After they left, [Heart of Durian] slowly emerged from behind the nearby trash can, her face full of contemplation.
Judging from their behavior, those two were completely captivated by the Clown doll, but since they still remembered to check the price tag, they probably hadn’t lost all rationality.
That could only mean they didn’t realize the doll was a Clown doll.
In other words, their perception had been interfered with.
Holding the Clown doll, those two were bound to run into trouble. It was just a shame that she had her own tasks to complete and couldn’t follow them to see what danger they might encounter.
There was something that [Heart of Durian] found very puzzling: Did the shop clerk actually know there was something wrong with the Clown doll?
Was that so-called “13th place prize” real, or just an excuse she came up with to give the doll away?
If the clerk didn’t know about the Clown doll’s issue, then it was nothing. But if she did know and still gave it away, did that mean the employee couldn’t be trusted?
Or was there some hidden reason behind it?
“You’re still here? Did you get the map?” Just as she was deep in thought, [Cheng Yu (Modern)]’s voice suddenly came from behind her.
[Heart of Durian] turned around and briefly recounted what had just happened: “There shouldn’t be any Clown dolls left in the shop now. Do you think we should go in and ask about it?”
The rules said you couldn’t enter a shop with Clown dolls, but now that the doll had already been given away, did that mean it was safe to enter?
“No need.” [Cheng Yu (Modern)] shook his head. “Instead of taking that risk, we might as well go to another Energy Station to buy the map.”
Although after hearing his teammate’s thoughts, he was also curious about what the shop clerk was really thinking. But that curiosity alone wasn’t enough for him to risk it.
Even if there were two of them, and he could stop his teammate if she was confused, it wouldn’t be worth it.
What if this perception interference was so strong that his teammate simply refused to listen to reason? Wouldn’t he lose his teammate then?
[Heart of Durian] respected her teammate’s opinion. Seeing [Cheng Yu (Modern)] decline, she gave up on her experiment and left with him.
Because they left in such a hurry, they didn’t see the clerk inside the “Happy Energy Station” clutching her chest, looking as if she’d just breathed a sigh of relief.
She muttered to herself with gratitude, “Good thing I was smart and gave away that doll. Otherwise, I would’ve broken the rules.”
Soon after, new customers entered the store. The newcomer wore a baseball cap and a mask, making it impossible to see his face. He headed straight for the counter:
“I want to buy your work uniform. Is that okay?”
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As soon as he said that, the clerk’s face changed dramatically. She was about to refuse, but the man in the baseball cap gave her no chance.
One hand clamped over her mouth, and with the other, he quickly stripped off her uniform jacket and put it on himself.
Next, the man took the clerk’s blue baseball cap and the work badge from her neck and put them on himself.
Only after doing all this did he let go.
The former clerk finally regained control of her body and shouted angrily, “You can’t do this! Give me back my uniform! This is robbery, I’ll call security!”
“Sorry, but now I’m the clerk. I don’t think security will protect your rights.”
The man in the cap pointed at the uniform he wore, his attractive, upturned phoenix eyes crinkling with a smile. “So please don’t make a scene, okay?”
After saying that, he placed thirty Game Tokens on the counter. “This is for the uniform. Of course, you can refuse, but I’m not giving it back.”
“Don’t do this, I’m begging you, I can’t lose this job!” The former clerk’s expression was desperate, crying as she spoke. “I don’t have a ticket. If I lose my employee status, I’ll die!”
The employee uniform and badge were proof of her identity. With both gone, she’d lost her status. In the world of Rule Nightmares, lacking an identity was terrifying—it meant she had no chance of leaving alive.
“Then take this.” The man in the cap handed her a ticket, then took back the thirty Game Tokens. “Consider your thirty tokens payment for my ticket.”
“You…” The former employee wanted to curse him. If he hadn’t stolen her identity, why would she need a ticket?
But the man didn’t give her the chance. He sighed to himself, “Ah, I really am a good person.”
Wow, what a jerk. Su Shisan, who had just arrived at the shop entrance, couldn’t help but twitch her lips.
She hadn’t just happened by—she’d come on purpose. After her experience with players clearing the last dungeon, she’d set up a system: if the staff changed, she’d get a notification.
She’d just received the notification and happened to be nearby, so Su Shisan rushed over. As soon as she entered, she heard the newly-impersonated player saying those words to the pitiful original inhabitant.
Glancing down at her own red uniform, she decided to go in and give this player a little lesson. After all, employees had their own rules—break them, and they would be punished.
And Red-Clothed Employees were one of the main dangers to Blue Uniform Employees.
She walked into the store, ignoring the terrified gaze of the former clerk, and approached the counter, pulling out a Clown doll. “This is new stock for the store. Please put it on the shelf.”
The moment she looked up and met his gaze, her expression froze.
Listening outside earlier, Su Shisan had found the voice vaguely familiar. Now, seeing those distinctive, beautiful eyes, her not-so-distant memory was instantly triggered. “Jun Qian?!”
Jun Qian was a bit surprised to see her as well. He took off his mask and grinned, “It’s you! What a coincidence.”
Coincidence? Su Shisan wasn’t stupid—she knew Jun Qian’s arrival wasn’t for anything good.
[Director Liu] had made it clear that he was an NPC, not a player. How could an NPC be matched into a dungeon?
And she clearly remembered there was no such person among the 24 bus passengers. He had to have smuggled his way in by some irregular means.
No good person would sneak into someone else’s dungeon.
Not bothering with small talk, Su Shisan got straight to the point: “What are you here for?”
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Even though the Builder’s attitude was a bit off, Jun Qian didn’t seem nervous at all. “Can’t I just miss you?”
Normally, hearing such words would make people cringe, but as he spoke, those phoenix eyes stared directly at Su Shisan, giving off a feeling of deep affection.
It didn’t seem fake at all—in fact, it made one want to drown in that gray ocean.
But beauty tricks had no effect on Su Shisan. She stared at Jun Qian with a blank face. “Employees must obey the amusement park. You don’t want me targeting you, do you?”
At her words, Jun Qian finally dropped the act and answered bluntly, “I’ve been hired to protect a player.”
Su Shisan was genuinely shocked. “You can be hired by players?”
This NPC sure was unusually free!
“Of course not. It was a Builder who hired me to protect his player sister. What a good brother, right~” Jun Qian replied, pretending to be touched.
So it was possible for Builders and players to cooperate, even hiring NPCs to protect players.
Su Shisan suddenly thought of something interesting. B-Class Players could go to the main player city and interact with others. Wouldn’t some of them try to profit from this?
“So, can other players also…”
She didn’t finish, realizing it was probably unlikely. Failing a dungeon didn’t mean actual death, and if you had enough points to bribe a Builder, you’d be better off saving them for yourself.
But then she thought of something else and asked, “Do players need Victory Rate to level up?”
If high-level promotion required Victory Rate, some players might spend a lot of points just to rank up.
Su Shisan’s thoughts jumped around, but Jun Qian responded quickly, nodding. “Yes, to reach A-Rank, you need an 80% Victory Rate. For S-Rank, it’s 90%.”
That meant high-level players and Builders probably colluded to clear dungeons, maybe even forming an industry chain.
But that had nothing to do with a D-level Builder like her, so she didn’t dwell on it. Instead, she sized Jun Qian up and down.
Seeing this, Jun Qian sat on the chair behind the counter, resting his chin in one hand, and feigned shyness as he reminded her, “I sell my skills, not my body~”
“You said that before.” Su Shisan wasn’t fazed by such a simple line. She just tugged at the corner of her mouth, gave him a polite farewell, and turned to leave the Energy Station.
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