24. Departure, with a YoRHa female android as the reward.

Above the ruins, a blue iron-clad tricycle equipped with its own background music sped past.

Don't let the three wheels fool you; the vehicle moved with the velocity of a sports car in fifth gear, kicking up a cloud of dust in its wake. This, naturally, was "Emil's Shop."

Li Nuo and Qin Shou were crammed into the rear cargo rack. The current driver was Maljie, his hands gripping a set of handlebars identical to a bicycle's, his feet pumping pedals just like those on a tricycle. Yes, the vehicle had no throttle; its configuration was exactly that of a tricycle, including the handbrakes on the bars. The most bizarre part was that as long as the vehicle was in motion, a speaker mounted on the front would blast a tune—absurd, hilarious, eccentric, novelty, and yet, somehow, catchy.

"Hehehe~"

The laughter came from Li Nuo. He was currently wearing the [Emil's Mask] he had just acquired, making his voice sound muffled.

After laughing, Li Nuo remarked, "With this vehicle, a trip that would normally take an hour is cut down to about ten minutes. It speeds up our progress while also making it convenient to escape. Aside from the fact that we can't take it out of this mission, it’s simply impeccable. It’s got built-in shock absorption, it’s stuck in fifth gear, and it even has sound effects! You couldn't find a more perfect human-powered motorized tricycle even if you searched with a lantern! It’s way faster than a motorized rickshaw!"

Though his expression was hidden, his tone made it clear he was wearing an incredibly smug and wretched grin.

Chen Shou was squeezed in beside Li Nuo, the narrowness of the cargo rack forcing them into tight contact. Chen Shou stared at Li Nuo as if he were an alien species, as if labels like "freak," "weirdo," and "inhuman" were hovering above his head.

"Brother Shou, what's wrong?" Li Nuo noticed Chen Shou’s strange gaze.

Following the android incident, Chen Shou had already developed a resistance toward Li Nuo, but after experiencing Emil’s MLM-style sales pitch earlier, he felt even more convinced that every word Li Nuo spoke concealed some unknown scheme.

"It's nothing... Did you find anything good in what Emil left behind?" Chen Shou immediately changed the subject.

As a merchant, Emil did indeed have plenty of stock, but the items left in the cargo rack were mostly screws, gears, and a sack of titanium alloy. From this pile, Li Nuo salvaged two somewhat useful chips.

[Android Chip: HUD Mini-Map]
[Quality: Common]
[Effect: A mini-map of the current world can be displayed before the player's eyes. Note: The map is only visible to the player who equips this item. Activating the map will cause a gradual loss of stamina per second.]
[Description: When you're capable of inserting chips into your body, it means you can definitely also plug a USB drive into your nostril.]

...

[Android Chip: Near-Death Attack UP Lv1]
[Quality: Common]
[Effect: When HP is below 25%, attack power increases by 5%.]
[Description: When you're capable of inserting chips into your body, it means you can definitely also plug a USB drive into your nostril.]

Li Nuo took the [Near-Death Attack UP]. Like the [Red Tearstone Ring], it was an accessory that could play a critical role in desperate situations, and combined, they could achieve a multiplicative effect on damage.

Maljie took the [HUD Mini-Map].

Aside from these, there were four healing potions specifically for androids, restoring 20% health—slightly less effective than the potions from the Endless Corridor. There were forty-five rounds of 9mm ammunition and a standard-issue machine gun belonging to the Resistance. At the bottom of the rack, they finally found a few bulletproof vests.

Chen Shou struggled to put on a vest, stunned that in just 40 minutes, he had obtained rewards he hadn't managed to get in his previous two scenarios. In that sense, trailing along with Li Nuo to stir up trouble... was a tiring but rewarding endeavor.

However, Chen Shou suddenly thought of a problem. Why were they here again? What about the main quest?

"Li Nuo, where are we going?" he asked.

Li Nuo opened the mission panel. "We just got a new mission: [Leather Boots, White Short Hair, and an Eye Patch]. Emil said the location is in the shopping mall behind the suspension bridge. We were going to check there for clues about the hidden mission anyway."

"Hmph, hahahaha..." Maljie, who had been driving, suddenly went manic. "Hahaha... This mission... we'll get to see 2B, right?"

Li Nuo reminded him, "The androids of the YoRHa squad all have leather boots, white hair, and eye patches. It might not be 2B."

"I don't care! As long as it's a woman!" Maljie suddenly laughed out loud. "Hahaha... Hahahahahaha, wait for me, YoRHa squad!"

Chen Shou asked in a low voice, "What kind of sickness is Brother Ma suffering from?"

Li Nuo licked his lips. "You'll understand once you see the YoRHa squad."

Chen Shou: "I think I already understand from that lecherous expression you can't seem to hide."

...

Five minutes later, the vehicle arrived at the suspension bridge. Fortunately, the bridge did not collapse as they crossed. They continued forward, and Maljie located the large shopping mall using the map on his retina.

The place had been severely damaged, which was expected given it had stood for thousands of years. Or rather, that was how it appeared in the game; however, what they saw was an intact supermarket... To be precise, it was a European-style building. If not for the weathered wooden sign at the entrance that read "Supermarket," no one would have guessed it was a shopping center.

As Li Nuo stepped off the vehicle, he opened his personal panel to check his upgraded stats. His Strength, Reflexes, and Insight had each increased by 3 points, with the rest gaining 1 point each, except for Medicine, which remained a stagnant stat.

Up until now, he had hardly ever been in a desperate situation. He used Strength to hit things and smash plant monsters; he relied on Reflexes to dodge attacks; and his brainpower was linked to Insight. From this, he could deduce that as long as one developed in all areas before leveling up, it was truly possible to gain +3 points in every attribute per level.

"Brother Ma, are you sure this is a supermarket?" Even Chen Shou saw the problem.

Maljie pointed to the map still active on his retina. "The map shows this is the only large building in the vicinity."

Li Nuo surveyed the surroundings. He didn't know if it was his imagination, but he felt the sky was turning a faint yellow, like the precursor to a sunset. He shook his head and said to the others, "Let's go in. We can't expect a novice village chief to tell us what to do."

The supermarket occupied a massive area. Entering through the main entrance, the light seemed to be suddenly cut off, unable to penetrate further. Outside it was daylight, yet the interior was pitch black, as if two worlds were separated by a transparent wall.

The three stood at the entrance for a moment. In a scenario with such obvious malice, an ordinary person would need to steel themselves before stepping inside. Li Nuo suddenly had an idea: "How about we set fire to this building from the outside?"

"Set it on fire? Are you crazy?" Maljie said, holding a pot lid in front of him. "What if you burn up something good that's already in there?"

Chen Shou: "No, Brother Ma, this is the first time I've thought Li Nuo makes sense."

"Hey... what's that?" Li Nuo walked toward a corner where a few people seemed to be lying.

"C-c-c-c-c-c-corpses!?" Chen Shou jumped and retreated back to where the light hit the doorway.

Li Nuo licked his lips and smiled as he walked toward them. "Maljie was right, almost burned up the good stuff."

"Li Nuo... you can't judge a treasure chest by its appearance!" Chen Shou reached out to grab Li Nuo, saying in a panic, "You aren't planning to mess with the corpses, are you? Don't do anything stupid!"

"What are you thinking?" Li Nuo had already reached the bodies. He crouched down to examine them. "Corpses are very important things. The disgusting exterior is just their disguise. The contents should be treasure chests, journals, or plot-advancement devices. I bet you that if I pry them open and all that comes out is monsters or crap, I lose."

"I... don't want to make that bet." Chen Shou narrowed his eyes and asked Maljie, "Brother Ma, did Li Nuo do this during your newcomer selection too?"

Maljie whispered, "He messed with corpses back then, too."

*Damn... what exactly does this kid do in real life?*

Li Nuo's discovery was correct, for these corpses were human—genuine, authentic humans. One had to remember that in the story of *NieR: Automata*, humanity was already extinct.

He noticed that the head of one corpse was significantly larger than the others, so he pulled out [Zhuang Chen's Iron Rod], thrust it into the corpse's eye, grabbed a hammer, and struck the rod violently, using the principle of leverage to pry open the already-rotting skull from the inside.

"Hahaha!"

His sudden laughter startled Chen Shou, and even Maljie jumped.

Li Nuo pulled a key from the skull.

[Room 5 Key]
[Plot Item, cannot be taken out of the scenario]
[Description: Entering through the Room 5 security door will allow you to avoid the entity in this supermarket that radiates an evil aura.]

"Interesting. It seems humans have entered this world, and this scenario has either been heavily modified or merged with another game." Li Nuo held the key and walked toward the emergency exit map on the wall. "Room 5 doesn't require going through the main hall, which means there's some kind of terrifying, powerful creature in the hall. Let's go, let's see what's in Room 5."

"Li Nuo... quick question, are you not planning to go to the main hall to trigger a special plot point this time?" Chen Shou asked, following behind.

"Brother Shou, do I look like the kind of person who would walk into a creature's mouth knowing it's there?"

Chen Shou froze. It seemed... although Li Nuo loved to stir up trouble everywhere, he never did anything truly suicidal. When the sewer entrance triggered a hidden mission, he had chosen to ignore it directly. Thinking of this, Chen Shou suddenly felt he shouldn't have...

Li Nuo: "Brother Shou, how about I tie a rope to you and you go check out the main hall?"

Maljie: "Fishing for trouble?"

Chen Shou: "You really are a jerk, seriously."

In any case, the RPG adventure party composed of three men... was, at the very least, harmonious. If there were a female player like Xiao You in the group, the situation might have already devolved into a life-or-death struggle for Li Nuo.

On the way, the sound of meat being chopped echoed from the hall. Chen Shou broke into a cold sweat in fear. "Let's be quieter... there's definitely something in the hall..."

"Don't be afraid," Li Nuo said. "The point of the key is to tell us that as long as we don't go through the hall, we're safe. If you don't believe me, I'll sing you a song right now."

"I beg you, just shut up..."

As they spoke, they followed the indoor fire safety map and arrived at the door of Room 5 without ever entering the main hall. Using the key to open the heavy, reinforced door that couldn't be picked with a wire, they saw a faint yellow light emanating from inside.

Walking in, they saw a warm yellow lantern on the floor, and sitting next to it was an injured android.

Li Nuo said, "I bet fifty cents this guy is the quest giver."

Maljie: "Do you have some kind of issue with novice village elders?"

"Who are you..."

The voice came from the android sitting against the wall. Half of his head was mostly gone, but from his clothing, he could be identified as a member of the Resistance. He looked at the three of them and said, "Leave here quickly... something far more terrifying than the machine lifeforms has descended."