Chapter Seventeen: Strolling Through the Market

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“Hey! This isn’t what we agreed on!” Takashiro pointed angrily at Busujima.

“I just felt like doing it—what’s wrong with that?” Busujima smiled, pressing Hao Ren’s hand even more firmly.

“So soft… yet with a hint of firmness. So this is what a real breast feels like!” Tears streamed down Hao Ren’s face as he experienced this for the first time.

“How shameless!” Takashiro, face flushed crimson, ran over and, contradicting her own words, seized Hao Ren’s other hand and thrust it into the valley of her own chest.

“Oh my, Takashiro, what are you doing?” Busujima asked knowingly.

“Let go of his hand!” Takashiro’s actions were utterly unconvincing.

“Teacher, I want in too~” As usual, Juukawa chose to join in on what she didn’t understand.

Ten minutes later…

Hao Ren was nearly played to death.

Once the five had finished their roughhousing, Hao Ren awkwardly explained his situation in the real world—he was still at school, and if anyone saw him with four stunning beauties, the FFF Society would surely burn him at the stake. The four women expressed their understanding. Hao Ren, relieved, promised to let them out as soon as possible. With her mental attributes temporarily depleted, Ryougi Shiki kept holding her forehead, exhausted. Feeling sorry for Shiki, and with her agreement, Hao Ren sent her into the “Summoner’s Cottage.” The other three women exchanged glances, then cheerfully slipped into a deep, peaceful sleep.

Calculating the time, about five hours should have passed in reality. He decided to step outside and take a look.

The moment he teleported out, Hao Ren broke out in a cold sweat.

Please don’t let me materialize in front of my classmates…

Luckily, the core system was considerate—Hao Ren found himself inside a stall in the dormitory bathroom.

Glancing at his Japanese school uniform, he quickly stripped down to just his briefs and dashed back to his room.

“Where have you been all afternoon, bro? Hiding in the bathroom?” It was Dayue, a giant of a man—one meter ninety and over two hundred pounds—who spoke.

“Nice legwork, bro—did you get the runs?” joked Hao Ren’s upper-bunk roommate, Yuan Ziqiang, known as Cockroach.

“Dammit, we ran dungeons all afternoon and couldn’t find you. Missing a healer, we wiped out a dozen times,” scolded Paoge, headset on, multitasking as he commanded his in-game team and berated Hao Ren’s absence.

“Sorry, sorry, had a stomachache,” Hao Ren laughed, quietly stuffing his bloodstained uniform into a plastic bag and hiding it in the wardrobe.

He spared a moment of silence for the coat and slippers he’d left behind in the game instance, then changed into a full outfit. “Paoge, please ask for leave for me. I’m not feeling well—I’ll go home and see a doctor.”

“Go, go,” Paoge replied without turning around. “You just don’t want to go to Mao Zheng’s class tomorrow—this trick of yours is getting old.”

Only then did Hao Ren, his sense of time muddled, remember tomorrow’s class with Mao Zheng. Well, that saved him the trouble of making up an excuse.

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“You know too much,” Hao Ren muttered, flipping Paoge off behind his back as he left the room.

Hao Ren’s home wasn’t far from campus—just a half-hour by bus. It was a 3LDK apartment, three bedrooms, a living room, and a kitchen, where he lived alone. His parents were divorced; he lived with his mother in Z City, but she was a technical consultant stationed year-round in L City for work. Damn, this setup—an empty home and busy parents—is perfect for taking in girls, isn’t it? Yet, until now, the unlucky Hao Ren had never brought a girl home. Now, finally, the place welcomed its first visitors: three vibrant, beautiful women, brightening up the lonely apartment. Still worried about Shiki, Hao Ren let her recover in the summoning space.

“So this is the Summoner’s home,” one of them remarked.

“What a tacky decor,” Takashiro commented, critiquing Hao Ren’s taste.

“It’s messy…” Juukawa eyed the underwear scattered on the floor. So Hao Ren is a briefs guy.

“Enough with the commentary,” Hao Ren thought. How clean could a man’s bachelor pad be, anyway?

“Let us tidy up, my lord,” Busujima said, gathering up the clothes and smiling at Hao Ren.

“Don’t call me ‘my lord’—it’s embarrassing,” Hao Ren blushed as he saw his underwear in Busujima’s arms.

“Oh? Would you prefer ‘master’ instead?” Takashiro teased.

“Not a bad title. Let’s call you ‘master’ from now on,” Busujima agreed.

“Master, can we use whatever we like from the fridge?” Juukawa chimed in.

“Help yourselves. I’m heading to the core plaza. No matter who knocks, don’t open the door for anyone,” Hao Ren said, and before they could reply, he ducked into his room, shutting out the women’s mischievous laughter.

He changed into a long-sleeved shirt and jeans, put on a baseball cap and mask, and entered the core plaza.

A sudden explosion of noise nearly knocked him off his feet. He crouched down, dizzy, for a while before regaining his senses.

“Veteran team guides you through the instance!” “Kuribohs from the King of Games instance—can block one fatal blow! Going cheap, selling at a loss!” “Schoolgirl NPCs from the Dark Bible instance! Just extras, but they’ve got big busts and round butts—come take a look!” “Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Beans from the Harry Potter instance—adventurers, come and try them!”

Damn, Hao Ren felt like he was at a flea market. The shouting was just like a bunch of street vendors.

Feeling a bit lost, Hao Ren noticed a sign next to him: “Urgently seeking a large, sturdy vehicle. Will pay a satisfactory price.” That’s what it said.

He thought of his portable bus—sure, it was a money pit, but maybe he could trade it for something more useful.

The sign owner was a burly, bald man with a scar over his eye, who gave Hao Ren a major sense of pressure—his knees almost trembled with nerves.

But the tough-looking man, seeing Hao Ren interested, strode over decisively.

Looking up at the towering hulk, Hao Ren swallowed. “Um… I have a vehicle. Not sure if it’s what you’re looking for.” Polite speech…

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“Haha, welcome! What’ve you got? Show me.” The man’s expression shifted in an instant from fierce to friendly.

Was this the legendary gap moe?

Hao Ren handed over the key from his pocket (items couldn’t be stolen in the plaza).

“Hmm… This thing’s a real money-guzzler. How about five points?” The man frowned after checking the specs.

Hao Ren snatched back the key and turned to leave.

“Wait, wait! The price’s negotiable!” All pretense gone, the man clung to Hao Ren’s leg.

“One hundred points. Non-negotiable,” Hao Ren said, lifting his mask to bite off a piece of dead skin from his finger.

“Damn, you’re not just haggling, you’re extorting!” The big man’s face darkened, threatening Hao Ren with the severity of a Fist of the North Star villain. “Kid, unless you want me to remember you, you’d better sell it for ten points. Or else…”

But with his not-so-low strength stat, Hao Ren ignored the threat, dragging the leg-clinging man forward.

“Wait, wait! I was wrong! How much will you sell it for?” The man, being used as a mop, had no sense of shame.

“What does your team need the vehicle for?”

“The next instance is a big Left 4 Dead-style survival scenario. We need a sturdy ride for all the people we have. The drop rate for vehicles is too low, and all the good ones are snapped up by the big teams, so I’m here begging for one.” This guy would spill his secrets without any torture.

“What’s your team’s top offer?” Hao Ren pressed on—the intelligence stat seemed to be working.

“Damn! The captain, that cheapskate, only gave me thirty points. I’m always the one risking my life up front, and I—” Suddenly aggrieved, the man sat down and started cursing, his language quickly becoming unfit for polite company.

“All right, thirty points and it’s yours.” Hao Ren wore a look of satisfaction, as if everything was going according to plan.

The man, still sitting and grumbling, didn’t haggle further and completed the trade for thirty LP points.

“Ha! Even a useless thing like that can get me thirty points—now I’ve got thirty-six! Not bad,” Hao Ren congratulated himself.

“My acting’s still top-notch! Got a fifty-point item for thirty, I’ll pocket the extra ten for myself. Time for a celebratory feast tonight!” The man cackled to himself as well.

The onlookers, watching the pair’s shameless display, could only sigh at the loss of all decency.