Chapter 11: The Troublemaker, First Blood

The door to the two-person apartment swung open, revealing a refreshing shade of green and floors exuding a faint scent of wood. Expansive floor-to-ceiling windows offered a clear view of the world outside. The living room, with its soaring six-meter ceiling, made the entire place feel open and airy, free from any sense of cramped discomfort.

It had to be said—the products from the system’s marketplace were truly of superior quality.

Electricity, water, and gas were already connected, and warm sunlight streamed in through the glass, bathing the room. Outside, the faint sounds of cicadas and birds could still be heard. It was enough to make one forget, if only for a moment, that this was the apocalypse.

The group trailing behind Qiao Jia experienced a moment of disbelief as they took in the sight. Unlike Qiao Jia, Shen Tong and her five companions had felt the cruelty and terror of the end times all too keenly.

“Because of the current circumstances, I’m not asking for a deposit,” Qiao Jia’s cold, emotionless voice cut through their reverie, “but if you damage any of the facilities, you’ll have to pay for them at cost.” She was the very image of a heartless landlady.

“Of course, landlady, thank you, landlady,” San’er replied with a cheeky grin, hastily accepting the list of room amenities and the price chart for utilities from Qiao Jia.

“Boss, do you have any more places like this?” Shen Tong was clearly enchanted by the apartment. Compared to that little wooden cabin, this was a world apart.

“None for now. If I get another, you’ll be the first to know—you’ll have priority.”

The duplex apartment was wonderful, but its price was steep. Qiao Jia had to act the part of a ruthless landlady if she wanted to quickly amass capital.

Shen Tong, blessed with the protagonist’s aura, was evidently the main character in a traditional romance novel—a high-quality tenant if there ever was one. As Qiao Jia’s very first real tenant, and the one who provided her initial funds, Qiao Jia didn’t mind giving her a few small perks.

She’d upgrade the lord’s wooden cabin later.

After explaining all the important details to the five, Qiao Jia left. Shen Tong and her group seemed to have more to discuss, but Qiao Jia didn’t concern herself. She had plenty more to do.

For instance, luring more survivors to spend their crystal cores in advance. She also needed to plan which blind boxes to activate next, to entice more spending—maybe a space blind box, or a supernatural ability blind box, besides the weapons blind box.

But those two would likely cost a lot to activate. If she had the money, Qiao Jia would have liked to try both herself.

Once she had more tenants, she could even buy a blind box vending machine to place near her buildings, maybe even set up a dedicated vending shop. Of course, the machine itself was expensive—far beyond what she could afford now.

For the moment, her top priority was to open a couple more landlady blind boxes and squeeze as many crystal cores as possible from the survivors. Compared to luxury duplexes like today’s, Qiao Jia realized that options like youth hostels, capsule hotels, or small private inns from the landlady blind boxes were actually a better fit for her—and for the current batch of survivors.

The duplex was far too luxurious; hardly any survivors could afford it.

“Hey, boss, what’s up with that building near the wooden cabin?” The commotion in the woods hadn’t escaped the notice of the more inquisitive survivors outside. As soon as Qiao Jia appeared, someone hurried over to ask.

“A newly built duplex apartment,” Qiao Jia replied coolly, tossing off the answer and brushing the survivors aside. Let them guess. She was certain word of mouth would soon produce the most suitable explanation.

“How did it go?” Back at her blind box stall, Qiao Jia addressed the system.

“Sold two low-durability weapon blind boxes, and three food blind boxes,” the system reported dutifully.

“Mm.” Qiao Jia acknowledged, checking her remaining points. After deducting the cost of activating and buying the landlady blind box, and adding in the new points from the latest crystal core exchanges, she had just 38.5 points left.

Inventory check: ten low-durability weapon blind boxes, thirty-seven food blind boxes, and eighty-nine water and drink blind boxes. She’d stocked up on those as freebies.

The five-person group had spent nearly all their crystal cores in advance; now, aside from Shen Tong, no other survivor had any on deposit with her. Everyone else had spent every last one.

Shen Tong truly lived up to her role as the protagonist—able to restrain her urge to open blind boxes.

She needed to find a way to attract more survivors. Only with enough customers could she spur consumption.

Qiao Jia’s gaze shifted to Giantwood City, where thick black smoke billowed across the sky. The survivors left behind there were still putting up a fierce resistance, fighting for the slimmest chance at life.

She could get into Giantwood City herself, but bringing people out was another problem entirely. If she could draw a hidden rare from the weapon blind box, like Shen Tong had, it might be worth a try. However…

For the dead, could there even be such a thing as luck?

“Boss, give me a hundred low-durability weapon blind boxes,” a tall, lean man demanded, stopping in front of the stall, arms crossed, a mocking smile on his face.

“That’ll be a thousand crystal cores,” Qiao Jia replied, extending her hand, her expression unchanged by the man’s attitude.

“Now, now, don’t be so hasty. According to your sign, buy one low-durability weapon blind box, get a water and drink blind box free?”

“That’s right.” Qiao Jia lifted her eyelids, meeting his gaze. His eyes darted around, scanning everything and everyone near the stall, an obvious malice gleaming in his expression.

She was certain—this guy was here to cause trouble. Whether it was his own idea or someone else’s, she couldn’t say.

“Do you want the blind boxes or not?” Qiao Jia rapped her knuckles on the table, her tone growing impatient.

“I said don’t rush. I’m good for the money. Let me see the goods first,” he replied.

There were no such rules at Qiao Jia’s stall.

“How am I supposed to know your stuff is legit if I don’t see it first? And what if I don’t like what comes out of the blind box? Just give me the free water and drink blind boxes first, let me try two for luck. Don’t worry, I won’t stiff you.”

The more he spoke, the more dangerous an air Qiao Jia exuded. The nearby survivors sensed her impatience and quietly backed away from the stall, wary of being caught in the fallout.

Qiao Jia didn’t have the points to buy a system intervention, but she didn’t need it for this minor annoyance—she could handle him herself.

In one swift, ruthless motion, she drew a butcher’s knife from beneath the stall, its blade still smeared with unidentified stains.

Gripping the handle, she flicked the back of the blade toward herself—decisive, unhesitating.

With a single blow, the troublemaker was nearly decapitated, his head connected to his body by only a thin strip of flesh.

In an instant, blood sprayed everywhere.