Life Game In Other World
Chapter 654 - : Under the Shadow of the High-rise Building (Seeking Monthly Pass)

Chapter 654: 654 Chapter: Under the Shadow of the High-rise Building (Seeking Monthly Pass)

"Is something the matter?"

He Ao watched the woman standing outside the door.

"Ah, this, I—"

The woman’s extended hand seemed unsure of what to do, hanging in mid-air. She waved it, and eventually touched the back of her head, smiling awkwardly, "The weather’s nice today, isn’t it?"

At the same time, she also recognized that this elderly man’s voice was exactly the same as the one she had heard the night before.

"Indeed, it is."

He Ao glanced in the direction of the blackened burnt window where a faint glow came through, clearly illuminating the dilapidated scene inside the house.

The apartment Cito had bought wasn’t very tall, only twelve stories. In Saint Joen City, where buildings were taller and more expensive, it was hard to enjoy sunshine.

Now, with sunlight managing to pierce through the gaps between high-rises and spill into this room, it proved that it indeed was a fine day.

The woman looked at the house, now reduced to ruins, and realized her words seemed somewhat out of place at the moment.

It was then that a small head popped out from behind He Ao. She glanced down at the monster on the ground, "Yuck, that’s disgusting."

Then she immediately turned her head away, looking at the woman standing outside, "Sister, do you need something?"

"Well, my name is YiXiya, and I wanted to ask,"

The woman smoothly continued, "Was it you who saved me last night?"

Although she seemed to be asking Jia Xi, her gaze kept drifting towards He Ao.

"Yes,"

Jia Xi nodded her little head. She looked up at He Ao and, noticing that he didn’t say anything, continued, "So, sister, do you need something?"

"Ah,"

YiXiya’s tone paused again. She was momentarily at a loss for words, taken aback by Jia Xi’s innocent and straightforward counter-question, and she had thought she would face some difficulty in getting confirmation from the people across from her.

By now, she had already confirmed that the elderly man in front of her was the one who had saved her the previous night, even without mentioning his distinctive voice.

In Saint Joen City, such a mysterious elder capable of easily killing Polluted Monsters without her knowing any information about him was probably unique.

After a brief moment of reflection, she quickly organized her thoughts, "May I invite you to a meal? And,"

She looked down at the monster’s corpse on the ground, then at He Ao, "Elderly sir, after touching that Vite-mutated monster last night, you’ve gotten its Qi on you. I’m not sure if you’ve encountered these kinds of Polluted Monsters before, but there are some precautions you might need to be aware of."

This time, Jia Xi didn’t answer directly but looked up at He Ao.

He Ao observed YiXiya, whose brown eyes glowed with a hint of expectation. He carefully folded the blood-stained handkerchief, the bloody side now hidden, and placed it back into his jacket pocket before looking down at the ground, "Could you wait a moment? I still have some things to take care of."

"Of course!"

YiXiya immediately nodded and then cautiously approached the doorway, tentatively offering, "May I help you?"

This time He Ao didn’t respond to her. He had already bent down and continued to search through the rubble.

Standing beside He Ao, Jia Xi watched her with a somewhat reserved expression and winked at her quietly.

Seeing the little girl’s wink, YiXiya hesitated for a moment, then carefully crossed the threshold and entered the room.

He Ao noticed this but said nothing, instead, he continued to search for anything still intact within the ruins.

YiXiya breathed a sigh of relief.

At this time, Jia Xi also turned around and began searching the ground.

YiXiya glanced at He Ao, then at Jia Xi, and cautiously approached Jia Xi. As she helped overturn debris on the ground, she asked in a gentle voice,

"Little sister, what are we looking for?"

"Grandpa said to look and see if there’s anything intact that hasn’t been burned,"

Jia Xi moved a piece of charred wood to reveal a stainless steel spoon blackened by soot.

She examined the spoon and after a brief hesitation, took it over to a corner where a pile of smoky blackened metal items lay.

YiXiya looked at the pile of metal fragments, where there were bent metal brackets, blackened knives, forks, and soup spoons, and some metal toys that had not been burnt.

What remained after the fire were mainly metal pieces or some lucky items that had been squeezed into some oxygen-free corners, escaping the flames.

These were all common household items, nothing particularly precious.

However, what surprised YiXiya was that Jia Xi moved very quickly, so fast that it far exceeded the level that a child of her age should have, even surpassing some adults.

At the same time, she also saw the strong muscles beneath Jia Xi’s tender skin.

"Little sister, you’re so fast."

She asked curiously.

"I’ve been exercising with Grandpa since I was little!"

Jia Xi excitedly nodded her little head, and then she waved her little arm, "None of the students at school can beat me."

"That’s impressive,"

YiXiya smiled and gave Jia Xi a thumbs up, and then started helping her search the ground together, "Actually, I’ve been wanting to ask, weren’t you scared of the monster we just saw?"

"Not scared,"

Jia Xi shook her head while rummaging through various debris on the ground, "Grandpa is here, it was just a bit disgusting."

"You’re really brave,"

YiXiya exclaimed in admiration, "I was scared to death when I first saw such a monster."

"Everyone is different,"

Jia Xi turned over a metal frog toy from the rubble, "At school, there are many kids who aren’t afraid of insects, and there are also many who are."

Hearing this, YiXiya’s actions paused slightly,

She realized that, in Jia Xi’s worldview, the monster they had just encountered was no different from the sudden appearance of an insect by the roadside; it was just bigger, more ferocious, and more disgusting.

Fear often stems from powerlessness, and Jia Xi’s first impression of the insect was seeing ’Grandpa’ effortlessly tearing it apart.

To this little girl, a big bug and a little bug were essentially no different.

Of course, this might also have to do with talent; some people are naturally less afraid of monsters than others.

YiXiya chatted with Jia Xi off and on.

The sunlight outside the window rose little by little and then dimmed again,

The sun had already moved away from this direction, and the clock had also reached one o’clock in the afternoon.

The three of them had basically searched the whole house.

It was a small two-bedroom apartment, not very big, but it was somewhat troublesome to turn over the small, charred remains.

In the end, they only turned up some small metal objects and thoroughly destroyed electronic products, nothing of particular importance.

Throughout this process, YiXiya was once again surprised to find that the petite Jia Xi didn’t seem to get tired at all during the search process. Even though she ran back and forth many times, she didn’t take any breaks and didn’t seem to feel fatigued.

Even more, she wasn’t sure if it was an illusion, but YiXiya felt that Jia Xi’s movements were even faster than when she first met her.

And the Elderly gentleman, who seemed very old, also seemed to move a bit faster, although he didn’t show the agility he had when tearing apart the monster; he seemed faster than when he first started searching the ruins.

YiXiya felt this might not be an illusion, but if it wasn’t, then the two people’s energy hadn’t diminished from their busyness, but had actually increased, which seemed a bit far-fetched.

At the moment, the three of them were clearing up the last area, which was the master bedroom of the house.

While YiXiya mused, He Ao turned over a picture in a metal frame from what was left of the metal frame of a double bed.

The surface of the metal frame, originally covered with white paint, had been completely blackened, and the clear glass had also taken on a tea color.

Fortunately, whether it was because the frame was entirely metal, or because it had fallen into a corner,

The photo inside the frame was luckily preserved, with just the edges a bit charred, but the portraits in the photo remained intact.

In this frame, a youth with square glasses who looked simple and elegant held the hand of his bride dressed in a white wedding gown; he looked at the camera, while his bride looked at him, both beaming with happiness on their cheeks.

This was his son’s wedding photo.

The photo wasn’t exactly idyllic, as the photography studio they had visited wasn’t particularly upscale.

But the photographer managed to capture the happiest moment of the two, leaving behind this image.

The son always cherished this photo, so he bought an expensive alloy frame to mount it in, and had it displayed by his bedhead ever since.

He Ao put away the photo frame and took another glance around the empty room.

Then, he slowly stood up and picked up the suitcase that had been leaning against the door.

"Elder, have you finished?"

YiXiya, who was standing near the door, looked up at him.

"Yes,"

He Ao nodded gently, looking at YiXiya, "May I choose the restaurant?"

"Of course!"

YiXiya quickly nodded.

Before departing, the three of them did some final tidying up.

He Ao, together with Jia Xi, piled up the things salvaged from the ruins in the corner of the wall, only taking the photo frame with him.

YiXiya, after getting He Ao’s consent, made a call to her ’colleague’ to handle the monster corpses in the living room.

——Half an hour later——

Jumeiduo Fast Food Chain

YiXiya looked at the old window in front of her, the tabletop covered in grease stains, and the dark-toned floor.

"Surprised?"

He Ao looked at her, revealing a smile.

"Yes," YiXiya didn’t hide her emotions, "I thought a strong person like you, Elder, would choose a high-end restaurant or a hotel dining room."

"This place has been open for many years,"

He Ao looked up at the restaurant’s decor. Although it was nearing two in the afternoon, the place was still crowded, with most customers ordering large servings of fried chicken burger meals.

He brought his gaze back and continued, "When I was little, my mother used to work here. Back then, this was a new establishment and not yet part of this fast-food chain. Of course, they were still selling these fried chicken burgers."

"The three of you can choose whatever you’d like to order,"

Right then, a server came over with an electronic menu and placed it in front of them before walking away.

"Elder, little sister, what would you like to order?"

YiXiya looked up at He Ao and Jia Xi, sitting opposite her.

"I’ll have a large drumstick, a burger, and a cone of ice cream."

Jia Xi immediately raised her hand.

"Okay."

YiXiya chose the items Jia Xi wanted to eat, then passed the menu to He Ao, "Elder, what would you like to eat?"

"A basic fried chicken meal will do,"

He Ao took the menu, made his choice, and then passed the menu back to YiXiya.

"I’ll have a basic burger meal too and a cup of coffee,"

YiXiya quickly made her selection, then paid.

Most of the time, these chain fast food establishments operate without staff, and once the payment is completed, the order is sent to the kitchen in the back. When the meal is ready, a message is sent to the electronic menu, reminding customers to pick up their food at the counter.

There was a wait time for the meal, and during this interval, YiXiya’s gaze fell on the menu prices, "I just realized, the giant burger here actually costs 6 federal coins."

The giant burger is Jumeiduo’s signature dish, well-known for being cheap, substantial, and filling.

However, due to varying local prices and taxes, the giant burger’s price fluctuates, typically ranging between 4 to 7 federal coins.

In some sense, the price of a giant hamburger also reflects the local cost of living.

federal coins is just the price at a very few scenic spots or remote areas; in a regular restaurant in an ordinary city, 6 federal coins is already the highest selling price.

"New around here?"

He Ao looked at YiXiya with a smile and asked.

"Yes, I just got transferred here from Twilight City,"

YiXiya nodded and then said with some sigh, "The giant hamburgers over there are only 4.8 federal coins. I thought that as a granary city, the selling price for this kind of food would be a bit cheaper in Saint Joen City."

"It would be cheaper,"

He Ao spoke slowly, "but that was about thirty or forty years ago. At that time, this city had many grain companies. Since there were no transportation costs for local sales, these grain companies often sold grain to local dealers at a lower price. Back then, the prices of synthetic flour, synthetic meat, and the like in Saint Joen City were very cheap.

"For instance, this kind of giant hamburger was probably around 4 federal coins back then. Of course,"

He Ao chuckled, "that wasn’t the cheapest time. Almost twenty years ago, the prices of various grains were even lower. That might have been the time when grain prices in Saint Joen City were at their lowest ever. The price for this kind of giant hamburger could even go down to 3.5 or even 3.3 federal coins."

"That cheap?"

YiXiya was startled. "Isn’t that price below cost? How could they sell it so cheaply?"

"At that time, the Kajet Group had just risen and was expanding their power ambitiously. They used many methods to rapidly conquer the market of Saint Joen City, and low price dumping was one of them. At that time, almost all the grain companies in Saint Joen City were swept into that brutal war,"

He Ao turned his head, looking out the window at the towering factory buildings, with the dim and hazy streets under their shadows, "Back then, there were not so many skyscrapers in this city."

The Tweed Group, where Cito had once worked, was one of the key players in that food war.

"What happened later?"

YiXiya, somewhat mesmerized, continued to inquire.

This gentleman, dressed impeccably, seemed to know many stories about the city, and at this moment, YiXiya felt as though she was questioning a witness to history itself.

"Well, afterward,"

He Ao drew back his gaze and looked at YiXiya, "Kajet Group killed off all the grain companies, acquired their factories, and became the largest and only Grain Industry Group in Saint Joen City."

He looked down at the menu on the table, "And then the price of a giant hamburger went up to 6 federal coins each."

To date, Saint Joen City, a granary city where over one-third of the entire population is involved in food production, still remains one of the cities with the highest food prices in the Federation.

YiXiya was stunned for a moment; she hadn’t expected the conversation to loop back to her initial question in such a way.

Her eyes swept over the old windows outside.

Slim figures in a hurry walked along the dimly lit streets covered in shadows, their skin all showing a slightly sickly paleness.

Towering factory buildings blocked out everything, casting shadows across every road.

Now, in the most scorching mid-afternoon sun, even those living at the very bottom of this city didn’t have the privilege of enjoying the sunlight.

Ding-ding-ding—

Just then, the electronic menu sounded an alarm.

YiXiya snapped out of her thoughts, picked up the menu, and slowly rose, "Looks like the meal is ready, I’ll go get it."

"Let’s go together."

He Ao rose with her.

Jia Xi also stood up and followed behind them.

They were seated not far from the counter and soon went to the front of the counter to get their meals.

Jia Xi placed her meal on the table and excitedly picked up her ice cream.

While He Ao, on the other hand, opened his box of fried chicken and asked YiXiya, "Let’s talk about the things I should know, like that monster that just attacked me, and also"

He paused in his movements, with the steaming fried chicken now fully revealed in front of him,

"The organization behind you?"