Ch.53: Arrived at the final destination?!

What? This isn't arranged?! This is real?! Wen Jiexi thought dumbfoundedly. She wondered if maybe her luck has gone bad ever since her body improved. So far she has met a crazy pervert, a runaway thief, and now a group of robbers? Was it just her imagination or was the level of difficulty increasing? 

"Jiexi, there are two yellow missions! (1) stop the robbers and bring them to justice without suffering any heavy losses. The reward is three thousand points. (2) If no one is injured, five thousand points will be rewarded. The time limit for both is 20 minutes. Failure to complete is the same which is a deduction of two thousand points." Dango said. 

Three people, two of them with guns. No matter how fast she was, she could not outrun a bullet. Therefore, she must get rid of the guns in one fell swoop when the three robbers reconvened if she wanted to take them down. 

Can she do it this…all by herself? Wen Jiexi's eyes landed on the few pieces of glass beside her and a plan formed in her heart. 

Dango, help me accept the missions. Wen Jiexi lowered her eyes and slid a few of the glass fragments into her hands without anyone noticing while she watched the two robbers closely. 

When the ten-minute time limit the robber had laid out was up, the third robber appeared with the middle-aged man who was dragging a few big bags behind him. 

"Boss, I brought the money." The male's voice sounded pleased. There was over a hundred thousand worth of banknotes in the bags so of course he was happy. 

"Very good." The leader opened one bag slightly, saw the bag full of banknotes, and patted it with satisfaction.

"Sling the bags over your shoulders and let's go before the police arrive! Hey, whoever dares to call the police right now will die!" 

The two robbers turned around and picked up the bags while the leader pointed the gun at the crowd. The two men retreated and Wen Jiexi waited…until their line of sight left her. Then she rushed out like a leopard, 

"Y-you, what are you doing…" Shouted the man carrying the bag. 

"What's going on-" The leader turned around, gun drawn. At the same time, Wen Jiexi flicked her hand and a large piece of glass shot out at a speed that was invisible to the naked eye. The glass inserted directly into the nozzle of the gun. No matter how you looked at it, the gun was useless now because it couldn't fire. 

"Fu*k, damn it!" The leader was stunned for a few seconds but he reacted quickly and pulled out another gun on his waist. However, he didn't even touch it yet when a shadow charged at him, grabbed his arm, and slammed him over her shoulder. 

Bang! 

The man was thrown directly into the production crew and several of the men stepped forward immediately to restrain the man. 

"Fu*k, what the-!" One of the robbers with a bag slung over his shoulder loosened his grip on the bags in his hands to free up space for him to draw his gun. He didn't even care that his partner was stumbling in front of him unsteadily and started to pull the trigger when his gun was kicked out of his hands immediately by Wen Jiexi. The gun fell and slid on the floor for a few meters before being kicked even further away by a brave female employee. 

The man held his wrist and wailed miserably. However, in the next second, he was restrained by several people. His other hand had reached for his second gun earlier and was hit again by Wen Jiexi. Now two of his fingers were bent at an awkward angle and they were swelling….they seemed to be broken….

The last person didn't even try to take the bags with him or take out a gun as he ran towards the door. The other two were already captured, were they expecting him to rescue them and then escape? How is that even possible. It's better to save himself! 

Unfortunately, Wen Jiexi would not let him succeed. She kicked a bag of money, hard, towards his direction and the bag hit the man's upper body like a cannonball. He flew into the air and then crashed into the floor with a bang. 

Production crew: Oof, that's gotta hurt…

Bank employee: So cool!!!

After a while, the police came and arrested the three men before taking them away. The people from the production crew stepped forward to explain everything while Wen Jiexi was stopped by the middle-aged man who was coerced into getting the money for the robbers just now. 

"Miss, thank you so much for your help. I am the manager of this bank and if it weren't for you, we would've suffered a heavy loss. I probably can't keep this position anymore, but if you don't mind, please accept our meager thanks." The middle-aged man had panicked during the robbery, but it wasn't his fault as not everyone could keep calm when being held at gunpoint. It was already considered lucky if this event doesn't leave a psychological scar on him. 

"This…" Wen Jiexi was a little embarrassed but the manager kept insisting, 

"I know you are afraid that some people might say unsavory things if you accept the money, but don't worry, you can keep this legally. We will ask the police to help us later to verify the authenticity of this transaction." After saying so, he placed the red envelope into her hands, and then as if she was afraid Wen Jiexi would return it, bowed deeply, and then walked away quickly. 

Wen Jiexi felt troubled as she held the red envelope that was not at all thin to the touch. Should she hand it over to the production crew or should she discuss it with them after they give her the reward? Ah, such a hard decision to make! 

"Accept it, you deserve it." The woman in charge of this checkpoint walked over to Wen Jiexi's side and patted her on the shoulder. 

"Huh? Oh, are you guys finished over there?" Wen Jiexi looked at the door where several policemen were still conversing with one another. 

"Yup, I had to waste so much breath before those idiots finally let us go." The woman scratched her head and then handed an envelope to Wen Jiexi. 

"This is your reward, go to the next checkpoint." 

"Ah….yes! Thank you!" Wen Jiexi quickly thanked her and accepted the envelope, then bowed to everyone and ran out the door. However, she stopped running after only a few steps.

"Uhh, where to next?" 

The only clues that were left were the tiny figures depicted on the phone charms. However, Wen Jiexi felt vexed as she had no idea where to go and could only stop running as she walked around aimlessly. She walked into a few shops that seemed like a possible clue but found no one from the production crew in there. The time was getting closer and closer to five o'clock and so she had no choice but to look blankly at her map to find her goal. 

Ahhhh, really, just where are they! Wen Jiexi cried inwardly in frustration and then thought about going back to Wen Ting and the others when her eyes landed on a few people passing by who were holding posters, autographs, etc. She raised her brows and walked towards them. At that moment, two girls passed by, 

"We were correct in coming here today!" 

"Yeah, we bought so many cool things from the Film Expo today!" 

"I saved up three months' worth of money by skimping out on groceries just so I could buy this poster signed personally by Film Princess Su. Hehe, I'm going to hang this on my wall immediately when I get home!" 

Film Expo? Wen Jiexi took out the two phones and looked at the two figures depicted on the phone charms. A place with lots of different professions, no, that's not correct, maybe some sort of role? The woman with the crown, maybe she isn't a real queen but is playing some kind of Empress role? And the woman holding the papers might be holding a script or something. Could it be that this is a clue pointing to the aforementioned Film Expo? 

Wen Jiexi thought about it and decided this idea was reasonable. She flowed the flow of people upstream and then ten minutes later she walked to the front of an indoor plaza with posters pasted all over the entrance. There were many products of different celebrities being sold, most of the products of Su Chenyu. There were posters of Su Chenyu dressed in palace costumes, modern costumes, and even a celestial fairy costume. It was a dazzling display and waves of people crowded in the area. This should be the place, but how can she get in? 

Just as Wen Jiexi was about to charge into the crowd and start her search for a person among the vast ocean of people, a person grabbed her arm. 

"Aiya, why are you rushing in for? There are tons of people desperately trying to get inside right now so if you try to get in, you'll be unable to come back out, you know?" 

"Uh…" Wen Jiexi looked blankly at the man and the group of people behind him who smiled back at her. She never expected the production crew to actually be waiting outside for her. She thought they would make it difficult by forcing her to 'kill' her way into it and those without 'strength' would be unable to succeed such a feat. It would be like a weak girl rushing into the battle with a bunch of aunties during a special supermarket sale. Although Wen Jiexi looks weak but is actually strong, even she cannot win against a tide of desperate people. A crowd full of obsessed fans could only be described in one word: frightening. 

"We're not that cruel." The man chuckled and patted Wen Jiexi on the back. Then like a strange uncle on the streets abducting a little girl, he led Wen Jiexi to a small side door next to him. When the door opened, Wen Jiexi could hear the dim buzz of voices from inside, and not far away she could see a stage. The voices were coming from the front of the stage and it seemed this door led to the backstage. 

"I have the tokens right here, what do I need to do?" Wen Jiexi took out the phones and asked. 

"We have a very simple task for you. Inside you will find that this stage is actually set up for anyone to use as a place to take a special set of photos. You will also be taking photos, but not on the stage, of course. Also there are all kinds of costumes for you to pick from as well. All you have to do is to change into two different sets of clothing and take a set of photos for each costume you choose." The man then opened another door and inside were hundreds of different types of clothing. Many staff members picked clothes up from the floor or put them back on the shelf after picking them up from the fitting room. They seemed to be helping others pick out their costumes as well. When the door opened, a few sets of eyes glanced their way before turning to leave. 

"Do I start now?" Wen Jiexi asked. It was only changing clothes and taking a picture, should be easy enough. 

"Of course. Please come over here and draw a lot." The man took out a big box with a lot of paper slips in it. Exactly how many slips were in there Wen Jiexi didn't know but she praised the hard-working person who prepared all this inside her heart. 

She drew one at random and opened the slip…Sailor uniform??? It seems she has picked a very common costume from a certain country? However, if she remembers correctly, this was only worn by high schoolers in that country? Would an adult like her actually have to wear this? 

"Come, come, put this on." A staff member immediately took out a pink sailor uniform and walked over. The leading man grabbed it and handed it to Wen Jiexi. 

"Can I not wear that?" Wen Jiexi whispered with a mortified expression. This is just too childish! 

"No can do." 

"Then…at least no pink…." Wen Jiexi tried to bargain. 

"Sorry, it can't be helped." The man smiled, but Wen Jiexi felt that the smile was evil. How hateful! 

Wen Jiexi looked at the clothes as an internal battle occurred inside of her when the man spoke again, 

"You only have ten minutes to take your pictures, you know?" 

Shuaa…..

Wen Jiexi picked up the clothes and then rushed into the fitting room as she cried without tears. 

This, this, this…do I really have to wear this? I feel like I'll lose my integrity if I put this on. 

"Three minutes have already passed~" 

Hearing this, Wne Jeixi could only swallow her tears and put on the costume. 

Five minutes passed on the stopwatch and the man though the girl was going to give up. He was about to tell the photographer beside him to forget it when….the curtain opened. 

The girl walked out in the pink sailor uniform. The uniform added a tender and adorable aura to her already beautiful features. She was pulling down her skirt with one hand, as if she was trying to cover up her long and fair legs as much as possible. Her teeth were biting her lower lip lightly and her eyes flashed an aggrieved look. She looked both pitiful and innocent at the same time. 

"Omg! Too awesome!" The photographer exclaimed. The photographer was dragged over here at the last minute and was rather impatient as he waited, but forced himself to stay to give the company some face. If he could, he would've left to return to his job as soon as possible but when he saw Wen Jiexi his eyes lit up. The camera started flashing and clicking when suddenly he stopped and looked down with a little disappointed in his voice, 

"Ah…I used up all my film." 

The photographer's disappointed words were music to Wen Jiexi's ears and she quickly pulled the curtain over her so that her entire body was covered except for her face. 

"Then…can we move on to the next one?" 

"Of course." The man walked over with the lottery box again. Wen Jiexi reached inside, pinched a slip, read the words inside….maid outfit?!

Twenty minutes later, Wen Jiexi came out with a hollow expression on her face and received her rewards. She closed the door behind her while the man in charge of the checkpoint looked at the photos that Wen Jiexi also had signed with satisfaction. Then he shouted at the sky, 

"Wahahahaha! I am so clever! If this girl ends up a big hit one day, who knows how much these pictures will sell for! Ahahahahaha~!" 

One can imagine that these photos would be sold out immediately that even the negatives would be sold at a high price. As for what will happen to these photos or what these photos will be used for if it landed in the hands of certain people…well, it's best not to think about it! 

It took Wen Jiexi ten minutes to return to Wen Ting and the others. For them, business was booming. The line hadn't shortened at all but increased instead! By now, Wen Ting had changed to her other hand to draw and Chu Heling had long changed from standing to sitting. Other than spraying the protective film over the drawings, Huo Lin'er received so much money that her hands have gotten weak. She threw all the money into the cardboard box and then gave up reorganizing it after a while. 

She came over to Huo Lin'er and sat down quietly. Huo Lin'er had thought that some pervert had sat down behind them when she turned around to see a Wen Jiexi who wore an expression that seemed to say, 'I have nothing left to live for.' Huo Lin'er could practically see two ghost flames dancing beside Wen Jiexi. She cried out in fright, 

"Wha! " 

"What happened?!" Wen Ting was shocked by Huo Lin'er's scream and her hands shook as well. Formerly, her hands were quick to recover, or else the drawing would've been ruined. 

"Oh, it's just Jiexi….what are you doing…"

The Chu Heling who was sitting down also turned to look at Wen Jiexi with a face full of concern. 

Wen Jiexi put her elbows on her thighs and then supported her chin with both hands as she spoke quietly with a blank expression, 

"I'm reevaluating my life choices…."

Huo Lin'er: ? ? ?

Wen Ting: Did she turn into an idiot?

Chu Heling: Just what happened to her when she passed through the checkpoints?

Seeing that Wen Jiexi had returned, Chu Heling stood up and looked at the people in line apologetically.

"Sorry everyone, we are out of time and we must be leaving now. I am sorry for letting you all wait in line for so long. Please leave your name and address, I will compensate with an image and small gift for you when the show is finished. I will not let you wait in vain." 

Those in line were all loyal fans of Chu Heling and so did not cause any trouble after hearing Chu Heling's words. Besides, Chu Heling said she would reimburse them with small gifts! 

The fans shouted cheers of 'good luck!' and then reluctantly left after leaving their contact information. 

"Ahhhh, my legs are asleep." Wen Ting immediately jumped up after the crowd left but that single action caused her to almost fall to the greyhound. Thankfully, Wen Jieci was able to support her in time, or else she would've fallen in dog sh*t. 

Compared to Wen Ting, Chu Heling and Huo Lin'er got up slowly and moved their numb bodies little by little. 

Five minutes of stretching exercises later, Wen Ting approached Wen Jiexi. 

"How was it, how was it? Did you get the passcodes? " 

"Yeah." Wen Jiexi took out the notebook where she recorded the eight numbers. 

Pet Shop: 3

Hot Pot: 6 

Tiny woman with crown: 9 

Bank: 8 

Bank: 8

Bookstore: 2

Jewelry store: 5

Tiny woman holding paper: 7

"So, how are we going to figure out the passcodes?" Wen Jiexi already felt exhausted beyond belief from getting the numbers. Both her mental strength and physical stamina have been depleted. Even her integrity has fallen into a pit never to be seen again. She was in no mood to use her brain right now. 

Chu Heling could see the gray aura around Wen Jiexi and dragged the cardboard box in front of Wen Jiexi. 

"Jiexi, you can count the money first." 

"Ok." Wen Jiexi nodded obediently and looked down at the box. Even she felt a little shocked at the sight. The money was all banknotes and filled up at least one-third of the box. Just how much money was this? She drooled a little at the sight….oh, that's right, she had also gotten three envelopes and a big red envelope as well. 

"Huh? Jiexi, you even got envelopes? Were the checkpoints divided into parts again?" Huo Lin'er asked. 

"Don't even ask, I don't want to talk about it…." Wen Jiexi said, rubbing her forehead. Thinking about how one of them was earned from her selling her integrity, Wen Jiexi felt like vomiting blood. 

"What about this red one?" Seeing Wen Jiexi's reluctance, Wen Ting pointed at the red one. The red envelope didn't look like it was prepared by the production crew. 

"Oh, I got this one at the bank checkpoint. I just happened to get caught up in a robbery and then subdued the robbers. The bank manager forced this reward onto me as thanks." After Wen Jiexi finished speaking, she saw the other three staring at her with their mouths hanging open. 

"Are you sure the production crew wasn't just messing with you again?" Wen Ting asked hesitantly. 

"If the production crew can get real guns and are able to mobilize the police as well as….I don't think it was part of the show." Wen Jiexi tilted her head helplessly. 

"That's true. Either way, hehe, what a harvest!" Wen Ting clapped her hands excitedly.

"We should probably unlock these first." Wen Jiexi said helplessly and placed the two phones into Wen Ting's hands. 

"Alright, alright."

Wen Jiexi started to sort out the banknotes and she had to admit, the harvest really was amazing. There were over 12,000 yuan in the box. Just how many drawings were made? No wonder they were so excited. 

There was a thousand yuan in each of the six envelopes, for a total of 6,000 yuan. And the red envelope the bank manager gave her had 10,000 yuan in it. A really generous amount! 

Add on the previous income, there was a total of about 35,000 yuan with about 9,000 yuan per person if split four ways. For them to earn this much in one day was not bad at all and could even cause other people to feel rather envious of them. 

"Ahhh! Jiexi! We unlocked it!" Wen Ting shouted. Wen Jiexi turned her head and saw the two mobile phones in Chu Heling's hands. There were no apps inside but there was an image, 

An image of a luxurious building with a striking, "TBSH' on it. Seemed like an acronym for something. 

"Some kind of logo?" Wen Jiexi looked up and asked. 

"This is a fairly well-known hotel that is not too far away from us. I used to stay there all the time when I visited this area. Their service is pretty good." Huo Lin'er explained. 

"So it's a hotel. I thought the mysterious guest stars would hide in some secret base or something. It took a lot of effort to find them, but it turned out it was just a hotel!!" Wen Ting sighed. They had spent so much energy and effort to get these numbers only to be informed that the guest stars were hiding in such an easy-to-find location in the first place. 

Well…they couldn't exactly say they didn't expect this. All that 'the safest area is the most dangerous place' was just a load of crap. 

"Does Lin'er know where this hotel is?" Chu Heling asked. 

"En, it's not far from here, actually. I think about five minutes away." Huo Lin'er nodded.

"Then let's go. It's almost six and it will be dark soon. There will be more pedestrians on the streets as night falls and by then we may not be able to escape the crowd." Chu Heling looked at the increasing crowd around them and the many people stopping just to stare at them. If they didn't go now, they would be surrounded sooner or later. 

"Let's go." Wen Ting put the paper and pencils into the bag and then grabbed her stool. 

Huo Lin'er carried the box and then under her direction, everyone followed her to their destination. 

At the destination, the production crew waited for them. This large group of people aroused the attention of many guests but only for a few seconds before they looked away. However, those people didn't know that hiding inside that group of people was the nation's Goddess and a female President that frequented many domestic newspapers and magazines. 

Of course, there were a bunch of agents and assistants that also surrounded the two women so they were practically hidden in the vrows. Many of them were watching a bunch of screens. Those screens were live broadcasts that followed each artist's coming and going. On one screen, they saw four people make their way over to the production crew's location, 

"Aiya~ We've been found." Xue Molin sighed. 

"Sister, why didn't you tell me you were one of the mysterious guest stars?" Li Lingmeng asked one of the two women, 

"I got dragged into this." The woman glanced at Li Lingmeng. 

"They're here." The other woman who sat lazily to the side said lightly and everyone's gazes turned toward the door as they waited for the approaching players to appear.