Chapter 1 Here

"Where is this..."

Mingmei opened her eyes and looked up at the dark sky. The light from the street lamp above her head made her feel dizzy.

Just then, a cold snowflake fell into her eye, and the icy stimulation made Mingmei instantly close her eyes and lower her head. When she opened her eyes again, Mingmei saw thin layers of fine snow falling on the ground. There was also an insulated bag beside her feet.

"This is Gu Lan Star."

Mu Chen's voice came from behind Mingmei. Mingmei turned her head to look at Mu Chen, and before she could speak, she heard him say, "What kind of boxed lunches do you sell?"

Mu Chen hadn't spoken for a long time, and his words instantly brought Mingmei back to her senses.

In this round, she had once again become a boxed lunch vendor.

At this moment, there was a line of words pasted on the outside of the huge insulated bag at her feet—"Boxed Lunch Set Meal."

Mingmei: …

No matter how she looked at it, it still seemed very casual.

So casual that she had to wonder if she had really become a boxed lunch vendor again.

"Roujiamo set meal." (meat sandwich)

Mingmei replied according to the content that popped up in the system backend.

As she spoke, she browsed through the boxed lunches being sold this time.

[High-quality Roujiamo + pure water set meal, fills you up and satisfies your hunger, one meal lasts three days. 5 points/serving;

Ordinary Roujiamo (the pinnacle of technological tricks) + drinking water set meal, one meal lasts one day, 1 point/serving.]

Regarding this, Mingmei looked at the system introduction, her head full of questions.

Was the boxed lunch this bad this time?

Wasn't it just a filling meal?

Could this even sell?

What made Mingmei speechless was that the following was also noted below these boxed lunches: If the boxed lunch vendor ate the boxed lunch, points would also be deducted, and the effect would be halved.

Mingmei: Why?!

"Two servings of high-quality roujiamo." Mu Chen chuckled. After seeing Mingmei's dazed expression and then the expression of doubting her life, he guessed what she was surprised about, probably the efficacy of this boxed lunch, right?

"This ordinary one looks more cost-effective." When Mingmei was helping Mu Chen take out the high-quality roujiamo and a bottle of pure water, she also wanted to persuade Mu Chen to save a little.

She still remembered why they entered this game.

[We are very sorry, because there are still many freshmen who have not arrived, the selection of this dormitory cannot start immediately, so please play another game and wait for the students behind.]

Thinking about this reason, Mingmei and the others felt like ten thousand horses were galloping in their hearts _(：3」∠)_

"Take a look at that water." Mu Chen took the roujiamo and pure water that Mingmei handed over. Mingmei listened to him and looked down at the drinking water equipped with the ordinary boxed lunch again. For a time, the expression on her face was extremely wonderful.

Seeing the water that looked a little turbid and yellow, Mingmei immediately said, "No way? Can this be used as drinking water?"

"It can indeed be drunk, it just won't kill you." Mu Chen leaned against the steel street lamp on the side of the road, eating roujiamo. The dim yellow street lamp also gave the goose-feather snow that was falling some dark yellow color.

While Mingmei was wondering about the background of this game, Mu Chen had already finished a roujiamo and drank half a bottle of pure, transparent pure water in one breath, and said, "The background of this game is probably the last scene of Gu Lan Star."

"Is it this time?"

Mingmei was stunned. The huge shadow cast by the airship occasionally flying overhead completely enveloped her and Mu Chen.

"Yes, the history of Gu Lan Star. Mingmei, have you read it?"

"I've read it. The water resource war."

This was the history of Gu Lan Star before it was ravaged by space pirates and insectoids.

Because the pollution of water resources was serious, the focus of the struggles between countries was all on water resources.

Mingmei lowered her eyes and looked at the insulated bag at her feet, and then she understood who the protagonist in this boxed lunch was this time.

"In this round, do you have any goals?" Mingmei whispered to Mu Chen. Becoming a hot character selling boxed lunches, Mingmei understood that her mission was different from others.

"Repel the space pirates and safely evacuate Gu Lan Star."

After Mu Chen said in a low voice, Mingmei looked up at the other party's bottomless eyes. Seeing that Mu Chen then nodded slightly, as if acquiescing to Mingmei's guess, Mingmei's lips wriggled for a long time, and finally turned into a sigh.

[So, even Uncle defaulted that Gu Lan Star would eventually be abandoned when he made the game?]

Mu Chen still had his own character affairs to do, and after exchanging addresses and contact information with Mingmei, he left. Mingmei stood there and couldn't help but ask the question in her heart.

[Host, with the original form of Gu Lan Star, being ravaged like that, even if it was not invaded and seized by the insectoids, relying on the self-purification function of Gu Lan Star, it would take thousands of years of purification to restore the appearance that Gu Lan Star humans had ravaged. Moreover, the technology of Gu Lan Star at that time could not compete with the insectoids at all.]

Gui Gui stated the facts, with a hint of spicy irony in his tone. Mingmei didn't say much after hearing it.

Speaking of which, what the people of Gu Lan Star had done in the past was really terrible.

[The main reason why Gu Lan Star was able to preserve a part of humanity was also because the space pirates caught them at that time and prepared to sell them as slaves on the black market. Otherwise, they would basically not be able to escape when the insectoids invaded.]

As an artificial intelligence, Gui Gui's knowledge reserve was definitely more than Mingmei knew. Although Mingmei had also browsed the history of Gu Lan Star, it was not so detailed.

"So, what time is it now?" Mingmei looked at the electronic watch on her wrist, then carried the insulated bag on her back and prepared to leave, returning to the residential address set in this game.

[One month before the space pirates invaded, and one and a half months before the insectoids come.]

Gui Gui gave Mingmei the exact time.

"Do other players know?"

[It depends on their historical reserve~] Gui Gui spread his hands, indicating that this game did not suppress everyone's knowledge they usually learned, if you had thoroughly read this period of history before entering the game, then there would be absolutely no problem!

In response, Mingmei just wanted to ask, besides the Hua Lan Star people, who else could bother to read this period of history?

…

"Huh! Why is the water in this place this color?"

Lu Xiaoyao, who had transmigrated into a staff member serving food in the community cafeteria, spent the whole day at this window serving food to the people coming and going. When a large plate of food was gone, the kitchen immediately brought it up. She didn't even have a chance to catch her breath, let alone drink water. She was busy until late at night before she took off her apron and prepared to return to her residence according to her identity role with the food prepared by the kitchen.

Before leaving, someone shouted to her to remember to get a bottle of hot water to drink back.

However, who would have thought that the color of the hot water that came out was actually yellow?

Her exclamation also attracted other staff members who had not yet left.

"What's wrong?" Several NPCs in the kitchen thought that something had happened to Lu Xiaoyao, and hurried forward.

"This water is yellow!"

Seeing Lu Xiaoyao's fussing, the others were not surprised, and some even showed a hint of contempt towards her, saying, "What's wrong? Is this yellow surprising?"

"Isn't it..."

"You wouldn't want to say that it's not brown, would you?" Someone preemptively interrupted Lu Xiaoyao's unfinished sentence and changed it to this sentence.

Lu Xiaoyao: ???

Drinking water is also brown?

Fat house happy water?

"Hey, small places are just from small places, I'm afraid I haven't seen such clear water~"

Lu Xiaoyao's eyes widened suddenly when she heard this.

Are you kidding me?

It's already this color, how dare you tell me that your water is clear?

Being surrounded by a group of aunties watching her like a monkey, Lu Xiaoyao stopped lingering, smiled awkwardly, filled half a pot of hot water, and hurried away from this place with the boxed lunch.

Leaving behind a burst of chatting centered on her.

After walking a long way out of the community cafeteria, Lu Xiaoyao took a deep breath of the cold air, and then rarely relaxed herself, and began to carefully read the character information and game background that she had not carefully read because she was busy as soon as she entered the game.

Seeing that Gu Lan Star was causing the tension of the situation in various countries because of water resources at this time, Lu Xiaoyao also smiled twice.

"Such a big planet, there are so many countries?"

For Lu Xiaoyao, who grew up in the interstellar, it was not the first time to understand that there were many independent regimes on Gu Lan Star before, but every time she saw it, she still felt fresh.

And this water resource competition made her sneer.

"They are all on the same planet, and this water is constantly circulating, so some countries really don't have any brains, right?"

After Lu Xiaoyao complained about the origin story of the water resource war on Gu Lan Star, she had already returned to her residence, a 40-square-meter single apartment.

At present, because the water resources of the entire Gu Lan Star are tight, as a populous country, Country H, the food and water sources here are uniformly distributed by the top, community canteens, three meals a day for each person, and a water bottle that Lu Xiaoyao just brought back, one person is limited to carry a bottle of that size of drinking hot water every day.

After taking a bite of the food, Lu Xiaoyao's face changed immediately.

The unspeakable strange smell made her unable to hold back and vomited it out in the next second.

"This soup, won't it be not only soy sauce, but also because of the water?" Lu Xiaoyao realized that even her drinking water was like this, so what kind of water could she use for the food she brought back?

Many players who entered this game were facing the same problem as Lu Xiaoyao.

This time, Hu Yue's role was actually an air force pilot. Hu Yue still felt very novel to drive this almost antique-level thing. After training with other NPCs in the game for a long time in the afternoon, she listened to the squad leader talking about the international situation that she had never heard of before before dinner.

Good guy, that's more complicated than the one between the Empire and the Federation!

As a result, Hu Yue also had a hard time at dinner.

"Why is this rice this color?"

Hu Yue looked at the rice that was yellow and gray. If it weren't for the shape of the rice being similar to the rice she usually ate in the Hua Lan Star restaurant, she would have suspected that this was some extinct staple food of Gu Lan Star!

"It's just rice." The comrade-in-arms on the opposite side stared at Hu Yue suspiciously, not understanding what she was surprised about.

"Why is it this color? Isn't rice white?"

It would have been better if Hu Yue hadn't asked. After asking this, her comrade-in-arms directly said unhappily: "You wouldn't want to say that you cook rice with pure water, would you? How dare you say such a luxury? We usually have the best treatment to be able to drink pure water, how can you be more and more outrageous?"

Hu Yue: ???

"Then, then you can't use this water, right? This water can..."

"I've been drinking this kind of water since I was a child, is there any problem?"

A trace of anger flashed in the eyes of that comrade-in-arms. Hu Yue was dumbfounded when she saw this, and didn't say anything else, just took a bite of rice, which was so unpalatable that it almost made her vomit and angered everyone.

Hu Yue quickly pulled out the game background and browsed it.

Originally, she didn't feel anything when she heard everyone shouting the slogan "Fight for water" during the day.

After all, their pilots seemed to have much better treatment than others, and they also drank pure water during the day. She didn't realize the seriousness of the slogan "Fight for water" for a while.

Now, listening to the NPC with a slightly angry tone and the rice in the cafeteria, Hu Yue had to re-read the game background explained in the character...

In the same community single apartment as Lu Xiaoyao,

Mingmei opened the faucet and planned to wash her face. She fell silent looking at the tap water that was less than half a finger thick and with reddish rust color.

[Host, save water, turn off the faucet when you don't need it.]

Gui Gui reminded, Mingmei immediately turned off the faucet, and then stood in front of the sink in a daze.

"Just now, was that normal?" Mingmei was a little suspicious of life.

Was that tap water?

Why did it look like a faucet that hadn't been used for a long time, and suddenly the dirty water with rust marks rushed out.

[Yes, the drinking water resources here are all under control, you must go to the designated place to fetch water, and the water that is usually connected to the residences is domestic water.]

"No, this domestic water?"

Mingmei couldn't see whether this water could wash her face or wash her hair. With that color, wouldn't it get dirtier and dirtier?

Just as Mingmei was dazed in front of the bathroom sink, her door was knocked again. Mingmei immediately went to the door and saw Mu Chen through the peephole, and then opened the door.

"Why are you here?"

When Mingmei asked, her eyes fell on something that Mu Chen was holding in a plastic bag.

"A simple water purification device." After Mu Chen came back, he noticed the water problem here. Thinking of Mingmei, he used the resources at hand to make a simple water purification device.

"Oh my god! How did you know I needed it?" Mingmei took it over in surprise, looking at the somewhat bulky, hourglass-shaped water purification device, and the materials inside were also complete.

Because the water resource war had been going on for many years at this time, this simple device seemed simple, but these purification materials had been uniformly collected and managed by the top for a long time. It was enough to show his intentions that Mu Chen could get these in a short time.

"I saw the water and knew you needed it."

Mu Chen did not boast about how he got it, but showed a gentle smile to Mingmei. Mingmei's heart trembled violently, her eyelashes trembled slightly, and she looked at the broken snow on his shoulders.

Under some strange impulse, she took two steps forward, very close to Mu Chen, stretched out her hand, and gently swept off the broken snow on the other's shoulders.

Just as she put down her arm, Mingmei suddenly felt her waist tighten.

She looked up and met the other's eyes. The two were so close at the moment that they could feel each other's breathing. Just a little more—

"Bah, bah, bah! I, Lu Xiaoyao, would jump down from here, I wouldn't eat these!"

At this moment, a door opening suddenly came from next door to Mingmei, and the sound of scolding directly broke the ambiguous atmosphere between the two...