Cyshhz 58

The clown cat hadn’t appeared, probably because it realized it couldn’t deal with Gu Zhan and the others and thus didn’t want to embarrass itself.

But it definitely wouldn’t let them off so easily, which was why it sent the puppets to cause them trouble.

The clown cat couldn’t harm Gu Zhan and the others, but that didn’t mean the puppets couldn’t.

Their attitude was very firm, demanding everyone in the room go out.

When something happens in the dungeon, it often means danger, but it also means opportunity. Staying in the room wouldn’t lead to any results or answers.

Gu Zhan sat up: "Let’s go take a look."

Three puppets came to the door, and when they saw Gu Zhan approach, they started gesturing at him.

"Work, go."

Yu Yezhou had already been communicating with them for a while and directly said, "They said to go with them to work."

"..." Gu Zhan hadn’t yet experienced this new feeling and waved his hand to signal Yu Yezhou to follow.

The puppets led them through the factory, which had many workshops, some looking strange, others normal, and some even had windows through which they could see what was happening inside—one by one, the already-formed puppets lay on large machines, moving along the assembly line to the next stage.

Seeing that the small town also had identical puppets made them feel even more uncomfortable about the puppet manufacturing factory.

They walked around the factory and headed to the next workshop.

As soon as they opened the door, a strong scent of wood wafted in.

The factory was spacious, but there were very few people inside. On one side, there were piles of uncolored fabric, while on the other side, there were some complex-looking machines that served no obvious purpose.

The puppet said, “You all have to produce five hundred pieces a day... salary, accommodation.”

Yu Yezhou asked, “So we have to make five hundred pieces a day to cover our accommodation and meals?”

The puppet nodded.

The group exchanged glances, surprised that it really was a job.

Yu Yezhou asked, “So what should we do?”

The puppet stepped forward to demonstrate for them.

It was actually just about screwing bolts—taking hot bolts that had just been pulled from another workshop and pressing them into a mold.

During the pressing process, they needed to hit it with a hammer to shape it.

It looked very simple, but it seemed quite labor-intensive.

After the puppet demonstrated, it asked, “Have you learned it?”

The group hesitated. In this situation, should they say they understood or that they didn’t?

Yu Yezhou tentatively replied, “I get it… So, do we start working now?”

The puppet said, “Come back at five o'clock to collect the pieces.”

After saying that, it left with its companions.

In the factory, Yang Lin couldn’t believe it: “So, we really have to screw bolts now?”

Yu Yezhou said, “Let’s give it a try.”

“Alright.” Yang Lin knew her current state wasn't suitable for thinking, so she decided to go along with Yu Yezhou.

They started working.

To their surprise, this “work” was literally as simple as it sounded.

Nothing strange happened, nor did anyone show up to stop them.

The only problem was that the quota set by the puppets was too high. Even after working tirelessly for the entire morning, the four of them only managed to complete two hundred pieces.

At this rate, they might not finish the task by the afternoon.

Their original plan to walk around and explore had to be abandoned.

Thus, they hurriedly worked and finally managed to complete all the pieces just before the end of the afternoon shift.

At five o five, two puppets came over to check the quality.

These puppets had identical facial features, and their attire only differentiated their genders. They rarely spoke, and when they did, it was only a word or two, making it seem like they were not accustomed to using human language.

While checking the quality, Yu Yezhou was quite nervous. Unexpectedly, the puppets raised no objections and approved everything.

Before leaving, they informed them that the cafeteria would serve dinner from six to eight, allowing them to eat on their own.

After the puppets left, Yu Yezhou stood at the factory door and asked, “What should we do now? Should we wander around or go eat?”

Yang Lin admitted, “I’m hungry.”

Xuyu said, “We don’t know much about this place, so let’s eat and take a look along the way.”

“Sounds good.” Yu Yezhou agreed with the suggestion.

This factory was large, and it took them more than ten minutes to walk from where they were to the cafeteria.

On the way, they saw trucks coming in from outside, seemingly transporting something.

Xuyu looked over for a moment and said, “Are these puppets... going back to the small town?”

Yu Yezhou replied, “That should be the case.”

Xuyu continued, “Then can’t we just follow these trucks back?”

This provided Yu Yezhou with a new perspective.

Oh right, they could follow these trucks back.

When they were playing the role of “children,” they hadn’t explored most places in the town.

There were definitely many clues they hadn’t discovered yet.

He hadn’t thought too much about it when they finally arrived at the cafeteria.

Two puppets stood at the entrance, asking for their identities. The group stepped forward to answer the questions, interrupting Yu Yezhou’s train of thought.

They weren’t troubled; after clarifying their job roles, they were quickly let in.

However, the cafeteria was not as bustling with people as they had expected… there was no one inside.

Yu Yezhou suddenly realized and slapped his thigh: “Wait a minute! This place is filled with puppets; they don’t eat, do they? Who is this cafeteria for?”

The group immediately felt a chill run down their spines.

Yu Yezhou said, “Now that we’re here, let’s take a look!”

They dispersed to start observing the cafeteria.

The cafeteria was well-equipped with all sorts of facilities, clearly designed for a large factory, with over a dozen serving windows. However, none of these windows were in operation, and there was no one inside.

The counter was empty except for a table with four servings of food.

As Yu Yezhou walked, he said, “There are traces of a menu hanging here. Look, stir-fried peppers with potatoes… chicken stew with mushrooms… Hmm, is this number a price?”

Gu Zhan walked over to take a closer look; the characters behind the numbers were blurred and unreadable.

The currency system in the small town might be different from the outside world; it could be their own currency unit.

“If there are prices, that means people really used to come and eat… at least they did before.” Yu Yezhou glanced at the empty serving windows. “Why has it turned into this now?”

Yang Lin had already sat down at a table: “Maybe the town used to be normal, but for some reason, the townsfolk disappeared, and the puppets took over everything.”

She said this casually, but after hearing it, Yu Yezhou suddenly paused.

A flash of insight seemed to cross his mind, and he widened his eyes: “Yes, maybe the town was normal before; it just changed recently.”

He turned to look at the traces of the menu on the wall, judging by these traces, “It can’t be more than six months ago.”

“Hmm?” Everyone was surprised.

Yu Yezhou said, “It would be great if we could take a look in the small town.”

Gu Zhan said, “There was a truck just now; it probably went to the small town.”

“Should we hide in the truck?” Yu Yezhou thought for a moment and found it feasible.

Gu Zhan said, “Before we go out, should we meet that cat first?”

“……” Yu Yezhou fell silent again.

After a moment, he asked, “Why do we need to see that cat?”

“It probably won't let us leave so easily,” Gu Zhan replied. “Also, I want to see how it is doing after the label change.”

His intuition told him that the identity of the clown cat wasn’t that simple; it was likely a key element of the entire scenario.

Yu Yezhou said, “We can go see it, but... what reason should we give?”

Gu Zhan thought for a moment and said, “To change job roles.”

Yu Yezhou paused, then said, “That works. Let’s find it first; we can figure out how to change after.”

After lunch, there was a break, and they decided to look for the clown cat during that time.

The clown cat was located in the most distinctive building in the center, making it quite conspicuous and easy to find.

They walked over without any hindrance.

The large door was wide open, and as they walked in, it was the same place where they had been sent after getting out of the car. It was empty and spacious, with nothing inside.

“Hey! Is anyone there?” Yang Lin shouted, but the only response was the echo in the large room.

There were stairs nearby, and Yu Yezhou suggested, “Shall we go up and take a look?”

“Let’s go,” Yu Yezhou agreed.

The clown cat must have known they were here; its absence indicated that it simply didn't want to see them.

This also implied that their current actions had been tacitly approved.

They climbed the stairs, and the second floor had very few rooms, just a hallway leading to the innermost part—there was an open door there, revealing an empty room inside.

“Where’s the cat?”

Gu Zhan walked to the door and peered inside; this was the office of the clown cat that they had seen in the inner world.

In the center was a desk, surrounded by bookshelves filled with various disordered books.

The walls had deep cracks, appearing to stretch from the bottom up… In the corner, a small bookshelf had collapsed, with books scattered everywhere.

“What is this…” Yu Yezhou followed him inside, looking at the cracks in surprise. “An earthquake?”

Gu Zhan examined one of the cracks closely; it didn’t seem to be caused by an earthquake. Furthermore, a cold aura emanated from deep within the crack.

He murmured, “It might be that modifying the clown cat’s label caused the world to shake, leading to these cracks.”

Yu Yezhou replied, “Such power… If we modify it again, can’t we just break this world and get out from here? Is there any other entrance to the world you entered?”

Gu Zhan shook his head. “It was its game that brought us in; it has been avoiding us, probably to prevent us from finding an exit… Also, destroying this place might not guarantee we can leave the scenario.”

He paused slightly and said, “Let’s go to the town and take a look.”

“Fine.” Yu Yezhou understood well that if a group of fish lived in a glass bottle, breaking the bottle before figuring out the truth could potentially endanger them all.

They left the clown cat's office to find a way to get to the town.

About twenty minutes later, Yang Lin returned, announcing, “I found a way to get to the town... I bribed two puppets who were planning to deliver goods to the town and swapped our jobs. They seemed to think going to the town was a tough task, and they agreed without hesitation when I casually mentioned it.”

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