Everyone on the street knew what that singing meant, and no one dared to approach the shop damaged by the song, which gave Han Fei a temporary reprieve from worrying about being attacked.
Crouching under the counter, Han Fei glanced at the Happiness Residential Community again. The rusted iron gate was tightly closed, and the community was eerily silent as if no one were there.
A large piece of black cloth on the shrine next to the community had been torn off, and the bowl Han Fei had taken earlier had somehow been returned to its original place.
"It seems the shrine is protecting the community. Youfu mentioned earlier that Little Eight shouldn’t leave Happiness Residential Community carelessly. Could it be because the shrine is protecting it, preventing those things outside from detecting what’s inside the community?"
The old shrine looked very ordinary and didn’t emit any dark energy, but it still gave a sense of stability.
"I killed the person cursed by that unknown monster. It’s very likely it will appear again. I can’t stay here too long; I need to get back to the community quickly."
Han Fei couldn’t exit the game now and had to be extremely cautious. If he were caught by a Scapegoat or any other ghost and monster, his soul and consciousness would likely be imprisoned, never able to leave the game.
When his life value had recovered to ten points, Han Fei got up from the ground, prepared to find a way back to the community, but just as he raised his head, he saw a face peering at him from the window.
"It’s an old man who burns photographs!"
The face, full of wrinkles, reached into the window, his malice barely concealed, "Don’t hide here. This place is very dangerous. The person you killed was tainted with its curse, and it will be here soon."
The old man always spoke as if he had Han Fei’s best interests at heart, but Han Fei knew he couldn’t possibly be so kind-hearted. He ignored the old man and secretly thought about how to escape.
"Why don’t you come to my place to hide? My home is nearby, just a short walk." The old man invited warmly, his face writhing with wrinkles as he spoke, reaching his hand through the window, "It’s coming soon. Come with me, I’ll find you a safe place."
This old man had set his sights on Han Fei and wasn’t willing to let him go easily.
Han Fei also knew that the old man was hard to shake off. His fingers reached into his pocket, touching the knife Xu Qin had given him.
"My level is still too low. If I could completely withstand the curse of the Dinner Knife, then I would feel confident fighting him."
His eyes fixed on the old man’s reaching hand, just as the skinny hand was about to touch him, Han Fei forcefully kicked open the shop door and ran outside.
He had intended to cross the street, but just as he stepped out, he saw two children holding hands, sitting on the curb. Hearing his footsteps, they both turned their heads toward Han Fei.
The children’s faces showed none of the innocence they should have, only a creepy smile.
In just a moment of distraction, a flower pot filled with dead insects and soil smashed in front of Han Fei. Had he not stopped in his tracks, the flower pot would have hit him right on the head.
Glancing up, Han Fei saw a plump woman on the third floor of the nearby building holding the flower pot, looking down at him with a sinister smile.
With a release of her hands, another flower pot was hurled at Han Fei.
Dodging forward, the old man and the children followed him. Han Fei could only continue to sprint forward, but the distance between him and the children was closing.
Without any bloody human traces to hinder them, the children revealed a fierce and horrible side. Their bodies began to bleed, slowly transforming into the appearance they had at their time of death.
"Brother, brother..."
One by one, bloody footprints appeared. Han Fei saw that he was about to be caught by them, so, gathering his courage, he dashed into the nearby convenience store and forcefully shut the door.
The situation was critical, allowing no hesitation.
Upon seeing Han Fei enter the convenience store, both the children and the elderly displayed some bizarre expressions on their faces. They seemed somewhat regretful, as if everything about Han Fei would belong to something else once he entered the store, and they had already lost their desire to capture it.
Han Fei, who was quite adept at reading micro-expressions, felt vaguely uneasy, but he wasn’t too afraid.
The system had issued tasks related to the convenience store before, so he would have come to this place no matter what. The only difference was a matter of sooner or later.
With his back against the door, Han Fei turned around and glanced around.
This was just a regular convenience store with shelves stocked with various snacks, daily necessities, and beverages. At the very back, there were even some second-hand household appliances.
It was called a convenience store, but it was different from the convenience stores Han Fei remembered. This place was more like a department store.
After concealing the dinner knife in his pocket, Han Fei stood at the entrance. He was intent on dragging out as much time as possible and carefully observed the inside of the convenience store.
The clock on the wall ticked away. In some corner of the room, a person’s whisper could faintly be heard muttering repetitively, as if under a curse.
Han Fei didn’t rashly approach the person. He stayed at the entrance without uttering a word.
After the old people and children had left, he grabbed the doorknob, trying to open the door and flee back to Happiness Residential Community. But that was when he realized that the door, which had previously opened easily, now wouldn’t budge at all.
"What... would you like to buy?"
A voice tinged with a crying tone suddenly rang out behind Han Fei, startling him so much that he swiftly turned around.
He saw a young man wearing a convenience store uniform standing behind him. This young man was skin-and-bones, with dry, chapped lips and one blind eye.
"What would you like to buy?"
"What do you all sell here?" With the door to the convenience store stuck, Han Fei couldn’t leave. He had no choice but to converse with the clerk, hoping to extract some useful information.
"What would you like to buy?" The clerk’s remaining eye slowly bulged out of its socket, and he seemed only able to repeat that one sentence.
Han Fei looked toward the shelves. The store displayed many items, but none had prices listed.
This meant that buyers had no idea what price they’d have to pay for any item.
"It seems that the items here aren’t easy to take with you." Han Fei looked up, and the clerk’s terrifying face was almost touching his.
"What would you like to buy?" The clerk’s face was close at hand, his gaunt body making eerie noises as he nearly pressed up against Han Fei.
"I’m not here to buy anything." Han Fei felt the cold aura emanating from the clerk and stepped back, "Would you believe me if I said I’m here to apply for a job?"
Opening the task panel, Han Fei accepted another main quest.
"Player number 0000, please note! You have successfully accepted the Level G main quest: Convenience Store Clerk!"
"Task requirement: There is a secret hidden in this convenience store. You need to become a temporary night shift clerk at Yimin Convenience Store and survive for one night."