Fang Zhiyi frowned deeply—this content was completely different from the rules he had set!
"Hello, Mr. Fang," a foreigner with blond hair and heavily accented Mandarin approached. "Our country has already visited yours." He seemed to search his mind for the right words before settling on the simplest gesture—rubbing his thumb against his index and middle fingers.
Fang Zhiyi understood. These guys were sharp! They even knew to pay upfront!
"OK, GOOD, GOOD!" Fang Zhiyi gave him a thumbs-up. Just then, he caught sight of the protagonist's white moonlight, Ning Yi'an. She looked somewhat weary, but when she noticed Fang Zhiyi's gaze, she offered a faint smile.
"We paid too!" someone raised their hand.
"And me! Me!"
"We didn't pay, but we offered our latest technology to co-develop with the Xia Kingdom."
Fang Zhiyi nodded repeatedly. Suddenly, a tall, gaunt figure with a sickly gray complexion emerged from the shop behind him, dressed in a uniform dominated by red with yellow accents.
"Interns! Still standing around chatting? Do you not want this job?"
Fang Zhiyi turned in surprise. The eerie figure took one look at him and immediately recoiled, adopting a humble tone. "Boss! What are you doing here?"
When Fang Zhiyi didn’t respond, it seemed to have an epiphany. "Ah, you’re giving them a pep talk, right?" It then turned to the players. "Listen up! Here, whatever the boss says is law!"
The live chat erupted in amusement.
"Bro Fang probably didn’t expect this horror game to be set in his own store."
"Home turf advantage! Doesn’t that mean they’re doomed?"
"Not this time, I think. Rumor has it delegates from other countries came specifically to negotiate."
"What a shame."
"We paid! Fang Zhiyi has to guarantee our city’s safety!"
"Damn, you heartless monster, what about the players’ safety?"
Fang Zhiyi counted the participants—this time, there were forty-four players. Some countries had only one representative, others two, seemingly random.
"Hey, how many branches do we have now?" Fang Zhiyi asked the shop manager beside him.
The manager replied respectfully, "Including those in preparation, we have twenty branches."
"Expansion’s that slow?"
The manager grimaced. "Per your requirements, all new employees must undergo training, warehouses must be fully equipped, and we need to establish logistics. This pace is already fast, boss."
Fang Zhiyi hummed. "No worries. We’ve got helpers now—put them to work."
The manager nodded eagerly. "Got it! I’ll assign them right away!"
Fang Zhiyi glanced down the street. This eerie world was truly bizarre—the dilapidated buildings stretched endlessly, the city shrouded in gray. Some areas were enveloped in thick mist, its contents unknown, but every supernatural being feared it.
"Bro Fang! Bro Fang!" Fang Zhiyi turned to see Cheng Xiang waving at him. "What’s up?"
"Can I skip delivery duty?"
Fang Zhiyi raised an eyebrow. "Delivery?" He looked at the manager, who quickly explained, "These interns will only train at our main branch and two nearby locations, requiring twelve people. The rest will handle warehouse management and deliveries."
Fang Zhiyi studied the hopeful faces of the players. Spotting a few differently colored manuals, he snatched them up—"Warehouse Keeper Guidelines" and "Delivery Personnel Rules."
He strode a few steps into the street, scanning the surroundings under the group’s puzzled gazes.
"Host, this area is also surrounded by mist," Xiao Hei remarked.
Fang Zhiyi narrowed his eyes. "So the mist is that thing’s lackey?"
The manager stayed silent, not daring to interrupt the boss’s inspection, leaving the interns standing awkwardly.
Suddenly, a clerk came running down the street, panic-stricken. "Bad news! Bad news!"
Fang Zhiyi turned. "What’s wrong?"
"That—that guy—he’s talking!" The clerk flailed, struggling to articulate.
Fang Zhiyi motioned for him to lead the way but paused to order, "Keep them waiting." The manager nodded furiously as the clerk guided Fang Zhiyi down another street. The players stayed put, exchanging uneasy glances with the manager. They didn’t dare wander—even if Fang Zhiyi seemed in control, who knew what "unforeseen circumstances" might cost them their lives?
After crossing two streets, Fang Zhiyi saw the mist—it seemed to demarcate the game’s boundaries, sealing off the entire road. At the mist’s edge stood another branch, one Fang Zhiyi had always considered poorly located, too close to the main store.
In the shop’s display window hung three grotesque corpses. Two were troublemakers who’d refused to pay and were beaten to death by Fang Zhiyi; the third was the original convenience store owner.
After the main branch’s display of corpses scared off customers, Fang Zhiyi decided to distribute them among branches—both as décor and a warning. The strategy worked well.
The former owner’s corpse hung here. Now, his shriveled lips twitched, emitting sounds.
"Rule 12: Deliveries must satisfy the customer, or it’s dangerous."
"Rule 13: For unreasonable customers, delivery personnel must avoid them and report to the manager immediately."
"Rule 14..."
Fang Zhiyi scowled. After all this time, the corpse revived just to recite rules? No—he realized. In the original game plan, this guy was the dungeon’s final boss.
"So killing him actually freed him early, huh?" Fang Zhiyi smirked smugly.
Xiao Hei crossed his arms. "Host, sometimes you don’t need to flatter yourself."
"Come on, if I hadn’t killed him, he’d be controlled by that puppetmaster, like the hospital director."
The corpse trembled slightly, as if trying to slip free from the rope.
Fang Zhiyi waved a hand. "Tie it tighter. If customers ask, say it’s a new exhibit—viewing only."
The clerks nodded vigorously.
"Oh, and you’ll be getting a few interns. Don’t kill them." Fang Zhiyi’s gaze swept over them. "If they die, you’ll be the next decorations."
"Yes, boss!"
"Xiao Hei, your plan’s no good. The mastermind’s too slow—it hasn’t even noticed I’m onto it."
"Then what do you suggest, host?"
"Let’s raise hell."