Chapter 44
Tong Wei’s dorm was just one floor above or below Ye Xuan and Xia Chenxi’s dorm.
After Ye Xuan finished eating hotpot at Tong Wei’s dorm, he returned to his own dorm.
Smelling the faint scent of blood on himself, he did not even touch the sofa before rushing into the bathroom to take a shower and change clothes.
After washing up, Ye Xuan came out of the bathroom, and a message popped up on his wristband.
[Mission completed. Reward has been deposited.]
He opened his personal profile and looked at his virtual funds. Ye Xuan scratched his hair. Even after the reward arrived, he was still in debt.
If he took on a few more missions, he should be able to pay off what he owed.
Only after becoming an official team member and reading the ability user rulebook did Ye Xuan learn that official team members could owe up to five thousand virtual funds. The fact that he had been able to owe so much for so long was probably because Xie Yan had previously applied for an exception on his behalf.
But the more debt one had, the higher the interest. Under one thousand had a monthly interest of 0.5%. Between one thousand and three thousand had a monthly interest of 1%. Above three thousand had a monthly interest of 5%.
Even robbers did not rob people this badly.
Once the debt reached five thousand virtual funds for one month, the base would forcibly assign personal missions to earn money.
The assigned missions were completely random. They could be easy, or they could be difficult. It all depended on luck. The missions had to be done until the money was fully paid back.
Ye Xuan actually wanted to take personal missions and pay off his debt quickly.
But personal missions could only be unlocked after participating in five group missions. He had only participated in one group mission so far, so he was not qualified to unlock them yet.
Paying back money was one thing, but things that should not be saved on still could not be saved on.
He had to give Xia Chenxi a gift.
Xia Chenxi had helped him so much, yet refused to accept money. Ye Xuan decided to go to the war preparation hall and see if there was anything suitable as a gift.
Ye Xuan glanced at the time. It was already four-thirty. Xia Chenxi’s training would end in half an hour.
He had to go there and back within half an hour, and also choose a suitable gift in such a short time. Time was tight.
Ye Xuan could not care about his still-wet hair. He directly flashed out the door, forcibly shortening a ten-minute journey into one minute.
A passerby touched his neck and murmured to the person beside him, “It felt like an evil wind just passed.”
The person next to him touched his forehead and mocked him, “You don’t have a fever. Are you possessed or something?”
Naturally, Ye Xuan did not hear their conversation. He was already inside the war preparation hall.
The war preparation hall was divided into the weapons section and the equipment section.
The weapons section sold all kinds of weapons. The equipment section sold wearable gear, such as special combat uniforms and the like.
Ye Xuan walked around the weapons section, then walked out with an unchanged expression. No one knew that his heart was surging violently.
No way. Any random, unremarkable weapon started at five hundred. The corpse-catching net Quan Guanxi had used on him last time actually cost one thousand.
Ye Xuan’s heart was bleeding. If he had known earlier, he would have swallowed that anger, not hung Quan Guanxi up, and simply taken his net to resell secondhand.
He could have earned seven or eight hundred, right?
He had watched money slip right through his fingers.
Unfortunately, his previous ability had disappeared. Otherwise, he really would have done that.
Ye Xuan wandered into the equipment section. The prices in the equipment section were much lower by comparison, within the range he could accept.
At one glance, he saw the gloves placed in the center. They were black leather gloves, reflecting a dark, cold light under the lamps.
Ye Xuan walked over and looked at the price. They actually cost five hundred.
They did look pretty good, but judging by appearance alone, they definitely were not worth five hundred.
“Ability user, don’t think these are just ordinary gloves. These gloves have great use.”
The salesperson quietly appeared beside Ye Xuan, picked up the gloves, and enthusiastically introduced them. “Once you put on the gloves and bend your knuckles, look—there are hidden blades at the joints. They’re very helpful in battle.”
The salesperson held the gloves in front of Ye Xuan so he could see clearly. Although the blades were short, they were very sharp. Xia Chenxi was a strength-type ability user. Wearing these gloves, he could definitely punch through a zombie’s brain in one blow.
The estimated value of the gloves rose a little in Ye Xuan’s heart.
He showed nothing on his face and shook his head. “That’s it? It doesn’t feel very worth it.”
“Aiya, please listen to the rest.” The salesperson continued introducing them. “These gloves are made with the most advanced craftsmanship. The interlayer contains flexible metal. It won’t restrict hand movement, and when struck, the metal becomes extremely hard. If you block a fatal blow with this fist, it can definitely save your life.”
Ye Xuan’s expression remained indifferent. It was impossible to tell whether he liked them or not.
“The gloves are nice. Unfortunately, I’m a space ability user. They don’t seem very useful to me.”
“Uh.” The salesperson’s expression stiffened for a moment, then he quickly piled on a smile and recommended equipment for space ability users. “Then how about you look at these? Steel hooks? Hunting ropes? Thorn whips?”
Ye Xuan walked over, looked at them, and shook his head.
“Not that great. They’re not even as good as the gloves. I came here to buy suitable equipment so I could contribute to the base, but it seems I won’t be able to find anything I like today.”
“Aiya, ability user, actually, these gloves are also very suitable for space ability users.” The salesperson lied through his teeth. “You’re fast. You can run up to a zombie and whoosh—throw a punch. That’s all.”
He held up his thumb and index finger, looking very sincere. “How about I give you a twenty percent discount? That’s a whole hundred cheaper.”
“Still too expensive. For a space ability user, it’s not worth this price.” Ye Xuan shook his head and walked toward the exit.
The salesperson gritted his teeth. These gloves were actually not expensive in the entire hall, but in the equipment section, they were among the most expensive items. Many ability users were only willing to spend a lot on weapons, then buy cheap equipment, because the combat uniforms issued by the base were already enough for most ability users.
If he could not sell them now, they would be even harder to sell once new products arrived later. They would only sit in the warehouse collecting dust.
“Fine. Three hundred fifty. I can’t go any lower. That’s already cost price.”
“Three hundred. If that works, we have a deal.”
Ye Xuan turned back and extended his wristband toward the salesperson.
“You…” The salesperson pointed at Ye Xuan, then admitted defeat and scanned Ye Xuan’s wristband, deducting three hundred virtual funds.
“Consider it me making a familiar face. Come take a look at the weapons section next time too.”
Ye Xuan smiled and nodded, then walked out.
The moment he left, his face fell. The weapons section? Heh. He could not afford it at all.
Ye Xuan was quite satisfied with buying these gloves today. These gloves would definitely be much more useful to Xia Chenxi than to himself. He hoped Xia Chenxi would like them.
Ye Xuan glanced at the time on his wristband. It was already four fifty-five. Bargaining with the salesperson had taken up a lot of time.
He had to hurry back now.
Similarly, Ye Xuan flashed back to the dorm.
He was faced with a new problem.
Where should he put the gift?
Ye Xuan thought for a moment. Put it inside Xia Chenxi’s blanket. Xia Chenxi would definitely see it when he slept at night.
His hand touched the doorknob of Xia Chenxi’s room. After turning it halfway, Ye Xuan let go again.
It was not very appropriate to enter Xia Chenxi’s room casually without his consent.
It would be bad if he saw something private.
Although he was also quite curious about what Xia Chenxi’s room looked like.
After circling around the living room, Ye Xuan looked at Xia Chenxi’s blue-and-white apron.
He would put it in the front pocket of the apron. Xia Chenxi would definitely discover it when he cooked.
