Huh? Isn't This A Galgame?-Chapter 50 - 49 A Stumbling Block

[Feng Shui Huan] Guild Hall.

Inside an ancient-style garden building, a man dressed in a Chinese retro short jacket sat in the pavilion, fiddling with a tea set.

The man looked to be in his thirties, with the slanted button-up of his jacket meticulously fastened to his neck. His hairstyle was an old-fashioned side part, but combined with his deep-set, contemplative yet slightly smiling eyes, it looked natural and harmonious.

At first glance, he seemed as if he had stepped out of Andy Lau’s "Days of Being Wild."

Amidst the chirping birds and fragrant flowers in the courtyard, a young man dressed in a gray long shirt hurriedly walked into the pavilion along the corridor and respectfully bowed to the man sipping tea.

"Master, it’s confirmed that it’s in that trial map, just as you calculated."

"Hmm." The man took a sip of tea, saying no more.

The young man was unsure and tentatively said, "Master, should we send someone to investigate?"

"Send someone? How?" The man turned slightly to look at his disciple behind him, his tone calm and unperturbed, "That’s a novice map, system randomly matches participants to enter. Once the mission begins, under the system rules, we have no right to interfere."

The young man, dissatisfied, muttered softly with his head down, "But I’ve heard that on the side of the Ghost Control Master Alliance, someone directly hacked into the NPC system..."

The man glanced sideways at his disciple, "Breaking the system rules is something others can do; we cannot."

Realizing his words displeased his master, the young man agreed, refraining from continuing the topic but couldn’t help muttering, "That prophecy, it was clearly you who secretly passed it to Jun Wuming. The Ghost Control Master Alliance will definitely make a move; they must have intercepted our message midway, shamelessly."

The man took another sip of tea, indifferently saying, "They won’t interfere."

"Won’t they?"

The young man felt puzzled. Given the other party directly hacked into the NPC system, how could they not intervene? But since the master said they wouldn’t, they certainly wouldn’t.

The man continued, "The Ghost Control Master Alliance isn’t foolish. They wouldn’t enter a situation where a loss is certain."

The young man, half-understanding, asked again, "Master, what should we do now?"

With lowered eyes, the man looked at the teacup in his hand, the clear tea rippling slightly, "Go to Game Hall No. 36792. After they leave this trial map, they’ll be transported there."

With that, the man lifted his head and smiled lightly, "If Jun Wuming can’t succeed in the map, he’ll have to hand over his possessions in the hall."

...

...

Qi Middle School campus, right in the center of the sports field.

Wen Nan stood on the grass, looking at Yu Shujun beside him, who was laying out the contents of his school uniform piece by piece like a street vendor aunt—

Two pairs of worn-out sports socks, two bent clothes hangers, a blackboard eraser covered in chalk dust, a pair of undershorts worn so often they’re almost see-through, a clump of grass caked with muddy blood, two squashed water bottles, an empty soda can...

As Yu Shujun laid out the items, Wen Nan squatted beside him, casually picking up the blackboard eraser, "In front of the flower bed of our teaching building, that old man collecting junk puts together less than you have."

Yu Shujun gave him a glance, remaining silent, continuing to take out the items.

A glint of gold flashed from the blackboard eraser in Wen Nan’s hand, and a system notification sounded in his mind.

9527: [Hidden item detected in this map, the blackboard eraser.]

Wen Nan inquired in his mind what the item was for, only to receive the message: [This item has been locked by another player or character; details unavailable.]

Isn’t it his item, not even allowed to view the details?

Wen Nan placed the blackboard eraser in his palm, tossing it casually, "I thought you’d wait until the last moment to come find me."

Hearing this, Yu Shujun’s hands paused, turning to glance at the person beside him.

Seeing that the other appeared casual, as if speaking out of idle curiosity rather than suspicion, Yu Shujun felt slightly at ease again.

Indeed, Yu Shujun planned to wait until the last moment to find the other—

Yu Shujun had already scanned this map thoroughly. Except for the empty soda can taken by a man named Ye Jiu, he had collected all the hidden items here.

But Yu Shujun had been delaying, hesitant to find him, intending to fulfill his agreement at the last moment, upon settlement.

According to Yu Shujun’s original plan, he hoped to act after the settlement, upon leaving the map and entering the game hall.

After all, actions were more convenient there without constraints.

However...

Plans changed.

Members of the [Feng Shui Huan] Guild had already headed to the game hall corresponding to this map.

Thinking about that gentle man in [Feng Shui Huan], Yu Shujun felt a headache—facing each other directly, Yu Shujun knew he was no match for him now.

This issue had to be settled on this map.

Based on that man’s style, Yu Shujun believed he wouldn’t break system rules nor tamper with the trial map.

Here, the only possible obstruction could come from someone in the [Ghost Control Master Alliance].

But Yu Shujun didn’t take those clowns seriously—unless their esteemed leader intervened personally, which Yu Shujun believed was unlikely given the leader’s nature.

So...Yu Shujun felt confident in achieving his goal.

No one on this map could hinder Yu Shujun...right?

A thought struck, and Yu Shujun turned to look at the man crouching beside him.

Could this man be the last stumbling block?

This thought flashed by but was quickly suppressed by Yu Shujun—

No, though the man had some cleverness, he was ultimately just an inexperienced, powerless newcomer, similar to those clowns in the [Ghost Control Master Alliance], unlikely to cause any trouble.

"What are you thinking? So absorbed?"

Wen Nan waved a hand in front of Yu Shujun’s face.

Yu Shujun collected his thoughts, lifting his chin to point to the array of items in front, "These are all the items. They all need to be stored in your equipment backup slot."

Wen Nan glanced at the ground’s "trash," unable to help but sigh again, "So many things, how did you manage to fit them all in?"

Yu Shujun remained silent for a moment, ultimately ignoring Wen Nan’s question, only pulling up his character interface in his mind and manipulating it.

The next moment, Wen Nan’s system received a message—

9527: [Character Yu Shujun requests to enable your equipment backup slot sharing function. Accept?]