After fixing the electrical room, Tang Danqing still had plenty of money left: over 120,000 Survival Coins.
She had also unlocked the Pikachu Avatar Achievement, earning another 3,000 Survival Coins.
Next, she headed to the water storage room. Following the same approach, she bought a condensation water generator, a multistage water purification module, an intelligent pipe-heating system, a hot water system, and a wastewater drainage and recycling system. Along with the temperature-control equipment inside and outside the room, the total came to 42,000 Survival Coins.
She unlocked three Achievements—Source of Life, Use What Is at Hand, and Pure Water—and received a total of 6,000 Survival Coins.
With money on her side, the fundamental problems of electricity and water were solved as easily as could be.
The new systems Tang Danqing had bought were even better than the hotel’s original equipment.
Then, for some reason, she glanced at her NPC roommate.
“Is something wrong?” she asked the NPC, who stood beside her in a daze. “Aren’t you happy?”
The NPC turned toward her and gave a shy smile. In her usual soft-spoken voice, she said, “No, I’m just so surprised… Thank you. I don’t know how you did it, but… I’m happy.”
Tang Danqing opened the [Quest] tab. The task was still marked incomplete—
[Side Quest 2: It’s especially important to support one another through the bitter cold. Make your roommate feel “happy” at least once.]
She knew the NPC was lying to her now.
Tang Danqing thought it over for two seconds. She couldn’t understand why the NPC still wasn’t “happy.”
Was this NPC just hard to please?
She didn’t call her out. Instead, she took her back to the room.
The frost had eaten away at the internal mechanisms of the room’s appliances over the years. They wouldn’t work again unless Tang Danqing replaced them with Renovation Coupons.
She bought lighting for the living room and master bedroom for 5,000 Survival Coins; a whole-home central heating system for 30,000; insulation for the walls throughout the home for 15,000; a whole-home humidifier system for 10,000; a comprehensive fresh-air ventilation system for another 10,000; and a new smart security door for 2,000… and so on.
Then Tang Danqing glanced at her balance. After adding the Survival Coins she’d earned from the Lighting the Stars, As Warm as Spring, Air Quality Manager, Quality Living, and Fire and Theft Prevention Achievements, she had only 35,974 left.
Wow… Money really does disappear before you know it.
Even so, when all the new lights came on and the central heating gave a beep to signal it was running, Tang Danqing felt every coin had been well spent.
She didn’t know when the brutal cold outside would end, but the quality of life inside her home had definitely improved.
All for the cost of a few Renovation Coupons.
The darkness lifted, and light flooded the room.
The bitter cold, too, was driven back, little by little, by warm air from the vents.
“It’ll be warm in no time,” Tang Danqing said, as if talking to a little pet. She patted the NPC on the back of the head.
She really was like an electronic pet.
The Main Quest, Acquire Appliances, was complete. The next one was Produce Hot Water Once. Tang Danqing had already done that, so she claimed the reward right away: 1,000 Survival Coins.
Ugh. That’s not much.
[Main Quest: Do you miss the feeling of spring? Try to raise the temperature of one room above 0°C. (This quest is somewhat difficult. We recommend exploring Achievements to earn more Survival Coins before attempting it.)]
The tip was considerate, but Tang Danqing only needed to let the heating run long enough for the temperature to gradually rise.
She set the indoor thermostat to 25°C.
It was only after the bedroom had grown bright and airy that Tang Danqing looked over at the bed and paused.
Why did the bed look so…
“Grrr…”
“Rumble…”
The NPC’s stomach interrupted her thoughts.
Tang Danqing looked around the bedroom. “Hey, cutie, where’s your food? I left you some yesterday. Didn’t you eat anything?”
As she spoke, she hurried a few steps toward the door to check for signs of a struggle.
“Did someone come in and steal it?”
Had the NPC blocked the door because someone had stolen her food earlier? Who would do something that awful—steal the food she’d left for her poor little roommate? Tang Danqing had seen a “Weaponry” section in the Shop. Someone had dared to mess with her? What nerve. She’d go get revenge!
“No, no one did.” The NPC’s voice abruptly doused Tang Danqing’s anger.
Oh. No one…
She’d been picking a fight with thin air. Tang Danqing tried to school her expression. “Then what happened?”
“Did you sleep in the bed last night? It looks like it hasn’t been touched.”
The bedding was arranged exactly as it had been when Tang Danqing logged off yesterday—or so she remembered.
The NPC answered every question honestly. “I ate an egg and half a hot dog bun. I hid the rest. If you want it, I’ll go get it for you right away. I just wanted to save it, so I’d have enough to last longer.”
“I didn’t sleep in the bed. I slept by the stove last night. It was warm enough.”
“I’m dirty, and I didn’t want to soil your bed… You can rest here if you’re tired. I can sleep on the floor.”
As she spoke, Shang You kept her eyes lowered to Tang Danqing’s shoes.
She really did look like a timid little rabbit.
How could Tang Danqing stand by and let such an adorable roommate stay so meek and afraid?
A fierce protectiveness surged through her.
Wasn’t she supposed to make sure her roommate could live well, too?
What had she been thinking? She’d been neglecting her!
“Wait here. Don’t move. Don’t go anywhere.”
Tang Danqing’s voice came out almost angry.
Shang You caught the slight furrow of her brow and felt her heart tighten.
Had she said something wrong? Had she slipped up?
Or was this submissive, eager-to-please act not what the other woman wanted?
She had no idea what Shan Qing planned to do. But the difference in their strength, and the circumstances trapping her, left Shang You frozen in place with nowhere to go.
Slowly, she calmed down enough to think again. What kind of person did Shan Qing like? What could Shang You offer her?
Meanwhile, Tang Danqing strode into the bathroom and bought a luxurious bathtub with whirlpool jets, massage settings, and mood lighting. She replaced the toilet, sink, towel rack, and bath mat, then stocked the room with every little extra she could think of: toiletries, shelves, a laundry hamper, towels, a bathrobe, a hair dryer, a mirror, skincare products, cute bath toys shaped like ducks, a floating toy crocodile, dinosaur eggs, and a spraying frog on a lily pad. She arranged everything at top speed without stopping for a second.
Once the bathroom looked warm and inviting, Tang Danqing turned on the bathtub’s showerhead and tested the hot water. It flowed just fine.
She straightened up and let out a breath.
That did it.
She closed the bathtub drain and began filling it with water at a comfortable temperature for soaking.
When she went back out, the NPC was waiting quietly and obediently.
Tang Danqing took her hand. In her mind, the two of them looked like white and gray steamed buns stuck together in a basket.
Once she’s clean, will she turn into a little white bun, too?
Tang Danqing looked down at their small hands.
She really hadn’t thought things through before. Now that she did, she’d overlooked all the little details of the NPC’s daily life. The NPC, who looked dusty and grimy all over, could actually become a clean little girl, couldn’t she?
She led the NPC into the bathroom. Shang You took in the clean new walls and floor tiles, the warm-white decor, the bathtub like a little pool, the stream of hot water, and all the playful toys.
“Once the room’s warm and the tub’s full, you can take a bath,” Tang Danqing said. “But you should eat something first. If you’re hungry when you bathe, you might get dizzy.”
“From now on, we’re going to stay clean every day. You’ll sleep in the bed, under the covers. Oh, right—I should fix up the bed, too.”
She darted away like a shadow.
Now that she had money, Tang Danqing bought a comfortable latex mattress and memory foam pillows. Since the whole house had heating now, she also bought a new Tencel comforter, folded up the old cotton quilt, and bought a clean cabinet to store it in.
Then she huffed and puffed as she dragged the old rug into the living room. The NPC came over to help without being asked.
As they hauled it along, the NPC asked softly, “Does giving me all this… put a burden on you?”
What a thoughtful little sweetheart.
Tang Danqing answered without hesitation. “Not at all.”
The bathroom furnishings hadn’t cost much. While setting everything up, she’d unlocked two Achievements and completed Side Quest 4, earning a little more Survival Coins. She still had over 10,000 left.
By the way… why hadn’t she completed Side Quest 2 yet? The one about making her roommate “happy.” Was the game bugged?
It definitely was. That quest had to be bugged.
Whatever. Tang Danqing didn’t care. It wasn’t important. If it was a bug, she wasn’t going to miss a few measly coins.
“You don’t have to worry about causing me trouble. I can handle anything that comes up here. Eat something, and then take a nice, relaxing bath.”
Tang Danqing smiled. The NPC gave her a gentle smile in return.
“Thank you. I’ll make sure I get clean.”
The air throughout the suite grew warmer and more comfortable by the minute.
Once the room temperature rose above 0°C, Tang Danqing completed a Main Quest and received 2,000 Survival Coins. A new task appeared.
[Main Quest: Does it feel like spring yet? Then take a rest in your Home Shelter and experience the environment you created for yourself.]
When the temperature rose above 10°C, she unlocked the Miraculous Rejuvenation Achievement and gained another 1,000 Survival Coins.
As the room warmed, Tang Danqing took off her heavy winter jacket. The NPC removed her padded coat, revealing an old sweater, with a faded thermal shirt beneath it.
Tang Danqing studied the NPC’s clothes, thoughtful.
Right, right. I should buy her some new clothes, too.
Shang You went into the bathroom and took off her last layer of clothing. The bathtub was already half full. She stepped into the water barefoot. The warmth instantly reached her calves. Her skin had been cold and cracked for so long that it had gone numb, like a dead tree, but now a soothing warmth brought it back to life. She had almost forgotten what it felt like. Like spring, everything slowly began to unfurl.
It felt so good… Did she really deserve this when she’d done nothing to earn it?
Suddenly, Tang Danqing knocked on the bathroom door.
“Would it be all right if I came in for a moment?”
Shang You tensed on instinct and covered herself.
Then, after bracing herself, she tried to relax her arms where they shielded her chest. In the end, they tightened around her again…
“Come in,” Tang Danqing heard the NPC say.
Like a crab, Tang Danqing sidestepped into the bathroom with her back to the tub, carrying a smart speaker. She placed it on the top shelf.
The speaker announced, “Bath mode activated.”
Soft, ethereal music began to play. Tang Danqing turned her back to the NPC and reassured her. “I forgot about this. You seem stressed, and you’ve got a lot on your mind. Don’t overthink things. Life’s getting better for us now, so just relax and enjoy your bath. I’ll be outside.”
Then she crab-walked out again.
As Shang You listened to the door click shut, her tangled thoughts about whether to refuse, bargain, or agree to trade something of equal value—all of them centered on the question of whether to give herself up—fell apart. She sank into even deeper confusion.
