The gun barrel was raised, but the trigger was not pulled.
“A secret concerning my life?”
Wen Xi chuckled. “Tell me.”
“A wanted warrant! You’re wanted!”
The thug gasped for air. “Someone said you stole something that belonged to him, so he issued a wanted warrant for you to people who possess supernatural items!”
A wanted warrant?!
Could it be that woman she met at the private museum?
In such a short time, they had already found her? They even obtained her real identity information!
It seemed to be a “bounty hunter” type of supernatural item…
Wen Xi felt uneasy, but she didn’t show it. She narrowed her eyes slightly and asked, “Then how do you know about this news? Do you have a supernatural item?”
“W-we don’t, but our big brother does.”
The thug shriveled up, cowering. “We just thought we could take you out without using supernatural items and not have to split the spoils with others, so we came. Who knew…”
Who knew you were this capable of fighting!
“How many supernatural item owners has he gathered now?”
“I-I don’t know either!” The thug suddenly coughed violently. “I only know that he can track your location constantly, and he promised us all your supplies…”
His voice trailed off into a wheezing sound like a broken bellows.
Wen Xi looked down and saw a large patch of dark red blooming on his chest—he had probably broken a rib when he fell, which had punctured a lung.
“C-can you save me now? Send me to the hospital?” the thug pleaded.
“I have no obligation to provide medical aid.”
Wen Xi flashed downstairs, aimed her gun at the center of the thug’s forehead, and said mercifully, “But I can send you on your way quickly.”
“Y-you—don’t!”
Bang!
A steel dart pierced through his forehead. The thug opened his mouth in astonishment and collapsed, convulsing as he died.
【Beep! Hostile targets -5】
The game panel popped up simultaneously.
【Friendly Reminder: Detected that you have eliminated five hostile targets! Hidden reward unlocked!】
Wen Xi tapped to unlock it immediately.
【Beep! Congratulations, you have obtained a hidden reward—】 【Reward Name】: Virtual Identity App 【Details】: When browsing the internet or using apps, you can create virtual internet identities (online aliases), which, combined with virtual IP functions, provide you with comprehensive fake identity services! Extra network intrusion services provided. Your network security is in my hands, player, please rest assured!
Oh!
Surprise! Excitement! Joy!
It directly solved her problem of being wanted and tracked.
Wen Xi was delighted.
And there was also…
Wen Xi opened the shopping app and entered the gold trading section, where the event page popped up again:
【Explosive Event! Limited-time mission triggered!】 【Supply Challenge: Sell goods with a total cost value of 200,000 within three days!】
Wen Xi tapped “Accept!”
【Beep! You have successfully accepted the challenge. 200,000 in funds have been issued; remaining time: 72 hours.】
“I need to find a product that can be shipped in large quantities…”
Wen Xi flashed back to her cabin and flipped through the inventory list in the shopping software, her gaze stopping on the antibiotics and various snacks and drinks.
Antibiotics were hard currency, but their unit price was too high to move in bulk. Snacks and drinks could be shipped in large quantities, but the profit margins were too low.
She needed to cover a cost of 200,000 while also making a sufficient profit.
“Wait…”
A flash of inspiration struck Wen Xi. She sat up straight and opened the food delivery app.
Hot food!
In the apocalypse, being able to eat a hot meal was the true luxury.
Especially now that the black rain had stopped, many people were starting to venture out, and the demand for instant hot meals was bound to skyrocket.
“I’ll sell bento box sets.”
Wen Xi made up her mind and immediately listed the menu in her memo:
【Basic Set】：Rice + one meat dish + one vegetable dish (330/portion) 【Deluxe Set】：Rice + two meat dishes + one vegetable dish + drink (460/portion) 【Special Order Set】：Custom dishes (Anything you want; directly note it/higher price)
The prices were set on the high side—one could call it the “Shanghai Standard”—but in the apocalypse, scarcity defined value. There were plenty of people willing to trade “waste paper” for food.
Wen Xi calculated that if she could sell 3,000 basic sets a day, with raw material costs at about 30 per portion, she could sell 90,000 worth of raw materials daily. That way, she would definitely complete the mission within three days and make a huge profit!
“In that case, the virtual mask function will come in handy. I can even use the app’s intrusion function to push advertisements onto everyone’s phones in the district. I really am a genius!”
She opened the Virtual Identity App and created a new profile:
【Nickname】：Hot Meals Exclusively Supplied 【Avatar】：A sketch of a food container 【Contact】：***** 【Introduction】：A merchant with a conscience in the apocalypse. We only make hot meals.
After registering the account, Wen Xi began editing the advertisement:
【Hot Meals Exclusively Supplied: From today on, we are supplying bento box sets. Payment upon delivery. Business hours are two hours each for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Menu and prices are as follows; contact information is…】
Deploy!
…
In the old city district, inside a dilapidated tenement building.
Old Lady Wang was curled up on a damp sofa, scrolling through her phone.
Suddenly, a message popped up at the top of her screen: 【Hot Meals Exclusively Supplied: From today on, we are supplying bento box sets…】
“Oh my!” She sat up straight, her reading glasses sliding to the tip of her nose. “In this day and age, someone is actually selling hot food?”
In a rental room.
Little Chen, curled up under the covers, was starving when a notification alert caused his hand to tremble. He swiped to open the message and paused:
“Is this real?”
In a luxury villa.
A family of three was sharing a single pack of compressed biscuits.
Their daughter’s smartwatch suddenly lit up:
“…Custom dishes available? Mom, look at this message. Can I order sweet and sour pork ribs?”
In more remote places.
People who were equally starving, people who had barely tasted a bit of hunger in the “new era,” could only rely on scrolling through their phones or even watching old food-vlogging videos to “quench their thirst with pictures” and satisfy their hunger, when this push notification suddenly popped up from the background.
“Hot Meals Exclusively Supplied…”
“Hot food? Is it real?”
“Let’s try it. Even if it’s fake, it’s worth a try!”
Almost at the same time, everyone in the entire district lowered their heads to tap at their screens!