Chapter 21: So Shameless
Huai Yu was so cheerful that even Captain Zhou was momentarily stunned. Then he grinned widely too:
“Not bad! Really not bad!”
After a pause, he asked: “You didn’t do anything you shouldn’t have, right?”
He didn’t press for details, but just that one question made Huai Yu even happier.
She shook her head: “Nope! I just asked some relatives for help…”
Zhou Qian thought about it and could pretty much guess. Huai Yu looked so innocent and delicate — she must have been a pampered child at home. If she said she “asked relatives for help,” it probably just meant borrowing some points or acting cute and pestering them!
“Alright!” he said briskly. “I’ll get someone on duty to exchange it for you. If you have extra points and want to exchange for something else, you can come to me too.”
Huai Yu thought for a moment and realized she didn’t need anything urgent for now, so she shook her head. Then she stretched out her arm:
“Last time, two older sisters helped me by paying for some hygiene products. I’ll transfer those points to you too.”
Zhou Qian felt a little awkward. He knew exactly what they had helped her with, so he mumbled:
“Just give 20 points, that’s enough.”
Huai Yu nodded with a smile, adjusted the amount, connected their wristbands, and transferred 370 points. Now she only had 30 points left, plus 36 points from buying dates — a total of 66 points.
But with the multifunctional shovel she just exchanged for, her toilet would be completed tomorrow. Totally worth it!
Seeing the staff quickly deliver a multifunctional shovel gleaming coldly under the light, complete with camouflage patterns, Huai Yu loved it immediately.
Honestly, holding such a shovel on a pitch-dark night boosted her sense of security by a lot!
She took off her basket and said to Zhou Qian:
“Do you have a bag? I bought a bunch of dates from the trading market today. I want to share them with you, Captain Brother.”
Huh?
Zhou Qian was stunned and quickly waved his hands:
“No need, no need. You should trade them for contribution points instead — that would be more useful.”
Fresh fruit was expensive these days. It was sweet enough that the little girl thought of them; they couldn’t accept more than that.
Huai Yu shook her head:
“It’s not expensive. This whole bag only cost me 4 points.”
Zhou Qian fell silent.
Such a huge bag… and it only cost 4 points…
“Then what’s the mutation value?”
Huai Yu happily said:
“23!”
Zhou Qian: …
Let’s put it this way — back when they were desperate, they had eaten fruit with a mutation value of 25. Everyone who tried it had the same comment:
[Might as well be dead.]
But Huai Yu emphasized:
“I tried it already. It’s actually not that bad — sweet even… Brother, I’ve always wanted to thank you.”
“If you won’t accept it, I’ll offer it to the two older sisters who helped me before.”
She looked at Zhou Qian pitifully.
And it was just 4 points for such a big bag of dates…
“Alright!”
Zhou Qian gave in and fetched a small basin from the duty room:
“Thanks. But just this once.”
Thinking about it, he also borrowed a flashlight:
“Here, take this to light your way. Return it when you come back.”
After watching Huai Yu happily carrying her basket and multifunctional shovel away, Zhou Qian finally walked back to the camp with the basin of dates.
On the way, he ran into a familiar face, who looked surprised:
“Yo! Where’d you get such fresh dates? Give me one to try!”
Zhou Qian smiled generously:
“Go ahead! We’re brothers, eat as much as you want!”
But seeing him so generous, the other guy instantly became suspicious:
“Good fruit is so expensive these days. And you’re just handing it out? Seriously, what’s the mutation value?”
Zhou Qian looked very disapproving:
“Come on, do I look like that kind of person? The mutation value is 10!”
Good grief!
If he had said 17 or 18, people might have believed him. But 10…
“Seriously, how much is it? If you don’t tell me, I’m stuffing it into your mouth!”
Zhou Qian didn’t want to eat this either, so he admitted honestly:
“23…”
“WTF…”
The guy holding the date was stunned!
“Mutation value 23 and you tell me to eat it freely?! Are you even human?!”
After all the commotion, a small crowd gathered. Everyone was laughing and cursing. Someone suddenly realized:
“Wait a second, if it’s really 23, why would he bring back so many?”
“Exactly! And he’s being all mysterious about where he got them.”
“I bet the mutation value isn’t over 18.”
At that, everyone’s hands itched to grab some.
A value of 23 was nasty, but 18?
They hadn’t had fresh fruit in ages — even if it tasted bad, they could just spit it out later.
Seeing everyone hesitate, Zhou Qian pushed the basin toward them:
“Come on, I said eat as much as you want!”
Persuaded, they finally reached out.
Just one bite — the sweet, refreshing taste burst into their mouths, something they hadn’t tasted in forever!
Their eyes instantly widened.
Another bite — although the texture was a little dry, the flavor was actually great!
“Good man! When did you get so generous?”
As they munched noisily on the dates, they stuffed five, six, even eight more into their pockets while praising:
“These dates must’ve cost a fortune, right?”
“Such a big, fresh batch — must’ve been at least 40 points a pound?”
“Probably even more.”
Everyone grabbed a handful before stopping. Feeling a bit guilty, they thanked Zhou Qian sincerely:
“You’re the best, brother! Next time I get something good, I’ll bring it to you!”
Zhou Qian: …???
Something’s wrong!
There’s no way that girl bought these expensive dates and just said they were cheap, right?
But then again, it didn’t make sense either.
If these dates were really so good, they wouldn’t even be sold at the regular market. Explorers would sell them directly to their premium clients.
Puzzling over it, Zhou Qian hesitated and stuffed a date into his mouth.
The moment he bit down, all thoughts vanished — replaced only by a surging hatred:
Damn it, those bastards! They’re shameless enough to actually eat such good stuff without a second thought!
Just as he was fuming, another group approached, shouting from a distance:
“Captain Zhou! We heard you have dates for everyone?!”
Zhou Qian jumped in alarm:
“Bullshit! No way! I’m taking these for testing!”
He hurried toward the testing lab with the basin banging against his legs. Nowadays, instruments could measure things down to decimal points.
The result came back:
[Mutation value: 11.3]
The crowd that had followed him was stunned—
Holy crap! Where did you get such good stuff? Are you secretly making a fortune, Zhou Qian?!
But turning back, they saw Zhou Qian looking not proud, but full of deep regret — like a dragon that just lost its treasure:
“Go call Cheng Yao and Song Yi from the female soldiers’ side.”
Then he forced a bitter, tearful smile:
“These dates were a thank-you gift from the little girl to them…”
Coming right up! Super hardworking, right?
