Chapter 48: Unlocking a New Instance

"Customer, let's see, which of these items need to be packed?"

"Of course, pack all of them!" The woman glared at him with displeasure. "You even need to ask me about something so obvious, are you completely brainless?"

Just as the woman was venting her anger on the male attendant, he stepped forward quickly and blocked her path.

With his hand hidden behind his back, he gestured to Duoduo to leave.

Duoduo quickly hugged Chouchou and scampered away with pattering footsteps.

"You little brat, get back here!"

The woman wanted to chase after her, but the male attendant refused to step aside.

Her face darkened, and she redirected her fury onto him.

"How dare you block me! Do you believe I'll go find the mall manager?"

"Customer, your meal hasn't been packed yet, we are just doing this for your consideration. Even if you go find the manager, the manager would side with us anyway!"

The corners of the male attendant's mouth curled up slightly as he looked at her with a cheerful smile.

On the surface, the woman could find no fault with him whatsoever.

The woman gnashed her teeth, pulled her hand back, and turned to look at the clerk who was packing the food.

"Hurry up, I'm in a rush!"

"Alright, customer, please wait a moment."

The clerk agreed verbally, but deliberately slowed down the packing speed.

After dragging it out for a long time and calculating that the time was about right, the clerk finally handed the packed items over to her.

"So slow, I knew you were doing this on purpose. Just you wait, if you've ruined my plans, I'll go complain to the manager, humph!"

Dropping this harsh remark, the woman turned and strode out.

However, by the time she chased her way out of the mall, Duoduo's figure was nowhere to be seen.

She gritted her teeth in frustration, hating it to her core.

Because of that damned little idiot, she wouldn't be able to stay in the double room tonight!

As the woman was thinking this, the giant screen overhead suddenly changed.

Passersby stopped in their tracks and looked up at the display above.

The woman glanced at them, then followed their line of sight to the giant screen.

On the screen was an announcement for the opening of a new instance dungeon.

The woman's eyes rolled as she made a silent up decision.

Even if she died inside an instance dungeon, she refused to live in a quadruple room outside!

She had to participate in tonight's instance dungeon!

...

Duoduo's residence was not far from the mall.

When she returned to her room, she found someone inside.

Seeing that the person's back was turned to her, Duoduo nervously hugged Chouchou tighter.

"Who are you? Why are you in my room?"

Hearing the soft, milky little voice, the woman froze slightly.

She slowly turned her head, and upon seeing Duoduo, a smile immediately bloomed in her eyes.

"Little one, we meet again. I never expected you to be my roommate, what a coincidence!"

"It's the pretty big sister!" Duoduo ran forward excitedly.

She recognized her; she was the pretty big sister from the cake shop!

Xu Yanyan's eyes curved into crescents as she smiled and patted Duoduo's fluffy little head.

"My surname is Xu, you can call me Big Sister Xu from now on!"

"Okay, pretty big sister."

Duoduo looked up at her and nodded obediently.

Xu Yanyan couldn't help but chuckle.

"Very well, call me whatever you like, as long as it rolls off the tongue."

Xu Yanyan withdrew her hand, looking at Duoduo with a hint of appraisal in her eyes.

"Little one, how did you manage to survive?"

"Huh?" Duoduo tilted her head, looking at her in confusion.

Seeing that she didn't understand, Xu Yanyan wanted to explain.

But upon second thought, fearing she might frighten the child, she gave up the idea.

"A new instance dungeon is opening tonight, are you still going to participate?"

"Really?" Duoduo's eyes lit up.

Daddy said he would come find her next time.

So does that mean she'll get to see Daddy tonight?

Xu Yanyan looked at her, somewhat astonished.

Whenever people here mentioned instance dungeons, they were either terrified or resistant.

Yet, she actually saw excitement in this child.

"Aren't you scared?"

"Why would I be scared?" Duoduo looked at Xu Yanyan in puzzlement.

There were Daddy, older brother, and the rest of her family inside the instance dungeon.

She wished she could stay in there forever, so why would she be scared?

She's still too young, probably doesn't understand anything at all!

Xu Yanyan attributed Duoduo's reaction to her age.

Once she grew a little older and learned about the horrors within the instance dungeons, she wouldn't be looking forward to entering them like this anymore.

At the thought that this day would eventually arrive, Xu Yanyan sighed.

Seeing that she wasn't speaking, Duoduo reached out her little hand and gently tugged at Xu Yanyan's sleeve.

"Pretty big sister, are you going?"

"I'm not going," Xu Yanyan shook her head.

The points she earned from a trip to an instance dungeon weren't even as much as what she made from selling cakes.

If it weren't for the mandatory monthly completion quota required for players at the base camp, she would never risk participating in an instance dungeon!

"Little one, instance dungeons are very dangerous, you must be careful!"

"I know, thank you, pretty big sister."

Duoduo grinned and smiled at Xu Yanyan.

Although she didn't know why the pretty big sister said instance dungeons were dangerous, she could feel that the pretty big sister cared about her.

After thanking Xu Yanyan, she let out a yawn.

"Big sister, I'm sleepy, I'm going to sleep now!"

Duoduo walked over to the bed, placed Chouchou on it first, and then scrambled up onto the mattress.

Watching her lie down and pull the blanket over herself properly, Xu Yanyan smiled slightly.

What a cute child!

She should have been living in the real world with her mom and dad, growing up carefree!

At night, a little girl holding a cloth doll stood at the entrance of the residential compound.

She looked around, then raised her small face to look curiously at the security guard on duty.

"Mister, why isn't the shuttle bus here yet?"

The guard's mouth twitched.

He had lost count of how many times the little VIP had asked him this question.

"VIP, it's only 10 o'clock, it's still early! Why don't you go back and play for a while longer?"

Duoduo shook her head: "No, I want to wait here!"

She missed her daddy and older brother, and wanted to see them the very first moment possible!

The guard sighed, his brows furrowed in distress.

The child asked every minute or two, and he had to accompany her and wait here for over an hour.

Money is hard to earn, but one must endure!

Amidst Duoduo's repeated inquiries, the shuttle bus finally arrived.

The woman stepped off the bus with a beaming smile and walked over to Duoduo.

"Little one, you're the first one here again!"

"Auntie, let's go!"

Without waiting for the woman to pick her up, Duoduo scrambled onto the bus using both hands and feet.

She proactively swiped her points and fastened her seatbelt.

Turning her head, she saw that the woman hadn't gotten on the bus yet.

"Auntie, I'm ready!"

"Don't rush, let's wait a bit for the others." The woman smiled warmly at her, then turned to look toward the entrance of the residential compound.

After waiting for a short while, the people participating in the instance dungeon began to trickle out one after another.

When the middle-aged woman from the daytime saw Duoduo, she thought she was hallucinating.

She rubbed her eyes, only to find that Duoduo was still there.

She let out a cold snort and rushed forward quickly.

"You little brat, I've finally caught you!"