Chapter 15: Self-Built Rental House, Destitute Soul

Hiss—!! Five thousand crystal cores—a heavy price to pay!

Shen Lin couldn’t help but feel a pang of pain as she watched the bag of crystal cores being whisked away by the system. So many crystal cores, just to buy a few mystery boxes?

At Qiao Jia’s suggestion, the system swiftly converted all the crystal cores into points, then dragged over a little cart emblazoned with “Jia Jia’s Mystery Box Shop.”

“Hey, I’m not running a shady business here. These are yours,” Qiao Jia said generously, pushing the mystery box cart in front of them.

But with Qiao Jia’s deathly impassive face, no matter how one looked, it seemed more like mockery.

Because the system had rushed, the corpse they’d stuffed into the cart fell to the ground with a dull thud.

“…”

“Buy one, get one free. Isn’t that a great deal?” Qiao Jia looked at them sincerely.

“Ah—!!!” As soon as the two women beside Fu Jingchuan saw the bloodied corpse, they erupted into shrill screams.

Qiao Jia turned away without a backward glance—she had mystery boxes to open. As she passed Su Xiaoran, she patted her on the shoulder. To outsiders, it looked like Qiao Jia was offering comfort, but only Qiao Jia knew she was secretly seeking a bit of luck from Su Xiaoran’s protagonist aura.

The five thousand crystal cores had already been exchanged for a Landlady Mystery Box; Qiao Jia hoped she’d get a decent building out of it. By “decent,” she didn’t mean quality, but quantity.

Silently, Qiao Jia prayed—may all the gods, heavens, and the world’s consciousness bless her! She’d just helped out a female protagonist; surely she deserved to open something good! After all, Su Xiaoran needed a place to rest during her pregnancy.

Qiao Jia and the system sat cross-legged on the ground, producing a tattered cloth from who-knows-where to lay out, propping up a sign reading “Jia Jia’s Mystery Box Shop” with a stone. Just like that, a new branch of the shop was open for business.

She still had 37.5 points left—originally 38.5, but she’d spent one point on some electronic sunflower seeds, which she was still munching on.

Low-durability weapon boxes cost five points each, food boxes one point each, and water and drink boxes half a point. She needed to stock up on as many water and drink boxes as weapon boxes, if not more.

After a moment’s indecision, Qiao Jia settled on five low-durability weapons, five water and drink boxes, and ten food boxes—spending her points down to zero.

As Qiao Jia prepared to open the Landlady Mystery Box, Fu Jingchuan and Su Qianqian were confronting Qin Jiaojiao. Mainly, Su Qianqian argued with Qin Jiaojiao while Fu Jingchuan stood beside Su Qianqian, his face cold.

Meanwhile, Su Xiaoran was being supported by the second male lead, Gu Xingye, and the third, Fu Beichuan, as the three of them went to find a place to rest. Su Xiaoran’s stomach had just been pushed by Fu Jingchuan; no one knew what condition she was in.

“Boss, do you have any rooms for rent?” Gu Xingye asked, his voice gentle, his tea-colored eyes full of concern for Su Xiaoran. “We’d like to rent a place of our own—preferably with water, electricity, and gas. We have crystal cores.”

“Not now,” Qiao Jia cut him off without looking back, raising a hand to stop whatever he was about to say.

She was in the middle of opening a mystery box—this was a tense moment!

Whether it was luck from Su Xiaoran’s protagonist aura or not, Qiao Jia actually got the self-built rental apartment she’d been dreaming of! With an elevator! Seven stories high, a huge rooftop balcony, and every floor had ten one-bedroom, one-living-room units!

She was about to make a killing!

[Old Self-Built Rental Apartment: Common in urban villages, with outdated facilities and decor.]

The second box was less impressive—a duplex apartment in French vintage style, which could be stacked atop the previous duplex she’d opened. Or not—they could form one floor together, complete with an entrance hall and fire exits. Just like the other apartments, but even more standardized, with excellent soundproofing and no risk of shoddy construction.

But how should she price these rentals?

The duplex apartment was ten thousand crystal cores per month. Should the self-built rental be three thousand? That’s three thousand per unit, ten units per floor, seven floors—twenty-one thousand crystal cores!

She could open so many Landlady Mystery Boxes!

The thought made even her corpse feel excited. But the system was even more thrilled. The competition had barely started, and its host was about to amass over two hundred thousand crystal cores!

Still, Qiao Jia kept a cool head—not all the rent from the Landlady Mystery Boxes should be funneled into buying more boxes. After all, only a few survivors could afford such high rent.

She needed to help the survivors grow stronger so they could hunt zombies and other mutant creatures, collect crystal cores, and become regular customers.

“Shen Tong,” Qiao Jia called, remembering her promise as she looked up.

“Yes, boss?” Shen Tong responded immediately.

“The place you wanted for them to live—I have it now. Do you want it?” Qiao Jia asked.

“You do?” Shen Tong was delighted. She’d already toured the duplex apartment under Xie Jinghan—the cold-faced man’s—guidance.

She also knew the rent for the duplex; she didn’t have nearly enough crystal cores.

“If you’re short on cores, you can owe me,” Qiao Jia said.

Shen Tong was a good person—a true heroine in the most universal sense: kind, gentle, brave, and resilient. The very embodiment of all beautiful virtues.

Letting Shen Tong owe rent didn’t worry Qiao Jia. She wanted to keep her here. Even the scumbag male lead and the scheming supporting girl—Qiao Jia wanted them to stay. The main characters could provide plenty of crystal cores and points.

Shen Tong was obviously tempted—she had the ability to live somewhere decent.

“Do you need it?” she asked, turning to Su Xiaoran and her companions.

“It’s a great place,” Shen Tong said. “A two-bedroom, one-living-room duplex; there’s even a room on the ground floor, with water, electricity, and gas all available.”

“She needs a better environment now.”

Shen Tong hadn’t seen it herself, but she trusted the boss.

“The only issue is the price—it’s ten thousand crystal cores per month,” Shen Tong explained, pointing to the glass building glinting through the trees across the river.

Qiao Jia had already posted the rental notice for the self-built apartments. The conditions weren’t as good as the apartments, but still: fifteen crystal cores a day, one hundred a week, and three thousand a month—utilities not included.

It was certainly better than the small wooden cabins: independent housing, safer living.

For a moment, she felt she wasn’t so cutthroat after all—how kind of her! Each room could fit three to five people; split among survivors, it was entirely affordable.

Gu Xingye was clearly tempted. The rental sign clearly listed the drawbacks of the self-built apartments; of course, the duplex was better. But they had no crystal cores—Fu Jingchuan had all of them, and they’d just paid them all to the boss.

“Tch, a bunch of paupers. Can you even afford it?” Qin Jiaojiao rolled her eyes at the three, her tone full of disdain.