Great! I'm surrounded by villains!
Chapter 36: Cultivating Game

Chapter 36: Chapter 36: Cultivating Game

This was a massive project. By the time the "Extraterrestrial Vocabulary Album" reconstruction was complete, Duan Mingyuan was drenched in sweat. The high school curriculum now was several times harder than when he was in high school.

"Thank you."

Yang Ping hesitated for a long time before he murmured.

He had prepared himself for a scolding from his parents when he got home, but he hadn’t expected Mr. Mingyuan to patiently sit down and help him clean up the mess.

Finally, just before saying goodbye, he mustered the courage. "Mr. Mingyuan, why did you choose this path?"

But as soon as he asked the question, Yang Ping’s gaze drifted away.

He felt that the man before him might be the only person in the world who could answer the questions in his heart. He had tried to bring it up with his parents before but only received a "Go do your homework" in reply.

Excessive expectations became a heavy burden on his shoulders. Despite trying his hardest and getting into the top school in Yunlong City, he found himself to be the least noticeable among the crowds. Words such as excitement and friendship seemed to have nothing to do with him.

In this monotonous life, Yang Ping gradually felt that living had become utterly uninteresting.

From the moment he opened his eyes each day, problems, studying, exams, and rankings inundated his mind, oppressing him so much he could barely breathe and making him want to escape his current life.

Looking back, aside from repaying Poison Fang for their kindness, he pursued this path for personal reasons as well.

Poison Fang originally disagreed with him, saying it might be the world’s most dangerous job.

Every day dealing with unknown evil spirits, perhaps on some unremarkable night, he would enter an alley in pursuit of an evil spirit, and just like his predecessors, disappear forever without a trace, not even leaving any remains behind.

What truly attracted Yang Ping was the very danger that Poison Fang repeatedly emphasized.

It seemed more meaningful to die in the line of duty, saving others, rather than cowardly ending his life out of boredom.

Dying like a hero, as it were, would be a proper account for one’s life.

"Because I quit my job."

"... Ah?"

"I don’t want to move to a new environment for a short time. I might as well do something I’m familiar with."

Four years of work had inevitably led Duan Mingyuan into a period of burnout. Fortunately, the company set up by the extraterrestrials offered a decent package, and since he had no expensive hobbies, his savings were enough to last him for a while.

Although he deemed both of his jobs to be garbage, they were garbage in different ways.

If he could solve the industry’s problems with low compensation and high risk, its working methods still relatively appealed to Duan Mingyuan.

In other words, the future was promising.

It was like those funds in his account that seemed to have stagnated for a century; Duan Mingyuan was willing to believe there would come a day when they would bounce back from the bottom.

His high school teacher once said, if you look at a problem from a different angle, you could see the good side of even the worst situation.

The conversation inevitably reached a deadlock.

Yang Ping stuttered for a while but failed to say anything.

He had assumed that someone like Mingyuan would be invested in the greater good, dedicated to saving people, and that resigning and changing careers were concerns more typical of ordinary people.

"Then... how can I become as strong as you?"

"I just started earlier than you, encountered more evil spirits, that’s all. You’ll catch up sooner or later. I have high hopes for you guys."

Duan Mingyuan wasn’t lying. If the industry was to continue developing, it needed more people to obtain advanced professional titles.

Yang Ping was undoubtedly the closest one to this goal, because the other person was Tang Qianqian.

Just a moment ago, while using his phone, he also caught sight of a new post in his social media feed. Tang Qianqian had specially tagged him to show off the equipment she had prepared all night.

Anti-Wolf Spray, an Electric Shock Gun fitted with Poison Fang modifications, bulletproof vests bought online, brand-name running shoes, and a cup of milk tea with unclear significance—the caption read, "I’m all geared up in Divine Equipment."

Hmm, the future of student Yang Ping was boundless.

Duan Mingyuan was serious.

This kid was definitely going to be the first in Yunlong City to advance to a full professional rank.

"I understand now."

Hearing Duan Mingyuan’s affirmation, Yang Ping’s eyes immediately filled with determination.

"You’ve done well. Only those who are alive can make progress."

Duan Mingyuan was in a great mood today. After witnessing Yang Ping’s struggle with the shadow, although it was essentially still a ’Baby Bus’, at least the bus could be driven now. The next focus of work was to discuss the details of the interns becoming full-time with Da Jiang. He had a premonition that in a week, or perhaps even less time, Yunlong City would have its very first true full-time employee!

What was more important was that for the first time in his life, he found joy in his work.

It was like those nurturing RPG games, where watching a weak character gradually grow and derive a sense of achievement from it.

On his way home, Duan Mingyuan went to the nearby supermarket as agreed upon and bought a bag of handmade wide noodles, and by the time he reached home, the sky had already darkened significantly.

Jiuyue had chosen a strange combination of pajamas and an apron, and the sound of the washing machine could be heard from the bathroom.

The smell of stewed meat and spicy aromas filled the entire house.

"Mr. Mingyuan, another day of overtime work today."

Seeing Duan Mingyuan enter, Jiuyue immediately approached him and waved her phone in front of him, "Now it’s 19:42, your overtime today is 2 hours."

"Ran into some minor troubles."

"Could it be that the evil spirit who attacked your workplace was so strong that even you, Mr. Mingyuan, found it troublesome?"

"That’s not it, mainly because the knowledge points that high school students learn nowadays are too difficult, and it took me a while to understand what the textbook was talking about."

As soon as she heard "textbook" and "knowledge," Jiuyue immediately lost interest.

She was a monster who revered freedom, and no textbooks or knowledge could keep her bound in a classroom.

"The big plate chicken is already stewed, I’m so hungry my stomach is about to cave in."

Jiuyue excitedly took the wide noodles handed over by Duan Mingyuan, completely forgetting her own "interview" claim that she could live on one chicken every three days, based on Duan Mingyuan’s assessment of this little fox in the past two days, even three chickens a day might only barely meet her actual needs.

Odd.

Duan Mingyuan looked at Jiuyue’s back, wondering how this little fox could eat so many chickens and still not gain weight?

What an enviable physique. The reason he restricted himself from eating sweets at night was to maintain his figure. According to the internet, for those like him who need to sit for over a dozen hours a day, diet control is crucial, otherwise even a slight negligence would not only lead to rapid weight gain but could also bring about diseases like fatty liver.

"Mr. Mingyuan, this is the dish I am most skilled at, I’ve researched it for a long time—"

As she put the wide noodles into the boiling pot and came back out of the kitchen, Jiuyue suddenly stopped dead.

Mr. Mingyuan, how did he turn into two?

Oh, no, one was Da Jiang who had sneakily mixed in at some point.

"I’m really sorry, it seems I’ve come at a bad time."

Da Jiang exchanged pleasantries with Duan Mingyuan, claiming he was sorry but showing no intention of leaving; he had brought a gift, a bottle of wine that looked rather cheap.

Jiuyue squinted her eyes and immediately judged Da Jiang.

This man had a dubious intent!

Not only was he trying to freeload on food and drink, but he also wants to conspire with Mr. Mingyuan to indulge in alcohol!

She knew very well that once people got drunk, they needed to sleep, and the time after work was supposed to belong to her!

Now was a crucial period for fostering their relationship. How could she let someone like Da Jiang mess it up?

This was her noodles,

her chicken,

her Mr. Mingyuan!

Thinking this, Jiuyue approached with a smile, "Mr. Da Jiang, your arrival is timely, haven’t had dinner yet, have you?"

"Hmm, I went out in a hurry this evening and didn’t get a chance to eat."

Da Jiang placed the wine on the cabinet at the entrance, but before he could naturally proceed to join the dinner, Jiuyue’s hand "gently" rested on his shoulder.

The little fox smiled sweetly, sincerely offering him a suggestion, "I happen to know there’s a restaurant nearby called ’Old Sui’s Restaurant’ that’s quite good, just 5 minutes away from the community."

"Huh?"

"Enjoy your meal!"

Before Da Jiang could collect his thoughts, he heard the "bang" of the door closing behind him.

"Hey!?"

A chill wind hit Da Jiang’s face, and for some reason, he felt today’s cold wind was especially biting.