When Mr. Zhou heard Tang Ning's offer, he didn't want to talk to her anymore. He grabbed a piece of salmon dipped in thick mustard and stuffed it into his mouth.
"Two hundred and one?" Tang Ning tried to bargain. It wasn't that he was stingy. Well, he was. After all, he wasn't sure if the money his mother and brother would give him in the future was special money. To be on the safe side, he decided to use his remaining three hundred and five dollars as his last fund.
The spicy taste of mustard rushed straight to the top of Zhou's head. Father Zhou covered his forehead with his hands and his shoulders kept shaking. His whole face turned the color of liver in an instant.
Mother Zhou raised a glass of milk beside her. Under the anxious gaze of Father Zhou, she drank the whole glass and scanned the players critically. "You guys are only given 200 yuan for so many people?"
Tangning reiterated weakly, "It's two hundred and one dollars."
Zhou's mother sneered and put the medium-rare beef into her bloodshot mouth, apparently not wanting Tangning to continue the conversation.
"What about the two hundred dollars?" After Tangning made her offer, Zhou's parents stopped paying attention to her.
Tang Ning hesitated and turned to look at the other players. No one said anything. The money belonged to Tang Ning, and he was the most qualified person to make the decision.
"My bottom line is two hundred and five dollars. I can't afford any higher." Tangning said seriously.
He wanted to leave a hundred dollars for Bai Yingxue. Although the other party's life or death is unknown now, in terms of survival rate, Bai Yingxue and Zhou Kang are on par.
Even if he spent all 305 yuan, he might not be able to save Zhou Kang, but if he kept 100 yuan, he would definitely be able to help Bai Yingxue complete the guest mission.
After hearing what Tangning said, Zhou's mother raised her head and looked at her with a determined look. She wiped her mouth with her hand, smearing the lipstick stains, "Okay, two hundred and five yuan, only two people can come in."
Can you only choose two players to explore further
And it looked like this was the last chance, because Tang Ning probably didn't have any extra money to pay for the ticket.
Tang Ning looked at the other players. Each of them was very powerful. Bai Liang could see a lot of things and could see the essence. If he saw the same essence as Mi in Zhou Kang, he could conclude that Zhou Kang and Mi were the same.
Not to mention Jiang Mianmian, who is very powerful when she has weapons. Bai Liang is her best partner. When there are only two people, Jiang Mianmian and Bai Liang are the epitome of "1+1" big "2".
Lu Yuhua was also very powerful. He could see the monsters on other people's bodies and had a lot of healing medicines on him. Although Tang Ning was not sure what abilities he had, a player who played an A-level game could not be too bad.
Tangning finally looked at Lin Yun. Lin Yun was already his old partner. His most outstanding skill was his ability to hide. If Lin Yun had gone in, even if he didn't find anything, being able to come out alive would be the greatest blessing. Lin Yun's observation and analytical skills were also not bad.
So who would be a better choice
Entering Zhou Kang's room is likely to be a further exploration of this dungeon, and the difficulty may be greatly increased. At this time, it is safer to select the two most powerful players.
Tangning was a little worried. He subconsciously looked at Lin Yun, "Which two people do you think would be best to choose?"
"I think it's better for you to go." Lin Yun.
Tangning: “?”
Tangning blinked blankly.
Jiang Mianmian agreed, "I also think it would be better if Tangning went. He performed quite well in previous guest missions."
Tang Ning didn't expect Jiang Mianmian to have so much confidence in him. He tried to explain that what happened before was just a coincidence, but Bai Liang and Lu Yuhua both nodded.
Tangning said, "No, I—"
"That cat has the highest favorability towards you. If there is danger in Zhou Kang's bedroom, it may help you like it did before. You have a porcelain doll, which can both protect itself and attack." Lin Yun analyzed Tang Ning's advantages.
Tangning was unable to refute for a moment.
"But his physical fitness is relatively poor, and it would be best if another partner could carry him and run away." Lin Yun looked at Bai Liang, "So I recommend Bai Liang."
Although Lin Yun is good at running away, he cannot compare with Bai Liang in other aspects. Bai Liang is an old player who has experienced many A-level copies and is very experienced.
Everyone nodded in agreement with Lin Yun's proposal, except for Tang Ning, who was nominated along with Bai Liang, who looked confused.
As Tangning and Bailiang stood up and walked towards the living room, Tangning said weakly, "I just feel like I'm not a good fit. You guys have a big misunderstanding of me."
Bai Liang raised his eyebrows and put on an attitude of listening, willing to hear more.
"I was lucky to find the key at Lu Yuhua's house. I didn't expect there would be a clue under the bed. I was also lucky to find the safe house in the orphanage. I didn't realize at the beginning that adults were good people. I was just too lucky at Zeng Yishuang's house. It was all a sudden idea to go to help Zeng Yishuang's mother and say those words. I was still lucky to come to Zhou Kang's house this time. If it weren't for my mother and brother helping me, I wouldn't be able to do anything." Tang Ning finished his words in one breath, and he looked at Bai Liang nervously.
Bai Liang nodded after listening to this: "Mr. Tang, I did have a deep misunderstanding of you."
Tangning nodded vigorously.
"You are more humble than I thought?" Bai Liang used a euphemism. He stared into Tangning's eyes and said, "Once is good luck, twice is good luck. If the fourth time is good luck, then your luck itself is part of your strength."
"But my luck might be particularly bad the fifth time. Isn't there a law of conservation of luck?" Tang Ning was a little anxious.
Bai Liang smiled at Tangning, "Mr. Tang, did Jiang Mianmian tell you why she helped you in the previous instance?"
Why are you suddenly mentioning this
Tangning shook his head.
"Both she and I are extremely profit-driven people." Bai Liang raised the monocle and placed it on his upper left side. He looked intently at Tang Ning through the lens. His cold expression seemed to be able to penetrate Tang Ning's skin and directly analyze the depths of Tang Ning's soul.
A strong sense of discomfort and offense swept over Tang Ning. If Zhi Bailiang was not his teammate, Tang Ning would have been unable to resist hiding himself at this moment.
"You can think of me as a gambler with a cheating device." Bai Liang said word by word: "Mr. Tang, your life is too precious to mention."
Tangning seemed to have heard similar words before. He was stunned for a moment and couldn't help but ask, "What did you see?"
Bai Liang put the lens back into his chest pocket. He made a silent gesture and said mysteriously: "I can't say it now."
Tang Ning, who was holding a pile of porcelain plates, became even more confused.
He wasn't sure whether what Bai Liang said was the truth or a white lie to comfort him, but after hearing what Bai Liang said, he seemed to feel a little relieved
Bai Liang and Tang Ning took eight porcelain plates in their hands. The extra two were from the newly bought food. The area with the most garbage in the room was around the sofa. Although the road leading to Zhou Kang's bedroom was not filled with garbage to the point where they couldn't step, they chose to bring plates with them in case of emergency.
Bai Liang has tested the bearing capacity of the plate and it won't break when he steps on it.
Tang Ning and Bai Liang walked over to Zhou's father and mother who were eating madly. Tang Ning noticed that their stomachs were more bloated than before.
Just like a ball that is constantly being inflated, no one knows when it will explode completely.
Tang Ning's heart skipped a beat. He took out two hundred and five yuan from his pocket. Zhou's father and mother, who were eating, reached out their hands at the same time. They each grabbed a hundred yuan. Their sturdy fingers held the last coin tightly and refused to let go.
"You want me to fight for just one dollar?!" Zhou's mother was dissatisfied.
"If you look down on a dollar, then let go." Zhou's father did not give in.
Tang Ning and Bai Liang ignored the quarreling couple. They walked towards the corner where Mi was curled up. Mi had already licked herself clean for most of the time. She even rubbed her forehead and chin, which could not be licked by her tongue, against the wall.
When Tang Ning and the others came over, Mimi stared at Bai Liang with extreme vigilance. Bai Liang was a little helpless: "Any creature I've 'seen' will be more or less hostile to me."
Tangning thought about her previous feelings and immediately understood Mi's reaction.
While Zhou's father and mother were arguing over a dollar, Tang Ning squatted down and picked up Mi.
Qiao Linglong's happiness was different. The chubby baby filled Tang Ning's arms completely. The heavy weight almost made Tang Ning collapse from exhaustion.
It’s really heavy, it must weigh about ten kilograms, right
The fat cat looked up at him. Tangning followed Bai Liang with difficulty while whispering to him, "You're so heavy."
Mi continued to stare at him quietly, as if Tang Ning was the only one left in the world.
Bai Liang stopped in front of Zhou Kang's bedroom. He knocked on the door but got no response. Bai Liang raised his glasses and looked through the door. He then signaled Tang Ning to step back. When Tang Ning pushed against the wall, Bai Liang opened the door with a serious expression.
The pungent stench from the enclosed room suddenly rushed out, and even though Tang Ning was some distance away from the door, he was still almost vomiting from the smell.
Looking around, the room was not only filled with garbage, but also full of vomit.
Bai Liang frowned. He placed the plates in his hand on the ground, and put down a plate every time he walked a certain distance. After he walked into the bedroom, he called to Tang Ning who was standing outside the door, "Come in."
Tang Ning walked to the door with the cat in her arms. Mimi called out to Tang Ning and seemed to want to go downstairs.
Tang Ning was having a hard time holding the cat and stepping on the plate. As soon as he let go of the cat, it fell to the ground with a thud. It squatted beside Tang Ning and looked at him.
Tang Ning took a step forward on the plates, and Mi followed him in the garbage pile nearby. When he reached the sixth plate, Tang Ning saw Bai Liang squatting on a chair, while Zhou Kang, who had lost contact, was lying on the big bed.
Zhou Kang seemed to be asleep. There were food scraps and vomit all around him. His chest was just a pool of rotten flesh, with only the faint rise and fall of Zhou Kang's chest.
"His current condition is very strange, as if he is in a coma." Bai Liang looked at Zhou Kang lying on the bed.
Tangning looked around. The bedroom was large and messy. There was a family photo on the bedside table. What surprised Tangning was the people in the photo.
The couple looked to be in their early thirties, one handsome and the other beautiful. The boy standing between them was also very cute, holding a skinny orange cat in his arms.
"What is this?" Tangning pointed at the family photo in surprise.
"I looked up Zhou Kang's family information before coming to this instance." Bai Liang said calmly, "His parents are in great shape and are outstanding entrepreneurs."
Tang Ning was even more shocked by what Bai Liang said. Since Zhou's father and mother in the present world were not fat, how could they be so fat in the copy world
"When I investigated his family, I didn't find that the Zhou family had ever kept a cat." Bai Liang added: "I just took a look, and his essence is indeed the same as this cat."
Tang Ning and Bai Liang both looked at the cat. As they watched, the fat orange cat jumped onto the bed, leaving deep marks on the bedding with its claws. It moved its fat body to the side of the unconscious Zhou Kang, then gave a loud "meow" at Tang Ning, as if beckoning Tang Ning to come over.
Tang Ning looked at Bai Liang and found that Bai Liang did not stop him. He stepped on the plate with difficulty and came to the edge of the bed. Mi's paw stepped on Zhou Kang's hand, and he swung his tail into Tang Ning's hand.
When the tip of the furry tail touched Tang Ning's palm, he suddenly felt the world spinning. The next second, a very large orange paw appeared in front of him. It was a little dirty, so Tang Ning instinctively licked it to clean it.
He licked his paws clean quickly.
Then Tang Ning looked at his cat's paw, and then at the huge porcelain doll next to it. He was stunned for a moment, then raised his head and looked at the dark green trash can that was as tall as a high-rise building, and the buildings that were like towering mountains.
Tangning: "Meow meow meow?"
What happened? Did he suddenly turn into a cat
There was a gust of cold wind blowing through the air, it was extremely cold, Tang Ning couldn't help but sneeze, the aftereffect of the sneeze was so strong that it almost knocked Tang Ning to the ground.
The fluffy fur on the kitten did not keep her warm at all. Tang Ning huddled up beside the cold porcelain doll, trembling, trying to absorb the warmth from it, but the doll was also cold.
However, by comparing himself to the porcelain doll, Tang Ning could roughly estimate his own size. The porcelain doll was about the size of an adult male's palm, and his current body was only slightly bigger than the porcelain doll. Tang Ning felt that he should be a two-month-old kitten.
What on earth was going on? Tang Ning the cat had many doubts in his head.
At this moment, a boy in aristocratic school uniform appeared on the road. He walked alone with his head lowered. Tang Ning recognized him as the boy in the family photo. It was Zhou Kang!
Based on the experience of going to Zeng Yishuang's house last time, Tang Ning roughly guessed something. Maybe he wanted to play the dungeon from Mi's perspective
Looking at Zhou Kang walking towards him step by step, Tang Ning tried hard to call out, and then he heard his weak cat cry disappear in the cold wind.
This body was very weak and the throat was very dry, so Tangningfa made a particularly loud sound.
The boy was immersed in his own thoughts and didn't notice the slight meow of the cat. Seeing Zhou Kang was about to pass by him, Tang Ning became anxious and stretched out his claws to block his way and commit fraud.
When walking with paws for the first time, Tang Ning only used his legs like a human. The two front paws of the "milk" cat did not move, but the hind paws exerted force, and with a snap, he slapped the cat in the face.
Tang Ning fell face first onto the ground, his entire body dazed. The tip of his hairless tail trembled in the cold wind, causing him to meow in pain.
"Huh? Cat?" The childish voice called out. Halfway through his walk, Zhou Kang finally saw a furry ball.
The boy picked Tang Ning up with his warm hands. Tang Ning, whose head was buzzing from the fall, looked into the human's big face, with big eyes and a bloody mouth.
Tangning: “!!!”
Tang Ning found that it was really scary to look at humans from a cat's perspective!
The human cub squatting beside the cat asked cautiously, "Why are you here alone? Where are your parents?"
“Meow meow meow meow!”
I am your teammate Tang Ning, meow!
Zhou Kang was a little sad: "Do your parents ignore you like mine do?"
"Meow meow meow meow meow!"
Don’t you understand cat language? Woo woo woo! I know you don’t understand!
Zhou Kang said to himself: "Then I will take you home and take care of you from now on, okay?"
"Meow!!!"
Wait a minute!
The cat suddenly meowed loudly. Under Zhou Kang's puzzled gaze, Tang Ning firmly controlled his claws. Each of his four claws went its own way and left Zhou Kang's palm with difficulty.
Tang Ning stumbled a few steps and lay down beside the porcelain doll in a proper manner. He hugged the porcelain doll that looked like Su Anyun tightly with his four paws and meowed at Zhou Kangda.
Take the whole family along and take them away, meow!
Tangning was worried that Zhou Kang might not understand what he meant, but Zhou Kang's eyes suddenly lit up, "What a beautiful baby!"
The porcelain doll that is an accurate replica of Su Anyunxiang is indeed very beautiful from the perspective of the public's aesthetics.
Zhou Kang held the porcelain doll in one hand and picked up the cat in the other, full of energy: "Let's go! Let's go home!"
Tang Ning was glad that he was not afraid of heights. He shivered as he nestled in the arms of the human cub, looking at the extremely huge world. When Zhou Kang brought Tang Ning into the area, Tang Ning did not quite react to his location. It was not until Zhou Kang pressed the elevator button that Tang Ning realized that this might be Zhou Kang's area.
Everything he saw before him was incredibly large. Only the porcelain doll seemed to be the size of a normal person's. This strange feeling was as if Su Anyun had really come to him.
Zhou Kang was so excited about having a new companion that he kept mumbling. Tangning stretched out her paw and gently touched the cold porcelain doll, "Meow?"
You will protect me, right
"Su Anyun" looked at Tang Ning with a smile, as if saying yes with a smile.
Under Su Anyun's gaze, Tangning couldn't help but lick the cat fur on his body, and licked the porcelain doll with his pink tongue.
The porcelain doll just fell to the ground, and it must be covered in dust and needs to be licked!
Tang Ning was taking the test with his brain short-circuited.
After licking the porcelain doll, Tangning realized with tears streaming down her face.
Didn't he just eat all the dirt
How could this happen, meow! Meow Shizhi, meow Shizhi, you can’t do this again next time!
Soon, Zhou Kang brought them back home. Previously, Zhou Kang's house was covered with garbage, and it looked dirty and messy. But now when Zhou Kang opened the door, Tang Ning saw a clean, tidy, beautiful and elegant home.
Zhou Kang carefully placed the Tang Ning porcelain doll on the table, then ran to the bedroom to get a large bag of snacks, and went to the kitchen to get a porcelain plate.
He poured the milk into a porcelain plate and looked at Tangning eagerly, "Cat, drink your milk quickly."
Tang Ning remembered that cats cannot drink milk because they do not have lactase, and drinking milk may cause gastrointestinal discomfort. Although unweaned cats have lactase, the lactase content in cats two or three months old has decreased. For safety reasons, Tang Ning lay motionless next to the porcelain doll.
However, Zhou Kang obviously didn't understand this. He opened another bottle of milk and drank it first. He sighed with satisfaction and said to Tangning, "This milk tastes great!"
The cat looked at his teammates lovingly.
"Being a picky eater is not good. If my parents see someone being a picky eater, they will be very angry." Zhou Kang muttered for a while, then ran to pour Tang Ning a bowl of water. This time Tang Ning finally moved. He poked his cat head to the edge of the porcelain plate, ready to take a big gulp.
The tip of my tongue touched the clear water, but failed to take away a single drop of water.
How do cats drink water with their tongues
Tang Ning stared blankly at the stupid cat on the water, and the stupid cat also stared blankly at him.
Zhou Kang, who was standing by, took out some ham, chicken legs, and bread from his snack bag. He said excitedly, "These are all the things I like to eat! They are delicious! I'm not kidding you!"
Tang Ning: “”
At this time, the phone rang. Zhou Kang, who was about to start selling snacks to Tangning, picked up the phone with suspicion. A strong female voice came from the other end of the phone: "Kang Kang, my mother is busy with work recently. I won't be attending the family meeting tomorrow. Your teacher said..."
Zhou Kang, who was very excited a second ago, looked a little dim after hearing this. He hesitated for a moment, but couldn't help but said, "But you didn't come to the last family meeting."
Hearing Zhou Kang's slightly complaining words, the woman's tone changed: "What's wrong? Are you blaming your mother? Doesn't your mother want to be so busy? Isn't it that your mother works so hard to make money to give you a better life? I have been so busy dealing with things today that I haven't had time to eat. I have important work tomorrow. Where will I find the time?!"
The volume was gradually increasing. By the end, the woman's emotions were out of control. The sharp sound made people's eardrums hurt. Zhou Kang stammered, "I, I know."
Tang Ning's hair stood up in shock, and he turned his ear to the phone that was making the continuous noise.
"Besides, am I asking for trouble by attending your family reunion?! When was the last time you attended a family reunion to show your respect to me? Other friends' parents went there to receive praise, but I went there to applaud them! I just can't understand it. Both your dad and I graduated from prestigious schools, and both of us have good genes. When you were three years old, we enrolled you in various classes, but you couldn't learn anything. You were worse than others in everything you learned! This is what happens when you go to school."
Zhou Kang's lips kept trembling, he lowered his head and couldn't speak. Tang Ning looked at Zhou Kang who was scolded and cried. He thought for a moment, then walked to Zhou Kang's hand with difficulty using his four paws, and gently patted the back of the child's hand with his pink paw pads.
Zhou Kang, holding back tears, looked at Tang Ning with red eyes.
Tang Ning rubbed Zhou Kang's hand with her head in an unskilled manner and meowed softly.
Don’t cry, meow.
It seemed like he could hold it in without anyone to comfort him. When Tang Ning rubbed his hand, Zhou Kang couldn't help crying.
"Zhou Kang! Can you be more motivated?! When I was young, I didn't have the conditions you have. I didn't even go to cram school. I can get to where I am today only because of my own efforts! You are simply - you are simply -" The woman heard the child's intermittent crying. She took a deep breath, as if trying to calm herself down. "Kang Kang, mom is really too tired recently."
Tears fell like rain on Tang Ning's head. The kitten, with its fur wet, meowed in confusion. His meows were too soft, so the woman on the other end of the phone didn't hear them.
"Mom loves you very much. It is because of love that I set such high standards for you. If you can do better in your studies, I will love you even more, understand?"
Zhou Kang nodded desperately. Halfway through nodding, he realized that his mother on the other end of the phone couldn't see him, so he quickly said, "I'll try my best, Mom."
"Well, dear, have you used up the pocket money I gave you before?" The woman's voice returned to its normal volume.
Zhou Kang said quickly, "There are a lot!" He wiped away his tears and looked at the cat on the table, "Mom, I found this on the roadside today—"
"Okay, the tutor will be here tonight so you have to study hard, okay? I have something to do here, so I won't talk to you for now." After saying that, the phone was suddenly hung up, leaving Zhou Kang holding the phone in a daze and listening to the crisp beeping sound.
The light on the phone screen disappeared. Zhou Kang stared at Tang Ning beside him in a daze for a long time before muttering to himself, "A cat."