Dimensional Store: Welcome to the Apocalypse Apartment - Chapter 297

Chapter 297

“I know who you are!” Xiling Ling’s eyes instantly lit up. She held out both hands to the fire, warming her fingertips. “Originally, our family followed Paradise’s orders and provided support in that world outside for people like you-those chosen as Operator.

But over the past hundred years or so, the Operators either went missing or were abandoned by Paradise. The family’s investments in all of you ended in total loss. Over time, we stopped giving selflessly and switched to exchanges based on profit instead.”

“More like coercion and temptation,” Gu Huaiwei said with a cold curl of her lips. “Your family isn’t as loyal to Paradise as it appears on the surface either. After submitting for so long, now that you’ve grown strong enough, you’ve probably long since started harboring rebellious thoughts.”

Xiyuan Group had been trying to buy Other World materials from those with the status of Dimension Operator. They were no longer acting openly, instead resorting to these underhanded methods in secret.

When it came to people like Gu Huaiwei, an uncooperative Dimension Operator, they would even put the people around her in danger to force her to hand over items from the Other World for emergency use.

And that wasn’t all. They also wanted to obtain the secret of spatial jumping from Operators from the outside world, so they could completely free themselves from Paradise’s control.

Their ambitions were enormous.

Xiling Ling let out a long sigh. “We’ve all been deceived so badly!”

Using a charred stick, Gu Huaiwei drew the direction of the gate on the ground. “The fact that I was able to enter this place means I’ve already successfully opened Paradise’s gate. You can try leaving through it…”

“You can’t get out. Outside the gate is still monster territory.” Xiling Ling cut her off, staring at the pitch-black sky outside with near-total despair. “Actually, I already knew about the sacrifices. Before I came here, I was proud to become one.

I used to think becoming a sacrifice meant casting off the shackles of the flesh and letting the soul enter the eternal Paradise. After that, there would be no more worries, no more pain.

But I never imagined our lives were nothing more than toys for beasts.”

Not a single sacrifice that entered Paradise had ever left alive.

In the eyes of the woman before her, once Paradise’s gate opened, there was definitely no way out alive.

She simply refused to believe otherwise.

Gu Huaiwei stopped dwelling on the subject and took out the feather. “Have you ever seen this blue feather on any of those monsters?”

Xiling Ling glanced at the blue feather and shook her head.

She hadn’t seen it.

“Then do you know how big Paradise is?”

Xiling Ling still shook her head. “Sorry, I don’t know that either. There are a lot of monsters in Paradise. The ones on the outer edges are relatively weak, and the closer you get to the Castle, the stronger they are.

Every monster in Paradise has its own territory. They’re territorial. Whichever one’s land we step onto, we become that creature’s prey.”

Gu Huaiwei suddenly remembered that all of the Assistants around her had tried to invite her to their territories.

They were probably thinking the same thing.

Lin She had once said that the final choice was in her hands.

But at this stage, Gu Huaiwei wasn’t planning to go to their territories yet.

She wanted to meet the boss first.

If the monsters grew stronger the closer one got to the Castle, then there was a high chance the boss lived there.

At dawn the next day, while the sky was only just beginning to lighten, Gu Huaiwei prepared to set out. Xiling Ling was a very light sleeper, and she woke up the moment Gu Huaiwei made the slightest movement.

“Can I go with you?” Xiling Ling had lain awake until the early hours of the morning the night before, only drifting off in the latter half of the night.
She thought about a lot of things.

In the end, all the chaotic thoughts in her mind came together into a single idea: she wanted to leave Paradise alive.

In her heart, every Dimension Operator was someone formidable.

She wanted to follow Gu Huaiwei.

That was the only way she might have a chance of getting out alive.

But Gu Huaiwei didn’t want to bring along an extra stranger.

She walked to the door and said flatly, “I’m heading deeper into Paradise. Our destinations aren’t the same.”

Xiling Ling got out of bed, folded the curtain, and set it aside. She tried to convince her. “That’s okay. I’m more familiar with the roads around here. I know some of the monsters’ weaknesses and habits, so I can guide you.”

“The situation inside Paradise is still unclear. I can’t guarantee your safety,” Gu Huaiwei said, making the harsh truth clear up front.

Xiling Ling lowered her gaze. “That’s still better than me staying here alone.”

After discussing it, they set out together.

As they made their way deeper into the amusement park, a small red rubber ball rolled out of the Haunted House as they passed by, stopping right at Gu Huaiwei’s feet.

From the darkness, accompanied by eerie laughter, a pale hand stretched out. “Heeheehee, can you give my ball back to me?”

Xiling Ling quietly said from the side, “This monster lures humans into the Haunted House. As long as we don’t go inside, we’ll be safe.”

Gu Huaiwei kicked the ball back.

“Do you want to come in and play a game with me? I have a shortcut into the mountain.”

Entering the mountain was a necessary part of the route to the Castle.

The moment she heard the words “shortcut,” Gu Huaiwei walked over to the entrance of the Haunted House.

A red velvet curtain covered the entrance, and all she could see was that pale hand clutching the little red ball, trying to lure her inside.

Terrifying music began to play.

The two demons at the entrance of the Haunted House said, “Welcome.”

Xiling Ling grabbed Gu Huaiwei’s wrist and said nervously, “Don’t fall for it. A rabbit I caught in the mountains ran into the Haunted House and died there.”

Gu Huaiwei asked in a low voice, “If we go straight over the mountain, how long will it take?”

“At least seven days.”

“Too slow. I know what I’m doing.” Gu Huaiwei patted the back of Xiling Ling’s hand, signaling for her to let go.

Xiling Ling released her, pressed her lips together, and stood off to the side.

Then Gu Huaiwei suddenly grabbed that pale wrist and yanked it outward.

She wasn’t going in.

She just wanted to drag out the little monster hiding inside and see what it looked like.

Xiling Ling sucked in a sharp breath. She felt Gu Huaiwei was far too bold.

“Heehee, do you want to shake my hand?” The pale wrist seemed to carry the force of a thousand pounds. No matter how hard she pulled, it wouldn’t budge.

Brute force alone wouldn’t work.

Gu Huaiwei recited a Light Incantation, and the pale wrist immediately gave off the smell of burnt flesh.

With a pained wail, it jerked its hand back. There was even a hint of grievance in its voice. “I only wanted to play a game with you. Why are you hurting me?”

Realizing that Light Magic worked, Gu Huaiwei took out the Holy Water she had obtained from the Magic Dimension. After soaking both hands in it, she said leisurely, “If you don’t show yourself, how are we supposed to play?”

“I’m ugly. If I show my face in the light, I’ll scare you.” The monster inside the Haunted House sounded entirely confident in its reasoning. “Heeheehee, you want to go up the mountain, don’t you? As long as you beat me in a game, I can send you up there.”