The outside was very hot while the dungeon was cold and moist.
While Ren Baqian was being dragged in, he saw a few rats scuttling across the floor.
The two sides of the dungeon were lined with metal doors, preventing him from seeing what was inside the cells.
Very soon, he was thrown into one of the cells. The person who threw him in said to the jailer, "Take good care of the prisoner that Her Majesty wants, don't kill him with your antics."
Hearing these words, a cold shiver went down Ren Baqian's spine.
If the man never said these words to the jailer, would he be unable to walk out of this place alive?
When he thought of this, waves of panic swept across his mind.
Bang. The metal door shut heavily. Ren Baqian was left in a cell that only had a 20-centimeter-tall and one-meter-wide window.
Ren Baqian collapsed directly onto a pile of straw on the ground.
What he experienced today was far too stimulating for his small and fragile mind.
After regaining his composure for a while, he once again began to worry about his current situation.
He hoped that lady could meet him earlier so that he could persuade her and obtain a chance to exhibit his usefulness.
Ren Baqian believed his knowledge, experience, and insights were completely different from the people's in this world. His unique skills would put him in a favorable position.
In any case, he had to overturn the current situation where he could be beheaded at any moment.
For the next few hours, he laid on the pile of straw and pondered about what should he say to that lady to move her.
Feeling cold, Ren Baqian grabbed a handful of straw and placed them over his body to forcibly warm himself up.
A squeaking rat crawled out of a hole on a corner of the wall, causing him to quiver in shock.
After scaring away the rat, he sighed as he thought about how good the Earth was. Then, he continued to think up a solution.
There was a small hatch at the bottom of the metal door. His dinner was pushed into his cell through there.
There was a bowl of salt water and a cornbread-like food. The cornbread-like food was so thick that it gashed his throat as he ate and swallowed it.
Ren Baqian spent a lot of effort in order to finish the cornbread-like food. Following which, he laid on the pile of straw to warm himself up and think up a solution. He did not try to acquire information from the jailer standing outside as he knew it would be useless. It was better for him to save his effort.
With the straw covering his body, he did feel warm. After a while, he fell into a deep sleep. He had received too many shocks today.
Ren Baqian initially thought that lady would meet him very soon.
He did not expect that he would wait for three days, and that she still did not have any intention to meet him.
He became slightly anxious. Was it possible that the other party had forgotten about him? Was he going to stay here for the rest of his life?
When Ren Baqian thought about that outcome, he felt that it was better for him to die instead.
However, being anxious was of no use to him now. His life was currently in the hands of others.
He could only console himself and patiently wait in the cell.
Another night had passed, and before he opened his eyes, he could sense that the sunlight was very bright. The sunlight seemed to pass through his eyelids.
Having spent a few days in the cell, he was already accustomed to the lighting. He therefore knew he wasn't in the cell anymore.
Ren Baqian opened his eyes abruptly. Following which, he was dazzled by his lighting of his surroundings, so he quickly shut his eyes.
After spending a few days in the cell, he was somewhat unused to the illumination outside of the cell.
He used his hands to feel his body. There was still straw on his body, but the inside of the cell couldn't possibly be so bright.
He used his hands to touch his surroundings. He felt a sleek floor that had a fine groove on it.
"Is this… a floor tile?" Ren Baqian thought of a possibility. He extended his hands and felt his surroundings. Indeed, he touched a leg of a wooden table. It was his computer desk.
"I'm back!?" Ren Baqian was wild with joy, practically screaming out loud.
He tried to suppress his excitement and open his eyes slowly. What entered his sight was a familiar-looking room which had walls that turned yellow from smoking, a computer desk, a computer, and a messy bed. Everything looked so familiar.
And right now, he was lying on a pile of straw in front of the computer desk.
"I am back! I have come back alive!" Ren Baqian leapt up from the floor.
Initially, he was almost beheaded by someone. After that, he stayed in dark cell for three days. Finally, he was back in this doghouse of his. The joy he felt now was indescribable. He could only vent his joy by yelling and jumping up and down.
After ten minutes of yelling and jumping in joy, he finally calmed down when someone knocked on the door of his room.
"Shit! Having disappeared for 3 days, what will the company do to me?" After calming down, Ren Baqian suddenly had to face another critical problem.
"Forget it, it's lucky that I can come back alive. If I am fired, I can just find another job." Ren Baqian quickly consoled himself.
Indeed, after having a near-death experience, he no longer took everything so seriously. The most important thing now was that he came back alive. Nothing was more important than this.
Even though he had such a mentality now, he still picked up his phone to check it.
It had indeed shut off.
He nimbly charged it and threw himself on his bed.
It felt extremely good to be back in this doghouse. Even such a lousy bed felt so comfortable to him now. Ren Baqian hugged his quilt, rolled on his bed and sighed.
After rolling on his bed for a while, he felt something prick him.
It was at this moment that he realized there was still a lot of straw on his body.
"This is the straw from another world— I wonder if it carries any bacteria," Ren Baqian mumbled as he took off his clothes. He walked to the mirror and looked at the reflection of his wan and sallow face.
There were also straw fragments in his short hair.
Thump, thump, thump. Someone knocked on his door yet again.
Ren Baqian quickly wore his pants and opened the door. A middle-aged man was standing outside his room.
"You're finally back. I have been looking for you for two days, but your phone is off. What do you want to do? If you had disappeared for any longer, I would have thrown all your things outside," the middle-aged man rudely said.
"I thought that there's still one more week before the rent is due? Why are you so anxious about it?" Ren Baqian, still immersed in the joy of making a narrow escape, replied casually.
"Are you stupid? Two days have passed since the rent was due," the middle-aged man responded.
"….?" Ren Baqian suddenly realized that something was wrong. He then solemnly asked, "What's the date today?"
"Today is the 17th. You're supposed to pay the rent on the 15th."
Ren Baqian lowered his head and did some mental calculations. It was 8th when he went to that unknown world. Today was 17th, which meant that 10 days had passed. He had stayed in that world for 3 days and then he mysteriously returned to this place.
So one day in that world was equivalent to three days on Earth?
"Shit, it seems that I am definitely losing my job this time around." Ren Baqian laughed bitterly. If he had disappeared for only three days, he still might be able to come up with an excuse. Disappearing for 10 days straight would have definitely gotten him fired.
"I will use WeChat to transfer the rent to you later," Ren Baqian told the landlord and closed his door.
He switched on his phone and looked at the date. It was indeed the 17th of July.
He then looked at all his unseen messages. There was a series of missed calls. Some of them were from his middle-aged, mean, female boss and some were from his colleagues. There were also a few from his only friend.
When he opened his WeChat, he saw a series of unseen messages as well.
"Where are you? Why are you not at work?"
"The boss is getting angry, quickly come to work."
"Where have you gone?"
"You have been fired. Come to the office and claim your wages."
When Ren Baqian saw this message, he immediately dispelled the thought of calling his middle-aged, mean, female boss.
All along, she did not like him not one bit. Now that he had disappeared for 10 days, she would definitely use this as an excuse to get rid of him.
Alright then, he would go to the office tomorrow to claim his wages, find a place to relax for a couple days, and then look for a new job.
"But how did I end up in that place? And how did I come back here?" When Ren Baqian thought about these questions, a layer of mist instantly shrouded his mind.
If he couldn't figure out the answers to these questions, he would worry about when he was going to go back to that world.