Chapter 281: [Host, I’m Sorry.]
Chapter 281: Chapter 281: [Host, I’m Sorry.]
It was the lunch rush by the time she got back to the restaurant.
Shen Lu told Fu Cheng to go upstairs and rest while she went to work.
Without exception, every customer who came to eat today was discussing the video from that morning.
"What exactly is going on? Not only can I not understand what I’m seeing, I can’t understand what I’m hearing either."
"That’s what happens when you’re uneducated. How can you not understand something so obvious?"
"So all the people who’ve been dying in the Lower City District recently were Gong Tianhua’s handiwork. He really deserves to die!"
"Using us as test subjects for his drugs... he really doesn’t see us as human!"
"Exactly! For a proper drug trial, you sign a contract and even get a subsidy. What he’s doing is just pure mooching!"
"...You’ve got a special kind of brain, don’t you? Is mooching really the main point here?"
"But... he was doing it for a great leap forward for human society. You can’t say he was completely wrong, can you?"
"Are you a fucking bootlicker or what? He called you a low-life peasant, and you’re still defending him? Is your brain full of shit?"
"The government has to give us an explanation!"
"They have to! So many people have died recently, it’s got everyone on edge."
"Speaking of which, who is the person who exposed all this?"
"Yeah, that person is incredible. How did they dig all this up?"
"Who else could it be but those who go against the government? Obviously, it’s those shady revolutionaries."
"True."
"Looking at it this way, I feel like they’re actually quite righteous."
"Are you thick? They do this one good deed and suddenly they’re righteous? Have you forgotten about the bombing they caused before?"
...
Shen Lu listened quietly. Seeing everyone credit the revolutionaries for her work, she sighed with mixed feelings.
Shen Lu asked the system, "Will I still get any reputation value for this?"
[Unfortunately, Host.]
The system also felt it was a shame for Shen Lu. She had risked her life venturing into the lion’s den and used so many props, only to get zero reputation value in the end.
Shen Lu pouted. "Well, it’s not a total loss. This way, no one will suspect me."
Someone else got the credit, but they would also take the heat if things went wrong. Shen Lu didn’t find it that unacceptable.
After the lunch rush, Shen Lu had a few quick bites and went back to her bedroom to rest.
She wasn’t just physically exhausted, but mentally as well.
Lying on her bed, Shen Lu finally had a moment to take a good look at the newly acquired Mysterious Mall.
The entrance to the Mysterious Mall was in the top right corner of the regular mall. Tapping the black-and-gold logo immediately took her to another interface.
Unlike the clean and tidy regular mall, the Mysterious Mall’s interface matched its logo perfectly—black with gold patterns, giving off a high-end, sophisticated vibe.
There weren’t many items, but they were all things that couldn’t be found in the regular mall, and there were no restrictions on the types of goods.
Shen Lu not only saw some unheard-of ingredients and seasonings, but also tanks, cannons, and other military-grade weapons, as well as some bizarre materials, blueprints, and so on.
Of course, the prices were also breathtaking.
The cheapest items started at 100 reputation value. Shen Lu glanced at her pathetic 28 reputation value and silently closed the Mysterious Mall.
’These 28 reputation value points,’ she mused, ’probably came from the people I’ve helped.’
’This stuff is hard to get.’
Shen Lu sighed. Reputation value was even harder to obtain than popularity value.
The conditions for gaining popularity value were relatively lax. Reputation value was different; it required Shen Lu to personally do things that not only earned others’ approval but also elicited emotions like admiration and reverence.
’This is really pushing me into the role of a savior.’
’But all I wanted in the beginning was just to survive in this bizarre world.’
Shen Lu closed the Mysterious Mall, her interest waning. She pulled herself together to finish the tasks at hand.
[DING DONG. Detected sales: Braised Pork Set 900/900, Kung Pao Chicken Set 800/800, Steamed Fish Head with Diced Hot Peppers Set 460/460. Total revenue has reached 200,000 Star Coins and customer satisfaction is three stars or higher. Mission complete. Reward: one Lottery Ticket.]
Hearing the system’s notification, Shen Lu finally glanced at today’s daily mission.
She had been at the research institute all morning, her attention focused on completing the hidden mission, so she hadn’t looked at the system’s messages at all.
Even though she wasn’t in the restaurant today, the mission had still been issued, and what’s more, it had been completed.
Shen Lu stroked her chin. ’Does this mean I won’t have to handle everything myself from now on?’
Also, her daily revenue was truly high now. After deducting necessary costs like labor and ingredients purchased from Zhao Qian’s farm, she had over two million Star Coins in her account.
Over two million Star Coins seemed like a lot, but that was only by Lower City District standards. Compared to the wealthy people in the Upper City District, she could barely be considered to have a little money.
The only thing that brought her some comfort was that her popularity value was about to hit 50,000.
Now she could also browse the mid-priced items in the system’s regular mall.
However, Shen Lu only looked and had no intention of buying anything.
She still didn’t know what the future held. It was more reassuring to save up as much capital as possible.
Because she was so exhausted, Shen Lu hastily ate a few mouthfuls of lunch and went upstairs to rest.
Fu Cheng looked like he wanted to say something but held back when he saw her exhausted expression.
’What’s done is done,’ he thought. ’If they really do investigate and trace it back to us, I’ll just take all the blame.’
’After all, Shen Lu is a normal person, and I’m a Superpower User. Anyone would suspect me first, not her. As long as I play along with their preconceptions, Shen Lu can be completely in the clear.’
Shen Lu slept until four in the afternoon before her eyes fluttered open. She struggled out of her blankets, her mind still fuzzy.
"I can’t sleep anymore," she muttered to herself, forcing herself out of bed.
If she slept any longer, she wouldn’t be able to sleep at night.
After a quick wash in the bathroom, Shen Lu opened the door and came face to face with a slightly frowning Fu Cheng.
Shen Lu clicked her tongue and sighed. "What did you want to ask?"
Her tone was guarded, and Fu Cheng could hear it. He looked a little hurt.
"If the government’s people trace this back to us, just say you don’t know anything."
Shen Lu raised an eyebrow. "Hm?"
"I don’t know what method you used to make my uncle say those things, but we were the only two at the entrance then. It’s impossible for them not to investigate us."
"You mean you’re going to take the fall for me?"
Fu Cheng’s gaze was deep as he looked at Shen Lu, not saying a word.
Shen Lu’s heart stirred slightly, and her tone softened a little. "Don’t take this so seriously. If someone really comes to investigate, I’ll say I don’t know anything, and you say you don’t know anything. Don’t change your story, or it will just make things more troublesome."
"That story is full of holes. It would be better if I..."
"It won’t be. As long as they can’t find anything on the surveillance footage, there are no holes."
At the mention of surveillance, Fu Cheng fell silent. He wasn’t sure if anyone would notice anything suspicious from the few minutes he’d controlled the camera at the entrance.
Shen Lu patted his shoulder. "Relax. Don’t assume the worst. Maybe the government won’t even investigate at all."