Dimensional Store: Welcome to the Apocalypse Apartment - chapter 102

He Xueyi was having a wonderful time living in this glass laboratory. He even had the leisure to help Xiao Youqi cut the tumor off his leg, dig the maggots out of it, and feed Xiao Youqi little red berries.

Since he couldn’t persuade Gu Huaiwei, Xiao Youqi turned his attention to He Xueyi.

He begged He Xueyi to take him along when he left-take him to a world where one could live forever.

Under the laboratory’s cold lighting, He Xueyi’s pure-white Skin Suit gave off a soft halo. Half-kneeling beside Xiao Youqi’s bed, he murmured gently, soothing Xiao Youqi through the pain.

“Shh. Don’t worry. The gods let you meet me. I’ll take you with me when I leave-and I’ll take all your pain away, too.”

He held one hand suspended in the air. Those long, pale fingers moved with elegant precision above Xiao Youqi’s filthy, rotting body.

As if he were completing some kind of ritual.

And the strange thing was, under He Xueyi’s reassurance, even Xiao Youqi’s pained groans faded to little more than a whisper.

Gu Huaiwei asked He Xueyi where he’d run off to the past few days.

Without the slightest trace of guilt, He Xueyi told her he’d gone to a dinner with new friends he’d met at an academic seminar, then arranged a visit to a green-plant cultivation project.

After the visit, He Xueyi had also gone with them to see the institute’s artificially bred mutant creatures, a new type of combat robot, and other cutting-edge technology.

It wasn’t until his fake-scholar identity was exposed that he finally reined himself in and confessed-without hiding anything-that he was Gu Huaiwei’s accomplice, after which he was sent in here.

In other words, he’d been neglecting his duties and socializing.

After Xiao Youqi fell into sleep, Gu Huaiwei lowered her voice and asked He Xueyi, “Can you really take someone from this plane with you when you leave?”

“If he believes I can take him away, then mentally, he can leave with me.”

Gu Huaiwei glanced at the rotting Xiao Youqi on the lab bed with a hint of pity. “So you’re just making him feel better.”

Being lied to right before death-there was something miserable about that.

But He Xueyi’s expression was unusually serious. The light landed on his silver-white lashes like snow falling in early winter-bright, almost glowing.

“This isn’t deception. His world is built from his thoughts to begin with. When he opens his eyes, the scene before him exists. When he closes them, the entire world dies along with his consciousness.

“What is reality? It’s nothing more than a reflection of what you humans perceive. What truly binds you isn’t the outside world-it’s your own understanding of reality.

“If he firmly believes he can go with me, then in that moment of conviction, his pain has already drifted far away from him.

“He gets what he wants. How can that be called deception?”

What He Xueyi said did make a certain amount of sense.

But it made Gu Huaiwei’s head hurt. She preferred things that were a bit more grounded.

Qian Duoduo still came every day to visit Gu Huaiwei.

This time, she brought an Inhibitor.

“Inject this into Xiao Youqi.”

Gu Huaiwei picked up the Inhibitor and examined it under the light. She realized it was a new model from the Black Spiral Research Institute.

It worked better than the previous version, with fewer side effects.

“What is this supposed to be? Are you getting ready to make up with him?” Gu Huaiwei asked.

Qian Duoduo looked irritated. “The experiments on him aren’t finished yet. He can’t die that fast.”

Gu Huaiwei nodded thoughtfully. “Oh. So you don’t want him to die.”

Qian Duoduo stared at Gu Huaiwei. After hesitating for a moment, she asked, “What did Professor Feng say to you when he talked to you alone last time?”

Gu Huaiwei’s tone was lazy. “Nothing much. He just wants to keep me here and hand me half the institute.”

“Hah? Are you telling jokes?” Qian Duoduo didn’t believe Professor Feng would do something like that.

“If you don’t believe me, go check for yourself.”

“…” Qian Duoduo’s expression darkened. She pushed her wheelchair away.

Over the next few days, Qian Duoduo seemed to have noticed just how much importance Professor Feng placed on Gu Huaiwei.
She suggested to Professor Feng that Gu Huaiwei undergo genetic modification, and Professor Feng rejected it outright.

Then she proposed that Gu Huaiwei should be made to suffer a little-to repay the debt of her legs-but Professor Feng still didn’t agree.

In the end, Qian Duoduo arrived outside the glass lab, her face stormy.

She saw that aside from having her freedom restricted, Gu Huaiwei had nutrient packs to eat, fresh water to drink, kept regular hours, and lived an unusually comfortable life inside the glass lab.

“Why does she get that…?”

Watching Gu Huaiwei look so at ease, Qian Duoduo’s hatred for Professor Feng only kept piling up.

She’d betrayed her friends, offered Professor Feng plans and ideas, done so much-yet she still hadn’t gotten the payoff she deserved.

That damned Professor Feng… he’d never respected her in the first place.

Qian Duoduo even started to think Gu Huaiwei hadn’t lied.

Maybe Professor Feng really did want to keep Gu Huaiwei-treat her as an equal.

Resentment, anger, jealousy… all of it flooded her mind.

Somewhere deep down, the impulse to betray stirred, and Qian Duoduo walked into the glass lab.

“Hey. Do you want to leave?”

Gu Huaiwei turned her head. “You’re going to help me?”

Gu Huaiwei had seen every complicated flicker of emotion on Qian Duoduo’s face.

This was exactly what she’d been waiting for.

Qian Duoduo said, “Go. Take Xiao Youqi with you.”

Outside the Black Spiral Research Institute, the dry wind howled through the steel fencing.

Using her employee access, Qian Duoduo helped Gu Huaiwei slip out.

“You’ve got thirty minutes to reach the high-speed rail station. Once you leave, don’t come back.”

Gu Huaiwei said with a hint of mockery, “So does this count as you betraying your new organization again?”

Qian Duoduo gave a small smile. “Betrayal? Do you even know what kind of blood runs through a drifter’s veins?”

“I don’t. What, is your blood not red?” Gu Huaiwei was still waiting for some grand speech.

But Qian Duoduo only said, “You don’t need to understand our world.”

On the way out, Gu Huaiwei’s calm was almost excessive.

Like whether she got out or not wasn’t a big deal.

That only made Qian Duoduo more certain she was doing the right thing.

She couldn’t leave Gu Huaiwei here to become someone she’d have to compete with.

Qian Duoduo’s expression turned grim. “Hmph. Stop wasting time. Every minute you spend talking is a minute you’re throwing away your chance to run.

“You spared me once. I’m helping you once. We’re even.”

“Mm. Even,” Gu Huaiwei agreed.

She’d tried to steer Qian Duoduo into directing her anger at Professor Feng, but Qian Duoduo had endured it all without truly turning on him.

It seemed that to Qian Duoduo, staying inside the Black Spiral Research Institute mattered more than pride or humiliation.

Even now, letting Gu Huaiwei go wasn’t about taking Gu Huaiwei’s side-it was about clearing away a problem and keeping herself in play.

Qian Duoduo had released them a little too late.

Only five days remained-barely enough for Gu Huaiwei to make it back at all.

“Take this.” Qian Duoduo pulled a large handful of Inhibitor vials from her pocket and shoved them into Gu Huaiwei’s hands. “Hurry up and go. I’ll stall them for a bit.”

Then she wheeled herself over to Xiao Youqi, who lay on a flatbed cart. With her back to Gu Huaiwei, she said, “If you decide to dump him halfway, remember to leave him two Inhibitor.”

Gu Huaiwei promised, “Don’t worry. I won’t let your friend get caught and hauled back again.”

“He hasn’t been my friend for a long time.”

Leaving that behind, Qian Duoduo pushed her wheelchair away without a trace of hesitation, heading toward the research institute glowing in the darkness.

She believed that once Gu Huaiwei was gone, Professor Feng would have to come back and rely on her again.

Not far away, an alarm began to blare.

On the flatbed cart, Xiao Youqi opened his eyes-gray irises like a moon filmed over with dust.

He’d been conscious the entire way.