"Who are you?" Team leader Lu Yuanfan protected Zhou Ying, who was speaking, behind him and looked at Lu Yao vigilantly.
There are five people in this team, all of them are the new generation born after the Day of Impermanence. The oldest, Lu Yuanfan, is only seventeen years old, and the youngest is fifteen years old.
They looked at Lu Yao with curiosity, but more importantly, with vigilance.
This time the eternal night was longer than usual, and the prepared food was almost consumed, so several people formed a team to go out to look for food.
Eternal Night is a relatively safe period during the Uncertain Days. Most mutated plants and animals are dormant, and children dare to come out at will.
The problem is that the Day of Impermanence has lasted for twenty years, and any place outside where food can be found has been searched so many times that even the garbage bags that once contained food cannot be found.
The team walked a long way in the dark and were almost lost when they were attracted by the lights here.
In an abandoned old shopping mall, there is a bright and strange little shop, which is obviously a trap.
But this store is a little different. The big lights on its sign and the strange name of the store are all designed to seduce the little remaining curiosity of young boys and girls.
Lu Yuanfan actually didn't want to come over. He was older and had been on missions with adults before. He had seen too many cheating things.
But all four team members wanted to go into the store to check, but when they didn't find any other food, they would have to go hungry if they went back.
If you are unlucky, you will starve to death, so you might as well be brave and give it a try.
Lu Yao thought to himself, there are so many of you, I should be the one who is afraid, why are you all so cautious
But it doesn't hurt to be a little more cautious.
She took a step back and said without getting too excited: "My name is Lu Yao, the owner of this blind box store. If you are looking for something to eat, there are hot drink blind boxes and new instant noodle blind boxes over there, you can try your luck."
Hot drinks? Instant noodles? Blind boxes
Among the three words, only "hot drink" is familiar to them, and they roughly know that it means something hot and drinkable.
This alone has made the team members restless.
Lu Yuanfan was still very vigilant, but the girl named Zhou Ying who entered the store first had already turned and walked towards the blind box machine, and the other three team members followed her.
Lv Yuanfan: “…”
Zhou Ying leaned on the transparent glass in front of the hot drink blind box machine with curiosity, "Is the 'hot drink blind box' full of drinks?"
Lu Yao stood next to the blind box machine, guiding customers who were playing with the blind box machine for the first time. He also observed the customers' expressions, words and actions, and understood the world from a side perspective, which served as a reference for launching new products in the future.
"Yes, this machine is full of delicious hot drinks, with a total of ten flavors. Customers go to the machine over there to exchange blind box coins, put coins in this coin slot, and then they can draw a flavor of drink."
They had never seen such a strange machine in their lives. Zhou Ying asked the question subconsciously, but he didn't expect the owner to answer it.
There wasn't much expression on Lu Yao's face when he spoke, but his tone was calm and his attitude was gentle, which was different from most of the strange adults they had met.
Zhou Ying is just lively, not stupid. She knows that she shouldn't trust strangers easily, but she inexplicably feels that the shop owner is very reliable, which makes her feel at ease.
She walked to the machine for exchanging blind box coins, looked at the operating procedures carefully, took out a green crystal core from her pocket and was about to put it in.
A teammate stopped him and said, "Are you trying to steal the crystal core? Those things are in boxes and we can't touch them. Who knows if they are empty shells?"
Lu Yuanfan came over and nodded in agreement after hearing what his teammates said: "Yes, the Eternal Night is almost ten days longer than in previous years, and everyone's stored food is almost gone. How could anyone be so kind as to open a store like this at a time like this? Zhang Bai is right, she must be trying to cheat the crystal core."
"Ah, it smells so good, what is this?"
"It smells so sweet and it's so hot!"
The three of them were struggling in front of the token exchange machine when the two teammates next to them suddenly exclaimed.
Zhou Ying, Lu Yuanfan and Zhang Bai turned around immediately and saw two teammates surrounding the young woman who claimed to be the owner, staring at the things in her hands.
Seeing that they were really slow, Lu Yao took out a blind box of hot drinks from the warehouse and opened the box on the spot.
The outer packaging is the same, and she deliberately disrupted the order when she delivered the goods. I didn't know what was inside until I opened the box.
She first handed the can to the two people in front of her to see. This was the newly made batch of hot drinks, and the styles described on the packaging had been changed to ten.
But it is just adding five more options on the basis of the original five.
There is no change in taste between the batch that came in the morning and the batch that just arrived, both are made by Qi Chen.
The two children took it in their hands and weighed it. They felt it was hot and were 80% convinced.
When Lu Yao opened the jar, a rich sweet fragrance spread with the hot air. The two of them kept twitching their noses and swallowing unconsciously.
Zhou Ying and others immediately gathered around, and the sweet fragrance in the air could be smelled from a long distance away.
Lu Yuanfan pursed his lips and couldn't utter a word.
Lu Yao knew that hot cocoa was served as soon as he smelled it. He was lucky because children would find it difficult to resist this charming sweet taste.
She took a sip first and then handed it over. "If you don't mind, try it. This is hot cocoa, very fragrant. My blind boxes are all genuine, no deception."
Lu Yuanfan was nervous, fearing that some of the teammates would act impulsively. Fortunately, they all just looked at Lu Yao with desire and restraint... with a half-opened can in his hand.
The smell is so sweet.
The next second, Zhou Ying reached out, took it and took a sip. His dark eyes suddenly lit up, "It tastes so good, sweet, fragrant, and especially smooth."
The already weak willpower of the others collapsed in an instant and they all took it over.
“Mmm!!! Delicious!!!”
“So sweet!”
“I’ve never tasted anything so delicious!”
"Can you give me another drink?"
Finally, there was a little bit of the jar left, and the jar was handed to Lu Yuanfan.
Lv Yuanfan: “…”
He took it, glared at Lu Yao angrily, stretched out his finger to dip a little, and licked it carefully. The faint bitterness spread on the tip of his tongue first, followed by a long and delicate sweetness, spreading in his mouth layer by layer.
Lu Yuanfan's eyes widened, he savored the taste for a while, then tilted his head back and poured the remaining cold hot cocoa into his mouth.
Beside him, Zhou Ying couldn't wait to ask, "Are all these things in that machine?"
The effect of planting grass has been outstanding. Lu Yao is satisfied and still looks calm.
"The hot drink blind box machine contains drinks, including hot cocoa and other flavors. The instant noodle blind box machine next to it is a new blind box, which contains instant noodles with six flavors."
She had noticed that these kids didn't seem to know what hot cocoa and instant noodles were.
This world is different from what she originally expected.
Both the instant noodle blind box and the hot drink blind box are 15 yuan per draw.
The team members sat in a circle and discussed for a while, and finally decided to exchange 30 yuan of blind box coins and draw two to try.
Lu Yao stood aside and watched them throw something called crystal core into the exchange machine, and what came out was round coins with face value. The color of the crystal core was different, and the value of the exchanged coin was also different.
Lu Yao asked the system: "Those crystal cores thrown in are actually compressed, right?"
System: […The shop owner is smart.]
The crystal cores are different in size and color, and contain different energies, so their values are naturally different.
The crystal cores dug out from mutated animals and plants are irregular, and the exchange machine simply compresses and quantifies them into blind box coins according to the energy they contain for easy use.
Lu Yao: "Then what use is this crystal core coin to me?"
The system felt a little guilty for some reason: [… As far as I know, people in this world use crystal cores as energy, which can be used to generate electricity, make weapons, and burn for heating. They are actually aggregated energy blocks with infinite possibilities. The store owner can try to develop other uses.]
Lu Yao: “… In short, it’s useless for now.”
System: [… That can’t be said. Its use in this world is the same as that in Dreamland.]
Lu Yao has become accustomed to this kind of start, where others open blind box stores and burn the money of players and big spenders.
Only she, no matter what kind of store she opens, will burn her own money.
In front of the blind box machine, Zhou Ying and Lu Yuanfan each held a 15 yuan blind box coin, ready to draw a box.
Lu Yuanfan drew a hot drink. After inserting a coin, a small red light lit up next to the blind box machine, and a can of drink fell out with a clang.
He took out the drink, and finally felt relieved. It felt heavy and hot in his hand, just like the one the owner had opened.
Zhou Ying stood in front of the instant noodle blind box machine. After inserting the coins, the small red light next to the blind box machine lit up and a box of something fell out.
She took it out, and unlike the hot drink box, it looked very small when it was in the machine.
After taking it out, the box seemed to have become a little bigger, and I don’t know why.
After the box drawing was over, the team members gathered in a circle and prepared to open the hot drink blind box first.
Lu Yuanfan put his hand on the jar, ready to open it, and was actually a little nervous.
They gathered together to look at the design pictures. Except for the hot cocoa they had just drunk, all the other drinks were ones they had never seen before.
Each name is extremely tempting, making them look forward to the unknown.
With a "click", the lid opened, and a unique floral scent mixed with a slightly sour sweetness rushed out.
The team members were stunned for a moment, and then they were ecstatic, as if they had drawn a new flavor.
Zhou Ying leaned in and sniffed it. "It smells so good, but too sweet. What flavor is this, honey grapefruit tea, or matcha latte?"
Lu Yao could smell the scent without having to get close.
She was a little surprised that these children didn't know the fragrance of osmanthus or the smell of fermented glutinous rice.
"This is osmanthus wine and longan tea. Drinking it helps you sleep." Lu Yao explained.
The five children took turns drinking it, licking their lips and curling their eyes. It was so delicious.
The sweet fragrance of osmanthus, the sour and sweet rice wine, and the unique rich fruity aroma of dried longan make it sweet to the heart.
In terms of taste, children may prefer hot cocoa, but this is the first time they have had a drink with such a complex flavor. The more they savor it, the more addicted they become.
A cup of osmanthus wine and longan tea was quickly finished after each person took a sip. Everyone's eyes were focused on Zhou Ying's hand.
On the rectangular paper box, the words "instant noodles blind box" are written, and on the side there are style description pictures - pickled pepper beef noodles, Jiaojiao turkey noodles, spicy pork ribs noodles, mushroom chicken soup noodles, and Yiyi seafood noodles.
Zhang Bai pointed at the picture of the instant noodle blind box and said, "Why is this not hidden?"
He didn't know how to play Hidden yet, but he keenly noticed the difference.
Lu Yao added: "There are a total of ten hidden items in the instant noodle blind box machine, but the hidden items are not the styles, but the small ingredients. Every flavor of instant noodles may have hidden items."
The team members still didn't quite understand the meaning of hiding, so they decided to take a look at what this thing called instant noodles looked like.
Zhou Ying opened the box, revealing the packaging inside, and poured out several small individual packages, "What are these?"
Lu Yao walked over to take a look and said with a smile: "Lucky, you hit the target with one shot and got the hidden one."
hide
Everyone looked at the small packages scattered on the ground, a little puzzled: "Is this what hiding is?"
Lu Yao helped them divide it up. "There are only a few things in the regular instant noodle blind box: noodles, seasoning packets, soup packets, and a set of tableware. And in your package, the extra package of spices and the extra vegetable package are small ingredients that can only be found in hidden boxes."
In the entire package, only the two bags of small ingredients held by the owner are different from the other ingredients.
Zhou Ying didn't quite understand what "Emperor of Europe" meant, but he knew he had drawn something good, so he asked happily, "How do I eat this?"
Lu Yao patiently guided them through the operating instructions on the box and pointed to the water heater not far away.
Zhou Ying followed the instructions and made the instant noodles.
What she drew was spicy pork rib noodles. When hot water was poured over the noodles and seasonings, an enticing aroma immediately spread. It was completely different from hot drinks, but even more mouth-watering.
Fill with hot water, wait for a while, and finally add the hidden ingredients.
As everyone was waiting, Zhou Ying tore open the condiment packet.
The first package turned out to be two pieces of cooked spareribs, which smelled delicious right after they were torn open. Another package was blanched fresh lettuce leaves, which exuded the unique fragrance of green vegetables and could be eaten after just a dip in the hot noodle soup.
The team members' eyes widened. There was meat and vegetables, and they looked like meat and vegetables from non-mutated animals.
In fact, Lu Yao also wanted to add a fried egg to the hidden dish, but he was limited to 500 grams and could only endure it for the time being.
When the conditions for the blind box are relaxed, she will add the crispy and fragrant fried eggs.
Zhou Ying couldn't help it. He used the fork unskillfully, picked up a handful of noodles, and slurped them into his mouth. His eyes widened, and it took him a long time to come back to his senses: "Is this noodles? It's springy and smooth, and so fragrant that it makes you want to bite your tongue. It's too delicious!"
Zhang Bai couldn't help it and squeezed over: "Yingying, give me a bite."
Lu Yuanfan stood aside and swallowed his saliva. The taste of the instant noodles was like a smell bomb, constantly teasing his fragile nerves and making him want to eat it.
Five people shared a bucket of instant noodles, and then rested their hands on the floor, still not satisfied.
There were only two pieces of pork ribs in a box of noodles. Zhou Ying cut the meat off with his hands, divided it into five portions, and each person tasted a little.
After a short rest, the five people took out the remaining crystal cores and barely scraped together 60 yuan of blind box coins.
After repeated discussions, they decided that the instant noodle blind box was more cost-effective and more filling than hot drinks. But the hot sugary drink was also irresistible.
In the end, they decided to draw a hot drink blind box and three instant noodle blind boxes.
This time the other three team members will draw.
The way of obtaining blind boxes is particularly interesting for them.
Every time, I am on high alert and full of tension.
Lu Yao watched with great interest from the side. The greatest pleasure of playing with blind boxes is satisfying curiosity.
These kids have fallen.
After drawing four blind boxes, Lu Yuanfan and his team members prepared to leave.
Zhou Ying walked to the door and looked back at Lu Yao, "Shopkeeper, will there be any new blind boxes?"
Lu Yao nodded: "Of course."
The five-member team moved forward in the eternal night, leaving a small piece of crystal core for lighting, holding the blind box they had just drawn in their arms, feeling excited.
Zhou Ying's brother Zhou Yan led a team and met them halfway. He scolded them sternly with a cold face: "Don't you want to live? You sneaked out at this time. Don't you know how worried the adults are?"
The children stood together with their heads huddled together. Zhou Ying tried to speak several times, but was scolded by Zhou Yan until he dared not say a word.
The night was prolonged, food was scarce, and everyone was starving.
The children ran out without telling their parents, thinking they could find food, not knowing how dangerous it was outside. The parents were scared to death.
God knows how hard it is to raise a child after the day of death.
At this age, every bite of food that young boys and girls eat is the food saved by their elders and siblings.
Who could bear it if the baby died outside like this
Zhou Yan was almost going crazy. He had just finished his mission and returned to the base when he heard that his sister was missing.
Without taking a breath, he immediately came out to look for someone.
Zhou Ying wanted to wait until her brother had lost his temper before telling him about the great gains they had made on this trip.
But Zhou Yan had been chattering for nearly twenty minutes and still hadn't finished.
A team member nearby advised him to go back and recite again, but was scolded by the guy next to him. No one dared to plead for him anymore.
At this time, Lv Yuanfan took out a hot drink blind box from his arms and held it in front of Zhou Yan, "Brother Zhou Ying, we found a magical little shop outside this time. We can extract food with crystal cores. This is the drink we brought back. It's really drinkable."
Afraid that Zhou Yan would not believe it, Lu Yuanfan acted decisively and tore open the lid of the jar. A sweet aroma emanated from the hot steam.