Dimensional Store: Welcome to the Apocalypse Apartment - Chapter 183

Chapter 183

The reward had been dangled.

In an instant, the expressions of the three changed.

He Xueyi crushed the small fruit, its green juice staining his pristine white fingertips. He extended his tongue to lick it clean, then turned to Gu Huaiwei with a warm, gentle smile.

Lin She was still brooding over his professional blunder in the previous Dimension. On his computer, he changed the task “Find the First Guest” to a bold, enlarged red font and pinned it to the very top of his schedule, determined to succeed.

Bai Miemie’s mind was instantly flooded with things she wanted Gu Huaiwei to do. Most were related to Paradise, but for those that weren’t… she began to fantasize about the conditions she would propose when the time came.

Gray Mist Town was a massive trial ground composed of many small Instances.

Gu Huaiwei believed in being fair and impartial. When it came to going out with her Assistants to handle business, she rotated through the three of them.

The next day, she took Bai Miemie out. They took a stroll around the vicinity of the Oasis Sanatorium but found no trace of any living person.

At the northernmost edge of the town stood a massive, charred Clock Tower. Right next to it was the Chemical Factory where an explosion had occurred decades ago.

Gu Huaiwei had printed out a stack of promotional posters for the Oasis Sanatorium.

With Bai Miemie carrying a bucket of paste and Gu Huaiwei carrying two brushes on her back, they spent the journey putting up advertisements, covering the weathered walls with eye-catching posters.

Gu Huaiwei tossed her brush into the nearly empty paste bucket and asked, “Do you smell anyone else’s scent?”

“No, this city is completely empty.”

Gu Huaiwei massaged her aching wrist. “Strange. Why would Paradise want to open a shop in a world like this?”

She took a deep breath. Aside from a faint, lingering smell of scorched earth, there was no scent of the living.

It was truly frustrating.

“What about other living creatures?” Gu Huaiwei asked.

“None of those either,” Bai Miemie said, shaking her head.

The city felt like it had been dead for a long time. There were no birds in the sky, most of the greenery lining the streets had withered away, and even the ponds were filled with industrial waste, devoid of fish or shrimp.

Bai Miemie had rectangular pupils, which allowed her to see behind her head. She had been quite tense throughout the walk.

Refusing to give up, Gu Huaiwei asked, “When you were with other Operators, did you ever encounter a situation where you entered an empty city?”

“Well… my experience is still quite limited. I haven’t encountered this before.”

Bai Miemie spoke with little confidence. Unlike Lin She or He Xueyi, she hadn’t served many Operators in the past.

Being able to follow Gu Huaiwei was an opportunity her family had made great sacrifices to create for her.

Bai Miemie came from a large family with many siblings.

Vegetarians had low physical stats and were often overlooked in Paradise, but they had their strengths – they were numerous, and when united, they were a force that could not be ignored.

Her father was getting old, and Bai Miemie was the family’s hope. To win the chance to attend the Banquet, she had to perform well and ensure Gu Huaiwei didn’t find her useless.

“However, I did notice something!” Bai Miemie looked up eagerly. “I noticed that while we were putting up the ads, there were barriers between many of the buildings.”

“There were?” Gu Huaiwei hadn’t felt anything; she had been moving freely between the structures.

“Yes, yes.” Bai Miemie held up an index finger, her expression serious. “Every time we left a new building, I could feel a slight resistance. It’s a kind of resistance I never felt in the previous worlds.”

Gu Huaiwei nodded thoughtfully.
She had actually noticed it long ago.

In the Wasteland World, she discovered she was immune to the corrosive effects of external radiation. In the Alien world, she found that she didn’t age rapidly even if she didn’t consume Magnetic Value.

Similarly, in Gray Mist City, the barriers between Instances could not stop her from coming and going as she pleased.

Ultimately, Gu Huaiwei was an Operator selected by Paradise. She did not belong to these minor Dimensions, so their constraints were ineffective against her.

*Dong-*

Mist began to fall from the sky again. The originally gray sun hid completely behind the clouds as a low Bell Toll echoed from the nearby Clock Tower. The sound was heavy and long, tearing through the deathly silence of the town.

Gu Huaiwei glanced at the time on her phone; it was 9:15 AM.

“Sister Gu, there’s someone on the Clock Tower.” Bai Miemie tugged at Gu Huaiwei’s hand, looking up at the tower. “I don’t smell a human scent, but I see them! There’s a person hiding behind that big yellow bell!”

A blurry figure stood high atop the Clock Tower, looking like a paper cutout.

“Did that person ring the bell?”

“No, that person only appeared after the bell rang.” Bai Miemie was somewhat excited. She felt she had successfully found their first customer and would soon receive a reward.

Gu Huaiwei narrowed her eyes and patted Bai Miemie’s arm. “Come on, let’s go up and take a look.”

The Clock Tower was tall and had been abandoned for decades, its stairs dilapidated.

They quickly climbed the spiraling staircase. The wooden steps groaned under the strain, sounding as if they might snap at any moment.

When they reached the top floor, Gu Huaiwei saw a hunched old woman standing next to the massive yellow bell, watching them with cloudy eyes.

Gu Huaiwei caught a scent of stale decay coming from the old woman, like a piece of rotten wood.

Living people had the scent of the living.

This old woman did not.

She had appeared out of nowhere.

The space atop the Clock Tower was narrow, and given the old woman’s apparent physical condition, she didn’t look like someone capable of climbing so high.

Something was definitely off.

“Hello there. I’m the Shop Manager and sales representative for the Oasis Sanatorium. Do you live nearby? Our Sanatorium is newly opened and offers professional medical care and rehabilitation services. Would you like to consider us?”

Gu Huaiwei flashed her trademark smile and proactively handed one of her remaining flyers to the old woman.

She didn’t care what the old woman was; as long as she looked human, Gu Huaiwei would try to trick her into coming back to the Sanatorium to see if a deal could be made.

The old woman didn’t speak, nor did she reach out to take the flyer Gu Huaiwei offered.

Instead, she gave a creepy smile and handed Gu Huaiwei a yellowed slip of paper.

Gu Huaiwei took the note.

On it, scribbled handwriting read: *When the first Bell Toll sounds, your guest will randomly appear in any corner of this city. When the second Bell Toll sounds, the guest will leave the city.*

This meant Gu Huaiwei had to find the customer in the interval between the two tolls.

“Who are you?”

The old woman didn’t answer, standing there like a mute wax statue.

“Why are you telling me this?” Gu Huaiwei asked, clutching the note.

She fired off her questions all at once.

“How long is the interval between the two tolls?”

“This town is so big, how am I supposed to accurately locate the customer after the bell rings?”

The old woman still said nothing.

Gu Huaiwei fell silent for a moment, her gaze burning as she looked at her. “Have we… met before in a previous Dimension?”