Dimensional Store: Welcome to the Apocalypse Apartment - chapter 63

The Fortress Lord of the Black Tower Fortress wore a fully enclosed Protective Shield, revealing only a pair of pitch-black eyes-his face was hidden from view.

He sat high on the main seat, with a short-haired girl standing beside him. Her right arm was a mechanical prosthesis, she wore a transparent Protective Shield, and her face was cold and indifferent.

“Fortress Lord, we meet again!” Karl greeted the Fortress Lord enthusiastically. “This time, you have to bring out the good stuff!”

The Fortress Lord merely nodded coolly.

Karl seemed oblivious to the cold reception, as if his warmth was wasted on someone indifferent.

People with a dulled sense of perception are always cheerful, no matter the situation.

The Mechanical Arm Girl led Gu Huaiwei and the others to the guest rooms to wait.

On the way, the girl’s gaze lingered on Gu Huaiwei.

Her stare was so deliberate that Gu Huaiwei sensed her hesitation and smiled, “If you have something to say, you can speak directly.”

The Mechanical Arm Girl fixed her eyes on Gu Huaiwei’s face, frowning slightly. On her usually indifferent face, a trace of grievance appeared.

“Why are you pretending not to know me?”

Gu Huaiwei was momentarily at a loss for words.

It seemed the Mechanical Arm Girl had mistaken her for someone else.

Bai Niao pretended to behave, lowering his head and following behind, but in reality, his blue eyes were secretly watching Gu Huaiwei’s reaction.

Because Gu Huaiwei did not remain silent, the girl seemed even more displeased.

She stiffened her face and quickened her pace as she walked ahead.

In the reception room.

“Drink some water.” The Mechanical Arm Girl poured a cup of cloudy, cool boiled water and placed it in front of Gu Huaiwei with little courtesy, splashing a few drops. “This place is above ground, so this is the only water available. There’s no Jasmine Green Tea that you like.”

Jasmine Green Tea was Sister Changge’s favorite.

This Mechanical Arm Girl must be an old acquaintance of Sister Changge.

Gu Huaiwei handed the cup to Qian Xia, then invited the Mechanical Arm Girl to talk privately.

In the long, dark, spiraling corridor, Gu Huaiwei leaned against the steel railing, behind her was a three-hundred-meter-deep open space.

“You wouldn’t speak earlier, so why come out alone with me now?”

The Mechanical Arm Girl seemed to have a temper, her tone tinged with complaint. “You didn’t want me before, and now you pretend not to know me. In your eyes, what am I really?”

Gu Huaiwei felt the wind howling through the Black Tower Fortress. She turned to look at the Mechanical Arm Girl and asked, “Have we met before?”

“Aren’t you Gu Changge?”

The Mechanical Arm Girl glanced warily at Gu Huaiwei, realizing she might have mistaken her, and her tone instantly turned cold.

She turned her head slightly, her eyes full of resistance.

“If you’re not her, then we have nothing to talk about.”

Gu Huaiwei smiled softly, elegantly removed her glasses, and brushed aside her bangs, revealing a pair of eyes sharp and bright.

Unlike Gu Changge’s gentle, watery gaze, her eyes were like those of a hunting night cat-agile, wild, and dangerous.

She said, “I’m looking for Gu Changge too.”

Similar faces, but different people.

The Mechanical Arm Girl’s gaze fell on Gu Huaiwei’s face, and she froze for a moment, surprise flashing in her eyes. “You two are…?”

“Family,” Gu Huaiwei replied succinctly.

Upon hearing those words, the Mechanical Arm Girl’s guarded expression instantly softened, sorrow appearing on her face. “So, you are the family Gu Changge always thought about…”

Gu Huaiwei softened her tone, “Tell me about your past with her.”
The voice of the Mechanical Arm Girl trembled slightly, her eyes revealing a trace of reluctance and complex emotions. “Over a year ago, Gu Changge said she was leaving this place.

I begged her to take me with her, but she said… the place she was going couldn’t take anyone else.”

Gu Huaiwei listened in silence.

Perhaps because Gu Huaiwei and Gu Changge looked so much alike, the Mechanical Arm Girl, who usually seemed a bit aloof, became talkative as she reminisced.

She glanced down at her mechanical arm-this was made for her by Gu Changge. In her cruel past, Gu Changge had been a ray of warmth in her life.

“Have you ever been to the Black Spiral Research Institute?

That’s your sister’s enterprise.

She built such a vast business there, and in the end, she gave it all up and left alone.”

The Mechanical Arm Girl’s voice was filled with confusion and loss. “Why? She could have had everything.”

Gu Huaiwei frowned slightly. “The Black Spiral Research Institute was founded by my sister?”

This was unexpected for Gu Huaiwei.

Xiao Youqi and Qian Duoduo had privately discussed selling Gu Huaiwei’s personal information to the Black Spiral Research Institute.

And then there was the matter of the Scarred Woman.

Gu Huaiwei had a very poor impression of this organization.

The Mechanical Arm Girl nodded. “Yes! That little boy you brought with you today-isn’t he a volunteer from the Black Spiral Research Institute? The Sun Cross Mark on his face was personally designed by your sister.”

Gu Huaiwei glanced subtly toward the guest room. That tattoo was indeed troublesome. It seemed her newly hired doorman was hiding quite a few secrets himself.

The Mechanical Arm Girl’s eyes shone faintly, filled with nostalgia. Her tone softened, as if she had returned to the days of working alongside Gu Changge. “The sun represents light and hope, the cross stands for redemption.

Your sister founded the Black Spiral Research Institute to find a cure for radiation through scientific experiments, to help those who had been corroded by radiation, to give them hope for life.”

“That does sound like something my sister would do.”

In Gu Huaiwei’s memory, her sister was gentle to everyone.

Her sister had sponsored many impoverished students, regularly participated in charity events, offered free business training to other companies, and even fed stray dogs she saw on the street…

Her sister was a light for many people.

After the Gu Family went bankrupt, those who had once benefited from her sister’s kindness didn’t mourn her disappearance. Instead, they came to Gu Huaiwei to ask if the sponsorships could continue.

Gu Huaiwei didn’t have such a forgiving heart.

She scolded that pack of ingrates and blocked them all.

The Mechanical Arm Girl was full of admiration and longing for Gu Changge, her hands clasped together, her excited words sounding as if she were talking about her idol.

“Gu Changge truly brought hope to many people.

The Inhibitor was the first achievement of the Black Spiral Research Institute.

Under her leadership, the institute was once heading in a positive direction.”

Gu Huaiwei pressed further, “And then?”

“And then… she still chose to give it up and left here alone.”

The Mechanical Arm Girl lowered her head, her mood sinking, her tone tinged with disappointment and regret.

“When she left, she told me her ultimate goal was to go home.

Did she… not go back?”

Gu Huaiwei lowered her eyes for a moment, murmuring softly, “No. Just like you, I lost her too.”