Welcome to the Bizarre Games

Chapter 626 Shopping Mall
When you emerge from underground, the city still looks the same.

A blood moon hung high in the sky, its maniacal smile looking down indiscriminately at everything around it. The city was silent, as if everything had died together.

No, that's not quite right either. There are sounds, coming from under the trees, from the corners, from the mutated flowers and plants. There are always some faint movements coming from there. Sometimes it's an unclear groan, sometimes it's the rustling sound of something crawling over, and sometimes it's just an invisible whisper. The sound isn't even transmitted through the ears, but it resounds directly in the mind.

Even without encountering anything strange, staying in this environment for too long can easily drive a person insane. Zhou You has seen many such madmen who have basically lost all ability to communicate. They wander around the streets day and night, unaware of hunger or thirst, and unaware of washing themselves. Their bodies are covered in excrement and garbage, and they only know how to repeat words that ordinary people cannot understand.

However, Zhou You is mostly immune to this, though he wouldn't say he's completely immune. After all, although he's using someone else's body, his soul is still his own. After seeing so many demons and monsters, as well as the corrupt Heavenly Court and Mount Ling, he's developed some resistance to these things.

So after finding a secluded and seemingly safe corner, I slipped inside in a flash.

This time, he did not travel with Luo Liangde. Normally, scavenging requires multiple people in a team, but because the mayor announced the reward, a large number of people flooded into the wasteland, causing the strange creatures to enter their active period ahead of schedule. Therefore, it would be too risky for the two of them to travel together.

Furthermore, Luo Liangde is well aware of his own abilities and plans to start with some simpler things, so the two are even less likely to work together.

Using the light of the blood moon, Zhou You unfolded a map and carefully identified his location.

"It looks like this exit should be on Beida Road, in the Songyuan Street area? But I'm a little unsure about that."

Just then, Zhou You seemed to notice something and suddenly raised his eyebrows.

He felt the street name sounded vaguely familiar, but then he chuckled at his own overreaction.

With so many streets in China, it's normal for some to have the same name; it's not unusual.

Then, he took a pen and drew a route map.

"If we go this way, it will take about half a day to get around there. There are a few guys along the way who are like mid-bosses. Given the current situation, it's really not convenient to get into any conflict with them."

His purpose this time was actually quite simple.

It's just going back to the apartment building.

Zhou You has never forgotten that he has two goals: one is to fulfill the body's last wish, and the other is to find a way to escape the city first, and then see if he can go to the amusement park to look for clues.

But all of this is predicated on the premise that one cannot be disabled.

According to the system's previous prompts, if he wanted to unleash part of his body's power, he first had to find some strange traces. And the apartment building was at least the place he was most familiar with.

What's more, there's now an additional condition.

"Since that spider has a part of me, does that mean that the other strange creatures in this wasteland also have the same?"

He muttered a guess to himself, then looked at the map again.

This time, he chose a route that wasn't the one he had been wandering around aimlessly before—it wasn't until he talked to Luo Liangde that he realized how unlucky he had been, wandering around that dangerous area for so long without encountering a single formidable opponent—instead, he planned to cut across the street, take a big detour, and then return to where he was originally supposed to go.

only.
"Is there still an insurmountable hurdle in the middle? Oh well, let's just test the waters and see what most of the strange things in this world are really like."

He marked a very conspicuous name where his finger was pointing.

——Jiajiale Shopping Plaza.

Danger level: Moderate.

Note: Due to the long exploration interval, this area may be upgraded or downgraded. This map is for reference only, and we are not responsible for any other situations.

Before long, Zhou You found the place.

Having gained experience, and with the advice of a seasoned veteran, he mostly stayed in safe areas this time, only occasionally encountering two wandering anomalies, which were low-level anomalies with no intelligence whatsoever. He easily avoided them by simply circling around them.

At that moment, a conspicuous sign stood not far away. This godforsaken place actually had electricity, and the light tubes flickered like the lights of moth-attracting lamps, drawing in all the uninvited guests.

but.

It's obvious that someone beat them to it.

And there are quite a few of them.

As for why Zhou You knew, it's simple—the dozens of corpses displayed at the entrance were enough to explain everything.

After peering around for a while and finding nothing strange about the person waiting at the door, Zhou You cautiously crept over silently.

Then, he also saw the original appearance of those corpses.

The manner of their deaths varied, and all were mangled corpses.

The word 'tattered and mangled' is an apt description. Most of the limbs look as if they've been thrown into a meat grinder or a cutting machine, their original shapes completely unrecognizable. Only the head is relatively intact, but rather than intact, it's more like it's been placed there as a warning to others.

—The shape alone resembles an ancient Jingguan (a mound of skulls), with skulls piled high like a tower. There are no signs of decay at this moment, only numerous terrified eyes staring blankly ahead.

These people must have suffered torture before they died, and it was inhuman torture.

In just a few seconds, Zhou You came to this conclusion.

But then he sighed again.

That's how scavenging works: the pay is good, but the risks are ridiculously high. But the world is just too hard, and most people would choose to fight for survival rather than starve to death.

After all, starving to death in the ghost world is considered suicide, and one will fall into the underworld after death, never to be reborn.

"Wait a minute, let's look at it another way. Maybe these people are actually quite lucky? They weren't turned into playthings, and they still have a chance to be reincarnated."

But then Zhou You realized something and let out a wry smile.

Without realizing it, I seem to have been assimilated by this world quite a bit.

I used to despise the act of pointlessly throwing my life away, but now I actually feel quite lucky?
This is really
However, at that moment, a scream suddenly came from behind the broken mall door.

Then, there was another sound.

Zhou You frowned, silently hiding himself in the shadow of the light sign, and then peered inside.

Inside the shopping mall, two people were fleeing for their lives.

Judging from their clothes, they were probably two scavengers—but clearly not experienced ones; they had come on a whim after hearing about the bounty. At this moment, both of them had expressions of utter despair, their faces a mixture of snot, tears, and saliva. Even though they were nearly exhausted, they refused to stop, as if some incredibly terrifying thing was chasing them.

However, that's where the problem lies.

There was nothing behind those two.

The mall was lit, though dimly, but enough to make out the general layout—behind this house was a welcoming fountain, nothing strange, nothing hostile, not even a ghost in sight.

But they continued running forward relentlessly, as if their lives depended on it.

Finally, their bodies overcame their fear, and just a few dozen meters from the gate, the two suddenly slowed their pace.

Then, despair and terror appeared on both of their faces.

The older children were already struggling to stay upright, their bodies visibly swaying precariously, while the younger ones were in no better shape, their unsteady steps suggesting they might fall to the ground at any moment.

But just as Zhou You was tilting his head, wondering whether he should lend a hand, something unexpected happened.

Suddenly, the younger one's face turned fierce. He pulled a dagger from his pocket and, with his last bit of strength, stabbed the man in front of him in the waist!
Instantly, the older man showed an expression of disbelief. He slowly turned his head, as if he wanted to say something, but the younger man had already drawn his dagger and stabbed it twice more.

"Pfft, pfft, pfft."

Even from a great distance, Zhou You could almost hear the sound of the dagger tearing through internal organs.

After those vicious stabs, the older man had no ability to resist and collapsed to the ground, only able to convulse.

The younger one seized the opportunity and ran desperately toward the exit.

Otherwise.

Just as he was about to touch the door, his body suddenly stopped.

Then, from the darkness, two plastic-looking hands reached out of thin air, first gently grasping his shoulders, and then forcefully dragging his frail body into them with a slow but resolute force.

After a while, Zhou You finally came out with a solemn expression.

He had initially wanted to see if he could save him—but the moment he saw him draw his knife, he abandoned the idea.

Those who have fallen have little chance left, and as for the one who is still standing, saving him would be a waste of energy, given his history of betraying his teammates.

He was concerned with something else.

"It's supposed to be medium difficulty, but everything in this mall has obviously changed. How many years ago was this map drawn? They don't even update it. Should we take a detour?"

But Zhou You immediately shook his head.

Under the influence of the blood moon, even the reinforced concrete structures have undergone some distortion. If they don't follow the proper path, they are likely to suffer unimaginable attacks.

As for the other nodes that can be bypassed.
Honestly, those were all marked in red with large warning graphics indicating the level of danger. Just seeing those obvious warning symbols made Zhou You really not want to try them out himself.

In the end, he decided to go in and take a look first.

—I'm not planning to conquer this place, I just want to find a way through. I'm not even looking for any treasure. Compared to these greedy adventurers, I should be relatively safe.
Right?
Fortunately, he didn't see those plastic hands that had grabbed people earlier until he entered the mall.

Standing inside, it was much clearer than standing outside—this place was clearly not a large shopping mall, and the decorations weren't particularly luxurious; it was more like the kind of place where nearby residents would often buy groceries and other goods in the real world.

But there is one thing.

The things here are obviously very new.

The new one is quite bizarre.

A clothing store next door was open for business, but there was no one inside. It was filled with all kinds of fur coats and clothes, and the signs were still on.

It's obvious that this is a newly released item; it's not even covered in dust yet.

However, since the materials had all been dyed, not many details could be seen. Zhou You looked around to make sure no one was watching, then lightly flicked the Wanren sword and quickly withdrew it.

When I looked again, he had another piece of material in his hand.

Zhou You rubbed his brows together a few times with his thumb, and his frown deepened.

This is not cowhide, nor sheepskin, nor even artificial leather, pigskin, or donkey skin.

Just think about those weirdos. It's pretty obvious what this thing is made of.

"How should I put it? I feel like this script has been switched out of order. The monsters have become humans, and the humans have become livestock to be slaughtered. Even that dungeon is more like an incubator that lays eggs regularly than a refuge. Damn it, could my guess be true?"

Shaking his head, Zhou You casually tossed the disgusting leather aside and continued on his way.

Logically speaking, such a shopping mall should have several side entrances, and he could easily walk out by wandering around—however, this strangely occupied place cannot be judged by common sense at all; if he wants to pass through, he has to follow their rules.

What is the role of shopping malls?
To browse, or to buy goods.

"According to the map, to exit completely, one must either explore the entire mall or purchase several items of equivalent value. However, they certainly don't accept human currency here, and the map's creator didn't specify what items are traded, so..."

But before he could figure it out, another scream rang out.

These shopping malls are indeed the most convenient places to obtain goods, but to be honest, isn't this a bit too frequent?
Zhou You sighed helplessly and hid his body once again.

Soon, another figure ran over.

But Zhou You was also taken aback.

The guy who rushed out was a fourteen or fifteen-year-old kid—which would be considered an adult here—but the problem was...
What was chasing him wasn't some strange creature, but two men with angry expressions.

Without a doubt, these are two living, breathing people.

Zhou You was taken aback.

What are these guys doing? How can they fight amongst themselves in this godforsaken place?
(End of this chapter)