Card Room

Chapter 143 - Residence

Old Mo had lived in the City of the Moon for more than half a year and was familiar with the whole city. the restaurant he took everyone to was really good. This hot pot restaurant was located on the top floor of the building and had private rooms with wall to ceiling windows that had a night view of the whole city.

The hot pot restaurant had a self-service form. In order to take care of the teammates who didn’t eat spicy food, everyone chose a mandarin duck pot. (Hot pot with a divider so you can have spicy soup on one side and mild soup on the other)

The food here was fresh and cheap. Ye Qi was stunned when he saw that a plate of fresh lamb cost 500 gold coins. He took 20 plates of lamb while others grabbed vegetables. Meat dishes were 5~8 yuan while vegetable dishes were only 2 yuan. This was so cheap that everyone was moved.

After a week of eating biscuits at sea, everyone was salivating when they smelled the hot pot. Once the dishes were cooked, they unceremoniously ate. Ye Qi exclaimed as he ate, “We can finally live a normal life. This hot pot is so delicious!”

Long Sen also said, “The things in the main city are super cheap. Unfortunately, we can’t bring them into the secret rooms or we can buy some vacuum-sealed meat and vegetables and we can eat hot pot at sea.”

Qu Wanyue laughed. “Cooking hot pot at sea? Aren’t your ideas too extravagant?”

Xiao Lou heard this and said, “In fact, Long Sen’s idea might be realized. We can’t bring things into the secret room but we can’t bring cards. After this week, I found that we have too few life cards in our hands. Things like laundry detergent and a dryer aren’t cards for fighting but they can be very useful in survival secret rooms.”

Yu Hanjiang nodded. “Yes, we need to collect more life cards in the future.”

Old Mo explained, “The City of the Moon has a card trading market. We can go another day. This trading market sells cards from low-level secret rooms. There are no S-grade cards and even A-grade cards are rare. The Nine Palaces Grid cards that I had were bought at this market.”

Xiao Lou asked curiously. “Don’t the local residents find it strange that challengers are trading cards with each other? In addition, the Hunter’s League knows about the use of cards. What if they discover the market and buy cards? Won’t it be unfavourable to challengers?”

Old Mo answered, “The trading market is managed by the Eternal State Guild and belongs to the underground black market. It is only open from 3-4 in the afternoon from Monday to Friday. It is the working time of the locals here and no one will go there to buy cards.” Old Mo paused before adding, “Moreover, the black market doesn’t allow the sale of combat cards, only material cards. It won’t matter much if hunters obtain them. The combat cards in their hands definitely weren’t bought but were obtained after killing.”

The group heard this and a chill couldn’t help going down their spines.

The more people the hunters killed, the more cards they obtained. Old Mo said last week that in the Rotating Maze World Weekly, only 20 people survived. This meant that the cards on the 80 challengers killed were all taken away by the Hunter’s League. The strength of this organization was beyond everyone’s imagination.

Xiao Lou said, “Tomorrow afternoon, we will go the market to see if we can buy useful cards.”

The group ate and chatted. They soon finished the dozens of dishes.

After eating and drinking, Chief Shao went to pay the bill. The meal of eight people actually only cost 20,000 gold coins. Shao Qingge felt regret when he remembered that they spent 100,000 gold coins on the cruise ship for breakfast only to collectively get stomach problems. It was really cool to spend money in the main city. Don’t talk about buying good things in the Spades room.

They wet out and the eight people stood by the side of the road for a taxi. At this time, it was evening peak hour and they had to wait for a long time for a taxi.

Xiao Lou watched the traffic on the street and spoke helplessly, “Eight people taking two taxis is really troublesome. I remember that the house prices in this world are very cheap. Chief Shao, we should have enough money to buy a car, right?”

Shao Qingge replied, “Of course there is enough. It just depends on what car you want to buy.”

Xiao Lou suggested, “Do you want to buy a small tour bus?”

Shao Qingge looked at him with confusion. “A seven seat business car had seven seats plus the driver’s seat. That is just enough for us to sit in. Why buy a tour bus?”

Xiao Lou explained, “Our team will definitely gain more people in the future so we should buy a small tourist bus. A small tourist bus can carry a maximum of 18 people? The senior contract can bind a maximum of 15 people so it is better to be prepared.”

Shao Qingge nodded. “Professor Xiao is still far-sighted. However, can anyone drive such a big car?”

Old Mo took the initiative to say, “I can drive it. I could the A-grade driver’s license in the real world and can drive big trucks and buses.”

Ye Qi gave a thumbs up. “Uncle Mo, you are really a jack of all trades. Can you drive any means of transport?”

Old Mo laughed. “I can’t drive a tank.”

Everyone, “......”

It hadn’t gone far enough to drive a tank.

Xiao Lou smiled at Yu Hanjiang. “Then it is decided. We will buy a car tomorrow morning and it will be more convenient to travel around the main city in the future. There is also our accommodation. It is very troublesome to stay in a hotel so why not rent a house?”

Yu Hanjiang nodded in agreement. “It definitely isn’t possible to complete all the secret rooms in one or two days. We must be prepared for a long-term struggle. It will be a headache to find a place every time we come out of the secret room.” He looked at Mo Xuemin. “Old Mo, you know the main city best. Can you rent a suitable house as soon as possible?”

Mo Xuemin patted his chest. “No problem. I know many intermediaries. My previous team rented a five storey single-family house in the western suburbs. There are many rooms and can accommodate 15 people. I just returned the house last week so I’ll try contacting the landlord.”

He ran to the public telephone booth and pressed the number stored in his memory. He called the landlord and the response was that there were no new tenants right now. They could continue to renew the lease.

Mo Xuemin returned with joy in his eyes. “The house is still available. If everyone agrees, we can move over tonight! The old lady is very nice. She lives nearby and can give us the keys.”

Xiao Lou nodded. “Then we will go to the hotel to check out before moving into the new house.”

A taxi came over. Xiao Lou beckoned and had Old Mo, Liu Qiao and the Long Qu couple get in first to return to the hotel. After waiting 10 minutes, another taxi came and the remaining four people returned to the hotel. Everyone met in the lobby.

In order to avoid finding a taxi again, the group had the drivers wait at the hotel door and they would pay according to the time.

After Xiao Lou came to the City of the Moon, he paid for a room for one week and the check out happened to be today. The girl at the front desk of the hotel kindly suggested, “Our set check-out time is before 12 noon the next day. It is already very late and you can stay for another night. It isn’t too late to check out tomorrow morning.”

Xiao Lou smiled and said, “No, we found a place to live.”

The front desk employee nodded and quickly completed the check-out process for them. Everyone went back to their rooms and simply packed their luggage. It was just their phones, laptops and some extra clothes. Then they headed to the new house.

The taxi soon stopped at an upscale neighbourhood.

The house Old Mo’s previous team rented was one personally chosen by him. The environment of this villa was excellent. The entire community was full of flowers and the five storey house surrounded by flowers was like a castle hidden in a forest in a fairy tale. Xiao Lou liked this house instantly.

The landlord old lady was very enthusiastic. She came over to give the keys and signed the contract on the spot. The monthly rent was 300,000 gold coins, equivalent to 3,000 yuan, and the deposit was 300,000. They would rent for a month first and renew the lease three days in advance.

They entered the house and found it was a dream place.

The solid wood-style decorations added a simple and refreshing look throughout the home. The first floor had a bright and spacious living room with flew to ceiling windows and a balcony that was as long as eight metres. This was attached to a large garden filled with flowers.

The dining room was large and had a long table that could fit more than a dozen people. There was a sliding door to the kitchen where four or five adults could stand and cook at the same time.

Go out the floor and ceiling windows of the dining room and there was a swimming pool. The water was crystal clear and the pool was surrounded by tall, broad-leaved trees. There was a row of lounge chairs around the pool.

The second to fourth floors were all bedrooms while the fifth floor was a wide terrace where they could have a few drinks and a barbecue with friends.

There were some exquisite paintings hanging on the walls of the house as well as many little decorations.

Mo Xuemin looked at the familiar atmosphere and complex emotions flashed on his face and lowered her voice, “When we rented this house, we made plans to live here for a few months. We bought a lot of furniture but we didn’t expect...”

He just didn’t expect that his teammates would all be wiped but after encountering hunters in the World Weekly secret room.

Mo Xuemin’s fingers couldn’t help trembling slightly. Xiao Lou walked over and gently pressed a hand to his shoulder. “Old Mo, don’t think about the past. It isn’t your fault that your former teammates were killed. The house is beautifully decorated and let’s stay here.”

Ye Qi quickly changed the topic. “Hurry and allocate bedrooms!”

Mo Xuemin cleared his low mood and took everyone around the bedrooms. “This villa has five rooms on the second to fourth floors for a total of 15 bedrooms. The landlord intentionally remodelled the rooms to rent it to us foreigners. The bedrooms are close to each other and there are two public toilets and bathrooms. You can choose what you want.”

Ye Qi scratched his head. “It looks pretty much the same and I can sleep anywhere.”

Liu Qiao nodded. “I also don’t care.”

Qu Wanyue smiled and suggested, “Professor Xiao, you can just arrange it.”

Xiao Lou thought about it. “Then Teacher Qu, Xiao Liu, Long Sen and Old Mo will stay on the third floor. The other four will stay on the second floor. If we gain new teammates in the future, they can stay on the fourth floor. The rooms are sufficient and you can adjust it any time you want to change.”

No one had an opinion. Then Qu Wanyue opened her mouth, “One more thing, I want to go to the mall to buy a few changes of clothing tomorrow. My clothes have been the same since entering the Card World and I’ve been wearing them for almost a month...”

Liu Qiao added, “We should also buy some seasonal clothes to wear.

Old Mo said, “Everyone should’ve found it? Before entering the secret room, the gatekeeper will empty all our supplies and we can’t even sneak in a lighter. We can only bring our card pack in. However, the clothes won’t be removed. So we can prepare a few more sets. When entering the secret room, wear summer clothes inside and a sweater and coat on top. If the room is summer then take off the coat completely. If it is winter, you won’t freeze to death from wearing short sleeves.”

Everyone, “......”

Layer by layer, prepare clothes for several seasons to cope with different environments... everyone felt very helpless.

Xiao Lou smiled and nodded. “That is a good method. We will rest first. Then tomorrow morning, we will go to the mall to buy clothes and daily necessities. In the afternoon, we will go to the trading market to look at the cards. In the evening, we will see Old Gui. We must hurry to continue clearing the instances.”

After entering the main city, apart from the World Weekly, there was nothing mandatory from Monday to Friday. Challengers could rest and relax. Xiao Lou’s plan was to first contact Old Gui and the Intelligence Bureau to work out a plan. Then they would open the secret room before midnight Friday to avoid going to the World Weekly as Brother Jiu suggested.

At 11:30 p.m. everyone lined up to wash and get ready for bed.

Xiao Lou and Yu Hanjiang came to the rooms on the second floor.

This villa was Old Mo’s design. Everywhere expressed the warmth of ‘home’, from the hanging pictures in the corridors, the flower stands on the balcony, the decorations in the bedroom, the soft sofa and the clean bedding...

Everyone finally had a place to stay in this world. However, this wasn’t their home. They were just passersby and would go back one day.

Yu Hanjiang walked into his bedroom, opened the floor to ceiling window and looked at the trees outside while thinking. As a result, Xiao Lou’s voice was suddenly heard in his head. “Group Leader Yu, you are still thinking a lot. Aren’t you going to sleep?”

Yu Hanjiang slightly froze for a second. “You... are you pushing me to sleep?”

Xiao Lou’s voice was soft. “This week, we floated at sea for seven days and you killed so many sharks. You are physically exhausted and should have a good rest. Don’t think too much and wait until tomorrow. You should rest first.”

Yu Hanjiang nodded. “Okay, I’ll listen to you. I’m going to sleep. You should also have an early rest.”

Since becoming a police officer, his schedule was very chaotic. It was common for him to go to work in the middle of the night and for day and night to be mixed up. No one cared about when he slept. Then just now, he heard Xiao Lou’s soft voice persuading him to sleep early and a stream of warmth burst into his heart. The feeling was like a cold winter moon was about to lose consciousness when someone placed a heater in his hand.

All the blood in his body and every pore warmed up. It was really different to have someone care...

Yu Hanjiang obediently took a bath and slept. He tried to contact Xiao Lou using the heart channel and found that there was no response, like Xiao Lou had fallen asleep. It seemed that Xiao Lou was really tired because he had fallen asleep in seconds.

Yu Hanjiang’s lips slightly curved and he happily closed his eyes. Since entering the Card World, this was the night he got the best sleep.