Rules for Living Alone
[Host, are you going to rescue the Protagonist Group?!] Even 007's mechanical voice became excited upon hearing that he was going out.
"No rush, which building are they in now?" Lin Nieran asked.
[They live very close by. Qin Rang and Tao Yuan are both in the same Building One and the Unit One as you. Qin Rang is on the second floor, apartment 201, Tao Yuan is on the third floor, apartment 301.]
Lin Nieran paused, his expression quite interesting. "I see, their luck is truly unbelievably bad."
[Host, this is strange. You seem very familiar with this place.]
[Furthermore, according to the original course of the world, after the Protagonist Group An Ying died in the Instance game arena, they rested for a long time and received some new high-level Weird Object as buffs before entering and exiting the Instance again.]
[That entire deck of Playing Cards, that Weird Object, should also be one of their cheat codes.]
[But now, because of you, they've been sucked into this high-risk S-Rank Instance. Given their current abilities, none of them will get out. If they die, our mission will be largely ruined. Aren't you worried?]
"You said yourself that I'm very familiar with this place, so what's there to worry about? People's perception of eerie danger largely stems from the unknown."
007 felt increasingly uneasy as it listened, so it quickly went back to the system memory to look up information.
Lin Nieran walked through the Corridor, ignoring the elevators. Neither of these elevators was safe to use; riding one would surely result in a fatal fall.
Upon reaching the stairs leading to the emergency exit, 007 suddenly looked up from among the various documents, his mechanical voice rising in pitch.
Did you grow up in Happy Residential Complex?
Lin Nieran: "You're only finding out now? You chose a host who didn't do background checks?"
007 silently looked at the information: Lin Nieran, male, both parents alive, lives in Happy Residential Complex, has harmonious Neighbors, currently resides in Wutong District.
It had seen it once before, and at the time it thought it was a very ordinary and normal background, and didn't think of Happy Residential Complex in this way.
[Host... was this place like this when you were a child?] 007 asked cautiously.
Lin Nieran suppressed a laugh, "Yeah, are you alright?"
The system isn't very good.
Both parents were alive, but I never expected that both of them were strange.
Happy Residential Complex is an eerie community.
The question of whether there will be harmonious Neighbors is yet to be determined.
It remembers that the database is managed by 009, right? Who writes data like that?! Has some strange virus been installed in its program?!
It wants to report 009 for dereliction of duty!
Why don't you leave here?
"My parents love and protect me, I have a harmonious Neighbors, and I have playmates. Why should I run away?"
Lin Nieran said, "I woke up one morning to find myself not only an orphan but also someone with parents. Isn't that wonderful?"
But the strange only has Rules, not love.
"As long as I'm alive, that's enough. Whether I love someone or not, I think if I have one, then I have one."
No wonder it's the brain of a mentally ill person, it's just different!
The system initially thought Lin Nieran was the most normal Master, but now that's questionable.
"Big brother, big brother, look, that's Tuan'er's home!"
In his mind, a girl's voice rang out. Lin Nieran looked in the direction of 402. A single Dad lived there with his Little Tuan'er. He had helped take care of Little Tuan'er for a while; she was a cute little girl who was a bit mischievous.
After he left, a little girl's personality appeared in his head, chattering away every day just like before.
However, in his memory, his neighbor Little Tuan'er was well-behaved and cute, just a little mischievous, but the Little Tuan'er that split off from his head was ferociously powerful.
Lin Nieran also went to see Doctor told him that it was probably because he missed his playmates too much or that he had too deep an impression of some people, which caused him to develop similar personalities to accompany him.
He thought it was possible, but also felt he was talking nonsense. Because this Doctor didn't seem normal either; he was just perhaps less ill than him.
Pulling herself out of her thoughts, Lin Nieran leaned on the somewhat old railing as she went downstairs, only to unexpectedly bump into Tao Yuan, who was standing at the top of the third-floor staircase looking up.
"Huh? Boss Lin?" Tao Yuan was stunned and exclaimed in disbelief.
"Oh? Ms. Tao Yuan, what a coincidence," Lin Nieran said with a smile.
"Boss Lin, aren't you in the Residential Zone? What are you doing here?"
Lin Nieran sighed, "It's a long story. I was just trying to buy some paper money to pay respects to my family when I was brought in on the way. I was worried that I might be in grave danger, but seeing you here makes me feel much more at ease."
"I have to go now, I have a mission to complete. I'll be leaving first."
"Why!"
Tao Yuan stared at his retreating figure, seemingly wanting to say something but holding back. She then glanced at the fourth floor and took a deep breath.
Although it's unclear whether what he said is true or false, An Ying's umbrella can be saved, and if the weapon can be repaired, their chances of survival will increase.
She went downstairs to check and find her teammates as soon as possible. They were probably also looking for a chance to go out.
She hadn't expected to run into Qin Rang after only taking two steps, and the two returned to the room for a brief discussion on what to do.
After closing the door, Tao Yuan breathed a sigh of relief. She whispered, "There's something strange living in apartment 303 across from mine. This morning I saw a bunch of little paper figures with words on them emerge from his room. Judging from the energy fluctuations, they were around S-Rank."
"I haven't explored that level yet. I'm using my Dad's identity. I'll go back and try to probe the area by bringing him some food and drinks."
"By the way, these are my Rules." Tao Yuan handed over an A4 sheet of paper. Qin Rang also handed over his Rules.
[Rules for the Single Female Resident in Unit One, Building 4 4]
1. As a woman living alone, you must always be cautious and never open the door to strangers.
2. As a woman living alone, you have a lot of freedom, but you should be careful not to disturb your neighbors.
3. Your neighbor in apartment 303 really hates noise, which will affect his creative work.
4. Your neighbor in apartment 302 seems to have ill intentions towards you; please be discerning.
5. Your neighbor 304 seems to be somewhat hostile towards you.
6. Living alone is not easy; I hope you can survive safely.
Qin Rang was somewhat envious of her freedom, but the price of that freedom was a bit high.
The two exchanged a glance and gave each other a wry smile.
"If all else fails, I'll just say I'm working overtime and come down to keep you company."
Tao Yuan shook her head. "No, my status is that of a woman living alone. If there's another person at night, it won't be a case of living alone anymore, and who knows what might happen then."
Qin Rang patted his forehead. "That's true, I didn't think it through."
"You worry too much. I've noticed you're a bit impatient." Tao Yuan knew Qin Rang very well. They had been through thick and thin together for so many years, and this was the first time she had to remind him of such a simple principle.
Qin Rang was taken aback, then remembered the Rules that the Dad figure could be violent and abusive, and suddenly realized. "This persona is influencing my personality."
Tao Yuan frowned. "This is not good news."
"We'll talk about this later. We can't waste the daytime. Let's head out now."