I Didn’t Mean to Interfere—The Plot Just Collapsed

From the office drone’s reaction, Su Lai had begun to grasp the situation.

This was no longer the familiar real world.
After his navigation failed, he had most likely entered an extraordinary realm.
Perhaps the world had been “contaminated” the moment Old Lady Chen complimented his flip-flops.

Survival Coins were likely the currency used among players.

Su Lai had read many infinite flow and supernatural novels.
His daily delivery runs were accompanied by podcasts on the occult and true crime.
He quickly accepted his current predicament.

In an extraordinary world of horror, the most important thing was to survive and leave.

The second most important thing was to enjoy it and reap some benefits.
After all, he was already here.

But one thing was strange.
Since he had entered this bizarre world, why hadn’t he heard any system prompts or received any main quest?
‘Was it a system bug, delaying his task assignment?’

This, however, could not be detected by other players.
In worlds like these, players were often in competition.
He couldn’t expose the weakness of not having access to a system interface.

Then again, was he truly a “player”?
A faint suspicion stirred in Su Lai’s mind…

Bai Ke realized his own rashness and hurried to make amends.
“Sorry, Rider… I didn’t mean it…”
He dared not offend a player, let alone an NPC.
Who knew if the other was a top player or a boss?

Rider.
The title made Su Lai smile.
This office drone was definitely a player from the real world.
The scent of corporate drudgery was too strong and authentic for a ghost to mimic.

“Enough chatter.
Get on.”
Su Lai waved at him, asking casually, “What time is it now?
Not much time left, right?”

He actually didn’t know if players had a time limit.
This was a probe for information.

Bai Ke quickly checked the time.
“5:47.
43 minutes left.
Should be enough, right?”

As expected, he took the bait.
So this office drone player’s deadline was 6:30 PM.

Moreover, being asked this question suddenly alleviated most of Bai Ke’s suspicions about Su Lai’s identity.

Having accepted the payment, Su Lai removed the delivery box from his bike.
He gestured for Bai Ke to sit on the rear seat.
“You’ll have to hold the delivery box for me.”

“Sitting here seems a bit cramped…” Bai Ke muttered.
Years of office work had expanded his waistline.
Holding the delivery box was quite an effort.

Su Lai: “You can stand if you prefer.”

Bai Ke didn’t dare say another word.
He obediently sucked in his stomach, hugged the box, and sat down.

The battered little e-bike, now adorned with the ghost cat plushie, set off again.
The overloaded vehicle emitted a continuous buzzing sound.

“Rider, have you found a suitable rental yet?”
Bai Ke asked along the way.
“The rental ad said it can accommodate up to two people.
If you haven’t found a place, we could share.”

He was calculating.
If he could ally with this inscrutable player, they might collaborate more deeply later.

Although Su Lai didn’t fully understand, he shook his head along with the other’s words.
“I’ve been unlucky.
Haven’t found a bulletin board along the way.”

Bai Ke: “I figure, to become a community resident in such a short time, the only way is to rent.”

Su Lai remained silent.
In the quiet, he rapidly analyzed the keywords: rent, become a resident, time limit.
Quickly, he deduced the players’ main quest from Bai Ke’s words: Become a community resident before 6:30 PM.

He pondered for a moment.
In this instance, players had survival needs.
Where there was need, there was opportunity to make money.

His eyelid had been twitching all day.
Perhaps it foretold not misfortune, but a golden opportunity falling from the sky.

After all, a twitching left eye meant wealth.

Perhaps because of the cat plushie hanging on the handlebars, Su Lai didn’t get lost in circles this time.
In less than two minutes, they were on a relatively wider road.
Shops lined both sides, their doors and windows tightly shut.
But within the deathly silence, occasional creaks and thuds sounded.
It was as if someone was secretly pushing or pulling doors and windows to peek.

It seemed all eyes were hidden in the shadows.
Only the two on the little e-bike were exposed in the light.

Bai Ke, on the back seat, felt a chill run down his spine from the stares.
He shivered violently, his arms tightening around the delivery box.
The omnipresent sense of being watched was suffocating.
He wished he could bury his head in the box to escape the indescribable pressure.

Su Lai, however, remained utterly unaffected.
He simply switched to his high beams.
The headlight had been modified, high-wattage, illuminating half the street brilliantly.

‘Since the things hiding in the darkness loved to watch, let them have a good, clear look.’

The furtive sounds of windows being pushed or pulled ceased abruptly.
Su Lai increased his speed, riding boldly through the gaze of the unnatural entities.

Perhaps it was psychological, but after Su Lai’s maneuver, the stifling sense of being watched lessened considerably.
Bai Ke breathed a sigh of relief.

“Rider, you’re something else.
This headlight could blind even ghosts.”
Bai Ke suspected he had latched onto a powerful ally.
The rider’s calm demeanor screamed experienced player.
“By the way, how should I address you?”

Su Lai: “Ah Lai.
The ‘Lai’ in ‘since you’re already here.'”

Bai Ke adjusted his glasses.
He introduced himself in a tone reminiscent of a job interview.
“I’m Bai Ke.
This is my second time entering a contaminated zone.
Still a newbie.
I hope we can look out for each other.”
He already regarded Su Lai as a veteran player.

Su Lai: “Oh.
I’m just a delivery guy.
Can’t look out for much.”

The truer the words, the deeper the misunderstanding.
Bai Ke thought Su Lai was role-playing as an unassuming master.

He was about to say something more.
But before the words could form, they turned into a heartfelt “Holy shit.”

“Holy shit! Lai-ge… is that… a funeral supplies shop over there?”
Bai Ke’s voice grew quieter and quieter.

Following Bai Ke’s pointing finger, a shop at the corner was brightly lit.
The signboard had three large characters pasted on white paper: “Yong’an Hall.”
A white paper lantern hung on each side of the door.
Upright red character for “fortune” were painted on the lanterns.

The scent of incense wafted out.
Unlike the calming scent of sandalwood, this incense from the funeral shop smelled fishy and foul.
It reminded one of a fish stall at a wet market on a summer afternoon.

“Lai-ge, what do we do?
Should we take a detour…”
In contaminated zones, ordinary players tried to avoid unusual occurrences to lower the risk of triggering higher-level contaminants.

“No detour.
Since we’re here.”
Su Lai even twisted the throttle, accelerating towards Yong’an Hall.

What was meant to come couldn’t be avoided.
Since the funeral shop had appeared in their path, it would be rude not to buy something.

“Hey!”
Bai Ke trembled all over, expressing his resistance.
Su Lai glanced at the time and calmly parked his e-bike outside the funeral shop.

“If you’re scared, stuff yourself into the delivery box.
Ghosts don’t steal deliveries.
Only people do.”
Having instructed Bai Ke, Su Lai took his keys and walked towards the brightly lit Yong’an Hall.

Behind the counter was an old man dressed in burial clothes.
Su Lai didn’t rush in.
He knocked three times on the open door.
Only after receiving a “Come in” did he step over the threshold with his left foot.

The old man in burial clothes remained motionless.
He didn’t even raise his eyelids.

“Shopkeeper, I’d like some incense, candles, and spirit money.
Enough for ten kuai worth.”
Su Lai placed the ten kuai he’d just earned from Bai Ke on the counter.

The old man in burial clothes sat shrouded in shadow.
Upon hearing this, he began to move stiffly.
He opened a cabinet, wrapped a stack of spirit money and several bundles of incense and candles in white paper.
As he handed them over, he took the ten kuai from the counter.

Su Lai noticed the old man’s fingers beneath the burial clothes were a lifeless, grayish-white.
They looked like two sections of moldy lotus root.

“Thank you.”
He accepted the items.
“Shopkeeper, could I ask for directions?
How do I get to Lotus Pond Lane, Number 47?”
This was the address from the rental ad.

Only then did the shopkeeper raise his eyelids.
He stared straight at Su Lai with eyes murkier than Old Lady Chen’s.
“What are you going there for?”
“You’re not a tenant, are you?”
When he uttered the word “tenant,” his lips quivered, and his gaze turned sharp.

“I run a delivery service.
Going to deliver something.”
Su Lai shook the bag of incense and spirit money he’d just bought.
“Just helping someone with a purchase, earning some hard labor money.”

“Young people, good stamina, quick minds.
Not bad.”
Only then did the shopkeeper withdraw his gaze.
He hastily drew a map on a piece of spirit money.
“My funeral supplies shop is newly opened, convenient for the neighborhood.
If you make deliveries in the future, help spread the word.
Take care of my business.”

“Certainly.”
Su Lai took the spirit money with the map.
He also wrote his phone number in the shop’s registry book.
“If you have delivery needs, contact me directly.
No platform commission fees.
Guaranteed cheapest delivery price.”

Su Lai left Yong’an Hall with the incense, candles, spirit money, and the map.

Besides obtaining directions to the rental, this shopping trip verified three points of information:

1. The supernatural entities here also accepted human currency, at least the currency he offered.

2. Probably because the system had delayed his login notification, his current identity fell outside the player category.
   He was not affected by the supernatural entities or so-called contaminants.

3. The “original residents” role-played by supernatural entities were not friendly towards “tenants.”

Left alone on the back seat of the e-bike, Bai Ke looked around anxiously.
When he saw Su Lai emerge from Yong’an Hall, his eyes immediately lit up.
“Lai-ge!”

“Ge, what did you do in the funeral shop?
Why did you buy that stuff…?”
Bai Ke asked curiously.

Su Lai placed the bundles of incense and spirit money into the delivery box and immediately started the bike.
“Spend money first, then ask for directions.
Shows more politeness.”

Bai Ke was bewildered.
“Ask for what directions?”

Su Lai: “Directions to the rental house.”

Bai Ke blinked.
“Holy shit?
You said you knew the way earlier.”

“If I hadn’t said that, you wouldn’t have dared to get on my bike.”
Su Lai was already back on the road.

The answer was so matter-of-fact that Bai Ke was momentarily stunned.
Finally, he complained with a hint of grievance.
“Ge, for a mere ten-kuai fare, was it really worth it?”

Su Lai: “Worth it.
Even a mosquito’s leg has meat.”

Of course, it wasn’t just for the ten kuai.
The information about the main quest that Bai Ke provided was the truly valuable part.

Bai Ke: “…”
So the other guy had just been wandering around aimlessly…
But what could he do?
In the end, he could only choose to forgive.

Bai Ke hugged the delivery box resentfully, treating it as if it were the powerful ally’s leg he was clinging to.

With the map hand-drawn by the funeral shop owner, Su Lai’s little e-bike no longer circled the same area.
They drew closer and closer to the address on the rental ad.

After leaving the initial zone, “people” gradually appeared on the streets.
Although their shambling, corpse-like appearances could hardly be called alive, at least there was some sound and movement now.

Su Lai slowed down slightly to avoid hitting the “pedestrians” who suddenly appeared.
Ghosts weren’t afraid of being hit, but now they were outnumbered.
If a real traffic accident dispute occurred, he couldn’t outrun or fight them all.

Just as Su Lai passed through a crossroads, an old woman kneeling on the ground burning spirit money suddenly looked up.
She stared directly at the approaching little e-bike.

To be precise, the old woman was staring at the cat plushie hanging on the handlebars.

Su Lai sensed something amiss.
After a moment’s hesitation, he stopped the bike.

“Hey, Lai-ge, what now…”
Bai Ke’s voice was tinged with despair.

Su Lai: “Showing some concern for the elderly in passing.”

Bai Ke: “?”

Su Lai took a stack of spirit money from the delivery box and tucked it into his jacket.
He walked over to the smoldering brazier.
“Granny, do you recognize this cat plushie?”

The old woman gave a light chuckle but didn’t answer.
Su Lai sprinkled the newly bought spirit money into the brazier.
Whoosh. The dim flames immediately surged upwards.

The newly bought spirit money wasn’t damp.
It burned vigorously and evenly.

The old woman’s burning motion halted.
She turned her head stiffly to look at Su Lai.
Her expression shifted from wariness to puzzlement.

Su Lai even made a gesture of prayer before tossing the entire packet of spirit money into the brazier.
After all, no one disliked being given money.

“A new funeral supplies shop opened a couple of blocks over.
Good prices, good quality.
The shopkeeper asked me to spread the word in the neighborhood.”
Su Lai rationalized his actions.

The old woman finally spoke.
“You work at the funeral shop?”

Su Lai: “No.
I’m just a delivery guy.
Delivering goods for people.”
He pointed at the cat plushie on the handlebars.
“This trip, I took a commission to deliver this.
Granny, do you recognize this plushie?”

The old woman nodded.
“The plushie belongs to Little Four, the only son of the Zhang family.
Little Four always carried it in his arms.
I watched him grow up.
His family lives at 444, Fourteenth Lane.
Can’t be wrong.”

Su Lai: “Where did Little Four go?”

The old woman fell silent for a moment, then shook her head repeatedly.
“Missing for many years now.”
“Back then, his parents plastered missing person posters all over the streets and alleys.
The older folks all know about it.
The village committee still has Little Four’s missing person records.”

Little Four, son of the Zhang family—sounded like a complicated family situation.

Su Lai: “What time does the village committee close?”

Old woman: “I think 6:30.”

6:30.
The same deadline as the players’ main quest.

“Thanks, Granny.”
Su Lai stood up and put his helmet back on.

Old woman: “Who gave you the delivery commission?”

Su Lai smiled.
“Client matters.
I have an obligation to maintain confidentiality.”

With that, Su Lai started his e-bike and accelerated towards Lotus Pond Lane, Number 47.

“Lai-ge, is that cat plushie on the handlebars…”
Bai Ke had overheard the conversation.
He had an unpleasant guess about the plushie’s origin.

Su Lai was concise.
“I picked it up.”

“Ah?
From where…?”
Bai Ke’s gaze towards the cat plushie changed.

Su Lai: “From Little Four.”

The air fell silent for a moment.
Bai Ke uttered a “Holy shit.”

“You mean… Little Four’s ghost?”
He cautiously confirmed.

Su Lai: “Definitely not a living person.”

Bai Ke: “…”
He didn’t dare comment on the expert’s methods.
He forced an awkward laugh.
“Little Four, son of the Zhang family.
Quite ironic.”

Su Lai: “Maybe Zhang’s wife’s surname is Wang.
Little Four took his mother’s surname.”

Bai Ke fell silent, ashamed of his own mind for going to infidelity tropes.

At 6:07 PM, the two on the e-bike arrived at the address on the rental ad.

The self-built house covered in white tiles blended in with its surroundings.
From a distance, they could see lights on in the windows on both floors.

Bai Ke’s first instinct was a bad feeling.
Once the bike stopped, he walked towards the house with the rental ad in hand.
The previously slightly ajar iron gate was pushed open from the inside.
Two figures, one old, one young, stepped out.

The sense of foreboding grew stronger.
Bai Ke stopped, engaging in a brief standoff with the two standing outside the door.

The middle-aged man had a fierce face full of hardened flesh.
A scar ran from his left eyebrow bone down to his right jaw.
He chewed on a toothpick, saying nothing.
The youth’s face was wet, whether with water or sweat was unclear.
His thin face was tense, muscles taut.
His gaze, sharp as a hawk’s, fixed on the newcomer Bai Ke, then shifted past his shoulder to Su Lai, who remained on the bike.

‘—Bad.
Someone got there first!’
In real life, Bai Ke was just an ordinary office drone.
Being stared down by two individuals who exuded a rough, experienced air left him flustered.
He instinctively took a step back, casting a pleading look towards Su Lai.

The youth leaned against the door, adopting a stance that clearly said no one else was getting in.

The middle-aged man tugged at the corner of his mouth.
“You’re too late.
We rented the place at 5:45.”

They didn’t need him to say it; both had guessed the situation.
5:45 PM.
Bai Ke realized he had lost at the starting line.

He had miscalculated one thing.
Finding a rental listing didn’t guarantee he could rent the place.
This world was different from reality.
The supply and demand for rentals were not balanced.
The rental ad likely wasn’t the only one.

Experienced players with resources could use items to obtain rental information and secure the place first.
Once they successfully signed a rental contract, they would complete Survival Task One: Become a resident of Spring Breeze Community.

“Who did you sign the rental contract with?”
Su Lai asked.

Middle-aged man: “A broker.”

A bald NPC poked his head out of a window.
A stiff smile was plastered on his face as he nodded at the two outsiders.
This was the broker he mentioned.

Unwilling to give up, Bai Ke urgently asked the bald broker, “Is it possible to spare one more room… even a partitioned space…”
“I don’t mind the bathroom!
As long as…”
His voice trembled, fighting for his chance to survive.

Bald broker: “Sorry.
We are a legitimate brokerage company.”

“But…!”

Su Lai stared at the bald broker.
“The brokerage fee wasn’t cheap, was it?”

The middle-aged man gave a humorless smile.
“That bit of money to buy a life is worth it.”
“A piece of advice: many monks, little meat.
Moving this slowly to find a house won’t keep you alive.”
He glanced at the time, gloating.
“But saying this now is already too late.”

The implication was clear.
The number of available rentals in the instance did not match the number of players.
Some players were destined not to find a place to rent.

Though resentful, Bai Ke knew lingering was useless.
He gritted his teeth, quickly jumped off the steps, and returned to the bike.
“We can only rush back to the bulletin board to find other rental ads.
Try our luck.
Maybe…”

“Less than twenty minutes left.”
Su Lai reminded him.

“I said maybe!”
Bai Ke suddenly raised his voice.
He felt less confident than anyone.
“…It was you who tricked me into thinking you knew the way… Wasting time sightseeing along the way…”
In a state of extreme anxiety, the only method he could think of was to blame the other, venting his emotions by shifting responsibility.

Deep down, Bai Ke knew he was raging impotently.
There was no way he could have found the rental faster than these two.
He was destined to be a step behind.

Su Lai’s calm expression only infuriated him more.
The other was an expert.
Even if he failed the main quest, he might have life-saving items.
But a mere office drone player like himself had no such capabilities!

Su Lai didn’t get angry.
Instead, he turned to the broker.
“Hey, how do I get to the village committee?
How long?”

The broker pointed towards the other end of the alley.
“Turn out from here.
Two minutes.”

“Get on.”
Su Lai put his helmet back on.
“The staff will be getting off work soon.”

“What are we going to do next…”
Bai Ke, having no other options, forced himself to shake off his despair and follow the expert.

Su Lai: “Go to the village committee.
Sort out the household registration.”

With that, Su Lai twisted the throttle.
They sped through the alley and away.

He glanced in the rearview mirror, leaving a message for the two gloating players.
–”See you later.”