"Don't look at me like that. I'm not an idiot!" Lu Feng seemed to have guessed what this female NPC was thinking and explained, "Food doesn't mean much to me, but I really need some things, like Gold, jewelry, technology..."
He didn't mind revealing a few things. After all, he could quit the game at any time.
Lin Jiao fell silent at his words, seemingly lost in thought. A moment later, she asked, "Then what kind of wages are you planning to offer me?"
She had come to a decision. She was about to starve; survival was the most important thing right now.
Although she didn't know what he wanted with things like Gold, this powerful individual clearly had no intention of explaining, so she decided not to press the issue.
Lu Feng, however, countered with a question of his own. "Well, what kind of wages do you want?"
He clearly wasn't familiar with the wage standards of this world. He only knew the basics from the official game information, but that backstory didn't necessarily reflect the reality of this world.
Lin Jiao suddenly let out a charming laugh. "Honorable sir, if you can guarantee two full meals a day, I will become your most loyal subordinate."
Lu Feng laughed outright at her words. "Then let's make it three full meals plus a late-night snack. I'm not the type to mistreat my subordinates."
'Two full meals a day?'
'Did she think I couldn't afford to pay her?'
But his words stunned Lin Jiao, who asked uncertainly, "Are you serious?"
One had to understand that a job offering two full meals a day was already incredibly hard to find. Furthermore, the quality of those meals was never high, and you'd have to join a faction like the City East Alliance to even get that.
But who would have thought he'd add a third meal, and even a late-night snack on top of it.
'Only the so-called nobles in the core of the City East Alliance live so extravagantly, right?'
"Of course." Lu Feng smiled and tossed the bag of colas and Choco-Pies he had brought with him to the pretty female NPC.
'Three meals plus a late-night snack... even at a decent standard, it probably wouldn't even cost fifty bucks a day.'
'A box of this Qingfeng Tea from the Headquarters costs 7,500. Selling it would pay for this wandering NPC's services for more than 150 days.'
Lin Jiao instinctively caught the bag of food. The gnawing hunger in her stomach stopped her from overthinking things. She immediately pulled out a Choco-Pie, tore open the wrapper, and began to eat.
To her, the food was real, and right now, nothing else seemed to matter.
"By the way, I'm Lu Feng," he added. "And since I'm the boss now, I should know my employee's name."
"Lin Jiao!" she replied, looking up before grabbing a can of cola and chugging it down.
Honestly, a drink like cola is just heavenly. She couldn't remember how long it had been since she'd last tasted it. And even more magically, this one was ice-cold.
"Lin Jiao, tell me about the situation here in the Department Store. Is there anyone else around?" Lu Feng asked, then added curiously, "Before, when that piercing shriek sounded, your expression changed. What was that sound from?"
He was certain that in a Department Store this large, there had to be gold shops, jewelry stores, and the like. But first, he needed to get a lay of the land.
Lin Jiao nodded and explained, "There are other people, but they've been trapped here for so long, they're probably almost all dead by now. A month ago, the City East Alliance spread the word that there was a lot of food in the supermarket warehouse in this Department Store. A lot of people came, but it turned out the warehouse had already been emptied."
"What's more, there were four Mutant Beasts inside. Those things are terrifying. A battle broke out right away. Most people used up all their ammunition just to kill one of them. By the time they tried to escape, the fighting had attracted zombies from all over, and it woke up the ones inside the building, too."
"Now, the Department Store isn't just full of zombies on the inside; the outside is swarming with them, too."
"So, everyone had no choice but to retreat deeper into the building, and we've been trapped here ever since. That shriek earlier... someone must have been found by a Mutant Beast. I'm sure you can imagine what happened to them."
After hearing Lin Jiao's story, Lu Feng had a general understanding of the situation.
In other words, there was no getting out of this Department Store right now. To leave, they would have to deal with the three remaining Mutant Beasts.
The problem was, he didn't even know what these Mutant Beasts were, so he could only take a long-term approach.
But based on what Lin Jiao said—that it took many people emptying their clips just to kill one—it was clear they were terrifyingly powerful.
Lu Feng thought for a moment before asking, "Are there any other people trapped in this building I could hire?"
Lin Jiao nodded. "I know of one. A guy who's all brute force. I got into a fight with him over a jug of purified water, and he injured me. I have no idea where he gets all that strength."
"Can you find him?" Lu Feng asked immediately.
'Before, I didn't know about the Mutant Beasts. I thought it was just zombies, and I could just take my time clearing them out while looking for gold shops. Now that I know, I'm afraid I'll need some help.'
Lin Jiao nodded. "Yeah. But I can't make any promises."
"Just find him first." Afterward, Lu Feng chatted more with Lin Jiao, subtly probing for more information. He learned that the current year was 2093.
By that timeline, this was over seventy years in the future from his own world.
The game's background information hadn't given a specific year, but now he knew.
He also learned from Lin Jiao that human technology had developed at a breakneck pace over the past seventy-plus years. After the apocalypse began, some government had managed to launch a colony ship into space, carrying the hope of humanity away from the planet.
That would explain why the shop signs in the Department Store looked so futuristic.
As for why the apocalypse had even started, not even Lin Jiao could say. Or rather, no one knew. After the apocalypse descended, organizations like governments vanished almost overnight, so there was no one left to investigate.
"I don't know where that guy is hiding in the Department Store right now, but I'll find him as soon as I can." Having eaten and drunk her fill, Lin Jiao packed up the remaining colas and Choco-Pies and headed out of the tea shop.
She hadn't forgotten the task Lu Feng had given her.
Seeing this, Lu Feng didn't just wait around. With a thought, he returned to his apartment.
[Harmful substances have been purged!]
...
「Early the next morning.」
When Lu Feng woke up, he noticed something was different in the game world. Lin Jiao had returned to the Qingfeng Tea Shop, and across from her stood a brawny, muscular man holding a giant axe.
However, the two were in a standoff, each wary of the other.
He realized this must be the man Lin Jiao had told him about. He quickly got up, left his apartment, and headed to a nearby commercial area to stock up on supplies.
He bought several large bags of bulk bread.
「Game World.」
Inside the Qingfeng Tea Shop, Lin Jiao was a little nervous. The brawny man was staring at the cola and Choco-Pies in her hands.
The brawny man frowned. "Woman, where's this boss you mentioned? I'm assuming you're not lying to me, because if you are... and you don't give me half that food in your hands, this won't end well for you."
"He'll be here," Lin Jiao said with a frown, though she was getting nervous. She had no idea when her new boss would show up. If this brute lost his patience and attacked, she was no match for him.
Just then, a voice rang out, "Lin Jiao, it looks like you found our man."
Lin Jiao immediately turned to Lu Feng, finally breathing a sigh of relief.
The brawny man also turned to Lu Feng and asked with a frown, "You're the one who wants to hire me?"
"Looks like Lin Jiao told you everything," Lu Feng said, tossing the bag of bread and Choco-Pies he was holding at the brawny man's feet. "Is this enough?"
The brawny man glanced down at the bag instinctively. The sight of the bread and Choco-Pies inside made his eyes go wide. "It's just like Lin Jiao said. You really do have a lot of food. But I could just take all of this, and then it would all be mine. I don't necessarily have to work for you."
Lu Feng didn't say a word. With a single thought, he vanished on the spot.
This finally stunned the brawny man.
The next moment, Lu Feng reappeared, holding two more bags filled with bread and Choco-Pies. He tossed them down at the man's feet one after the other.
"Is this enough?" Lu Feng asked again.
"Boss! My name is Xu Bin!" the brawny man shouted without hesitation, his eyes practically glued to the two additional bags of bread and Choco-Pies.
He immediately sat down, pulled out a piece of bread, and started tearing into it. A second piece followed, then a third, and a fourth.
Clearly, he had a huge appetite, and the feeling of being able to eat without restraint was pure bliss.
At that moment, he decided, 'You know, having a boss to provide for me might not be so bad after all.'
At the same time, Xu Bin didn't forget to ask, "Boss, I don't eat for free. Just tell me what you need done."
Lu Feng smiled at his words. At least it showed the man had some principles.
He said, "I do have an order for you. You and Lin Jiao are to scout out the Department Store and find out how many gold shops, jewelry stores, and other similar shops are in here."