Dimensional Store: Welcome to the Apocalypse Apartment - Chapter 129

Chapter 129

They say loving someone is like raising a flower. Seeing how quickly He Jiarui had withered after Bonding, Gu Huaiwei could only assume that Chen Liuxiang wasn’t treating her as well as her previous Keeper had. She must be overthinking things, lost in her memories of the past.

“It’s not her fault. She’s very good to me and has fulfilled every promise she made. It’s just… she can’t give me the things I want…”

He Jiarui’s internal conflict lay within herself.

From the very beginning, He Jiarui knew that she wasn’t the only human Chen Liuxiang had Bonded with. When she chose Magnetic Value, she believed she could accept that reality.

However, once she actually Bonded with Chen Liuxiang and moved from her modest three-bedroom apartment into this luxurious manor, she discovered she couldn’t so easily accept a life devoid of companionship.

Whenever He Jiarui needed company, her original Keeper had cared for her meticulously. When she needed freedom, they would let her go out to clear her head and then pick her up afterward.

It could be said that her previous Keeper deserved all the credit for her ability to maintain a Mental Value of 70.

But what did that matter?

Aliens received government subsidies for acting as Keepers and raising newborn humans.

Once a human reached adulthood, those subsidies were revoked.

Her original Keeper was indeed wonderful, but He Jiarui knew full well that they couldn’t provide enough Magnetic Value once she became an adult.

Poverty was the ultimate sin.

Without sufficient Magnetic Value, she would age rapidly.

She didn’t want a gentle soul who had nothing to show for it; she wanted something more practical.

That had been He Jiarui’s original motivation for seeking out Gu Huaiwei.

She had achieved her wish.

She just hadn’t expected to be so terrified of loneliness.

“What can’t she give you? Love?” Gu Huaiwei was hardly a sentimental person. She felt it would be somewhat immoral to laugh in such a situation, but she also found the idea of a human and an Alien talking about love to be inherently absurd.

Humans and Aliens were two different species.

Aliens were so much more powerful than humans; a single stray tentacle could send a human head flying. They were only pretending to have a sense of humanity-they didn’t actually possess it. How could anyone expect emotional fulfillment from them?

Gu Huaiwei didn’t understand it, but she had to suppress the urge to criticize. She needed to look after her client’s fragile heart and that precarious Mental Value.

“Attention and companionship can be considered outward expressions of love.” He Jiarui coughed twice, her face pale. A trace of blood leaked from the corner of her mouth. Gu Huaiwei pulled out a napkin and handed it to her. He Jiarui let out a long sigh. “I suppose I was just too greedy. I thought I only needed Magnetic Value, but now I realize that’s not the case… I want it all…”

She wanted the Magnetic Value, and she wanted exclusive companionship.

“There’s no such thing as a free lunch in this world.” Gu Huaiwei really wasn’t great at comforting people. “At least you have enough Magnetic Value to maintain your youth. Don’t focus so much on Chen Liuxiang. Just look in the mirror every morning, touch your collagen-filled cheeks, and you’ll feel better.”

He Jiarui shook her head.

She used to love looking in the mirror.

Now that she had absorbed plenty of Magnetic Value, she didn’t enjoy it as much.

“Chen Liuxiang has agreed to dissolve our Bond and set me free. Miss Gu, if I break the Bond, do you have a way to help me find an Alien who can provide Magnetic Value and take care of me?”

“Well…” Gu Huaiwei looked a bit troubled. She wasn’t exactly a wishing well.

Of course, the power of money could change that.

“How much Magnetic Value can you offer?” she asked calmly.

He Jiarui’s response was staggering. “If I dissolve the Bond, Chen Liuxiang will give me a hundred thousand Magnetic Value as a breakup fee. As long as you can find me a suitable partner before I die, that hundred thousand is all yours.”

A hundred thousand!

Gu Huaiwei was incredibly tempted.

But wealthy Aliens weren’t idiots; they wouldn’t just happily take any human home.

She didn’t agree immediately, instead offering a compromise.

“How about this? There’s an excellent medical team here to keep you stable. For now, don’t dissolve your Bond with Chen Liuxiang.”
“I’m planning to host a Matchmaking Event soon. A lot of people will be attending, so I’ll help you scout for a suitable candidate there. Once you have a proper match, we can terminate the current contract.”

“Mm.” He Jiarui gave a weak smile upon hearing Gu Huaiwei’s promise. “Then I’ll leave the rest to you.”

“By the way, during the time you’ve spent with Chen Liuxiang, have you noticed anything strange about her?”

“Anything strange?” He Jiarui thought for a moment before shaking her head. “No. She’s very busy and often does charity work. She has her own life. Even as her Contracted Human, I’ve never truly been a part of it.”

“I see…” Gu Huaiwei thought back to what had happened on the day of the coming-of-age ceremony. It seemed He Jiarui was completely in the dark. She tucked the corner of the girl’s blanket in. “Get some rest. I won’t disturb you any longer.”

After visiting the patient, Gu Huaiwei led Bai Miemie out of the manor.

“Sister Gu, look at this cool thing I found.” Bai Miemie suddenly pulled a Big Fat Worm out of her pocket with a sneaky, mischievous look, holding it up like a precious treasure for Gu Huaiwei to see.

Gu Huaiwei’s pupils contracted slightly when she saw the familiar creature. “Where did you get this?”

“I… I picked it up,” Bai Miemie said. She was a terrible liar; her eyes darted around, and she nervously picked at her sleeve.

“Tell the truth.”

“Okay, fine. When Sister Gu was saying goodbye to that sickly girl, I plucked it off her body,” Bai Miemie explained frantically. Her eyes grew redder as she spoke, and tears began to fall. “This worm looked so plump and nutritious, and that girl couldn’t digest it anyway, so I stole it… Sister… I didn’t mean to steal…”

“I’m not blaming you,” Gu Huaiwei said, her voice softening as she took the worm from Bai Miemie’s fingers.

The plump worm struggled between Gu Huaiwei’s fingertips. It even opened its mouthparts and bit down hard on her finger, attempting to burrow into her body through the wound.

Gu Huaiwei had already completely digested the previous one.

He Xueyi had said these worms were very nourishing, though Gu Huaiwei had yet to feel exactly how.

“Miemie.”

“Yes~”

“Is this worm male or female?”

“I’ll have to check.” Bai Miemie pried at the Big Fat Worm’s rear. “It’s a male. It has a little thingy.”

“Did you see any other worms in the manor?”

Bai Miemie bit her index finger as she recalled. “On the lawn outside, those humans playing with the ball… they seemed to have these worms inside them too.”

Why was Chen Liuxiang injecting these worms into humans?

Those humans on the lawn were Chen Liuxiang’s Bonding partners; she had no reason to harm them.

If the worm was causing a negative impact on He Jiarui, why were the other humans fine?

All sorts of doubts swirled in Gu Huaiwei’s mind.

“Let’s find a way to get a female one. We can breed more when we get back, study their nutritional value, and then stew them into a soup.” Gu Huaiwei took a bottle of Mineral Water out of her Jade Bracelet, poured out the water, and stuffed the Big Fat Worm inside.

When they returned to the Oasis Matchmaking Agency, two customers were just leaving after finishing their registration.

As they brushed past, Gu Huaiwei felt they looked somewhat familiar.

Zhou Chuanning had been busy with cases lately.

He arrived at the shop after work today, his black uniform draped over the back of a chair and the top two buttons of his shirt undone. Several photographs were laid out in front of him.

“Officer Zhou, what brings you here today?”

“It’s about that coming-of-age ceremony.” Zhou Chuanning handed the photos to Gu Huaiwei. “Take a look. This is from the surveillance footage.”

The top right corner of the photos showed the timestamp of the video frames.

In the same time period, two Gu Huaiweis and two Chen Liuxiangs appeared simultaneously.