Customers outside the supermarket continued to leisurely browse the goods; the noise from the restrooms was quite loud, but they all seemed completely oblivious...
The cleaner smiled faintly, and only after Su Cheng was out of her sight did she slowly carry her tools into the men's restroom.
The toilet's pristine white tiles were stained crimson with blood, which formed a red vortex at the drain opening.
Two cashiers were cleaning intestines in the sink. They smiled at the cleaner, "Oh, Auntie Li, thank you for your hard work."
"This is my job, it's what I should do." The cleaner's eyes gleamed as she looked at the man who had been gutted, bent down, picked up the sharp butcher knife, and couldn't help but brandish it a couple of times.
"It looks like there's a lot of lean meat in it; my grandson loves lean meat the most."
"Yes, a new batch of meat will be arriving soon. We employees get a discount, so we should buy a lot. The intestines are fresh too; they're perfect for soup or sashimi..."
*
After paying at the counter, Su Cheng's steps were still heavy as she walked out of the supermarket.
She sat on the electric scooter, looking down at her phone, but her mind was completely elsewhere than on the video playing on it.
The cleaning lady's interruption did not distract her from her thoughts.
She tightly grasped the fleeting thought that had escaped her earlier, and all sorts of bizarre and fantastical images flashed through her mind incessantly.
Her eyes were sometimes blank and sometimes confused, and she felt a sense of unfamiliarity with the world like never before.
Is she really from this world?
Su Cheng put her right hand in her pocket, flicked the candy in the pocket with her fingertips, and the candy disappeared.
Like men, she also has a different dimension.
You can put things in it, but you can't see what's inside or take it out.
Unlike men who act boldly, Su Cheng never considered exposing herself.
Her subconscious was warning her that this was a secret she must never reveal, just like the jade pendant—even though she didn't know why a jade pendant was on her neck.
The man's fate confirmed her suspicions; exposure meant immeasurable danger.
Su Cheng slowed her breathing, still unable to find the key to stringing together the chaotic fragments of memory.
Those fragments were like photographs from different periods, but she couldn't find the right timeline.
But she was already certain that she didn't belong here.
She wasn't Su Cheng from White Moon City; those memories from childhood to adulthood seemed to have been forcibly implanted into her mind.
It couldn't compare to the vividness and clarity of the fragments of memory I had just experienced.
Su Cheng had a premonition that she would soon figure everything out.
But for now, she still has to continue playing the role of ' Su Cheng of White Moon City '.
"Ding-dong"
[Mom]: Are we inside the house?
Su Cheng looked at the "fake mother" profile picture and replied: Almost there, on the way.
She rode her electric scooter towards Red Moon Garden.
We arrived nearby in about ten minutes and could hear funeral music in the distance.
Outside the Red Moon Garden, the restaurant was decorated with white sails and wreaths, and faint weeping could be heard from inside, indicating that someone was holding a funeral.
Su Cheng frowned slightly; once she entered the residential area, she couldn't avoid seeing the mourning hall.
Why is it placed at the entrance of the residential area...?
She has excellent eyesight and saw the old man's portrait.
The old man in the picture frame smiled kindly, seemingly meeting the gaze of everyone who looked at him through the glass.
Su Cheng looked away uncomfortably and quickly entered the residential area.
The buildings in the community are quite old, not very tall, but all are equipped with elevators.
Su Cheng quickly found Building 4 and went to the fourth floor, which was unusually quiet.
She took Xiaoyun's spare key from under the doormat at the entrance of room 401.
The moment the door opened, a stuffy smell wafted out.
It smelled like no one had lived there for a long time, but Xiaofang said she had only been gone for a week.
Su Cheng checked the room inside and out, confirming that she was alone, there were no surveillance cameras, and the basic equipment was still working.
She boiled water and ate the instant noodles she bought from the supermarket.
After washing up, I quickly packed my luggage in my side bedroom, then sat on the bed and began researching the alternate dimension.
Su Cheng used the clothes as an experiment, trying to sense other items in the alternate dimension after putting things inside.
However, several times in a row, it could only teleport, but could not output anything.
I don't know how long this process lasted, the night grew darker and darker, the alarm clock by the bedside ticked away, and sleepiness was born in the quiet.
The curtains were blown up by the wind, revealing a pair of red embroidered shoes worn on tiptoe.
Su Cheng yawned and looked out the window as if she sensed something.
There was nothing outside the window; there was no moon or stars tonight, and the sky looked like paper splattered with ink.
A breeze blew in, causing the curtains to flutter.
"Was the window not closed properly...?"
She got up and walked to the window, where a crack had indeed been left.
The wind blows in through this gap.
She closed the window, and as she turned her head, she suddenly saw red embroidered shoes in the corner of the glass window.
Is anyone there?
But this is the fourth floor, how could a person be floating in mid-air?!
Su Cheng's sleepiness dissipated considerably. She took a step back, raised her head, and was met directly by a pale old man's face.
It was the face she had glimpsed in the portrait as she entered the residential compound!
The frail old man, dressed in a red peony-patterned funeral shroud, stood close to the window, waving stiffly, his kind face tinged with gloom.
"Little girl, I'm so cold. Can you open the window and let me in to escape the wind?" An old voice sounded faintly, and her parted lips were several times redder than in her portrait.
Su Cheng clenched her fist, remained silent for a moment, and then said, "I don't know you at all, what brings you here?"
"Didn't we just meet? You walked past my funeral, so we're practically connected. Besides, we're neighbors."
No wonder this floor was unusually quiet; it turns out someone had died there, and most of the residents had probably moved out temporarily.
The old man chuckled, his features, pressed against the glass window, slightly distorted, his cloudy eyes widening. "You don't seem very scared, hehehe, you're quite brave. You look very healthy, you should live a long time..."
Su Cheng stared at her intently. She should be afraid, but deep down she felt more offended and displeased.
The old ghost before her was merely Remnant Soul with some lingering obsessions, yet it coveted her body.
Although Su Cheng has not fully recovered her true memories, a corner of the seal on her mind has been lifted, and she is constantly breaking through a certain kind of suppression.
She said, "Okay, come in."
The old woman chuckled to herself, having received permission. The window in front of her was successfully pushed open, and she floated into the room, approaching her desired prey.
During the three days of the funeral, she picked and chose, but the person she was most satisfied with was Su Cheng, whom she had only met today.
A young woman's body is healthy and full of vitality, which is what she desires most as she enters old age.
"Good girl, thank you. You're the kindest person I've ever met. Why don't you go all the way and lend me your body too..."
The old man changed his expression, revealing a sinister smile, and reached out withered hands to grab Su Cheng!
"Sizzle--"
"Aaaaaaah!"
The sounds of burning flesh mingled with screams of pain.
Su Cheng, holding a boning knife, swung it down with a single stroke amidst the old ghost's terrified gaze!
The weak, Remnant Soul didn't even have time to beg for mercy or escape before it was torn apart by the vicious energy of the boning knife, reduced to ashes, and carried away by a gust of wind.
Su Cheng looked at the knife in her hand; it wasn't unfamiliar, but rather felt like seeing an old friend.
When the old ghost attacked, her body seemed to trigger a combat mechanism, and she instinctively pulled out a boning knife from the "other dimension" to fight back.
Su Cheng touched the blade, sensing the "alternate dimension," or rather, the Smart Bag.
Inside were clothes, candy, and various props and supplies that she had just put in.
She looked at them carefully, and images of how she had organized them flashed through her mind.
With a slight shift of his eyes, a crimson figure suddenly appeared in his peripheral vision.
Su Cheng instinctively swung her knife, but stopped just before it landed. Looking at the familiar ghost face, she called out the other person's name, " Mu Ling."
Mu Ling smiled with delight, "You finally remembered!"
After arriving in this instance, she was trapped in the bracelet until Su Cheng showed signs of awakening, at which point the power suppressing her weakened.
Su Cheng sheathed her knife, sat on the edge of the bed, closed her eyes, and when she opened them again, she was completely awake and clear-headed.
She found the key to connecting her memories: the Survival Apartment.
Because of the Survival Apartment, she was able to experience various dungeon worlds!
She is Su Cheng, but not the Su Cheng trapped in a template in White Moon City.
"This arena raid is truly... a format I never expected."
[bite]
[Contestant Su Cheng has regained self-awareness! Initiating the distribution of tasks for this competition.]
[Task 1: Survival. This competition lasts for 7 days. You can return to your apartment when the countdown ends. Countdown remaining: 5 days]
[Task 2: Qualified Citizen. Please become a citizen who contributes to or serves the city.]
Note: This task is related to the competition ranking, but it is not mandatory.
[Task 3: The New Year's Bell. White Moon City will hold a New Year's Eve party in the square. Please help the citizens to have a smooth New Year.]
Note: This is an individual task; differences may exist among participants, and it will affect competition rankings. It is not mandatory.
Should we review it again?
no.
Su Cheng went through the three tasks.
Task 1 is a basic task, which only requires you to survive seven days in the dungeon, but the reward is estimated to be only the 5,000 points you would have earned upon registration.
Looking at the countdown, two days have already passed since the instance started running.
In the past two days, Su Cheng had seen many contestants wearing black bracelets, playing various roles.
She might be a stranger, or she might be an acquaintance like Sun Wei or Zhang Xue.
Unfortunately, Yan Yu or Xu Shaowei were not among them.
Su Cheng's expression was grave, and she couldn't help but worry about the two of them.
Contestants who have lost their memories and are trying to integrate their local identities find themselves at a disadvantage when facing ghosts and monsters, often unknowingly being led into traps by the monsters in the dungeons.