At the entrance of the delicatessen, a large basin was filled with various braised meats. The tempting colors made her mouth water uncontrollably.

The owner of the delicatessen was a plump young woman with a very kind and gentle face.

She also had a paper flower the size of a bowl pinned to her head, only this one was pink.

As soon as the two people approached, the proprietress greeted them warmly.

"Handsome guy, beautiful lady, interested in trying some cooked food? I have all kinds of meat here, I guarantee you'll eat to your heart's content!"

Yan Qing swallowed hard and forced her eyes away. "Sister, we just ate, so we're not hungry yet."

It's a joke; in the "Rules of the Strange" dungeon, it's best to avoid meat products altogether. Because you never know what kind of meat you're eating.

Seeing that the two refused, the delicatessen owner immediately frowned.

"Pah! If you can't afford it, just say so! I hate hypocrites like you the most!"

This person changes his attitude really fast. There was nothing Yan Qing could do but resort to her Spirit Coin Technique once again.

Finally, with the help of five hundred-yuan spirit coins, the proprietress successfully transformed back into her kind and benevolent self.

"Wow! It's been so long since I've seen such straightforward young people! You guys definitely have a bright future! Don't worry, I'll have your back if anything happens!"

Yan Qing certainly didn't believe her, but since she might as well make a request now, she took the opportunity to ask the proprietress if she had any broken pieces of wood.

The proprietress rummaged around in the stove at her feet for a long time before finally pulling out a small piece of wood that had almost been burned as firewood—just the one she wanted.

Yan Qing accepted it with a beaming smile, and her mouth was full of sweet words, making the proprietress laugh uncontrollably.

Having obtained the item, Yan Qing turned to leave.

"Wait! Little girl, since we get along so well, I have something for you too."

The proprietress picked up a long ladle and scooped around in the pot behind her for a while before finally pulling out a piece of tattered cloth that smelled delicious with meat, and handed it to Yan Qing.

Upon closer inspection, she was dumbfounded; it turned out to be the "Rules for Passing the Level".

Rank A: Destroy the array core in Yongning Lane. (Note: The array core can only be activated once.)

The two exchanged a glance and both saw the surprise in each other's eyes.

This was truly an unexpected bonus! Yan Qing looked at the deli owner again, this time with genuine gratitude.

"Thank you, sister!"

"Alright, alright! No need to be so polite!" The proprietress waved her hand at them and turned to go to the kitchen to get busy.

Right now, there's only one shop left, a stationery store.

Yan Qing was actually quite looking forward to it. The reason they were able to be rescued yesterday was because of the guidance from the little girl in the dress.

She was genuinely grateful to the little girl.

Unfortunately, the stationery store was deserted; there wasn't a single customer, and not even a trace of the owner's family could be seen.

She was puzzled. Where had the person gone?

However, Yue Qi didn't care about any of that. Since the person wasn't there, he took the opportunity to look for something. So he started searching the store without any hesitation.

Finally, the last small wooden block was found in a panda toy's backpack.

Now, they had finally collected all seven small wooden blocks. Their immediate priority was to hurry back to the inn and investigate whether this thing was indeed the array plate mentioned in the "Rules of Passing the Level".

Although Yan Qing was somewhat disappointed, she had no choice but to leave the stationery store. Just before leaving, she suddenly noticed a white flower the size of a bowl at the counter by the door.

—This time it wasn't made of paper; instead, it looked like it had just been picked from a tree, still covered in fresh dew.

This suggests that the people here must have just left not long ago.

Yan Qing was a little curious, so she nudged Yue Qi and asked, "We've been here for two days. Have you seen any white flowers like this anywhere?" She felt that the white flowers gave her a slightly uneasy feeling.

Yue Qi shook his head. "No, I didn't see a single real flower in the entire Yongning Lane. They were all made of paper."

“That’s strange—” Yan Qing picked up the white flower from the table, brought it to her nose and sniffed it. “I feel like I’ve smelled this flower somewhere before?”

Yue Qi also came over. His movements were a bit too forceful, and he accidentally bumped into Yan Qing's nose, making her scream.

"Big brother, what grudge do you have against me? Why are you hitting me so hard?" Yan Qing covered her nose, accusing him with a speechless expression. Needless to say, her nose was definitely red.

Yue Qi turned around stiffly and gave her a full 180-degree bow, which startled her.

"sorry!"

The other person's sincere apology made Yan Qing feel embarrassed instead. The two were perfectly in sync on this point and let it go.

She had some doubts in her heart. Could this Yue Qi be possessed by a strange entity?

After leaving the stationery store, the three paths reappeared before them. This time, Yan Qing's bracelet offered no warning of danger.

The two were about to figure out how to get there when suddenly a familiar voice came from behind them.

"Wait!"

This time, they still didn't turn around, but the two people behind them walked directly in front of them. Sure enough, it was Wen Jiajia and Sun Jue.

The two looked tired, as if they hadn't slept all night.

Wen Jiajia suggested directly, "Let's join forces." Then she handed a piece of parchment to Yue Qi.

Yan Qing raised her eyebrows but didn't say anything.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!