Chapter 10: Good Deeds Rewarded
Honestly, Chen Sui was sorely tempted to pull out the Terror Crabs from his fish tank and sell them all right now.
If a single ordinary crab was already fetching that kind of price, how much money could a Shallows Terror Crab possibly rake in?
But after thinking it over, Chen Sui held back. Making money that fast felt a little too unconscionable, even to him.
After all, this wasn't a novel — you couldn't just wave your hand and conjure millions. The hundred thousand yuan he'd already earned was already a significant sum by his standards.
Still, money was money, and free money was free money. Chen Sui wolfed down a quick breakfast and dove back into the game.
Back to grinding.
For the next several days, Chen Sui did nothing else. While other players were exploring new areas, he was grinding mobs. While others were making trades, he was grinding mobs. While others were picking fights, he was still grinding mobs.
But Lady Luck had apparently washed her hands of him entirely.
No more Fine Quality Terror Crabs appeared. Not even top-tier defensive talents like Iron Armor or Spines showed up again. The only thing he managed to find were three or four Red-Mantled Tide Crabs with the Hardened talent.
Without exception, Chen Sui listed every single one on the trading market.
Naturally, the prices took a significant hit — each one sold for somewhere between eight and nine thousand yuan.
Even so, Chen Sui was satisfied. Eight or nine thousand wasn't a small amount; if he could earn it, he would.
Quite a few players had reached out privately over those days, hoping to buy crabs directly from him. Chen Sui politely declined each one. Listing them online was simpler — no need to deal with people directly.
"I'm getting tired of these crabs, though. I've combed every corner of this Little Fishing Island and haven't spotted any other monsters. I need to figure out how to find bigger, stronger ones..."
"Might as well head back to the fishing village. The Red-Mantled Tide Crab carcasses in my Inventory need to be handed off to a recycling merchant."
Chen Sui gazed up at the brilliant night sky of the Azure world, thoughts drifting, then turned and walked toward the fishing village.
Over the past few days he'd grown used to the briny smell that hung in the village air. The settlement was lit up warmly, and the tip of his nose caught the fragrance of some kind of seafood broth — it smelled like milk had been added, giving it a soft, creamy richness.
Chen Sui passed through the square and remembered the girl who had been begging there a few days ago.
"She's probably gone by now. Three hundred Fish Coins is more than enough to get by here."
The child had looked frail, but she was probably twelve or thirteen — old enough to understand the world. That was why Chen Sui had chosen to give her the money directly.
He swept his gaze around the square.
She was nowhere to be seen. Reassured, he was about to head on his way.
Then a burst of commotion pulled his attention toward a nearby alley.
"What do you think you're doing? Give her money back — she's just a child!"
The voice came from a small alley not far away.
Chen Sui frowned slightly and walked over.
Rounding the corner, he saw a female player shielding a small girl in her arms. In front of them stood a man and a woman, their expressions unreadable.
The little girl was dressed in a worn, coarse linen outfit. She was thin and slight, head bowed, showing no obvious emotion.
But Chen Sui recognized her at a glance — this was the same little beggar from a few days ago. She'd changed into tattered linen clothes, but her demeanor was exactly the same.
She'd even deliberately made the clothes look more worn. Smart kid.
"You told me there was Fish Coins to be earned here, and this is what you brought me for — to rob a little girl? Have you no decency at all?"
Zhou Xiyao's eyes trembled as she stared at the two companions in front of her, the small girl still pressed against her chest. She couldn't believe it — these two people had actually done something like this. One was her Bestie, and the other was the boyfriend she'd been on the verge of making things official with.
The two standing before her exchanged a glance. The woman shrugged, unbothered:
"Xiyao, you're way too soft-hearted. This girl is just a game character — there's no need to treat her like a real person."
"You... Xiaoxue, but she's alive and breathing! Even inside a game, how can you see something like this and feel nothing? You really had it in you to rob a poor little girl?"
Zhou Xiyao shot back through gritted teeth.
Sun Xue's expression turned a little odd:
"Empathy? If we're busy having empathy, we won't make any money. We're still beginners — we need the Fish Coins."
"Exactly, Yaoyao, you're being way too sensitive. She's a virtual character. Robbing her is no big deal. We're new to this game and we need Fish Coins — even if we don't spend them, we can sell them for real money. Robbing this one little girl gets us ten Fish Coins a day. It's basically a gift from the developers. Yaoyao, aren't we going to Disneyland next holiday?"
Liu Gaosong chimed in, his tone carrying a coaxing lilt.
"Absolutely not. I refuse!" Zhou Xiyao fixed her gaze on Liu Gaosong, her voice edged with hurt. "Don't you feel even a little bad? A child like this, out here begging — those ten Fish Coins you took might have taken her who knows how long to earn!"
Liu Gaosong looked uncomfortable, but still pressed on:
"Come on, Yaoyao, she's just a virtual character. When it comes down to it, she's worth less than an animal. And even if we rob her, the game System will just give her more money anyway."
"Ugh, Gaosong, why are you even arguing with her?" Sun Xue waved a hand dismissively and looked straight at Zhou Xiyao. "Yaoyao, if you don't want to rob her, fine — we won't stop you. But don't stop us either."
"No..."
Zhou Xiyao shook her head and glanced down at the child in her arms.
Liu Gaosong had run out of patience entirely. He looked at Zhou Xiyao, his tone now laced with open irritation:
"Yaoyao, stop making a scene. She's just some worthless game character — what's worth protecting? It's not like we're killing her. We're just robbing her; she won't die!"
Before the last word left his mouth, a flash of steel cut through the air.
Liu Gaosong's lower half dissolved into the game's white-smoke censorship effect and vanished.
"Ahhh—"
The searing pain tore a shriek from Liu Gaosong's throat.
The game did have a pain-suppression System, but it could only block seventy percent. The remaining thirty percent fed directly into the brain.
And thirty percent of being bisected at the waist... that was going to hurt quite a bit.
So after two screams, Liu Gaosong died from the pain.
Both Zhou Xiyao and Sun Xue snapped their heads up. A young man strolled in, smiling, with a tall One-Armed Fishfolk following at his back.
The tip of the Fishfolk's black spear was trailing wisps of white-smoke censorship effect — blood, rendered away by the game.
"Who are you?"
Sun Xue felt a chill crawl up her spine at the sight. She stepped back two paces.
"Cut her down."
Chen Sui gave a casual wave.
Wavecrest raised his spear once more. With a piercing shriek of the blade splitting air, Sun Xue's body was bisected at the waist as well.
An identical scream rang out, drawing the attention of quite a few players and NPCs outside the alley.
To avoid drawing further notice, Chen Sui recalled Wavecrest into the Sea Beast List, then walked step by step toward Zhou Xiyao.
Zhou Xiyao was in a complete panic. The way Chen Sui had cut people down without so much as blinking had thoroughly terrified her. She huddled in the corner, clutching the little girl, trembling.
But at that moment, the little girl wriggled free of Zhou Xiyao's embrace.
"Hey..."
Zhou Xiyao instinctively called out, but didn't dare stop her.
The little girl dashed straight to Chen Sui's side and was caught as he crouched down and opened his arms.
"Big Brother."
The little girl nestled her head sweetly against Chen Sui's chest and murmured those two soft words — and just like that, his heart melted.
Well. Saving her was definitely worth it.
He reached into his pocket, fished out a coin pouch containing 100 Fish Coins, and tossed it casually to Zhou Xiyao.
Zhou Xiyao caught it in a daze and looked up at him.
The young man in front of her smiled gently, his profile catching the sunlight and seeming to glow:
"Good deeds rewarded."
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Edited by Fat Goose