Quick Travel to the Clouds

Chapter 746 Challenge Dungeon 2

The convenience store is small and rectangular.

The checkout area is near the door, with two rows of parallel shelves inside. At the far end are refrigerated display cases and microwave ovens. Next to it is a small staff break room/warehouse, with the door closed.

The restroom is opposite the rest area.

There is a hemispherical surveillance camera at each of the four corners of the ceiling, with red lights flashing steadily.

Surveillance... is both protection and surveillance.

She wasn't sure if the "rules" of the instance were monitored by surveillance, but if the investigators had certain authority, surveillance would be their eyes.

As she wiped near the beverage cabinet, she quickly glanced at her face in the reflection of the glass.

A completely unfamiliar face, belonging to a "25-year-old convenience store night shift worker," ordinary, slightly tired, the kind of face that would disappear into a crowd immediately.

This is enough.

Back at the cashier, she pulled out the shift handover log from under the counter and quickly flipped through it.

The first few pages record trivial details about replenishment, returns, and equipment inspections.

The handwriting is inconsistent.

She found the latest page, left by her colleague on the night shift: "22:30, restocking complete. Oden soup base has been changed. Note that near-expiry bread is on the lower shelf of the third shelf. Monitoring system self-checked normally at 23:00."

Monitoring and self-checking... she noted this down.

The next second, a notification sound appeared in my mind.

[Player Task 1: Please complete a special check-in at the top of the 'Tower of Light' within 24 hours. Failure to check in will result in the release of your coordinates to the investigators.]

Check-in task! Where is the Tower of Light? Oh well, there's no chance to check in now anyway.

Time crawls slowly in the silence.

At 00:31, car lights flashed by on the street outside the gate, but did not stop.

At 00:45, a moth appeared out of nowhere and stubbornly bumped against the fluorescent light tube, making a soft "plop plop" sound.

Yun Chu leaned against the cashier, seemingly lost in thought, but in reality, she had memorized the store layout, the camera angles, possible hiding places, and any items on the shelves that looked a little unusual.

01: 02.

"Ding-dong-"

The crisp sound of the electronic doorbell echoed through the quiet convenience store.

Yun Chu's eyelids twitched slightly as she looked at the automatically sliding glass door.

A man walked in.

He was about 1.8 meters tall, wearing a dark gray hooded jacket, zipped up to his chest, with a black T-shirt underneath, jeans, and sneakers.

He looked to be around thirty years old, with short hair and an ordinary face, carrying a lingering weariness, like someone who had just finished working overtime or was a passerby returning home late at night.

His hand was steady as he pushed the door open. The moment he entered, his gaze quickly swept over Yun Chu behind the cashier, then fell into the store. From the promotional displays at the entrance to the shelves on both sides, and then to the refrigerated display cases deep inside, his scan was not deliberate, but it had a kind of... scrutinizing quality.

It's not like ordinary customers randomly searching for their target products; it's more like they're assessing the environment.

Yun Chu lowered her head, pretending to tidy up the flyers on the edge of the cashier's counter, and kept an eye on his movements out of the corner of her eye.

The man didn't immediately walk towards the shelves. Instead, he paused at the entrance for two seconds, seemingly glancing at the overhead camera, before stepping towards the beverage counter.

He took a bottle of ordinary mineral water, unscrewed the cap, tilted his head back and took a few sips, his Adam's apple bobbing.

Then, he took the remaining half-bottle of water and turned to the snack shelf.

He walked slowly, his fingers occasionally brushing the edge of the shelves, his gaze moving between rows of potato chips, cookies, and instant noodles, but he didn't seem to be really choosing anything.

He gradually walked to the middle of the convenience store, about seven or eight meters away from the checkout counter, with two rows of shelves in between.

The man seemed to have chosen a bag of beef jerky, and carrying it and the bottle of water, he walked toward the cashier.

Footsteps approach.

Yun Chu raised her head, adjusting her expression to that of a standard convenience store customer service representative—polite, slightly sleepy, and indifferent.

"Good evening. Is that all?" Her voice was low and a little hoarse, befitting someone who works a long night shift.

The man placed the items on the table, his gaze lingering on Yun Chu's face for a moment before sliding down to the name tag pinned to her chest.

“Du Xue?” he read aloud, his tone casual, even with a hint of casual conversation. “Nice name.”

Yun Chu's hand holding the barcode scanner paused almost imperceptibly. She scanned the beef jerky. "Beep." The price was displayed. She then scanned the bottled water. "Beep." Her eyes were downcast: "Seventeen yuan and fifty cents in total."

The man didn't move or take out any money. Instead, he reached out, his fingertips paused in the air for a moment, and then very naturally and gently pulled the plastic name tag pinned to Yun Chu's chest.

The movements were quick and steady, with a hint of tentative casualness.

"An intern shop assistant." He held the name tag, flipped it over to look at the back, and then looked up at Yun Chu, his gaze scrutinizing her slightly more, as if observing her reaction.

"You've only been here a short time? The night shift must be tough."

Yun Chu looked up and met his gaze.

Her face was expressionless, except for a very slight twitch at the corner of her mouth, as if she wanted to laugh but was too lazy to, ultimately forming only an extremely flat arc.

She reached out, not to snatch the designer brand, but with her palm facing up, and placed it on the table between the two of them.

“Sir,” she said, her voice still neither loud nor hoarse, yet carrying a clear air of detachment, “please scan the code to shop. Staff do not offer conversation services. Your designer item, please return it. Seventeen and a half dollars, cash or scan?”

The man looked at her outstretched palm, then at her calm, even somewhat wooden face, seemingly not expecting this reaction.

He raised an eyebrow, and after a moment, smiled and gently placed the name tag back into her palm.

"Sorry, you look a bit unfamiliar. May I ask you something?" He took out his phone. "Scan the QR code."

After paying, he picked up the goods, said nothing more, and turned to walk towards the door.

The automatic door slid open, and he blended into the night outside, quickly disappearing around the street corner.

Convenience stores have returned to silence.

Yun Chu slowly pinned the name tag back to her blouse, her fingers icy cold. She glanced at the time on the cash register screen: 01:17.

Was that person just now... an investigator? Or just a slightly odd-behaving NPC in the instance? Was his action of taking the name tag a test? Was saying the name a coincidence?

unconfirmed.

She walked to the glass door and looked outside. The street was deserted, with only the streetlights casting lonely circles of light.

Time ticked by. 01:30, 01:45... Nothing unusual happened. The man didn't reappear.

Meanwhile, Xia Wanqi's dungeon adventure also began.

A system notification sounded in his mind: [Player Xia Wanqi has entered the role-playing instance 'Starry Night,' assigned the role of streamer 'Xia Shuai.' Mission: Conceal your player identity and avoid being detected by the 5 investigators. Remaining attempts during the newbie protection period: 3/3.]

The surrounding scenery changed instantly.

Deafening music, dazzling stage lights, and a sea of ​​glow sticks filling the virtual audience seats—this is a top-tier live streaming platform.

Xia Wanqi looked down at himself: his sequined silver suit was well-tailored, his makeup was exquisite, and his hair was carefully styled into a flamboyant look.

He ran his fingertips along the anchor's name tag on his chest, which shimmered with a deep blue light: "Xia Shuai".

"Xia Shuai! It's your turn to solo!" came the director's urgent voice through the headset.