Chapter 23: The Twenty-Third Cup

Chapter 23: The Twenty-Third Cup

He Wuning looked at the fragments in Xue Xun's hand and frowned slightly. He seemed a bit confused: "For me?"

"Besides Bai Yan, don't you have anyone else in your combat department who has good physical fitness but lacks abilities?" He Wuning put his hands in his pockets, not intending to take them. "Someone like that would be more suitable for modification."

"Yes." Xue Xun nodded and pointed at Yi Luo. "There he is; you've already modified him."

He Wuning: "..."

Xue Xun forcefully shoved the fragments into his hand. "Can we take advantage of you? Definitely not."

"Can we let him take advantage of you? Definitely not either."

Yi Luo raised an eyebrow, wanting to argue, but then realized he couldn't deny it. He shrugged, "Okay, I did take advantage of him."

He patted He Wuning on the shoulder. "Take it. Reimbursement has always been our combat department's tradition."

He Wuning's expression was somewhat subtle.

He pinched the fragments and finally didn't refuse.

Xue Xun, accustomed to his decisive actions, spoke up before he could leave: "Wait, there's something else for you."

He took out a large bag of healing items from his backpack and shoved them into He Wuning's hand, earnestly instructing: "You haven't unlocked the healing ability yet, so use these first. Don't worry about it; they're all official supplies."

"The quality of those items on the market varies, and they take up space. These were developed by the tech department; they work well."

He Wuning felt as if he were being given red envelopes during the New Year. He hesitated, "I'm not officially part of the team, right? Giving me these..."

"Oh, actually, these are from Yi Luo's share, but they're meant for you." Xue Xun nodded, and Yi Luo smiled. "They're all for you; don't hesitate."

He Wuning's face remained stern. He had always been a cold-hearted stone, unaccustomed to such affectionate attention and receiving various items.

He quietly took a step back, wanting to slip away.

Yi Luo poked his head from behind: "At least say thank you."

He Wuning: "...Thank you."

Surprisingly honest, Yi Luo raised an eyebrow in surprise.

He Wuning didn't delay, immediately fusing the fragments, bringing his administrator privileges back to 15%.

He opened his skill tree: "I've already thought about how to modify the skills."

"Delivery Call, changing from location acquisition to teleportation—when receiving a distress call, the milk tea cart can directly teleport to the customer, suitable for coordinating with the rescue center's distress calls. If your rescue team can't go somewhere, you can pass it to me."

He paused and added, "Even if monsters don't drop fragments, it doesn't matter."

Before Xue Xun could react, Zhao Yantong's eyes lit up. "Very practical. Our rescue team can't enter already active instances. With this skill, you might be able to save players in danger within instances."

"I'll relay this to the rescue center."

He Wuning took a step back: "I'm leaving."

His figure carried a hint of eagerness.

Xue Xun couldn't help but laugh. "He looks grumpy and hard to approach, but after dealing with him for so long, I know he's actually a good kid."

"Hmm." Zhao Yantong nodded. "What about Yi Luo?"

Xue Xun pursed his lips. "That worrisome guy."

Zhao Yantong couldn't help but laugh. She glanced at their backs. "I'm surprised too. That guy who used to give everyone a headache is now worrying about others."

"Heh, that's called karma. Hope Brother He can tolerate him a bit longer. I want to see him behave for a while."

...

The milk tea cart rushed out of the safe zone, heading towards the wild boss. He Wuning drove recklessly, causing many small monsters to suffer and turn into materials on the ground.

Apart from the inconvenience of having to get out to collect materials, everything was calm as usual.

He Wuning glanced at the ordinary players, fully armed and facing the clay monster, and drove past the stone giant under their astonished gaze—he planned to try pushing the stone giant to fight the minotaur.

Yi Luo, pushed to the back seat, clung to He Wuning's seat, his gaze clear and sincere: "I can't sleep."

"Just force yourself to sleep," He Wuning said without turning around. "Close your eyes."

"You won't fall asleep with your eyes open."

Yi Luo clicked his tongue: "I can't sleep even with my eyes closed. Let me shoot a few times."

He Wuning turned back and glared at him, looking ready to stab him if he dared to shoot.

"Ah—" Yi Luo fell back into the seat, wailing. "In the safe zone, I could go to the shooting range. Why can't I touch a gun outside?"

He Wuning ignored him entirely. Yi Luo's pretense was wasted on a blind man, so he had to quiet down.

After hearing him silent for a while, He Wuning checked the rearview mirror and found that he wasn't sleeping at all, but was studying his skill tree.

Q Sauce interjected, "Report! He's pretending to sleep!"

Yi Luo raised an eyebrow provocatively: "When did I pretend? I'm openly awake."

"I discovered that after modification, I have a few decent skills, like this auxiliary modification, which allows the milk tea cart to automatically pick up items, so we won't need to get out anymore..."

"But I feel it's unnecessary to specifically consume 4% of my authority for this."

He narrowed his eyes. "This damn game is still as frustrating as ever."

Before he could finish speaking, the phone hanging on the wall of the vehicle suddenly rang, and Yi Luo instinctively reached out to answer it.

Q-jam immediately jumped up. "Warning, no permission detected for item use."

"It won't even let me answer!" Yi Luo raised an eyebrow, pulling out the commission ring from around his neck. "How do I not have permission? Look who gave this to me."

His seemingly unreasonable action actually worked, and Q-jam reluctantly responded in a low voice, "Commission ring detected, permission granted."

Yi Luo answered the phone arrogantly. "Hello, this is—"

"I, I want to buy milk tea!" Before he could finish, a panicked female voice interrupted him. The sound of clanging metal grew closer, like some mechanical collision, and she screamed, speeding up her words, "Tapioca coconut jelly, thirty percent sweetness! Help, the rescue center said ordering milk tea can save lives, please help me..."

"The sweetness can't be changed," Yi Luo replied dutifully. He looked up and saw a virtual teleportation array appear at the front of the vehicle. A black sniper rifle appeared in his hand, and He Wuning's gaze met his in the rearview mirror. He nodded slightly.

Amidst the roar of the milk tea truck's engine, he whispered, "But we're almost there."

He hung up the phone and stepped forward to grip the steering wheel. He Wuning stood up from the driver's seat and brushed past him. The milk tea truck, now without anyone controlling the gas or brakes, surged into the teleportation array according to its momentum. He Wuning and Yi Luo had already switched positions—according to the order rules, He Wuning still needed to make a milk tea.

**Instance: Slaughterhouse**

After just making the call, Li Xiaoyi screamed when she saw the pursuing minotaur butcher. A surge of strength erupted within her, and she stumbled forward—her companion was already being held upside down by one of the monsters, and she had just seen several meat grinders covered in blood!

But the monster, either underestimating them or wanting to save effort, planned to grab her too and throw her into the meat grinder.

Li Xiaoyi watched in despair as the minotaur butcher closed in. She turned back to call to her companion, "Xiao Zhi, hold on, I've called for help, they said they'll be here soon..."

The young man being held upside down spasmed; he was already near death due to excessive blood loss. He mumbled, "Run, run..."

As they spoke, the tall minotaur butcher, wearing a blood-stained apron, approached. Li Xiaoyi's eyes showed despair, and her body trembled uncontrollably. She couldn't hold onto her weapon. Suddenly, she heard the roar of an engine nearby?

Before she could react, a pink milk tea truck crashed between her and the minotaur butcher. Colorful flags fluttered past her, leaving a "tsk" sound in her vision.

With a thud, the minotaur butcher was forcibly knocked away, but it still didn't release the young man. After a brief control effect, it roared in anger, pulled out a cleaver from its waist, and swung it fiercely at Li Xiaoyi.

"Ahh—"

Li Xiaoyi screamed in despair, covering her head. The door of the milk tea truck burst open, and a shield-like figure blocked the attack, holding it steady without any wobble.

Q-jam, perched on He Wuning's shoulder, reported, "Milk tea truck durability -1..."

Li Xiaoyi stared blankly at him, then at the milk tea in his hand.

He Wuning handed her the milk tea. "No thirty percent sweetness, tapioca coconut jelly, 350 coins."

Li Xiaoyi instinctively reached into her pocket.

After handing over the money, she realized what was happening, and her voice rose in excitement. "Wait, wait, over there, over there..."

The monster she feared was now focused on attacking the milk tea truck, its angry stance contrasting comically with the cute design of the vehicle.

Yi Luo got out of the truck on the other side. "Looks like it's not letting go of the hostage."

A cold glint flashed in He Wuning's hand. "Then we'll take him by force."

Yi Luo set up his gun on the roof and fired. He Wuning rolled out almost simultaneously, his dagger spinning and embedding itself deeply into the monster's wrist.

The moment the monster was injured, Q-jam's body trembled, and the mechanical female voice reappeared. "Warning, abnormal attack detected! Error, intruder detected mid-instance, initiating instance protection protocol..."

He Wuning had already grabbed the young man, tossing him a healing item. The young man shakily caught it—just moments ago, he thought this guy might resort to Russian-style rescue, killing both him and the monster to eliminate the hostage situation!

As the mechanical voice continued, a red light flashed over the minotaur butcher, and He Wuning heard a loud mechanical rumble, as if something was about to emerge.

He produced the "Administrator Key" and thrust it in front of Q-jam.

The mechanical voice abruptly stopped, stuttering a few times before finally resuming normally.

"Administrator permission detected, authentication successful."

"Respected administrator candidate, welcome to experience the instance 'Slaughterhouse,' difficulty level beginner. Enjoy your game."

---

Tomorrow, V-chapter update with three chapters! Please give my handsome rabbit a chance! Kisses all around!

Also, please follow the author's column and check out another upcoming novel, "The Fugitive Bride Wants to Run Away with My Identity":

Yin Bei, a living fossil of the non-human world and the ruler of the underworld, rarely encounters things that give him a headache—taking care of the slightly off-kilter little golden dragon from the Dragon Palace of the East Sea is one of those things.

The little crown prince of the Dragon Palace of the East Sea, Ao Jinming, with his golden scales and natural auspiciousness, was announced by the matchmaker to be tied to the King of the Underworld while still an egg.

However, as Ao Jinming grew up, he believed that dragons of the new era should reject arranged marriages, so he packed his bags and left home to explore the human world.

And he ended up renting a room in Yin Bei's two-bedroom apartment.

Yin Bei looked at his roommate, who carried a backpack with a naive and sunny smile, thinking that this damn fate must be trying to kill him.

Ao Jinming felt that his gloomy roommate, though quiet, was actually a good person, always complaining but helping him clean up his messes.

He was also good-looking and skilled in fighting, making him more and more appealing to dragons.

Just wondering if the auspicious family of the Dragon Palace would accept a ghostly partner.

Ao Jinming: "Bei-bei—"

Yin Bei impatiently lifted an eyelid. "What now? Did you beat up another monster and need me to clean up?"

Ao Jinming dumped a bag of fist-sized pearls on the table, eagerly approaching. "Do you like them? They're a specialty from my home."

Yin Bei: "…"

It seemed that things were developing in an uncontrollable direction.

#Hold Tight to My Secret Identity# #This Dragon is Dying for My Body# #You Escaped Your Wedding in Solitude#

Ao Jinming: "There's too much of an age gap between us."

Yin Bei: "There's also a significant age gap between us."

Ao Jinming: "Actually, I like older people! I was just being tsundere earlier!"

Ao Jinming: "His reputation doesn't seem very good."

Yin Bei: "My reputation isn't good either."

Ao Jinming: "I love cute and charming villain characters!"

Yin Bei: "… Ha, hypocritical dragon."

Sunny and Prosperous Little Golden Dragon (Attacker) × Depressed and Stubborn But Soft-hearted (Receptor)

No Brains and Always Grumpy appreciate the support from the little angels who voted for me or provided nourishment from 03:53 on August 16, 2021, to 06:31 on August 17, 2021.

Thank you to the little angel who voted with a rocket: Banana (1);

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I am very grateful for everyone's support, and I will continue to work hard!