Infinite Puzzle City

Chapter 772 The Punishment That's Deserved Cannot Be Escaped

Xiao Ran's home is near Beiman Mountain, and it's only a ten-minute walk from the crematorium.

This is also why I specifically chose to live here for work convenience.

This area was initially very desolate. After all, as the saying goes in Los Angeles, it's better to go a thousand miles south of Los Angeles than to move a single step north of Los Angeles.

As times progressed and the urban area gradually expanded, this place slowly became bustling.

However, this excitement came to an abrupt end after the Lost City was completed.

Xiao Ran and her group walked along the road, where there wasn't even a single light.

Xiao Ran spread her mental energy and discovered that in the huge village, there were only a dozen or so living people, most of whom were elderly.

It seems that most people have already chosen to relocate.

Xiao Ran remembered seeing information about Yanshi outside of Luo City in the company's documents. It seemed to be a safe zone, very close to Luo City, with well-developed infrastructure. At least half of Luo City's population had been relocated there.

"Om~"

Pushing open the door, a thick layer of dust rose up.

Xiao Ran took a step back and looked at Wu Man.

Wu Man rolled her eyes at Xiao Ran, then went into the house. After less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, she threw out a few dark clods of dirt.

"It's all cleaned up, come in."

Upon entering the house, one would find it had been thoroughly cleaned.

However, there was an indescribable smell in the air. It wasn't unpleasant, but it was still quite uncomfortable.

After all, the area has been uninhabited for a long time, and the air quality is extremely poor.

Wu Man opened the doors and windows and turned on the ceiling fan, as if she were in her own home.

Looking at the familiar surroundings before her, Xiao Ran felt a surge of emotion, an indescribable feeling washing over her; everything was so familiar.

He walked to the counter and clearly remembered that before the Lost City appeared, he usually ate and played computer games in this spot.

Memories came flooding back.

The images flashed by before Xiao Ran's eyes like a fleeting dream, as clear as if they happened yesterday. However, Xiao Ran felt as if it were all an illusion, making him feel unfamiliar and alienated.

"Master, is this your home?"

Okra gently tugged at Xiao Ran's hand, looking curiously at the small house in front of her, seemingly surprised that her master's home would be like this.

"Yes, this is my home."

Xiao Ran nodded, while Bai Xu jumped onto the counter, found her usual spot, sniffed around for a few moments, and then lay down in that spot again.

"I went to cook."

Wu Man turned and walked towards the kitchen. They had been rushing all the way and hadn't had a chance to eat a hot meal. Now that they were back, the first thing Wu Man naturally did was to start cooking.

Xiao Ran gestured to Lu Cheng and Liu Mu that they could go upstairs to rest first, while she pushed open the door and walked straight towards her backyard.

A thick layer of leaves was piled up on the ground in the backyard.

Several large spider webs hung in the corner of the wall.

Even the broom next to it was chewed to pieces by something.

This time, Xiao Ran didn't clean. He strode forward, looked at the dusty wooden door in front of him, stretched out his palm, and gently pushed it forward.

"Master, I'm back."

"Boom!!!"

However, when he gently pushed open the door, the room was eerily quiet.

A spiderweb hung on the television set, and the familiar operas were no longer playing.

A few rat droppings remained on the cushion of the rocking chair, and in the dimly lit room, the familiar figure was nowhere to be found.

Xiao Ran stood at the door, her feelings very complicated. She felt like a child returning home from school who didn't see her parents and felt a sense of emptiness.

At that moment, he noticed his own metal box on the table.

That was the box my grandfather used to store all sorts of odds and ends related to social obligations.

I remember keeping it in Grandpa's bedside table before, how did it end up on the table?

Xiao Ran stepped forward, wiped the dust off the box, picked it up and weighed it in her hands, and found that the box was much lighter.

Upon opening it, I found a letter inside.

After picking up the letter, Xiao Ran looked at the box again and found that all the miscellaneous things inside were gone, leaving only three old items.

A thumb ring, a snuff bottle, and a thimble.

This must be something the old man left for himself.

Open the envelope.

The letter began with only six words.

"It's gone, don't think about it, don't look for it."

Well, you left so abruptly, without leaving me a single complete sentence?
Below the letter were three more lines, but these three lines only explained the origin of the three items in the box.

If you go to Northeast China, get a thumb ring. Go to Xiongjichang Mountain in Heilongjiang. Contact Lao Dao Ge if you need one.

If you go to Chongqing, take the snuff bottle. Go to Dashiba in Chongqing and find He Tie. This man is very powerful and extremely skilled in escape techniques.

If you go to Qin City, take the thimble, go to No. 23, Gulou East Street, the old coffin shop, and find Yang Rong. Xiao Ran looked at the contents of the letter, then at the three items in the box, and felt a mix of emotions.

He didn't know if he would ever need these things, but since the old man had left them to him, whether he used them or not was a matter of personal interest.

However, more than half of the things in the box were missing. Could it be that Grandpa took them all? What use would they be on the way to Guizhou?
After a moment's thought, Xiao Ran put the box and the envelope away together.

Judging from the dust on the box, it's easy to tell that the old man and his family had probably set off quite some time ago.

However, the situation is different now than before.

Previously, traveling to Guizhou could be done in a day by high-speed rail or plane.

But now that the Lost City has descended, the plane can no longer take off. Once it reaches high altitude, it will be pierced through by a force.

The company had already announced this internally. It's no longer a technical issue that can be resolved. It seems that some unseen rule is at play.

As for the high-speed rail, it has also been completely suspended. Xiao Ran is not sure of the specific reasons, but it doesn't seem like a good thing.

There are currently three main modes of transportation.

One is short-distance bus transportation.

The other option is to rely on trains, but this is also intermittent, with some sections interrupted, requiring passengers to get off and walk to the next accessible train station.

The last option is to drive yourself. Whether you can get there depends on your skill and luck.

So even though her grandfather and his group had set off quite early, Xiao Ran estimated that they wouldn't be very fast.

Xiao Ran went back to the front room and briefly explained her speculation to Lu Cheng.

Upon hearing Xiao Ran's speculation, Lu Cheng's face showed disappointment: "So, Master Lai and the others have already left Luo City?"

“That’s most likely the case.” Xiao Ran nodded. “But I reckon they haven’t reached Guizhou yet. This road is very difficult to travel right now. My idea is to go to Qin City first, rescue Jin Chanzi, and then head south along the way.”

Xiao Ran looked at Lu Cheng, her expression troubled, and said, "What I mean is, this road is too long, otherwise..."

Although this matter involves Master Lai, rushing there like this is not a safe thing to do. If trouble comes, Xiao Ran cannot say that he can guarantee Lu Cheng's safety.

Lu Cheng raised his eyebrows, his cicada-shaped brows suddenly furrowing, his face hardening: "A true man can roam the world, where can't he go?"

To be honest, even though Lu Cheng wasn't a beginner yet, his glare sent chills down Xiao Ran's spine.

Having held a high position for a long time, this guy has developed a ruthless aura, and his strength is not much worse than that of ordinary beginners.

Even if they encounter powerful evil spirits, they can easily suppress them with the help of Guan Yu behind Lu Cheng.

Seeing Lu Cheng's decisiveness, Xiao Ran stopped trying to persuade him.

However, Xiao Ran would definitely not keep Okra and White Floss with her anymore; she planned to temporarily place Okra at her own home.

Let Bai Xu stay at home and guard the house.

As long as they don't go to the Lost City beneath Los Angeles, they will basically not encounter any danger in Los Angeles.

Okra naturally had no objection to this, and she knew that following Xiao Ran would only bring him trouble.

As for Bai Xu, Xiao Ran completely ignored his protesting gaze.

Once things were settled, the rest became much simpler.

At this moment, Lu Cheng said somewhat embarrassedly, "Wait a minute, I have something else to say."

Xiao Ran and Wu Man looked at Lu Cheng.

"I need to go back to the Guandi Temple. I've been away for so long, it's time to offer incense to Guandi."

Lu Cheng had long lost his parents, so the bald-headed master was like half a parent to him, and the Guandi Temple was more like Lu Cheng's hometown.

Now that I'm back, I should go home.

"Let's go together. After we finish eating, Wu Man and I will go with you."

Although the Guandi Temple is the territory of Guandi, and as a legitimate temple with flourishing incense offerings, it is certainly not in the way of evil spirits. However, Xiao Ran was still worried about letting Lu Cheng go back alone.

Just as the three were eating, Xiao Ran suddenly looked up and gazed towards the door.

A van with the words "Delivery Anywhere" on it was parked outside the door.

"not good!"

Wu Man's expression changed, she stopped eating, jumped up and tried to run away.

He was incredibly fast, and in one swift step, he pushed open the back door.

The next second, he leaped onto the roof, then was about to jump onto his neighbor's house, preparing to climb over the wall and escape.

But just as he was climbing over the wall, everything went black. When he opened his eyes again, he found himself sitting at the dining table, holding the rice bowl he had just thrown away.

Looking up, Wu Man's face was unusually ugly. Staring at the gothic-style girl sitting at the dining table, he grumbled, "A B-level professional Dream Weaver? Don't you have any bottlenecks in your advancement?"

"I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I really don't think I'm facing any major obstacles!"

Zhong Yi tilted her head back and slowly pulled out a pair of scissors that were bigger than her from behind her back.

Upon seeing this, Wu Man panicked and hurriedly said, "Don't do anything rash. The company has suspended the arrest warrant for me."

However, Zhong Yi narrowed her eyes and said, "That's a company matter, what does it have to do with me!"

After saying that, Zhong Yi raised the large scissors in her hand, and Wu Man tried to resist.

His hands, which had just been holding the rice bowl, were now completely numb. Even though he knew it was all just a dream, he could only watch helplessly as Zhong Yi's large scissors snapped against his head.

The world seemed to suddenly become cool and refreshing at that moment.

(End of this chapter)