Delivery

Opening the wooden door of the grocery store, Wang Ye stood at the entrance, stunned for a moment.

The small square table in front of the hall, which was originally empty, was now occupied by four people.

Sitting at the head of the table was the middle-aged man in white robes that Wang Ye had seen earlier in the day.

The other three were the dark-faced brawny man, the middle-aged man in black robes, and a woman dressed in bright red wedding attire.

As Wang Ye entered, the eyes of the four people instantly focused on him.

Fortunately, this time the four did not emanate any oppressive aura from their bodies. Otherwise, Wang Ye would have had trouble even entering the door.

With caution in his eyes, Wang Ye leaned against the iron door behind him, holding his backpack, and slowly walked into the shop.

The wooden door closed abruptly on its own without any wind.

Wang Ye had become somewhat accustomed to doors closing by themselves like this.

Under the gaze of the four people, Wang Ye skirted around the wooden table and slowly walked to the front of the counter.

Somehow, the lock on the door deep inside the counter had been opened. As Wang Ye moved forward, the old and dry door made a creaking sound.

The door...opened.

An old man leaning on a cane staggered out to the front of the counter. Just like the clerks in other shops, his body was stiff, his eyes vacant, gazing vaguely at Wang Ye.

Looking closely, the exposed skin of the old man was covered in purplish corpse spots.

Leaning his back against the wall, Wang Ye took out an ancient bronze box from his backpack and gently placed it on the counter. Then, with extreme speed, he rushed towards the outside.

Almost at the same time, the expressions of the four people at the wooden table became strange.

The doors and windows were tightly closed, yet a gust of wind blew up inside the shop, halting Wang Ye's footsteps and making it difficult for him to take another step forward.

The old man threw away his cane and picked up the bronze box reverently, walking towards the wooden door deep inside the counter.

With each step, the old man's body withered further. By the time he reached the door, there was almost no flesh left on him, just a layer of skin covering the bones.

The old man stopped at the door, turned his head to look at Wang Ye, whose steps were halted by the wild wind. The eyeballs in the skull of his skin-wrapped head fell out, constantly rolling on the ground.

The hollow eye sockets gazed at Wang Ye for several seconds. Then the old man strode through the door.

The wooden door slowly closed, and inside the shop, the wind...

gradually faded away.

And the four figures sitting at the wooden table had bizarrely disappeared.

It seemed that everything had returned to calm.

Wang Ye tightened his grip on the iron door behind his back and took two tentative steps forward, easily and freely.

Nothing supernatural happened either.

With flickering eyes, Wang Ye exerted force under his feet and instantly rushed to the door, pushed it open, and walked out.

As Wang Ye left, the doors of No.7 Grocery Store closed once again.

The broken signboard's lettering for "No.7 Grocery Store" also gradually disappeared, turning into a blank.

Was this task easier than he had imagined?

Murmuring to himself, Wang Ye heaved a sigh of relief. Perhaps this time he had been a little too cautious.

Removing the hemp rope from his shoulders and placing the iron door on the ground, Wang Ye loosened up a little and left the dark alley.

On the streets, there were far fewer scavengers.

Most of the shops had also started closing.

This was also one of Salvage City's rules - curfew after midnight.

Looking at the time, it was only 11:10 pm now, leaving enough of the remaining 50 minutes for him to leave this place.

Thinking this, Wang Ye felt somewhat invigorated.

This could be considered the most smoothly completed task since the Post Office appeared.

Pondering, Wang Ye arrived at the city gate.

The bandits were still leaning against the city wall, silently waiting for every arriving scavenger.

When Wang Ye came out, the bandits just glanced at him lightly and then withdrew their gazes, having clearly lost interest.

Ignoring the bandits, Wang Ye got into the Postal Car and turned the key in the ignition.

After returning, he could take a nice shower.

Stretching leisurely, Wang Ye murmured.

But soon, as if recalling something, Wang Ye's hands froze mid-air and his expression became solemn.

Given his usual vigilance, why was his mental state so relaxed when leaving at the city gate?

And when did the bandits ever look at people with such gentleness?

As for the postal car...

The steering wheel's skin-like feel from before, why was it now the same as a normal vehicle?

No, none of this was normal.

Sitting in the postal car, Wang Ye forcefully closed his eyes, making himself calm down.

The surrounding noises gradually faded away as the environment quieted down.

When Wang Ye opened his eyes again, he found himself back inside No.7 Grocery Store somehow, though he didn't know when.

The box on the counter was gone.

He himself was sitting in the wooden chair in the hall. The four figures of uncertain human or ghost origin had indeed left.

The iron door had been removed somehow and tossed on the floor.

According to his memory, he had only discarded it after going out.

An illusion?

Had he been sleepwalking inside the room the whole time?

Glancing at his watch, it was already 11:40 pm. A drop of cold sweat rolled down Wang Ye's forehead.

He had been in this room for a full 40 minutes!

If he had realized it any later, who knows what horrifying things might have happened after midnight.

Fortunately...

he had woken up.

Wang Ye breathed a sigh of relief and walked to the grocery store entrance, pushing open the door a second time.

Outside...

the figures of scavengers had almost completely disappeared.

The lettering on the signboard of No.7 Grocery Store gradually faded away again, turning blank.

Wang Ye looked around warily and hurried towards the city exit.

Sure enough, as it approached midnight, even the bandits' figures had vanished. They were only willing to gamble with their lives, not court death.

In Salvage City, no one could safely spend a night outdoors.

The postal car was parked not far away.

Wang Ye relaxed, walking towards it. Suddenly, looking at the ground, he froze again.

The ground was spotless, as good as new.

But how was that possible!

Just a few hours ago, he had killed a bandit right where he was standing now!

When that bandit was used to feed the copper statue, his blood had dyed a patch of the floor red!

There was absolutely no way his memory was wrong. Such a short time was not enough for the bloodstains to completely vanish from the floor!

Had he...not walked out yet?

Wang Ye gritted his teeth, his expression becoming solemn.

A double illusion?!!

This bizarre grocery store!

Wang Ye grabbed his bone-scraping knife and cut across his palm. The icy feeling spread through his whole body as blood continuously dripped to the ground.

His heart calmed down once more.

Everything around him became blurred and vague, somewhat unreal, as if it didn't exist at all, turning dark and profound, like a bottomless abyss.

In the darkness, a pair of huge eyes appeared in the void, their gaze icy cold, devoid of any human emotion, looking down at Wang Ye as if they belonged to a deity overlooking mortals.

After that...

the scene shattered. Wang Ye found himself back inside the grocery store again.