I Want to Spend a Little Money, Spend a Little Money

The second Zhu Yan walked through the shop door, the "officer" behind the counter turned its head.

"Oh my, a new student has arrived."

The convenience store quieted down for a couple of seconds. Some students looked up and cast a few glances in Zhu Yan's direction.

Zhu Yan's gaze quickly swept over the bright, colorful snack wrappers in their hands, catching the sweet scent of artificial flavoring in the air.

A faint thrill of excitement began to boil in the depths of Zhu Yan's heart.

He hurriedly shifted his gaze back to the "officer," focusing his mind.

The surrounding students resumed their chatting, and the cheerful noise washed over Zhu Yan's ears once more.

Wearing a simple, honest-looking smile, the "officer" scanned Zhu Yan from head to toe with pitch-black eyes.

"Didn't you go get some food, child?"

Get what food? Those things that were obviously spiked?

Zhu Yan glanced around at the students loudly chewing their food, feeling a slight chill in his heart.

It was obvious.

These things were addictive.

"I..."

Zhu Yan took a step forward, getting a little closer to the "officer."

Gripping the sharp knife in his pocket tightly, Zhu Yan adjusted his expression, revealing a compliant smile.

"I had some food originally, but my friend asked for it."

He cautiously observed the "officer's" expression.

Seeing that the other party still wore that same unchanging, natural smile, Zhu Yan lowered his voice and asked the question he had been meaning to ask.

"So, I'm here to buy something new."

Zhu Yan emphasized the word "buy."

His attention was locked onto the "officer's" face, noting a very slight furrow in its brow.

However, its mouth remained stretched in a wide smile.

"You silly child." The "officer's" pitch-black eyes stared at Zhu Yan. "All the food in the store is given out for free. How could we ask you to pay?"

You don't want money, you want lives, right?

Zhu Yan really wanted to retort right then and there.

He shifted his gaze downward and noticed that the corners of the "officer's" mouth were actually a bit wet.

"Child, whatever you want, just go outside and get it."

Oh, fine.

Trading lives for it wasn't the main issue; the point was that the "officer" had blatantly refused the transaction.

Zhu Yan wanted to try asking in a different way, but someone patted his shoulder, and then a force pulled him backward.

"Hey, man, stop causing trouble for the police officer."

The speaker was a boy who pulled out a bottle of water and amicably shoved it into Zhu Yan's hand.

"We aren't short on food here, you don't need to go outside to get any."

The boy pointed in a direction for Zhu Yan, then turned his head away and continued laughing and joking with his friends.

Zhu Yan looked in the direction he was pointing.

A large cardboard box lay quietly behind the crowd, right between two empty food aisles.

It looked very out of place on the white porcelain tiles, like a piece of trash that could be thrown away at any moment.

Zhu Yan walked over to take a look. Inside were a few small bags of snacks and two cans of soda, looking like the leftovers from their distribution.

He crouched down and found they were terrible-tasting yogurt-flavored potato chips and a soda known for its weird taste.

A sense of eeriness crept into his heart.

Why were they being picky?

This wasn't the real world where food and drinks were plentiful.

Without knowing that there was something wrong with the food, shouldn't the normal reaction be to hoard every bit of supplies for emergencies?

"...Hey, the group chat says the bus will be here soon..."

"Damn, [Carnival Paradise] probably didn't expect the police department to jump in..."

"Speaking of which, where are the thriller creatures they dropped in?"

The sound of laughter and talking drifted into his ears from behind. Zhu Yan stood up, grabbed a bag of snacks as a cover, and quickly walked past the empty shelves at the front of the convenience store.

The "Captain" had explicitly mentioned buying things, and Zhu Yan had already verified with another "officer" that buying things could advance the game.

The attitude of the "officer" here indicated that not all goods met the conditions for purchase.

Zhu Yan had to search.

The daily necessities shelves at the back of the convenience store were full; the "officers" had only taken the food.

Zhu Yan could feel the "officer's" icy gaze lingering on him.

He needed to be fast and look natural.

"...Oh, they said the thriller creatures are in the back." A girl answered her companion's question.

—The back, as in the street behind the police line?

Toothbrushes, umbrellas, wet wipes... Zhu Yan's hand quickly swept across the shelves.

The "officer" could come over and stop him at any moment. If a fight broke out, it might attract a siege from even more things.

He didn't want to cause trouble.

"Didn't the police block off the street? Some SWAT players are helping out in the back..."

—Sure enough, another little lie from the thriller creatures.

Everything Zhu Yan touched felt ordinary. He had no idea which item was the right one.

He sneered internally and, like a whirlwind, rapidly scooped up all the merchandise he could carry into his arms.

If he couldn't choose, he would just take them all.

The thriller creatures would help him figure out which one required payment anyway.

"Hey, look at the group chat, that guy with the study app avatar is talking again..."

"He's gone a bit crazy."

Oh, Yang Zhanbai.

Zhu Yan was currently staring at some baking foil.

The items in his arms were already piled high; this was the last item on the deep shelves.

A few aisles away, the players were still chattering.

"Hahaha, who cares about him."

"...I feel safe from the bottom of my heart..."

These voices were mixed with the sound of satisfied chewing, followed by the rustling of a new bag of snacks being ripped open.

Hallucinogenic, addictive.

Eating until they lose their minds, huh.

Zhu Yan narrowed his eyes slightly.

Baking foil—wasn't that related to eating?

He decisively reached out and tucked a box of aluminum foil into his already full arms.

"To be honest, looking at his messages gives me a weird dizzy feeling now. I can't even read them."

"What did he say?"

Zhu Yan quickly checked his surroundings.

After confirming he hadn't missed anything, he turned and walked back to the counter, dumping the massive pile of items in front of the "officer."

"Are all of these given away for free too?"

Zhu Yan asked, drawing the gazes of the others toward him.

The "officer's" face suddenly darkened.

Zhu Yan vigilantly tightened his grip on his knife handle.

Clearly, his actions had disrupted their plans.

The "officer's" dull, pitch-black pupils stared motionlessly at his face as its mouth twisted unnaturally, revealing a stiff smile.

"Oh my, you child, why are you so greedy for freebies!"

It scolded him, mimicking the tone of an elder, and reached out to rummage through the large pile of items.

The "officer's" movements were exaggerated, and a few small items fell to the floor.

"Fine, consider it a massive loss for the store owner."

It muttered, "We were the ones who made the promise on behalf of the police station..."

Zhu Yan bent down and picked up the foil and toothbrush that had fallen to the floor.

"There's also these two."

His gaze swept over the shelf next to the counter, and he grabbed a lighter and a box of condoms, handing them over as well.

"Oh. These."

The "officer's" forced smile stiffly dropped back down.

Next to it, a boy who had turned his head to watch the commotion stared at the box of condoms, looking at Zhu Yan dumbfounded.

"Bro, why are you just grabbing everything?"

Zhu Yan did not answer; his only concern was whether he could successfully spend his money.

The "officer" sighed, turning a blind eye to the new items Zhu Yan had just placed on the counter, yet chimed in with a remarkably lifelike tone.

"Exactly. Tell me, kid, why did you grab all those?"

Zhu Yan glanced at the pile of items on the table that the "officer" had agreed to give away for free. Playing along with the scheme, he decisively pushed the pile aside.

"You're right," he said calmly. "It would be too much trouble for the shopkeeper."

"Tell you what, Uncle, I don't want this pile of stuff anymore. I wouldn't take it even if it were free."

With that, Zhu Yan held out the toothbrush in his hand to the officer.

"I just want this. Can I have it for free?"

The "officer" paused for a moment before his easygoing smile returned.

"Sure, sure—"

"Then I don't want it. Getting all these freebies, I'd feel too embarrassed."

Zhu Yan immediately tossed the toothbrush aside and picked up the tin foil instead.

"I just want this. How much will it be?"

If the "officer" were a normal human being, Zhu Yan's behavior would have been incredibly obnoxious.

The surrounding players stopped their conversations one after another, turning their heads to watch the drama unfold.

The "officer," however, let his expression turn completely cold. His brows furrowed, casting a shadow over those eyes that reflected absolutely no light.

"So stubborn." A few seconds later, it let out a cold sneer.

"Fine. You want everything in your hands, right?"

"Since you're a student, just give me three coins."