Dimensional Store: Welcome to the Apocalypse Apartment - Chapter 248

Chapter 248

Gu Huaiwei pulled out the photo.

It was a picture of Xiaoyu and her deskmate.

The photo had been taken in an empty classroom. The two girls had their arms around each other’s shoulders, smiling brightly at the camera and openly flashing peace signs. But at the back door of the classroom, where the light was dim, a half-hidden foot could be seen faintly protruding into view.

Someone was peeping through the classroom’s back door.

Xiaoyu’s deskmate was easy to identify. She had short hair, with long side-swept bangs covering half her face. Through them, a reddish-brown birthmark on her face could just barely be seen.

Gu Huaiwei pointed at the girl with the birthmark in the photo and asked Xiaoyu, “Is this girl in this Instance?”

Xiaoyu nodded with extreme cooperation.

“Where is she?”

Xiaoyu grinned. Her eyes, pierced through with nails, closed, and her face turned toward the direction of the lockers.

Then her hair curled around the shoes and slowly sank into the water.

Gu Huaiwei left the hot spring pool and went to the row of rusty lockers.

She opened them one by one to search.

Some of the lockers were shut tight, and the rusted areas had sharp bits of metal jutting out, making it easy to cut her hands.

Most of what was stored inside the lockers were girls’ changes of clothes.

There were ID photos in the pockets of the school uniforms.

After comparing them one by one, Gu Huaiwei found the locker belonging to Xiaoyu’s deskmate.

In theory, opening the wrong locker would get someone dragged away by the other Anomaly entities inside, but here with Gu Huaiwei, all of those Anomaly entities had collectively vanished.

The hair, the arms hidden inside the lockers-each and every one of them was being unbelievably well-behaved, pretending they were dead.

Xiaoyu’s deskmate was named Lulu. She also worked at this Hot Spring Mansion.

In theory, Gray Mist University was a private school, and aside from Xiaoyu, all of the students there came from fairly well-off families.

On the surface, Lulu appeared to be Xiaoyu’s friend. So why would she be working part-time at the Hot Spring Mansion? Was it to keep Xiaoyu company? Or was there some other purpose?

Gu Huaiwei rummaged through the locker.

The lights in the basement began to flicker.

The moment the lights went out, she heard the sound of a phone vibrating.

Then, in the darkness, she heard a faint sigh.

She found the vibrating phone.

The light from the screen became the only source of illumination in the basement hot spring.

The lock screen required a four-digit password. Gu Huaiwei tried a few numbers ordinary people commonly used, but none of them worked. Then inspiration struck, and she remembered the information on the student ID. In the end, she unlocked it with Lulu’s birthday.

There was one unread text message displayed on the screen.

Gu Huaiwei opened it.

“Bring the medicine and come find us in Room 412.”

There was only that one sentence in the message, and the phone number had no saved contact name.

Inside the backpack was a sheet of white pills.

There was no instruction leaflet, so there was no telling what they were for.

“Let’s go, Miemie. We’ll head up and take a look.”

Gu Huaiwei held the phone, tucked the pills into her pocket, and went with Bai Miemie toward Room 412.

The fourth floor was filled with ordinary guest rooms belonging to the Hot Spring Mansion.

The lights in the Corridor were red.

Two rows of doors were tightly shut. Every wall was decorated with prism-like mirrors, and as they walked, they could see countless reflections cast back from the mirrored surfaces.

The door to Room 412 was ajar.

Gu Huaiwei pushed it open and went straight in.

There was no one in the room. Only a black video camera had been set up.

The instant Gu Huaiwei stepped inside, the door closed on its own.

The surveillance camera overhead glowed red. Its lens moved, aiming at Gu Huaiwei.

Then the television in the room turned on by itself.
The remote control was right there on the coffee table.

No one pressed it.

But the television began changing channels on its own.

At first, it was showing a nature documentary. A lion tore open an antelope’s throat, and when Bai Miemie saw it, she let out a tiny whimper, then clung tightly to Gu Huaiwei’s arm, pressing her fluffy little head against it.

Then it switched to a jewelry appraisal channel, where a group of people in sharp suits were bragging about the Gray Crystal Ore in their hands. Their faces were blurred; all that could be seen were mouths moving endlessly.

After that came hospital news. Recently, the number of patients hospitalized with Mist Lung Disease had skyrocketed. There were no beds left even in the Corridor. Many patients had died in their hospital beds, collapsed in elevators, or even in bathroom stalls…

Gu Huaiwei sharply noticed Lulu appearing in the hospital news. She was the Dean’s Daughter, following behind a young man. The two of them seemed to have an ambiguous relationship.

The same few channels kept jumping back and forth, faster and faster.

Then, as if the signal could no longer keep up, every channel turned into static.

“Bzzzt-bzzzt-”

The television seemed to have broken.

The sounds from every channel mixed together, assaulting their eardrums.

“Hey-” An ice-cold hand covered Gu Huaiwei’s eyes, and a man’s voice sounded beside her ear. “My dear Lulu, did you bring the medicine I asked for?”

“Whoa! Who said you could touch my Sister Gu!”

Bai Miemie must have seen the Anomaly’s true appearance. She was getting ready to peel that Anomaly off Gu Huaiwei’s back.

Gu Huaiwei grabbed Bai Miemie before she could ram into him.

To find Lulu, she had to play along with this game.

Gu Huaiwei popped one pill out of the blister pack, pinched it between her fingers, and raised her hand.

The man was covering her eyes with both hands.

But a third hand took the pill away.

“Why did you open it?” the man’s displeased voice came from the darkness.

“Didn’t I tell you? It has to be made into a complete sheet of medicine. That way, when we swap them, it won’t be noticed so easily… Ka-ka-ka… That dead woman’s parents have gotten worse recently. I happen to be interning at the hospital right now. This is my perfect chance to win the bet.”

Gu Huaiwei said nothing. Instead, she popped out another pill and hid it in her pocket before taking out the remaining pills.

The man accepted the medicine and went on talking to himself. “Baby, it’s all thanks to you that I can get closer to Xiaoyu than the others.

Once I win this bet, I’ll have that Gray Crystal Ore made into a ring and propose to you.”

Cold fingers stroked the eyes beneath Gu Huaiwei’s bangs.

That spot was where the birthmark had originally been on Lulu’s face.

He had mistaken Gu Huaiwei for Lulu.

Just then, it was as if the channel on the television in front of them recovered again.

A woman’s voice rang out, clear, precise, and perfectly enunciated like a news anchor.

“Recently, a new batch of inferior Mist Lung Disease prevention and treatment drugs has appeared on the market. Citizens are advised to be vigilant and not fall for scams!”

“The Dean’s Daughter has successfully become engaged. Soon after, a counterfeit drug scandal breaks out. After facing a financial crisis, can the wedding still go on? This station’s Reporter will continue to follow the story.”

In the darkness, another girl’s sigh sounded.

Very close.

This time, it was right beside Gu Huaiwei’s ear.

And the hand covering Gu Huaiwei’s eyes vanished after the news report came out.

The camera began projecting images.

“Sister Gu.” Bai Miemie secretly tugged at Gu Huaiwei’s sleeve. “I think I saw Lulu. She’s crying so pitifully.”