Welcome to Rule City - Chapter 50 - Idle Talk and Complaints

After eating and drinking to their fill, everyone decided to go to sleep. After all, it was already late at night, and without rest, they’d have dark circles under their eyes tomorrow.

Mu Ai, having avenged her great grievance, slept soundly. Coupled with the fact that she had only napped briefly during the day in the Dungeon, her mind seemed energetic, but in reality, she was exhausted. Her head barely touched the pillow before she fell asleep.

When she woke up again, it was almost noon. Mu Ai rubbed her messy hair, took a shower, and changed into comfortable home clothes. Only then did she slip on her slippers and shuffle downstairs.

Sano and Fu Xi had gone out for errands in the morning, Ivan and Meng Hao were working out in the gym, while Anton was in the house, looking a bit dispirited, as if he hadn’t rested well last night.

“The Post-Mortem Meeting is at 2 PM. Want some coffee?” Anton raised the coffee pot, the pure black beverage looking bitter, “These coffee beans taste pretty good, want to try?”

“Thanks, but I’m allergic to coffee.” Mu Ai shook her head, “Drinking it makes my heart race, and I feel overly excited, like something is about to happen. Today, I want to be a couch potato, avoiding any stimulation.”

“Alright then.” Anton shrugged, poured himself a large cup without any milk or sugar, and gulped it down, feeling a bit more energized, “How do you feel?”

Mu Ai knew what he was asking about and shrugged, “Pretty calm, not as excited as I imagined… how should I say it, it’s even less joyful than clearing a new Dungeon, more like completing a routine task, quite dull.”

“Wow.” Anton responded exaggeratedly, “You have quite high standards.”

Mu Ai nodded earnestly, “Yes, I’ve always had high aspirations. Such cannon fodder is just dust on my sleeve, just brush it off without caring.”

Anton gave a thumbs-up, “I give full marks for that bragging-seriously, what do you plan to do next?”

Mu Ai thought for a moment and said, “Rest for a few days, see how Number reacts. I only made sure Jin-Ge died with clarity, others still see the scumbag’s image… By the way, how did you handle him?”

Anton smirked, “Originally, we threw him in the trash, but later anonymously tipped off his ex-wife about it. Heard she took him back, seems she has a more convenient way to handle it… We saw she could manage, so we didn’t interfere, nor did we care about the aftermath. Haven’t seen that scumbag for a while, probably dead by now.”

The scumbag hadn’t been in a Dungeon, but his ex-wife had survived a Random Instance, gaining at least 1 Enhancement Point, maybe more. Especially since Meng Hao and the others had beaten the scumbag up, if she dared to take him back, she must have confidence in handling him. Whatever the outcome, it had nothing to do with them.

Mu Ai also thought this method was good. No one knew she did it, and even if Number investigated, they could only start with the scumbag. But Meng Hao and the others had masked their faces when capturing him, even he didn’t know who did it, so what clues could there be?

As for Jin-Ge, it was even harder. Mu Ai was sure she wasn’t his only enemy, and her conflict with Jin-Ge might not even rank, making it quite difficult to trace.

But even if Number did trace it back to her, Mu Ai wasn’t afraid. She wouldn’t just stand there and let them kill her; she would definitely fight back. If she could kill one Jin-Ge, she could certainly kill a second.

After chatting with Anton for a while, the others gradually returned. They had lunch and gathered in the meeting room to listen to Mu Ai’s Post-Mortem of her recent fixed Dungeon content.

“I was really curious before why they hadn’t opened a second line for so long. Later, I realized that clearing Dungeons smoothly is easier, so I understood.”

Mu Ai detailed the events in the Dungeon, focusing on the speculation that Scarlet Moon and high Mental Power were needed to unlock the Dungeon. The others took this note seriously, not particularly concerned about Dungeon upgrades.

“This kind of thing has indeed happened, not frequently, but at least 4 or 5 times.” Meng Hao noted the last point in his notebook, habitually pausing his pen at the end, “The reason you mentioned is why they don’t want to upgrade. The difficulty is unknown, the method of item production and fixed rewards will change, and the acquisition difficulty might increase significantly, which doesn’t meet their fast-clearing standards.”

“Can I still sell this key?” Mu Ai wasn’t concerned about fast-clearing; she only cared about whether she could monetize the key qualification.

“List it anonymously on the exchange.” Fu Xi suggested, “Other methods might expose your identity, but you have to pay a 10% fee, which is a bit of a loss.”

“No problem, let’s go with that.” Mu Ai didn’t care about the 10%, well, she did care, but from a safety perspective, it was necessary to forgo that wealth, “I plan to rest for a few days, then look for special Dungeons. My Physical Strength is up to 5 points, I want to increase the limit.”

Meng Hao wasn’t surprised by Mu Ai’s needs, seemingly having anticipated her words, with the information prepared in advance: “The entry method for these special Dungeons is quite unique, similar to movie tickets, issued uniformly by the official.”

Mu Ai asked, “Is it randomly selected?”

Meng Hao shook his head, “No, it will be announced on TV, newspapers, magazines, or other official channels. Sometimes it’s a recruitment ad, sometimes a reality show casting, sometimes actor recruitment… As long as the content includes phrases like ‘self-improvement, challenge yourself, surpass yourself,’ it’s likely.”

Mu Ai moved her crossed fingers, pondering, “Is there a connection between the ad type and the Dungeon?”

“Wow, I knew I wasn’t the only one to ask that!” Anton suddenly became excited, resting one hand on the chair back and spreading the other towards everyone, “Come on, pay up.”

Sano elegantly sipped her drink, glancing at Anton with a motherly look as if watching her foolish son, “Did you forget, you were the only one talking to yourself, no one bet with you.”

Fu Xi sat with her arms crossed next to Anton, her tone cool as she added, “And it’s not just you who asked; everyone here-including Ivan-has asked this question.”

Ivan, who was engrossed in a battle with his pudding, looked up blankly, not understanding how he had become part of the conversation. “Is it really hard to notice this problem?”

Sano stifled a laugh and replied, “Not hard at all. Just eat your food, and remember to wipe your mouth later.”

“Oh, okay.” Ivan nodded foolishly, took another spoonful, and spoke again, “Promise me, don’t buy this cherry blossom flavor next time, alright?”

Mu Ai nodded in agreement. She had been the one to shop this time, initially attracted by its crystal-clear pink appearance, but now it seemed the taste was not quite right.

After this little interlude, everyone except Anton, who grumpily ate two pieces of apple pie, was in good spirits. They began to take turns sharing their experiences of clearing and leveling up in the dungeon with Mu Ai, giving her a head start on gaining some experience.

Mu Ai then realized that among everyone present, she was the only one who hadn’t gone through a single dungeon upgrade, and whether by design or coincidence, none of them had gone through the same type.

Meng Hao participated in a martial arts coach recruitment event, where he relied on his own abilities to power through the dungeon.

Anton took part in a group performance recruitment, entering a bizarre dungeon and playing an equally bizarre role. Due to the role’s uncanny resemblance to his own personality, he inexplicably cleared it.

Ivan joined an eating competition, where this foreign youth with bear-like genes defeated other NPCs with his astonishing appetite, claiming ultimate victory.

Sano joined an expedition team, toured a mysterious tomb, and not only left unscathed but also blew up the villain’s lair, leaving the wicked tomb owner homeless.

Fu Xi applied to be a lab assistant, brilliantly overcoming various challenges posed by the NPC mentor. Before leaving, she exposed the mentor’s theft of students’ academic achievements to the inspecting big boss. Unfortunately, time ran out, and she was transported out of the dungeon, unable to see the aftermath.

Mu Ai listened in silence, finding her teammates both strong and quirky, so endearing and perfectly aligned with her tastes. The saying “birds of a feather flock together” couldn’t be more accurate!

As Mu Ai summarized everyone’s experiences, trying to find a dungeon type that suited her, her phone suddenly rang, displaying a long string of indecipherable gibberish.

“…Is there spam calls here too?” Mu Ai muttered, placing the phone on the table and pushing it towards Sano, who was peeking over. “If I answer, will someone ask if I desire power?”

“No, go ahead and answer.” Sano glanced at the gibberish format of the call, pointing it out to Mu Ai. “SB at the start means it’s from Guize City’s official line, 2B means it’s from a certified official organization in Guize City. Go ahead, it’s fine.”

“Do they not understand Chinese pinyin at all?” Mu Ai pressed the answer button and put it on speaker, only to hear a somewhat familiar voice-it was the Exciting Travel app customer service she had previously threatened to leave a bad review for in the dungeon.

[Dear customer, hello. I’m Customer Service 4567 from Exciting Travel, calling to inform you about the result of your previous complaint.]

Mu Ai raised an eyebrow and spoke calmly, “Your efficiency is quite impressive. I’m satisfied, and I hope the result will satisfy me too.”

[Of course, we will definitely ensure your satisfaction. According to feedback from our company’s senior investigators, the current attraction does indeed deceive tourists. The company is very angry about this and has decided to completely take over the current attraction and transform it into a place that fully matches its advertisement.]

Mu Ai thought for a moment, probably meaning those NPCs were completely done for, which she found satisfactory. “And then?”

[And, and then? This is already a very severe punishment…]

Mu Ai spoke sternly, “What about my compensation? Are you just going to gloss over it? Surely I can’t be deceived by your false information, travel all the way there with high hopes, only to suffer both mentally and physically without any compensation, right?”

[(Muttering quietly) As far as we know, the ones truly suffering mentally and physically are those NPCs.]

Mu Ai snorted coldly, “I’ll give you a chance to reorganize your words. Don’t think I can’t hear you just because your voice is low; this call is being recorded in full.”

[Apologies, customer, that was my colleague speaking earlier. I will report him to my superiors. Regarding compensation, we do indeed have a plan. Please listen and see if it satisfies you.]

Mu Ai: “I’m listening.”

[Here’s the plan: We will refund you double the Purple Coins you spent on the trip and gift you 1 limited edition ‘Ancient Mansion Adventure’ attraction ticket, where you can fully challenge yourself. You might even achieve a breakthrough~]

Mu Ai’s mind stirred, and she looked at the others in the room. Everyone nodded at her, indicating that this was acceptable. So she continued, “Double refunding is expected since you deceived me first. But is my mental damage only worth one attraction ticket? At least give me 3 Small Badges.”

[That’s impossible, dear. We don’t have that kind of authority. The most we can offer is 1-]

Mu Ai quickly interrupted, “Alright, 1 it is. That’s settled then: double the Purple Coins refund, 1 limited edition ‘Ancient Mansion Adventure’ attraction ticket, plus 1 Small Badge. The mailing address is Villa area C Zone, Building 211, addressed to Mu Ai. If I don’t receive it within 3 days, I’ll complain again. Don’t forget, goodbye.”

After speaking, Mu Ai hung up before the other party could react, then explained somewhat sheepishly to the surprised gazes around her, “Take the advantage and leave, know when to stop. Extorting NPCs is something I’m familiar with.”

Mu Ai wasn’t lying; as the saying goes, practice makes perfect, and this was her second time, so she should be getting the hang of it.