Dimensional Store: Welcome to the Apocalypse Apartment - Chapter 203

Chapter 203

“Then you must be patient and wait for new Reporters to arrive. Only then can our previous agreement continue.”

Han Zhusheng had followed the rules within the Library Instance for many years, and his performance had always been excellent. He had never tried accepting an invitation from a human while the Instance was closed.

He was very interested in Gu Huaiwei and the strange creature by her side.

He also wanted to accept Gu Huaiwei’s invitation.

However, as an Anomaly, there were rules for Anomalies.

He could not break them.

Gu Huaiwei asked, “It won’t work right now?”

“Not right now.” He lowered his head slightly, his expression bland. He looked like a character stepping out of an old film, imbued with a sense of nostalgia.

“Let’s give it a try.” Gu Huaiwei reached out a hand toward him. “I’ll lead you out.”

He shook his head.

He couldn’t do it.

Without a Contract, Han Zhusheng could not take a single step out of the Library doors. Even if he stood at the entrance, his feet simply could not move forward.

It was as if a restriction had been placed upon his body.

He was powerless.

Gu Huaiwei stroked the ring of black scale tattoos on her wrist and exchanged a look with Lin She. Lin She immediately understood Gu Huaiwei’s intentions.

That left only the second method: kidnap him and see if it worked.

“Mr. Han, please reconsider.” Lin She stood there, his cold, dark green eyes filled with a chilling frost.

Lin She was a cold-blooded creature. The biggest difference between him and an Anomaly was that although he was as cold and damp as a creature from a swamp, he was alive. Anomalies were different; Anomalies were dead.

Anomalies possessed no life. They were fragments of time frozen in place, trapped within an Instance, bound by some obsession from the past.

“Are you threatening me?” Han Zhusheng’s gaze met Lin She’s in mid-air, and the temperature in the room seemed to drop a few more degrees.

“He’s making a friendly request.” Gu Huaiwei walked to Han Zhusheng’s side and looked out the nearby window, feigning surprise. “Those people outside, are they the new Reporters?”

“I haven’t received any information about new Reporters arriving.” Han Zhusheng followed her gaze and looked out the window.

“Of course you didn’t… because I lied to you.”

Taking advantage of Han Zhusheng’s momentary distraction, Gu Huaiwei quickly pulled a sack out of her Jade Bracelet and kicked his knee. As his body pitched forward, Gu Huaiwei threw the sack over his head.

“Lin She, give me a hand!”

Gu Huaiwei tackled Han Zhusheng to the ground. He didn’t struggle, lying there as still as a corpse.

Lin She’s dark green eyes slit with excitement. He coordinated with Gu Huaiwei to tie Han Zhusheng up securely, giving him no chance to break free.

Gu Huaiwei grabbed Han Zhusheng by the shoulders while Lin She lifted his feet. Like two kidnappers disposing of a body after a murder, they moved in perfect sync, quietly carrying Han Zhusheng downstairs.

It was an exceptionally absurd scene.

Gu Huaiwei moved with light steps, ears pricked to ensure they weren’t discovered by other Anomalies.

Fortunately, the Instance was now closed, and those Anomalies didn’t particularly like wandering around.

The two of them carried Han Zhusheng all the way to a broken window on the second floor.

Gu Huaiwei nimbly found a thick rope and tied it tightly around Han Zhusheng’s waist.

“Is it tight?” Gu Huaiwei was always in a good mood when she was up to no good, and her speech quickened.

“Mm.” Lin She patted the knot, confirming it was secure.

Then, Gu Huaiwei and Lin She worked together to slowly lower Han Zhusheng out of the window.

The second floor wasn’t actually that high.

Gu Huaiwei jumped down directly.

However, when Gu Huaiwei tried to pull Han Zhusheng away from the Library’s perimeter, an invisible wall appeared in front of her, blocking Han Zhusheng.

Gu Huaiwei could cross it.

Lin She could too.

But Han Zhusheng could not.

It felt as though Gu Huaiwei could cut a character out of a comic book, but she had no way to bring that character into the real world.
It was an invisible, unbreakable boundary. Like a law of nature, it held Han Zhusheng firmly trapped within his own world.

“Now, can you let me go?”

A voice drifted from inside the sack. Though it was devoid of emotion, it still made one feel a bit guilty.

Gu Huaiwei helped untie the rope and pulled the sack off. Han Zhusheng sat on the ground, his black hair slightly disheveled. His neatly tailored Zhongshan suit was wrinkled from Gu Huaiwei’s sudden ambush.

He wasn’t angry.

He simply stood up and brushed the dust from his clothes.

Gu Huaiwei was already prepared for him to lose his temper and settle the score.

Instead, Han Zhusheng merely stared at her with a deep, haunting gaze, his eyes swirling with inscrutable emotions.

To him, the fact that she was standing right on the boundary line of the Library seemed like a miracle.

“If you truly want to take me with you, I can lower my requirements for you,” he said softly, his voice like wind rustling through the pages of an old book.

Gu Huaiwei tilted her head. “Eh? Aren’t you going to get back at me for what I did?”

“No. I want to sign a Contract with you and leave the Library together.”

He raised a hand.

“Let me give you a hint.”

Gu Huaiwei couldn’t quite follow the bizarre logic of the Anomaly before her.

He continued on his own, “The reason I am trapped in this Library is because I have two obsessions.

“My obsessions stem from my parents. If you resolve one of them, I can leave.”

He slowly revealed the strategy to clear the Instance.

“To convince Father to drink my medicine, you need to make him realize that his reputation is about to be ruined-that living will be more painful than death.

“To convince Mother to leave the Painting Studio, you need to help her complete her painting.

“When the Library doors open again, I will guide you to new clues.”

Anomalies had their own likes and dislikes regarding Trial-takers.

Clearly, Han Zhusheng was exceptionally interested in Gu Huaiwei, who had suddenly appeared in the Instance and could come and go as she pleased.

“Fine. I’ll come back for you.”

Gu Huaiwei turned and left the Library.

She headed toward the Safe House in Gray Mist Town with Lin She.

The Safe House in Gray Mist Town was hidden within a dilapidated residential building. From the outside, it looked like an eroded little tenement; the brick walls were mottled, the window frames were rusted, and moss crawled up the walls from the foundation.

The mist in the town grew even thicker at night.

They stood at the base of the building.

Lin She said, “Miss Gu, based on my observations during this time, there is a door in this Safe House that leads to the outside world. The Trial-takers inside appear and disappear suddenly.”

Without the status of a Trial-taker, one could not enter the Safe House.

Lin She had brought back six customers. He prioritized efficiency and quality – a model employee worth emulating.

Gu Huaiwei and Bai Miemie had brought back three.

As for the last one, it was likely that He Xueyi had reluctantly dragged someone back to the shop just to give the appearance of working.

Gu Huaiwei didn’t go upstairs. She asked, “How did you market to them before?”

Standing beside her, Lin She explained, “The humans in this Dimension care deeply about Rules. Therefore, I left some notes along the only path they take to leave the Safe House.”

The stairwell leading down from the Safe House was narrow, its walls lined with old-fashioned kerosene lamps.

Lin She had scattered notes all over the floor there.

The notes read: *Oasis Sanatorium Residency Rules.*

The content of the notes was nothing more than a list of the Oasis Sanatorium’s fees and services, written in a semi-threatening promotional tone.

“Smart,” Gu Huaiwei remarked, her gaze lingering on Lin She for a moment longer than usual.

Feeling her gaze, Lin She’s fingers curled slightly at his side, though his face remained as cold and gloomy as ever.