Long Live Money in Anime Crossover

Momo did not return.

Asuna had confirmed this fact dozens of times, yet she still found it hard to believe.

Momo did not return.

There was no familiar sound of the door opening, no comforting words from outside, and no cake placed outside.

Momo did not return.

Asuna felt hungry. She checked the time on the control panel; it was already past 18 PM. Momo had always returned precisely at this time the previous few times, without fail.

Immediately afterwards, Asuna opened her friends list and confirmed that the name of her only friend, Momo, was still lit up, which made her breathe a sigh of relief.

What exactly happened to Mo Mo?

However, to Asuna's despair, the friend list in Sword Art Online does not have the function of sending messages to each other. It seems that its only purpose is to confirm whether her friends are still alive.

Asuna didn't know what the status of her friend's name on her friend list would be after her friend left SAO, but she only felt a little relieved when she saw Momo's name still lit up as always.

"Mo Mo..."

Asuna murmured to herself. She hadn't seen Momo for over a day. Regret and remorse intertwined in her heart, making her eager to see Momo. However, she herself didn't know what to say or do when she saw Momo.

Is she going to cower in Mo Mo's arms like she did on the first day, just like a frightened kitten?

Asuna knew that Momo would never refuse her, nor would he be stingy with his warm embrace, but Asuna's last shred of self-respect wouldn't allow her to do so.

"Shameless pride, ha."

Asuna chuckled self-deprecatingly. Right now, she was completely dependent on Momo, relying on him for food and drink. Although she didn't know exactly what Momo was doing, she was sure he was working hard for the two of them.

She had been relying on Momo all along, but when faced with Momo's care, her pride would kick in, making Asuna afraid to get close to Momo again. Wasn't such pride shameless enough?

“Come back... Momo... This time, I will definitely apologize to you…”

Asuna curled up in bed, unable to fall asleep, almost counting down the seconds as she waited for Momo.

Time passed second by second, and the virtual scenery outside the window turned into moonlight. Even though she couldn't see the real scene on the street, Asuna knew that it was already night.

A sense of anxiety welled up inside Asuna. She desperately wanted to check the time again, but she subconsciously suppressed the urge because she was afraid, terrified.

What are you afraid of? What are you terrified of?

Even she herself couldn't explain it clearly.

Finally, she couldn't bear it any longer, sat up, brought up the system list, and checked the time again.

00:15!

Momo still hasn't returned.

Extreme fear gripped Asuna's neck, making it almost impossible for her to breathe. As if grasping at a last straw, she scrolled to the bottom of the menu and confirmed the logout button on the right.

There was still nothing there.

In the end what happened?

Could something have happened to Mo Mo?

Asuna couldn't believe it, because in her eyes, Momo was practically omnipotent. To achieve so much at such a young age, could he really possibly fail in a game like Sword Art Online?

Impossible, absolutely impossible!

I kept trying to convince myself, but my body wouldn't obey. I walked to the door and put my hand on it.

Asuna, who hadn't left the house for almost two days, seemed to be terrified of this door. Stepping through it would mean facing an endless hell.

Inside the door is heaven, and outside the door is hell.

He withdrew his hand.

"Mo Mo... needs me!"

He reached out again, grabbed the doorknob, and pulled it open forcefully.

Opposite was Momo's door. The door was open, but no one was inside. There was no cake Momo had prepared at Asuna's feet either; the room was empty.

Mo Mo really didn't come back; it wasn't a misperception.

"Mo Mo!"

Asuna shouted loudly, her worry for Momo finally turning into motivation to move forward, and she walked out of the private room instance.

The familiar lobby scene came into view, and the shop owner immediately flashed a friendly, formulaic smile, asking, "Is there anything I can do for you?"

Asuna quickly waved her hand to indicate that she didn't need it, then turned her head and was stunned.

There wasn't a single player in the empty hall. Although it was already late, it shouldn't be bedtime yet. Had everyone gone to the inn to rest?

Shouldn't we be gathering together to discuss strategies or chat and rest at this time?

Or perhaps, everyone shares her fear?

Asuna pursed her lips, feeling a sense of absurdity, a sense of absurdity in her understanding of the game.

It seems that something was wrong from the very beginning.

Asuna walked out of the inn and stood there, stunned, staring at the scene in the dim torchlight.

Two lines of tears streamed down her cheeks, and she seemed to realize what mistake she had made.

The brightly lit hotel was surrounded by densely packed players sitting together on both sides of the street. All the players had expressions of exhaustion and fear on their faces. Although many players had closed their eyes, their trembling bodies proved that they were definitely not asleep.

Several players saw Asuna walking out of the inn, and were first stunned, then burst into laughter.

Despite their exhaustion and fear, the fact that they could mock Asuna seemed to excite them considerably.

"Little girl, hurry back to the hotel, this is not a place for you!"

"Haha, scared, aren't you? So go back and enjoy your comfort at the hotel. But I bet you won't be laughing in a few days."

"You two shut up! Or all of us women will join forces to put a warrant for your arrest!"

A pink-haired girl stood up from an empty corner, holding the hand of another little girl with light brown hair.

The two players immediately shut up and sat down sheepishly. They weren't really villains; they were just mocking Asuna's ignorance, and even hinted at reminding her of something.

Seeing Asuna's seemingly stunned expression, the pink-haired girl pulled the light brown-haired little girl over and said, "Don't mind them, they don't mean any harm. I'm Lisbeth, and this is Silica."

"Hello, I'm Asuna..."

Asuna was still a little confused, but since the other party was all girls, Asuna's nervousness lessened a bit.

"Asuna, have you been staying at the hotel for the past two days?"

"Yes……"

"Sigh, it looks like you went into the hotel right away. But it's good that you came out. I'll just remind you, you'd better move out of the hotel as soon as possible?"

"...Move out?"

After Lisbeth explained, Asuna understood everything. It turned out that for the first day or two, a significant number of players stayed in the inn, but by the end, the vast majority had moved out.

As they watched their Cole dwindle, a profound sense of crisis welled up within them. The daily cost of black bread was almost a necessity; even three loaves a day wouldn't last long on 100 Coles, let alone the 10 Cole room fee per day.

More and more players, more than 9,000 people, chose to live on the street. They gathered together with people they knew or of the same sex, so they weren't afraid of any accidents, but rest was definitely not guaranteed.

"Asuna? Asuna?"

After Lisbeth finished explaining, she saw Asuna's eyes were glazed over, and tears were streaming down her face.

"Wow, don't be sad, we'll definitely be rescued! Everyone's just being frugal and cautious. If you're moving out, come to our place. There are a few other girls here too. We'll all be safe together."

Asuna nodded her thanks, but then looked at the dark street in the distance and asked, "Could you tell me where the bakery is?"

Following Lisbeth's directions, Asuna ran quickly to the bakery; she wanted to prove something.

According to Lisbeth, each person starts with only 100 kol, and unless a few players dare to go hunting, few have any other income. Everyone is waiting, waiting for rescue, and everyone believes that rescue is coming soon.

Asuna believed that too, but now she needed to see exactly how much money Momo had spent!

Tears welled up in her eyes. She had now learned from the hotel NPC owner that the spacious room she was staying in cost 50 Coles per day.

50 Cole!

That's half the total assets of an average player!

According to Lisbeth, even if a player hunts wild boars non-stop, they can only earn a dozen or so kol a day. So where does Momo's income come from?

Upon arriving at the bakery, the round-faced middle-aged woman stood faithfully in place and asked, "Little girl, what would you like?"

Asuna opened the chat window, stared at the item prices, and froze.

Black bread, 1 Cole.

Fruit bread, 5 Coles.

Fruit cake... 50 Coles!

The mixed package... is also 50 Coles!

Asuna pursed her lips and stepped back. She couldn't believe that her daily expenses exceeded 100 Coles!

Cole spent more than the entire assets of an average player in a single day, and all of this was provided by Momo!

Mo Mo, what exactly did you do? What are you doing?

Asuna was terrified. She didn't understand the game, but she knew the simplest truth: the greater the reward, the greater the risk!

For the average player hunting wild boar, a dozen or so kol a day is already the limit. Just how much danger did Momo risk to earn so many kol?

What Asuna felt most ashamed and found hard to accept was that, as the beneficiary of so many Cole's efforts, she was completely unaware of this, completely unaware of all the sacrifices Momo had made.

What did she do in the face of Mo Mo's sacrifices?

What she did was shut Mo Mo out and ignore him completely!

"I'm so... terrible!"

Overwhelmed by regret and remorse, Asuna's eyes blurred with tears. At that moment, she suddenly awoke with a start: why hadn't Momo returned yet?

Could it be that Cole encountered danger while trying to earn these?

Thinking of this, Asuna started running like a madwoman, rushing towards the gate of the Starting Street.

She's going to find Mo Mo!