Dimensional Store: Welcome to the Apocalypse Apartment - Chapter 229

Chapter 229

Gu Huaiwei had come in to look for Bai Yuzhen, but Zhou Yizhi, Fang Zhao, and Zhao Lianxin were working closer to her, so she brought Bai Miemie over to check on them first.

They had only been separated for a few days, but aside from Zhou Yizhi, the other two looked utterly wretched.

Zhao Lianxin was the most seriously injured. One joint of her finger was missing, and blood was still oozing out. She had not wrapped it in bandages, only torn a strip of cloth from her clothing and wound it around the wound. Because she had to push a mine cart, the injured area had already turned black.

“Careful.” Gu Huaiwei withdrew the hand she had used to steady the mine cart.

“Thank you so much.” Zhao Lianxin bowed to Gu Huaiwei, overflowing with gratitude.

“It was nothing.”

Gu Huaiwei waved a hand, telling her not to take it to heart.

The Overseer Anomaly beside them witnessed this scene, and a look of obvious disappointment appeared on its face.

“Shopkeeper Gu, why are you here? Where is Bai Yuzhen? Wasn’t she with you?”

Fang Zhao was sallow and gaunt, his cheeks sunken, with huge bags under his eyes. One look was enough to tell that he had not slept well these past few days. He looked listless and drained.

Even so, he was still very concerned about his classmate.

“I split up with her halfway through. I went back to the Library Instance, then made a stop at the shop, and now I’ve only just returned. I haven’t had time to look for her yet.”

Gu Huaiwei said it lightly, but to everyone else, those words sounded like a fantasy.

It gave off the absurd impression that the Instance was her home-she could come and go whenever she pleased.

When Zhou Yizhi had agreed with Xiling You to investigate the newly appeared Oasis Sanatorium, he had only known that the shop was no ordinary place, and that a few extraordinary people existed there.

But what Gu Huaiwei had just said still made him frown.

Was she bragging?

No matter how he looked at her, she was just an ordinary girl. At most, she had better combat skills and a few more Anomaly Artifact items than most. Surely she couldn’t have superpowers on top of that, right?

If she really was that strong, strong enough to clear one Instance after another with ease, then why wasn’t her name on the Heavenly Ranking?

Gu Huaiwei could feel Zhou Yizhi’s probing gaze.

Compared with everyone else’s sorry state, Zhou Yizhi looked no different from the first time she had met him.

He was healthy, energetic, and still had that cold demeanor. His brows were always furrowed, and he perpetually looked as if the whole world owed him a fortune.

For Zhou Yizhi to have a place on the Heavenly Ranking, he naturally had skills of his own.

Inside an Instance, whether it was obtaining unpolluted food or receiving an Anomaly’s Lifespan Reward, Zhou Yizhi always took them for himself as a matter of course. Naturally, he was living more comfortably than the others.

Fang Zhao’s stomach growled with hunger.

For the first time, he felt that following a big shot did not bring all that many benefits.

Sure, in some situations, he could be carried through without doing much. But whenever they encountered danger, the big shot would always make ordinary people like them try first.

And when rewards were obtained, they would not share any with them.

He had previously paid the inpatient fees for Oasis Sanatorium.

Before leaving, for personal reasons, he had also given Xia Wenxin a little Lifespan so that she could rest and recover properly in the Sanatorium.

This time, after entering the Mine Instance, he had done plenty of work but had barely received any rewards. The Lifespan in his pocket was no longer enough to buy normal, risk-free food inside the Instance.

The Miner role included three meals a day.

But they had to go to the temporary canteen set up inside the mine.

There were Rules there.

If one wanted to eat their fill, they had to risk violating the Rules.

He was relatively cautious. Unless he was starving to the point where he could no longer endure it, he would not choose to go to the Miner’s Canteen.

“Grrrgle-”

Fang Zhao’s stomach kept growling. The sound was so obvious that Gu Huaiwei could not ignore it even if she wanted to.

It was hard for ordinary people to maintain any dignity inside an Instance, but Fang Zhao looked perfectly calm, as if the stomach drumming away was not his at all.

“Shopkeeper Gu, if you find Bai Yuzhen, please let her know I’m safe.”

“Sure.”

If Gu Huaiwei had not promised Bai Yuzhen, she would never have returned to the Mine Instance.

Fang Zhao, Bai Yuzhen, and Zhao Lianxin had all already checked into the Sanatorium and paid their room fees. Even if she brought them out of the Instance again, they could not really be counted as new guests. At most, they had a bit of Lifespan in their pockets and could stay in the Sanatorium a while longer.
As for Zhou Yizhi and Xiling You, they had come specifically for the Oasis Sanatorium. As long as they made it out of the Mine Instance, they would come to the Sanatorium on their own. Gu Huaiwei didn’t need to waste her breath persuading them.

By comparison, recruiting new clients from outside the Safe House was more reliable.

“Actually, Bai Yuzhen would rather you went to find her in person.” Gu Huaiwei swept a glance at Zhou Yizhi, her meaning pointed. “You’ve partnered up many times before. There should be a certain understanding between you, right?

“Working with a trusted partner is much better than sticking with strangers.

“People who know each other will look out for each other. As for someone you met halfway through… no matter how capable they are, they’re not going to share any benefits with you.”

Fang Zhao knew Gu Huaiwei was right, but he didn’t dare respond. He was afraid of offending someone.

Zhou Yizhi’s expression darkened. “Tch. What are you implying?”

“Nothing at all.” Gu Huaiwei’s smile did not fade. “Did anything I say offend you?”

What bad intentions could she possibly have? She simply wanted to get under his skin.

“Hmph.” Arguing inside an Instance was a foolish thing to do, so Zhou Yizhi stopped paying attention to her.

Fang Zhao hurriedly stepped in to smooth things over. “Actually, I’m pretty worried about Classmate Bai too. How about after I finish my work here, I go with you to look for her?”

“How much longer do you need?” Gu Huaiwei checked the time on her phone. She really hated waiting for people.

“Twelve o’clock. That’s the Miner lunch break.”

“Then I’ll come find you again at twelve.” Gu Huaiwei slipped her hands into the pockets of her jacket and turned to leave.

Zhao Lianxin actually wanted to follow her too, but she probably wouldn’t be able to finish transporting the ore by twelve. Leaving before her work was done would count as violating the Rules.

Gu Huaiwei wandered around the Mine Instance, looking for other Anomalies.

The ones acting as Overseer here were all ordinary Bandits.

She didn’t see the leader of the Bandits from last time.

These Bandit Overseer figures sat in a circle, beer cans by their hands as they chewed huge mouthfuls of blackened grilled meat. As for what kind of meat it was, that was not a question worth thinking too deeply about.

Gu Huaiwei walked straight over and handed each of them a flyer.

These Anomaly figures serving as Bandit Overseer seemed to have received some kind of news. They did not show any Anomaly aggression toward Gu Huaiwei, nor did they speak to her. They did not even look directly at her.

Gu Huaiwei promoted the Oasis Sanatorium for a few lines, but when she saw them playing deaf and giving no response, she unhappily helped herself to two bottles of their beer.

She tossed the beer to the hungry Fang Zhao.

Fang Zhao’s hands trembled in fright.

How was this beer? This was practically a ticking time bomb.

Those Overseer had already looked over.

On the verge of tears, Fang Zhao shoved the beer back into Gu Huaiwei’s hands. “Shopkeeper Gu, I’m not thirsty. If I drink too much water, I’ll have to use the bathroom, and you can’t just use the bathrooms here whenever you want.”

Gu Huaiwei didn’t drink alcohol either.

A Trial-taker didn’t dare casually touch things belonging to an Anomaly.

“I’ll drink it~ I’ll drink it~ Beer is brewed from malt. Miemie loves it.”

In the end, the beer landed in Bai Miemie’s hands.

Bai Miemie hugged the beer and started drinking. After only a couple of gulps, her little face turned rosy, and then she began chasing that group of Anomaly Overseer around.

Meanwhile, Xiling You had already used a rare Anomaly Artifact to take the mad woman from the Miner’s room out of the Instance.

She stood at the Instance entrance, making a phone call.

“I found a Dimension Operator, but there are two of them… Mm. I’ll find a way to obtain the method for opening a Dimension passage from them.”

“The other Dimension Operator calls herself Gu Changge. I don’t know whether she’s the Gu Changge you mentioned before…”

“It is my duty to devote myself to the family. The family has put immense effort into researching Dimension leaps, even if it still can’t control which Dimension we land in.”

“So many people took part, and I was the only one who succeeded. I will survive properly in this Dimension and secure the greatest possible benefit for the family.”

“By the way, how has Ah Yuan been lately? I miss him a little. Can you let him talk to me on the phone?”