Chapter 17: Money
"Really?"
Zhang Wenda looked at the rabbit in front of him with some surprise—there was actually an unexpected reward.
But on second thought, it made sense.
After all, if something had happened to all those kids, this guy would surely take the blame.
He had helped him keep his job, so being thanked was reasonable.
"What kind of reward would he give me?" Zhang Wenda couldn't help but wonder, letting his imagination wander.
In this bizarre world, it wouldn't be strange even if something more absurd appeared.
The rabbit clearly didn't know what was going on in Zhang Wenda’s mind and continued speaking: "But it's already quite late. I'll go gather the items first, and how about letting the other kids go back to sleep? I’ll give you your reward separately later so that the others don’t think it’s unfair."
After saying that, the rabbit didn’t wait for Zhang Wenda’s reply and turned to walk ahead.
"Items?" Right after, Zhang Wenda saw the other students pulling things out of their bags—those items they had collected in various containers from within the Youth Center, including the white Go pieces from the Chess Room.
The rabbit pulled out a shoebox from a pile of miscellaneous junk and began collecting the items one by one from the students’ hands.
Seeing this scene, Zhang Wenda finally remembered—they had gone to the Youth Center with a mission.
"Now that I think of it, I have some too." As he spoke, Zhang Wenda put his backpack on the ground and took out the plastic bag filled with white Go pieces.
Compared to the others, he clearly had the most white pieces.
"Speaking of which, if the black Go pieces are the eyes of the Youth Center, then what are the white ones? Taking them all away shouldn't affect anything, right?" Zhang Wenda felt a little worried for the Youth Center.
There weren’t many students in line, so it was soon Zhang Wenda’s turn.
When Teacher Rabbit saw the plastic bag in Zhang Wenda’s hand, he looked surprised, his tone lifting slightly. "So many? You collected all these yourself? That’s amazing."
Zhang Wenda didn’t respond.
He still remembered clearly before entering the Youth Center—they had said there’d be a reward for this stuff.
Then he saw the rabbit reach out to take the white Go pieces, then stick a hand into the pocket of the plush toy and pull out a wrinkled fifty-cent paper bill, which he handed to Zhang Wenda.
Zhang Wenda stared blankly at the fifty cents, then looked up at the rabbit in front of him, as if seeing his detestable old boss from the past.
After all that hard work finding these things inside—just fifty cents?! Was this rabbit only good at making empty promises?
"Mouse, take it—fifty cents can buy two lollipops!" When he heard Little Fatty say this beside him, Zhang Wenda’s frustration eased just a bit.
As long as it could be traded for candy, that was fine.
So, a large red lollipop that could heal wounds was priced at twenty-five cents.
Zhang Wenda began forming a basic understanding of the economy and currency in this strange world.
"Right, I’ve still got some of this." As he spoke, Zhang Wenda pulled out a bottle of Liquid Joy from his bag.
The bottle had once been full, but he had drunk more than half of it—only about a quarter remained.
Still, following the philosophy of "even a mosquito has meat," he handed it to the rabbit.
The rabbit took it with some surprise.
He opened the cap and brought it near his three-part mouth to sniff.
Then, to Zhang Wenda’s surprise, he handed it back. "You can keep this for yourself."
"Why? You guys don’t want this?" Zhang Wenda was shocked by the response.
"Liquid Joy must be collected when one is truly happy—if you're looking for joy with selfish intent, you won't find it."
"There’s a rule like that?" Zhang Wenda stared wide-eyed at the rabbit in disbelief.
Sometimes he really couldn’t understand the logic of this world.
But then suddenly, he pieced together another logic thread. "So that’s why you send students to the Youth Center to play? Only they can find real Liquid Joy?"
The rabbit just chuckled lightly.
He reached out and gave Zhang Wenda a firm pat on the head, then resumed collecting items from the others.
Rubbing his now-aching head, Zhang Wenda stepped back two steps and watched the rabbit gather items from the other students’ hands, occasionally handing out ten or twenty cents in return.
At that moment, he had only one thought: his plan to monopolize the lollipop industry had completely failed.
Trying to imitate his boss and recruit a bunch of college students as interns just wouldn’t work in this world.
The Liquid Joy they collected would probably all taste bitter.
He shook the bottle of Liquid Joy in his hand, unwilling to give up. "Why don’t they accept it? It clearly works—you drink it and feel joy."
Raising it into the air toward the light bulb, Zhang Wenda examined the small bottle.
Then he offered it to the black cat on his left shoulder. "Do you want it?"
The little black cat leaned in, sniffed with its black nose, then lifted a paw and slapped it away in disgust.
"Fine, none of you want it. I’ll keep it for myself as a painkiller." Grumbling about his hard-earned product being unappreciated, Zhang Wenda shoved the Liquid Joy back into his bag.
Tired, he sat on the ground and looked at the black cat on his shoulder. "Hey, what exactly are you? Why did you show up in the Youth Center?"
The black cat twitched its ears but didn’t respond.
"Since you weren’t affected by Old Man Ding, you probably aren’t a native creature of the Youth Center, right? Otherwise, in my eyes, you’d be either a blackboard eraser or a trash can." Zhang Wenda stretched a finger and scratched under the cat’s chin.
The black cat narrowed its eyes immediately, tilted its head slightly, and began to purr softly.
"Seems like you know a lot about the Youth Center. Do you come here often?" Zhang Wenda asked again, "How about I keep you? Come live with me? My house isn’t big, but it’s big enough for a cat."
Suddenly, the black cat's body tensed sharply.
Its ears stood upright and twitched rapidly, as if it sensed something.
Before Zhang Wenda could react, the black cat launched itself off his shoulder and, in a blur, vanished up the stairs before anyone could react.
Watching the cat leave without looking back, Zhang Wenda felt a pang in his chest.
He had actually been rejected by a cat.
"Mouse, we’re heading off! See you tomorrow!" As the other students trickled away, the entire basement grew increasingly empty.
Once he saw that even the moles had left and it was just him and the rabbit remaining, the desolate and quiet surroundings made him feel uneasy.
He looked at the plush rabbit tidying up supplies.
And recalling how the rabbit said the reward would be given separately, his heart suddenly grew tense.
Could that have been a lie?