Cost-Effectiveness

"...It won't fit. It's too small, I really can't get in."

"Hurry up."

"...I don't want to! You're bullying me! Boohoohoo..."

Wu Pifu said with a face full of black lines, "What the hell are you talking about? If you don't get into this sewer now, we'll all die here!"

Naturally, the slaughterhouse area also had sewers. All the filth washed away went down through them, and because the volume of water used for cleaning was so great, these obviously weren't tiny household pipes, but large sewer tunnels that could accommodate people.

At this moment, Wu Pifu and Jiujiu had both used water from the assembly line's pipes to wash themselves and changed into work uniforms. Jiujiu was also wearing a work uniform, but because she was so small, it looked like she had draped herself in a quilt. She timidly curled up within the oversized uniform, hunching her shoulders and shrinking her head, truly resembling a bird demon.

Wu Pifu had tied together the remaining work uniforms into a large bundle. Inside were chunks of meat he had cut from the wild boar demon. To make them easier to carry, he had left behind all the bones and internal organs. Aside from some meat, he had only taken two pig trotters. Since only the wild boar demon's lower limbs were pig trotters while its upper limbs were human hands, there had only been two.

Even after being selective, he had still cut down a bundle weighing nearly two hundred jin, which Wu Pifu carried on his back.

By then, several metal doors leading out of the slaughterhouse area were being rammed nonstop. Outside each door were half-demonized "employees." Wu Pifu and Jiujiu were effectively trapped in the slaughterhouse area, and judging by the situation, they would be surrounded and torn apart by hundreds of terrifying monsters in a minute or two at most.

So the two of them stood at the entrance to the sewer pipe.

Jiujiu's entire face was scrunched up. She had already vomited twice at the sight of the sewer, yet she simply could not bring herself to step inside. It was truly too filthy—rotting flesh and blood, bones, and even maggots visibly crawling everywhere.

Most birds loved cleanliness, and Jiujiu was no exception. Being forced to crawl into such a foul place made her feel like dying.

But there was no other choice. With her eyes closed, she repeatedly tried to step into the sewer pipe, but then her butt hurt slightly as Wu Pifu directly kicked her in.

"Ahhh..."

Jiujiu chirped, jumped, and screamed wildly. When Wu Pifu jumped down as well, she immediately bit down on his arm and simply dangled there while Wu Pifu carried her forward.

Though the sewer was filthy beyond measure, it was far safer than above for the moment. Those "employees" had all become blue-faced and fanged, taking on demonic forms. No monsters like the wild boar demon had appeared yet, but their appearances suggested they could continue transforming at any moment. There were also hundreds of such "employees" in the factory alone. Even if Wu Pifu entered his controllable demonic state, he would certainly die against that number.

As the two entered the sewer, a tremendous crash sounded behind them, followed by a succession of roars. It seemed as though vibrations were coming from behind them. Jiujiu trembled slightly all over, and even the teeth biting Wu Pifu's arm seemed to loosen.

"It's fine. Keep biting." Without looking back, Wu Pifu continued forward and said in a low voice, "The ground is dirty. I'll walk... Don't worry. They can't get in. They're too big to fit into the sewer."

Jiujiu trembled slightly, then silently continued biting Wu Pifu's arm.

The two kept moving through the filthy, dark sewer. The tunnel sloped downward, and as they walked, the way ahead gradually widened. There were even dim sewer lights. However, seeing this, Wu Pifu frowned.

He found a relatively clean spot in the area, bent one leg slightly, and placed Jiujiu on his thigh while balancing on one foot. Only then did he say to her, "We're not going any farther. We'll find a narrow place nearby and hide."

Jiujiu widened her eyes and released her bite. "Why? It's so filthy and disgusting here. I don't want to stay another second..."

"Staying alive is more important."

Wu Pifu said gravely, "Week's End only lasts twenty-four hours. The longer we stay here, the more likely we are to encounter danger. The sewer has widened, which means there must be other dangers below, or we could enter another dangerous area. It's too dangerous."

Jiujiu nodded as though she half understood, blinking as she said, "But didn't you say there might be maintenance personnel from other areas? Aren't we going to take a look?"

Wu Pifu looked around, then his eyes lit up. He hoisted Jiujiu onto his shoulder and carefully walked another dozen meters or so. Soon, he spotted a utility room within the sewer. He pressed himself against the door and listened for a moment, then gave the lock a light tug. Hidden force burst forth, and the lock snapped straight off.

The instant the utility room opened, a powerful stench of mold poured out, making Jiujiu cough repeatedly. Yet Wu Pifu was overjoyed. He brought Jiujiu inside and immediately shut the door behind them.

"This smell is so choking!" Jiujiu complained.

Wu Pifu ignored her. Using the faint light filtering through the gap in the utility room door, he inspected the room. Only after seeing it clearly did he set Jiujiu down on the floor.

The utility room was only four or five square meters in size and packed with miscellaneous tools and clutter. Though there was plenty of dust, it was far cleaner than the sewer outside. Since the room was small, there were no hidden corners or blind spots, and thus no apparent safety hazards. Only then did Wu Pifu finally breathe a sigh of relief.

After landing on the ground, Jiujiu looked around before asking again, "I'm asking you, didn't you say there might be maintenance personnel from other areas? Why aren't you planning to check?"

Wu Pifu plopped down on the floor and shook his head. "What would checking accomplish? This isn't the Dream World. We can't establish a shelter here. Every time Week's End comes, we enter at a different location and encounter different monsters. If I risked my life just to confirm whether someone was maintenance personnel, the cost-effectiveness would be far too low."

Jiujiu continued blinking. "But wouldn't they be your teammates? Maybe even future companions?"

Wu Pifu shook his head. He looked around, stood up again, and went to fiddle with some clutter as he said, "Other than Yamadai, Xu Shilan, and you, I have no other teammates right now. There aren't any future companions either. I don't have such lofty ambitions. I only want to stay alive. Of course, if I can live more comfortably and safely, I don't mind taking a little risk. But like I said, the cost-effectiveness is too poor."

Watching Wu Pifu fiddle with something, Jiujiu could not help chirping again. "Then why did you go kill those monsters earlier? I saw the stuff the Main Brain displayed before. Dying once or twice here wouldn't make you immediately lose yourself, right?"

Wu Pifu remained silent, his hands never stopping. Soon, he used a piece of wire to hook a metal sheet and placed it in the gap of the utility room door. This allowed them to barely see the scene outside. Then he found several bolts and metal rods, using them to reinforce the door's latch and lock as best he could.

After finishing all that, Wu Pifu finally quieted down.

Jiujiu watched him complete everything, then chirped again, "I'm talking to you. You still haven't answered me."

Wu Pifu was silent for a moment before saying hoarsely, "There's no reason. What is there to discuss about something I've already done?"

Jiujiu suddenly giggled. She shifted closer and sat beside Wu Pifu. "You're completely different from the scholars in those storytelling books. They all say scholars are cold-hearted and faithless."

As she spoke, Jiujiu softly hummed a tune. Wu Pifu did not stop her. He merely closed his eyes to rest, listening to the melody, and gradually felt drowsy.

At that moment, explosions continued outside, their locations constantly shifting. No one knew what sort of person was doing what out there. Judging by the number and intensity of the blasts, whoever it was had to be terrifyingly powerful. If it was not the boss-level monsters of Week's End fighting among themselves, but actual maintenance personnel battling, then they had at least obtained Baseline Reality 0.7, perhaps even 0.6—luxurious figures, supreme experts. With his tiny frame, Wu Pifu likely was not even qualified to watch the battle.

The earthquakes caused by the explosions continued, making the entire utility room tremble again and again. Dust occasionally drifted down, but Wu Pifu and Jiujiu hid safely in this corner. As long as they did not recklessly stir up trouble, Week's End was not actually as dangerous as they had imagined.

Then Wu Pifu asked, "Earlier, you mentioned demons... Are there many demons in your world?"

Jiujiu leaned against Wu Pifu, her little feet swinging back and forth. "Not many, but not few either. In the mountain forest where I lived, there were over a dozen living beings with demon bloodlines, but none of them amounted to much. There wasn't even a demon with twenty years of cultivation."

Wu Pifu silently assessed that Baseline Reality 0.7 world—the sixth year of Xuanhe in the Northern Song.

Because he had completed a historical event, he had already established a level-two shelter in that world. That meant he had to spend seven days in that world within thirty days.

There was no avoiding it. Otherwise, once the thirty days passed, a level-two nightmare could potentially break through at any time.

Judging by Jiujiu's existence, that world actually had lifeforms such as demons. That already involved at least a small part of the realm of gods and demons. Even though Jiujiu said demons were not numerous, his scalp still tingled.

Wu Pifu asked again, "How do your demons calculate 'cultivation'?"

Jiujiu blinked, tilted her head, and thought for a moment before answering, "Only demons or people who have succeeded in cultivation can sense it. There's no way to list it numerically like the Main Brain does. For example, I only have three to five years of cultivation, which means I'm as intelligent as a human, but have no other abilities. Demons with fifty years of cultivation can take on half-human bodies, while demons with one hundred years of cultivation can assume human form. I don't know anything beyond that."

As she spoke, Jiujiu yawned. Seeing this, Wu Pifu said, "Sleep for a while. I'm here."

"Okay."

Jiujiu did not stand on ceremony. Leaning against Wu Pifu, she slowly fell asleep.

No one knew how long she slept. Suddenly, Jiujiu jolted awake. She was about to speak, but in the next second, a hand covered her mouth. Startled, she hurriedly looked over and saw Wu Pifu shaking his head at her, his expression exceptionally grim.

On the metal sheet at the gap in the utility room door, which reflected the scene outside...

A great number of heads were embedded in a massive jelly-like body, and this creature—whatever it was—was trying to squeeze through the sewer into the utility room!