Chapter 31: You brat, how dare you play me for a fool!

Feeling a sudden sensation, Duoduo turned her head to look behind her. The street was empty; there wasn't a soul in sight.

"Nobody here?" Duoduo tilted her little head and turned back around.

No sooner had she turned than she saw a man with tattooed arms holding a fruit knife, standing before her with a grin. Duoduo instinctively stepped back, her large eyes watching the man curiously. It had been empty just a moment ago—when had this uncle appeared?

"Little kid, I've seen you before!" the tattooed man said. "How about you let Uncle take a look at your watch?"

At these words, Duoduo nodded. Seeing how easily the child was fooled, the man’s eyes crinkled into a smile. However, just as he leaned in, before he could clearly see the points on her watch, Duoduo suddenly hid it behind her back.

"Little kid, what’s the meaning of this?"

"Daddy said I shouldn't trust anyone, so I'm not letting you see!" Duoduo shook her head and tried to walk past him.

The man, not about to let her go so easily, let his gaze turn cold. "You brat, you dare to play me for a fool!"

The man muttered, raised the fruit knife, and lunged quickly toward Duoduo’s back. But before the blade could strike, the shadow on the ground suddenly split into two. One part expanded rapidly and slowly stood up.

The sudden change made the man’s eyes widen in terror. "Ah!"

Before the man could even finish his scream, he was swallowed whole by the shadow. Hearing the noise, Duoduo instinctively looked back, but both the shadow and the man were gone. Duoduo opened her mouth in surprise, her little lips forming an "O" shape.

"That uncle is so amazing! He appeared out of nowhere and then vanished just as quickly!"

"Hiccup..."

Chouchou, having just finished its meal, curled the corners of its mouth at Duoduo’s words. It wanted to speak and mock this little fool, but a burp escaped its mouth first. It quickly shut its mouth and licked its lips, savoring the taste.

Duoduo didn't notice its actions, nor did she notice that the points on her watch had jumped from 55 to 550.

The horizon began to glow with a faint, pale light.

***

A moment later, the street lights brightened, and the red lanterns extinguished all at once. Duoduo felt as though she had been walking for a long time; her legs were too tired to go on.

Hugging Chouchou, she muttered, "Big sister, I can't walk anymore. Can we go back now?"

"We've hardly walked any distance at all," Chouchou said with disdain. However, thinking that she had gained something today, it agreed. "Fine, if you want to go back, then let's go back."

...

Inside the villa, the players began to wake up one by one. Dean Zhou got dressed and turned to look at Duoduo’s bed. Seeing that it was empty and the bedding was disheveled, she felt a jolt of panic and grabbed a woman from the same room.

"Excuse me, have you seen the little girl who sleeps in this bed?"

"Haven't seen her," the woman shook her head and went back to her own business.

Dean Zhou was unwilling to give up and grabbed another woman to ask, but after questioning everyone in the room, the results were the same. Where had Duoduo gone? Was she in danger? Uneasy, Dean Zhou turned and rushed out the door. But when she reached the outside of the villa, she froze. It had been dark last night, and she hadn't seen clearly. Now, at a glance, she saw that this player base was just like a street in the real world. It was so vast—where could Duoduo have gone, and where should she even begin to look?

Elsewhere, Duoduo couldn't walk another step. She sat down on the ground and looked around. She hadn't been paying attention when she left, and since all the houses here looked exactly the same, she couldn't find the way back.

"Big sister, I think I'm lost. Do you know how to get back?"

"I do. Just walk the way I tell you."

"Okay, okay!"

Seeing that Chouchou knew the way, Duoduo clumsily climbed to her feet. She followed its instructions, but the further she walked, the more unfamiliar the path became.

"Big sister, are we going the wrong way?"

"No, I remember it's this way," Chouchou lied without a flicker of hesitation.

It didn't like the place where Duoduo had been staying; that tiny room had been crammed with eight people. It was an S-rank anomaly—if it was going to live somewhere, it had to live alone. The "wealthy district" that woman had mentioned last night sounded perfect.

"Big sister, I really can't walk anymore. How much further is it?"

"We're here. It's the fenced-in area up ahead."

Duoduo looked up and peered into the distance. The houses on this street were becoming fewer and shorter. The row houses had turned into detached villas, and the height had dropped from five stories to three. Unlike the previous villas, these were enclosed by iron fences topped with electric wire.

As Duoduo walked along the fence, she soon saw the main gate. A tall man with a pale face, dressed in a security guard uniform, stood motionless at the entrance. He frowned when he saw Duoduo.

"This is a high-end residential area. No unauthorized personnel allowed."

"I... I understand!" Duoduo nodded and took two steps back. She patted Chouchou in her arms and whispered, "Big sister, this isn't where we live."

"It wasn't before, but from today on, it is. Tell him you want to rent a room here!" Chouchou had made up its mind; it wasn't going any further. It had scouted the place out—these were double-occupancy rooms. While not as good as a single, it was better than that previous place. Once Duoduo’s points ranked in the top ten, it would make her switch to a single room!

"Uncle, I... I want to rent a room." Duoduo lifted her little face to look at the guard.

The guard paused, then pointed inside. "You want to rent here? Do you know how many points it costs to stay here for one night?"

Duoduo looked at him and shook her head timidly. She didn't understand anything here, but she would do whatever her big sister told her to do.

"It costs 80 points a night to stay here. Do you have..."

Before the guard could finish his sentence, the watch on Duoduo’s wrist suddenly lit up.