Chapter 75 Chapter 75 Fake couples join forces to enter the ghost city, the death squad...
Along the way, Li Ying pondered his guess and felt it was becoming more and more reasonable.
The day before yesterday afternoon, when they were having afternoon tea, Xiaoxue and I clearly heard the conversation between the afternoon tea waiter and Luo Qing.
The waiter said at the time that there were too many people and not enough labor.
Li Ying rubbed his chin. "A large population" meant that there were many indigenous people in Guicheng. But if the number of indigenous people in Guicheng was increasing, why was there a shortage of personnel and insufficient labor?
This doesn't make sense.
Is this similar to an aging country in reality, with a large elderly population and a shortage of able-bodied young labor, leading to a shortage of workers in sectors like the service industry? Does this strange world also need a large labor force to boost GDP?
This may be the reason, however, not all copies are for labor.
For example, he and Xiaoxue had just experienced the Bubble Hot Spring Hotel. This time, they were hotel experience officers, but Li Ying clearly remembered that in the relevant dungeon strategy process he had read, other players who entered the Bubble Hot Spring Hotel dungeon were either pure guests or waiters assigned to different departments.
Even if we don't talk about this, there are a large number of dungeons like the [Polar Oceanarium], [Wonderful Museum], [Renhe Art Museum], [Happy Amusement Park] and various tourist lines of Tuming Travel Agency... Players enter as tourists, visitors, and spectators.
Li Ying narrowed his eyes slightly and pushed his glasses up on his nose.
There's also the Bride and Groom Wedding Banquet, which has been a hot topic on the forums lately. This time, players have even more unique roles, ranging from potential brides to wedding guests.
Tourists, workers.
Li Ying thought about the difference between these two identities for players.
He had never thought about this issue carefully before, but he felt that the two identities should have something in common.
He tapped his thigh with his index and middle fingers. When players entered the dungeon as tourists, they usually went to visit, learn, collect folk songs, and travel.
But no matter which copy it is, the essence is to familiarize yourself with the cultural habits and customs of this strange world.
Workers, on the other hand, are familiar with the rules of each job, how to deal with customers, superiors, and strange things.
So...
Old players who can survive in one dungeon after another will gradually become accustomed to the many strange scenes in the dungeon, and even understand some of the customs in the dungeon.
His eyes narrowed. If one thinks from this perspective, the purpose of the strange copy has always been to screen and select suitable players.
The rewards and evaluations for each completion of a dungeon are the rating labels for the players after this screening. The rewards are wages and bonuses.
Just like the various competitions in reality, those who are evaluated as S-level and above are awarded the special prize, A-level is the first prize, B-level is the second prize, C-level is the third prize, and D-level is just barely qualified and can only be given an excellent prize.
Thinking about the rent they would have to pay for a house in Guicheng, Li Ying sighed again.
If the real purpose of the strange world is to screen qualified immigrants, then in the future it will really be a matter of making money in the strange city and spending it in the strange city, and wanting to take it home once you leave.
Cheng Lixue looked out the window for a long time. Everything she knew about the strange copy came from the part of real society that was open to ordinary people, plus the various knowledge that Li Ying had taught her in the past three days.
The scenery outside the window and even the feeling of the highway being built are no different from reality.
Because there was a driver in the car, she couldn't say anything to Brother Li.
After looking at the view from the window for a while, Cheng Lixue felt bored. She looked at what Brother Li was doing. He was staring out the window in a daze, as if thinking about something.
She didn't dare to disturb him and silently reached out to adjust her massage chair.
It’s an hour and a half drive, so she should take a nap. Cheng Lixue touched the “amulet” she placed on her chest again and closed her eyes quietly.
Cheng Lixue was half asleep when she heard Li Ying calling her:
"Xiaoxue, Xiaoxue."
"Huh? What's wrong?" She woke up in a panic, afraid that something had happened. After all, this was still a strange world.
"We're going into the city." Li Ying called her.
I saw other players on the forum say that all the dungeons are actually in the Ghost City, so Li Ying planned to observe it with Cheng Lixue.
Cheng Lixue rubbed his eyes and immediately sat up straight, adjusted his seat and looked out the window.
Really, it’s a city.
Although it is called entering the city, there is actually no city gate tower, but the urban construction here looks similar to reality.
Cheng Lixue was not familiar with the copy and was only focused on looking at the street scene, but Li Ying wished she could stop blinking and turn her eyes into cameras to record everything she saw.
"Ferris wheel." Cheng Lixue said while looking out the window.
Li Ying looked in the direction of the sound and saw the Ferris wheel. If nothing unexpected happened, it should be the [Happy Amusement Park] copy. He had never been drawn into this copy before. He didn't know if it was because he was too old.
The Ferris wheel gradually became farther away, the road was crowded with cars, the traffic lights were changing and counting down, and everything seemed in order.
This is a modern society that exists in an orderly manner.
Cars on the road will give way to pedestrians, and electric delivery vehicles will speed past. You can also see the big words "Have you eaten?" printed on the white jackets worn by the deliverymen.
At the traffic light ahead, a guy in black was riding a tricycle. Li Ying could see that the tricycle looked extremely sturdy, with a big sign "Huangquan Express" printed on it.
"Master, is there a bit of traffic jam today?" Li Ying broke the silence in the car and spoke.
Just how many indigenous people were there in Ghost City? The drive back from the Bubble Hot Spring Hotel took over an hour. The driver drove very steadily. Li Ying calculated that they had been on the highway the entire time, so the distance outside the city was about 60-70 kilometers?
"It's okay. Today is Monday, and the morning rush hour has passed. It's lunchtime now, so some sections of the road are a little congested," said the driver.
Cheng Lixue had one hand covering her mouth at this moment. She saw the "weird native" passing by. His upper body was still a normal human shape, but under his legs were four suction cups that stuck to the ground and walked forward step by step.
Behind this sucker man, there are more than a dozen tentacles dancing and moving forward rapidly.
Her heart suddenly jumped into her throat. Waiting for the traffic light now, could it be a trap? Will these weirdos rush over?
After a few seconds, the light ahead turned green and the car continued to move forward. The passing weirdness had nothing to do with them.
Cheng Lixue breathed a sigh of relief. Most of the strange things she saw in the hot spring hotel were human-shaped. But when she entered the ghost city, she found that there were really all kinds of shapes.
It's like in a science fiction movie, where a normal person undergoes some experiment or is infected with some virus and mutates.
For a moment, Cheng Lixue didn't know whether the suction cup man with tentacles was more terrifying, or the aunt who could pry open his head at any time was more terrifying.
"We're almost there." the driver said.
The two of them simultaneously perked up their nerves and continued to observe. No. 7 Middle School, Qingshan Hospital—Li Ying saw the sign! They had indeed passed by.
It seems that they may have taken the same route to their safe home as a group of players before them.
"We're here. Get off from the inside, not outside on the road."
The driver spoke, and the business car stopped on the side of the road. Li Ying saw the big sign of [Ping An Real Estate].
Although the store's facade is not big, its red sign is still very eye-catching. A few doors away is the brightly-looking [404 Convenience Store].
Li Ying couldn't help but wonder why no one mentioned that there was a 404 convenience store nearby.
Li Ying turned around and saw that the luggage placed on the back seat was still there, so she decided to take them all away.
Cheng Lixue took two bags, and he got out of the car carrying two suitcases.
At this moment, the driver had rolled down the window, but she had no intention of getting out of the car to help with the luggage.
"Thank you, Master. We will get off now."
"Trouble."
Li Ying put down the suitcase and saw the driver's aunt open her mouth as if she wanted to say something.
"Is there anything else you need? Oh, it's the bus fare, right?" He suddenly remembered that they were still in the dungeon, so they had to pay for the return bus fare themselves.
"How much should I give you?" Li Ying asked.
"No need, I've paid." The driver said and started the car.
"Then you..." Li Ying looked at the driver.
"Please help me bring it to Ms. Luo and her husband."
As she spoke, the driver's aunt started her car and flew away in the blink of an eye.
Li Ying was stunned. This driver auntie, did she also know Luo Qing and his wife? No wonder she knew it just by looking at the business card.
But the address of "Ms. Luo and her husband" doesn't sound like acquaintances.
Before Li Ying even had time to respond, she could no longer see the driver and her car.
He exchanged a glance with Cheng Lixue, then took his luggage and headed towards Ping An Real Estate.
"That's the subway station. It's so close." Cheng Lixue sighed.
"Brother Li, the door of Ping An Real Estate seems to be locked." She narrowed her eyes.
Li Ying took a closer look and realized that something was wrong. It was indeed locked.
"Could it be that they came back later than us? It's also possible that they went home first and didn't open the store." Cheng Lixue said.
"What should we do, Brother Li? Should we wait here?" As a newcomer who hadn't even finished her first dungeon, she didn't dare to move or run around.
Li Ying frowned. This was troublesome. "There's a Ping An Home next door. Otherwise, we can go to that community and ask the indigenous people."
There is no way to leave the copy now without the identity, so I must stay in a safe place tonight.
"Are you... new here?"
Liu Yanran looked at the two of them. She was biting a grilled sausage in her mouth and walking over with a bowl of scallion oil noodles in her hand.
She looked at the two of them. Their ignorant, alert and cautious expressions showed that they were players!
There were actually some brave players who came to rent a room.
Liu Yanran took out her mobile phone. The players' copy phones were all the same model.
"Are you looking to rent a room? Come in."
She took the key from her pocket and unlocked the door.
Li Ying and Cheng Lixue watched her familiar movements. She was a player, but how could she dare to unlock the door at Ping An Real Estate?
"Sister Luo Qing just got home and went to rest. If you want to rent a house, I will take you to see it. Oh, I forgot to introduce myself. I am Liu Yanran, and my current job in Guicheng is a salesperson at Ping An Real Estate." Liu Yanran put her scallion oil noodles on the table.
"We came from the Bubble Hot Spring Hotel." Li Ying said, taking out his business card.
He saw a hotel-wrapped gift box on the table in the room, and thought that Luo Qing had been here before.
Liu Yanran looked at the two of them. She was stunned for a moment and then asked, "Are you two the only ones?"
"You haven't eaten yet, right? I'll take you to the convenience store next door to buy some food." She suddenly changed the subject, which startled the two of them, but they quickly realized that there might be cameras in the store, so it was inconvenient to say anything.
But this time, Liu Yanran didn't lock the door.
"Don't you need to lock the door?"
"It's next door. No need. No one dares to mess around."
The scallion oil noodles were thrown on the table, and the two players' luggage was placed under the table.
A few steps out of the gate of Ping An Real Estate, "Are you an official player?" Li Ying asked.
Liu Yanran nodded: "Yes, I am the first player to rent a house in Guicheng, and also the first person to work here."
"How many people are there in your copy? How many survived? Why are there only two of you here?"
"Out of 10 people, 8 survived. We gave business cards to the others and returned to reality." Li Ying answered quickly.
Hearing this answer, Liu Yanran breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, not only two of them survived.
At this moment, both sides wanted to get information from each other. Liu Yanran took the two of them to the 404 convenience store, recommended two boxed lunches and drinks, and then took them back to the store.
"Come, eat first, and then we'll talk."
Liu Yanran was very friendly to the two players who dared to come straight over to rent a room.
She was in a bad mood today, mainly because the first group of official players who tried to find work encountered trouble.
Two comrades who took the initiative to apply for jobs at Qingshan Hospital and No. 7 Middle School were rejected and asked to provide relevant academic qualifications and certifications.
The two comrades who interviewed for salesperson positions at the nearby 404 convenience store and Sasa hypermarket got the jobs very easily.
It is easy to find manual labor, but it is difficult to find a decent and formal job.
The question is, since they're all "outsiders," how can they provide proof of their academic credentials? Or are these high-level dungeons explicitly barring players like them from entering?
Are there deeper secrets in these copies that are forbidden for "outsiders" to touch?
The thought of this gave Liu Yanran a headache. Fortunately, two of her comrades had already found jobs, proving that it was indeed possible for players to work instead of entering the strange dungeon.
But...will players who become temporary residents be forced to become part of "harming" ordinary players during the relevant dungeon work?
Can they provide help to ordinary players in the dungeon, or do they have to stand on the same side as the natives of the strange world?
All this will only be known when the comrades who worked today come back from get off work.
She gathered her thoughts and looked at the two players in front of her. "How big a room do you plan to rent?"
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