NOVEL NEXT Chapter 483: Spatial Overlap
After receiving the prompt that the task was completed, the female office worker was stunned for a full two or three seconds before she reacted and exchanged a surprised look with Old Wang not far away.
She then looked back at Yan'er in front of her and tentatively asked, "Do you think this is okay?"
Yan'er stared at her, "Of course it's okay, but sister, why don't you want my stuff?"
The female office worker smiled affectionately, "Because I just said so, even though I really like these shoes, I think they look best on your feet, and besides, they are your things. How can I take your stuff? You want a diamond ring, so I'll give you one."
She spoke with great righteousness, as if she was still radiating the halo of a saint.
Yan'er glanced at her with an ambiguous expression, then spread her palm and stared at the sparkling diamond ring in the center of her hand.
"Before, whenever I got a toy, the children at the kindergarten would snatch it from me to play with, but when they had toys, they wouldn't let me play with them."
Yan'er said this, her lips curling into a sly smile.
She looked up at the female office worker and continued, "So I stopped giving them toys to play with. I have everything they have, and even what they don't have! If anyone tries to take my stuff again, I'll kill them!"
The female office worker watched her, wide-eyed and tongue-tied.
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For a cute six-year-old girl who liked pink to say such violent things, the contrast was simply too absurd!
So, children in this world start bullying from kindergarten?
Female office worker: I don't understand.
But she had figured out how to get through the level; facing such a spoiled child, one could only indulge her.
Indulge her in everything.
So she just silently watched Yan'er, waiting until the girl had finished speaking when suddenly the surroundings began to warp into illusion.
"Sister, I really like your stuff; let's leave it there for today."
Yan'er waved to her and then her figure disappeared suddenly from the swing.
The female office worker immediately stood up alertly, looking around before resting her gaze on Old Wang not far away, the two of them exchanging a look that conveyed mutual understanding.
Old Wang walked over and said, "It seems that we've cleared the level."
"How are you feeling now?" the female office worker asked with concern.
"No problem, I should be able to continue without issue," Old Wang said, rubbing his neck.
"Good thing I was cautious and waited until you were fully awake before testing those shoes!" the female office worker suddenly exhaled with relief, appearing thankful.
After all, had she not hesitated for so long, she probably couldn't have waited for Old Wang's sudden roar and would have been unable to resist the temptation to snatch away Yan'er's pink shoes.
Cautiousness was indeed the correct approach!
Upon hearing this, Old Wang smiled and asked, "How much information did you get?"
"Besides her, there's another kid in the orphanage with a doll named Emily," the female office worker said. "According to her, Emily is very shy, often hiding in the corner to peep at others, and also has a habit of stealing things."
"Did she say where Emily is usually found?"
"She could be anywhere in the orphanage, in any corner, but they all live on the third floor."
The female office worker looked up at the Qiming Building not far away and said, "Rooms 304, 305, 306 are the girls' rooms, the younger kids stay in the inner rooms, Emily lives in the same room as her. That's how she noticed Emily had a doll."
Then out of a sense of competition, she pestered the director and also got a similar doll — the female office worker inwardly scoffed.
Old Wang listened thoughtfully, "So it's most likely rooms 304 and 305?"
"Probably, let's go up and take a look, we still don't know how the others are doing," the female office worker said.
"We should be out of that little sister's rule space by now, right?" Old Wang suddenly asked.
Once again the female office worker surveyed the surroundings, paying special attention to the swing she had just risen from.
The swing didn't sway anymore, and it seemed that Yan'er, who was previously sitting on it, had really left, or perhaps they had completed their task, and naturally left that space.
But before the female white-collar worker could ponder a reason, Old Wang added, "It's really too quiet here, so quiet it's as if only the two of us are left."
Hearing this, the female white-collar worker's gaze grew sharp.
It was indeed too quiet.
There were a total of seven people who had entered the orphanage, and if they were all in the same space, it would be unreasonable not to hear any noise from anyone.
According to the system prompt, side quest three "The Painting on the Wall" had been completed, which at least proved that one group was outside, and since side quest four had not yet emerged, another group should also be outside.
Unless something unexpected had happened to them, and they had entered another Rule Space.
"The Visit Manual lists a dozen rules, and the others disappeared after we entered 'The Swing in the Courtyard,' which means that this orphanage is overlapped by at least a dozen Phase Spaces, like layers of durian stacked upon each other," said Old Wang gravely.
"Talk is talk, no need to bring up your durian," the female white-collar worker said with disgust.
"Alright, my point is..." Old Wang resignedly replied, "with so many spaces, who can guarantee that the space we first entered is the actual location of this orphanage?"
"You mean we fell into a Rule Space from the beginning?" the female white-collar worker narrowed her eyes.
"Yes."
"But even if we are inside a rule, the Visit Manual indeed provides a way out."
"That's the problem. The guide provided in the Manual, I suspect, is only the method to exit under conditions where no rules have been triggered. If the orphanage is a maze, then the Manual is just a map of one maze. However, here, there are countless mazes," he said.
The female white-collar worker did not respond, instead flipping through the "Qiming Charity Hall Visit Manual."
16. The archives room where Qiming Orphanage materials are stored is on the third floor of Qiming Building; unless necessary, do not enter the archives room.
17. If you do enter the archives room, please leave immediately after reviewing the materials, do not linger, and do not take anything with you.
18. The place for handling specific affairs of Qiming Orphanage is on the third floor of Qiming Building, usually used as the director's office.
19. If any situation not listed in the Visit Manual arises, you may choose to hide in the office.
20. Unless necessary, do not enter the director's office. If you do enter, maintain silence and calm, do not do anything, and leave as soon as you are sure you can.
21. After visiting Qiming Orphanage, please leave through the back door of the backyard. Besides that, do not perform any actions unrelated to leaving through the door.
22. Please strictly adhere to the above rules; if violated, the Qiming Sub-district Office will not be responsible.
23. We hope that your visit will be pleasant.
...
The female white-collar worker finished reading all the rules.
She frowned and said, "These rules mostly tell visitors not to do something but don't tell them what will happen if they violate these rules, or what they should do."
Even Rule Twelve simply states that "visitors will receive a new job here" but doesn't explicitly say what the new job entails.
Overall, there was a mysterious and dangerous sense of eeriness.
If this were a space made of multiple overlapping dimensions, then after breaking a rule and returning, it's quite possible that one would no longer be in the original space.
Maybe, after entering a Rule Space, one would receive a set of rules.
Old Wang spread his hands and said, "If we want to continue exploring, we probably have to break another rule."
The female white-collar worker shook her head, "Let it be. Even if there really are overlapping Phase Spaces, we should finish our job first. Let's start looking from the backyard."
Upon hearing this, Old Wang's smile held an inscrutable meaning.
Wasn't she still influenced by his words, wanting to go and first see what the channel for leaving the orphanage was?
...