Dimensional Store: Welcome to the Apocalypse Apartment - Chapter 200

Chapter 200

The way he asked the question made it sound as if he were suggesting that since the Library Director was dying of Mist Lung Disease anyway, he might as well help by feeding him a little poison to end his suffering.

Gu Huaiwei tilted her head slightly, her gaze falling on Han Zhusheng as she spoke slowly. “Death is not cruel, nor is suffering from the agony of illness. What is truly cruel is stripping a patient of their agency when facing their fate.”

Back when she was sick, she hadn’t known she was dying of bone cancer.

But she felt the pain.

Gu Huaiwei had experienced the frantic hair loss, the sudden weight drops, and the full-body agony that felt as if she were being crushed by a train. At her worst, even sitting up in bed had become a luxury.

Lying in her hospital ward, she gradually realized her illness was no simple cold or flu.

Whenever the pain became unbearable, her sister would crouch by her bedside and ask softly, “Can you hold on a little longer? Just a bit more. I’ll definitely find a way to cure you.”

She just needed to wait. Just a little longer.

But when would the waiting end? Could the illness truly be cured in the end?

Her sister hadn’t told her.

However, her sister had given her hope and provided her with enough respect.

Cherishing her sister’s warmth, Gu Huaiwei chose to endure and stay strong.

If not for her sister, Gu Huaiwei thought she probably would have felt that the painful waiting was meaningless.

Han Zhusheng’s voice carried a deep, hidden exhaustion. “As a son, one must help their family make the most rational choice at a time like this.”

The Library Director’s current state was that of a man on the brink of death. He seemed stuck in the most painful period of his past; not only was he ill, but he also suffered from nocturnal delusions every night.

Countless children would circle around him, clapping their hands and telling him to play games with them.

He didn’t dare to die.

He was afraid that an afterlife truly existed.

A Samsara of nightmares that never stopped.

“Even though your father is ill, it’s clear he doesn’t want to die. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have hired a Secretary, nor would he have taken his medicine so obediently.”

“The right to life is paramount. Whether to continue enduring the pain or to choose to leave, that right should belong to the patient themselves.”

Gu Huaiwei spoke these pleasant-sounding words, though they were naturally intended for the ears of the Library Director, who was feigning sleep.

Han Zhusheng was speechless for a moment. After a pause, he looked up and stared at Gu Huaiwei. “Do you really think so?”

Gu Huaiwei nodded repeatedly. “What children can do is give him freedom-letting him make the final decision for his own life while fully understanding the costs.”

“Freedom…” Han Zhusheng finished cleaning up the leftover herbal medicine. His face was grim, and his entire presence felt incredibly oppressive. “Father wants release, and Mother wants to stay in her room forever. If they are free, what do I have left?”

“You still have us, your friends,” Gu Huaiwei said with a faint smile. “Why keep your heart trapped in this old Library? Why not come with me to the Sanatorium for a vacation? There’s a large plot of empty land at the entrance of the Sanatorium; I’m considering planting flowers there. If you’re willing to come with me, we can decide together what kind of flowers to plant.”

Han Zhusheng glanced at her. “You must convince my mother to leave the Painting Studio, or convince my father to drink my medicine. Only then can I leave with you.”

This was a restriction of the Instance Rules.

Even Han Zhusheng had no way to break through them.

Bai Miemie tilted her head to the side and reminded him, “Sister Gu already convinced him to take his medicine just now.”

“That was prying his mouth open and pouring it down.” Han Zhusheng lowered his head and suddenly smiled at Bai Miemie. It was a stiff smile, like an unnatural mask.

Gu Huaiwei clapped her hands, struck by a good idea. “How about you bring your father along? Stay at the Sanatorium for a while. Changing your environment might be more conducive to a harmonious family relationship.”
The Library Director’s eyes snapped open.

He twisted his head toward Gu Huaiwei, then opened his pitch-black mouth. A series of raspy, intermittent sounds escaped his throat. “Fine… *clack, clack, clack*…”

He had actually agreed just like that.

Han Zhusheng held up a single finger. “I can give you one day.”

One day.

One day to convince the Female Painter to leave the Painting Studio, or to convince the Library Director to drink Han Zhusheng’s “poison.”

“That’s enough.”

“I’ll be waiting for you in the second-floor reading area.” Han Zhusheng left the prepared Chinese medicine behind, glanced out the window, and then exited the Library Director’s Office.

After Han Zhusheng left, the small room became even more oppressive. Although the doors and windows were closed and the stove was burning, the room was unnervingly cold.

“He wants to kill me… *clack, clack, clack*…” Black fluid began to leak from the Library Director’s eyes again. “I left everything to him, yet he still wants to kill me… *clack, clack, clack*… The day after tomorrow at midnight, Firefighters will come to the Library to inspect the fire safety facilities. You can hide me in the Fire Truck. If you can get me out of here, I’ll give you my entire inheritance.”

Gu Huaiwei replied with a look of feigned difficulty, “Uncle, how can you not trust your own son?”

“He is not my son… *clack, clack, clack*… I only have one daughter named Bella. He and that wicked woman deceived me, and now they want to seize my estate.”

This was completely different from what Han Zhusheng had said.

Gu Huaiwei remained skeptical. “Let me think about it. I’ll give you an answer tomorrow.”

Leaving the small room, Gu Huaiwei met up with Bai Yuzhen.

Bai Yuzhen had already obtained the necessary clues.

Gu Huaiwei looked at the Rules in her hand and then directly took over the identity of the Library Director’s Secretary from her.

“But if you do that, you won’t be able to leave this Office,” Bai Yuzhen said, frowning. “I promised to go to the Oasis Sanatorium with you, but that was on the condition that you come with us.”

Bai Yuzhen actually wanted to ask: what would Gu Huaiwei do to them if they were forced to break their word because of the Rules?

Gu Huaiwei’s tone was relaxed. “I’m coming with you, of course.”

“But the Rules…”

“I have my own Rules.” Gu Huaiwei tossed the slip of paper covered in Rules back to Bai Yuzhen.

Her rule was simple: she didn’t have to follow the Rules of this Dimension.

That night.

The Library Director shouted in his Office for his Secretary to feed him his medicine.

Han Zhusheng waited for Gu Huaiwei’s response.

Bella hid inside the large wardrobe, terrified that Gu Huaiwei would come back for her.

And the Female Painter remained in a state of violent rage because her pigments weren’t “fresh” enough.

Gu Huaiwei left all these Anomalies behind in the Instance.

Then, she followed Fang Zhao and the others onto the Rescue Team’s vehicle.

The so-called Rescue Team was actually a van arranged by a News Company.

The driver wore a mask. He had no hands, yet the vehicle continued to move forward at a steady speed.

This car was headed toward a new Instance.

That Instance was located outside the city – a Daily Newspaper Office.

“Why are you driving if you don’t have hands?” Gu Huaiwei tied the driver up, threw him out of the car, and then took the wheel of the Daily Newspaper Office’s van. She made a U-turn and headed toward the Oasis Sanatorium.

“Everyone…” Gu Huaiwei looked into the rearview mirror, a smirk playing on her lips. “It’s time for you to fulfill your promise. Next stop: Welcome to the Oasis Sanatorium.”