Chapter 362: Garbage

Hu Maomao closed her eyes and thought for a moment. Opening them again, she said, “He’s not dangerous. He seems a little afraid of me. If you know him, you could try recruiting him. Judging by his earlier reaction, he’s clearly very familiar with this place. With his help, we could move around here much more easily.”

Watching the man’s figure about to disappear into the distant bushes, Zhang Wenda called out, “Hey, still need painkillers?”

Hearing this, the man suddenly stopped. He turned around and looked at the Solid Happiness in Zhang Wenda’s outstretched hand.

“We’ve met a few times now, what are you afraid of? You’ve been to the pool in Area 2, so you should know I’m good for my word. I need you for something. If you can do it, I’ll give you double the painkillers.”

The man hesitated for a moment before finally calling out from a distance, “I can keep trading with you, but you have to promise me one thing.”

“What is it? Go on.”

The garbage-bag man pointed at Hu Maomao, who was standing nearby. “You have to order her to stop prying into my thoughts! Otherwise, I won’t accept, no matter how high the reward!”

This statement seemed to displease Hu Maomao, and her expression turned particularly sour.

She had lived alone all these years precisely because others were wary of her ability. Although she acted like she didn’t care one bit, deep down, she hated it when people brought it up.

Zhang Wenda looked at her in surprise. “So that’s why he’s afraid of you. Even he knows you can read minds. When did you get so famous?”

“Hmph! It must have been the people I kicked out of the Federation who spread it. I let them off too easy.” Hu Maomao fumed as she said this, grinding her teeth.

Only after Zhang Wenda repeatedly promised not to let Hu Maomao use her Mind Reading Ability did the garbage-bag man slowly walk back.

This guy not only needed Solid Happiness for his pain but was also terrified of Hu Maomao stealing his thoughts. Honestly, Zhang Wenda was a little curious about what kind of secrets the man was hiding.

But he wasn’t one for prying into others’ privacy. There were more important things to do right now.

“Do you come here often?” Zhang Wenda asked, sizing up the garbage-bag man before him.

The garbage-bag man glanced at Hu Maomao again before answering, “This place is my home. Other places are just for occasional supply runs.”

“So you’re a trader, then?” Zhang Wenda realized with a start.

The man didn’t react much to the title. He just asked in a low voice, “What do you need, and how many painkillers are you willing to pay for it?”

Zhang Wenda gestured at the dim swamp around them. “I need all the intel on this area, including the other factions within it and their relationships. The more detailed, the better. The price is negotiable. Name your number.”

Nearby, Wang Shaojie looked a little annoyed. Someone else had just stolen his job as a guide.

But Zhang Wenda’s choice was obvious. Wang Shaojie was just a guy who had lost the competition in the swamp and nearly starved to death. The garbage-bag man, on the other hand, was a thriving trader. It was clear at a glance who was more valuable.

The garbage-bag man was silent for a moment before speaking. “Alright. I agree to the deal. Let’s talk as we walk. The giraffe herd is about to arrive.”

“What? What giraffes?” The three of them were stunned to hear this.

The garbage-bag man pointed at a black-and-white mosquito sucking blood on Wang Shaojie’s face. “That’s a giraffe. This swamp isn’t what it looks like. It’s actually a zoo.”

“What do you mean? Explain.” Zhang Wenda found that the more he listened, the more confused he got.

The garbage-bag man explained as he walked, “You should know that ever since that incident, every area is different.”

Zhang Wenda knew that all too well; he had suffered dearly because of it. “So? What does that have to do with these ‘animals’ you’re talking about?”

“This place is different from other areas. It has two layers. It’s in a superposition of three worlds.” The garbage-bag man gestured at their surroundings. “One layer is the swamp, another is a zoo, and the last one is an aquarium.”

“?” Zhang Wenda was floored by this bizarre worldview. ‘Can it really change like that? The 1999 transformation could even merge three worlds together?’

After he said this, Wang Shaojie leaned in and whispered in Zhang Wenda’s ear, “Director, I’ve never heard anything like this before. No one’s ever said anything like it. Be careful he’s not trying to trick you.”

Zhang Wenda gave him a look that said ‘be patient’ and turned to the garbage-bag man. “Prove it to me.”

The garbage-bag man didn’t speak. He reached into the bushes and started rummaging for something. It was then that Zhang Wenda noticed the man’s hands were very strange. All five of his fingers were tightly wrapped in leaves, like five long, leaf-wrapped bundles.

Soon, the garbage-bag man cupped his hands and presented them to Zhang Wenda. In them were several beautiful mushrooms. Some were translucent, others multi-colored.

The mushrooms, large and small, had been arranged into the shape of a key. “This is the key. Eat it, and you can go to the other world.”

Looking at the mushrooms, Zhang Wenda hesitated. They looked poisonous. ‘He wants me to eat this? Is this guy a psycho?’

But then he thought of the Wai Mushroom from before and hesitated again. ‘Anything is possible in this place. What if it’s real?’

Still, Zhang Wenda didn’t want to take the risk of just eating it.

‘There has to be a way to test if it’s real without putting myself in danger.’

Seeing an opportunity to prove himself, Wang Shaojie quickly stepped forward. “Director, I can try it for you.”

“Alright, you try it then.” Zhang Wenda handed him the mushroom key.

As the two watched with anticipation, Wang Shaojie put the mushroom key in his mouth. Immediately, Zhang Wenda saw the man’s face turn red, then white. Then he started foaming at the mouth. His eyes were about to roll back into his head, and his breaths became shallow.

“Fuck!” Zhang Wenda was horrified. He quickly caught Wang Shaojie, first punching him in the stomach to make him spit out the mushrooms, then immediately using his transfer ability to shift the negative effects onto the Youth Palace.

The Youth Palace was huge. A lethal dose for a human was no threat to it.

After that flurry of action, Wang Shaojie’s life was saved, but he looked completely drained. The three of them simultaneously turned to the garbage-bag man. Zhang Wenda’s wariness, which had just begun to subside, flared up again.

“How could this happen? Did I get it wrong? It works when I eat it.” The garbage-bag man didn’t seem to notice the tense atmosphere and immediately went back to searching for more mushrooms.

Zhang Wenda looked at Hu Maomao and asked in his head, ‘Is this guy really not just messing with me?’

Hu Maomao immediately replied, “He doesn’t mean you any harm. He seems to genuinely believe that stuff can lead to another world.”

Then, she seemed to see something else. Her expression turned very strange, and she added, “Wait. It seems this guy really is crazy.”