After shouting for a while, no one came out.
Tang Yimian anxiously searched around again.
But still, not a single soul was in sight.
With a frown, Tang Yimian regrouped with Lin Yu, and they both shook their heads.
"Junior Lin Yu, could this be an abandoned gas station?"
The answer was obvious—no need to even ask.
It seemed that, subconsciously, Tang Yimian was preparing to trap the two of them in this desolate no-man's-land.
Their only hope turned out to be an abandoned, unmanned gas station.
Such a minor issue was nothing for Lin Yu.
He picked up the nearby fuel gun, ran his fingers over the nozzle, and said,
"Maybe the person running the station just stepped out for a bit. There's still gas here."
"How about we fill up first and leave the cash we owe?"
Tang Yimian’s gift of gab found another opportunity to shine:
"But we’ve already spent all our cash! What do we do now?"
"If we take the gas without paying, wouldn’t that count as theft?"
"Stealing someone else’s property is wrong, don’t you think?"
"Junior Lin Yu, maybe we should just wait here a little longer."
"Who knows? Someone might come back soon."
"That little convenience store up ahead seems empty too."
"I just can’t get past the guilt. What if the owner returns while we’re fueling up? How would we explain ourselves?"
"... (a thousand words of nervous rambling omitted) ..."
Lin Yu: "..."
Such noble principles!
On the brink of dying in the wilderness, and she’s still hung up on moral boundaries.
At least this was "wilderness fiction," not "apocalyptic fiction."
If Tang Yimian were tossed into a post-apocalyptic world, with her mindset, she wouldn’t survive past Chapter 2.
Did a dream really need to be this strict?
At this critical moment, it fell to Lin Yu to patch up the dream’s plot holes.
He rummaged through his pockets and pulled out a thick stack of hundred-yuan bills.
"Lucky me, I still have some cash left."
"Should be around... ten or twenty thousand here?"
Tang Yimian’s eyes widened: "???"
Then—
"Bzzz… bzzz…"
A faint buzzing noise echoed in Lin Yu’s mind.
Lin Yu: "!!!"
A warning sign—the dream was destabilizing?
It was subtle, but unmistakable.
Lin Yu quickly added:
"This is the advance I just got for my writing this week. I figured cash might come in handy during the trip, so I withdrew it beforehand."
As soon as he said it, the faint buzzing faded away.
Lin Yu exhaled in relief, glancing at Tang Yimian.
Too close.
Thankfully, he’d reacted fast enough with a plausible excuse.
Otherwise, after all that effort, the dream would’ve shattered before they got anywhere!
Just one tiny, slightly illogical detail had nearly made Tang Yimian realize she was dreaming.
Since when were web novel heroines this sharp with logic?
This was a wake-up call for Lin Yu.
From now on, he had to make sure everything played out more convincingly.
Otherwise, tonight’s dream infiltration would be a wasted effort.
"That’s amazing, Junior Lin Yu!"
"So that’s how it is. Thank goodness you’re here with me."
"Let’s use your cash to pay, and I’ll transfer my share to you later."
Lin Yu politely declined, but in the end, couldn’t stop Tang Yimian from sending the money.
Not that he didn’t want to—he just didn’t dare drag it out.
They had bigger priorities.
No time to waste on trivialities.
This wasn’t exactly a stable dreamscape.
Lin Yu’s minimum goal for tonight was to close the emotional distance between them—just enough to strike decisively next time.
After refueling, Lin Yu and Tang Yimian "shopped" for supplies, again leaving cash behind.
Clearly, his senior was starving and parched.
She downed three bottles of water, two packs of bread, and a bag of instant noodles before finally sighing in satisfaction.
To avoid raising suspicion, Lin Yu matched her pace, eating and drinking just as much.
Once they loaded the remaining supplies into the car, it was time for the main event!
Lin Yu wiped the sweat from his brow and dusted off his clothes.
While Tang Yimian looked fresh and clean, Lin Yu’s dream-world outfit was pure "desert chic."
But that worked in his favor.
At least it gave him the perfect excuse for what came next.
"Senior, I checked that little motel over there."
"They’ve got showers inside."
"The next stop with supplies might not come until we’re out of this wasteland."
"With all this sand and wind, driving could take days."
"Why don’t we wash off the dust and rest up a bit?"
"Who knows? Maybe the gas station owner will return, and we can ask if there’s a shortcut."
"Even if no one shows, we’ll at least be in better shape before hitting the road again."
"What do you think? Makes sense, right?"
Lin Yu’s lengthy pitch was packed with reasons Tang Yimian couldn’t refuse.
She glanced at the shipping-container-turned-motel and hesitated.
She’d seen the interior earlier.
The so-called shower was just a black water bag mounted on the roof, with a hose leading to a showerhead inside.
As for accommodations?
A bed, a table, and a temporary lamp—that was it.
In the middle of nowhere, you couldn’t afford to be picky.
But taking turns showering with Junior Lin Yu in there…
Awkward much?
But if she let him go in alone…
That’d be worse.
Like she was disgusted by him or something.
So torn!
Lin Yu could guess what she was thinking.
But he also knew her weakness—
Tang Yimian was… a goddess of soft-heartedness!
So—
Thwap! Thwap!
He exaggeratedly slapped his clothes, sending sand flying everywhere.
"It’s fine, Senior. If you’re uncomfortable or think it’s too rough, we can just leave."
"I can tough it out. No big deal."
Then he flashed her a polite, understanding smile.
Nothing was more lethal than weaponized sincerity.
Instantly, Tang Yimian’s resolve hardened.
“Junior Lin Yu, of course I’m not being picky!”
"In a place like this, finding any shower is a miracle."
"Let’s go. We’ll rest inside for a few hours—I saw a chair besides the bed."
"Then we’ll drive out refreshed!"
...
(Second update today. More coming soon! If you’re enjoying this, check the author’s profile for discussion channels. Welcome!)
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grated, and just when he finally managed to get into an elite academy, he discovered that he actually had a system, and the way to earn rewards was extremely ridiculous. So for the sake of rewards, he had no choice but to start acting ridiculous as well. Su Cheng: "It's nothing but system quests after all." But later, what confused Su Cheng was that while he was already quite ridiculous, he never expected those serious characters to gradually become ridiculous too. And the way they looked at him became increasingly strange... (This synopsis doesn't do it justice, please read the full story)
with countless casualties. As a top-tier gamer, Liu Xuan volunteered to join the fight, intending to dominate with his skills, but instead he obtained the hidden class: [Pacifist]. Unable to attack. Unable to use active skills. Fortunately, with each level gained, he acquired a new passive skill. And so, armed with a body full of passives, Liu Xuan slaughtered his way through the battlefield of ten thousand races! [You attacked Liu Xuan] [You gained the debuffs: 'Poison', 'Fear', 'Burning', 'Bleeding', 'Freeze', 'Silence', etc.] [Your attack speed has been reduced by 99%] [Your armor and magic resistance have been reduced by 99%] Warriors of the Ten Thousand Races: How the hell am I supposed to fight this?!
iaobai: "Councilor Dad, front me some funds. I want to hire ten thousand professional miners for a project!" [Five-Star Mission Issued: Capture the leader of the Blood Heaven Pirate Gang, who is on the run in the Radiant Star Sector. It is said the gang has over a hundred members. Proceed with caution.] Lu Xiaobai: "Councilor Dad, lend me the family's hundred-thousand-strong Lu Army!" [Seven-Star Mission Issued: Subdue a juvenile Void Dragon Beast.] Lu Xiaobai: "Councilor Dad, I'm taking your tamed Void Dragon Beast King out for a family reunion!" I said, System, don't you have any slightly more challenging missions? You're just not up to par! [Nine-Star Mission Issued: Become the Human Councilor.] Lu Xiaobai: "Dad, there's a small matter I'd like to discuss with you..."
