Chapter 45: Those extra ten points, she was determined to get them!

The boy looked at April, his eyes overflowing with disappointment.

To think he had actually wanted to save her just moments ago, not expecting that despite this child's tender age, her scheming nature ran deep.

April snapped out of her daze and let out a cold snort.

Since they no longer had any props on them, they were already devoid of any utility value to her anyway.

She no longer needed to hide her true intentions and simply laid her cards on the table.

"You abandoned me and left me to fend for myself, what right do you have to judge me?"

April dusted off her hands, turned around, and walked away.

The woman watched her retreating figure and sneered coldly, "Did you see that? You can't trust anyone, not even a child!"

"Yeah, I get it now!"

The boy nodded, engraving the woman's words into his heart.

With a monster lurking behind them, they could not retreat and had no choice but to follow the path April had taken.

Props had a limited lifespan, so the brother and sister did not dare to waste any time, quickly running away from the dangerous zone.

"Props have been refreshed, players, don't miss out on the latest items!"

The man's voice slowly drifted down from above.

Hearing that props had refreshed once again, the brother and sister duo initiated a carpet-style search.

Drawing upon her years of experience in clearing instances, April quickly spotted a prop.

Her eyes lit up as she sprinted toward it.

However, the boy was a step faster and picked up the prop first.

"I saw that first, give it back to me!"

April raised her hand, holding her palm out right in front of the boy.

Had this happened just a moment earlier, the boy would have handed the prop over to her without a moment's hesitation.

But now, the boy merely cast a cold glance at her and walked cheerfully toward the woman.

"Sis, I got the prop, and there's a small card here too."

The boy handed the card and the prop over to the woman.

The woman reached out, took the card, and lowered her head to read it.

"The monster was a cat in its lifetime, brutally tortured and killed by humans. Unravel the monster's inner knot to successfully clear the level.

The method to untie the monster's inner knot is hidden within the small cards.

The player who successfully unravels the monster's inner knot will receive an extra reward of ten points."

"It looks like we need to keep searching for more cards!"

Every single word of their conversation drifted clearly into April's ears.

With a roll of her eyes, she bolted forward at full speed.

Her greatest specialty was searching for props.

While it was somewhat regrettable that she had missed out on that particular item, she still had other props on her person.

The most important thing right now was to find more small cards and unlock the monster's inner knot.

Those extra ten points—she was determined to get them!

"April, I finally found you!" Dean Zhou's voice slowly reached April's ears.

April frowned, initially wanting to ignore her.

Yet, the thought crossed her mind that the woman might just be carrying a small card, causing her to halt in her tracks.

"Dean Mom, have you found any small cards?"

"Yes, I have!"

Dean Zhou dropped her guard, pulled out two small cards, and handed them to April.

April felt a surge of joy and hastily took the cards.

The contents on the two small cards were completely different.

Even when pieced together, the clues remained incomplete.

"Dean Mom, I want more small cards. Can you help me look for them?"

"Okay!"

Without a second thought, Dean Zhou readily agreed.

Hearing their exchange, the boy wanted to speak up and warn her, but the woman stopped him.

"They know each other, don't meddle in other people's business!"

...

The sky outside the window was gradually growing brighter.

Duoduo had enjoyed a wonderfully comfortable sleep.

The moment she opened her eyes, her stomach let out a loud rumble.

"So hungry!"

Duoduo rubbed her round belly, threw off the quilt, and slid down from the bed.

Craving a little cake, she quickly got dressed and headed out the door.

It was still early, and there were hardly anyone outside.

When Duoduo arrived outside the bakery, she found the front doors tightly shut.

That was when she remembered that Sister Xu, who ran the shop, had also gone into the eerie forest.

Unable to buy her little cake, Duoduo toddled along on her short little legs toward the shopping mall.

The first floor of the mall consisted of clothing boutiques, mostly selling women's apparel.

After searching around the first floor, Duoduo failed to find any place to eat.

Spotting someone walking in her direction, she trotted over quickly on her short legs and stopped in front of a woman.

The woman looked to be around forty or fifty years old.

Duoduo lifted her little face, looked up at her, and asked in a sweet, childish voice, "Granny, could you tell me where I can find something to eat?"

"Who's your granny?" The woman shot Duoduo an annoyed, sidelong glance.

Just as she was about to walk away, her gaze accidentally caught the watch on Duoduo's wrist.

Her eyes rolled, and her expression suddenly shifted into a beaming smile.

"Good child, do you have points? You need points to eat here, you know!"

"I do!" Duoduo nodded, then shook her head. "But Sister said I'm not allowed to show it to other people."

Duoduo raised her tiny hand and covered the watch face on her wrist.

The woman turned around and rolled her eyes.

When she turned back around, she instantly put her smile back on.

"Granny won't look, then. How about Granny takes you upstairs to get some food, okay?"

"Okay, thank you, Granny!"

Duoduo nodded and happily followed the woman onto the escalator, heading up to the second floor.

The second floor was a food court featuring fried chicken, hot pot, seafood—everything available in the real world could be found right here.

"Wow, so much yummy food!"

Delighted by the two full rows of food displays, Duoduo beamed with joy.

The woman glanced at her and muttered under her breath, "Country bumpkin!"

Although she lowered her voice, Duoduo still heard her.

She pressed her lips together, cradled Chouchou in her arms, and walked up to the entrance of a milk tea shop.

The young female clerk smiled brightly when she saw her and asked, "Little one, would you like some milk tea? It's 5 points a cup!"

"I want some!" Duoduo nodded heavily.

The auntie who had come with her previously had bought her milk tea before.

Milk tea was delicious, and she really wanted some!

"Sister, I want two cups."

Duoduo raised her hand and held up three fingers.

Noticing that she hadn't quite mastered counting yet, the clerk smiled quietly to herself.

She picked up the point-scanning device and extended it toward Duoduo.

"Little one, you need to scan your points first!"

"Okay!"

Duoduo acknowledged, pressing her watch against the device.

With a sharp beep, ten points were deducted from her watch.

Seeing that the points had successfully gone through, the clerk turned around to prepare the milk tea.

Hearing Duoduo's words, the woman's eyes lit up.

Although this little fool looked a bit rustic, she certainly knew how things worked, even remembering to order a cup of milk tea for her as well.

Splendid, it seemed her three meals for today were secured!

In no time at all, the two cups of milk tea were ready.

"Little one, is this for takeout or to drink right now?"

"Drink right now." Duoduo looked up at the clerk and replied in a sweet, milky voice.

The clerk inserted the straws for her and handed the cups across the counter.

Duoduo's hands were so small that she had to use both of them just to barely manage holding the cup.

Realizing she didn't have a free hand to hold the milk tea properly, Duoduo hesitated for a split second and looked up at the clerk.

"Sister, I can't hold it anymore."

Hearing this, the clerk instinctively looked toward the woman.

Seeing that the woman stood rooted to the spot without moving a muscle, the clerk silently placed the straw-inserted milk tea into a disposable plastic bag and handed it to Duoduo.

"Little one, I've packed the milk tea in a bag for you so it's easier to carry."

"Thank you, Sister!" Duoduo took the bag of milk tea.

Seeing her turn around carrying the milk tea, the woman smiled and reached out her hands to take it.