In the early morning, outside a small food stall next to the square in Longevity County.
On the stall, the charcoal in the coal stove 'crackled,' and the lard in the iron pot was smoking hot.
Beside the stall, an old man with a goatee rapidly flipped the iron spatula in his hand. The aroma of scallions and soy sauce instantly permeated the air.
Smelling the fragrance filling the air, Chen Kong and Mi Yao, standing nearby, both showed expressions of eagerness.
Although they had eaten some grilled food last night, those things were barely enough to fill the bellies of two Star Envoys who were still growing.
After a night had passed, both were already starving.
Thinking this, Chen Kong and Mi Yao exchanged glances, then walked over to the stall.
"Boss, how much does your noodle cost?"
Seeing customers approach—although they were two 'outsiders' he hadn't seen much before—
The old boss with the goatee still said enthusiastically, "Not expensive, not expensive, two paper bills for one bowl. If the two guests don't have our county's paper bills, using other things to pay later is also fine."
Before Chen Kong could decide, Mi Yao suddenly spoke up, "Then give us one bowl each."
"Alright, please wait, both of you!"
Chen Kong wanted to say something, but Mi Yao had already spoken. It was too late for him to stop it.
After taking their seats, Chen Kong lowered his voice, "Mi Yao, aren't you worried about problems here?"
"You actually think there are no problems here?"
The sudden counter-question made Chen Kong a little confused.
Mi Yao noticed his confusion, first glanced at the boss cooking the noodles, then looked back at Chen Kong.
"Kong, do you know what the most crucial thing is for clearing a game?"
Based on his gaming experience, Chen Kong replied, "Skill?"
Mi Yao nodded, but also shook his head.
"Skill is certainly crucial, but not every game relies heavily on it."
"Therefore, to clear a game, besides basic skill, you also need to understand the game's mechanism."
Mi Yao paused, then looked towards the seemingly normal Longevity County square nearby.
"Right now, we know nothing about this place, and no matter the game, they all arrange something like a novice tutorial at the start."
"Although I don't know the specifics of Longevity Island, since it can maintain the current order, even if it's just a surface-level order, it means there should be a certain 'rule' here."
"As long as we can figure out what this rule is, it will undoubtedly be much better for our subsequent actions."
Although Mi Yao made a lot of sense, Chen Kong still couldn't help but ask, "But what does this have to do with us eating noodles?"
"Who said it has no relation?"
Mi Yao gave Chen Kong a meaningful look, then whispered, "Just watch. I think after we finish these noodles, we will soon get some answers. It's just that doing this will definitely come with a bit of a price."
Before Chen Kong could ask what that so-called price was, a voice pulled him back to reality.
"Two young men, the noodles are ready!"
The old man brought two large bowls of Yangchun noodles to the table and placed them in front of the two. The rough porcelain bowls' edges were still smeared with noodle soup, steaming and stimulating their appetite.
Instead of leaving immediately, the talkative old man pointed to the noodles on the table and said, "Gentlemen, don't underestimate these two bowls of noodles. They are the unique Yangchun noodles of our Longevity County, made with local well water and freshly ground flour. I guarantee you'll want more after tasting them!"
Hearing this, Mi Yao acted like a hungry ghost reborn, immediately grabbing his chopsticks and shoveling the noodles into his mouth. The hot soup made him wince, but he couldn't bear to let go.
"Hiss, delicious! A hundred times better than the nutrient paste in our Heavenly Martial Base!"
He didn't lift his head, stirring his chopsticks quickly in the bowl, his mouth smeared with the lard from the noodles.
It was impossible to link the rational and witty person who had been whispering with Chen Kong just moments ago with this image.
He looked more like an ingenuous 'otaku' with little social experience.
Seeing this, Chen Kong stopped worrying as well.
He picked up a bowl of hot noodles and took a shallow taste.
As the hot noodles went down, most of the chill in his body dissipated, and the spot where the Rotting Vine Corpse had smashed his back seemed less painful.
He had to admit, the noodles were really good!
A few minutes later, Chen Kong and Mi Yao looked at the two empty bowls in front of them with satisfaction, picking their teeth.
After doing all this, Chen Kong patted his pockets and found that his combat uniform only contained Star Energy Crystals and half a spare compressed biscuit.
Whether these items could be used to pay for the two bowls of Yangchun noodles, Chen Kong wasn't sure.
But given the current situation, he had no other choice but to bite the bullet and ask, "Um... Boss, we're from out of town and didn't bring local money. Can we use this to pay?"
He pulled out a high-grade Star Energy Crystal. The crystal shimmered with a faint blue light in the sunlight.
Hearing Chen Kong's words, the smile on the old man's face instantly froze. His goatee trembled, and his eyes changed like a magic trick, turning from the previous kindness to coldness.
"From out of town? Didn't bring money?"
He forcefully struck the iron pot with his iron spatula. The 'clang' sound was deafening, startling several nearby sparrows into fluttering away.
Seeing this, Mi Yao suddenly added, "Boss, this crystal is very valuable, much more expensive than your noodles..."
"Valuable?"
The old man scoffed as if he had heard a joke, leaving the stall and walking over to the two.
He looked down at them, his face grim, and said, "In our Longevity County, this thing you two took out is less useful than a sweet potato!"
Midway through his speech, the old man's expression suddenly shifted from gloom to a smile, and a hint of greed appeared in his eyes.
"Since you don't have money, according to the rules, you must provide the corresponding 'equivalent value' to pay."
"The rule here is: you pay for what you eat. If you don't have money... you pay with 'equivalent value'!"
Saying this, the old man pulled out a wooden sign from under the stall, on which a few lines of crooked words were written in red paint.
[Consumption Payment Rules: Payment can be made using paper bills, large unit notes, or life equivalent value. Life equivalent value includes 3 days of lifespan/1 bowl of noodles, 1 fragmented memory/1 bowl of noodles]
"Pay with lifespan?"
Mi Yao looked up at the old man, his eyes becoming sharp.
"What if we are unwilling to pay with these?"
As he spoke, the screen of the game console Mi Yao placed on the table immediately flashed a red 'Danger Alert.'
"Not pay?"
The old man sneered, suddenly grabbing a carrying pole from behind the stall. The head of the pole was still stained with mud and dark red grime.
"Once you're inside Longevity County, and you've eaten our noodles, how can you not pay? Right now, you either pay with money or pay with life!"
And shortly after he finished speaking, several nearby citizens who had just finished buying vegetables immediately gathered around.
The vegetable baskets and hoes in their hands were subtly aimed at Chen Kong and Mi Yao. Their eyes were filled with the same greed and coldness as the old man.
Although, based on Star Energy fluctuations, the Longevity County citizens surrounding them were just ordinary people.
However, having experienced Wilfred, the powerful and mysterious old man they encountered upon landing, both knew that the situation on Longevity Island was far more complex than they thought.
Therefore, neither Chen Kong nor Mi Yao chose to act rashly.
Seeing that the two seemed hesitant, one person stepped out from the surrounding crowd and threatened, "Outsiders, don't be ungrateful. Trading a little lifespan for a bowl of noodles is a great deal!"
Faced with such an obviously malicious proposition, Chen Kong was about to activate the Star Source: Mark of the Void to sneak away with Mi Yao, but Mi Yao pressed his shoulder down a step ahead.
Under Chen Kong's questioning gaze, Mi Yao faced the crowd and said calmly, "We don't have a lifespan to give you, and we won't give it."
"But we won't eat these noodles for free either. Give us some time, and we will definitely find a way to get some money to pay it back. How about that?"
Under normal circumstances, just two bowls of noodles wouldn't be enough to drive people to such extremes.
But the current situation clearly showed that the noodle stall owner and others had calculated that Chen Kong and Mi Yao couldn't produce the paper bills and would be forced to pay with lifespan or memory.
And the latter was an extremely rare commodity for them.
How could they just let Chen Kong and the others go? After all, what if they really did come up with the money later?
Therefore, without giving Chen Kong and Mi Yao more time to maneuver, the noodle stall owner, the old man with the goatee, immediately roared, "Find a way? I think you're trying to welsh on the debt!"
As his words fell, the old man with the goatee raised the carrying pole and smashed it towards Chen Kong. The pole whistled through the air, even faster than the punch of a typical Rotting Vine Corpse. He didn't look like an aging ordinary person at all.
Facing the sudden attack, Chen Kong sidestepped. The pole smashed onto the ground, leaving a shallow mark on the bluestone slab.
Just this single blow was enough to show the old man's considerable strength.
And seeing that the old man with the goatee had started, the other Longevity County citizens, who were already restless, also began to move!
A vegetable basket suddenly hit Chen Kong's back. A hoe grazed past Mi Yao's ear.
In the sudden crisis, Mi Yao reacted extremely fast, raising his hand to press a button on his game console. A pixelated light shield instantly unfolded, blocking the incoming attacks.
But to Mi Yao and Chen Kong's surprise, facing Mi Yao's defense method as a Rank 3 Star Envoy—
The combined effort of the surrounding people quickly caused cracks to appear on the surface of the pixelated light shield.
This indicated that although these people had no Star Energy, their physical strength was already comparable to a Rank 2 Star Beast.
Bang!
With the final forceful smash from the noodle stall owner, the old man with the goatee, the light shield in front of Mi Yao shattered with a loud crack.
In a flash of lightning, Chen Kong decisively acted.
His arm was covered in gold, and small horns grew on his forehead.
He gripped the old man's carrying pole, momentarily controlling the opponent.
However, the old man with the goatee quickly broke free from Chen Kong's restraint and initiated another attack.
Suddenly, the entire square turned into chaos.
Yet, even at this point, Chen Kong still chose not to aim for a killing blow.
Firstly, because he hadn't figured out the rules of Longevity Island, he didn't dare gamble on the consequences of killing these people.
Secondly, although these people were strange, their aura and appearance were no different from normal humans, and he didn't want to easily harm 'ordinary people.'
But this hesitation from Chen Kong was seized upon by the old man with the goatee, who forcefully swung the carrying pole.
The pole struck Chen Kong's back, causing him to let out a muffled groan. A mouthful of blood welled up in his throat, which he forcefully swallowed back.
Seeing that Chen Kong seemed close to giving up, Mi Yao on the side also seemed to have made a decision.
But just then, a pale purple quantum chain suddenly shot from outside the crowd, precisely wrapping around the old man's carrying pole. With just a gentle tug, it flipped the old man to the ground.
"Who?!"
The citizens simultaneously turned their heads. They saw Vivian standing outside the crowd, looking at everyone expressionlessly.
Seeing another outsider, the owner of the Yangchun noodle stall, the old man with the goatee, immediately said with a cold face, "Outsider, this is a matter of our Longevity County. I advise you not to interfere carelessly."
"If you break the rules..."
"Rules?"
Vivian sneered, pulling out a wad of paper bills from her pocket and throwing them onto the food stall.
"How much for two bowls of noodles? Is this enough?"
Looking at the stack of paper bills placed on the table, the old man with the goatee's expression instantly became ugly.
Because, according to the rules of Longevity County, there was no stipulation that someone else couldn't pay for the meal.
Or rather, under the premise of following the principle of equivalent exchange, as long as the other party could produce the corresponding 'chip.'
Then, regardless of where this chip came from, the transaction... was considered complete.
Based on this underlying rule, even though the old man with the goatee preferred Chen Kong's lifespan or memory over the paper bills, he still chose to pull out a few bills from the stack and looked at Chen Kong and Mi Yao expressionlessly.
"Since someone has paid for you, this matter is settled."
"But you must be careful in the future, because... you won't be this lucky every time."
As he finished speaking, the old man with the goatee turned and went back to his stall.
The other people who came to 'help' also dispersed.
Before long, the entire square returned to calm.
Seeing the danger averted, Vivian walked up to Chen Kong and helped him up.
"Let's leave here first. I'll tell you if you have any questions later."
Seeing Chen Kong's hesitant look, Vivian spoke first.
And looking at her, she seemed to feel the square was not a good place to talk.
Led by Vivian, the group soon arrived at the county's only guesthouse.
But unlike Tendo, who could directly take others in, Vivian, who had only booked a single room, couldn't bring Chen Kong and Mi Yao into her room.
However, she didn't need to, as the guesthouse lobby was already one of the few safe zones, much like a bank's business hall here.
"Alright, if you have any questions, feel free to ask."
Hearing this, Chen Kong immediately asked a question he was very concerned about.
"Vivian, where did you get this money?"
"The county bank."
"The bank here can connect with the outside world and exchange money from outside?"
Vivian looked at Chen Kong and said seriously, "No."
"Then you..."
Vivian pointed to her head and said without hesitation, "Kong, the so-called memory is actually a very broad concept. And among the types of memory, there is one thing that is just as valuable as experience. And this thing... is 'knowledge'."
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