I Will Never Submit to Miss Grim Reaper - Chapter 286

Chapter 286: A Holiday Filled With Plenty of Gains

 

With the introduction from the young man named “Zheng Zisheng,” Xiao Mo and I bought a lot of snacks at his shop. Perhaps due to being in an elf-like state, my appetite for meat products decreased significantly, but my appetite for fruit products increased twofold.

 

Besides pork jerky, beef jerky, dried squid, and small dried fish, there were also many fruit jellies, turtle jelly, and fruit canned goods available.

 

The only concern I have with pork jerky and beef jerky is hygiene. Like spicy strips, different brands produce different qualities of jerky. Previously, eating a certain brand of spicy strips would give me stomachaches, but with another brand, I wouldn’t. This time, because there was a young man vouching for it, I wasn’t very worried about the pork jerky here.

 

We got a bit of pork jerky and beef jerky, some locally produced dried squid strips and small spicy fish, and then some fruit jellies with pulp and various fruit canned goods.

 

What surprised me was the variety of flavors of turtle jelly available here. There’s one flavored with chrysanthemum tea, which is said to clear heat and relieve fire, there’s a slightly sweet honey flavor, and there’s also a refreshing flavor with local herbal tea added.

 

According to what the young man himself said, he studied civil engineering and worked at a small construction site after graduation. Later, he made a little progress, and the higher-ups, seeing him hardworking, made him work overtime day and night.

 

Because the environment at the construction site he went to was not good, far from the city, with poor food and dust everywhere, the young man fell ill several times. His superiors used this as a reason to deduct his salary. His girlfriend, whom he knew from college, saw him like this and broke up with him, citing “you lack ambition” as the reason.

 

The young man didn’t believe his girlfriend would break up with him. He chased after her to her city and saw her with a new boyfriend. Heartbroken, he returned feeling utterly defeated. The company, where he had just taken leave, deducted his bonus for “unexcused absence.” Just then, his father was diagnosed with a terminal illness and passed away a few months later.

 

That day was the young man’s birthday. He gritted his teeth and went to the hospital for a comprehensive physical examination. The result was that, just like when I went to the hospital with Ouyang Xue, who was sick, we met, and we ended up taking the same bus.

 

Zheng Zisheng said that at the time, he actually didn’t know where to go. His father’s funeral had just passed not long ago, the house was in chaos, he lost his girlfriend, and the doctor also told him that if he continued with this job, it would have a great impact on his health. After leaving the hospital alone, he was lost in thought and had thoughts of ending his life.

 

The bus I took back happened to pass by Nanqi Port, and as long as I got off there, I could catch the bus to Shenzhen Bridge.

 

“I also know that my thoughts are very childish, but I really… just feel like there’s no way out, as if nothing matters anymore, family, love, work… all gone.”

 

“But I really didn’t expect to meet you on the bus that day. At that moment, I really thought I had encountered an angel. You are more beautiful than the girls I see online after their photos have been edited for beauty…”

 

During the time when you helped us pack the selected items, the young man sighed:

 

“After you helped me pick up the knife and fork, I really… my mind went blank. When I realized it, the bus had already reached the terminus, it was the road near the Shenzhen Blue Sea Silver Beach. I got off the bus, holding the birthday cake, found a place where I could see the sea, and ate the cake alone.”

 

“I looked at the sea, and as I looked… I just had an epiphany. The sea is so vast, and I’m just a humble human. Those who have passed away cannot return, and if I fail, I can always start over. So, what does this bit of hardship matter?”

 

“At that time, I remembered a long time ago when an uncle told me that they needed agents on their side. If I was interested, I could come to him. At that time, just after graduating from college, I thought I had spent four years studying civil engineering, so getting into business seemed a bit off. But now, I’ve come to realize, it’s all about living life. Going to construction sites every day is the same. So, I called my uncle.”

 

“That uncle was quite good to me. He personally taught me for almost half a month, made me familiar with how to purchase, manage, and keep accounts. He even lent me money to open a shop in this area of Dadong District. Then, I realized… being my own boss is quite easy, even though I don’t earn much after deducting the rent every month.”

 

After pressing a few buttons on the machine “beep beep beep,” seemingly without paying much attention to the prices, the young man handed us a big pile of packed items.

 

“Let’s just make it a hundred together. Don’t want anything else?”

 

“Just a hundred?”

I stared in surprise at the heap of items in my hands.

 

“Are you sure it’s a 20% discount and not a 50% one?”

 

In my elf-like state, I had precise control over the weight of the items in my hands. Combining my experience working in the café and holding cats, I could feel that the items in my hands weighed at least as much as a small cat, around six to eight pounds.

 

If I remember correctly, things like pork jerky and dried squid, because they are dehydrated, their prices are definitely higher than buying pork or squid directly. And snacks like fruit jelly and turtle jelly are also relatively expensive. With this big pile, Xiao Mo and I won’t be able to bring it down to less than one hundred and eighty or two hundred yuan.

 

“Yeah, after the discount, it’s one hundred and thirteen yuan. Let’s round it down for you to one hundred yuan.”

 

The young man seemed not very good at lying and pointed to the scale in front of him.

 

“Of course, if you want to pay one hundred and thirteen, that’s fine too.”

 

“Rounding down isn’t necessary.” I took out my phone and scanned the QR code, then entered 113.

 

“Do you have a shop in Dadong District?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

The young man smiled quite relaxedly, completely different from his lifeless appearance before.

 

“My uncle is the general agent of this snack brand in Shenzhen City. Snacks sell well in Dadong District, it’s a tourist destination!”

 

“Do you have an online store?”

 

“Yeah!”

 

The young man took out his phone and tapped a few times. “Just search for ‘Shenzhen specialty small eel’ and you’ll find my store. I’ve been promoting it these days.”

 

I tried searching for the store the young man mentioned. “Is it this one… Papa Rotti Snacks?”

 

“Yeah, that’s it.”

 

I casually clicked ‘follow’, then brought up the topic of snacks, “How did you come up with the idea of opening a shop here at the comic convention?”

 

“Here is just for the event. This Tongmeng website organized comic convention is pretty good, and the rent is only a little over three hundred for a day.”

 

The young man glanced somewhat embarrassedly at the restroom not far away. “I just arrived late, so I didn’t choose a very good spot.”

 

“It’s not a big deal…”

 

There are three restrooms in total around the Science Museum. The largest restroom is near the entrance, next to the changing room. It could be said that it’s the most bustling and familiar restroom for visitors because you can see it as soon as you enter.

 

Most people will go there if they need to. The second restroom is behind the stage. If it’s someone who’s paying attention to Jialan Company’s computer products, they would probably know that place. As for this third restroom… at least from the time we found this shop until we finished selecting snacks, I didn’t see anyone go in.

 

It should be considered a “spare restroom,” and it’s quite a distance from this area. Even in my elf-like mode, I couldn’t smell anything from there. So theoretically… opening this snack shop in this location shouldn’t be a big problem. It’s just that passerby might feel a bit disgusted when they see the sign saying “restroom” hanging at the back.

 

“Then I wish you great success in your business.”

 

Seeing that it’s almost time, I held Xiao Mo’s hand.

 

“We’re ready to head back.”

 

“Alright.”

 

The young man waved to us. “Take care and stay safe. Are you both still in school?”

 

“No, we work as waitresses at a café in Nanqi District.”

 

I gestured towards the stage in the distance. “You know about Tongmeng, right? Our café is sponsored by Tongmeng.”

 

“Oh, I’ve heard about it. There’s a maid café opened in Shenzhen, where you can also play with cats. Recently, my friends have been talking about it in their circle. I’ve been too busy to pay attention, didn’t expect you two work there.”

 

The young man showed a look of sudden realization. “No wonder. If it’s you guys, I can understand why that shop is so popular.”

 

“Haha… just lucky, I guess.”

 

I smiled. “If you have time in the future, you can come and visit. I’ll give you a discount too.”

 

“Thank you, I’ll definitely come.”

 

“……”

 

After saying goodbye to the young man, carrying the bulging rabbit backpack and bags in hand, Xiao Mo and I returned to the computer accessories store next to Xiongxiong Company.

 

Not to mention anything else, the young man did a great job of packaging for us. He put each type of snack in a separate small bag, then put them all in a small box printed with “Papa Rotti,” then put the box in a paper bag.

 

I felt that even after finishing the snacks inside, we could still use the small box and the paper bag for other things.

 

“You’re back? Did you buy so much?”

 

Over at the store, Xiongxiong was standing next to a grass-green computer with two sunglasses-wearing men who looked like Latinos. Seeing us return, Xiongxiong, who had changed back into normal clothes, waved to us.

 

“The computer is ready? Are you ready to go back?”

 

“It’s this big?!”

 

I hurried over and looked at the computer on the desk.

 

Its chassis, like those in the basement of the maid café, was a “full tower chassis,” the largest kind.

 

I made a preliminary estimate, this chassis was at least sixty centimeters long, nearly thirty centimeters wide, and fifty to sixty centimeters high.

 

Most of the chassis shell was made of metal, with glass on both the left and right sides. There was also a semi-transparent small door on the right side, through which you could see the internal wiring.

 

Clearly, the person who helped assemble this computer was experienced. The cables behind the chassis were arranged very neatly and aesthetically, each one bundled with zip ties and then secured to the metal plate behind the computer.

 

Looking from the front, the main color scheme of this computer was grass green, light green, and sky blue, with many patterns of clovers and fairies. Through the glass, you could see that most of the components inside were also themed around “nature,” “leaves,” and “fairies.” The position below where the power supply is placed was separated by two partitions, inside which were embedded lights. The partitions with lights on emitted lifelike fairy and leaf patterns.

 

In addition to these, the fans, motherboard, graphics card, heat sink, and even the graphics card bracket inside the chassis were painted grass green, complemented by some sparkling lights. A glance at it brought a sense of tranquility, as if this chassis was the queen of fairies nestled in the forest.

 

“Not bad, right? This was custom-made for Nuo’er today.”

 

As Xiao Mo and I approached, Xiongxiong pointed to the water-cooled radiator on the CPU, where a fairy was continuously flapping its wings.

 

“This graphics card is unique in the country. We’re just finishing up testing the secondary screen, it’ll be ready soon.”

 

As if to confirm Xiongxiong’s words, as soon as her voice fell, in the buzzing sound, a small screen slowly rose from beside the power supply partition. The screen, also primarily in grass green, had an official illustration of Nuo’er, next to which were clear machine data—

 

?Chip Usage: 1%, Chip Temperature: 41°, Graphics Card Usage: 6%, Graphics Card Temperature: 48°, Memory Usage: 8%, Motherboard Temperature: 35°, Hard Drive Temperature: 49°?

 

“Alright, roasting chicken for fifteen minutes is no problem, with a success rate of 99%, and the secondary screen is perfectly compatible. We’re good to go.”

 

Breathing a sigh of relief, Xiongxiong casually tossed her golden hair behind her, then turned to the two Latin men with sunglasses and said, “Let me introduce you. These two are my good friends and the key figures in our cooperation project with the other Company. You can treat their words as mine. If there are any requests, consider them as my orders and make sure to fulfill them.”

 

“Yes, Miss!”

 

After listening to Xiongxiong’s words, the two bodyguards turned towards Xiao Mo and me, speaking in slightly awkward Mandarin, “Hello! Nice to meet you!”

 

“Isn’t this a bit too much?”

 

Feeling a bit embarrassed by the situation, I shifted the topic to the computer.

 

“Um… is this heavy?”

 

Xiongxiong revealed a somewhat mischievous expression. “You can try if you can lift it?”

 

“Let’s give it a shot.”

 

I placed the purchased items on the table, walked up to the computer chassis, grabbed the bottom with both hands, and then exerted force—

 

“Ah!”

 

The chassis didn’t even move.

How many pounds is this thing?!

 

“Let me try.”

 

Yin Xiamo also approached, extending a hand, and with a “pop,” effortlessly lifted the chassis a few centimeters.

 

This scene made the eyes of the two nearby security guards widen.

 

“Not bad, almost as heavy as two Nuo’er.”

 

Releasing her hand, Yin Xiamo acted as if nothing happened. “About as estimated.”

 

As heavy as two me?!

My brain started spinning wildly.

 

Known… I weigh 28 kilograms in my normal state, but in elf mode, I’m lighter, let’s say 20 kilograms. If there are two of me… 40 kilograms? Is this chassis around 80 pounds?!

 

“This thing is indeed about the same weight as a girl. In China, we jokingly call it ‘testing the strength of a man.’ Because if an adult male can’t lift this chassis, it means he can’t even carry his girlfriend, basically saying goodbye to dating.”

 

Xiongxiong said as she brushed her long hair. “If there’s no problem, I’ll have the bodyguards pack up this mainframe, and then I’ll take you back.”

 

Perhaps because today’s event was very successful, there were many people coming to this “Jialan Computer Accessories Store” at the moment. People kept coming in to inquire about configurations and try out various computer accessories.

 

Similar to the “whole machines” in front of us, there were many more machines around, and most of these machines came with “themes,” such as the “Zhongli theme” with black and brown combinations, the “Yae Miko” theme with pink foxes, and the “Aerith” and “Yae Sakura” themes dominated by cherry blossoms.

 

Initially, I couldn’t understand how ordinary computer accessories were related to “2D culture,” but now I understand.

 

Here, even the colors of laptops are different from the ordinary brands’ plain and bulky designs. There are all kinds of cherry blossom colors, black and white colors, and blue sky and ocean colors. Many girls see these cute and compact laptops and can’t even walk properly, following their girlfriends or boyfriends to pick out computers in the store.

 

“This one is really beautiful, it has a martial arts style.”

“This one should be their flagship 2D elf image, right? It’s so fresh and clean…”

“Do their CPU water-cooling radiators come with a small screen too? It’s priced similarly to Valkyrie. I wonder how effective it is.”

 

In my surprised gaze, Xiongxiong’s two bodyguards—one with wheat-colored muscles—each lifted a computer chassis and left, while another person helped carry various cables.

 

“I’ll drive later. After we get to your place, I’ll have them help move the computer to your room for installation.”

 

As she spoke, Xiongxiong’s attention fell on the bags in mine and Xiao Mo’s hands.

 

“What are these? Snacks?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

I picked up a bag of “Papa Rotti Sesame Pork Jerky” and gestured to the nearby store.

 

“I ran into an acquaintance just now. He also has a shop here, so we got some snacks from him. Do you want some?”

 

“Yes!”

 

Xiongxiong took a piece of pork jerky and opened it. “Wow! How much is this?”

 

“I don’t know, it was weighed together.”

 

I felt a bit embarrassed. “You’ve already given us a computer, so it’s fine.”

 

“Hehe, actually, we’re still making a profit. My dad just said, because of you, our press conference today had at least twice the effect, and it can also enhance the company’s reputation. We’ll be able to sell a lot of stuff later on. It’s not something as measly as one computer can measure.”

 

Xiongxiong, who has always been cheerful, opened the pork jerky in front of us, ate a piece, and walked towards the exit.

 

“Let’s go… Mm, this is delicious. I’ll go start the car. You guys wait downstairs for us.”

 

“Mm-hmm.”

 

Xiao Mo and I glanced at each other and followed.

 

“Those two girls bought a computer from here! They were the ones singing so well just now… Should we buy one too?”

“Isn’t it too heavy? I can’t carry it.”

“Don’t worry, it says they deliver to your doorstep, installation included, and you can customize the specs.”

“Really? Then let me see if I want to get one. The computers here are really good-looking…”

 

After leaving the expo, Xiao Mo and I waited downstairs for a while. Unlike the previous car that brought us here, this time Xiongxiong came in a very cool-looking sports car.

 

“You guys ride in my car.”

 

Handing the car keys to the two bodyguards, Xiongxiong gestured for Xiao Mo and me to get in.

 

“How was your day at the expo?”

 

“Enjoyed ourselves.”

 

I sat in the back of the car and let my bulging backpack down. “I’m almost dead tired.”

 

“If you’re tired, you can rest here for a bit, Nuo’er.”

 

Yin Xiamo sitting next to me patted her thigh and said, ‘It’s free.’

 

I was a bit skeptical. “You’re not planning some prank, are you?”

 

“Of course not,” the girl smiled.

 

“Come on, take a rest. You haven’t had a nap today.”

 

“Aww, I knew Xiao Mo is the best.”

 

I leaned over and lay my head on Xiao Mo’s thigh.

 

“Love you.”

 

“I love you too, big kisses! Alright, sweet dreams.”

 

“……”

 

……