"Poor as a church mouse!"

The four words weighed a thousand pounds, directly knocking Su Yao off her feet.

If Zhan Xing really wanted to destroy this hotel, it wouldn't even need to use magic; just enlarging itself would be enough.

"Why aren't you saying anything? You don't want to help me?"

[Favorability -30.]

"I summoned you here to help you solve your troubles. How could I not want to help?" Su Yao said with a smile, taking out the newly exchanged paper and pen and sitting opposite Zhan Xing. "I was just looking for paper and pen."

[Affection +30.]

"That works."

"If you have time now, why don't you go ahead and explain the situation in detail?"

Zhan Xing was confused: "What's going on? Something was stolen? I was sleeping at the time, I don't know anything."

Su Yao explained to Zhan Xing, "Humans need clues to solve cases. You can carefully describe the situation before and after you fell asleep, recall every little detail, and then I will unravel the threads to find the thief."

"Humans seem to solve cases in this manner," Zhan Xing recalled carefully, as if he had indeed seen it before. "It seems you truly want to help me."

"Of course! If I didn't want to help you, why would I summon you?"

Zhan Xing shook his head: "I've been to many human homes, but none of them sincerely helped me."

"Don't call me 'sir' anymore. Since you're sincere, we can be friends. Just call me by my name. I'm Zhan Xing."

Zhan Xing wanting to be friends with Su Yao wasn't enough to shock her; her thoughts were already captured by his first sentence.

Zhan Xing had been summoned by someone. Could it be that there were other players with bound systems in this vast land?

"Have you been to other humans' homes?"

"Yes, many people have summoned me. But they summoned me only to help them destroy humanity, without any genuine intention of helping me."

Hearing this, Su Yao dismissed her previous thought. It seemed they were natives and had nothing to do with the system.

"Our system is very precious, okay? I can't guarantee anything else, but I can definitely assure you that you are the only one who has traveled through this continent!"

"Do you know who summoned Zhan Xing?"

Destroying humanity sounds like something a major villain would do.

[Long-term Mission 2: What? Destroy humanity! The ultimate villain appears! For humanity, for justice, please investigate and resolve the villain, Host.]

Has the management game been promoted to a combat game?

She should first solve the problem at hand.

"Your Excellency, you have a keen eye for detail. I'm sure you can tell that I'm different from those people."

Zhan Xing proudly nodded, "Of course!"

"Could you please describe what happened?"

[Affection +10.]

War Star's tail flicked, and auspicious clouds suddenly appeared, transforming into a screen that played out War Star's memories from that time.

Su Yao couldn't solve cases, but she could take meeting minutes and write work summaries. As she watched, she quickly took notes, jotting down some key points.

After the playback finished, Zhan Xing's anticipation was at its peak: "So, what do you think? Any clues? Can we find it?"

"We can get it back," Su Yao said with a determined look. "I've already noticed a few discrepancies, but it will take some time to verify and find the thief."

"More time?!" Zhan Xing was unhappy again. "Can't it be right now? I don't have anything to eat!"

"Humans need some time to investigate and solve cases... If you are willing, you can stay with us for now. I run an inn, so food, drink, and lodging are not a problem."

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

Su Yao actively proposed a solution suitable for the current situation, and Zhan Xing was actually quite satisfied. Firstly, the environment here was pretty good, and secondly, no one had been willing to take him in before. Su Yao was the first person to offer him free food, lodging, and shelter.

"Staying isn't out of the question, but how do I know you're not just stalling?"

Su Yao understood the true meaning behind Zhan Xing's words and immediately responded, "I'm working right under your nose, sir. Whether I'm slacking off or not, you can see it clearly. Besides, with your high level of skill and keen insight, I wouldn't dare to have any schemes if I had any sense at all."

"Yes! The moment I saw you, I thought you were a good person, a smart one. Let's do as you suggested. And don't call me 'sir' anymore; hearing it too much feels like I'm bullying someone. Just call me by my name, Zhan Xing." After a pause, Zhan Xing added, "Hey, you just mentioned Mo Yu. Is it the Mo Yu from the black eagle? If you like it, once you find the treasure for me, I can give you a few feathers as well."

Su Yao smiled and promised once again that she would work hard, while also explaining to Zhan Xing the meaning of "slacking off."

After hearing this, Zhan Xing burst into hearty laughter, "You humans are really amusing! Now hurry up and prepare a room for me, I want to slack off too."

Zhan Xing seemed to prefer human rooms, so Su Yao immediately opened a luxurious private room for it.

Upon seeing the layout of the room, Zhan Xing immediately responded with ten points of goodwill, "I just love how open and bright you are!"

The battle star never expected Su Yao to give it such a nice room.

Su Yao was also satisfied with Zhan Xing. Apart from the initial shock of being "penniless," Zhan Xing's words and actions were very normal, measured, and easy to talk to.

"Truly worthy of being the golden dragon of my homeland—dignified, powerful, and handsome, with a great personality. Summoning it this time, I must be really lucky!"

[It has already entered the house, can't be heard anymore, no need to flatter the host like this.]

"You don't understand, these are my heartfelt words." Su Yao descended the stairs, replaying the system's words in her mind, and suddenly realized something. "Are you jealous? Do you also have human emotions?"

"Don't cry, Tongzi. I'll give you my life! We're inseparable, aren't we? No one can surpass the bond between us!"

Indeed, our lives are intertwined, and no relationship is greater than ours.

Su Yao: .....

The system's tone did not change, but Su Yao could still discern its happy mood.

Hmm, another one that's easy to placate.

Su Yao's smile made her eyes disappear, and a shallow dimple appeared on her snow-white cheek, soft and adorable.

System: Fine, as long as you're happy.

At six in the evening, the sinister guest arrived punctually at the Peaceful Inn.

Name: Leng

Race: Wraith—Ice Bear

Level: 8

"Bang!"

[Affection +10.]

The ice bear looked very much like a polar bear, with a massive build. As soon as it entered, a loud crash was heard, the sound of the door breaking as it squeezed through.

"Boss, I'm in pain, you need to compensate me." Leng pointed at the wreckage on the ground and then touched his own arm, preemptively demanding compensation from Su Yao.

"What compensation?" Before Su Yao could speak, Zhan Xing heard a voice coming from the room, "I was still sleeping, who woke me up!"

The cold arrogance lasted only a few seconds. The moment he saw Zhan Xing, his legs immediately went weak, and his body shrank to the height of an adult man.

Su Yao raised an eyebrow and directly pointed it out: "It's the one that damaged the door and woke you up."

"I'm sorry." Leng trembled all over with fear.

Zhan Xing's gaze shifted to Leng, "Is it you?"

"I am the Ice Bear, my name is Leng."

"Did I ask you to introduce yourself? How dare an eighth-level creature be so bold? Hurry up and compensate me!" Zhan Xing had already prepared his tail, ready to swat Leng thousands of miles away at any moment.

Leng quickly shook his head: "No! Spare me, sir! I'll pay!"

Leng took out a handful of gold coins and handed them to Su Yao. Zhan Xing became even angrier when he saw this: "I told you to compensate me! Compensate me for my sleep! Why are you giving them to her?"

Leng was stunned, and after a long struggle, he finally managed to speak clearly: "I'm stupid, I'm sorry. I'll pay for it."

A gold coin was handed to Zhan Xing.

War Star shook his head: "Not enough."

Leng continued to take the money, and it took three attempts before Zhan Xing left satisfied.

Su Yao estimated that there should be about ten to twenty thousand gold coins.

However, because of this incident, Su Yao had another hypothesis about the thief. In the memories Zhan Xing showed her, it was the same—fighting everywhere for compensation, accumulating more than two-thirds of the three treasure mountains in this way. If a person or an evil spirit was a defeated opponent and held a grudge against Zhan Xing, it was very likely they would resort to stealing to get revenge.

"I'll stay at the inn." His legs were still weak, but the procedure might be in place, so he still needed to stay.

"How long will you stay?"

"One day."

"Do you want to eat? There are energy stones, 20 gold coins each."

[Affection +10.]

"Three pieces."

"One night at the inn is 50 gold coins, three energy stones are 50 gold coins, and the door compensation is 100 gold coins. That's 210 gold coins, please settle the bill over here."

"I have no money."

Su Yao's eyes fixed coldly, "Do you need me to call Zhan Xing down again?"

Cold dragged his exhausted body in front of Su Yao, "I'll pay. Exchange for money."

Leng spoke in short bursts, and it took Su Yao a while to understand. It turned out that he had given all his money to Zhan Xing and now had no gold coins left, so he wanted to use other things to settle the debt.

"System, can you help check these things?"

There were many cold babies, but Su Yao didn't know any of them.

The system agreed readily, but it wasn't free: [Detection 2t gold coins each; all detections 50 gold coins; intelligent recommendation 50 gold coins.]

[It is recommended that the host choose the intelligent recommendation, achieving the goal in one step. Note: The intelligently recommended items are the most beneficial for the host and can assist with certain tasks.]

Su Yao now had only two long-term tasks left, and one commission from Zhan Xing that she couldn't complete, so she guessed that this item might be useful for catching the thief.

"100 gold coins, you can deduct it yourself."

[Detection successful, recommending the host to choose the upgrade card, ice crystal, and scent card.]

[Upgrade Card: As the name suggests, a one-time-use card that can upgrade something when used. It is recommended to use it on the always-on light at the door.]

[Ice Crystal: A necessary ingredient for synthesizing a refrigerator or air conditioner. The weather is getting hotter and hotter; hopefully, the host can install an air conditioner soon.]

[Scent Card: What is this smell? It feels so familiar. Suggest letting Zhan Xing take a sniff.]

[……]

……