Everyone's playing hide-and-seek: This crazy beauty has maxed-out third eyes.

"Gurgle~"

Lina's stomach growled.

Saoirse looked down at her stomach, and before she could say anything, her own stomach started growling.

The two looked at each other and saw awkwardness in each other's eyes.

Lina broke the dark bread in half and handed her a piece: "Here, have some."

Saoirse took it, and Lina took a bite, chewed it a couple of times, and her expression changed: "This is way too hard."

She chewed a few more times until her cheeks ached, and she finally managed to chew the bread. The bread had a rough texture, and when she swallowed it, she could feel the bread crumbs scraping down her throat.

Saoirse was calmer than her. She broke off a small piece and chewed it slowly: "This will have to do. We'll buy something better when we make money."

"Mmm." Lina took another bite, this time she was smarter and broke it into small pieces to put in her mouth.

Saoirse, while eating, suddenly stopped and looked at her: "Lina."

"Um?"

"Your country isn't short of food anymore, right? You must have eaten before entering the dungeon, so why are you hungry so quickly?"

Lina realized what was happening too. The thought had only flashed through her mind when she was walking down the street, but now not only was she hungry, but Saoirse was too. This shouldn't be the case under normal circumstances.

"I don't know either. I thought it was because I was carrying the drawing board, which was more tiring."

Saoirse thought about it carefully for a moment, then her expression changed: "Oh no."

"What's wrong?"

"Will this instance have any side effects?" Saoirse asked with some concern. "Like making people get hungry faster?"

"what?"

"Think about it, a normal person eats three meals a day," Saoirse explained to her. "What if this instance speeds up the consumption of energy? Four, five, or even six meals a day? Then it's normal for us to feel hungry at this time."

Lina felt like the sky had fallen.

"Right now, it's just the two of us who feel this way, and we're not sure if everyone feels this way." Saoirse stuffed the last bit of bread into her mouth, patted the crumbs off her hands, and said, "We'll ask around when we meet other people."

Lina nodded, utterly despondent. The half-eaten piece of dark bread in her hand was her last remaining food.

"Saoirse".

"Um?"

"I'm penniless right now. If what you're saying is true, after six days, I won't even need to save anyone else; I'll starve to death myself. No, it's seven days, because today isn't over yet."

Saoirse pointed to her easel: "You're a painter."

"I can't draw."

"You're a painter!" Saoirse repeated, her tone a little stronger than before.

Lina looked at her with a puzzled expression.

"You have to make money by drawing."

"...I told you, I can't."

Saoirse crossed her arms: "Lina, do you know what art is?"

Lina shook her head.

"Art is something like this," Saoirse said, lifting her chin with an air of experience, "you don't need to know how to draw. You can just scribble something random, make up a nonsensical story, and people will naturally pay for it."

Lina was dumbfounded, and hesitated to speak.

"I'm serious." Saoirse didn't give her a chance to refute. "Go to the dock and draw it, right there at the dock. Since that ship is making its maiden voyage tomorrow, there will definitely be wealthy people at the dock, and those are your target customers."

"But I..."

"Let me finish," Saoirse interrupted her. "Don't talk while you're painting. Just act profound. Only speak when someone comes over to ask questions. Add a story to your painting, whatever inspiration or insight you have, make it up, the more outrageous the better."

Lina stared at her blankly.

Saoirse took a step closer: "Remember, ask for a high price, don't be shy. The higher you ask, the more the rich will think it's worth it."

"Are there really people like that who are stupid and have too much money?"

"There definitely is," Saoirse said confidently. "But you have to convince yourself first. If you don't believe it yourself, how can you expect others to believe it?"

Lina thought for a moment, then encouraged herself: "Okay, I'll give it a try."

Saoirse was relieved: "Okay, I'll be at this bakery. If you come back early, come find me here. If you come back late, I'll find you at the dock."

"it is good."

Lina turned and walked out of the alley, but after taking two steps, she turned back and said, "Saoirse."

"Um?"

"If anyone actually buys my paintings, I'll treat you to white bread."

Saoirse waved at her: "Okay, go ahead."

Lina then turned and left. Saoirse watched her walk away, wiped her mouth, turned and walked back to the bakery. When she pushed open the door, the fat woman was wiping the counter.

"You're back?"

"Um."

"Then let's get back to work, there's another batch of bread to bake."

Saoirse put her apron back on and stood behind the counter.

----

The carriage carrying Lin Sui'an stopped at the entrance of the dock, and Lin Sui'an and Lydia got off one after the other.

As soon as the two got out of the car, they saw the cruise ship at a glance. The ship was white, with colorful flags hanging on the foredeck. It was at least 300 meters long from bow to stern, and the ship was painted with gold lettering: "Haiyan Heqing".

"This ship is huge," Lydia muttered.

Lin Sui'an glanced at the cruise ship and spotted Sergei next to the dock warehouse. He was wearing a khaki-colored coarse cloth shirt and carrying a large wooden box. He was sweating and his face was covered in dust.

Lydia followed Lin Sui'an's gaze and also spotted Sergei. She fell silent, momentarily unable to discern whose situation was more dire, hers or his.

Lin Sui'an strode toward Sergei, with three bodyguards following behind them.

Sergei put down the wooden crate, straightened up, and was about to wipe his sweat when he saw Lin Sui'an and Lydia standing in front of him.

He was about to smile when his eyes darted around quickly, and he wiped the smile away.

The foreman noticed the commotion and immediately ran to greet them: "This...this distinguished guest!"

The foreman, bent over, his hand holding the straw hat trembling, turned and glared fiercely at Sergei: "He's new here, clumsy and inept. If he offends you, please be lenient; I'll deal with him later!"

Sergei kept his head down, dutifully playing the role of an ordinary person who dared not offend the powerful.

Lin Sui'an pretended to sized up Sergei: "He looks strong."

She raised her chin and said casually, "I need to hire him to help me move my luggage. How much? Name your price."

The foreman was taken aback at first, then his eyes lit up. Just as he was about to say something, the bodyguard on the left stepped forward.

"Miss," the bodyguard said respectfully, "the people outside are of unknown identity and it's not safe. We can handle the luggage."

The foreman's smile froze on his face; he didn't know whether to speak or not. Sergei kept his head down, motionless, trusting Lin.

"Are you teaching me how to do things?" Lin Sui'an looked at the bodyguard.

"I wouldn't dare," the bodyguard quickly explained, "It's just that I feel..."