Volume 2, Chapter 13 – A Deal with Zero Material Cost

The supplier boss who had given Zhou Jieyu the quest was not far away.

She quickly brought Pie-Face over to the area.

The boss had been sitting in front of a set of steps, smoking in lonely silence. The moment he looked up, he saw Zhou Jieyu pop out from around the corner.

“Hm? Isn’t that the weird one named ‘Leading the Escape’?”

Why was she back so soon? Hadn’t it been less than an hour?

The boss pinched the cigarette out of his mouth with two fingers and abruptly stood up. He was just about to head over to Zhou Jieyu and ask what was going on when his steps suddenly froze.

Because someone had suddenly appeared behind Zhou Jieyu.

Someone with extremely distinctive features.

A pie face, big eyes, a big nose, and a big mouth.

When those features were combined on one person, then for a man like the boss, who had spent years operating beneath the surface of the old city district, there was only one possible conclusion:

Run!

What are you standing there for?!

The boss tossed away the cigarette, no longer caring about something like damaging the city’s appearance. If he wasn’t caught, then everything was negotiable. But if he was caught, the crime of selling pirated obscene discs was far more serious than littering with a cigarette butt.

He turned tail and bolted. His strides were as fast as the wind, the kind of speed that clearly came from training.

As for Zhou Jieyu, how could the boss possibly spare a thought for Zhou Jieyu right now?

That disaster had actually brought in people from the Urban Appearance Management Bureau. Whether this was entrapment or not, it would already be merciful if the boss didn’t beat Zhou Jieyu to death. Why the hell would he care about anything else?

“Bos…”

Zhou Jieyu’s words got stuck halfway and went no further.

What exactly was going on here?

“Thank you so much, little miss!”

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Pie-Face Lennard patted Zhou Jieyu on the shoulder.

Uh…

What the hell? The boss already ran off, so why is he thanking me?

Zhou Jieyu turned around in confusion.

She discovered that Pie-Face was grinning very happily. While very naturally taking out a pair of handcuffs and cuffing one end around her wrist, he cheerfully started talking into his watch.

“I’ve blocked that skinny guy who sells discs in the old city district. Hurry and send people over. The location is…”

Holy shit—

No matter how dumb Zhou Jieyu was, she still knew she’d been caught in a law-enforcement sting. This pie-faced guy was either a cop or some kind of city management officer.

Do you think I, Zhou Jieyu, have no dignity? You tricked me like this!

Smack!

While Lennard was happily calling people over, Zhou Jieyu suddenly shoved him and, while she was at it, stomped on his foot.

The entire sequence was completed in one smooth motion. In real life, Zhou Jieyu had practiced it many times on her older brother.

“Ah, my foot!”

Lennard hopped back a step, and the other end of the handcuffs he was holding instantly loosened.

Zhou Jieyu seized the chance and didn’t waste time talking. She turned and ran.

“Stop right there!” Lennard shouted in a furious rage. How could he let a duck that was already cooked fly away?

After straightening the shoe that had been stepped crooked, Lennard immediately chased after her.

…

“Yawn!”

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After fixing the electric fan a customer had brought in and setting it aside, Anran let out a yawn. Repairing this kind of simple machinery every day really gave too little experience.

She got up, poured herself a glass of water, and gulped down a big mouthful. In weather this hot, maybe she should have some lemonade.

But that was still a bit too extravagant. She’d enjoy that after she had more money. Wasn’t plain boiled water good enough too?

Thinking that, Anran switched on the ceiling fan above her head again.

The whirring sound quickly filled the repair shop.

One more sip—

Anran picked up the cup again.

Huff, huff, huff, huff—

“Stop right there!”

Hm?

The urgent panting of a young girl and the rough shout of a middle-aged man.

Anran immediately looked up and saw two familiar faces.

The player “Leading the Escape” was in the lead, face flushed red from running and gasping for breath, with a handcuff still on one wrist.

Pie-Face Lennard was close behind, looking as furious as if someone had stepped on his tail.

The two of them sped past the entrance to the repair shop one after the other so quickly that neither of them noticed Anran at all.

The moment she saw Lennard, Anran’s anger flared up.

This was the bastard who had confiscated her handcart and thrown her into detention. If the Security Department people had not arrived in time, she very likely would have gone GG.

At the time, Anran had wanted to go up and give Lennard a full combo, but right now she was alone and weak. Even if she won the fight, she still couldn’t go up against the Twinmoon City government.

So for now, she could only endure it.

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Just wait until I get a chance, Anran thought.

…

Zhou Jieyu kept darting through side alleys the whole way. Thankfully, she never ran into a dead end. After running a while longer, Lennard’s build finally started working against him, and he could no longer keep going. He could only watch helplessly as Zhou Jieyu vanished around a corner.

“So damn annoying!”

Lennard punched the wall. After catching his breath a few times, he asked into his watch, “Hey, how’s it going over there?”

“We’ve successfully caught him already.”

“Hoo…” Lennard immediately let out a breath of relief. As long as the big fish hadn’t gotten away, then all was well. One shrimp slipping off wasn’t that big a deal.

At that moment, on the other end of the call, the boss who sold discs was staring at the sky with dead eyes.

If only I’d known earlier…

Sigh!

…

“Finally shook him off.”

Zhou Jieyu leaned against a wall and greedily sucked in fresh air. She felt like she was about to suffocate. Good thing she had managed to escape.

Why were all the NPCs in this game such scammers?

She was practically in despair.

With a miserable look on her face, Zhou Jieyu called Leading the Charge.

“Bro, how are things going over there?”

“Hm? What’s up? So you finally decided to contact me on your own?” Leading the Charge asked in confusion.

Zhou Jieyu stamped her foot in anger. “Be serious. I’m asking you a question.”

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“Not bad, I guess. I just changed into a Bartender secondary profession. I’m still a bit short of leveling up, but that’s fine. Once I save up for another two days, I’ll head straight to Twinmoon City to find you,” Leading the Charge said.

“Emmm…” Zhou Jieyu hesitated for a moment. This time, she didn’t say anything to refuse. She had realized that being alone was not as carefree as she’d thought.

After ending the call, Zhou Jieyu stood up, only then noticing that the satchel full of discs was still hanging from her body.

She opened the bag and counted. There were twenty discs inside. If she could get rid of them at 5 Bilu apiece, wouldn’t that make 100 Bilu?

They’re all little money babies.

Zhou Jieyu, who had still been somewhat dejected just a moment ago, instantly perked up again.

But before she could sell those things, she first had to get the handcuff off her wrist.

Zhou Jieyu quickly set her sights on Anran.

“Fee is 1 Bilu,” Anran answered flatly.

“…”

Zhou Jieyu was furious. This NPC really was obsessed with money. Simple and brutal!

“Here!”

Zhou Jieyu handed over a coin. After receiving the money, Anran nodded in satisfaction, then cut the handcuff off for Zhou Jieyu.

Regaining her freedom, Zhou Jieyu let out a long breath. If she didn’t get rid of that thing, she wouldn’t even dare walk down the street.

Now things were good again. Zhou Jieyu could go back to selling discs, and this time she didn’t even have to give the boss a cut.

After working hard all day, Zhou Jieyu acted as the supplier and successfully sold all twenty discs to some nameless NPC in the old city district.

Income: 60 Bilu. Material cost: 0.

She finally had enough money for her class change.