66: Chapter 66 Public Store, Core Facility!

Lin Xiao put down the newspaper and cast his gaze toward the distant sea.

The Black Tide had already receded beyond the breakwater, and the chilling pressure from before was gone.

His fingertips unconsciously rubbed against the rough paper, the fragmented text paragraphs on it quickly piecing together and deducing in his mind.

"So that's how it is..." he muttered to himself, his voice devoid of emotion.

"Lin, what have you thought of?"

Jiang Wanwan moved closer to Lin Xiao's side, observing a hint of anomaly from his subtle changes in expression.

"Sophia must have known the cause of the Black Tide long ago."

Lin Xiao didn't turn his head, still gazing at the sea.

"Is it because of Sean?" Jiang Wanwan gently tucked her arm into his. "Did he perform a forbidden ritual for money, or some other purpose?"

Lin Xiao's tone was calm: "The clues in the report point in this direction, but... would Sean really do something like that?"

He shook his head.

Perhaps this was also the reason Sophia had been waiting here all along.

And protecting the town residents had also become one of her obsessions.

Or rather, another way of atoning.

But the Black Tide kept simulating and manifesting Sean's appearance, trying to break through her defenses and erode the residents she protected.

"Why do the town residents look like that?" Jiang Wanwan was very confused about this.

"Perhaps it's because," Lin Xiao turned his head to look at the playground that had become lively again, "on the other side of the world, Sophia's fondest memories are forever frozen here."

"Now, the only question is, why does Sophia, having been eroded by the calamity, still retain her sanity..."

But after saying this, he chuckled.

There was no answer to this question, at least not for now.

"Now is not the time to dwell on these things."

Lin Xiao looked toward the noisy theme store in the distance, where crowds were surging, just like a scene during a mall sale before the catastrophe.

"Let's go into the store and see what we can buy."

He put away the newspaper and adjusted his glasses.

He had intended to take off the spirit realm lens, after all, those eerie figures had already dissipated along with Sophia.

But when his fingers touched the frames, they froze.

No, there was still one event card that hadn't been completed.

【Let's Go Treasure Hunting】

According to the event description, he needed to find those mischievous treasure chests in the town.

It was probably some kind of Treasure Chest Monster.

Lin Xiao straightened his glasses, took Jiang Wanwan's hand, and then turned his gaze to Wen Yiran, who was silent on the side.

"Ranran, what's wrong?"

Wen Yiran seemed to be startled awake; hearing the question, she hurriedly shook her head.

Then she walked up quickly and held Lin Xiao's other hand.

Her fingertips were slightly cold.

She still didn't speak, just smiled.

But the slight furrow between her brows did not escape Lin Xiao's eyes.

Jiang Wanwan also noticed this anomaly; she turned her head and exchanged a knowing look with Lin Xiao.

The three of them walked toward the store.

For them, having already explored this area, it could be said they were familiar with the road.

But as they passed the edge of the square, a burst of intense shouting came from not far away.

It was Liu Bi.

He seemed to be reprimanding his subordinates.

No, it didn't seem to be a reprimand.

It was an argument.

A few team members had flushed faces, waving their arms excitedly.

Although they were trying hard to keep their voices down, one could still hear the dissatisfaction and resentment in their words.

Liu Bi was standing in the middle of the crowd, but he didn't use force to suppress them as he had in the past.

Two failures had caused Liu Bi's prestige to be called into question.

The team members' trust in him was also gradually beginning to collapse.

If he couldn't quickly reconsolidate support with absolute strength or benefits, the elite team assembled by Cars 14 and 15 would likely be near dissolution.

Lin Xiao had no interest in stopping to watch.

He just gave a faint glance, then withdrew his gaze, continuing his stride, walking straight toward the store.

This time, there was no large roulette wheel at the store entrance; in its place was a display board.

It showed the top 100 on the leaderboard.

【>>> Leaderboard, First Week, Settling <<<】

(Rewards will be distributed according to the ranking at noon tomorrow)

【1st Place: Car 07-01, Points: 11020】

【2nd Place: Liu Bi, Points: 5760】

...

【9th Place: 07-01 Jiang Wanwan, Points: 2310】

【10th Place: ID 07-01, Points: 2180】

...

The ranking hadn't changed much.

Because the passengers at the top of the list had basically all come to participate in the public event.

After several rounds of fighting, Lin Xiao's points had directly broken ten thousand, far ahead of everyone else.

Therefore, his name was at the top of the list, the font was not only larger, but also flowed with dark golden patterns, making it very eye-catching in the list.

Lin Xiao browsed through it quickly.

The leaderboard had entered the locked settlement period; he had to purchase the key facility blueprints before noon tomorrow.

This was the only way to get facility upgrades for free without spending any resources.

He walked into the store.

The items on the shelves could be said to have not changed at all.

All kinds of protective gear, various types of cold weapons, and everything from flintlock guns to modern pistols.

The products in the display windows hadn't changed either; the oddly shaped steam-powered muskets, the heavy, modular, giant shields...

But the price...

Even with Lin Xiao's current wealth, he couldn't buy them outright, let alone other passengers.

"You two go look around first; if there's anything you want, buy it directly."

Lin Xiao tilted his chin toward the inside of the store. "I'm going to check inside."

Jiang Wanwan and Wen Yiran nodded and began to browse with great joy.

Window shopping and buying things was undoubtedly the happiest time for girls.

Lin Xiao walked through the store, relying on his memory, and headed toward the small room in the back of the store.

That is, the warehouse where the maid clerk had previously stored and retrieved special supplies.

However, the door had been broken open violently, and it was empty inside.

Lin Xiao paused.

Had someone beaten him to it?

No...

He stepped into the room and carefully scanned the situation inside the warehouse.

There were messy footprints on the floor, but apart from that, there were no traces of any items having been stored there.

Was this originally an empty warehouse?

Just then, in the peripheral vision of the spirit realm lens, a few faint, distorted traces swept across the ceiling.

Judging by the shape, they seemed to be a few thin, long walking legs, somewhat like spider legs, only magnified a dozen times.

Lin Xiao flipped his right hand and took out his sharp double-bladed battle axe.

Then, he turned his head sharply.

A box full of thin, long appendages was currently clinging to the ceiling, shivering.

Seeing that the creature in front of it had discovered it, it let out a "squeak" and scurried toward the warehouse door, trying to escape.

Lin Xiao suddenly gripped the air with his left hand, and shadow energy shot out like a chain, forcibly dragging the monster back the moment it tried to flee!

Almost simultaneously, a cold light slashed upward!

Accompanied by a "creak," a simple wooden box clattered to the ground.

The walking legs covering its surface quickly peeled off and dissolved.

Lin Xiao pried open the lid with the tip of his axe.

【Obtained: Facility Blueprint · Equipment Bench】

【Obtained: Facility Blueprint · Crafting Bench】

That's it?

Lin Xiao looked at the two blueprints flying into his backpack, pleasantly surprised.

These were the two most core facilities for the early stage.

He had originally planned to farm some tokens at night and try his luck at the mysterious store...

As expected of a Treasure Chest Monster!

Now it seems he would have to explore the entire town in depth!

Lin Xiao reined in the smile on his lips, got up, left the small warehouse, and returned to the sales floor.

It had to be said that the theme store was huge.

The overall layout was circular and equally divided into four major areas.

Weapons and Equipment, Household Goods, Food and Beverage, and Daily Necessities.

Except for medical supplies, it could almost be said to have everything.

There were display windows outside the store, and inside there was an island-style exhibition area listing weapons, sets, furniture, and other goods.

Lin Xiao looked for the two women while strolling around the exhibition area.

But the prices in the store made him frown.

The prices here were generally more than 50% higher than the market prices Wen Yiran manipulated in the online trading.

Two days ago, a normal Level 1 white-grade piece of equipment typically sold for 150 stardust on the online trading platform.

After several rounds of calamities, the price had dropped a lot, reaching 100 stardust.

But in this store, the cheapest Level 1 white-grade equipment cost 200.

A Level 2 fine-grade piece of equipment with additional attributes actually cost 1500 stardust?