Dimensional Store: Welcome to the Apocalypse Apartment - Chapter 197

Chapter 197

Even with his mobility issues, the Library Director would still play hide-and-seek with Bella whenever she wanted to play.

Compared to Han Zhusheng, the Library Director seemed to favor Bella much more.

Unfortunately, Gu Huaiwei had knocked out two of Bella’s teeth last time, causing the girl to avoid her like the plague. Whenever Gu Huaiwei appeared, Bella would scramble into the large wardrobe to hide.

Playing hide-and-seek was out of the question.

Gu Huaiwei observed the movement patterns of these Anomalies; they rarely left their designated areas.

Bella always hid in the sixth-floor attic, only leaving it on the nights when the fire broke out.

Han Zhusheng appeared most often in the Office or the reading area.

The Female Painter remained in the Painting Studio in the basement.

Gu Huaiwei crouched by the wardrobe door, trying every possible persuasion, but Bella refused to come out. Feeling a bit helpless, Gu Huaiwei simply broke the lock on the wardrobe door and hauled the hiding Bella out by the collar.

“Little girl, come out and play hide-and-seek with big sister. Lure your father out, and I’ll let you go.”

Strange syllables escaped Bella’s mouth.

It seemed Gu Huaiwei’s actions had far exceeded her expectations.

Gu Huaiwei tied Bella to a stool and made her count.

If she didn’t cooperate, Gu Huaiwei would crush one of her Miner Dolls.

At first, Bella was still able to speak in human tongue.

“Daddy won’t come out at this time. He only comes to see me on the nights of the fire… *ka-ka-ka*… I like the fire and the heat. *Sizzle, sizzle.* You can smell the scent of roasted meat.”

“He comes to play hide-and-seek with me… *ka-ka-ka*… The fire can’t burn into the Toy Room, but my head gets bigger in the flames, so I can’t fit inside.”

“Stop touching my dolls! I’ve been collecting them for a long time! *Ka-ka-ka*!”

“Put my dolls down! I’ll give you a Gray Crystal Gem in exchange! Put them down… Don’t touch those two on top of the cabinet!”

Eventually, her speech devolved entirely into those obscure and eerie “ka-ka-ka” sounds.

Inside those two dolls on the top shelf, Gu Huaiwei found an insurance policy.

The insured parties were Bella and several other names she didn’t recognize.

The beneficiary was the Library Director.

These were several personal accident insurance contracts.

Gu Huaiwei looked at the contracts, connecting them with what Bella and Han Zhusheng had said. It was highly likely that this Library Director publicly adopted orphans of distressed Miners, only to take out massive insurance policies on them.

When those orphans met with “accidents” in this Library, the Library Director would use their deaths to defraud the insurance companies for the payouts.

Seeing these clues, Gu Huaiwei frowned slightly. She left Bella where she was for the time being and headed down to the Archive Room to look for the files on the other children.

In the long-sealed, dust-covered Archive Room, Gu Huaiwei found the causes of death for those children.

One died while taking the elevator; it had suddenly malfunctioned, and they were crushed by the doors.

Another was killed in the Library’s reading area when a bookshelf collapsed on them.

Bella’s cause of death was the fire.

Furthermore, these children had not been healthy to begin with.

Mist Lung Disease was contagious. After being infected by their Miner parents, the children wouldn’t show symptoms at first. As time passed, physical deformities, tooth loss, and severe anemia would manifest, until they finally died of asphyxiation from breathing difficulties.

When these children became Anomalies, certain parts of their bodies would expand or shrink when their death scenes were reenacted, revealing their true forms.

To the outside world, the Library Director was a philanthropist.

Not only that, but he was also among the first group of workers at the local Chemical Factory.
The Trial-takers in this Instance were assigned the roles of investigative Reporters. Realizing this information would likely be useful to Fang Zhao and the others, Gu Huaiwei took several photos with her phone before heading back to the attic.

Only a piece of severed rope remained on the stool where Bella had been tied up.

Bella was nowhere to be found.

Gu Huaiwei searched the attic thoroughly but found no sign of the girl.

She turned back to find Fang Zhao and Xia Wenxin.

At that moment, Fang Zhao and Xia Wenxin were in the Ventilation Duct on the fourth floor, a relatively safe location.

Before Gu Huaiwei had left, she had provided them with some bandages.

Fang Zhao was currently helping Xia Wenxin wrap the burns on her limbs.

“Be careful not to let the wounds touch water for the next few days. Once we leave the Instance, I’ll take you to a hospital for skin grafts. We’ll also consult a plastic surgeon to see if they can fix your face.”

“Class Monitor, are there even any hospitals left outside that aren’t part of an Instance?” Xia Wenxin gave a bitter smile. “I’m just glad to be alive. I’m not thinking about anything else.”

“Sigh, there were forty students in our class, and now only nineteen are left.” Fang Zhao let out a long, weary sigh. “The area of contamination is expanding, and the living space in the outside world is shrinking. Every so often, we’re forced into an Instance. When will these days of living in constant fear finally end?”

“Don’t worry about tomorrow today. At least we were lucky in this Instance to meet the Oasis Sanatorium Shop Manager. That’s the only reason we escaped with our lives,” Xia Wenxin said, sounding more optimistic.

“But that Shop Manager is strange. Even though she’s helping us, her stance is unclear.” Fang Zhao’s brow furrowed deeper as he remembered how Gu Huaiwei had remained smiling even in the face of an Anomaly. “I’m really afraid that the Sanatorium she mentioned is just another new Instance.”

With the medicine applied and the bandages wrapped, the burning sting on Xia Wenxin’s skin eased significantly.

She was open-minded and accepting of the uncertain variables of the future.

“Class Monitor, we already promised her. When the time comes, won’t we know for sure once we go to her shop?

“Besides, the Gray Mist Town Library Instance can only be cleared via the B-grade Method. There’s a high probability we’ll be forced into a new Instance anyway.

“If that’s the case, which Instance we enter doesn’t make much of a difference to us.”

Fang Zhao nodded silently, conceding to her point.

While they were talking, Gu Huaiwei had just crawled into the Ventilation Duct. She moved on her hands and knees, clutching her phone, feeling that the air inside was far too stagnant.

The space was narrow, making it difficult to move freely.

She hadn’t crawled far before she heard Fang Zhao and Xia Wenxin discussing her.

She pricked up her ears, feeling quite satisfied with their pragmatic approach.

Gu Huaiwei moved very quietly.

When Fang Zhao saw Gu Huaiwei appear, he immediately shut his mouth and replaced his expression with one of profound gratitude.

Gu Huaiwei pretended she hadn’t heard their conversation.

“Let’s start a group chat. I’ll send you the clues I just found; they should be useful to you,” Gu Huaiwei said as she crouched down.

Xia Wenxin pulled out a phone with a shattered screen and swiped several times before it finally unlocked. “We have a group already. We can pull you in.”

“Sure.” Gu Huaiwei was added to their Journalist Investigation Group.

Looking at the group name, Gu Huaiwei reflexively remarked, “I’m not a Reporter, I’m an outsider. Is it really okay for me to join your work group?”

“Oh no!” Gu Huaiwei’s words triggered a realization in Fang Zhao. His pupils trembled, and his face turned pale.