Chapter 54: Cashier

……

In front of the main entrance, by the shelf nearly ten meters away.

Ding Mo and Zhang Yunfan were standing right here.

They stared at the doorway, which was barely a few steps away, but their expressions were incomparably heavy.

To leave through here meant violating the "rules" written by some unknown person.

But at this moment, the two of them had no other path to take.

"As agreed, I'll try first." Ding Mo stepped forward.

A flash of surprise crossed Zhang Yunfan's eyes, then he nodded, watching as Ding Mo slowly moved forward,

walking toward the shop door that led to the corridor.

Ding Mo approached slowly, glancing at the unremarkable doorway, then looked toward the counter.

The note said not to leave through the doorway, but the actual doorway had no obvious abnormalities, which meant...

Ding Mo stared intently at the counter—the danger very likely came from here!

One step, two steps... just as Ding Mo was about to pass the counter and reach the doorway.

His expression suddenly changed!

He had been staring at the counter the whole time, yet he hadn't noticed that the orientation of the "Lucky Cat" on the corner of the counter had changed at some point, shifting from facing the door to facing the inside of the shop!

Moreover, the paw that had been constantly beckoning had stopped moving! The entire "cat" stood fixed in place, like a surveillance camera, smilingly watching everything inside the shop, including Ding Mo!

This turn of events caught Ding Mo off guard, but since he was already extremely close to the doorway, he simply gritted his teeth!

He started running!

But he had only just swung his arm once when he felt his right foot—the one closer to the counter—being "grabbed"!

!!? Ding Mo looked down, but saw nothing at all.

Yet the next instant, a massive force surged from his right foot! In an instant, Ding Mo completely lost his balance!

Thud! He fell to the ground, being dragged toward the counter by something!

"Ding Mo!!" Zhang Yunfan grew anxious, gripping his baton and hesitating whether to step forward to help.

But Ding Mo had previously instructed Zhang Yunfan not to approach unless he called for help!

In fact, it was indeed unnecessary.

... What powerful strength!

Within the "Curtain" of fluctuating space and light, Ding Mo looked in shock at his right ankle, where a black handprint was present.

At the same time, the "Threshold" on his retina dropped by 10 percentage points.

Following the source of the black handprint, he looked up and could see a blurry black shadow, a ghost; its lower body was nowhere to be seen,

only the upper body, eerily elongated from behind the counter, its arm tearing at Ding Mo.

Ding Mo tried his best to pry open the ghost's fingers; if this weren't inside the "Curtain," he probably wouldn't be able to do this, or even see it at all!

But even so, it still took a Herculean effort for Ding Mo to barely pry open those 5 iron pincers! He broke free!

Then, he drew the equipment he had taken from the Processing Bureau, an Alloy Sword, and slashed at the ghost hand with one strike.

But with a "clang," the Alloy Sword left no mark on it at all!

By this time, it was approaching the limit of a single Time Stop—three minutes!

The "Curtain" dissipated, and Ding Mo had no choice but to stand up instantly and retreat at extreme speed.

Out of danger, Ding Mo panted, calming the surge of Adrenaline in his body.

His gaze looked toward the side of the door.

Inside that counter, there lived a ghost!

And judging by the attack just now, that ghost's attack range covered the entire main entrance; as long as one attempted to leave, it was impossible to avoid it.

No wonder the note wrote such a rule. If it hadn't been Ding Mo just now, anyone else would likely have been in grave danger!

"Ding Mo, are you okay? What happened just now?" Zhang Yunfan's gaze kept scanning the surroundings, but he couldn't see anything.

From his perspective just now, Ding Mo had actually just suddenly tripped in an eerie way, then climbed back up and ran back.

"It's fine, there's a guy there..." Ding Mo explained to Zhang Yunfan what had happened just now.

He only omitted the part about the "Curtain," saying only that he had seen its appearance clearly the moment he was attacked.

After all, one must be wary of others; his encounter with Chu Chenfeng was still fresh in his memory.

"You mean... there is a ghost with immense strength, lightning speed, and the ability to hide its form guarding the door?" Zhang Yunfan gasped!

According to Ding Mo's account, if this ghost weren't restricted to moving only near the counter, they would have already been killed.

Ding Mo nodded, though his gaze couldn't help but size up that Lucky Cat again.

Perhaps, there was more than one...

"... Ding Mo, what are your thoughts?" Zhang Yunfan's eyes shifted, looking at Ding Mo, and he subconsciously put some distance between them.

If there was only one ghost, attacking only one person at a time, then as long as one person acted as bait, the other person could...

Ding Mo glanced at him, sensing his thoughts, but shook his head:

"Don't think like that. This is just what I encountered; what if we both go together and a second ghost pops out?

"At the end of the day, that note didn't say that as long as there are 2 or more people, one can leave safely!

"Besides, if I were planning to do that kind of thing, I wouldn't have told you so much information."

After being told this, Zhang Yunfan instantly realized his thinking was flawed, his expression somewhat ashamed:

"S-sorry."

In the Isolation Zone, in the "Typewriter" Tasks, it was always full of deceit and treachery; many people would stop at nothing to survive, and he had developed a habitual way of thinking.

But not everyone was like that.

Zhang Yunfan understood; Ding Mo was someone who could be trusted.

"Then tell me what to do; I'll listen to you."

Ding Mo thought for a moment and said:

"Do you still remember what the second rule on the note is?"

"Do not purchase snacks that do not have a production date, even if most of them are free." Zhang Yunfan took out the note and read it again.

After reading it, he vaguely realized something, and his expression changed slightly!

"You mean……!?"

……

「……」

Chirp chirp?

In front of the green belt of the Residential Complex, a girl in a peaked cap,

she examined the only swallow on the branch in front of her, a strange look appearing on her face.

In this eerie city, this was the first time Gu Zixu had discovered a living animal.

Chirp chirp~ The swallow also tilted its head at this moment, locking eyes with her.

After chirping a few more times, the swallow suddenly flapped its wings nimbly and took flight. Then, under Gu Zixu's gaze,

it landed in front of a tree hollow.

The opening of the tree hollow was as thick as half a person, and it was unknown how it had formed.

The swallow landed beside it, glanced at the tree hollow, then turned its head toward Gu Zixu not far away and chirped a few times,

after which it leaped inside and disappeared from her sight.

Seeing this, Gu Zixu crossed the cold and quiet lawn and followed it with some curiosity.

But after getting close and looking into the tree hollow, her brows and eyes instantly sank.

She looked expressionlessly at the scene inside the tree hollow—

There were swallows, about ten or so, but without exception, they had all died in the tree hollow!

Their eyes were dull, and their bodies were stiff!

The entire tree hollow had almost become a small graveyard!

Even the swallow from just a moment ago was no exception.

It was just that it lay in the pile of corpses, its dead, silent eyes staring at Gu Zixu outside the tree hollow,

as if it were saying:

Come, come……

Come and reunite with us……