Chapter 280: The Magical Warehouse
"Looking for the Dao in the warehouse...?" The two of them stared at me in bewilderment.
"That's right, that's right..." I turned back, opened the iron door, and stepped inside. "Right now, there's a 'Dao' hidden in this room. As long as you can find it within... uh... five minutes, this 'Dao' belongs to you!"
"Oh...?" The beautiful sister stroked her chin and pondered for a moment, then said, "Little mouse... are you sure this is okay? This 'rule' sounds like you just made it up on the spot."
"Wh-What do you mean 'made it up'...?"
This sister is really smart!
"Th-This rule... my 'trial' has always been like this from the very beginning..."
"Alright, alright..." The beautiful sister smiled and nodded. "This is quite a rare sight today—meeting a 'Zodiac' like this."
She turned back to ask the extraordinarily beautiful sister: "Xiaoyao, what do you think?"
"We're just here to find a strategy, so what the 'Zodiac' looks like doesn't matter to us," said the sister called Xiaoyao. "Little mouse, how do you collect the admission fee?"
"Ah... admission..." I suddenly remembered Uncle Tiger telling me that every game has an "admission fee." "My... my 'trial' requires two coins."
"Two coins?" Sister Xiaoyao asked doubtfully.
"Two 'Dao'!" I corrected myself.
"Two 'Dao' still doesn't seem right..." the other beautiful sister said. "We give you two 'Dao,' but your game can only yield one 'Dao' in return. Who would participate in that? So, little mouse, are you really sure you're okay?"
Oh no, I think I messed up.
"I... I meant the two of you together need two 'Dao'... Actually, each person only needs one 'Dao,' you see..."
"That's still not right..." Sister Xiaoyao frowned. "Then we'd still have no gain, wouldn't we?"
"Pfft..." The beautiful sister covered her mouth and chuckled. "What's this all about? Why are you, a little kid, so adorable?"
Oh no, oh no... I really messed up big time.
Sister Xiaoyao shook her head and said to the beautiful sister, "Ruoxue, do you think it's necessary to play this game? Isn't this just a waste of time?"
"But don't you think it's interesting? One 'Dao' in exchange for one 'Dao'... This kid designed such a peculiar game," said the sister named Ruoxue. "Don't you want to give it a try?"
"You call it 'peculiar'?" Sister Xiaoyao thought for a moment. "Is the 'Dao' in her warehouse really that hard to find?"
"I don't know, but I think it's interesting. I have to see for myself." Sister Ruoxue took out a 'Dao' from her pocket. "Here you go, little mouse. You've made your first sale today."
"Ah! Thank you, sister!" I felt especially happy as I took the 'Dao.' I've earned a 'Dao' for Brother White Goat!
"Oh, come on..." Sister Ruoxue was amused again. "What do you mean 'thank you, sister'? Do you even know what identity you have right now?"
"Ah, I... I mean, the admission fee has been received, and the trial can begin now!" I turned back and opened the iron door. "Time limit is five minutes. I'll count to three hundred in my head."
"Okay, got it." Sister Ruoxue even came over and patted my head.
I'm the referee here!
After I closed the iron door, I started counting in my head, since I didn't even have a watch.
When I counted to about one hundred fifty, I heard Sister Ruoxue knocking things over inside.
She seemed to be searching very hard, and I felt a little reluctant to deceive her.
Just then, Sister Xiaoyao spoke up: "Little mouse... how long have you been a 'Zodiac'?"
"Ah, me... this is my first day."
"The first day?!" Sister Xiaoyao was startled, then fell into thought for a moment. "So that means this game really was just designed on the spot... right?"
"Ah... yes." I nodded. "Sister, you..."
"Stop calling me 'sister'..." A hint of sadness flickered in Sister Xiaoyao's eyes. I couldn't tell what she was thinking about.
I was a little afraid to speak. Everything I did seemed to be wrong.
"Don't forget to keep counting," Sister Xiaoyao reminded me. "You haven't lost count, have you?"
"Uh..."
Finally, I finished counting three hundred times. I turned back and opened the door.
Sister Ruoxue had indeed turned the warehouse into a complete mess.
"What's going on? Is there really a 'Dao' in here?" Sister Ruoxue let down her tied-up hair, looking a bit tired. "It's so small and stuffy in there, I almost died from the heat."
"Oh...?" Sister Xiaoyao hesitated. "No way, Ruoxue... even you couldn't find it?"
"Haha." Sister Ruoxue laughed. "I didn't use my 'Echo.' I just wanted to see what kind of game this kid designed."
"Then... then Sister, you might have failed the trial," I said. "You... you should come out first. I need to tidy up in there..."
Sister Ruoxue looked at the completely chaotic warehouse and said apologetically, "Little mouse, do you clean this place up yourself every time?"
"Ah... I suppose so..." I nodded.
"With your small build, wouldn't it take you a whole day to clean up the warehouse?"
"Don't ask anymore," Sister Xiaoyao said. "This kid is on her first day as a 'Zodiac,' and you've already made a mess of things."
"What?" Sister Ruoxue exclaimed. "First day..."
She thought for a moment, then walked over and grabbed my hand.
"Ah?" I was startled. "What are you doing?"
"Don't move," Sister Ruoxue said. "Little mouse, listen carefully. This might be a magical warehouse."
"A magical warehouse...?"
"Don't talk," Sister Ruoxue interrupted me and continued. "I used to dream of having a magical room all the time. No matter how messy it got, whenever a friend came over, it would automatically be cleaned up spotlessly."
I didn't quite understand what Sister Ruoxue meant.
"So you need to understand the logical relationship here..." I saw a bead of sweat trickle down Sister Ruoxue's forehead—what she was saying seemed hard for her to articulate. "Little mouse... if someone comes to find you... then the warehouse will be cleaned up spotlessly... Understand?"
"I understand... I definitely won't let it stay this messy forever..."
"Good." After hearing this, Sister Ruoxue nodded, then let go of my hand.
She still looked very tired, then waved her hand and said, "Xiaoyao, give it a try."
Sister Xiaoyao looked at her with some confusion. "Ruoxue... I don't understand what you're doing?"
"I'm just helping this kid," Sister Ruoxue said. "What's wrong with that?"
Sister Xiaoyao squinted. "To me, you're not helping this kid... We're both 'participants,' and yet you're helping a 'Zodiac'..."
"Hmm..." Sister Ruoxue thought for a moment and said, "Whatever. Even if she is a 'Zodiac,' in my eyes she's just a kid. Isn't that what you like about me?"
After hearing this, Sister Xiaoyao paused, then reached out and opened the warehouse door. I peeked inside with her.
It had actually been tidied up completely. All the scattered items had been put back on the shelves.