Chapter 122 The Road Home (1)
When the shop owner returned to the store, the environment had undergone a complete transformation.
Without the deliberately distressed vintage style, it truly becomes rubbish. The always-locked counter was opened, and all the non-sale items inside were gone.
What's even harder to accept is that the walls of the convenience store are gone, leaving only strands of silk hanging in the air around it.
"Which bastard is this?! Come out here!" The shop owner roared, standing in the middle of the store.
The two culprits shoved all the loot they had gathered at Xing Lei and took a step back in unison.
Gou Wenyan noticed that there was a bit of empty space in front of him, so he pulled Bai Ye, who was standing next to him in a daze, to fill the space.
"Brother Lei, Lao Bai, let's go!" Gou Wenyan shouted from behind, clenching his fist in encouragement.
No sooner had he finished speaking than a gust of wind swept past.
Xing Lei immediately drew his sword to defend himself, but it was no use. In just a few moves, he was swept up, flew, and fell like fallen leaves in the autumn wind.
"Are you guys looking to die?" the shop owner asked the four men in front of him.
Cheng Danyang helped Xing Lei up, glaring at him fiercely, "Boss, how dare you say that? You're the one who's been hiding your true abilities, making a fool of all of us."
"You destroyed my small shop, and you still think you're right?"
"Boss, why are you keeping this secret from all the players that your little shop leads to the eerie old house?"
Cheng Danyang didn't mince words at all, and said directly, "And my brother Gou, you've been secretly plotting against him with those prop cards. What are you trying to do to him?!"
The shop owner was stunned, but quickly realized, "You actually found the entrance?"
"It's all thanks to my brother Bai's cleverness. Boss, you miscalculated. The entrance is actually set at the end of the checkpoint in the equipment area. What, are you afraid we won't be able to find it?"
The shop owner didn't explain, but instead looked at Bai Ye, who had remained silent.
After staring at the other person for a long time, he actually laughed out loud, "It seems that they miscalculated. They didn't expect that the strange attribute would not only fail to turn you into a real strange one, but would also allow you to comprehend the rules."
"Rules? So the higher the damage value, the better one can integrate into the bizarre world, that's correct." Bai Ye looked up, his tone full of surprise.
The shop owner found a deck chair in one of the few remaining intact spots, lay down there, and looked relaxed.
"Of course. Malice prevails in the supernatural world. From birth to death, the supernatural is always the greatest negative thing. For them, harming others is the very foundation of survival."
"Is the boss also full of malice?"
"Me? What kind of evil am I? I only care about making money. I'll cooperate with whoever can bring me benefits."
"So the connection between the eerie convenience store and the eerie hometown is also driven by profit? The fees the owner charges each year must be quite high, right?"
Bai Ye suddenly realized something, "So in dungeon games, the fact that the boss opens shops everywhere is also one of the ways they pay for things."
The shop owner was full of appreciation; it was so comfortable talking to intelligent humans.
So he spread his hands and said, "Going back to your hometown is no problem. Everyone has paid the toll, and I will personally see you off."
After saying that, he realized it was inappropriate and changed his words, "I will personally escort you to the entrance of your hometown."
Cheng Danyang and Xing Lei were unwilling. They thought the shop owner was heartless, asking for an exorbitant price and trying to rip them off.
However, Gou Wenyan felt that the shop owner's behavior was understandable. After all, he was a capitalist in the strange world. Selfish people generally don't really make things difficult for others; he only cared about how much money he made.
"It's better to avoid trouble. We don't even know what's going on in that strange old home yet. Let's save our strength for later."
As Gou Wenyan spoke, he began to check his remaining savings in preparation for paying the toll.
Xing Lei wanted to say something, but Bai Ye shook his head. "Brother Lei, don't rush into action. Our goal isn't to fight, but to find out the true purpose of [the Strange].
Only by understanding why we, as human beings, were pulled into this bizarre world, and by knowing the root cause, can we solve the problem.
Can't I really stay here and work for someone else my whole life?
The four of them pooled their money, and the ghost coins plus the prop cards totaled about 100,000.
But the shop owner didn't even glance at it.
“I said that’s enough. Boss, you’re too greedy. Nobody will want to do business with you in the future.” Gou Wenyan picked up the bag and threw it on the counter.
The shop owner waved his hand, "The ghost coins and item cards are all issued by me. I'm just reselling my own stuff, how am I supposed to make money?"
"So what do you want to do?"
"Take what you human players have to offer."
"What do you want?" Bai Ye had a bad feeling.
The shop owner then opened his eyes, looking expectant, and said, "The rules for clearing the dungeon? This thing is really valuable."
Seeing the wary expressions on the faces of the human players, the shop owner couldn't help but click his tongue. "Why are you being so wary of me? I'm just a businessman; I don't know how to use these rules for anything."
"Then why do you still want these things!" Cheng Danyang huffed angrily.
Shop owner: "The dungeon clearing rules are good for improving my small shop. I can use these rules to open an infinite chain."
Previously, you could only stay in a small instance world, but with the new instance clearing rules, dealing with multiple enemies at once is no longer a problem.
The shop owner has already envisioned the future: sitting at home, his business is directly connected to various game instances, allowing him to earn money effortlessly.
"What are you afraid of? I can't take it away, I can only make a copy at most."
"Copy? In other words, they will only strip you of your rights, right?" Bai Ye understood the implication in the words.
Shop owner: "..." Talking to this kind of human is really pointless.
Finally, to ensure a smooth transaction, the shop owner gave a lesson on the spot, explaining the specific uses of the dungeon clearing rules.
"First of all, you must remember that when it comes to rules, only top-level supernatural beings can implement and use them. Other levels of supernatural beings cannot do it. For example, I can only copy at most and do some scrap work."
"Secondly, you must also remember that the implementation and application of rules, and the application of rules, are mutually exclusive and involve the laws of the world. The reason I am telling you this is related to the third point."
"The most important third point is that human players who obtain the Resurrection Ticket can leave the bizarre world. But note that you cannot take the rules for clearing the dungeon with you. You have the freedom to choose whether to voluntarily hand them over to the laws of the world or sell them for a good price and have them taken away by another force."
"Brother Bai, can't we really take these rules with us? I'm not saying we're going to use them. These things are definitely useless in our original world, but whether we hand them over or sell them, I feel like there's a trap involved!"
The passage was open, and the four of them headed to the eerie old home. On the way, Cheng Danyang finally couldn't hold back and spoke.
No sooner had he finished speaking than Gou Wenyan couldn't hold back any longer, "The shop owner can already do so much just by copying and using it. If this were to actually operate under the rules, wouldn't it be outrageous!"
As he spoke, he looked at the other two people beside him and said, "Brother Lei, Lao Bai, think about it. Which of us players who have survived until now hasn't cleared a dungeon? It's just a matter of how many there are. This matter is being calculated against each and every one of us."
There isn't just one way to complete a dungeon game.
Just like one of the dungeons, Bai Ye and Gou Wenyan and several others have experienced it. Among them, Bai Ye, Cheng Danyang and Gou Wenyan all completed the conditions for passing the dungeon.
However, the achievements each person makes in completing the game are different.
This is something they only discovered after they got together to discuss it.
Players who play solo might not yet know the secrets behind it.
Xing Lei has three completed dungeons, but he is unwilling to hand them over or sell them. "If I can really leave, it's best to take these things with me."
"Huh? Brother Lei, isn't this something you can't take out?" Cheng Danyang asked, puzzled.
Xing Lei glanced in Bai Ye's direction and said to himself, "It's definitely impossible to take it out? Nobody has ever tried it before, right? Just because the shop owner says it's impossible, we have to believe him 100%? Maybe the shop owner himself doesn't know everything."
"That's true..."
The group of people, lost in thought, reached the end of the passage.
Bai Ye saw the little girl again, this time with a large black snake beside her.
"Uncle, I'll open the door."
The little girl waved to Bai Ye, climbed onto the head of the big black snake, knocked twice on the door, and the space in front of her rippled like water.
An invisible door has been opened.
The group huddled together, keeping their distance from the large black snake as they moved forward.
Bai Ye walked at the very back. Before stepping inside, he suddenly turned to look at the little girl and said, "Little girl, you work very hard. You're great."
The little girl was stunned for a moment, then smiled broadly.
As her smile blossomed, the little girl's figure vanished, and at the same time, the large black snake gradually twisted.
Upon closer inspection, there was no human or snake; it was clearly a black and red flame in full bloom.
Bai Ye was stunned, then pursed her lips and turned away.
Upon entering the door, he immediately looked for his companions, but Gou Wenyan and the others were all gone.
There was only one road in front of us, and although the environment was somewhat dark, it wasn't so dark that we couldn't see it.
"That doesn't make sense; they'll definitely wait for me."
Bai Ye stood still, waiting, with a strong premonition that traveling alone would be dangerous.
He didn't know how long he waited, but the flow of time slowed down for him, until finally, he could hardly feel the passage of time.
Just as Bai Ye was about to give up and move forward alone, a small figure fell from above.
He instinctively reached out and caught it, then looked down and saw it was his daughter.
"noob?"
Bai Ye looked up at the sky, then down at his arms, "Weren't you demolishing buildings?"
Bai Jin grabbed Bai Ye's neck with both hands, climbed onto his shoulder in a few quick movements, and then simply sat down.
"When we got to the 76th floor, we encountered a strange old lady who wouldn't let us continue. With a wave of her hand, she knocked us all down."
Bai Jin was a little angry when she talked about it, "I was just getting into the process of dismantling it, really, I was planning to dismantle it up to 100 floors."
The tallest of the 13 buildings in Fenyang Residential Area is 100 stories, but the building in Yeyue Town may not necessarily be 100 stories high.
Bai Jin had previously told Bai Ye that they would wait until all 100 floors were demolished before observing the changes.
As a result, the work wasn't finished, and he was thrown down.
"I can't beat her." This is what bothers Bai Jin the most.
But Bai Ye could roughly guess the old lady's identity from her daughter's description. "It should be Aunt Yao. Her daughter lives on the 100th floor, so she wouldn't allow you to demolish her daughter's house."
"Is that old woman bad?"
"Probably not. Aunt Yao might have her own reasons for doing this."
"Then Dad, what are you going to do now?" Bai Jin looked around, sniffed, and frowned. "There's a foul smell, even more disgusting than insect eggs."
“We have just entered the eerie old house. I don’t know where this road leads. Wenyan and I have also separated.”
Bai Ye hugged her daughter tightly and smiled again, "But it's okay, with you by my side, Xiao Bai, let's move forward together and see what happens."
"Yes, Dad, don't be afraid, I will protect you."
Bai Ye lifted the child up a little and strode out.
...
Bai Ye was woken up by the incessant ringing of his phone, which made him uncomfortable both in and out of his dreams.
He reached out and quickly found his phone, then pressed the answer button.
"Bai Ye, it's Monday, there's a big meeting today, where are you?"
"Uh-huh……"
"You're sleeping? You're still sleeping! Do you even know what time it is? Get your ass to the company right now, or you're going to get a scolding!"
"Beep beep beep—"
The call ended.
Bai Ye slept for a while longer, then suddenly opened her eyes.
He stared at the ceiling above, blinked, and looked completely bewildered.
Where is this?
Where am I?
I think I just got a phone call.
Bai Ye immediately grabbed his phone and glanced at the time on the screen: March 20, 2025.
"This day is not..."
In a daze, Bai Ye remembered that March 20th was the day he resigned.
That Monday, the company held a large meeting, but because he had stayed up all night preparing a report the day before, he slept so soundly that he overslept.
He showed no signs of waking up when he received the call from his team leader.
When I woke up and got to the company, it was almost noon.
The report was not submitted, and important data could not be presented at the conference. Everyone from the department manager to the team members had their performance bonuses deducted.
Turning around, the team leader shifted all the deducted money onto Bai Ye, a team member.
They euphemistically call it: whoever is responsible should bear the consequences.
Bai Ye, of course, refused. He had done the job all by himself from start to finish. The team leader just talked, but didn't participate in anything.
Now, because of an unexpected incident, they're deducting money from his salary?
Most importantly, I stayed up all night last night to work on a report, something my team leader insisted on.
Bai Ye argued about this, and in the end, she quit and gave up.
Before leaving, he reported the matter to the general manager and also sent a 300-page PowerPoint presentation to the company's large group chat of several hundred people. He exposed the gray areas and deception of superiors by each team leader in the several teams he had worked for.
Finally, I modified the core data for the most recent projects.
Deleting data can lead to repercussions from the company and even lawsuits.
But once the core data was altered, no one but him could tell.
And so, Bai Ye submitted a resignation letter, writing, "The world is so big, I want to go see it," and left.
Then, I got hit...
Bai Ye sat on the edge of the bed, covering her head, somewhat puzzled.
Am I dreaming?
Was everything I experienced in that strange world just a lie?
Before I could figure it out, the phone rang again.
This time, the call came from another member of the team: "Bai Ye, you did the report, didn't you? You'd better come to the company for a general meeting right now, or the team leader will take the blame for you."
Bai Ye casually replied and hung up.
Then I quickly packed up and went to work.
The colleague who called might not actually be doing it for his own good; they're more likely worried about him making a mistake at the meeting and causing the whole team to be punished.
This company is insane. They reward good performance with hefty bonuses, but punish bad performance with deductions that feel like your heart is being ripped out.
Bai Ye worked at the company for two years, often suffering grievances, but also earning a considerable amount of money.
As he rode his shared bike, he thought to himself: "That old bastard, trying to steal my fruit? Dream on!"
Bai Ye sped along like lightning, seemingly having completely forgotten everything that had happened in the eerie world.
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