This silver fish, Shi Xuan could sell it, but what could Tang Mo use to pay? Shi Xuan looked at the skinny girl in front of him, conflicted.
Money had long become worthless due to its inability to circulate; only food was real currency.
But did Tang Mo have any? And how much could she even offer for this fish?
“Maybe we should just forget it…” Shi Xuan hesitated and spoke.
“No!” Tang Mo grew a little anxious. This fish wasn’t important to others, but it was incredibly important to her.
Its 10 points in Agility made it the perfect tool for escaping danger.
“I saved a lot of food before the famine. Just name your price, class monitor—don’t be shy!” Tang Mo encouraged him as if she could see he was embarrassed to speak up.
It was like saying: I have the money; go ahead, charge me as much as you want!
“Five meals’ worth of food and water? Any type of food.” Shi Xuan hesitated, then proposed.
He set the price slightly high, thinking girls liked bargaining; he could lower it later.
“No problem, deal!”
Fearing he might change his mind, Tang Mo quickly agreed.
This was a rare treasure. In her previous life, she had sold a single loaf of bread and regretted it for years.
Now it was her turn to buy someone else’s; she genuinely felt a little embarrassed to haggle.
“Then come back to my dorm with me. I’ll get the things for you.” Tang Mo could technically pull things from her space while carrying her backpack.
But who would carry that much food and water every day? That would be too unrealistic.
“Can I hold onto this fish for now?” Tang Mo hesitated before asking.
This felt a little unfair—after all, the trade wasn’t officially completed, and the fish wasn’t technically hers yet.
But she had waited so hard for this fish; it was far too precious. She didn’t want any mistakes now that she finally had it.
“No problem, you can hold it.” For his classmate and a well-known school achiever, Shi Xuan trusted her.
In his eyes, no one would run off with a fish.
Right now, they were trapped at school, and no beast had appeared yet; apart from hunger, they hadn’t faced any real danger. No one knew how important these attribute points could be.
Yet there were so many things he couldn’t foresee. Once the beasts appeared, it would be common for people to kill for rare treasures.
Tang Mo happily put the fish into her backpack, slipped it into her space, and then led Shi Xuan back to the dorm.
She told him to wait downstairs while she went upstairs.
Opening her cabinet, Tang Mo thought for a moment about what to take.
The items in her space, aside from a few snacks she’d packed from restaurants, were untouched.
As for the cabinet…
The package at the back couldn’t be touched. After rummaging around, Tang Mo grabbed a bag and filled it with supplies:
a five-pack of instant noodles, ten packs of compressed biscuits, and five bottles of water.
This was more than five meals. By the school’s current rations, it would cover more than ten meals.
The silver fish was worth it! Besides, Shi Xuan had helped her at the start.
Tang Mo remembered everyone who had helped or been kind to her.
No one is obligated to be good to you—you must learn to be grateful. Tang Mo had understood this principle long ago.
She packed the bag into her backpack and went downstairs.
But downstairs, Shi Xuan looked uneasy, and someone else stood beside him.
“Someone reported that you two secretly kept a fish. Shi Xuan just admitted it. Hand it over.”
Tang Lianwei crossed his arms, giving Tang Mo a sideways glare.
Tang Mo glanced at Shi Xuan. His expression told her Tang Lianwei was telling the truth—he really had admitted it.
This slightly disrupted Tang Mo’s plan. If it were just her, she wouldn’t have admitted anything. No surveillance, no evidence—she could say whatever she wanted.
Even if they searched her room, they wouldn’t find the fish; it was already in her space.
But Shi Xuan, obviously unaware of her space, panicked when Tang Lianwei said he’d search her room and admitted to keeping the fish.
“Oh? You told him about the red carp we caught?” Tang Mo tried to probe.
“Yeah.” Though he didn’t know why Tang Mo asked, Shi Xuan nodded. He wasn’t foolish enough to tell Tang Lianwei about the rare treasure.
But now the fish had been discovered and had to be handed over—there was no hiding it.
He didn’t understand the significance of Tang Mo’s actions.
Hearing Shi Xuan, Tang Mo felt a quiet relief but didn’t show it; she played the part of despair.
Slowly, she took off her backpack and pulled out a red carp.
This was the fish she had caught in the lake before and directly placed in her space.
“Since you know, hand it in.” Tang Mo handed over the fish.
“This is wrong! I will report this to the school. According to regulations, both of you will be fined three days’ food rations.”
Tang Lianwei grabbed the fish and scolded them before leaving satisfied.
After he left, two disappointed faces remained.
Tang Mo’s disappointment was fake; Shi Xuan’s was real.
Three days’ rations—he was big and needed more calories daily. Going three days without food would be tough.
He didn’t know where Tang Mo got the red carp, but since it was already handed in, the silver fish was hers. He thought it would be unfair to ask for the five meals of food and water now.
“At least we kept the rare treasure! Be happy, class monitor!” Tang Mo led Shi Xuan to a hidden spot behind the dorm.
Shi Xuan forced a smile, but it looked worse than crying.
“We agreed—you take this!” Tang Mo pulled things from her bag and shoved them into Shi Xuan’s arms.
“I can’t take it!” His first reaction was to push it away.
“Why so much?” Feeling the weight, he was surprised. This wasn’t five meals—it was more like fifteen.
“The fish is worth it. If you really won’t take it, I’ll have to hand in the silver fish and trade more food with Tang Lianwei.”
“Ah… I don’t even know how much he’ll ask for, poor me… I don’t know if I’ll see that fish again.” Tang Mo pretended to be sad.
Hearing this, Shi Xuan burst out laughing.
“Since you said it like that, I won’t refuse. I’ll take it. If you ever need help, just call me. I’m not skilled in much, but I can help with strength.”
Shi Xuan accepted Tang Mo’s gift. Losing three days’ rations didn’t matter anymore after getting so much.
The two ended the transaction in a happy, satisfied mood.
Just as they walked back to the dorm, Tang Mo spotted a familiar figure standing in front of them.
“Qinling?”