Dimensional Store: Welcome to the Apocalypse Apartment - Chapter 157

Chapter 157

Mu Lingxi stared at the tops of her feet and said, “It’s tomorrow morning at 8:00 AM. We’ll wait for Secretary Wang at the neighborhood entrance and go together.”

The next morning, Gu Huaiwei changed into an understated black shirt dress and went to her garage. She got into the frozen berry pink Panamera that Mu Lingxi had helped her pick out earlier. Resting her hand on the steering wheel, she rolled the window down halfway, revealing one side of her face.

On the way out of the villa complex, Gu Huaiwei felt as if everyone was watching her.

A fashionable auntie walking her giant poodle, a health-conscious retired leader practicing Tai Chi, the handsome security guard at the gate, and even a young couple in the middle of a fight involving a swinging handbag… as Gu Huaiwei drove past, they all stopped what they were doing and stared at her.

This left Gu Huaiwei feeling a bit self-conscious.

“Lingxi, help me check if there’s something on my face?”

Mu Lingxi was sitting in the passenger seat, holding a cob of freshly steamed sweet corn. She was nibbling on it like a hamster while pulling a black face mask out of her pocket and placing it on Gu Huaiwei’s lap.

“Huaiwei, maybe… you should cover your face.”

“Hmm? Why?” Gu Huaiwei turned her head and saw Mu Lingxi eating the corn with great relish. “Lingxi, break off a bit of the end for me.”

“I’ve already bitten that part.”

“It’s fine.”

Mu Lingxi snapped off a small section from the back that she hadn’t touched yet and held it to Gu Huaiwei’s mouth. Gu Huaiwei took a large bite of the juicy corn, a satisfied expression crossing her face.

Mu Lingxi explained, “It’s just an indescribable feeling. I feel like you’ve become very beautiful. It’s not the kind of drastic change you get after plastic surgery… your features haven’t changed, but people just can’t look away. Did you go off and learn some kind of Charm Technique?”

“Really?”

Gu Huaiwei glanced at the rearview mirror. Aside from her skin being finer than before, her eyes brighter, and the red tear mole under her eye being more vivid, there were no other changes.

Could it be thanks to those Big Fat Worms?

Recently, she had cultivated many Alert Worms and Sunflowers, cooking them in various ways and eating quite a few.

After eating these Worms, the most direct benefit was that she didn’t really get dark circles under her eyes even when working late. Even when she lay in bed playing on her phone, her eyes didn’t get bloodshot.

Gu Huaiwei had been running between several Branch Stores, giving training speeches to employees-several sessions a day-yet she didn’t suffer from back pain or a sore throat. Her physical health was incredible.

He Xueyi had said those Worms were very nourishing.

So this was how they nourished the body.

It seemed that in this Alien Dimension, besides consuming Magnetic Value to maintain youth, there were other good things waiting for her to discover.

“The Worms and flowers I ate before might have some beauty-enhancing effects. Why don’t you try some and see if they work for you?”

At the thought of those ugly, fried fat worms, Mu Lingxi’s face instantly froze. A yellow corn kernel was still stuck to her lip as she involuntarily gulped, barely squeezing out a sentence: “Is that stuff really useful?”

Gu Huaiwei nodded. “It’s useful. Didn’t you say I’ve become more beautiful? Back when I used to walk behind my sister, I was a total wallflower. I’ve changed quite a bit now, haven’t I?”

Mu Lingxi immediately made up her mind, clenching her pink fists. “Then I’ll eat them. Even if I have to poke them down with chopsticks, I’ll eat them.”

The effects of this kind of thing were ten thousand times better than medical aesthetics.

However, later on, when Mu Lingxi actually went back and tried a Worm, she ended up with unbearable abdominal pain. The effect wasn’t nearly as good as the pumpkin soup with added Magnetic Value. Gu Huaiwei had to rush Mu Lingxi to the hospital.
Looking at Mu Lingxi’s sickly, pale face, Gu Huaiwei couldn’t understand what had gone wrong. She had tested the nutritional content of the Alert Worms; while they contained a mild toxin that could paralyze nerves, the toxin was supposed to dissipate after high-temperature heating.

She had given Mu Lingxi non-toxic Alert Worms that had been deep-fried at high temperatures. Logically, even if they didn’t work, they shouldn’t have caused food poisoning.

However, Mu Lingxi’s body was completely intolerant of them. After a hospital check-up, the doctor said she had ingested an unknown substance that her stomach could not absorb, leading to a food blockage and severe indigestion.

Gu Huaiwei conducted experiments on others.

She discovered that, aside from herself, humans from both the Real World and the Alien Dimension were unable to consume these worms directly.

Of course, that was all a matter for later.

At the moment, Gu Huaiwei parked the car at the entrance of the residential complex and waited for Secretary Wang.

Secretary Wang was wearing a mask, covering herself up completely from head to toe.

After she got in the car, the three of them headed to the prison.

A light mist lingered in the early morning, and the faint glimmer of the sun pierced through the two plane trees at the prison gate, casting dappled spots of golden light.

The prison was located in a remote part of the city’s outskirts. They had arrived quite early, so aside from a few visiting family members, there weren’t many people at the gate.

Under the guidance of a prison guard, Gu Huaiwei met the mastermind behind the previous kidnapping case.

Contrary to what Gu Huaiwei had imagined, the brutal kidnapper who had chopped off Jiang Xingyi’s hand turned out to be just a young man with a buzz cut. He looked no more than twenty years old, with a high bridge to his nose and a sharp jawline. A scar cut through his left eyebrow, and his eyes were wild and untamable.

Upon seeing this man, Mu Lingxi appeared somewhat nervous. She pressed close to Gu Huaiwei’s side, clutching her arm.

After all, Mu Lingxi was a victim of that kidnapping case. She had seen this youth’s bloodthirsty nature with her own eyes and was still haunted by the memory.

The youth’s name was Qi Yuntian. According to the report from the private investigator Gu Huaiwei had hired, he had dropped out of school before finishing junior high. He had spent his time with a group of thugs, engaging in petty theft, brawling, and telecommunications fraud, making him a frequent guest at the local police station. Later, he had settled down for a while because a family member fell ill, and it was unclear what he had been doing during that time. Then, he had directly orchestrated the kidnapping case.

Qi Yuntian was in handcuffs, sitting with his legs spread wide and his body leaning back. His unfriendly gaze swept back and forth between Gu Huaiwei and Mu Lingxi.

Then, he let out a somewhat flippant whistle and smirked. “Three beauties coming to see me? I’m truly flattered.”

Gu Huaiwei ignored him and instead let Secretary Wang identify him first.

Mu Lingxi had mentioned before that when she was with Gu Changge, she vaguely remembered Qi Yuntian having done business with her.

However, Mu Lingxi hadn’t spent much time following Sister Changge and didn’t have much contact with the core business, so her memory was hazy.

Secretary Wang was different. She had been Sister Changge’s trusted confidante. If Qi Yuntian had truly done business with her sister, she would definitely recognize him at a glance.

Secretary Wang lifted the brim of her hat slightly. She looked at Qi Yuntian, her brow furrowing deeper and deeper under the shadow of her hat.

“It actually is you. So your real name is Qi Yuntian.”

“You recognize me?” Qi Yuntian turned his gaze toward Secretary Wang, his face showing confusion.

Secretary Wang was so bundled up that he couldn’t see her face, so he didn’t recognize who she was.