Chapter 175: 175, New products in the palace!

The residents within the walls seemed unaware of the news that the experimental subject had vanished from Wall 113. The people on the streets went about their routines just as they always had—off to work, off to buy groceries, off to dance in the square.

In the evening, Ren Xiaosu had already assigned tasks to Wang Fugui and the others. But to his surprise, a black off-road vehicle had stopped at the door early in the morning. Two young men stepped out and said to Ren Xiaosu, “We’re here to take the goods. Yang Xiaojin said he’d arrange it with you.”

The goods they spoke of were likely Dong Funa. Ren Xiaosu did not question their identities, for this matter was known only to him and Yang Xiaojin.

He asked curiously, “Are you companions of Yang Xiaojin and Luo Xinyu?”

The two young men exchanged glances and laughed, “We’re not worthy of such a title. You needn’t ask further.”

What in the world? Ren Xiaosu wondered about the structure of Yang Xiaojin’s organization—it seemed to have layers upon layers.

Time had not yet come. Ren Xiaosu lingered, waiting for the palace to announce the task’s completion. He glanced at his watch; it was still half an hour short of seven days.

He turned to the two young men and said, “You can’t take her yet. Wait a while longer.”

The two young men frowned, “Why wait? Do you have something important to attend to?”

Ren Xiaosu thought, *I can’t tell them it’s because the task isn’t finished.* He paused, then said, “Yes, it’s important. Wait in the backyard. I have more to say to her.”

Within five minutes, the two young men found Dong Funa in the backyard, her swelling somewhat reduced, sitting obediently on a small stool. Opposite her, Ren Xiaosu spoke earnestly, “Believe you’ve come to recognize your mistakes through labor. Today, you’ll be handed over. I hope you’ll live well there, become someone who contributes to society, a transcendent figure who…”

This exchange took over half an hour…

The two youths from the mob were stunned. *This is what you call waiting a while?!*

They had assumed Ren Xiaosu might say a few words, but never imagined he could drone on for so long.

What atrocities had Dong Funa committed to warrant such prolonged ideological education?

As Dong Funa’s expression gradually crumbled, Ren Xiaosu finally heard the palace announce, “Side quest completed. New item unlocked in the vending machine!”

Relieved, Ren Xiaosu finally managed to delay until this moment. Seeing him stop at last, Dong Funa nearly wept with joy. She had doubted Chen Wudi’s claim that Ren Xiaosu was his master, but now she realized he was truly as loquacious as Tang Sanzang!

Ren Xiaosu beamed and said to the two young men, “Alright, take her away.”

The two youths, seeing Dong Funa’s eager face, thought perhaps no prior persuasion was needed. They felt that simply removing her from Ren Xiaosu’s side would be enough to move her…

After Dong Funa was taken away, Ren Xiaosu finally had a chance to inspect the vending machine inside the palace. Through its transparent window, he noticed a new compartment had appeared.

He peered at the item inside, puzzled. It looked like a deck of cards?

After all that effort, you give me a deck of cards? Am I supposed to play dou dizhu with Wang Fugui, Yan Liuyuan, and the others?

Poker was still a popular pastime in this era, so Ren Xiaosu’s confusion deepened upon seeing the new item.

Beneath the compartment, an inscription read: *Explosive Poker!*

He inserted a thank-you coin. To his dismay, the machine dispensed only a single three of clubs.

Wait, this card has no special features. What’s explosive about it? And why sell one card per thank-you coin? Who sells cards individually?

Unwilling to accept this, Ren Xiaosu inserted another coin. This time, a five of diamonds emerged. He stared at the machine in shock.

As if struck by an idea, he rapidly fed in over ten thank-you coins. This time, more cards spilled out.

Glancing at the vending machine’s label—*Explosive Poker*—and then at the four threes in his hand, Ren Xiaosu fell into contemplation…

…

The next day, Ren Xiaosu and Wang Fugui set out separately. Wall 109 had two gates—one to the east, one to the west.

Wall 113 lay northeast of Wall 109, so if the experimental subject arrived, they would reach the eastern gate first. Ren Xiaosu had Wang Fugui rent a courtyard near the western gate; they would move in that night.

This way, if anything went wrong, they could flee through the western gate.

Then came the procurement of supplies.

Knowing disaster loomed, Ren Xiaosu refused to flee in panic as before. This time, every necessary item had to be secured.

But first, they needed… cash.

In truth, no one had much money. The black medicine had only just begun selling, and Wang’s anti-inflammatory pills hadn’t been fully converted to cash. Ren Xiaosu deemed the most urgent task to be exchanging gold.

He had hesitated before, fearing that exchanging gold would expose his identity and draw the Order Bureau’s scrutiny. What if Luo Lan suspected him?

But now, with his departure imminent, what was there to fear?

Moreover, Xu Xianchu had already made an appearance in the walls. Was it not natural for him to convert gold in Wall 109?

In a single day, Ren Xiaosu, wearing a duck-tongued cap, visited over ten goldsmiths. At each, he sold small gold bars of about one hundred grams, worth over forty thousand yuan at the walls’ gold rate.

Though selling one hundred grams of gold wouldn’t raise alarms, unofficial melted bars were suspicious. Ordinary people rarely melted gold bars to sell; they typically sold jewelry.

But Ren Xiaosu had no choice. If he didn’t melt them into bars, the oxidized gold jewelry would draw even more attention.

So as he left each shop, some goldsmiths promptly reported him to the Order Bureau. At the last shop, the owner hesitated, staring at the gold bar, “You… are Xu Xianchu?!”

Ren Xiaosu’s face paled, “How do you know?!”

He spun around and fled, his panic evident…

…

Thanks to Xiang Kaitai for becoming the book’s new ally!

Recommend friend Xiao Mu’s book, *I Don’t Want to Go 55 Open*, not Xiao Mu’s lol book. It’s decent, with an interesting premise—a deceased streamer reborn to redeem regrets… Already fifty thousand words. Interested readers can search for it.