Global Collapse-Chapter 543 - 512: You haven’t seen it in nine days! _1

While Gu Mian was quite extravagant, he still managed to accumulate a lot of Game Coins. Most importantly, he had great skills.

As a doctor, he possessed the skill [Highly Skilled Medicine (Lv. 5)], which increased the effectiveness of medications fivefold when used.

If Keke hadn’t brought back a patient, Gu Mian would have almost forgotten he had such a skill.

The level of Highly Skilled Medicine had remained at level five for quite some time. This indicated that the game had not provided him with Attribute Points for a considerable period. Fatty and Chu Changge were facing the same situation, and presumably, so were the other players.

The sedatives for Xu Nuo for the following few days were all administered by Gu Mian, who specifically used a new syringe.

Even if the sedative’s effectiveness was increased fivefold, it still wouldn’t be of much help to a patient suffering from late-stage cancer.

Yet, this kind-hearted woman would always say, "Thank you," to Gu Mian after every injection, as if her pain had truly lessened.

Xu Nuo was only twenty-four years old, but she looked older than Liu Ruyan, who already seemed to have matured quickly, resembling someone in her early thirties.

Keke explained that it was because her sister was always working overtime, sometimes juggling three to four part-time jobs a day. She often stayed up all night for work and still had to walk two kilometers to the nearest subway station to get to work after sunrise.

Fatty, oblivious to such worldly hardships, was astounded upon hearing this and asked, "Don’t you guys have parents?"

This wasn’t a sarcastic comment from Zu An but a sincere question.

Keke remained silent, but her facial expression was like someone who had just heard a joke.

Accompany me next year didn’t seem surprised by Xu Nuo’s arrival. It seemed she was already used to Gu Mian bringing back a woman every day—at least this one wasn’t as ugly as the lady in the red dress.

The more pressing consideration for them now was how to survive the next fifteen days with their dwindling Game Coins and scarce food supply.

While pondering the situation, she sighed and began to go over the figures, prices, and calculations on the piece of paper on the coffee table, "Fifteen days, with everyone combined, we only have one hundred and seventy-eight Game Coins left. We can only spend an average of eleven point eight six Game Coins per day. Pork belly at one hundred Game Coins per pound is out of the question. I haven’t eaten meat in a long time. Rice and flour are fifty-one Game Coins per pound... Hmm, seventy-eight Game Coins would be enough for three and a half pounds. But there are five of us here, and we need to eat for fifteen days..."

As she scribbled on the paper, she forcefully circled some numbers and crossed out some calculations. Finally, she let out a long sigh and began to complain about the supermarket prices, "Damn it, the supermarket prices are so inflated! Is this game really trying to make humanity evolve? Is it really trying to make humanity evolve?!"

The amount of Game Coins they received when the game started was pitiable, so all they could do was scrounge in a small convenience store.

However, the original food on Earth had vanished rapidly, like oil evaporating. After the meager remains were scavenged, they had no choice but to shop at the supermarket.

Luckily, after a while, the game instances started dispensing more Game Coins, enough to save people from dying of hunger—though only just enough to survive.

"However, what’s important now is that entry to the supermarket requires a ticket, and we don’t have any. The ticket booth is closed, so we can’t buy tickets. Even if it were open, a ticket would cost fifty Game Coins..."

Looking at the paper full of calculations, Accompany me next year put down her pen. She recalled that they hadn’t had a decent meal in a long time.

The last time they had a proper meal was in an instance filled with the atmosphere of everyday life. However, food consumed in an instance only staved off hunger within that instance. After leaving, they were still hungry.

Moreover, they didn’t often enter instances with a normal world background.

Just as she was fretting over the paper on the coffee table, she suddenly heard the footsteps of several people outside the door.

The footsteps seemed to come from downstairs and didn’t stop at their floor but went directly upstairs.

It’s probably Gu Mian and the others, Accompany me next year thought.

The soundproofing in this hotel wasn’t very good. Through the door, she could hear Fatty talking as he went upstairs, "Doctor, the instance has been suspended for fifteen days. We should go to the supermarket a few more times and use up all the tickets. In previous months, we always had a stack of tickets left over, and Xiao Hong got all of them. What a reckless waste of good things!"

Supermarket tickets had limited sales each month and were time-sensitive. Tickets bought in a given month could only be used within that month; they would become void at the end of the month.

For convenience, Fatty always bought a large stack at the beginning of the month. At the end of the month, any leftover tickets would be taken by Xiao Hong to make paper boats.

As Gu Mian listened to Fatty planning their supermarket trips for the next few days, he suddenly heard the sound of a door opening behind him.

The person behind them seemed afraid they would leave and urgently called out, "Wait!"

Gu Mian stopped on the stairs and turned, looking down at Accompany me next year, who was peeking out from behind the door.

Gu Mian remembered stealing a noose from her. Consequently, every time he saw her, he thought she resembled a rope.

"Um," she began, choosing her words carefully, "if you have any supermarket tickets you won’t be using up... could you loan us one?"

Loan? Gu Mian was momentarily confused by the word.

Accompany me next year hurriedly explained, "I mean! Rent... No, that’s not right. I’d like to take out a loan from you. A loan for one supermarket ticket. After fifteen days, when the instances reopen, we’ll repay you."

Then, she saw a strange look on Gu Mian’s face.

Accompany me next year immediately became nervous, thinking he was displeased by her request for a ticket.

She was about to explain further when she saw the doctor take a ticket from Fatty’s pocket, walk down the stairs, and tuck it into her hand.

Accompany me next year was stunned. She was just about to express her gratitude with a simple, "You’re such a good person!" when she heard him ask, "And you offer no compensation?"