Survival in an apartment, starting with a stroke of luck on a plane

Lin Yu was somewhat surprised by its directness and frankness, and even showed disdain for the Black Mist Lady: "Aren't you afraid of the Black Mist Lady? Logically speaking, she should be very strong, and she should have quite a few subordinates."

The old monkey chuckled and tapped his temple with his slender fingers: "Just a pathetic creature trapped in one place, only able to demonstrate its existence by spreading fear and fog."

I might be more interested in its brain, filled with paranoia and insane ideas… Of course, this is just an academic hypothesis.

Lin Yu's gaze toward the old monkey held a deeper meaning; this guy seemed to be more complex than he had imagined.

He didn't ask any more questions and started taking things out of his backpack. Soon, one after another, the brains of creatures, still covered in blood or mucus, were taken out of Lin Yu's backpack.

Most of the brain tissue consisted of Iron and Bronze level monsters. The old monkey glanced at it casually and nodded. It didn't lack these levels of monsters, but it was good to get some, as it would save it some time from collecting materials.

However, when Lin Yu finally took out those two special "products", the old monkey's eyes widened instantly.

One is the ratman's brain, which is only the size of a chestnut but is unusually dense, and the pus monster's mass of pus (let's call it the brain) which is wrapped in a tough mucous membrane, constantly wriggling slightly and emitting a strange luster.

"Great! Great stuff!!" It practically pounced on them, carefully cradling the two brains, its face filled with a fervent desire to study them: "I knew it! I knew I hadn't misjudged you!"

"Consider these scraps as payment for the information you provided." Lin Yu pointed to the pile of ordinary brains, then to the brains of the ratman and the pus monster.

"But these two... you'll have to pay real money for them."

"Of course! Of course! I will never let you down, esteemed deliveryman!" The old monkey finally snapped out of his daze, quickly put away all the "goods," and then walked briskly to a temperature-controlled safe, entered the password, and took out a transparent container that emitted a faint chill.

Inside the container, immersed in a pale blue liquid, is the brain of a strange creature about the size of a fist, resembling a jellyfish but with a more complex and intricate structure, crystal clear throughout, and even revealing the tiny nerve bundles inside.

"A pure brain worm brain!" The old monkey said with a hint of pride. "I think this should be enough to cover the cost of those two sets of materials."

Lin Yu looked over:

[A pure brain worm brain]

Category: Props

Grade: Silver

Effect: When used on low-level intelligent life units (beasts, plant life, constructs, low-level undead, etc. whose intelligence is significantly lower than normal and who act mainly by instinct or simple commands), it can greatly increase the target's intelligence level and implant an absolute mental imprint of loyalty to the user deep in their subconscious.

(Note ①: After successful fusion, the target will retain its original abilities and most instincts, but will gain the ability to learn and understand complex commands. The mental imprint will gradually dissipate upon the user's death or active cancellation. If the target dies and its brain is intact, it can be removed and reused, but the effect will be slightly reduced.)

(Note ②: During use, the target must be completely unconscious and incapable of any resistance. The target's biological level must not exceed Silver, and it must possess brain tissue or similar organs capable of carrying complex consciousness.)

Description: "Knowledge...is slavery." — The dying words of a necromancer obsessed with manipulating life.

"Something interesting," Lin Yu thought to himself. If used well, it would be equivalent to having a silver-level henchman with considerable potential and absolute loyalty, or a special-function unit.

The limitations are also obvious: the target must be "lower intelligent life forms".

However, in the game world Lin Yu is currently in, monsters that reach the Silver level are generally quite intelligent. The mud monster he encountered before was just slow to react, not really stupid.

This requires carefully selecting the target and having the ability to subdue them to a state of "complete unconsciousness".

However, this is still a very valuable prop, and Lin Yu doesn't mind having too few henchmen.

His favorite tactic is overwhelming numbers; he can defeat the enemy without even lifting a finger.

There is strength in numbers, and a group fight is always more cost-effective than a one-on-one fight.

"Very good, the deal is done." Lin Yu took the cold container and carefully put it into his backpack.

The old monkey was also very satisfied with the deal, his wrinkles beaming with joy.

Afterwards, Lin Yu took out his phone, showed the order information, and picked up the "Inspiration Brain Fluid" that needed to be delivered today. Just like last time, Lin Yu specifically asked Old Monkey to prepare it carefully and raise the quality of the product so that he could get a five-star review.

The old monkey naturally wouldn't refuse, after all, it had a very fruitful day, and it wasn't a difficult task for it anyway; as long as it had enough materials, it could do it easily.

In the end, both sides were happy.

Before Lin Yu left, the old monkey seemed to be in a very good mood and added a reminder: "Deliveryman, for the sake of this lucrative transaction, I'll give you one more piece of information. Even if we 'neighbors' don't reveal your number, with Lady Black Mist's centuries of operation in this land and her strange methods, she will eventually find out through other means."

I estimate that your troubles will officially begin in a day or two at most.

In the northern part of the city, even if it's not its core stronghold, it can still mobilize some of its main force, making it extremely troublesome. You'd better be careful.

Lin Yu nodded: "Thanks for the reminder."

After leaving the brain product store, Lin Yu rode his new bike and continued his busy delivery work.

The new car's performance far exceeded expectations, greatly improving his efficiency.

……

Time flies, and it was soon 5 p.m., time to get off work.

Lin Yu parked his car on the top floor of a relatively safe ruin to rest for a while.

He glanced at the app on his phone:

Orders completed today: 11

[Current total points: 890]

On average, it only takes about forty minutes to complete one order, which is much more efficient than yesterday.

This is mainly thanks to the new vehicle's high performance. Because it can fly, it no longer needs to detour when encountering special terrain, greatly reducing its delivery speed.

Whether it's speed, adaptability, or the time saved in finding paths, it has brought about a qualitative leap.

At the same time, he maintained a record of giving all eleven orders a five-star rating.

Of course, maintaining this record is not so simple. Sometimes, even if the goods Lin Yu brings are of good quality, the other party is unwilling to give them to him. Lin Yu can only choose to help the other party complete some small tasks in order to gain good reviews.

Fortunately, none of them were too difficult, and we didn't encounter too many obstacles.

Although the basic delivery fee for today's orders seems to have been slightly reduced, with an average of about 40 basic points per order, which doubles to 80 points after a five-star review, the earnings are not as high as those long-distance orders from yesterday. However, the sheer number of orders means that the total income has exceeded that of yesterday.

"With this number, today's top seller should be a sure thing again." Lin Yu was quite confident about this.

Even if other players also redeem the new car, it would be extremely difficult to surpass him in both efficiency and positive reviews.

It's a bit of a shame that everything went very smoothly today, without triggering any hidden quests or events, and I didn't get any extra equipment or items except from the old monkey.

"Time to go home... Should I go back to the station to rest, or keep pushing forward?" Lin Yu looked at the battery that still had more than half a bar left and pondered his next plan.

The battery is enough for him to deliver several more orders.

Just as he was weighing his options, his phone suddenly vibrated, and he received a new message.

Lin Yu opened the message and saw that the sender was none other than [Captain Bull].

[Bull]: Kid, did you run into some troublesome customers outside?

Lin Yu frowned and replied:

[Witcher Elite]: ? Captain, what do you mean?

【Bull】: There is a customer who has been marked as 'special' by the system. He has just spent a considerable 'cost' to place a special order through some kind of rule loophole, specifically requesting that you deliver it.

Upon seeing this message, Lin Yu's eyes instantly turned cold.

As expected, the Black Mist Lady arrived. Although her movements were slower than he had anticipated, she still came nonetheless.

What left Lin Yu speechless was that the other party was actually using such an "official" method to mess with him.

After thinking for a moment, Lin Yu replied.

[Witcher Elite]: Captain, this isn't in accordance with the rules, is it? I haven't violated any company regulations. Shouldn't the company protect its employees from such clearly malicious designations?

[Bull]: Under normal circumstances, you can't be forced to take these kinds of orders. As long as you don't get bad reviews or reports, no one can force you to deliver special orders. But the problem is...

It doesn't need to directly target you; it can wait until you receive a normal order and then threaten, intimidate, or even manipulate the ordinary customer who placed the order, forcing them to give you a negative review after the order is completed.

Once you leave a negative review, the special orders that the system forcibly assigns... are very difficult for us to intervene in.

Lin Yu spat, "Tch! You can do that? That's really insidious!"

His mind raced, and he replied immediately.

[Witcher Elite]: Captain, is this even possible? That guy is completely exploiting loopholes and maliciously disrupting our company's operations! He clearly doesn't respect the company! Shouldn't the company do something about this? This will dishearten all our delivery drivers!

[Bull]: Sigh, what you said does make some sense. Malicious competition and threatening employees do affect the company's reputation, but... in principle, the company cannot actively interfere with the behavior between customers... unless the situation is serious.

Lin Yu immediately seized the opportunity.

【Witcher Elite】: Captain, isn't this serious enough? I completed 11 orders today, all with five-star reviews! I have a good chance of winning the order king title again.

I, an outstanding employee who wholeheartedly contributes to the company's profits, am being maliciously targeted. If the company cannot provide us with the most basic safety guarantees when we have not violated any rules, who will dare to work hard in the future? Moreover, this is also a loss of face for you, the team leader!

Lin Yu decided to try and stir things up. Logically speaking, since Captain Bull took the initiative to communicate with him, it meant that the other party was definitely unhappy with the Black Mist Lady's actions and most likely had the intention to help him.

Therefore, he can definitely give it a try.

There was a few seconds of silence on the other end before a reply was given.

[Bull]: ...You've got a way with words, kid. Alright, I understand. I'll try to make a special request to the higher-ups to give you some limited protection, or at least raise the priority of the investigation.

It has to be you. I wouldn't bother with anyone else. You need to step up your game lately, deliver more orders, and solidify your position as the top order seller. That way, I can speak to my superiors with more confidence! Understand?

Lin Yu breathed a slight sigh of relief. It seemed that the title of "King of Singles" and the potential he had shown were still somewhat useful.

[Lin Yu]: Understood! Thank you for your guidance, Captain! I will definitely work hard on deliveries and will never let you down!

After ending his conversation with the bull, Lin Yu put away his phone, but his expression remained serious.

The Black Mist Lady's tenacity and persistence exceeded his expectations, and she was clearly very familiar with the rules of this world and knew how to exploit them.

"Forget it, there's no use thinking about it too much now." Lin Yu shook his head, suppressing his irritation.

After thinking it over, Lin Yu decided not to rest and to continue taking orders and delivering, at least ensuring that he would be the top order recipient for the day.

Since Bull hinted that "sending more orders" would increase his bargaining power, he would send them! And he would send more, and send them well! This was not only to deal with the immediate crisis, but also to consolidate his advantage, widen the gap with other players, and earn more points to exchange for powerful items.

Moreover, you might encounter hidden missions or events along the way, gaining extra benefits and thus improving your strength.

After making up his mind, Lin Yu turned on the ignition again. The black electric scooter emitted a deep and powerful hum, carrying him like an arrow into the afterglow of the setting sun in the ruined city, beginning his "overtime" journey.

Having made up his mind, Lin Yu no longer hesitated and turned the switch on again.

The black [Multi-functional Electric Vehicle] emitted a deep and powerful hum, once again merging into the complex fabric of the ruined city.

Lin Yu activated his [Heavenly Eye], the vertical pupil of which appeared faintly between his eyebrows. This not only greatly expanded his field of vision but also allowed him to anticipate abnormal energy flows and hidden dangers, enabling him to choose the optimal path and avoid unnecessary trouble.

Of course, the Heavenly Eye consumes a lot of mana, so Lin Yu also kept a bottle of blue potion in his mouth, taking a sip every now and then to restore his mana.

He wasn't worried about wasting things, since he didn't have many other items, but he had plenty of consumables, including a huge amount of health and mana potions of all levels.

These were all collected in the previous world but were not sold.

"Ding! You have a new takeout order. Please process it promptly."

The software notification sounded, and Lin Yu quickly glanced at it.

[Pickup Point]: Abandoned subway station in the west of the city - B2 level - "Underground Blacksmith Shop"

[Delivery Point]: Chengnan Spore Forest Area - "Symbiotic Flower Fairy"

[Item]: Six specially made metal flower pots

[Note]: Don't be late. If you waste time, I'll stamp your butt with a red-hot branding iron! —Blacksmith Hammer

"Tsk, quite the temper. The customer hasn't even said anything, and you, the merchant, are already getting agitated." Lin Yu scoffed and casually accepted the order.

The navigation route was generated instantly, and Lin Yu drove to his destination. With the help of the Sky Eye, he was able to avoid most of the troublesome monsters on the way.

At the same time, the new car's powerful performance is fully demonstrated at this moment.

In land mode, the car easily exceeded 100km/h, yet remained as stable as a rock, traversing complex ruins with ease, without any fatal head-swaying.

When encountering insurmountable cracks or broken bridges, simply switch to aerial form and fly across, saving a significant amount of time spent taking detours.

In just over twenty minutes, he arrived at the entrance to the gloomy and damp abandoned subway station.

A strong smell of rust, coal ash, and some kind of sulfur hit me.

As you descend deeper into the underground along the dilapidated steps, the temperature gradually rises, and the clanging of blacksmiths and the rude curses become increasingly clear.

An abandoned platform on level B2 has been converted into a makeshift blacksmith shop.

A burly man with an extremely robust build, reddish skin, a pair of curved horns on his head, and a thick, fiery red beard was shirtless, wielding a huge iron hammer and frantically hammering a piece of red-hot metal blank, sparks flying everywhere.

With each slam, the ground seemed to shake, and it kept cursing, targeting, but not limited to, disobedient metal, the damn weather, lazy apprentices (though none were seen), and inefficient deliverymen.

Lin Yu stepped forward and showed the order: "'Starving to Death' delivery, pick up."

The burly, horned man—the Firehammer Blacksmith—raised his head, his large, copper-bell-like eyes glaring at Lin Yu, two plumes of white smoke, sparks flying from his nostrils: "Hmph! Finally here! Stop dawdling! The stuff's over there in the corner, get it yourself!"

Lin Yu looked in the direction it pointed and saw six metal flower pots in the corner.

I have no idea what this thing is for. It's just a flowerpot, why make it out of metal?

With a thought, the [Heavenly Cloak] extended out as if it had a life of its own, quickly enveloping all the flowerpots and lifting them up steadily.

This effortless, seemingly casual gesture brought the blacksmith's grumbling to an abrupt halt.

Its fiery eyes suddenly lit up, staring intently at the crimson cloak that seemed to be alive. An expression of extreme infatuation and longing appeared on its rugged face, and even its breathing became heavy, as if it had seen a priceless treasure.

"Hey! Kid!" Firehammer's voice was no longer just pure rage, but mixed with an irrepressible excitement: "You...your cloak! Where did you get it? The material! The spirituality! The way the energy flows! It's...it's perfect! I've been making equipment my whole life, and I've never seen anything so amazing!"

It dropped its huge iron hammer, which slammed to the ground with a loud crash, shaking the entire platform.

It strode up to Lin Yu, its massive body casting a shadow and a scorching heat emanating from it. Yet, there was no malice in its eyes, only the fervor of a researcher seeing a rare material.

"Let me take a good look! No! Just touch it! Just once! I can use the best materials to make you a piece of armor for free! No! Three pieces!" Fire Hammer said eagerly, his huge hand reaching out towards the Hun Tian Cloak.

Lin Yu took a small half-step back, and the [Heavenly Cloak] also raised a corner like a startled venomous snake, emitting a slight buzzing sound, expressing warning and displeasure.

It seems that because Lin Yu often infuses it with magic power, the spirituality of the Hun Tian Cloak has increased. Now it does not only protect its master when Lin Yu is attacked, but also reveals its spirituality at other times.

It looks almost alive, it's amazing, and it looks a lot like the Sorcerer Supreme's cape in the Marvel movies.

Lin Yu's eyes darted around, and he immediately made up his mind.

He looked troubled. "Dude, this cloak is my companion. It has a fiery temper and probably doesn't like strangers touching it. Besides... it's very important to me."

Firehammer was so anxious he was scratching his head and ears, flames practically erupting from his horns: "Just once! I promise I'll go easy on you! Or... or you name your price! As long as I can afford it! This cloak's construction is amazing, it might even take my equipment skills to the next level!"

Although he didn't understand how studying a cloak could improve a blacksmith's skills, Lin Yu pretended to ponder and said after a moment, "Master, it's not entirely impossible to have it cooperate with your research... but it has a bad temper, so the research process might not be very pleasant."

Besides, I can't waste time like this, since I still have orders to deliver. You see...

Firehammer wasn't stupid; it immediately understood Lin Yu's meaning. It slapped its forehead with its massive hand, producing a deafening roar, and then exclaimed, "Reward! Yes! Reward!"

It turned around and rummaged around under its precious anvil for a long time before finally pulling out a scroll and carefully handing it to Lin Yu.

"This is a great item I got years ago! It can be used to fuse two pieces of equipment of Silver grade or lower into one, greatly increasing its power! How about it? Let me study it for ten minutes! Just ten minutes!"

Lin Yu focused his attention on the scroll:

【Equipment Fusion Scroll】(Disposable)

Category: Props

Grade: Silver

Effect: After use, you can choose two pieces of equipment of level no higher than Silver to fuse together, thereby creating a more powerful new piece of equipment. The new equipment will retain the main characteristics of the original equipment and be enhanced, and has a chance to gain new special effects.

(Note ①: The fusion process is irreversible, please choose fusion equipment carefully.)

(Note ②: If either of the two pieces of equipment possesses spiritual power, the one that possesses spiritual power will become the dominant one.)

Description: "One plus one is sometimes far greater than two." — A fragment of an ancient alchemist's notes.

Lin Yu was immediately delighted. This was definitely a good thing. He happened to have quite a few pieces of equipment on hand, so perhaps he could try to fuse them together to create something even better.

Moreover, the [Hun Tian Cloak] is a special piece of equipment given by the True Lord. Similar to bound equipment, it cannot be used by anyone other than Lin Yu. Even if it is accidentally lost, it can be recalled at any time, so there is no need to worry about the other party playing tricks.

"Deal!" Lin Yu readily accepted the scroll and put it into his backpack.

Then he said to [Cloak of Heaven], "Buddy, cooperate."

The cloak fluttered slightly, seemingly out of reluctance.