Chapter 94: Aunt Liu’s Tailor Shop
Peace and Violence took off his glasses, wiping away the steam from the bubbling hotpot. “The Boss probably earned her skill card through sheer combat prowess. But Sparkling’s card was likely a random drop, or maybe it’s tied directly to driving a professional utility vehicle.”
If You’re Bad, Practice More let out a miserable groan. “What?! My rig isn’t a specialized profession vehicle! Does that mean I have zero hope?”
Jiangzhehu Inheritor looked just as downcast, gently patting Sister Cai’s shoulder. “Don’t be sad, Sister Cai. I’m in the exact same boat. Neither of us has a specialized work truck, so we probably won’t qualify either.”
Fastest Hand at SF Express snatched the last piece of beef tripe right out of Hungry Spirit Blue Knight’s bowl, shoving it into his mouth while using his forearm to block Blue Knight’s chopsticks. Chewing rapidly, he mumbled, “If skill cards are tied to profession vehicles, that’s amazing news for me! I drive an official courier van—doesn’t that mean I deserve a skill card too?”
Flash Delivery Yellow Knight held his chopsticks in the air, his eyes wide with excitement. “Brother Shunshou delivers express parcels for a living. Wouldn’t your exclusive skill card just give you an endless pile of packages to deliver every single day?”
Before the words had even settled, Fastest Hand rapped his brother over the head with a chopstick. “Can’t you wish something actually good for me for once?!”
Hungry Spirit Blue Knight pushed his chair back and dashed over to Cute and Sparkling, begging her to slice up another plate of tripe.
Watching the squad laugh and tease each other around the steaming table, Lin Huai smiled gently before speaking up: “Skill cards truly are rare treasures. Across the entire server, there really aren’t many out there.”
Seeing their faces fall with disappointment, she lowered her voice and changed her tone: “However… I’ve already discovered a reliable shortcut to acquire them. When the right opportunities come along, I will do my absolute best to secure a skill card for every single one of you.”
Milk Tea Seven Parts Sugar bounced in her seat. “Yay! Long live the Boss!”
Old Wang was chewing a piping hot meatball, his mouth too scorched to form words, so he just thrust a vigorous thumb in the air. “Good… that’s so good…”
Dragon Emerging from the Sea smiled, though his pragmatic mind immediately worried about the burden on her shoulders. “Are skill cards exceptionally dangerous to retrieve? Will getting cards for the rest of us put you in too much danger, Boss?”
Lin Huai’s expression remained steady and calm. “It takes effort, and it depends heavily on timing and opportunity. I’ll explain everything when the moment arrives.”
Jiangzhehu Inheritor nodded firmly. “Understood, Boss! You handle the strategy, and leave the financing to me. If all else fails, we’ll just buy them with cold, hard cash! I refuse to believe there’s a single problem in this world that enough money can’t solve!”
Once lunch wrapped up, the squad split up to explore the shops around town.
Lin Huai drove her armored hearse alone down the cobblestone streets toward the underworld pawnshop.
The shopkeepers in every settlement were all members of the Head-Dropping Clan, though each branch was managed by a different entity.
The clerk behind the counter here wore antique round spectacles, carrying a gloomy, unfriendly aura. When Lin Huai stepped through the door, he didn’t even bother opening his heavy eyelids.
It wasn’t until Lin Huai placed her golden pawnshop token onto the wooden counter that the clerk’s eyes snapped wide open.
“Ah, an honored patron!”
He bowed with exaggerated courtesy. “We ask no questions regarding where it came from, nor where it goes. What grand treasure would our distinguished guest like to pawn today?”
Lin Huai tapped her Space Jade Bangle, pulling out the massive pile of scrap vehicles she had salvaged from the joint instance. “I want to exchange these for Yang energy crystals.”
With Little Bone providing a steady pipeline of Yin crystals, Yang energy crystals were what she lacked most.
Although the clerk had little personal interest in a heap of crumpled metal frames, he showed deep respect for the golden token in her grip. He appraised the scrap at the highest possible valuation, handing over sixty pure Yang energy crystals in exchange.
Stepping back out into the street, Lin Huai was about to browse the other storefronts when Old Hei’s broadcast chimed directly into her ear:
[Congratulations to player Bone Ashes Mixed with Rice for successfully activating the integration crystal! Reward: Bone-Crushing Box x3, Instance Shard x1, Blood Jade x10, Memory Crystal Orb x5.]
Hearing the delayed notification, Lin Huai chuckled softly. “Old Hei, you’re slacking on the job, aren’t you? Why did my personal rewards take so long to arrive today? I almost thought you forgot about me.”
Old Hei’s voice buzzed with pure irritation: [I was in the middle of chewing out a bunch of useless system assistants! I didn’t have time! I pushed the rewards through the second I finished arguing!]
Lin Huai held back a laugh, asking casually, “Well? Did you win the argument?”
[Hah! Is that even a question?! There isn’t a single system in the entire network that can out-curse Old Hei!]
“Impressive, very impressive. So, are there any bonus milestone rewards for this integration?”
Old Hei cut her off without hesitation: [None!]
Lin Huai frowned playfully. “Why not?”
[Because it isn’t the end of the month yet, which means my performance bonus hasn’t cleared into my account!]
Faced with such a straightforward, unassailable reason, Lin Huai could only compromise: “Fine, then once your bonus clears at the end of the month, are you going to send me a really top-tier gift?”
Old Hei grunted: [We’ll see when the time comes. I was already reported again for handing out those winter coats, so bending the rules won’t be as easy moving forward.]
He suddenly hissed: [Damn it, that idiot assistant logged back on. I’m going back to tear into that pain in the neck. Watch your own back out there!]
With that, he disconnected.
Lin Huai smiled faintly. Old Hei’s slip confirmed her suspicion: the padded coats were indeed critical survival gear meant to counter the upcoming natural disaster.
Opening her screen, she noticed the newly integrated players from Zone 398 were still stirring up trouble in the public lobby, throwing the entire chat into chaos.
She navigated straight to a private chat with Peace and Violence.
[Bone Ashes Mixed with Rice]: Brother He Ping, I have confirmed intel: the next environmental disaster will involve extreme freezing temperatures, and down jackets are mandatory survival gear. Please send this warning privately to every veteran player from our original Zone 444.
[Peace and Violence]: Understood, Boss! On it right away.
[Peaceful Violence]: By the way, how do you want to handle the troublemakers from the merged district?
[Bone Ashes Mixed with Rice]: Leave them be for now. The culture in their old district was rotten to the core. Let them make noise for a couple of days. Once all the toxic leaders expose themselves, we’ll send a cleanup crew to rectify the entire batch. Keep an eye on the lobby logs for me over the next few days.
[Peace and Violence]: Got it, Boss.
Just as she closed the tab, an urgent string of emergency pings lit up the Elite Squad chat.
[Cute and Sparkling]: Boss! Help, help! Boss, come quickly! We’re being attacked by ghosts!
[Milk Tea Seven Parts Sugar]: Boss, hurry! Sister Cai is dying—my healing skills can’t stop it!
[Jiangzhehu Inheritor]: Boss! We’re trapped in the tailor shop! The street west of the Bell Tower!
[Bone Ashes Mixed with Rice]: I’m heading over right now! Do not provoke the shopkeeper!
Lin Huai sprang into her hearse, slamming on the gas. The girls had mentioned wanting to buy tailored burial shrouds, but she hadn’t expected them to walk into a custom tailor shop.
Burial shrouds crafted by a tailor were entirely different from off-the-rack funeral clothing. She cursed herself for not warning them sooner.
The pawnshop was only a few blocks away from the western street. The armored hearse tore through the alleys, pulling up before the tailor shop in under three minutes.
Hanging above the door was a weathered, yellowed wooden sign. The words Aunt Liu’s Tailor Shop were painted in dark, crusted blood, radiating an eerie chill.
Standing by the entrance was a wooden mannequin stuffed with dry straw, draped in an exquisitely tailored, pale pink silk cheongsam featuring eight traditional frog buttons—the unmistakable cut of a burial garment.
Inside, the shop was swallowed by deep, heavy shadows.
Stepping across the threshold, Lin Huai saw Cute and Sparkling standing frozen in the middle of the room. She was wearing an extraordinarily tight, stiff silk cheongsam, her face pale with raw terror.
Seeing Lin Huai enter, Sparkling opened her trembling mouth, mouthing the words silently:
Boss… save me…
