Dimensional Store: Welcome to the Apocalypse Apartment - Chapter 181

Chapter 181

Bai Miemie’s small face was covered in tears, her pink nose twitching as she let out soft, choked sobs. She looked up at Gu Huaiwei with wide, round eyes, one hand nervously clutching the hem of her skirt while the other tugged at Gu Huaiwei’s sleeve.

The delivery box she had been holding rolled away across the floor.

“Sister Gu, please don’t be mad. You can pinch me as hard as you want to feel better, I promise I won’t fight back.”

“Then I won’t hold back.” Gu Huaiwei put on a fierce expression and raised her hand.

Bai Miemie immediately closed her eyes in fear, her shoulders trembling.

Gu Huaiwei thought she looked incredibly adorable and felt a sudden urge to tease her. The small spark of anger she had felt earlier vanished completely at the sight of the girl’s tears.

In truth, a blessing often comes disguised as a curse. Although the premature Dimension jump had disrupted Gu Huaiwei’s original plans, it had been a blessing in disguise, helping her escape the predicament of being swarmed by those black flying beetles.

Her hand, raised high, descended gently. She gave Bai Miemie’s fair forehead a light flick.

“Ow, ow, ow-” Bai Miemie immediately clutched her reddened forehead, tears rolling down her cheeks so fast they almost formed a small puddle.

He Xueyi watched with an air of detached indifference.

He remarked coolly, “What a poor little thing.”

“It’s all your fault! You were the one who egged me on!” Bai Miemie puffed out her cheeks, her rectangular pupils glaring at He Xueyi. Then, covering her eyes with the back of her hand, she ran back to her room in a fit of grievance.

Gu Huaiwei was in a rather good mood. She narrowed her eyes pleasantly and looked at He Xueyi. “So, you were the one who tempted her to do it?”

He Xueyi squinted and smiled. “How could that be? I was beside her, trying my best to talk her out of it.”

“Since your assistance was ineffective, you’ll be responsible for clearing out that patch of weeds outside the Oasis Sanatorium.”

“Eh? What about her?” The smile vanished from He Xueyi’s lips. He hated manual labor more than anything.

Gu Huaiwei thrust a broom into He Xueyi’s hand. “She’s already crying. You’ll clean up her share as well. No slacking off.”

“Oh.” He Xueyi used a single finger to press down on the very top of the broom handle with an expression of disgust, as if he were touching something filthy.

He certainly didn’t look like a diligent employee.

“What’s in this box?”

Gu Huaiwei picked up the delivery box Bai Miemie had dropped and examined it.

Initially, Gu Huaiwei thought it was some fur care cream Bai Miemie had ordered.

However, the label showed it was addressed to Gu Huaiwei.

The sender was: He Jiarui.

Gu Huaiwei gave the box a little shake and asked, “When did this arrive?”

He Xueyi replied, “The day after you left the Oasis Matchmaking Agency.”

Gu Huaiwei recalled how He Jiarui had wanted to stay behind. Considering how quickly He Jiarui changed her mind and her inability to commit to a choice, Gu Huaiwei had rejected her request.

After that, it was a final goodbye.

She asked curiously, “Did He Jiarui ever succeed in her application at the Branch Store?”

He Xueyi had to think for a moment to remember who He Jiarui was.

“No, she didn’t meet the recruitment standards. She was rejected.”

Without a backdoor, there were no miracles.

“I see.” Gu Huaiwei lowered her head, remembering He Jiarui’s figure as she left, looking back three times with every step. “Do you know where she went after that?”

“No idea,” He Xueyi answered nonchalantly.

He preferred vibrant young men and women; he wouldn’t waste much attention on a withered flower burdened by the vicissitudes of life.

“Understood. Go get to work.”

Gu Huaiwei pulled her car keys from her pocket and used them to slice open the delivery box.

Inside the box were the two Contract Rings He Jiarui had previously worn. They had been melted down and polished into two Jingle Bracelets.
One was a Newborn Ring, given to her by Ji Xuan.

One was a Bonding Ring, given to her by Chen Liuxiang.

They had lost their Contract power and turned into slender, beautiful trinkets.

Inside the package was also a crumpled letter.

“My whole life has been shackled by choices; I tried to grasp everything, yet I ended up with nothing.

I give the only remaining shackles I have to you. This is the only valuable thing I own. I hope it can express my determination to be independent and no longer rely on Aliens.

Please forgive the unreasonable request I made before I left. I hope it won’t affect our friendship.

You possess all the freedom I yearn for, but in the end, I cannot become you. To one of my few human friends, please write back to me.

That way, I will have the courage to drag this aging, broken body to a new city and start over.”

It was too late.

Gu Huaiwei’s lowered eyelashes trembled slightly.

This delivery had arrived two days late.

Gu Huaiwei looked at the regret flowing between the lines and said nothing. She tucked the Jingle Bracelet and the letter into a black, locked box and placed it in the furthest corner of the Jade Bracelet.

Everything from that small Dimension would remain in that small Dimension.

Not just the people, but the events, the bonds, and the regrets.

***

Meanwhile, in a garbage station somewhere in this Dead City, a Black Small Flying Insect landed on a pile of trash. Its body continuously gathered black mist, swelling and expanding until, from a distance, it looked like a bloated black trash bag.

Slowly, a head grew out.

Slowly, narrow limbs emerged.

With a “pop,” the trash bag burst open.

Red, black, and green matter tangled together and began to grow.

Small limbs supported a massive head, looking like a mutated spider. It lurked in the garbage station to conserve its strength, waiting for its body to continue recovering.

A Slightly Plump Female Student wearing tight jeans scanned the surroundings with a tense expression.

This Garbage Station Instance was located on the edge of the Dead City. The air was thick with an indescribable stench of decay, and the towering mounds of trash looked like rows of tombstones.

Countless Black Small Flying Insects buzzed through the air.

The Slightly Plump Female Student looked around and said to the Pockmarked Middle-aged Man beside her, “The note with the Rules mentioned that part of the dismembered corpse is hidden in this trash.”

The Pockmarked Middle-aged Man looked over the Rules on the note again and made a decision. “We’ll split up to search. Don’t go too far. If we haven’t found it by sunset, we’ll abandon the mission and head back the way we came.”

“Okay,” the Slightly Plump Female Student nodded.

The dilapidated corrugated iron walls were covered in rust. Rainwater dripped through the cracks, merging with the sewage on the ground.

A black figure flashed by, blending in with the other trash.

“Wait, something’s wrong!” The Pockmarked Middle-aged Man sensed a flicker of unease, his sharp eyes scanning the piles of rubbish.

“I…”

In the next second, the Slightly Plump Female Student’s voice abruptly vanished.

The Pockmarked Middle-aged Man turned around to see an empty junkyard. He called out her name several times, but there was no response.

Only a faint scent of blood lingered in the air.

A moment later, countless Black Small Flying Insects swarmed over his back, biting through his skin and burrowing into his flesh to devour him.

His body became like rapidly rotting leftovers, quickly turning into a pile of sludge to feed the Worms.

Only a blood-stained note with the Rules remained on the ground.

The foul wind of the garbage station blew against the paper. It fluttered into the air before landing in a filthy puddle.

It was very quiet here.

So quiet, it was as if no one had ever come, and nothing had ever happened.