After the vending machine treated him, Qin Nuo went to bed early.

Pinocchio said the punishment would be announced tomorrow, and based on speculation, it would definitely be related to tomorrow's work.

No matter what, it wouldn't be easy for him!

With the worst in mind, Qin Nuo fell asleep.

The next morning.

The alarm clock doll's terrifying scream woke Qin Nuo.

As soon as he got up, he noticed Liu Jiaqi was already awake. Qin Nuo saw she looked a bit off: "Didn't you sleep last night?"

"Not well, I had a nightmare... I dreamt you wouldn't come back today, and I'd be left alone in the dorm." Liu Jiaqi hugged her knees and said.

It's not that she had feelings for Qin Nuo.

In this terrifying world with no one to rely on, Qin Nuo had become her only support, her mental pillar.

"You must have had insomnia too, right? After all, Pinocchio is going to punish you today," Liu Jiaqi said.

It's like the last night of a death row inmate; who could sleep?

"Nope, I slept quite well." Qin Nuo stretched lazily.

"......"

At that moment, there was a sudden knock on the door.

Qin Nuo got up to open it, but there was no one outside. Looking down, he saw it was Pinocchio.

"Let's go."

"Where to?"

"You just need to follow me," Pinocchio said directly, turning to leave.

Liu Jiaqi hesitated in the back, wanting to say something but stopping herself.

Qin Nuo nodded at her, said nothing more, and followed.

He was also quite anxious.

The incident yesterday was indeed big, but the main conflict wasn't on him.

Qin Nuo realized then.

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They just needed a scapegoat.

And besides him, a humble human, there seemed to be no one else.

Following Pinocchio, they soon arrived at a back kitchen room.

Pinocchio handed a piece of paper to Qin Nuo.

Qin Nuo took it, opened the note, and saw only an address and something called "Ingredient No. 8."

What does this mean?

Qin Nuo was puzzled.

"This is your punishment, and also your job for today."

"Next, you need to leave the restaurant, find the supermarket at the address, and bring back Ingredient No. 8 to the restaurant."

"By doing so, you can make amends and receive a considerable reward," Pinocchio said.

Buying ingredients!

Qin Nuo looked up and asked, "I go alone?"

"You go alone!" Pinocchio nodded his wooden head.

Qin Nuo suddenly sneered, "Honestly, how dangerous is this?"

"Among the previous employees who made the restaurant lose money, all had to buy ingredients to make up for the loss."

"You are the 55th; of the 54 before you, 5 came back alive."

A survival rate of less than ten percent!

"What happens if I refuse?"

"Immediate execution," Pinocchio said.

"I advise you to choose the latter. With the little ghost power you have, you have no chance of survival if you resist."

"Following our restaurant's rules gives you at least a hope of returning alive!"

"Ingredient No. 8 is very important to us."

"It's an essential ingredient for the menu of a distinguished guest on the second floor!"

"If you bring it back, your employment term will end early, and you can even get a position above supervisor, receiving the restaurant's protection."

This reward was very tempting!

But the more tempting it was, the more it indicated how dangerous and difficult it was!

"What else can I do but agree with both hands and feet?" Qin Nuo shrugged.

Disagreeing meant dying now.

Agreeing felt like a slow death!

Bang!!

Just as he finished speaking, the door was opened.

It wasn't yet time for business, and outside was a gray haze, with a biting cold wind rushing in.

"Set off."

Holding the note, Qin Nuo said, "It says I can take a bus to the destination. The bus fare isn't reimbursed by the restaurant?"

Pinocchio didn't answer.

"Alright, I have to cover the fare myself."

Wrapped in a thin shirt, Qin Nuo stepped out the restaurant's back door.

As soon as he stepped out, the door shut instantly.

Qin Nuo looked up at the gray sky.

Come to think of it, he hadn't seen what the Horror World looked like with his own eyes, had he?

It was still early, and since he exited through the back door, Qin Nuo didn't attract much attention from the ghosts.

But to be safe, Qin Nuo put on the killer's raincoat in a lane.

The human scent was concealed, turning him into one of the ghosts in the Horror World.

Leaving the restaurant as a human would be like a rat crossing the street; he might not even make it to the bus before being done for.

The killer's raincoat was Qin Nuo's greatest protection!

Out of the lane and onto the road, Qin Nuo finally saw the face of this so-called Horror World.

Skyscrapers, not unlike the human world.

Except, the streets and roads were desolate, littered with wrecked cars, and piles of decaying flesh and meat emitted a foul stench.

Numerous crows and vultures circled the sky, and many were on the roadside, tearing and pecking at the rotten corpses.

A scene straight out of an apocalyptic world.

Walking along the roadside, Qin Nuo saw indistinct black shadows and zombie-like ghosts approaching.

They looked at Qin Nuo with a certain curiosity but, smelling the foul ghost aura on him, averted their gaze and moved on.

"If not for this outfit, I'd have been torn apart by now," Qin Nuo thought to himself.

Following the road signs, Qin Nuo found the bus stop to his destination.

He sat on a bench, and next to him, an old man seemed to be waiting for the bus too.

The old man leaned on a cane, dozing off.

From the outside, Qin Nuo couldn't find a trace of ghostly features on the old man.

But he knew very well that this old man was definitely not human!

He just hadn't noticed it.

Perhaps, like that little girl, he was a half-ghost too.

Speaking of the little girl, Qin Nuo thought of asking her for help.

But looking at the address she left, goodness, it would take over twenty bus stops, seven more than his current destination, quite far.

To avoid exposure, Qin Nuo didn't chat with the seemingly normal old man.

Soon, a woman with a child arrived, holding a baby and a bag of groceries.

The baby's skin was gray, playing with a human head, giggling.

The woman's bag of groceries contained chopped limbs, one finger still wearing a ring.

Qin Nuo suddenly realized.

The Horror World might not be so different from the human world.

Ghosts had their own lives, their own jobs.

The difference was, what was chopped on the cutting board, bought at the market, wasn't poultry or ducks, but humans.

Clang clang.

The bus arrived, number 404, the one Qin Nuo was waiting for.

He quickly got up, and the old man and woman followed suit, getting on the same bus as Qin Nuo.

"Nether Village arrived, passengers please exit from the rear door, next stop is Blood Grudge Cemetery, passengers needing to alight, please prepare!"

The old man and woman got on, putting ghost currency into the fare box.

Qin Nuo calmed himself, followed them, and put the prepared ghost currency into the fare box.

Just as he was about to leave, the ghost driver suddenly called out to Qin Nuo in an eerie voice, "Hold on!!"