Blood Neon

Chapter 37

Chapter 37

Heading West

“You’re saying it’s not an iPhone?”

“Yeah, it’s just a knockoff.”

Faced with this harsh conclusion, the girl found it hard to accept.

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As soon as she stepped into the shop, she had eagerly taken out what appeared to be the most valuable item among her spoils—a supposed iPhone—hoping to have the shop owner give her an estimate.

However, the answer she received completely caught her off guard. It turned out to be a knockoff phone.

Naturally, the price offered was very low—only two or three hundred yuan, and that was just because the phone looked relatively new.

Lin Ying couldn’t help but feel deeply disappointed.

She was aware that knockoff iPhones existed... but since she had never personally encountered one, she hadn’t considered the possibility at all.

She couldn’t really be blamed. After all, in her previous life, she hadn’t cared much about mobile devices, and had always used budget Android phones costing around a thousand yuan. Moreover, the product lines in this world didn’t seem entirely consistent with what she remembered. Under these circumstances, even a die-hard Apple fan traveling from another world might not be able to immediately tell a genuine product from a fake.

After all, even the system interface on these phones mimicked iOS. If one wasn’t paying close attention, it was hard to spot any flaws.

As for whether the shop owner might be trying to scam her, Lin Ying had considered that too.

But he didn’t seem to have the motive. After all, she could easily walk away without selling the phone there. It wasn’t like she was desperate to make the sale.

Though maybe the shop owner had a “try if you can” attitude—scam if possible, forget it if not?

So, after a few more meaningless exchanges, Lin Ying decided to play it safe and left the shop with the phone in hand.

Selling spoils was about comparing options. It wasn’t like she urgently needed money, so there was no need to rush.

Before leaving, Lin Ying didn’t forget to glance at the clock inside the shop. The time showed it was just before 11:40.

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After making her way to the west side of the overpass, she finally stepped onto a proper pedestrian sidewalk, no longer needing to climb that bizarre stairway from earlier.

As the winding road continued westward, the buildings on both sides began to gradually increase in height.

With the breeze rustling through the treetops, Lin Ying walked leisurely, pausing now and then, completely relaxed.

Just as she was nearing an intersection, a pleasant aroma from the side caught her attention.

It came from a rather spacious dessert shop, where the sweet scent of freshly baked goods filled the air around the store, instantly whetting one’s appetite.

Many passersby were also drawn in by the smell. They stopped, gathering around the glass-walled corner shop to browse the wide variety of enticing items on display.

After observing for a moment, Lin Ying—once an amateur dessert lover and now looking for a small mood boost—decided on a whim to spend a few yuan on a few pieces of peach shortbread and two flaky egg tarts to take away.

Being able to casually spend money on snacks like this—what a joy.

As she left the store and reached the intersection, the green light for going straight had just ended. So she simply lifted the bag in her hands and began sampling the still-warm treats.

The egg tarts had only just come out of the oven and were still hot in her hands. Inhaling the tempting milky aroma from the surface, Lin Ying immediately took a bite.

Just as it looked and smelled, the golden-yellow tart tasted amazing. With a single bite, the crispy crust and the soft custard filling blended perfectly, and a burst of rich flavor instantly filled her mouth.

Considering they were priced at just one yuan apiece, it was fair to say this place was incredibly reasonable. Lin Ying turned her head to glance at the shop’s signboard.

“Mai Tian East? Is it because it’s on the east side?”

In any case, she made a mental note of it.

Having too many egg tarts in a row could get cloying, so Lin Ying decided to spare the second tart for now and picked up a piece of peach shortbread instead.

The shortbread here was rather hefty in size, making it a bit of a challenge to eat. But the flavor was actually quite decent, and considering the quality of their egg tarts, it made sense. Further factoring in the price, the value-for-money ratio was outstanding. Taking small, quick bites, the girl couldn’t help but give it a mental thumbs-up.

However, before she could finish the big cookie, the red light was already about to end.

Seeing the green light flash at the pedestrian crossing, Lin Ying put down her bag for a moment, holding the remaining half of the shortbread in her hand as she walked across the intersection with the small crowd.

Blended into the flow of passersby, the girl—dressed in a simple hoodie and jeans, carrying a plastic bag filled with desserts in one hand and munching on half a shortbread in the other—looked utterly ordinary.

Those walking beside her or brushing past all had their own affairs, walking with urgency, perhaps giving her a second glance at most simply because she was pretty.

None of them would have imagined that among these ordinary people, there was a man-eating monster hiding.

And even less so, that such a cute little foodie who looked like she was just on her way home to see her parents—was that monster.

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Pingyang Boulevard ran north to south through the city, dividing countless roads at its intersections into East Street and West Street, and splitting the city further into eastern and western halves. The plaza in the center of the old district was also bisected by it.

Heading westward past the large plaza, one would arrive at Liberty West Road.

Nearby was Lin Ying’s small base of operations in the downtown area (cardboard version), so she began to wonder whether she should find a place to sit down and have lunch, or just buy something and take it back there.

The rotisserie chicken from the place she’d eaten at the day before yesterday had tasted quite good. Maybe she could grab another one.

With no better ideas for now, she figured she’d head in that direction. If something else looked good along the way, she could always change plans.

With over 900 yuan in cash and three phones in her pocket, Lin Ying felt that, since she was currently “loaded,” she might as well treat herself to something decent.

After all, heading west along Liberty West Road would take her past the largest shopping mall in the area, along with a slightly smaller one right next to it. There would be no shortage of restaurants to choose from.

And speaking of these two malls—there was something amusing about them.

One sat on the north side of the road, the other on the south, with nothing between them but Liberty Road itself.

Looking at this face-off in geography, Lin Ying could only think these two really were going head-to-head. Two malls with identical positioning, yet squeezed right across from each other—was this some kind of capitalistic 1v1 duel?

And it was obvious that one of them was significantly smaller in scale than the other, making the whole battle feel more like a one-sided attempt at clout-chasing.

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As Lin Ying took in the tasty options along the way, she began to feel a little overwhelmed with choices.

To be honest, when she saw the Pizza Hut on the ground floor of the southern mall just now, she really felt like going in for a proper meal.

But if she did go in, what would she order? Lin Ying started ticking off items on her fingers.

It wasn’t about whether she could finish it all—it was about whether she could enjoy it enough.

First of all, there had to be pizza, right? Pasta too?

A sampler platter for the appetizers, maybe? And of course, a drink, right?

And once the main course was done, wouldn’t it be perfect to top it off with some mushroom soup and a dessert?