Chapter 12: How Can I Live Without My Phone!

After Chen Shijin completed his check-in and photo, Wang Baojie, Xiong Zhangge, Song Fang, Lu Jun, and others who had completed the challenge quickly took their photos and checked in as well.

The moment they finished taking photos with the golden gemstone phone, they each heard a voice prompt from the "guide": [Current survival task completion: 1/5, protective barrier 1/5 obtained, please continue your efforts.]

Immediately, smiles appeared on everyone's faces, and they all felt relieved.

"Great! This really is a check-in point! That travel brochure from Mouth Brother was legit!" The courier was excited: "Then we just need to follow the seven must-visit spots mentioned in the brochure, out of which at least five will provide protective barriers!"

Wang Baojie was also in a good mood: "So the travel brochure only appears in the presidential suite. These damned energy values." Completing one check-in in the morning was much smoother than he expected.

"Let's then make a push to complete another check-in point in the afternoon. There are two must-visit spots near Bright Eyes Street, one is Melodious Street, and the other is the Phone Maze," Wang Baojie said, looking at the map in the travel brochure: "So, which one do you think we should go to?"

"I think we should go to Melodious Street? The challenge on Bright Eyes Street is related to the eyes, so the challenge on Melodious Street is probably related to the ears. My eyes are already swollen like eggs, I really can't afford more swelling. Better to distribute the pressure to the ears."

Song Fang sighed softly, touching her egg-shaped eyes. She had just seen her current eye condition in the phone screen, and it was unsightly to the extreme. If it were just ugliness, she wouldn't be so worried. She glanced at Zhao Xiaofeng, the long-haired girl standing in the corner, whose eyes were squeezed onto her face as big as two peaches, making even blinking seem laborious. Song Fang absolutely didn't want her eyes to end up like that.

Hearing Song Fang's words, the others couldn't help but cover their eyes, confronting a problem they had been deliberately ignoring—except for Chen Qiang, almost everyone's eyes were swollen to varying degrees.

The one with the most swollen eyes was Zhao Xiaofeng, who had spent forty minutes on the check-in challenge, while the least affected was the old exile, Wang Baojie.

But even for Wang Baojie, his eyes had bulged out significantly, resembling two winter dates.

Looking at each other, Zhou Mo took off his glasses, which were already pressing against his eyeballs: "I've heard that looking at phones too much can cause the eyeballs to bulge out and can even lead to sudden blindness due to burst blood vessels. But I never took it seriously, always thinking it had nothing to do with me."

"But now." He looked up sincerely: "If I'm fortunate enough to survive, I'll never look at phones again."

The others, touching their eyes, nodded in agreement, feeling a shared sentiment.

Who knew, phones are truly terrifying!

"Let's head to Yue'er Street first, then." Wang Baojie also touched his own eyeballs: "The smartphone maze doesn't give me a good feeling. I can't even imagine what kind of place it would be."

"After completing the check-in at Yue'er Street, we could take a detour there, but personally, I'd leave that place for last. If there aren't five essential scenic spots to check in, then we'll consider the smartphone maze."

"Just the word 'maze' sounds dangerous enough, let alone adding 'smartphone' to it. The level of danger probably doubles."

Everyone seemed to have thought of this too, and they all nodded in agreement in the end.

When preparing to leave, Wang Baojie took a special look at Chen Qiang, and only truly felt at ease when he saw that Mouth Brother had no objection.

Chen Shijin looked at him somewhat speechlessly; he wasn't a team leader, and getting involved in such troublesome and worrying matters didn't appeal to him. Besides, personally, he was more interested in exploring the Phone Maze than Pleasant Street.

But there was no rush; with three to four days left, there was still ample time to visit.

Then, as they exited Pleasant Street, they were enthusiastically greeted at the street corner by... a mobile snack stand troop.

“Come and try our delicious rice box meals! Just 2 energy points for a meat and two veggie dishes!”

“Tasty beef ramen! Big chunks of beef, not just thin slices – all yours for 1 energy point!”

“Fried chicken burgers, great for any meal! Burger for 1 energy point, fried chicken leg for 3!”

“Rice noodles here! Sour and spicy, just 1 energy point for a filling meal!”

“After a morning of activities, how can you miss a delicious lunch?”

The food stall owners were as enthusiastic as they were in the morning, but the customers they called out to were now wide-eyed, almost tempted to turn and flee.

The tragic death of the homebody, Li Dun, that morning was still fresh in their minds; how could these food vendors appear so carefree before them!

However, as they were about to turn away, their stomachs, unfed since morning, began to rumble again, the unbearable hunger taking over their minds.

Everyone: “…”

Chen Shijin, also famished: “…”

“Damn it, this rebellious stomach of mine! Do I have to watch more knife ads? I almost puked watching over twenty ads this morning; who knows how many I’ll need to watch at noon!” The delivery guy lamented, clutching his stomach, trying hard not to be tempted by the aroma.

While others pressed their stomachs or eyes, all struggled to control their appetites.

Suddenly, Chen Shijin detected a faint smell of blood. Frowning, he looked towards the source and saw Zhao Xiaofeng, whose eyes were swollen like two peaches.

The long-haired girl had her eyes tightly shut, seemingly clenching her teeth, striving to walk away from the snack stands. Drops of blood fell from her hand onto the ground.

Clearly, she had resolved not to eat lunch.

Chen Shijin understood why – her eyes were too swollen, they couldn't afford to swell further, or else no one knew if they would burst.

Her walk, however, was evidently difficult.

The snack vendors were obviously targeting them, with one even maliciously pushing his cart towards Zhao Xiaofeng.

Chen Shijin's eyelids drooped.

He detested such kicking a person when they're down.

At that moment, including Chen Shijin, everyone heard the guide's voice: [Detection of exiles in need of assistance. Life value to energy value exchange service now available!]

The voice was filled with temptation and suggestion.

[10 life points can be exchanged for 1 energy point. Each person has a minimum of 100 life points, which can be restored through rest or consuming nutrient-rich food!

So, what are you waiting for? Exchange 10 life points for a delicious bowl of noodles or hot and sour rice noodles. After eating, you can even restore life points. It's a deal you can't lose!]

This sudden prompt left those tempted by the aroma in shock, with some happy and others feeling the price too steep and conflicted.

Only Wang Baojie, upon hearing the prompt, pursed his lips with no intention to exchange energy points. He was already aware of the guide's exchange service and had used it in dire situations.

But Chen Shijin didn't consider this a good thing.

In fact, compared to the devourers of Phone City, this vast and terrifying "Guide" that overshadowed all exiles in the Realm of Exile was an apex existence, unreachable even when gazing up.

It appeared to assist every exile in familiarizing and completing tasks in the Realm of Exile, but it also seemed like an incurable tumor, perpetually leeching off everyone, draining them of their energy.

The exiles received "help," but what the Guide harvested was far, far greater.

This was a well-known fact among experienced exiles. Yet, facing such an inescapable and oppressive "help," everyone eventually became accustomed to it over time.

Like a dog used to dog food, who remembers it once thrived on flesh and blood?

Thus, confronted with the Guide's exchange service, Wang Baojie, despite having much to say, ultimately remained silent.

Firstly, everyone indeed needed energy points to buy food; without it, survival was doubtful.

Secondly, only those who've experienced the debilitation of lost life points truly understand the preciousness of life.

He planned to advise everyone not to casually exchange life for energy, even if life points could slowly regenerate.

By this time, some who couldn't endure hunger were contemplating trading life points for energy. It didn't seem like a difficult choice, did it? Life points can be recovered after exchange; it's not a total loss and one gains energy points, almost like being one's own money tree.

As Wang Baojie watched Liu Chengli, Yang Mianmian, Liu Dakai, and Lao Shi starting to communicate with the Guide, a ghostly voice suddenly whispered in his ear.

"Bro, ready for a big move?"

Startled, Wang Baojie turned sharply to see the inscrutable Mouth Brother.

Accompanying him were the Express Brother, Office Worker Zhou Mo, the half-awake Zhao Xiaofeng, and Bear Paw Brother, who looked like a thief.

From a distance, Lv Jun and Sales Champion Zhou Fang watched them with complex expressions.

“What do you mean by 'big one'?” Wang Bojie, usually honest, had a gut feeling that things were heading in a strange direction.

“It's not ideal to keep getting chased around like this, so let's solve this once and for all.”

Wang Bojie: ???

How do you mean 'once and for all'? He wanted that too, but how could it be possible…

Wang Bojie was about to voice his concerns when he saw the all-black robe in Chen Shijin's hand, and his words halted.

“!” Could it be the 'once and for all' solution I'm thinking of?

Wide-eyed, Wang Bojie saw Chen Shijin nodding at him.

After a brief moment of hesitation, Wang Bojie clapped his hands decisively: “Let's do it!”

So, Wang Bojie, along with Bear Paw Bro, the Courier, Zhou Mo, and Zhao Xiaofeng, sneakily hid in a corner.

Meanwhile, Chen Shijin chuckled amidst the sharp questioning tones in his ear, “Silence for ten minutes. In ten minutes, you'll see what I'm up to.”

The voice of the guide in Chen Shijin's ear abruptly ceased.

Chen Shijin, with his energy level at N=2499, approached the snack vendors amid their enthusiastic gazes.

“Hey, handsome, want something to eat?”

The vendors greeted him warmly.

Then they heard this attractive and charismatic young man unleash a series of ominous predictions:

“Uncles and aunts, observing the skies tells me that today, your brows are shadowed by financial loss!”

The once enthusiastic vendors replied in disbelief: “...” Eat what now?!

“Only by incurring financial loss can disaster be averted. It’s best not to resist fate!”

The vendors' eyes slowly narrowed as they clenched their spoons and forks.

Suddenly, a whirlwind arose around the snack stalls, blinding everyone. Along with it, a bear-like roar shattered the air:

“Nobody move! It's a robbery!”

The startled aunts and uncles first witnessed a figure in a black robe, like a whirlwind, rushing over and swiftly stealing a small pushcart from a box lunch seller, all the while shouting "3+7=8".

Right after, a burlier figure in a black robe grabbed two iron frames filled with fried chicken burgers from a seller, ignoring the hot oil dripping on him, and sped off at an incredible pace.

“Ah, my cart, my cart, my cart! You little rascal, how dare you steal my cart!” screamed the box lunch seller.

“Ignorant boy, return my burgers!” shouted the fried chicken seller.

Both the box lunch seller and the fried chicken seller let out furious roars and, without hesitation, began to chase after the thieves.

At this moment, half of the other cart vendors, shocked, clung tightly to their carts, while two others, close to the aggrieved sellers, gritted their teeth, abandoned their carts, and furiously chased with knives in hand.

Then, the carts of the ramen seller and the meat sandwich seller were pushed away in the opposite direction by two other men in black clothes who suddenly burst onto the scene!

“Oh no! Old Zhang, your cart's gone too! Come back!” someone yelled.

“Auntie Song! Auntie Song! Your meat sandwiches!” another shouted.

“Damn it! Call the police! Let them catch and chop them all up!” the remaining vendors shouted in anger, reaching for their phones.

But then, they heard the ominous words of a nearby man:

“Ah, the wind's so strong, the signal’s bad. I bet the phones won't even connect.”

The calls from the food stall owners were met with busy tones: ...

“Damn it! Zhang, put in more effort, catch up with that wretched thief!”

Unable to reach their phones, the vendors cheer on their comrade instead.

“Oh no, my age is showing, my back and legs aren't what they used to be, I hope I don't fall.”

So, the vendors watched as Old Zhang, nearly catching up with Wang Baojie, yelped and sprained his ankle, while the fastest running lunchbox lady twisted her waist with a crack.

The other two chasing vendors also met with misfortune; one stepped into a hole, and the other slipped and fell, none catching the fleet-footed thief in black.

Consequently, all the food stall owners' gazes turned towards Chen Shijin.

Under the scrutiny of dozens of eyes, the young man looked up at the sky: “Sigh, didn’t I say you folks would face a loss today?”

Loss, my foot! We see you as the disaster itself, aaaah!

Chen Shijin, amidst the sharp ringing in his ears and noticing his energy level now at 499, laughed nonchalantly.

Idiotic stuff, isn't this better than a 10:1 life energy exchange?

As for the energy levels... Whatever he ate, he'll have to spit it out eventually.