A moment later.
Stelle's face carried a trace of undisguisable relief.
The irritability and depression from just a moment ago seemed to have never existed; it felt as if all the negative emotions in her heart had completely vanished along with them.
As the pressure dissipated, Stelle's intelligence came back online.
If this restroom wasn't some twisted prank designed by the shop owner of the original world, then the problem must lie with this bizarre world itself.
With that thought, Stelle stopped dwelling on it, pushed open the door of the shop beside her, and decided to pick two more shops to investigate.
But as soon as the door opened, she was completely dumbfounded.
"Where is this?"
Although the street before her looked similar, this was definitely not the place from just a moment ago.
Simply because the trash can she had thoroughly investigated earlier was no longer by the entrance.
Either the trash can had eloped while she was using the restroom, or she herself had been "kidnapped" to another location.
Stelle walked out of the shop and took a closer look.
Sure enough, it seemed she had walked out of a different shop on some other street.
To verify this guess, she went to the door of the shop she had just exited and pushed it open again.
The restroom that had existed a second ago was now gone, replaced by a strange little room.
Stelle thought thoughtfully, "Are we opening blind boxes?"
After trying a few more times, Stelle finally pushed open a shop door that looked normal.
But when she walked into the shop and saw the scene on the shelves, her expectations instantly fell through.
The shelves in this shop were almost completely empty, with only a few dusty, empty bottles sitting lonely in the corner.
The dream of achieving a "zero-dollar purchase" here was shattered.
Stelle sighed helplessly and turned to walk out of the shop, her heart filled with disappointment—this bizarre world wouldn't even satisfy her smallest expectations.
"What is meant to be yours will come; what is not, do not force."
After experiencing the disappointment of the trash can, Stelle's Dao heart became even firmer this time.
She didn't mope or complain for long like before, but quickly accepted the fact.
She immediately cast aside these messy thoughts and didn't plan to continue opening blind boxes.
After all, the randomness was too high; if she kept at it and ended up getting herself lost, it wouldn't be worth the gain.
"Wait, it seems I'm already lost now?"
Stelle scratched her head, her face full of confusion, suddenly unsure which way to go.
Drip.
"Hmm?"
Stelle subconsciously looked up. The sky still had only that eerie full moon hanging alone, and nothing else.
"Is it gradually synchronizing with reality? Is it about to rain? But there isn't even a trace of dark clouds in the sky?"
However, this didn't matter right now; Stelle didn't pay much attention to it and continued to wander aimlessly.
Just then, she heard a faint sound again—no, this time the noise was very close, so close it felt like it was right beside her.
Stelle immediately perked up.
Judging by the sound, it didn't seem like a noise made by an object, so it must have been made by a living thing.
"Is someone talking?"
However, even so, in this bizarre world, one could not let their guard down.
Following that, Stelle followed the direction of the sound and cautiously crept forward step by step along the street.
As the distance closed, the voice became more distinct; it seemed to be a man's voice.
"Where on earth is this?"
"Not sure. This place is almost exactly the same as Muyun City, but there is no exit."
"We wouldn't be trapped here forever, would we?"
The voices of two men and one woman came from ahead. Stelle didn't lower her guard because of this and quickly arrived at a corner.
She cautiously peeked out, her gaze quickly sweeping across the area in front of her, immediately locking onto the figures of the three people.
...
...
In the real world.
The torrential rain continued to fall without stopping, the raindrops pattering against the ground and splashing up droplets of water.
The time had now reached the normal hour of darkness, and the sky was pitch black.
The pedestrians on the street were still endless; they held up colorful umbrellas and hurried through the rain, like fish weaving through the water.
The surrounding restaurants were incredibly bustling, with bright lights spilling through the windows into the rain, attracting passing pedestrians.
The restaurants were full of guests, eating and chatting, creating a lively atmosphere.
On such a bustling and prosperous street, a cold, elegant figure stood out, completely at odds with the surrounding noise.
Acheron held a red Oil-paper umbrella, standing coldly at the edge of the street, exuding an "idle people do not disturb" aura.
She was like the negative space in an ink wash painting, creating her own world amidst the bustling smoke and fire of humanity; no matter how the rain flew or the crowds surged, nothing could shake her in the slightest.
Acheron's purple eyes were as quiet as deep pools. She lifted her eyes slightly, her gaze quietly sweeping over the lively crowd.
Her brows furrowed imperceptibly, thoughts swirling in her mind—clearly, she had been waiting here for quite some time.
Just then, another equally beautiful figure holding a light purple umbrella slowly walked to Acheron's side.
Acheron swept a faint glance at the newcomer and immediately recognized her.
"Sorry for being a little late." A soft voice suddenly spoke up, carrying a trace of apology.
Acheron shook her head. "It is fine."
Seeing this, Robin gave a light, apologetic laugh.
"The streets are incredibly lively on the eve of New Year's Eve; the bad news is that the roads are congested and hard to travel, but the good news is that it's easy to blend into the crowd and not be exposed."
As she spoke, Robin showed off her oversized trench coat and raised a hand to adjust the baseball cap on her head, a sly smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.
She gently unzipped her trench coat; hidden beneath the simple outer garment was a gorgeous evening gown.
Acheron nodded slightly, her face devoid of any extra expression, her purple eyes remaining calm and waveless.
Robin didn't mind and asked curiously, "Besides me, is there anyone else who hasn't arrived yet?"
"Yes."
Acheron's voice was cold and concise, her purple eyes still calmly gazing into the distant rain and mist, offering no further explanation.
Hearing this, Robin didn't ask further; she just nodded lightly, shifted her light purple umbrella a bit closer to Acheron, and waited quietly with her.
About a quarter of an hour passed; Acheron's willow-leaf brows furrowed slightly, her eyes shifting as if she had guessed something.
Robin, who was beside her, also sensed that the atmosphere was wrong and asked,
"You didn't forget to send a location or anything, right?"
Acheron shook her head, then took out her phone and proactively dialed Mo Xi's number.
But the result was that it couldn't connect; the cold, mechanical female voice sounded particularly grating in the rain.
"Has something happened?" Robin's voice carried a trace of worry.
"She was likely just accidentally dragged into it."
Hearing this, Robin immediately looked puzzled.
She had taken the initiative to contact Acheron today because the uneasy premonition in her heart had grown increasingly strong.
Especially this afternoon, the "melody" of the entire Muyun City had fallen into complete chaos for some unknown reason, with invisible fluctuations spreading wantonly throughout the city.
She could feel that this city was undergoing some kind of terrible change, and Acheron seemed to know some clues about it.
It was precisely for this reason that she proposed meeting with Acheron, hoping to find a way to resolve this crisis.
But she hadn't expected that now, before everyone had arrived, such terrible news would come.
Robin was just about to ask when a lazy voice came from the shadows first.
"Yo, everyone's gathered, right? Then you wouldn't mind adding me to the mix, would you?"