Dimensional Store: Welcome to the Apocalypse Apartment - Chapter 230

Chapter 230

When Xiling You was very young, she took part in the Xiling Family’s Dimension-jump experiment.

A total of forty children participated in that experiment: twenty boys and twenty girls. It was known as the “Penglai Project.”

At the time, the other thirty-nine all lost contact. Only Xiling You jumped to an Anomaly Dimension and was still able to maintain contact with the Real World.

Their Dimension jumps were one-way and one-time. They could not control the time of the jump, nor could they control which Dimension they landed in.

After she came here, there was no way for her to go back.

The Xiling Family had countless ties to Paradise.

They provided offerings to Paradise.

At the same time, they also received benefits from Paradise.

As an affiliated family of Paradise, the Xiling Family had supported Paradise generation after generation.

But as time went on, the family gradually became less loyal.

They were no longer satisfied with the benefits they could only obtain by offering tribute. Instead, they began making all sorts of little moves in secret.

They bypassed Paradise’s supervision, obtained Other World goods directly from Operators, and researched Dimension-jump technology in an attempt to break free from Paradise’s control over the family.

Xiling Yuan was Xiling You’s older brother.

After the two were separated as children, they could only keep in touch through cross-Dimension phone calls.

It had been some time since their last call.

Xiling You badly wanted to hear her brother’s voice again, but this time, her wish was not granted.

Gray-white fog shrouded the Dead City. Every so often, a gust of cold wind blew through, sweeping a few withered leaves into spirals along the ground and making the streets seem even more desolate.

Xiling You lifted her head and looked at the sky. The heavy fog blocked out all light. In her eyes, all that remained was a gray haze.

She really wanted to return to that Real World filled with human presence.

Back then, she had been too young. Raised by the family, her heart had been set only on dedicating her life to the family’s glory.

Now that she had grown up and looked back on it, there was, in truth, a trace of regret in her heart.

She had done very well here, but this was not her world after all.

She still wanted to return to the Real World.

Fortunately, her goal aligned with the family’s.

As long as she completed the family’s mission and uncovered the secret of Dimension jumping from those Operators, the family would be able to develop a Dimension passage and let her go home sooner.

After Fang Zhao finished his work, he adopted the mindset of offending absolutely no one. He spent a good while buttering up Zhou Yizhi before finally leaving with Gu Huaiwei.

“Grrr-”

“Grrrgle-”

“You’re that hungry?”

“…I’m okay. It’s not like I can’t endure it.”

Gu Huaiwei was getting annoyed by the noise from his stomach. She took a pork floss bun out of the Jade Bracelet and tossed it to him.

“Eat.”

“Thank you.” Fang Zhao caught the bread in some surprise, tore open the packaging, and began wolfing it down.

He ate very carefully, even licking up every last crumb of pork floss left inside the wrapper.

“At the Sanatorium, the room fee includes three basic meals. Since Instances are this brutal, why not just stay long-term at the Sanatorium?”

After finishing the bread, Fang Zhao patted his pocket.

There were not many sheets of Lifespan Yellow Paper left inside. If he wanted to extend his room fee again, he would have to deduct it from his own life.

“My current goal is to save up more Lifespan in Instances, then spend a little more time living in the Sanatorium with my companions.”

He also wanted to retire early.

Seeing how broke he was, Gu Huaiwei suggested, “The Sanatorium is currently recruiting caregivers. Food and lodging are included, but there is no salary. You can come give it a try.”

“What are the requirements?”

“You need to sign a contract. If you breach it, your life will be in danger. You need to be hardworking, not overly curious, and… you also need to be able to get along with Anomalies.” Gu Huaiwei only listed a few things offhand. The specific requirements would still need to be discussed with Lin She and the others after she went back before they made any plans.

“Aside from caregivers, I also want to recruit some marketing staff to hand out little ads. If they can bring customers back, there will be commission rewards.”

“If you have any special skills, like massage, acupuncture, fire cupping, singing, dancing, or whatever, the Sanatorium will also pay you extra Lifespan.”

Fang Zhao was instantly eager to try. He had learned piano and Latin dance before.

He had thought that after the world became contaminated, all the interests and hobbies his family had spent so much money cultivating in him had become worthless. He had never expected they would actually come in handy at a time like this.

“Please, you have to give me this chance!” Fang Zhao was determined to get it.

When Gu Huaiwei found Bai Yuzhen, she was standing on a stage built from bones, dancing gracefully with Gray Crystal Gem hanging all over her body.

Because she was barefoot on shattered bones, Bai Yuzhen was not having an easy time of it.

The Bandit Overseer-the Head Overseer-sat in the seat of honor, one foot propped on the table in front of him while one hand beat the Leather Drum at his waist.

The followers behind him surrounded the stage and danced wildly to the classical music.

This Anomaly really knew how to enjoy himself.

Fang Zhao quietly reminded her from the side, “If you want to clear the Instance, you have to get on this Bandit Leader’s good side.

“On the first and fifteenth of every month, the Bandits leave the mine and go to the graveyard to pay respects to their sworn brothers.

“At that time, he brings the people close to him along. As long as we gain the Bandit Leader’s approval and get him to keep us by his side, we can go to the graveyard and leave by taking the funeral home’s transport vehicle.”

Gu Huaiwei asked, “Is the funeral home a new Instance?”

In her eyes, a new Instance meant competition for business.

“Yes, but that’s the A-Rank Clear Rule. When the time comes, we can hide in coffins and jump off halfway.”

When the dance ended, Bai Yuzhen did not dare speak directly to Gu Huaiwei. Instead, she walked to the Bandit Leader’s side and poured a cup of blood wine from a jug.

The wine jug was empty. When Bai Yuzhen poured the wine, she looked like she was in agony, because what dripped into the cup was her own blood.

Gu Huaiwei walked straight over, dragged a stool from the side, sat down across from the Bandit Leader, and snapped her fingers in front of him. “Big Brother, let’s talk business.”

The Bandit Leader was pitch-black from head to toe. He twisted his neck and saw Gu Huaiwei, who had once again appeared inside the Instance.

Then he raised his hands and plugged his ears.

From the look of it, he was not particularly interested in cooperating.