The scene shifted again to her plunging a knife into Xunfang's heart over and over, with Mu Ling shrouded in red mist on her back.
Mu Ling sat smiling on her shoulders, her hands tightening little by little around her neck...
She struggled as she suffocated, her eyes rolling upward, only to discover that the figure sitting on her shoulders was not Mu Ling, but the red-mist ghost!
The ghost gouged out her eyes resentfully and swallowed them, sneering as she chewed. "So bitter. Just as disgusting as He Zhou's..."
"Bzz, bzz-"
Su Cheng opened her eyes. Her phone alarm was still vibrating beside her ear. Her pupils focused, her taut body relaxed, and she drew deep breaths.
Her back was damp. She had broken out in a sweat in her sleep.
Su Cheng raked a hand through her hair. She had set the alarm for the next day. Had an entire night already passed?
It felt like I'd only just closed my eyes...
Su Cheng looked at herself in the mirror. With dark bags under both eyes, she looked a little haggard.
"Sigh..."
Su Cheng let out a deep sigh. She had thought she would not have nightmares, but she had been too optimistic after all.
As a materialist encountering real supernatural phenomena for the first time, the delayed psychological impact was far from slight.
Su Cheng washed up and changed her clothes. Breakfast was bread and water.
With her white smart bag on her back, Su Cheng took the elevator to the supermarket on basement level one.
Wristband points balance: 2,720
The four-digit figure was pleasing to look at.
Su Cheng first went to Tang Su to upgrade her membership. She had previously topped up 30 points, and now added another 270, becoming a premium member entitled to 30% off all non-sale items.
Tang Su said, "Premium members can download the supermarket's exclusive app on their phones. Its search function helps residents find what they need faster."
"Okay, please download it for me."
"Certainly. Please give me your phone."
The phone chimed, and Tang Su handed it back to Su Cheng. "All done."
"Thank you."
Sure enough, an app with a shopping cart icon had appeared on the last page of her phone's home screen. Tapping it brought up the supermarket's section page.
On the section page, she could search keywords or product names to quickly locate the items she wanted, much like a library search terminal.
Having a search function really did make things much more convenient.
This app was one of the exclusive privileges of premium members. Black diamond members presumably had even more privileges.
Author's note:
None.
Chapter 27
Holding her shopping basket, Su Cheng felt entirely different about shopping now.
From the supplement range she had wanted before, she bought four boxes each of constitution supplements and muscle-building supplements, nearly a month's supply, for a total of 840 points after the discount.
Smart bags happened to be on sale for just 200 points each. Su Cheng remembered that purchasing additional bags would stack their storage capacity, so she bought three, adding nine slots for 600 points.
Next came the essential nutrient solutions. Ten vials cost 350 points after the discount.
There was also the language translator she had nearly forgotten before.
A language translator cost only 50 points. Each set consisted of two round patches, one to be attached behind the ear and the other at the throat.
The patch behind the ear automatically translated any language she heard into Chinese, while the patch at her throat converted her spoken words into the local dialect.
They were cheap because they easily fell off when the wearer made large movements.
Su Cheng went to the counter and handed Tang Su her basket to check out. "Oh, I also need an access card and a bicycle rental for one day."
"Certainly."
Tang Su took a card and a key out of a drawer.
"This is your access card. Use it at the apartment complex's main gate. You can keep using it permanently and don't need to return it.
"The bicycle key is universal. Just choose any bicycle and unlock its anti-theft lock. You'll be blacklisted if you don't return it within twenty-four hours."
"Okay, thank you."
After Su Cheng paid, her account balance updated: 510.
Tang Su put down the scanner and continued reading the same book as before.
Su Cheng smiled faintly. "That book looks very interesting."
Tang Su's eyes brightened slightly. With someone else acknowledging something she liked, she broke into a smile. "Yes, I think so too!"
Still smiling, Su Cheng continued, "The illustrations in the book look very unusual, but they don't look like any animal I've ever seen."
Tang Su turned to the page with the six-pointed star that Su Cheng had seen before and tapped it with a fingertip. "Hmm, do you mean Eris?"
"So it's called Eris."
A hint of eeriness surfaced in Tang Su's eyes, and she winked playfully. "This is a vessel for the descent of an ancient evil god."
An ancient evil god...
"I see..."
Su Cheng smiled. Seeing no disgust or fear on her face, Tang Su curved her eyes in satisfaction. "If you're interested in Eris, you can borrow this book from me. I'd be happy to share it with you."
"But you'll need to borrow a translation book as well, or you might not be able to understand it."
Su Cheng thought it over but still chose to decline. "Thank you, but I'll pass."
"All right. If you ever change your mind, come ask me for the book."
With that, Tang Su lowered her head and immersed herself in reading again.
After leaving the supermarket, Su Cheng first unpacked the three smart bags.
As the three smart bags touched the white smart bag slung over her body one after another, they automatically merged with it, stacking the storage slots for a total of twelve.
The nutrient solutions, constitution supplements, and other things she had just bought could all go into the smart bag for now.
It was now 10:30.
Holding the key, Su Cheng walked toward the bicycle section of the parking garage.
The bicycles were all identical, ordinary models, each with a wheel lock.
She picked one at random and unlocked it, then tossed the removed anti-theft lock and key into her smart bag.
Su Cheng had not ridden a bicycle for some time, but her body's sense of balance and memory remained, so she quickly adjusted to riding.
Signs in the parking garage indicated the direction of the exit.
After riding in that direction for over ten minutes, Su Cheng made her way around a large spiral before finally emerging aboveground, where a barrier blocked her path.
Su Cheng glanced at the reader on her right and took out her access card to tap it. With a chime, the barrier slowly rose.
Su Cheng rode out on her bicycle.
"This whole process really feels like being back in the real world..."
Outside the apartment complex was an actual road, lined with birch trees. There were no birds or other animals in the trees, and the entire surroundings were frighteningly quiet.
Su Cheng looked back and took in the apartment complex in full.
High-rise buildings stood amid thick white fog, their forms appearing and disappearing in the drifting mist, looking mysterious and unfathomable.
Su Cheng stopped her bicycle by the roadside.
She opened her phone and messaged Yan Yu. "I'm by the road outside the main gate."
A reply arrived a second later. "Be there in five minutes."
While waiting by the roadside, Su Cheng opened the supermarket app on her phone, mainly to learn what special weapons the supermarket sold.
"Laser gun," "□□," "bagua mirror," "truth-detecting glasses," "grim reaper's scythe," "soul-hooking chain," "ion emitter"...
Browsing through the app was much more straightforward than searching among the supermarket's dazzling array of goods.
The items were all very good, and their prices were generally above 2,000 points.
"Beep, beep..."
A car horn sounded.
Su Cheng looked up and saw a white sedan approaching swiftly. It came to a smooth stop beside her.
Yan Yu got out. Today, she wore an American-style tank top and cargo pants, her ear-length hair hanging loose. Her complexion had the sallow tint of someone who had not slept well.
Seeing Su Cheng, she smiled. "Long time no see."
Su Cheng smiled too. "Yeah."
Yan Yu opened the trunk. "The bicycle should fit right in. Want me to help lift it?"
"No need."
Su Cheng picked up the bicycle and put it into the trunk. It was not particularly heavy, and besides, she was considerably stronger now than before.
"Let's go. We'll head to An Tavern first. Xu Shaowei should be getting there soon too."
Su Cheng nodded, sat in the passenger seat, and fastened her seat belt.
Xu Shaowei was probably the friend Yan Yu wanted to introduce her to.
After so many days, Su Cheng was riding in Yan Yu's car again, and her speed was as passionate as ever.
The sedan had built-in navigation, so they only needed to follow its directions. The estimated travel time was thirty minutes.
Since it had built-in navigation, a sedan was the best choice for going out. A small electric scooter came second, but only if you knew the way.
Su Cheng quietly made a note of this.
Unless there were special circumstances, she would try not to choose a bicycle for future trips. It saved a few points, but it took time and effort, and she also had to worry about going the wrong way.
With just the two of them there, Su Cheng took the opportunity to bring up the Gene Lock. "Have you unlocked your Gene Lock?"
Yan Yu paused. "You've unlocked yours already?"
"Yes, in the second instance."
Yan Yu had not unlocked her Gene Lock yet. She clicked her tongue in admiration. "That's impressive."
At their first meeting, Su Cheng had still been a complete newbie. At their second, she had already surpassed most people and unlocked her Gene Lock.
Her rate of growth left Yan Yu marveling. "No wonder you seem to have changed so much."
Su Cheng touched her face. "Of course. I look more haggard now."
"No, I mean you seem much calmer and more reserved... Sigh, I can't put the feeling into words."
Su Cheng shook her head modestly. "You're exaggerating."
Although Su Cheng had unlocked her Gene Lock relatively early, her experience with instances certainly could not compare to veterans like Yan Yu.
Yan Yu continued, "I came out this time because I wanted to talk to you about the Gene Lock. Xu Shaowei unlocked his in the last instance. You two can exchange some insights later."
"You probably haven't been outside the apartment complex yet, so I'll take you around the Central Circle while we're at it."
"The Central Circle?"
Yan Yu nodded and explained, "It means the commercial district. You probably know the apartments have lots of different zones. For example, you're in Zone E, and I'm in Zone D."
"Neighboring residential complexes share a Central Circle, but it's nowhere near as bustling as commercial districts in the real world. You'll see when we get there."