the river to catch fish. When we arrived at the riverbank, everyone in town was already fishing. You two went further downstream, and I jumped into the river and managed to grab two fish.

“In the evening, we had roasted fish with steamed buns. You and Xiang the butcher didn’t touch the fish at all; each of you just had a steamed bun.”

“Late at night, when I got up to eat steamed buns, I saw you and Xiang the butcher leaving again. I heard Xiang say he was going to an old temple to check something out.

“On the third day, I went fishing again, but all the fish were gone. We searched the river for a long time and found nothing. Luckily, we still had a big bag of steamed buns. Shopkeeper, you stuffed three of them in your pocket and left. You didn’t come back until it started raining in the evening. When I was eating the buns, I saw you come in through the back door, but Xiang the butcher didn’t return this time.”

Mo Qi listened attentively to Lin Fuwang’s account:

“Today, which is the fourth day, this morning, you said things were almost over, ate half a bun, took an umbrella and left the bookstore. You came back in the morning in the rain, and the umbrella was nowhere to be found. Shopkeeper, I suspect Xiang the butcher stole our buns. You brought back so many buns the other day, and this morning I found that there were only 5 left. Xiang the butcher went out in the middle of the night and didn’t come back. It must have been him!”

Mo Qi paused for a moment, digesting the information.

“He was wondering how he had fallen to this point of being so hungry. Listening to Lin Fuwang’s words, did this lad not realize how many times he had stolen and eaten the buns?

In the time they had been talking, Lin Fuwang had already finished the entire set of books and was eyeing another set hungrily.

“Does everyone in town go to the river to fetch water?” Mo Qi asked.

“Those with wells in their own yards won’t, but most of the rest get their water from the river,” Lin Fuwang replied. “But shopkeeper, you and Xiang the butcher never drink water directly from the river. You always take out a strange bottle to drink from.”

Lin Fuwang’s mention of the strange bottle referred to the “Thirst-Inducing Mineral Water,” the second most duplicated R card. This item is used in special missions where food and water are scarce, providing hydration to prevent players from dying of dehydration. However, it cannot quench thirst and has the side effect of increasing thirst the more it is consumed. This thirst can push players to their mental limits until they find genuine water within the mission, making it a battle of willpower.

It seems Lin Fuwang was referring to Xiang Zhuo as Xiang the butcher, indicating that both he and Xiang Zhuo preferred drinking the “Thirst-Inducing Mineral Water” rather than touching the river water, suggesting there might be an issue with the river water.

Seeing Lin Fuwang’s appetite, Mo Qi figured that 10 catties of grain were probably not enough for him. Mo Qi handed the document to Lin Fuwang, who happily dashed out with it.

Before leaving the bookstore, Mo Qi wrapped a stack of books in cloth and left through the front and back doors. Before leaving, he nailed the door of the bookstore shut. If anyone came to steal books to eat, he hoped this would delay them for a while.

He returned to the mansion with a serious expression, tossing the books to Liao Ruxue, then asked, “What water have you been drinking these days? Have you felt unusually hungry?”

“I’ve been drinking tea, probably from the well here at the mansion. I haven’t felt hungry,” Liao Ruxue replied cautiously. “Is there a problem with the water?”