For some reason, there was a subtle sense of disillusionment. Su Shisan thought in silence.
At first, she thought Jun Qian was the cold, aloof type of male god, but it turned out he was actually a funny guy…
As for the misunderstanding just now, Su Shisan didn’t really want it to happen either.
It’s just that the way he handed over his business card and said those words was really too much like those rookie actors she’d met in her previous life—trying to sleep their way to a role in the entertainment circle.
As a screenwriter holding the script for a blockbuster Horror Film, she’d really encountered this kind of thing more than a few times.
She looked up and saw Jun Qian giving her a sly, fox-like grin, as if to say, “As long as I’m not embarrassed, the embarrassment is someone else’s problem.”
Of course, the one who should be embarrassed was Su Shisan, but she didn’t feel that way. She could only apologize seriously:
“Sorry, I misunderstood you.”
“Boohoo, I’m so sad!” Jun Qian instantly dropped his bystander act, and, pretending to be heartbroken, used his slender fingers to wipe away nonexistent tears from his eyes. “Just like that, I’ve been slandered.”
Su Shisan’s expression didn’t change. She chose to cut the knot with a sharp knife:
“Fifty Points.”
Though, for someone like him who could earn ten thousand Points with a single Copy, even a hundred Points was nothing.
But for Su Shisan, the misunderstanding she caused was only worth fifty Points as compensation at most. If he didn’t want it, then so be it. She’d done what she should.
A mosquito may be small, but it’s still meat. Jun Qian was not picky at all. He immediately put away his act and nodded solemnly, “Alright, I accept your apology.”
Because, judging from Xiao You’s movements, she hadn’t found any other players yet, so the two of them could only stay in the house for now.
If it were just Jun Qian alone, he could have followed her directly. But now, since he had to bring along someone who clearly hadn’t been trained at all, it wasn’t a good idea to try tailing in advance.
They watched TV for a while. With the Copy acting as a catalyst, ordinary people had become extremely rare. The TV just mechanically broadcast the evil chaos of the city.
With no ordinary people left to feel fear, Su Shisan wasn’t much interested in watching the Blood Cross’s internal slaughter on the screen—she just watched absentmindedly.
Suddenly, she remembered something and turned to look at Jun Qian’s fair face: “Why don’t you have a Blood Cross on your face?”
“Like this?” Jun Qian reached up and wiped his face, and a standard Blood Cross pustule appeared on his handsome face.
From a distance, he still looked good—there was even a certain sacrificial divinity to it. But up close… forget it. The pustule really ruined the aesthetic.
Su Shisan became interested in his methods. In fact, the main reason she was willing to let this person stay and act with her was curiosity about his skills. “How did you do that?”
“A little prop.” Jun Qian didn’t intend to hide it. He spread his hand, and in his palm was a lump of Meat-colored Putty.
NPCs can use props too? Was it exchanged from the Store, or obtained through some other channel? Though curious, Su Shisan didn’t ask further. Asking more would be crossing the line.
When she stopped talking, Jun Qian, on the other hand, became interested.
Back at Director Liu’s, he’d already gotten a rough idea about Su Shisan—a potential rising star who’d advanced to D-rank in just two Copies. Truly rare, even to his experienced eye.
“Can I ask? Miss Shisan, what’s the type of your Copy?” Jun Qian propped his chin on one hand, his phoenix eyes calmly studying her—not scrutinizing, but assessing.
The type of Copy wasn’t a secret. Su Shisan answered simply:
“Monster Tale.”
“Horror Survival Game”—horror, survival, game, these were the most common, most familiar types for players. For Su Shisan’s Copies to end in total team wipe every time, either she’d mastered some trick to bypass difficulty, or she’d found a unique angle in her themes.
Either way, as long as she kept it up, rising through the ranks was only a matter of time.
Facing a potential client, his attitude was always good. He glanced down at the screen and suddenly raised his brows:
“Looks like she’s been found. Let’s go—now’s the perfect time.”
***
They went downstairs, where an off-road vehicle was parked. If they were ordinary people, driving at a time like this would be asking for death. But since both of them were Blood Cross, it wasn’t a problem.
They drove to the vicinity of the red dot. To avoid attracting attention, Jun Qian parked a bit farther away, and he and Su Shisan got out to walk.
He had long legs and a big stride, but was thoughtful enough to deliberately slow down for Su Shisan. Although Su Shisan walked quickly, she wasn’t actually in any hurry.
No need to rush. When players meet, there’s always probing, then chatting, then heading to the base, then exchanging information. This back-and-forth could easily take two hours—they had plenty of time.
After walking a while, Jun Qian suddenly turned back and looked down at her shoes. Su Shisan stopped and looked at her sneakers too. “What is it?”
“Too loud.” Jun Qian shook his head in dissatisfaction, glanced around, and showed a mischievous smile as if he’d thought of a bad idea. He reached out his hand, “Mind a little contact?”
Su Shisan wasn’t worried at all, nor did she feel any shyness. She calmly placed her hand in his.
Before she could say anything, Jun Qian simply lifted her straight onto his shoulder, then climbed up the nearby big tree in three swift steps and set her down on a thick branch.
The whole movement was smooth as flowing water. He squatted beside her, not even a bit out of breath: “I’ll go find something. Wait here for a bit.”
He jumped down nimbly after finishing.
It didn’t take long—just five minutes before Jun Qian returned with a pair of rubber-soled shoes.
He was about to repeat the previous maneuver and carry Su Shisan down, only to see that she’d actually climbed down from the tree herself.
“You can climb trees?” Jun Qian blinked in surprise. Most builders he knew couldn’t even kill a chicken.
Kids from the orphanage had to pick up some survival skills. When she was little, there was a persimmon tree in the yard, and the older kids would take turns climbing it to pick fruit.
Su Shisan nodded, looking at him thoughtfully. The ability to quickly and accurately find useful props—Xiao You also had this skill.
As she changed shoes, she asked, “Were you once a player?”
Jun Qian raised his brows, then frowned slightly, as if troubled.
Did I hit a sore spot? Su Shisan guessed by common sense. She was about to apologize when the man across from her spoke after some thought:
“That’s important intel. It’ll cost a hundred thousand… no, fifty thousand Points to buy.”
“Oh.” Su Shisan swallowed her apology, nodded in acknowledgment, and said no more.
Seeing her like this, Jun Qian was instead left speechless. “You’re not going to ask again?”
“No Points.” Su Shisan answered honestly, though she didn’t mention that even if she had enough Points, she’d never spend them on this kind of intel.
So she’s still a seedling, can’t stand to be squeezed. Jun Qian thought to himself, realizing his mistake, and didn’t try to squeeze her further.
Soon they reached the location. Unexpectedly, the players’ gathering place wasn’t in any building, but at the Meat Market.
At the start of the apocalypse, the Meat Market was where the Blood Cross were most concentrated—dense population, plenty of natural weapons, trouble was inevitable.
But by now, the Blood Cross at the Meat Market had almost disappeared. After all, there hadn’t been ordinary people here for a long time, and the Blood Cross had to spread out.
Gradually, there was little life left here.
It was truly a great spot hidden in plain sight.
Jun Qian first climbed onto a nearby Camp Tent to survey the terrain, then jumped down and pointed out a Factory Building to Su Shisan. “That spot has the best view.”
“Let’s go there.” Su Shisan knew she was here to watch the show, and nodded decisively.
Clients who don’t make trouble are always pleasant to work with. Jun Qian, after finding the best angle, led her around to the back, remembering to ask this time, “Want me to take you up?”
Su Shisan didn’t hesitate. She could climb trees, but she really couldn’t climb buildings with nowhere to put her feet—mainly because her legs weren’t long enough. If they were, maybe she’d give it a try.
“Yeah.”
Jun Qian carried her onto the roof, placing her behind a solar panel to keep her hidden. Then he handed her a pair of Binoculars, signaling that she could use them to watch the battlefield.
“How did Director Liu convince you to bring me along?” Su Shisan asked curiously as she took the Binoculars.
At first, she’d thought it was just because Director Liu and Jun Qian had a good relationship and casually asked him to bring her.
But seeing how attentive he was now, it felt like Director Liu must have paid him something. Otherwise, how could someone so profit-oriented be so thoughtful?
Sure enough, Jun Qian didn’t hide it after she asked, winking mischievously at her:
“It’s a mission worth 1,000 Points~”
Hearing that, Su Shisan suddenly found this man quite interesting.
He’d actually taken payment, but acted all along as if he was just taking care of her for free. As for the truth—that this was a paid gig—if she didn’t ask, he wouldn’t say.
But once asked, he was honest, not hiding anything.
But that’s not the amazing part. Lots of people would do this—hiding anything that didn’t benefit them, showing only their best side.
The amazing thing was that even though this sounded a bit shady, Jun Qian did it with complete ease.
Most people, when caught hiding something, would be a little embarrassed. Not him—he was totally open about it. Sometimes, shamelessness is a skill, and Jun Qian was clearly very skilled at it.
Su Shisan watched him leave, then picked up the Binoculars and observed the Meat Market.
There weren’t many people left in the entire Meat Market, just a few Blood Cross wandering around. Occasionally, they’d scuffle, but nothing really bloody broke out.
Anyone who could still stay here at this point probably didn’t have much of a desire to kill.
Suddenly, Su Shisan’s hand stilled, the Binoculars focusing on a spot where a familiar person stood—Xiao You.
Xiao You had already changed her appearance, looking completely different from before. But while appearances could be changed, clothes could not.