Dimensional Store: Welcome to the Apocalypse Apartment - Chapter 214

Chapter 214

The moment the Head Overseer left the room, Bai Yuzhen began tapping on the cabinet door. Through the narrow gap, she whispered to Gu Huaiwei, “Shopkeeper Gu, help me open the door.”

Gu Huaiwei used the key to unlock the cabinet.

Bai Yuzhen immediately hopped out, her voice buzzing with excitement. “You’re incredible! You actually managed to chase them off just like that!”

According to the Rules, the Head Overseer was supposed to patrol the Mine Tunnel at midnight. There was only a ten-minute window during the shift change when they could potentially escape.

Yet Gu Huaiwei had simply intimidated the Head Overseer into leaving, which left Bai Yuzhen thrilled.

“Shopkeeper Gu, I still have to go on shift in the Mine Tunnel later. Why don’t you get a Yellow Hard Hat and come with me?” Bai Yuzhen looked at Gu Huaiwei with eyes full of anticipation, her tone bordering on sycophantic. “Once we finish the Instance and get the rewards, I’ll give you half!”

She had already made up her mind. With Gu Huaiwei around, the risk of danger would be slashed by more than half. She had to cling to her tightly.

Just then, Gu Huaiwei’s phone vibrated. She pulled it from her pocket and looked down to see a text from Bai Miemie.

[Ding-dong~ Sister Gu, you have a work report from the cute Miemie. The Library Instance has opened again. Miemie kept her eyes wide open and saw a new Reporter go inside.]

Gu Huaiwei showed the message to He Xueyi.

He Xueyi asked, “Are we switching?”

“Yes,” Gu Huaiwei answered without a second thought.

In the Library Instance, Han Zhusheng had already clearly expressed his desire to leave the Instance with her. Going there directly would be much more efficient.

Bai Yuzhen was still looking at her hopefully, waiting for an answer.

“Bai Yuzhen, you go ahead to the Miner shift by yourself first. I’ll come back for you when I have time.” Gu Huaiwei patted her on the shoulder before adding, “By the way, don’t forget what you promised me. I helped you lock the cabinet just now; once you leave the Instance, remember to help me promote the Sanatorium at the Safe House.”

Bai Yuzhen froze, grabbing Gu Huaiwei’s wrist. “Where are you going?”

“I’m leaving the Instance for a bit to take those three cheap Anomalies I signed a Contract with back to the shop to get them checked in. After that, I’m heading to the Library Instance…”

Gu Huaiwei detailed her upcoming itinerary in an incredibly flat tone. Since she didn’t have to follow the Rules of this Dimension, she could enter and exit Instances freely. To her, these tasks were as simple as a trip to the supermarket.

Bai Yuzhen’s voice grew frantic. “The path out of the Instance has been blown up! If you don’t find the clear conditions in the Rules, there’s no way to leave!”

“Don’t worry,” Gu Huaiwei said with effortless poise. “I have my ways. You don’t need to stress.”

“But…” Bai Yuzhen opened her mouth, but the words failed her.

She thought to herself: *Since when was an Instance a place where you could just come and go as you pleased?*

But then she reconsidered. This Shop Manager wasn’t a normal person to begin with. She was human, and she entered Instances, yet she wasn’t a Trial-taker.

Furthermore, her allegiance was unclear.

Gu Huaiwei treated humans and Anomalies exactly the same.

Bai Yuzhen felt that, from start to finish, the only thing the woman actually cared about was her Sanatorium.

“Don’t be scared, I’ll be back before you know it.” Gu Huaiwei straightened the Yellow Hard Hat on Bai Yuzhen’s head and gave it a playful flick, like patting a kitten’s head. “Just stay low for now, or find a safe place to hide. Since you’ve backed me up so much, I promise I’ll come back.”

Bai Yuzhen remained anxious. “Even if you do come back, how will you ever find me?”

The Instance was massive.

And the Mine Tunnel was a labyrinth of twists and turns.
Gu Huaiwei’s lips curled slightly. “I can smell your scent.”

“But I’m not wearing any perfume,” Bai Yuzhen said, instinctively sniffing herself.

“It’s not perfume; it’s the unique scent that belongs to every individual.”

With her enhanced sense of smell, Gu Huaiwei could detect the faint scent of ink clinging to Bai Yuzhen in the air.

“…Then hurry back,” Bai Yuzhen muttered softly, though she couldn’t help but sigh inwardly.

She had just managed to latch onto a powerful benefactor, only for her to run off so soon.

There went her easy shortcut.

In the end, it seemed one really had to rely on oneself.

Gu Huaiwei retraced her steps. The entrance she had used to get in was now blocked by rubble from the explosion.

She stood with one hand on her hip, looking at the tightly sealed entrance. She pulled an iron shovel out of her Jade Bracelet and handed it to He Xueyi.

He Xueyi, dressed in his pristine white robes, looked completely out of place against the damp, slippery mud of their surroundings.

He even went so far as to stand on a piece of scrap wood, terrified of getting even a speck of dirt on himself.

“Your so-called ‘method’ is for me to dig out this passage?” He looked at Gu Huaiwei, his grip on the shovel tightening slightly.

“That’s right. I brought you along so you could do the work. If it’s really too much trouble, next time I’ll just bring Lin She out for the manual labor,” Gu Huaiwei said, feigning regret.

He Xueyi didn’t answer. Instead, he turned his gaze toward the pile of rubble blocking the entrance to the Mine Tunnel.

The dust and debris were piled high like a small mountain, and the air was thick with the smell of mold and blood.

His Adam’s apple bobbed as he said with a sigh, “Fine. If he can do it, so can I.”

Gu Huaiwei immediately pressed her palms together. “Then I’ll leave it to you!”

He Xueyi detested all forms of dirty work, but he couldn’t allow Lin She to accompany Gu Huaiwei alone.

Clearing rubble was physically demanding work.

He Xueyi frowned instinctively as he thrust the shovel into the pile. With a light flick of his wrist, he tossed the shoveled dirt and stone aside.

He continued digging toward the exit in this manner.

When only a thin layer remained, He Xueyi stepped back a few paces. He took out his white feather fan and gave the rubble at the entrance a few gentle waves. The massive rocks that had been obstructing the way were sent flying instantly.

“After you, Shop Manager Miss.” He Xueyi bowed slightly, extending a hand like a gentleman.

Since the work was done, He Xueyi intended to maintain his graceful poise.

In this regard, his performance was a bit more calculated and charming than Lin She’s.

At the Instance entrance, the little girl who had been crouching and crying earlier was now standing quietly between her Anomaly Parents. As they watched the hole being dug open, the jaws of all three Anomalies dropped simultaneously.

Low-level Anomalies generally lacked a wide range of facial expressions.

However, Gu Huaiwei could pretty much interpret this jaw-dropping behavior as shock.

Bringing the three Anomalies back to the Oasis Sanatorium, Gu Huaiwei used their Contract as a binding force to determine how much human Lifespan they had collected. She then had them check in for a one-month stay.

Commanding a Low-level Anomaly once required the payment of one Day of Yang Lifespan.

The room rate for a Standard Recovery Room was ten Days of Yang Lifespan per day.

Gu Huaiwei paid three Days of Yang Lifespan out of her own pocket as the price to command them to book thirty days in a Standard Recovery Room. This brought nine hundred Days of Yang Lifespan into the Oasis Sanatorium’s accounts.

Once this was done, Gu Huaiwei immediately dissolved the Contract with them.

“The rooms are booked. No refunds.”

Gu Huaiwei filled out the Invoice and stuffed it into their hands. She ignored the mournful “clack-clack” sounds coming from their throats and directly ordered Lin She to take them to their Recovery Rooms.

She happily pulled her Ledger out of the drawer.

Just as she was about to record the transaction, countless slips of paper fell out of the drawer.

On the slips of paper, written in crooked, blood-red strokes, were the words: Bond with me, Bond with me, Bond with me…