After entering the marketplace instance, the information Cheng Tingyu could see became increasingly scarce. She remembered that before they set off, Shen Xingliu had mentioned that there was a significant boundary force within the "Fiery" marketplace instance.
A suspicion arose in her heart: perhaps the powerful force of the realm could suppress the secret eyes.
Although Cheng Tingyu did not show any intention of attacking, Bai Wenji, Chen Jiajia, and the other two still visibly recoiled when she looked at them.
Chen Jiajia's voice trembled, "You, what are you going to do?"
Cheng Tingyu: "How long have you been in the mall?"
Even if her ability to use her keen eyes couldn't be activated, she could still see the gap in combat power between herself and Li Yetai and the others. So she decided to temporarily give up on acquiring goods and instead focus on gathering information.
As an inspector, Li Fuci had access to the standard spatial tools of the inspection team. Seeing the four of them, including Chen Jiajia, looking dispirited, she took out a bottle of the team's special energy drink from her spatial tool and handed it over.
The work clothes did not completely cover the black uniform of the inspection team. For the residents of F0631 City, this was clearly a very trustworthy department. Upon realizing the identity of the person in front of him, Chen Jiajia's trembling noticeably lessened. He kept thanking them, twisted open the bottle cap, and took a big gulp. Because he drank too quickly, some water even flowed down his neck.
"Speak quickly, don't dawdle," urged Kaso sinisterly from not far away.
Chen Jiajia's body trembled again: "Yes, yes, I'll tell you now." A look of pain and recollection appeared on his face. "That day, we suddenly couldn't get out of the store. Everyone was trapped inside, and then, then those plastic figures came to life. They even put on security uniforms and started attacking us."
When he spoke, a continuous sobbing sound came from his mouth.
Knowing that time was limited, and not waiting for Kaso to urge her again, Chen Jiajia hastily wiped her face with her hand and then said, "Many people died at that time. Fortunately, those patrolling mannequin people wouldn't stay in the corridors all the time. We slowly discovered that as long as we hid in the bathroom before hearing their footsteps, we would be safe. They generally wouldn't check the dead corners of the building."
Cheng Tingyu caught the key phrase: "Usually not?"
Chen Jiajia's face grew increasingly ashen: "The faucets in the two bathrooms on this floor still work, so we can drink water, but there's no food. Some people plan to steal the snacks stored in the shop, but if they do, those plastic security guards will come looking for us, and then... kill those who hid the stuff."
In the distant corridor, Kiki crossed her arms and squinted her eyes, saying, "How could there be no food in the marketplace?"
Cheng Tingyu: "It's possible." She looked around and said, "Most of the food stores in the mall are on the first floor, but we're on the second floor. Look around, can you find any stairs?"
"..."
The crowd fell into silence, wordless horror spreading through the mall corridor.
The staircase had indeed disappeared, and they had somehow failed to notice it until now.
Li Yetai exchanged a glance with He Xijiang.
They had thought that their suppressed senses had recovered after entering the corridor, but now it seemed that they were still under the influence of the copy, overlooking some details that should not have been ignored.
He Xijiang and Li Yetai took turns checking the other restrooms around the corner and found everything to be normal. From the structure, it looked very much like a typical public restroom or an abandoned one, and they didn't find any other surviving humans.
Chen Jiajia: "Actually, there is some food stored in the shop on the second floor. Many of us here used to work in the market, so we know where the food is. We were planning to get it, but the first people who tried to break the locks were all killed by the security guards, no matter how they hid. The rest of us tried to sneak some snacks, but you know what happened to them."
"I'll go check the place where you're hiding."
Kaso walked towards the abandoned restroom where they were hiding. Cheng Tingyu knew that this scavenger wanted to use this to determine whether Chen Jiajia and the others were lying. He immediately pulled Li Fuci along to follow, to prevent Kaso from destroying any clues behind their backs.
The abandoned bathroom was covered with a few dust-laden coats. Judging by the creases on the surface, they had been slept on for a long time, indicating that Chen Jiajia and the others had indeed been living here all along.
The environment was quite normal; with Cheng Tingyu's eyesight, he couldn't spot any unusual clues.
Kasuo made a round, not lingering too long. The light in the abandoned public restroom was dimmer than outside. The other two didn't notice, but a strange gleam flashed in her eyes.
When Cheng Tingyu and the others returned to the corridor, Li Yetai and Qiqi were outside, arguing because of Chen Jiaga and the other three.
Qiqi, with a tone that clearly conveyed a sense of danger, advised, "It's not very safe outside. You'd better come to my shop. As long as you hide behind the cash register, those patrolling security guards won't see you."
Li Yetai looked at her coldly: "No one knows what consequences might arise. I suggest you don't attempt this."
Qiqi smiled, "Otherwise, let's respect the opinion of the person involved." She looked at Chen Jiajia, "You can come over and accept our protection, or seek help from the inspection team."
Under the pressure from the outside world, Chen Jiajia could hardly speak coherently. He quietly confirmed, "If I choose the inspection team..."
Qiqi: "Then I'll kill you all."
Chen Jiajia showed an expression as if she was about to cry, "Then I..."
Cheng Tingyu, who had already returned to the corridor, spoke unhurriedly, "You'd better not go over there."
Bai Wenji, who was with Chen Jiajia, couldn't help but ask, "Why?"
Cheng Tingyu's lips curled slightly, his demeanor friendly, and his voice carried a tone of earnestness: "The inspection team does not target ordinary residents, but if ordinary residents actively provide assistance to lawbreakers, we have the right to stop them immediately."
Bai Wenji and the other three: "..."
It felt like the other side was just expressing "cutting you down" in a more tactful way.
"Are you using the power of the inspection team to threaten ordinary citizens?" Kiki observed from a distance
Cheng Tingyu said earnestly, "I am also an ordinary citizen."
Qiqi sneered, "Can ordinary citizens team up with an inspector to clear a dungeon?"
Cheng Tingyu: "Just a job requirement."
Qiqi paused for a moment, noticing that her expression had changed slightly, then tentatively asked, "…Are you 'Screwdriver'?"
Cheng Tingyu nodded with a somber expression.
Yote: "Since it's a screwdriver, name your price. How much will it take for you to stop meddling in this matter?"
Cheng Tingyu showed a look of regret: "Although I would also like to earn some extra money, unfortunately, I don't have any standard contracts with me."
——Before coming over, Shen Xingliu repeatedly warned not to proactively accept external orders. Concerns about damaging the company's reputation were secondary; the main worry was losing money.
Kaso joined the ranks of the skeptics: "You're not exactly a qualified 'screwdriver' this way."
Cheng Tingyu shrugged. "Just a temp." Then she added, "I suggest we let them continue hiding where they were. After all, so many days have passed, they should know how to ensure their own safety. As for what comes next..." She smiled, "There's no need to rush that discussion just yet."
The scavenger's earlier suggestion wasn't a sudden pang of conscience, wanting to protect Chen Jiajia and the others who lacked self-defense abilities. Instead, apart from someone like Ma Xi who didn't like to think, everyone realized the possible identities of Chen Jiajia and her group.
Qiqi suspected that they were the ones in the store responsible for playing the role of customers.
In the attic, colorful clothes continued to flutter.
Cheng Tingyu casually grabbed one, then quickly confirmed that the description of "high combat value" in the appraisal information was entirely accurate.
"Pia——"
Even though the world she had crossed into was filled with all sorts of scientifically inexplicable phenomena, Cheng Tingyu never imagined that one day she would be tripped by a pair of thermal pants. Fortunately, her current body's physical condition was quite good; otherwise, the next time she encountered a similar situation, the screwdriver might be unwilling to lend the temporary worker status to a flesh-and-blood player who got KO'd by a minor dungeon monster in one move.
Cheng Tingyu gave the winter pants in his hand, which were still trying to struggle, an elbow, making them settle down for the moment.
Just as the clothes touched her hands, Cheng Tingyu heard a low electronic voice, as soft as a whisper.
"'Little Tailor' clothing store received [Gray Winter Pants] ×1"
Judging from the expressions of Kaso and Li Fu, they probably didn't hear that sentence.
Cheng Tingyu let go of his hand, and sure enough, the broadcast sound from earlier rang out again—
"'Little Tailor' clothing store lost [gray thermal winter pants] ×1"
After a simple experiment, Cheng Tingyu grabbed a yellow piece of clothing again and said to Li Fu, "Hit this piece of clothing in my hand." After a pause, he added, "Hit it lightly."
Li Fuci's face showed a trace of regret, but he still attacked the clothes as Cheng Tingyu had requested.
She slapped her sleeve, and at the same time, Cheng Tingyu felt a pain in the same spot on his arm.
The answer is already quite clear: the correlation between the clothes and everyone is not limited to just the red ones.
No wonder Kiki chose to let go of the clothes she had in hand—if she held too many clothes at once, the places she could be attacked would also increase.
In this way, the participants who harbored suspicions about each other would find it unlikely to calmly procure goods in front of others.
This time, Cheng Tingyu brought the wildly struggling yellow shirt into the "Little Tailor" clothing store before letting go. Accompanied by the prompt "Lost [Yellow Shirt] ×1," the shirt flew back to its kind.
Seeing this scene, Li Fuci said, "…So what should we do now, hold on to the clothes and not let go?"
The eyes of the scavengers, including Yote, fell on Cheng Tingyu, who was making continuous attempts.
They were all familiar with the "Screwdriver" insurance company and understood that this group of agents, who were keen on doing business with various factions and actively helping other players collect corpses, often carried all sorts of strange tools that sometimes had miraculous effects.
However, judging by the current situation, this girl, who specializes in evasion in combat scenarios, did not exhibit such traits. Instead, she played the role of gathering and organizing information.
Cheng Tingyu was indeed gathering information.
The "Fiery" megastore is different from Apartment No. 6; it is a newly emerged instance, and neither side of the forces has grasped the relevant information.
In the early stages of exploration, failure was the most likely outcome. Wei Xusheng had also told her that she might encounter instances that couldn't be resolved with the abilities of an ordinary player.
After hearing Wei Xuguang's warning, Cheng Tingyu became even more eager to give it a try and quickly came to a conclusion that matched her own sanity level—before losing her memory, she left no money, no tools, and no common sense. Such a clean and decisive self-abandonment was clearly a hint to her current self: she should do whatever it takes to court death