Click Please login to purchase points
Chapter 83: The Awakening of Abandoning the Flotation Device
“Tomato hot pot base, um, lettuce, potato slices, tofu skin, bean sprouts…”
Listening to Sumu report the cheap vegetarian dishes to Ning Ling, Lu Shan initially planned to say that she didn’t need to worry about her, but Sumu’s next line left her stunned.
“Don’t want these few; get one of everything else.”
Sumu casually handed the menu to Ning Ling, who looked at her with suspicion and asked,
“Do you want one of all the drinks too?”
“Uh, let’s skip that; just get a bottle of cola.”
When Sumu sat back down across from Lu Shan, the latter was already tearfully counting the coins in her wallet.
I’m sorry, Mother, I was robbed.
The key point is that she had already agreed to Sumu, and there was no chance to back out now.
She could only comfort herself internally, saying she would soon learn “Cross-Dressing Study,” and in the future, she would be able to hold her head high and make waves online.
It’s all just tuition.
Does Lu Shan’s living allowance cover much?
It’s okay, just barely enough to eat in City B; after all, as a C-level officer in the Monster Association, she’s quite cute even without any cosmetics.
But as an officer, doesn’t that mean there’s no money to be had?
The Monster Association is actually quite wealthy, after all, with Edema at the helm; even if it wanted to be poor, it wouldn’t have the chance. But that doesn’t mean that the officers in the Monster Association can save money.
On the contrary, since Edema became president, the Monster Association not only doesn’t pay its members’ salaries but instead demands dues.
Officers at most get exempted from dues, otherwise, Lu Shan’s situation would definitely worsen.
Edema herself is unaware of this; she simply delegates management responsibilities to her subordinates, and those guys are all skilled at siphoning off the people’s funds.
Won’t raising dues lead to protests and withdrawals from members?
Laughable, there are plenty of monsters who want the Monster Association’s protection; if you don’t pay, there will be monsters willing to pay.
As a result, the management’s greedy bunch lowered the strength threshold for joining the Monster Association while raising the economic threshold, leading to a situation where the association was full of subpar members, unable to mount any effective attacks for a time.
The number of joining monsters has indeed increased, but the funds have been harvested again and again and spent on beautifying the facade to promote the association, even attracting monsters from other cities.
Recently, a particularly wealthy bunch joined together; they paid exorbitant dues and were directly assigned as officers.
But strangely, although this bunch never participates in attacks, they always appear in the meeting room during planning discussions, taking notes diligently, only to go to the bathroom afterwards.
Anyone can tell that the Combat Department has infiltrated.
But since it’s all gone to waste, there’s no chance to get worse; they might as well disband.
The capable monsters have either gone freelance or established various connections, making it no different whether they are in the Monster Association or not.
The powerless monsters huddle together for warmth, while the newly joined subpar members face exclusion, desperately trying to curry favor with the management, only to be drained of their value and then unceremoniously kicked out.
Now Edema has been defeated again; it seems the management is about to cause trouble again, and who knows how long this pathetic ragtag group can hold up.
Lu Shan has never participated in any association attacks, so she naturally hasn’t earned a dime, resulting in her savings amounting to just a thousand.
Of course, that thousand will soon disappear.
“Mi Xian, I heard your parents are really nice.”
Lu Shan blushed slightly and buried her head down.
“Anyway, I think they’re pretty good.”
After a moment, she added,
“Just call me Lu Shan for now; my parents don’t like monsters.”
Upon hearing this, Sumu clicked her tongue.
Didn’t I see you being pretty arrogant when you were scratching my monitor that day?
Weren’t you saying “I’m Mi Xian!”? Why are you going back to being the good girl Lu Shan now?
I won’t let you off the hook without emptying your wallet; I’ll write my name backwards!
“Okay, I need to clarify something; the so-called flotation device is not real parents; it’s just a concept you generate while interacting with others online…”
When you annoy others, your flotation device will be subject to very strong punishment, and in severe cases, its ashes might be brought out and scattered repeatedly.
But your parents at home won’t encounter any bad incidents because of it; what they are measuring is not your flotation device, but you—sitting in front of the screen.
“When the other side says ‘your horse is f****d,’ your mother cooking in the kitchen won’t collapse; when they say ‘I measure your horse,’ you won’t suddenly get an extra brother, you understand?”
Upon hearing this, Lu Shan nodded, somewhat understanding.
“So now you know why ‘Cross-Dressing Study’ starts with you abandoning the flotation device?”
“Because… a flotation device that has already been violated cannot be chosen again?”
Seeing Lu Shan tilt her head to answer, Sumu nodded appreciatively.
Though it was slightly off, she was getting the general idea.
Exactly! Those who have already awakened to the awareness of their violated flotation device cannot be harmed by those outdated insults online, and as a cross-dresser, the vast majority of what you face is similar remarks.
Clearly, Lu Shan did not possess such awareness and would frequently be hurt by insults, but she was also quite fierce when dishing out trash talk herself.
“As for the next part, um, let’s finish eating first.”
Looking at the table already filled to the brim, Sumu decided to show off.
Though Lu Shan still had many doubts, she could only accompany Sumu to eat a few bites.
As soon as she started eating, she felt something was off; the monster core within her trembled slightly.
“Senior, there’s a lot of magic power in this pot; we might be being watched, we can’t eat any more.”
Lu Shan began to pack her things to escape, but Sumu promptly held her back.
“Don’t be nervous; the owner of this hotpot restaurant uses magic power for cooking; it’s not what you think, and it actually tastes quite good. Just try it first.”
“Magic… cooking?”
Lu Shan hesitantly brought the spoon to her mouth, and an intense aroma instantly filled her entire mouth, making her feel unwittingly immersed in it.
“Senior, this is so delicious!”
“Told you it wasn’t wrong.”
Looking at the excited Lu Shan, Sumu sneered.
Hahaha, I hope you can still smile so brightly when you see the bill.
With that in mind, she quickly buried her head in her meal, worried that Lu Shan, once she realized the deliciousness, would compete with her for the food—
What a protective mouse.
While the two were feasting, Luo Jialan, who came to the hotpot restaurant at the same time every day, quickly noticed them in the private room.
Hey, who is that woman opposite you?
Luo Jialan instinctively quickened her pace, and after a few quick steps, she pushed open the door, making eye contact with Sumu, whose cheeks were stuffed full.
The situation was awkwardly tense.
“What are you doing here?”
As Sumu tried to swallow her food, her mind raced to think of an explanation.
Oh no, how am I going to explain this?
