"Too fast, can't be like this, can't be like this," the driver muttered as the black mist around him began to fade.
Soon, the driver's figure became clear.
He was a terrifying person, covered in gaps that seemed to have been bitten.
As the black mist around the driver faded, the inside of the carriage grew even colder, and a thick layer of blood-red mucus had formed underfoot.
Walking produced a candied effect.
"Driver," Mu Rufeng sized up the driver.
Facing this terrifying driver, Mu Rufeng felt completely undisturbed inside.
The fearlessness granted by the Zombie Template was really useful in this abnormal instance.
Had it been the earlier Mu Rufeng, his hands and feet would have certainly gone weak from fear.
The changes in the surrounding environment did not affect Mu Rufeng either.
Even when walking had a candying effect, his speed was not slowed in the slightest.
"How can this be? How can this be?" The driver, seeing Mu Rufeng unaffected, became very anxious.
He promptly caught up to Mu Rufeng's pace.
However, when they were at the rear of the carriage, the driver's footsteps came to a halt.
Clearly, the driver was unable to leave the carriage or, possibly, the truck's vicinity.
Soon, Mu Rufeng, dragging a handcart and an empty pallet, entered the carriage.
"Hey? Driver, why are you still here?" asked Mu Rufeng.
The driver did not speak; he lowered his head, seemingly deep in thought.
Mu Rufeng shrugged and ignored him, proceeding to the cargo to continue loading.
"Sticky and a bit uncomfortable, better finish unloading quickly."
The sticky blood on the ground did affect Mu Rufeng a bit.
However, this effect had actually sped up his unloading pace.
After stacking the goods and wrapping them, just as he was about to pull them out, he saw the driver approaching again.
This time, the black mist around the driver was much fainter, and his terrifying body was eerily clear.
The bitten wounds began to ooze a dark red liquid.
And it came with a foul smell, which discomforted Mu Rufeng's nose.
"Driver, what is it this time?" Mu Rufeng stopped and asked.
"Here," the driver extended his right hand, missing two fingers, and handed over a piece of paper.
Mu Rufeng, bold and skilled, took it right away.
"Ten soul coins": the common currency in the instance world, valued at ten units.
"Uh? This is... money? Wait, driver, why are you giving me money?" Mu Rufeng asked in surprise.
"Your unloading is too fast. Could you unload a bit slower?" the driver asked.
"Uh... slower?"
"Yes, slower."
"Sorry, driver, this is my job. Please take your money back."
"I need to work now." Mu Rufeng returned the ten-dollar bill to the driver and prepared to keep working.
Seeing this, the driver seemed desperate and grabbed Mu Rufeng's arm.
"I'll give it all to you, all the money I have, if you could just slow down the unloading a bit, at least not less than an hour."
As he spoke, he pulled out a few more bills and stuffed them into Mu Rufeng's hands.
Four bills in total, each with a denomination of ten.
Along with the earlier ten, that made fifty dollars.
"Ah... why do you want me to slow down the unloading?" Mu Rufeng asked, puzzled.
Based on his understanding of the loader's rules, the faster the unloading, the better.
"Fifty dollars, no less than an hour of unloading time, consider it a favor owed to you," the driver said.
"Uh... okay, alright then." Mu Rufeng accepted the money and agreed.
Soul coin, being the universal currency in the instance world, could surely be of great use.
"Thank you, thank you," the driver's expression flickered slightly.
Then, he released Mu Rufeng's arm, his figure slowly enveloped by the black mist, and then disappeared.
"Kind of creepy, but luckily, I'm not scared," Mu Rufeng chuckled and stored the money.
He then glanced at his arm where the driver had grabbed him, leaving some black marks, but they disappeared after a few seconds.
No, not disappeared—it seemed like his body absorbed them?
Mu Rufeng didn't dwell on it too much and dragged that load of goods out, placed it, and returned with an empty pallet to the carriage.
He estimated the remaining cargo and figured that only two or three more pallets would finish the job.
He took out his cell phone from his pocket.
When he had entered, there was no signal on the phone, but using it to check the time was still fine.
Although he didn't know the actual time here, his phone showed it was just past eight o'clock.
He had finished unloading at seven, gone to eat in the cafeteria, and entered this abnormal instance at 7:15.
Adding it up, he had spent only about thirty-two minutes unloading so far.
For a loader, the unloading time for a truck should not exceed two hours,
while for a driver, the unloading time should not be less than one hour.
So Mu Rufeng still had plenty of time.
Thinking it over, Mu Rufeng decided it was best to play it safe.
He planned to unload most of the remaining cargo, leaving just a little bit at the end unhandled.
This way, he could quickly unload the rest if any issues arose.
No sooner said than done, Mu Rufeng began to stack the goods quickly.
In a short time, a pallet's worth of goods was ready.
Another seven or eight minutes passed.
Mu Rufeng finished stacking the last pallet, leaving only ten pieces of cargo in the carriage.
He wrapped the load and was about to pull it away when Chang Feng appeared again.
"You... this... you aren't keeping your word?" A sharp shout burst from Chang Feng's mouth.
Mu Rufeng found it a bit jarring and rubbed his ears, replying, "Driver, there are still ten pieces of cargo left, right?"
"I'll go outside and slack off for a bit soon, slacking secretly, I definitely won't make it hard for you."
The driver didn't respond, just stared fixedly at Mu Rufeng, eventually nodding slowly.
"By the way, driver, do you know where this is?" Mu Rufeng inquired.
"This is Crimson Preferred," the driver replied.
"...I know it's Crimson Preferred. I meant, why am I here?" Mu Rufeng said somewhat exasperatedly.
Hearing this, the driver didn't answer but hesitated a bit before quickly shaking his head, "I don't know, I'm just a driver delivering goods."
Mu Rufeng was no fool; the guy's hesitation meant he did know something.