Chapter 215: Huaishu Road Construction Site Anecdote 13

Chapter 215: Huaishu Road Construction Site Anecdote 13

The sudden event left the players stunned in place.

"Damn it!" Lu Cheng wailed in the guild channel, "Why did it have to be us two!"

They were just about to head upstairs to search for clues and get a head start on other players. Being caught at this crucial moment would certainly be a setback.

Qin Fei glanced at the store manager; as expected, he was still unapproachable.

Fortunately, NPCs within this anecdote could still be interacted with normally even if they couldn't be persuaded. Qin Fei cleared his throat and tried to speak:

"Sorry, we've already been scheduled by another store manager. Could we...?"

"No way!"

The store manager seemed to have seen through Qin Fei's lie, smiling insincerely.

"You lazy employees, I've seen right through your tricks!" the manager said resentfully, glaring at Qin Fei.

The young man innocently touched his nose.

Unable to save his teammates, Qin Fei couldn't easily give up. He spoke again: "Our shift starts at 10 AM."

"10 AM is when we open!" the boss interrupted, "It's 8 AM now, well past the employee start time. You have no reason to refuse me."

Qin Fei: "..."

Impenetrable.

This was troublesome.

Qin Fei gave Lu Cheng a "good luck" look.

The boss standing here and talking so much suggested, based on previous experience, that this was likely a normal subplot rather than a death scenario.

Going into the store might not be bad; there could even be unexpected gains.

The two players, feeling helpless, were tightly gripped by the boss's large hands and dragged into the store.

The moment their feet stepped inside, Qi Xiu and Lu Cheng heard the system prompt simultaneously:

"Congratulations! Players have triggered the quest: Working at a Women's Clothing Store—Complete the morning tasks under the store manager's instructions. Good luck, chosen workers!"

(P.S. Achieving 'Excellent' performance will grant additional rewards!)

The clear system quest appeared on the attribute panel. Seeing no escape, Lu Cheng comforted his teammates:

"Don't worry, don't worry. We can use this chance to get closer to the boss lady and maybe learn some plot information."

Lu Cheng waved at Qin Fei and Mi Yang through the shop's glass wall. The boss lady came from behind and pulled down the shade without mercy.

The two players disappeared from everyone's sight.

Cui Wenxuan stared at the shop for a few seconds before turning around and saying, "Let's go."

But Qin Fei frowned deeply.

Something felt wrong.

"What's the matter?" Mi Yang asked, noticing his expression.

Walking at the back of the group, Qin Fei turned to look at the women's clothing store.

From a distance, they could hear the sound of heavy objects being dragged inside. Qi Xiu and Lu Cheng had probably started their workday.

Qin Fei opened the guild channel, ensuring his words would reach Lu Cheng, then spoke:

"Yesterday, the owner of the funeral supplies store on the third floor told us the building is being demolished."

Mi Yang nodded. "Yes."

Qin Fei lowered his eyes slightly.

Even though it was daytime, the lights in the first-floor women's section were still off before the official opening at 10 AM.

Cui Wenxuan led the way with a flashlight.

The dim light cast serious expressions on the players' faces.

"Since yesterday, based on every NPC we've encountered, something happened in this building, and it's haunted. Everyone knows this," Qin Fei whispered.

Whether it was the supervisor, the foreman, or the third-floor store owner, all had hinted at some information when questioned.

But when pressed further, they refused to say more.

Qin Fei suddenly turned to look directly into Mi Yang's eyes. "If you had a store in a mall where there's almost no foot traffic and it poses a life-threatening risk, what would you do?"

Mi Yang paused. "I'd... move away?"

Exactly.

Mi Yang's expression froze.

If he were in the same situation as the store owners in Sinar Mas Department Store,

He would undoubtedly pack up and leave immediately.

No one is indifferent to their life, especially when faced with something as terrifying as a haunted place.

Some might say this mindset is like asking why someone doesn't eat meat when they're hungry. Adult life isn't easy; how could moving a store be something that can be done on a whim?

But now, there's no business at all in the department store. Continuing to run a store here is nothing more than a waste of time.

"Look," Qin Fei's gaze slowly turned around him. "As we walked along, most of the stores have already closed down."

Those who moved away are the normal ones.

"And those still lingering in the building..."

Mi Yang's tone wasn't good: "Could it be that everyone we've seen these past two days are all ghosts?"

A sharp noise came from the Guild channel, as if something had fallen to the ground.

Live chat comments:

"Holy crap! Xiao Qin's analysis is really scary!"

"A tear for Team Qi and Little Lu..."

"Have you watched Little Lu's live stream? He just got so scared he knocked over a mannequin and almost got beaten by the store manager!"

Qin Fei didn't open the comment panel, so he naturally couldn't know what kind of mental torture poor Lu Cheng was enduring.

"It's possible," Qin Fei answered Mi Yang's question, "but not necessarily."

If everyone in the building had indeed died and become ghosts,

Qin Fei believed that there was a high probability that even the NPCs themselves were unaware of this.

Mi Yang quickly adjusted his thinking: "If all the NPCs we've encountered so far are allies of the instance boss, with the purpose of killing players, then this urban legend would be too difficult."

"It's also possible that these NPCs are not ghosts. Perhaps they are still alive, but their positions must be problematic," Qin Fei continued.

The NPCs staying in the building must have compelling reasons.

"In any case, before we fully understand the situation, it's best to be cautious when interacting with the NPCs."

Qin Fei said,

"They may not be on our side."

But they may not be on the side of the ghosts either.

There may not only be two factions—humans and ghosts—in this urban legend; there could be more.

After Qin Fei finished speaking, a long sigh echoed in the Guild channel. This was Lu Cheng's way of telling his teammates that he had heard and would be more careful.

"Team Leader Cui," Chen Zaocha's voice came from the front of the group, "the players from Dormitory Two and Four are still acting together. They just split into two groups and went up to the fourth and fifth floors."

"They found another elevator that works normally and can go directly to above the third floor."

Cui Wenxuan pondered for a moment, "Let's follow them and split into three teams."

The sixth floor hasn't been explored yet, so it must be visited, but giving up the fourth and fifth floors isn't an option either.

Neither the Northwest teams can be trusted, so someone needs to keep an eye on them; otherwise, even if information is exchanged later, there's a high chance of being deceived.

In the end, Qin Fei, Mi Yang, Chen Zaocha, and another player named Hu Xiao from Dormitory Three were assigned to the sixth floor.

The group entered the elevator, and as the elevator ascended, the number of people in the cabin gradually decreased.

Hu Xiao looked at the constantly changing numbers and licked his lips nervously: "...I'm a bit nervous."

No one in the elevator responded, and Mi Yang glanced at Hu Xiao without showing any emotion.

Hu Xiao was one of the two NPCs in the South Team. He looked ordinary, short, and thin.

According to Hu Xiao himself, this year was the first time he was invited to participate in the research conference. He had always lived cautiously and had little experience dealing with urban legends.

When Cui Wenxuan assigned team members, putting such a person on the most dangerous and unknown sixth floor might have been intended to use Hu Xiao as a stepping stone for others.

"Ding dong—"

The elevator reached the top floor.

Hu Xiao patted his chest, "I—I'll walk behind you three—"

"Huh?" The NPC's gaze paused at something: "You four walk in front...?"

Four?

Mi Yang turned back in confusion and saw a familiar figure in the corner of the elevator.

A man in a black trench coat had half of his body hidden in the shadows. Seeing everyone turn to look at him, he calmly asked, "What's wrong? Did something happen?"

Mi Yang raised an eyebrow, "Nothing's wrong, but when did you come over?"

How did he not remember this at all?

The source of contamination blinked and replied naturally, "Team Leader Cui told me to come over."

"If you don't believe me," his gaze turned to Qin Fei, "ask him."

Qin Fei: "..."

He couldn't testify, thank you.

Although Qin Fei wasn't as oblivious to the existence of the pollutant as other players, he clearly remembered that Cui Wenxuan had not mentioned the name "W" when assigning players to groups.

The despicable Mr. Pollutant once again used his powers that surpassed those of the players to ensure he was grouped with someone specific.

After he said, "Captain Cui told me to come along," the confusion on everyone's faces instantly dissipated.

Oh.

It seems... that's indeed the case.

"Let's go in." Mi Yang had already dismissed any concerns and refocused her attention.

After stepping out of the elevator, the players faced a safety door, its two panels tightly closed, with a huge red "Demolish" painted on it.

Chen Zaocha took two steps forward, cautiously extending a finger to poke the door: "I wonder what's behind it..."

"I guess it might be an office?"

Qin Fei's finger gently rubbed his chin.

"The floors in old-style shopping malls tend to be lower, so they usually design the top floor as offices for property management and other administrative staff."

Accompanied by the heavy creak of the hinges, the door slowly opened a crack.

Behind it lay a pitch-black corridor. Chen Zaocha dimmed the flashlight to its lowest setting, turned it on, and shone it inside from where he stood.

"It does seem like an office." He waved everyone over. "Both sides of the doors are locked."

With the dim light of the flashlight, one could see that every door within sight, just like the safety door, was painted with a huge red "Demolish" in blood-red paint.

"A bit scary," Chen Zaocha drew a sharp breath.

...

"A bit scary."

In the pitch-black women's clothing store, Lu Cheng and Qi Xiu stood amidst a densely packed crowd of mannequins.

These mannequins were nearly identical in height and physique to real people, their limbs wrapped in sets of clothes that emitted an old, musty smell. Their featureless faces seemed particularly indistinct.