Chapter 122 "Baby, do you want to go to the black market?"
Pei Hening took the sunglasses and glanced at him. How come she never noticed before how easily this kid could do illegal and disorderly things?
Chu Xuange touched his face and asked in confusion, "Is there something on my face?"
Pei Hening shook her head: "No, I really like these sunglasses~"
Chu Xuange cupped her face in his hands and pressed his forehead against hers: "Okay, baby, how about radish stewed with pork ribs and hot and sour cabbage for today?"
"good."
Chu Xuange let go of his hand and went into the kitchen to prepare the ingredients.
At 6:00 sharp, parking lot 001.
After dressing warmly and mentally preparing herself, Pei Hening got out of the car and opened her suitcase!
She took out the boxes collected by the automated pickup device, placed them on the ground, and opened them one by one.
As she used her knife to pry open the bronze box, an unexpected turn of events occurred—
A sharp icicle came hurtling toward her face, and Pei Hening instinctively cleaved it in two!
In the brief moment she hesitated, a monster resembling a snow fox suddenly leaped out of the box, its gaping maw poised to bite her leg.
Pei Hening, wearing a pair of black combat boots, stomped the monster to the ground, and with a crack, its neck was broken.
"Congratulations to player [滴比滴比] for killing a Blizzard Fox Monster*1, experience +25, and a Fox Fang*1 dropped."
She picked up the fallen object, but couldn't quite feel its texture; her hands were frozen stiff.
Pei Hening tugged at her scarf, took a breath of fresh air, and felt the icy cold air seep into her lungs through her respiratory tract.
When the breathed-out air encounters cold air, it cools down rapidly and liquefies, forming a thin white mist.
After opening the box, she stuffed everything except the food into her backpack and returned to the car.
Chu Xuange had just finished cooking and brought the dishes out. He took the ingredients from Pei Hening's hands and said, "I'll put them in the refrigerator. Wash your hands and eat."
Pei Hening took off her coat, hung it on the hanger, washed her hands, and came out to eat.
After finishing their meal, the two went back to doing their own things.
Chu Xuange got out of the car, opened the chest, and killed some monsters.
Pei Hening went to the "planting area" to check on her seedlings, recorded the data again, and fed them some nutrient solution.
After finishing her tasks, she took a shower and returned to the potion station.
She took out the materials for making the potion and, combining them with the lesson 823786 had given her that day, tried to make it again.
Pei Hening placed the invisibility potion she had concocted on the table. She took a small sip; the taste was so-so, like very diluted apple juice.
The effect isn't very good—it only makes the left wrist and fingers invisible.
The good news is that there were none of the side effects reported by [the perpetrator].
That's progress, I guess.
She opened her notebook and recorded the data and feedback on the results of this refining process.
Pei Hening rests when it's time.
At 1:30 a.m., Chu Xuange was about to return to his RV to rest when he saw a large snow monster forming. He turned slightly and walked towards the snow monster.
He had to kill the thing so he could get a good night's sleep.
——
Thirty-nine days of highway survival, six o'clock in the morning.
Pei Hening got out of bed and saw Chu Xuange getting out of the car with a can of gasoline.
"Out of gas?"
Chu Xuange nodded: "Honey, your car battery is dead. I don't have the authority to do that. Go get your car battery replaced after you finish breakfast."
"Okay, I understand."
Chu Xuange spoke calmly: "Breakfast is on the table, it's the savory pancake you wanted to eat a couple of days ago."
"Baby, do you want to go to the black market? My order arrived, shall we go together?"
"good."
Pei Hening turned around, ate her breakfast, put on her down jacket, and hurriedly went to change the battery.
Chu Xuange filled the gas tank and walked towards her: "Do you need any help?"
"No need, it's all set."
The two walked towards the RV, and Pei Hening asked him, "What did you order?"
Chu Xuange didn't hide anything and said, "It's a space prop for a modified car."
After completing the target mileage, Chu Xuange sat in the driver's seat and started driving.
Pei Hening took a sip of ginger tea, and seeing that he had opened the navigation, she rested her chin on her hand and looked at her profile reflected in the rearview mirror: "There's even a navigation system?"
Chu Xuange chuckled and seized the opportunity to explain: "The black market, as the name suggests, is a place of illegality and disorder. It's not as legitimate as other sites, and it has to avoid crackdowns from the police, market regulators, and tax authorities. It changes locations every now and then. This navigation isn't legitimate either; it was created by people in the black market."
"Baby, I'll take you there and you'll see."
Pei Hening watched as a fork in the road suddenly appeared on the deserted highway.
She looked out the window, her face full of surprise.
This was the first time she had encountered a fork in the road while surviving on the highway.
The scenery there wasn't much different from a normal highway; it was all thick white snow and dead trees, with white waves rising up when the wind blew.
Chu Xuange turned the steering wheel and drove towards the fork in the road.
Is it far?
"It's not far, we'll be there in no time."
——
Chu Xuange parked the car on the side of the road, unbuckled his seatbelt and got out of the driver's seat. He took out a black robe from his backpack and handed it to her: "Baby, put this on."
Pei Hening changed into a long robe, and Chu Xuange stepped forward to straighten her clothes and slipped a heating card into her pocket.
"Pick a mask and put it on."
Pei Hening looked at the two masks he was holding—a fox and a cat.
She instinctively reached for the cat mask; its outline resembled a cat-ear hat, and it felt familiar.
After Chu Xuange put on the mask, it blended directly into his face.
He's like a real fox right now...
"Put this on, baby. Stay close to me and don't get lost. If you accidentally get separated, just stay where you are and text me. I'll come find you."
His voice changed too.
Pei Hening also put on the mask. After putting it on, her pupils turned into vertical pupils, and her five senses became more acute.
After confirming that she wouldn't give herself away, Chu Xuange pulled her out of the car.
"Didn't you say there's a black market? Where is it?"
Pei Hening looked around but didn't see anything special.
Chu Xuange pointed to the right side of the road, where the snow was floating: "Baby, look, isn't the snow here different from the snow in other places?"
"Yeah, I didn't even notice it until you pointed it out. It's so well hidden."
"Sometimes, you pass by the black market without even realizing it. Let's go."
He led Pei Hening to the right side of the road, and the next second they disappeared from the roadside.
When Pei Hening entered the black market, the texture of her skin was similar to that of her first time entering the floating island, but also different. The magical barrier in the black market was rougher and more aggressive.
Pei Hening didn't understand the purpose of the black robe at first, but now she does—it's used to protect against danger.
After the two stepped into the black market, she could clearly feel that Chu Xuange was holding her hand with more force.
Before they even entered the black market, they were faced with a long passageway. They walked on the stone slabs of unknown material, and a blue butterfly flew around them once before letting them pass.
Pei Hening unconsciously looked at both sides of the passage. Here, the seasons were indistinguishable, the magical elements were complex and chaotic, and the surrounding plants grew in their own way.
She read in a book that Edelweiss, which grows in the snowy season, Water Lily, which grows in the hot season, and Star Tree, which grows in the ice season, were growing strangely yet harmoniously on both sides of the road.