Chapter 33: Setting Up Stall Right Here
Yu Jiang really needed a raincoat; wearing a piece of plastic cloth every day wasn’t going to cut it.
She hesitated in front of the vending machine for a good while, gritted her teeth, and still bought it.
Plastic cloth can’t prevent corrosion, and just for that feature, she couldn’t skimp on crystal coins even if it hurt.
Skimp on small money, and you might end up losing big money later. It’s fine, crystal coins can be earned again. She comforted herself like this and clicked to pay.
Ding, a neatly folded black raincoat dropped into the pickup slot.
At the same time.
Outside the auto repair shop, a male player was chased out. The Dwarf Monster Boss stood on the steps with an ashen face, gesturing wildly with hands and feet,
“Back off! Back off! Back off!”
“No money and you come into my shop to nitpick, wasting my time.”
“.” The male player looked utterly aggrieved, wanted to curse but held it in in the end.
NPC favor -50 gets you blacklisted: lightly, kicked out of the service area; severely, never allowed into the same type of service area again.
He just asked for details on every service item and complained that modifying the engine alone cost a thousand crystal coins, too expensive.
The boss called him a poor ghost pretending to be rich, and some invisible force pushed him out.
The player looked around; several cars were driving into the service area.
He quickly got into his car and grabbed a good spot first in the non-motel guest parking area.
There wouldn’t be few vehicles staying overnight in this service area tonight.
In less than half an hour, the auto repair shop would close; those arriving later probably couldn’t afford the prices either.
Everyone would be chased out.
Thinking this way, the player felt much better.
Behind him, a sedan pulled up neatly in front of the auto repair shop. The car door opened, and first to appear was a pair of straight long legs that looked very alluring.
As soon as the person got out, compared to her height, this Level 3 Vehicle looked like a toy.
Shi Xu walked into the auto repair shop, flashed her crystal coins balance, and the fuming boss immediately broke into a smile,
“Hello, customer. Vehicle modification, guaranteed satisfaction!”
The player outside waiting for the show waited a long time but didn’t see the person who went in get chased out. After a full ten-plus minutes, the car finally drove out.
It didn’t look any different from when it went in—just a roof rack added on top. Probably another poor ghost.
Then he felt relieved. He had wanted to go over and scout, but the car went straight to the parking spot behind the motel, so he couldn’t follow and had to give up.
Several more vehicles arrived one after another, all sorts of shapes.
Everyone coming out of the auto repair shop had pretty much the same expression: crestfallen and stamping their feet.
Coming to such a great place but without crystal coins—what a painful comprehension! If only they’d found ways to stock up more crystal coins on the road.
There were one or two who brought enough crystal coins in and left satisfied, but when they walked out, they didn’t show any happy emotion.
Some had bad luck: just arrived, auto repair shop off work and closed, then learned from others what this shop did— the player was done for.
“Holy shit!!! Just missed by that much, boss, can you open the door again?”
No matter how he knocked outside, that roller shutter door that didn’t look very sturdy remained completely still, no reaction.
“Don’t bother.” Someone nearby said sympathetically, gesturing for him to look at the sign beside it.
Service Area Auto Repair Shop strictly enforces business hours, no overtime!
There was also a panda person sticker pack next to it.
“Don’t be sad, even if you got in, you might not be able to modify your vehicle.”
“Tell me about it, I had 295 crystal coins, practically knelt to the boss, and he still wouldn’t lower the price. What a sin.” The person who chimed in only said half.
The other half was relief at having bought two anti-corrosion sprays, didn’t dare say it out loud, afraid of being targeted.
The sky gradually darkened; the rain had stopped in the service area. Players arrived one after another, more and more vehicles in the parking lot.
By five or six in the afternoon, you could still see vehicles with headlights driving in.
Most players hid their info; a few only showed achievement titles; some confident ones directly displayed nicknames.
It was pretty lively now, players gathered to exchange supplies, discuss teaming up, and probe each other.
Someone even hung up a sign: Help you get ranking, price negotiable.
Some cars had cardboard on them: Seeking Top Ten big shots to team up, no supplies needed, and ones writing CPDD.
And Sad Pig Intestine directly set up a stall right there.
The motel side had most rooms booked, also very lively, giving a sense of being stuck on the highway back in the original world.
“Isn’t there anyone here who ranked in the Top Ten last time?” The speaking player scanned around.
“We’ve all chatted so long, what’s with hiding? If there’s a big shot here, just say so, share some experience with everyone.”
“I remember now!” Someone exclaimed, “At noon, The King Called Me to Patrol the Mountain put out a batch of potions, only taking crystal coins—was it because they went into the auto repair shop?”
“Don’t tell me! You might be right! They could really be in this service area!”
A player with unhidden info spoke up on the public screen.
Player 4539: [@The King Called Me to Patrol the Mountain, big shot, did you know about the auto repair shop in the service area long ago? Where are you? Can you come out and meet? We’re at the 6 o’clock direction.]
Sui Feng 220: [They knew there was an auto repair shop here, didn’t tell everyone, that’s one thing, but also took everyone’s crystal coins—too unscrupulous, right?]
Kuang Kuang Kuang: [The Intermediate Healing Potion was bought by me, I think the price is fine, stop yapping here, you annoy me just looking at you.]
Super Idea King: [Agree, I still want to buy a healing potion if you don’t.]
Bean Paste Done!: [Haven’t tracked the instance mission yet, but super curious what the big shot looks like—can those who’ve seen say something?]
Lone Wolf 2009: [First, the big shot probably isn’t short on crystal coins, then you say they arrived early, definitely staying at the motel.]
At this moment, Yu Jiang, who had quickly returned to her room after heating fried rice in the microwave in the downstairs public area, stared at the words ‘not short on crystal coins’ on the public screen and fell into thought.
After buying the raincoat, she had only 27 crystal coins left—pockets cleaner than her face, and the washing machine cost another 10 crystal coins.
Fine, just 17 left.
When the motel clerk said 50 crystal coins for a deluxe nutritious meal, she ran off fast.
Seeing how lively it was outside, Yu Jiang finished dinner and prepared to go out to scout some info.
Hide the info, no one should recognize her.
Put on the monster-fighting jacket, looked properly down-and-out.
Before going out, a message she’d scrolled past caught Yu Jiang’s attention.
One Monkey: [At the corner of the motel entrance, there’s delicious wild vegetable noodle soup! Affordable price!]
Player 0857: [Aren’t you all in the service area chatting and eating noodle soup, just me alone and miserable on the road?]
Small Town Story: [And me, so regretful—if I’d known we could reach the service area today, I’d have gone no matter what.]
Player 5566: [Already queuing for noodle soup, and you say that—harder to get in line now.]
Yu Jiang’s light screen lit up with a friend message from Sad Pig Intestine: “Big shot, want noodle soup? Free for you.”
It really was him!
Sad Pig Intestine: Set up stall first and earn a wave.
