Chapter 323: Sunflower Squad
This reminded Xu Huo of the scene at the Hai City building where people had lined up to jump off the roof. Compared to other items, this kind of mental suggestion was impossible to guard against.
"You're asking so many details—did you evolve too?" Tu Ge's abstract face struggled to express surprise.
Xu Huo gave him a brief glance, and Tu Ge instinctively rolled his eyes to look elsewhere.
Raising his hand to put the painting frame away, he collapsed onto the bed, his thoughts bouncing back and forth between the S-grade Evolution Agent and the medium item. S-grade items were hard to find, but the corresponding items shouldn't be that rare—maybe he could buy one once he entered the game world.
The Painting Woman saw him close his eyes, so she pulled open the blanket beside him and covered him from head to toe.
Xu Huo lifted his hand to push the blanket aside. "Go back to sleep."
The Painting Woman fidgeted, unwilling to leave, and touched the edge of his blanket again, looking like she wanted to sleep there.
"If you can't sleep, clean up a bit." Xu Huo turned off the bedside lamp.
The Painting Woman dawdled on the spot for a while before finally climbing back onto the wall, turning into a painting stuck to the headboard, her eyes fixed straight on the bed.
Xu Huo reached into the drawer and grabbed an eye mask.
After a good night's sleep, Yan Jiayu opened the door and found the Painting Woman walking out of Xu Huo's room. She asked bluntly, "Are you Xu Huo's girlfriend?"
The Painting Woman smiled shyly, pointed to her apron, and indicated she was going to buy breakfast, then asked if Yan Jiayu wanted anything to eat.
"I usually like steamed buns and congee in the morning." Yan Jiayu smiled. "They're all still asleep. I'll go with you."
The Painting Woman linked arms with her, and the two left the house affectionately.
As soon as they left, Xu Huo got up. When he finished washing up and came out, he saw Yan Jiayu setting bowls and chopsticks at the dining table, waving him over to eat.
His gaze moved from her choppy haircut to her patched robe and finally to the cloth shoes on her feet. He asked, "Where's Yan Jiayu? Didn't I tell you not to randomly turn into other people?"
The person at the table pouted, changed back to their original form, and pulled out their phone. "She went to get a haircut."
Xu Huo nodded. Just then, Yuan Yao and the others came over from across the hall, and everyone ate breakfast together while chatting.
Liu Jia and Shen Xin weren't from Ting City, but they had no urgent business for the next two days, so they planned to stay a while.
"You said last time you'd treat me to a meal, so I'm shamelessly sticking around." Liu Jia smiled sheepishly.
"Then let's all go together." Yuan Yao said enthusiastically. "It's been a while since we've had a group dinner. After we eat, we can find some entertainment and stay out until dark!"
"Aren't you looking for a place to live?" Zhou Ning asked.
"Do I need to handle that myself?" Yuan Yao waved his hand grandly. "That's what agents are for."
"Do you have plans?" Xu Huo looked at Zhou Ning and Hu Wenhu.
Zhou Ning shook her head. "I just think running around during a sensitive time might be dangerous."
"Moving around near the Special Defense Department headquarters should be fine." Liu Jia said. "The Special Defense Department's military layout is solid—there are 24-hour surveillance cameras everywhere, no blind spots, and plenty of patrols. That's why property prices nearby are sky-high. If my family hadn't joined the Special Defense Department, I wouldn't be able to live there."
Shen Xin looked at Yuan Yao. "So can you still rent a place?"
"If I can't rent, I'll buy. I have money." Yuan Yao patted his chest.
Seeing how confident he was, the others dropped the topic. Soon, Yan Jiayu returned, her messy hair now neat, making her look much fresher.
"You look much better like this." Liu Jia took her hand. "You should change your clothes too. Since you've left the monastic life, why keep wearing that patched robe? Girls should dress up nicely."
Yan Jiayu chuckled. "I'm used to this, and I don't have money to buy clothes or shoes."
The others found it hard to believe. Players weren't usually that poor. Although Evolution Agents were scarce, many players were willing to trade them for less useful items, and there were also potions that couldn't be traded. But those potions weren't needed by players, yet they were popular on the ordinary market since even regular people could use them. So even Zhou Ning and the others weren't short on cash.
"I gave all my money to others." Yan Jiayu said. "My master always said to do more good deeds, so your luck will be better."
Hearing that, even Liu Jia didn't know how to respond.
"Li Chun has plenty of clothes. You're about the same height, so you can wear hers." Xu Huo said. "When in Rome, do as the Romans do."
"That makes sense." Yan Jiayu nodded and smiled at the Painting Woman. "Li Chun, can I borrow a set of clothes?"
The Painting Woman led her into the room. When they came out, Yan Jiayu was wearing a long skirt and a jacket, with a sunflower hair clip pinned in her hair.
She shyly tugged at the hem of her skirt. "Does it look good?"
"Great, great!" Yuan Yao immediately cheered, giving a thumbs-up. "Sister Jiayu, you're sweet and salty—you look beautiful in a skirt!"
Yan Jiayu was also happy. She touched the hair clip and said, "I want to take a photo as a keepsake."
"How about we all take one together?" Zhou Ning suggested. "We've been through life and death as friends—let's capture the memory."
"I'll get the camera." Yuan Yao ran out.
Soon, the camera was set up. Xu Huo and the others sat or stood around the sofa, keeping some distance but sharing a tacit understanding.
"Sister Jiayu, move a little closer to the middle... got it." Yuan Yao adjusted the camera, then took a few steps back to his reserved spot behind the sofa.
With a "click," the camera permanently froze that moment.
After the photo was taken, everyone crowded around to look at it. Yuan Yao said, "Other players have formed organizations. How about we start one too?"
The others instinctively looked at Xu Huo, who was scrolling through his phone. He looked up. "I have no objections."
Hu Wenhu was the first to respond. "I've wanted to do this for a long time. I even thought of a name—how about the Tiger Squad?"
"Too cliché, no style at all." Yuan Yao curled his lip. "Better call it Speedster—has some class."
"That's boring." Shen Xin glanced at Yan Jiayu's hair clip and said, "How about the Sunflower Squad?"
"Sunflowers always face the sun. May we, our families, and our country have a bright future."
"That's nice." Yan Jiayu nodded seriously. "And you can eat the seeds."
She pulled out a bag of sunflower seeds and handed them out, then said, "Should we set a secret code? We might not recognize each other in the game."
"King of Heaven covers the Earth Tiger!" Yuan Yao reflexively blurted out.
"That code is too obvious. Better to set a subtle, everyday code." Shen Xin said.
"I've got it!" Liu Jia said. "How about using flowers?"
"If we meet but can't easily identify each other, we can use flowers as a code. But one or two flowers are too easy to overlap. How about this: we use three as the code—three petals, three flowers, thirty flowers—anything with three counts."
"Will that work?" Hu Wenhu said. "What if there are no flowers in the instance?"
"If there are no flowers, use something else. Use whatever's available." Yuan Yao said. "As long as it's three, it works."
(End of chapter)