“Tomato soup base, hmm, lettuce, potato slices, tofu skin, bean sprouts….”
Hearing Su Mu listing off all those cheap vegetarian options to Ning Ling, Lu Shan had been about to say she didn’t need to worry about her, but Su Mu’s next words left her dumbfounded.
“Leave these out, order one of everything else.”
Su Mu handed the menu to Ning Ling with a relaxed look.
The latter eyed her suspiciously and asked, “Should I get one of every drink, too?”
“Uh, no need for that, just a bottle of cola.”
When Su Mu sat back down across from Lu Shan, the latter was already tearfully counting the coins in her wallet.
‘Sorry, Mom, I’ve been robbed.’
The key point was, she’d already agreed to Su Mu’s request—there was no way to back out now.
All she could do was comfort herself: soon she’d be able to learn “Anti-Impersonation Technique.”
From now on, she’d finally be able to stand tall and dominate the online world.
It was just tuition, after all.
Does little Lu Shan have a lot of spending money?
It’s alright.
In B City, it’s barely enough to eat, but as a C-rank Cadre of the Monster Association, she was pretty cute even without any makeup.
But as a Cadre, does she not get paid?
Actually, the Monster Association is quite wealthy.
With Edma at the helm, it’s impossible to be poor, but—
That doesn’t mean the Cadres get any money.
On the contrary, ever since Edma became the president, not only did the Monster Association stop paying its members, it started charging membership fees instead.
At best, Cadres like Lu Shan got their fees waived.
Otherwise, her situation would be even worse.
Edma herself was unaware of all this; she’d handed off management to her subordinates—and those folks were all experts at squeezing every last drop from the members.
Wouldn’t raising the fees lead to protests and people quitting?
What a joke.
There are tons of monsters who want the Monster Association’s protection.
If you don’t pay, there are plenty of others who will.
So, the management lowered the strength requirements to join the Monster Association, but raised the financial bar, resulting in an organization full of riffraff, unable to organize any effective raids for a while.
More monsters joined than before.
The money rolled in wave after wave, which they used to spruce up their image and promote the Association—even attracting monsters from other cities.
Recently, a particularly wealthy group joined together, paying exorbitant fees and getting promoted straight to Cadre positions.
But strangely, these guys never participated in raids—they only showed up during planning meetings, took notes, and then headed to the bathroom.
Anyone with a brain could tell the Combat Division had infiltrated.
But since the place was already a mess, it couldn’t get any worse.
At worst, they’d just disband.
The strong monsters either went solo or made connections elsewhere.
Whether or not they stayed in the Monster Association made no difference.
The weaker monsters huddled together for warmth, while the new riffraff got ostracized, desperately trying to suck up to management, only to be squeezed dry and then kicked aside.
Now that Edma had lost another battle, the management was bound to stir up more trouble.
Who knew how much longer this sorry troupe could last?
Lu Shan had never participated in any Association raids, so she never got any rewards.
That left her with just a thousand left in her little stash.
Of course, that thousand was about to vanish, too.
“Mi Xian, I heard your parents are doing well.”
Lu Shan blushed and lowered her head.
“I think things are pretty good, overall.”
After a moment, she added, “But just call me Lu Shan, usually. My mom and dad don’t like monsters.”
At that, Su Mu snorted.
‘Wasn’t it you who was all cocky, scratching at my monitor that day? Weren’t you all “I’m Mi Xian!”? Now you’re the obedient little Lu Shan again. If I don’t drain your wallet today, I’ll write my name backwards!’
“Alright, let me explain. Actually, the so-called Floating Wood isn’t your real parents. It’s just a concept that forms when you interact online… When you annoy someone, your Floating Wood will get hit with a fierce attack—sometimes even your ashes will be dug up and scattered dozens of times.”
“But your real parents at home won’t be affected at all. What people really want to target isn’t your Floating Wood, but you, sitting in front of the screen. When someone says ‘your mom’s dead,’ your mom cooking in the kitchen won’t suddenly collapse. And when they say ‘I’ll test your mom,’ you’re not going to magically get a new little brother, understand?”
Lu Shan nodded, half-understanding.
“So now you know why the first lesson in Anti-Impersonation Technique is to abandon Floating Wood?”
“Because… Floating Wood that’s already dead can’t be chosen again?” Seeing Lu Shan tilt her head and answer, Su Mu nodded in satisfaction.
Not quite right, but close enough.
“That’s right! People who’ve already accepted the death of their Floating Wood can’t be hurt by those tired old insults online. And as a reverse impersonator, most of what you’ll face are those kinds of lines.”
Lu Shan clearly didn’t have that kind of resolve, so of course she kept getting upset by insults.
Still, she could be pretty ruthless herself when flinging trash talk.
“We’ll get into the next part after we eat.”
Looking at the table full of dishes, Su Mu decided to dig in.
Though Lu Shan still had a lot of questions, she had no choice but to eat a few bites with Su Mu first.
As soon as she started eating, she noticed something was wrong.
The Monster Core inside her trembled slightly.
“Senior, there’s a lot of Magic Power in this broth. Someone might be watching us. We shouldn’t eat anymore.”
Lu Shan started to pack up and leave, but Su Mu quickly grabbed her.
“Relax. The owner of this hotpot place cooks with Magic Power—it’s not what you think. The food is great, just try it first.”
“Magic Power… cooking?”
Hesitantly, Lu Shan brought a spoonful to her mouth.
The rich aroma filled her mouth, making her unconsciously immerse herself in the flavor.
“Senior, this is delicious!”
“Told you, didn’t I?”
Su Mu watched the excited Lu Shan and sneered to herself.
Heh, let’s see if you’re still smiling when you see the bill.
With that in mind, she buried her head in her food, afraid that once Lu Shan realized how tasty it was, she’d fight her for it—
Like a hamster guarding its food.
While the two were wolfing down their meal, Luo Jialan, who came to the hotpot place at the same time every day, quickly noticed them in their private room.
‘Hey, who’s that woman sitting across from you?’
Luo Jialan subconsciously quickened her pace, and after a few quick steps, pushed open the door—locking eyes with Su Mu, whose cheeks were stuffed full.
The scene was ten degrees more awkward.
“What are you doing here?”
Su Mu struggled to swallow her food, her mind racing.
‘Crap, how do I explain this…’
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