Chapter Thirty-Three: A Mental Health Issue?
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[Player 866: Boss, you really traded the vehicle away just like that? Why didn’t you look at my order? Sob, sob!]
[Purebred Tycoon: Boss, if you get another vehicle, remember to tell me. I don’t want to pedal everywhere anymore.]
[Player 6523: What’s wrong with pedaling? It’s still better than my lousy electric bike running out of power. For safety at night, I have to push it by hand.]
[Player 3000: Hahaha, a kindred spirit! My vehicle is out of power too. Does anyone have a charging device? I need one urgently.]
……
Liang Yi ignored the flood of messages and began examining the Vehicle Upgrade Card.
“Vehicle Upgrade Card, use.”
Liang Yi had already grown accustomed to the fact that in the game, many things required no physical action on her part. She merely had to think of something or issue a command, and it would be carried out.
Sure enough, the moment she spoke, the Vehicle Upgrade Card began to glow with a faint blue light.
Immediately afterward, a miniature virtual model of her tricycle appeared more than ten centimeters above the card.
The vehicle was divided into three sections. The compartment where she currently sat was one section; the area in front, from the seat to the handlebars, was the second; and the remaining frame, wheels, and so on made up the third.
The three sections were respectively labeled the compartment, the frame, and the cab.
Liang Yi tentatively reached out and swiped at the image, only to discover that she could rotate it and observe the vehicle from all three hundred and sixty degrees.
Tsk, tsk. This was truly impressive.
Above the tricycle was a line of text.
[Please personally select whether to upgrade the compartment, frame, or cab.]
Liang Yi could roughly understand what upgrading the compartment meant: expanding its interior space.
But what was there to upgrade about the frame and the cab?
[Player Liang Yi, upgrading the frame includes improving the tires, materials, and so forth, and can greatly enhance the vehicle’s safety.]
[Upgrading the cab refers to improving the instrument display, rearranging the interior, enlarging the available space, and so on.]
Liang Yi thought of the crude driving position. Compared with the other players’ Hummers and off-road vehicles, she sat completely exposed whenever she drove. If someone attacked her with a hand crossbow or the like, she would be nothing more than a living target.
“Game Assistant, if I upgrade the cab, can you add a canopy outside?”
[Your Vehicle Upgrade Card is Level Two. This addition is possible.]
Hearing that, Liang Yi decisively chose to upgrade the cab.
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She was eager to climb down and see what her vehicle had become, but when she remembered the players’ warnings that all sorts of monsters would appear at night, she forced herself to suppress her excitement.
Although she could not go outside and inspect the vehicle immediately, the model floating above the Vehicle Upgrade Card had changed once the upgrade was complete.
Looking closely, she saw that the cab now had an outer shell. There was a door on each side, clearly intended for getting in and out.
As for the exact conditions inside the cab, her restricted viewing angle made it impossible to see clearly for the moment. Even so, the change in appearance alone was enough to satisfy Liang Yi immensely.
With the outer shell, she no longer had to worry about being ambushed.
Once the Vehicle Upgrade Card had finished being used, it completely vanished from Liang Yi’s hand a moment later.
After completing the vehicle upgrade, Liang Yi opened the game interface in a cheerful mood, intending to browse through it and see whether there were any important messages.
Suddenly, a new message caught her eye.
It was from “Rose,” the first game friend she had added.
[Rose: Sis, have you found any cosmetics?]
[Rose: I’ve been looking for three days and haven’t found a thing. I’m going to die.]
[Player 2020: Sorry, I haven’t found any cosmetics.]
After replying, Liang Yi reflected that she had already been in the game for four days. Not only had she failed to obtain anything related to cosmetics, she had not seen any other player post information about them either.
It seemed that cosmetics probably were not included in the treasure chests.
“Game Assistant, do your treasure chests contain cosmetics?”
[No.]
Hearing the Game Assistant’s answer, Liang Yi thought Rose probably would not be able to continue wearing makeup.
“Game Assistant, I think you should report the players’ needs to your headquarters. For example, you could add cosmetics as an option in the treasure chests.”
[Understood. I will report your request promptly.]
“Don’t just report it. You also need to urge them to put it into practice as soon as possible!”
Liang Yi thought about how she had already submitted several suggestions, yet none of them had been formally implemented.
“You’re far too slow.”
[The suggestion you previously submitted regarding the addition of fitness videos has received a response. They will be placed in the treasure chests during the next stage.]
Liang Yi felt that if the Game Assistant had been standing in front of her, she would definitely have rolled her eyes at it several times.
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“I’ve already found an expert who can help me exercise. I don’t need them anymore.”
[Sorry—]
The corner of Liang Yi’s mouth twitched. The Game Assistant kept apologizing, but never actually changed anything.
[Rose: Ahhh! I’d rather starve than go without cosmetics!]
[Rose: Sis, could you keep an eye out for anyone who has cosmetics? I’m willing to pay a high price.]
[Rose: Don’t worry, Sis. I won’t make you help me for nothing. I have plenty of supplies here—instant noodles, milk, clothes, you name it.]
……
While Liang Yi was speaking with the Game Assistant, Rose sent several messages in succession.
[Player 2020: All right. If I see anyone selling cosmetics or obtain any myself, I’ll contact you right away.]
After replying, Liang Yi could not help wondering why Rose was so relentlessly desperate for cosmetics.
[Player 2020: Sister Rose, may I ask why you’re so fixated on wearing makeup?]
Liang Yi opened Rose’s profile and discovered that she had posted several more trade orders, all of them involving cosmetics.
The supplies she offered in exchange had progressed from basic necessities such as instant noodles and bread to things like handheld fans, cigarettes, and liquor.
The first reaction of every player who saw the orders was to curse Rose for being out of her mind. The world had reached a life-or-death crisis, and she was still concerned with dressing herself up.
But later, when they saw the increasingly plentiful and scarce supplies she was willing to offer, they gradually became tempted and began complaining that they had not managed to obtain such items themselves.
[Rose: Of course you can ask.]
[Rose: If I don’t put on makeup, I’m terribly ugly.]
Seeing Rose say that she was ugly, Liang Yi frowned. Thinking back to what Rose had looked like before entering the Forest of Mist, she clearly had a striking, dignified appearance. There was nothing ugly about her at all.
[Player 2020: Sister Rose, you’re very beautiful. You don’t need to worry about your appearance.]
[Rose: I know. Don’t worry, I’m not insecure about my looks.]
Liang Yi did not believe those words for a moment.
She began to speculate that perhaps the people around Rose in her former life had demanded too much of her, even to the point of constantly belittling her. That might have caused psychological problems. Otherwise, why would she be so desperate for cosmetics?