131: A friendly neighbor, a reckless auntie

"Mental Toxin (Gold): After use, the player gains the ability to use Mental Toxin."

"Effect 1: Release a painful Mental Toxin, continuously causing mental torment, with a chance to make the opponent release a random skill."

"Effect 2: Release a paralyzing Mental Toxin, causing the opponent to lower their guard against oneself, with a small chance to prevent the opponent from releasing skills."

"Warning: Enemies 3 levels lower than the user cannot detect the poisoned state. Enemies 3 levels higher than the user will not be affected."

On the way here, Gu Qinghan almost entirely used the second effect of Mental Toxin.

It was precisely because of this that he was able to enter so smoothly.

"Is anyone home?"

A knock came from outside the door, and the voice sounded like a young man.

Gu Qinghan frowned slightly, thought for a moment, and then opened the door.

The person outside smiled brightly when he saw Gu Qinghan, and proactively extended his hand, saying:

"Hello, hello, I'm your neighbor, Kong Yan. I just moved in two days ago."

Gu Qinghan looked behind the other person and indeed saw an open door, so it seemed the other person wasn't lying.

"Hello, I'm Gu Qinghan."

Kong Yan looked at Gu Qinghan for a moment, then suddenly turned and ran back into his house, only to come back out a few seconds later, thudding down the hall.

He held a package and two cans of beer, and said to Gu Qinghan:

"This is a reward I got from killing monsters yesterday, a roasted chicken!

I heard you're a Summoner. How about we become friends, brother? We can help each other out if we run into trouble later."

Gu Qinghan subconsciously wanted to refuse, but seeing the other person's familiar demeanor, he thought he might be able to glean some useful information.

Thinking this, Gu Qinghan smiled and said:

"Alright, but I just arrived and haven't tidied up yet. Let's eat it tonight."

"Okay, it's only a few hours away anyway. Tonight, let's have a candlelight dinner, brother!"

"Haha."

Gu Qinghan exchanged a few pleasantries with the other person, and only closed the door after watching him return to his room.

He rubbed his chin, a thoughtful look in his eyes:

"This guy is a bit too enthusiastic.

However, outgoing people like him tend to know more things, which saves a lot of trouble."

He was also somewhat wary that the other person might have ill intentions, but with his current strength, even if the other person wanted to make a move against him, it certainly wouldn't be him who died.

Gu Qinghan suddenly remembered that he still needed to go to the supply distribution center to collect his food and water for the upcoming week.

He locked the door and hurried down the stairs.

Not long after he left, Kong Yan from across the hall slowly pushed open his door, looking in the direction Gu Qinghan had left, and muttered:

"This guy, he seems to be more than just a Summoner.

And, the effect of this Mental Toxin is a bit disgusting... I shouldn't have been discovered, right?"

At this moment, Kong Yan had completely shed his previous carefree, overly familiar demeanor, his eyes gleaming with calmness and intelligence.

However, he quickly shook his head, closed the door, and returned to his room, thinking to himself:

"No, if I had been discovered, it's impossible they would send someone of this strength to die.

I'll go get two more cans of beer, get him drunk tonight, and see if this guy will affect my upcoming plans."

... "Hello, I'm here to collect my supplies for the upcoming week."

Gu Qinghan handed over a small card he had received at the entrance earlier, which stated the quantity of supplies he could claim:

Thirty liters of water, ten catties of rice, and even seven eggs, two catties of fruit, and five catties of vegetables and meat.

The presence of vegetables, fruits, and even eggs was thanks to Professionals with special abilities.

This was a benefit that lone Professionals like Gu Qinghan couldn't experience; the saying "there is strength in numbers" was not empty talk.

Of course, more people didn't always mean only benefits; there would also be some unavoidable troubles.

The person responsible for distributing supplies was an auntie with a mole beside her mouth. She glanced at Gu Qinghan and grunted:

"Newcomer?"

"Yes, just arrived today."

The auntie looked at Gu Qinghan's dusty appearance and asked:

"So many things, you won't be able to eat them all if you take them at once, will you?

You can store them with me, take a little each day, and I only need to charge two catties of rice as a storage fee."

She said this very skillfully, indicating it wasn't her first time doing so.

Gu Qinghan frowned, pointed to a ring on his hand, and said:

"I have a storage ring, so storage isn't an issue. I don't need to store them."

This was an ordinary ring he had collected earlier, which just happened to resemble a storage ring, serving as a disguise for his storage ability.

When the auntie heard Gu Qinghan say this, her face immediately darkened.

However, her eyes suddenly darted around, and she said to Gu Qinghan:

"They've all gone to move supplies. Go in and get them yourself. The supplies inside are already portioned out. Just take what you need, come out, sign, and leave."

Gu Qinghan didn't think much of it and walked directly towards the room behind the auntie.

This was originally a large fruit and vegetable supermarket in the community, but it had now been converted into a supply distribution point, which had a certain pre-apocalyptic feel to it.

Gu Qinghan moved all the supplies he was supposed to collect in front of the auntie, preparing to have her confirm the quantity before putting them away.

However, at this moment, the auntie suddenly stood up, turned, and went into the room for a moment.

When she came out, she pointed at the ring on Gu Qinghan's hand and said:

"Did you steal something? Five catties of rice are missing!"

Gu Qinghan's expression changed. This old woman had been waiting for him here.

"I only took what I was supposed to take, and five catties of rice would be useless to me. I already knew the rules here when I came in."

However, the auntie completely ignored Gu Qinghan's explanation, merely looking at him with a sneer and saying:

"I've been in charge of things here for half a month, and I've seen many people like you.

Either leave five catties of rice and leave, and I'll pretend this never happened, or I'll call people to take you away and search you.

Choose for yourself, I won't make it difficult for you."

She sat casually on the stool, giving Gu Qinghan a mocking smile.

Gu Qinghan looked at her deeply. The other party was clearly trying to give him a hard time.

This move was undeniably insidious. Even if it was later found that he hadn't stolen anything, the auntie could simply dismiss it by saying she misremembered.

And as for himself, not only would he be searched, but it would also likely affect his future plans.

He took a deep breath, looked at the arrogant auntie, and said:

"Alright, I'll leave these five catties of rice. I hope you have the appetite to eat them."

"Who are you trying to scare? Do you have the guts to kill me now? My son is a squad leader here!"

The auntie retorted without showing weakness, but she only saw Gu Qinghan collecting his things and leaving.

Of course, Gu Qinghan left the five catties of rice.

The auntie looked around. The people who went to move supplies hadn't returned yet, so she directly put the five catties of rice into one of her storage rings.

However, Gu Qinghan, who was going downstairs, showed a cold smile.

When he went in earlier, the dazzling array of fruits and fresh vegetables inside had made him a little envious.

These things were undoubtedly precious, and Gu Qinghan even wanted to exchange all his supplies for fruit.

But now, it seemed he had a better option.

"Five catties of rice for a supermarket's fresh fruits and vegetables... it shouldn't be too much of a loss, right?

The extra amount will just be considered interest."