Shen Mo had declined the friend request.

Bai Youwei was dumbfounded.

Back in the Life Zone, there had been no friend-adding feature — clicking on someone’s name only let you check whether they were currently streaming. The Combat Zone had an extra friend-adding function, probably to make forming teams easier.

Now that she’d been declined, she had no other options. She could see that his status showed “Streaming,” but she had no idea which dungeon he was in — Wailing Ghost Manor? Severed Head Valley? Malevolent Spirit Castle? Zombie Siege?

Bai Youwei sighed, claimed her newcomer gift package first, and then started browsing the shop.

The items on the front page were always the best-sellers — guns, cannons, and ammunition of every variety. Things that were banned contraband in the Life Zone were all available here! …That alone spoke volumes about how dangerous the dungeons were.

Bai Youwei scanned the page and realized that her meager 1,500 points couldn’t afford anything at all.

Back to square one overnight.

She closed her eyes in frustration.

After three seconds of composure, she opened her inventory and found that Yi Zichu had been quite clever — he’d placed a canvas crossbody bag in the shared inventory slot.

The same kind of bag she always carried with her. Inside was a pen, a notebook, and a half-used bottle of pepper spray.

Bai Youwei reflected that this less-than-60ml bottle of pepper spray, standing before an arsenal of guns and cannons, would probably offer absolutely no deterrent whatsoever.

She sighed, tucked her stuffed rabbit into the bag, and left the service station.

Outside —

The streets were incredibly lively. Towering buildings, sleek elevated highways, multicolored neon lights gleaming between machinery and architecture, the whole place had the feel of a fantastical steam-era metropolis.

The moment she stepped out of the convenience store, she immediately drew a fair number of stares.

Because women were scarce here.

Beautiful women even more so.

A soft, delicate girl in a ruffled dress and little leather shoes made people wonder if she was some kind of doll-type NPC.

At the same time, Bai Youwei was taking in the people around her with her own share of astonishment.

When Yi Zichu had brought Hai Shu to the welfare home earlier, she’d already found Hai Shu unusually tall and broad — yet now she could see that someone with his build was only around average height here.

The streets were full of towering giants and hulking brutes, and the sheer difference in height gave Bai Youwei the disorienting sensation that she had somehow become disabled again.

It seemed that anyone with a powerful physique had been assigned to the Combat Zone by the system.

So where was she supposed to find Shen Mo?

Bai Youwei stood in place and thought for a long time. In the end, she decided to go to the police.

……

The doll-type NPC officers at the police station sent her to the subway station.

The Combat Zone’s subway network ran in every direction, connecting to all the various dungeons. As long as Bai Youwei kept watch at the exit, she would eventually catch Shen Mo coming out.

She would need to stay alert, though — the foot traffic in and out was enormous. During peak hours, her small frame could easily be swallowed up by the crowd, making it even harder to find anyone.

Bai Youwei stood on her tiptoes and peered into the subway station. All around her were armed, imposing men — some striding in with high spirits, some limping out with heavy injuries. They would occasionally glance her way, apparently bewildered to see a woman standing outside the subway station.

Bai Youwei paid their stares no mind. She sent a message to Yi Zichu and had him make a large sign with two characters the size of a wash basin written on it: Shen. Mo.

She refused to believe that even with this, she still couldn’t find Shen Mo.

“Hey, look at that — there’s a girl over here.”

A group of men emerged from the station exit. The man in the lead spotted Bai Youwei from a distance and appeared quite intrigued, leading his companions over.

Several of them surrounded her like a wall, blocking out the light by several degrees.

Bai Youwei frowned and looked up at the man.

Nearly 1.9 meters tall, brown curly hair, mixed-heritage features, a smirk at the corner of his mouth that exuded a certain devil-may-care quality. Young, yet sporting the most frivolous-looking thin mustache.

The young man looked at the sign, then looked back down at Bai Youwei with great interest, bent over, leaned in closer, and said: “…Doesn’t look like a doll NPC. Could she actually be a real person?”

As he spoke, he reached a hand toward her face.

—