Chapter 4: Shopping

The bus sped along its dedicated lane, reaching a speed of 150km/h.

For the vast majority of residents, the bus is the primary means of transport; it is one of the fastest ways to travel within the city.

Moreover, due to the corner law, subways do not exist in the city.

The meeting place chosen by the class monitor was the city’s largest supermarket, a place Luo Di had only visited once, five years ago.

Next stop, Terminal Supermarket (Front Plaza). This is a high-density station; the doors will remain open for ninety seconds. Please disembark in an orderly fashion.

Outside the window, this massive landmark building was on full display.

The building’s exterior used a dynamic projection lighting system, providing constant illumination while continuously broadcasting various avant-garde product advertisements.

Every entrance was engraved with the supermarket’s logo: “The Brain Placed in the Shopping Cart.”

The bustling front plaza made Luo Di feel very uncomfortable. Aside from school, he hadn’t been to such a crowded place in a long time, so he quickly called the class monitor.

Almost as he was making the call, a familiar voice came from the side, accompanied by a slender arm waving back and forth in the air.

Luo Di!

Today, the class monitor was wearing a white T-shirt with a cute rabbit printed on the chest, paired with form-fitting athletic pants and white sneakers.

The previously mentioned practice members were also standing by her side.

One of the boys was a classmate who had been taking leave for some time recently.

His physical education grades were second only to Luo Di and the class monitor, ranking third, but he was always first in academic subjects.

He wore custom glasses with a prescription over 500 degrees.

He wore a casual shirt paired with cropped pants suitable for exercise.

Standing at 183cm, he clearly looked like an all-around top student who excelled at both sports and academics, and he was also the vice class monitor of Class 5.

Luo Di rarely interacted with classmates and was equally unfamiliar with this person; in the two years of high school, they hadn’t exchanged more than ten sentences in total.

Of course, the vice class monitor himself was also somewhat aloof and strange; he liked to go to the end of deserted stairwells or the rooftop to read alone during non-class hours.

As for the other person in the team, it was the friend from another school that the class monitor had mentioned.

Beneath light blonde hair were a pair of emerald green eyes, and she had fair skin.

She was wearing a short-sleeved shirt similar to the class monitor’s, like a matching outfit, with a cartoon vicious dog printed on the chest, and athletic shorts on the bottom.

Compared to the class monitor’s slender legs, this white girl’s legs were much thicker; to be precise, the muscle definition was greater and more pronounced.

It is worth mentioning that her height surpassed everyone else in the group, making her the tallest of the four.

As soon as Luo Di approached, the class monitor introduced them enthusiastically.

There’s no need to introduce our Vice Class Monitor, right? Gao Yuxuan was originally recuperating at home, and he only agreed to participate in this practice to give me face as the class monitor.

Luo Di and the Vice Class Monitor exchanged glances and nodded politely.

The class monitor then turned to her friend from another school.

Anna Ivanova, she attends the best high school in our city. Although her grades there are only average to above average, they would definitely be top-tier if she were at our school.

I reckon only you, Luo Di, could beat her in sports.

Anna had already leaned in, looking up and down at this seemingly ordinary young man, and said in standard Russian: You’re the Luo Di whose PE grades are higher than Wen’s? Want to arm-wrestle?

Before Luo Di could refuse, the class monitor had already stepped between them.

Anna~ don’t scare off the teammate I worked so hard to invite. Let’s wait until you’re more familiar with each other before doing things like that. Our time is very tight, so let’s hurry and purchase the necessities for this practice.

Anna seemed unhappy about not being able to arm-wrestle, walking ahead while persistently flexing her biceps.

Terminal Supermarket (T.S.M.)

At the entrance, there were security checkpoints similar to those at smart airports, and every customer had to be checked before entering. The scanning equipment would also identify the ID bracelet worn by the individual and retrieve their valid recent “psychological report.”

As students, the four of them went to the school infirmary every two weeks for psychological check-ups, which was quite convenient.

After passing through security, they were immediately greeted inside the mall by a manager dressed in a tuxedo, who approached Wu Wen, the class monitor.

Respected VIP client, is there anything I can do for you?

No need, just open the express lane for us when we check out.

Then I won’t disturb you. We will keep an eye on your movements at all times; if you need any help, just wave at a surveillance camera.

Luo Di watched all this silently. It was rumored that membership to the Terminal Supermarket couldn’t be bought with money alone, and the number of members was very small.

The class monitor skillfully pushed over a large shopping cart and reminded them, “We have three hours of shopping time. Let’s go buy the necessities first.”

【Daily Goods – Wilderness Survival Equipment Section】

Here, one could buy everything needed for wilderness camping and survival.

Luo Di didn’t know the content of the practice, nor did he know what items were suitable for wilderness practice, so he silently watched the others pick things up.

Long-lasting high-intensity flashlight, Electric light (portable), Windproof lighter, Matches, Portable first aid kit, Backpack with tool kit.

At first, these were all relatively normal items.

Until the Vice Class Monitor grabbed a standard combat knife, and Anna even chose a tactical axe stamped with a military insignia.

The class monitor did not choose any defensive weapons, but looked toward the back of the group, “Luo Di, why aren’t you picking anything? I said that any expenses related to the practice would be covered by me, don’t be embarrassed.”

No, are these cold weapons meant for dealing with wild beasts?

That’s right! I haven’t told you the specific type of “practice” yet. This is a brand new type of practice that has never been mentioned in our textbooks, and it might become mainstream in the future.

The class monitor stepped lightly and quickly moved to Luo Di’s side, stood on her tiptoes, and leaned in close, her warm lips almost touching his ear as she whispered.

The whispers sliding from her lips felt like a baby’s arm massaging his ear.

Because everyone is considered a top student, I asked my dad to help secure a relatively difficult ‘new type of practice.’ An Institute in our city is conducting a practice project aimed at outstanding youth.

This project can effectively simulate scenarios of encountering 【Abnormal Events】. Don’t worry, these simulated events are far from the real thing, and with the Institute’s precise control, they will never endanger our lives.

Simulated abnormalities? This was the first time Luo Di had heard of such a thing.

Yes, some top students have been doing this kind of practice in private recently; it’s a huge help for Advancement.

What about the difficulty?

It ranges between three stars and full stars, depending on our ‘lottery result’ at the time. So, Luo Di, hurry up and choose a defensive tool that suits you. If you don’t usually do extra training in this area, I personally suggest using the combat knife we practice with in PE class.

Mm, I’ll go look around by myself for a bit.

Temporarily leaving the team, the corners of Luo Di’s mouth twitched slightly. Upon learning that the practice could simulate abnormalities, an excitement buried deep in his thoughts began to slowly well up.

He even wanted to customize his own mask in advance, but there wasn’t enough time.

Since it involved combat against simulated targets, Luo Di immediately thought of the same type of slasher props from movies, and paused in front of a machete.

Just as Luo Di reached out to grab the handle, a sound of an engine suddenly came from behind him.

Turning his head to look, Luo Di’s pupils instantly fixed and constricted, the excitement hidden within them flowing out like pus, his vision fixed on a special display counter in the supermarket: 【Chainsaw Section】