I really don't want to work in the world of weird rules!

What exactly can be found in a convenience store as irrefutable evidence of the passage of time?

Click.

The slight noise made Gu Changyuan's muscles tense instantly; the sound came from directly above.

He subconsciously looked up and his gaze fell on the wooden board behind the cash register; he was currently huddled under the cash register.

In other words, the sound came from the cash register.

drop.

Beep be ...

The evil spirit overhead was frantically pounding on the buttons, and eerie mechanical beeps, accompanied by irregular rhythms, echoed through the deathly silent convenience store.

[Calling for a store clerk... Calling, calling for a store clerk... Calling for a store clerk...]

A chill ran down my spine and straight to the back of my head.

That thing knew, it absolutely knew that it was hiding down there.

This monster was deliberately toying with its prey. Even though he saw through the truth, Gu Changyuan couldn't muster the slightest courage to resist. Cold sweat instantly soaked through the back of his shirt.

We must break out.

Gu Changyuan clenched his teeth, but his thigh muscles felt as heavy as if they were filled with lead.

It was only then that he realized he was no different from the cannon fodder characters in horror movies who collapsed to the ground.

No, even if it means death, I must never get used to this feeling of powerlessness, being at the mercy of others.

He practically crawled off the counter on all fours.

[Calling for a store clerk.]

A swollen, bluish face suddenly appeared in front of the nose, its mouth split open to the ear.

"Got you?"

......

restart.

Gu Changyuan greedily inhaled the air into his lungs, his heart pounding wildly like a broken-down engine, making him dizzy and nauseous, but he bit his tongue hard to stay awake.

The worst was over; his limbs were still numb, but he had to endure it.

His gaze swept across the dimly lit convenience store. This time, instead of hiding behind the cashier, he turned his back to the faint light from the beverage freezer and rushed in the opposite direction.

The entrance and exit of a convenience store.

Outside the glass door was a thick, impenetrable darkness.

Gu Changyuan pressed his face almost against the cold glass, and with the help of the dim light, he finally saw something hanging on the outside of the door.

Electronic clock.

【12:00 | 04 | 04】

At 12:4 on April 4th, this is roughly the starting time of the current ghost story.

Once my eyes had fully adjusted to the darkness, the outline of the welcome bell at the top of the door frame became visible.

As long as Gu Changyuan dares to push open the door, the crisp ringing of the bell will definitely summon that evil spirit with its eerie steps instantly.

Moreover, the door could not possibly be opened. Since the rules stipulated that one had to survive in the convenience store, the entrance and exit must have been subject to absolute restrictions.

Gu Changyuan withdrew his gaze and hid most of his body in the shadow of the nearby shelf. His back was pressed against the cold wall, his eyes scanning his surroundings warily, his mind racing.

Cold beads of sweat slid down my cheeks and into my neck.

The target's survival time is three days.

So, what exactly could be the trigger to indicate the "end point" in three days? What unchanging thing will happen at the convenience store three days later?

Restocking? Gu Changyuan glanced at the cardboard boxes piled up near the glass door; this was indeed a sign of new goods arriving in the warehouse.

If we can find a way to confirm the goods to be delivered three days later, and then somehow fake the warehousing process, we can fool the supernatural system...

Gu Changyuan shook his head sharply, rejecting the idea. No, that's too complicated. This roundabout approach completely violates the underlying logic of supernatural tales.

The essence of "Strange Tales Exploration Records" is popular online strange tales.

As long as it's online ghost stories, it absolutely follows the principle of being intuitive and exciting. If the rules are too complicated and complex, readers can't even remember them, so how can they talk about the fun of solving the mystery?

The key to breaking the deadlock must be a prop that is simple and straightforward enough, and perfectly suited to the scene.

In this convenience store, what is the most telling sign of the passage of time?

found it.

Gu Changyuan stared intently at the open refrigerated display case closest to the door. Wisps of white steam were seeping out through the grilles, but the shelves were empty, with only a few bottles of yogurt, coffee, and a few boxes of fresh bento boxes and triangular rice balls.

These are all foods that spoil very easily.

Shelf life!

He immediately rushed to the refrigerated display case and grabbed the fresh food on the shelf to examine it one by one.

The shelf life of a regular triangular rice ball is at most between 36 and 48 hours, and the same goes for bento boxes.

Strangely, most of the fresh food on the shelves either had a shelf life of more than three days, or the dates were simply blurred into a mosaic.

Gu Changyuan held his breath, his movements as gentle as if he were defusing a bomb, repeatedly examining the inkjet code on the packaging bag by the dim light.

We finally found it.

怪谈现在的设定时间是4月4日12点，而他手里这件商品的到期时间，正好卡在4月7日12点。

Orleans Chicken Sandwich

Gu Changyuan gripped the bento box tightly, got up, walked across the shelves, and headed straight for the cashier.

The lingering image of the evil spirit that had been frantically pounding the call button on the table seemed to still be flickering before my eyes.

That's an illusion; it hasn't arrived yet.

With his palms sweating, Gu Changyuan quickly opened the cash register's system settings, his fingertips swiping rapidly across the screen until he found the "Date and Time Change" option.

He pushed the set time to its limit, starting from 12:4 on April 4th, and then shifting it forward by a full two days, twenty-three hours, and fifty-nine minutes.

[April 7, 11:59 PM]

Please, please don't crash. Gu Changyuan gritted his teeth and pressed the confirm button heavily.

[Modification complete]

Become!

In reality, convenience store POS systems often lock out time-based modification permissions to prevent cheating, but this one can be modified.

He forcefully suppressed his trembling fingers, which were shaking with extreme excitement; only one last step remained.

Simply scan the barcode of this bento box, and the system will determine that it is nearing its expiration date and automatically discard it.

The cash register screen suddenly flashed a blinding crimson light, accompanied by a beeping notification sound.

[Scrap Alert!]

[Products that are about to expire!]

Gu Changyuan's neck stiffened and turned as if it had rusted.

Around the corner of the distant shelf, a pair of cloudy eyes stared intently at him, and it charged towards him.

Damn it, don't look at it, keep your eyes on the screen.

My hands trembled violently from the surge of adrenaline. The barcode scanner missed three times before finally finding its mark on the bento box.

drop.

The barcode scanner beeped briefly.

[Have you confirmed the scrapping entry?]

Gu Changyuan frantically clicked "confirm" repeatedly.

The strange sound of fingernails scraping the ground was getting closer behind him. He didn't even have the strength to turn around and look, and he frantically slammed his fingers into the screen.

[The scrapping has been successfully recorded.]

The vibrations from the running evil spirit had already grazed the edge of the cash register.

【Finish】

Dead silence. Everything came to an abrupt halt.

Snapped.

The overhead incandescent lights flickered on and off, casting a blinding white light from the CD player and dispelling the deep darkness.

On the now-normal cash register screen, a simple notification window quietly pops up.

[Entry complete]

With a hiss, the printer began spitting out daily settlement slips. Amidst this mundane white noise, Gu Changyuan's taut nerves finally snapped.

survived.

He slumped against the counter, utterly exhausted, his legs trembling, even breathing felt difficult.

The sense of security brought by the light was rapidly repairing his sanity, which was on the verge of collapse.

All you have to do now is open the door and go out.

Click!

The cabinet door under the cashier suddenly popped open, and Gu Changyuan was stunned for a moment. Inside, a black leather suitcase lay quietly.

Unzip the zipper, and the glaring golden banknotes instantly filled your vision.

The brand-new 100-yuan bills were stacked in neat rows of one hundred.

One million in cash.

Gu Changyuan had never seen so much cash in his life. How could there be such a thing in the cabinet of a convenience store?

Gu Changyuan suddenly realized that this was a reward for completing the level.

【The Mysterious Exploration of Ghost Stories/Ghost Stories/A Choice Between Life and Death】

[Postscript: If beating the game really gives you money, then it's just a kind-hearted prankster at best.]

What a kind person!