Chapter 62: The Beginning of the Tower Trip

[Historical Archive]

[Yi Ji]

[Welcome to the Inner World]

...

The next day, in the Inner World.

Today was the day everyone from Rotten Vegetable Village had agreed to enter the Sun-Swallowing Tower.

Since this was supposed to be a vacation, everyone's outfits had undergone subtle changes.

Yan Jing held a Tour Group Flag that Chen Nian had made over the past few days. Mantou's electric vehicle helmet now sported two little bear stickers, and Chen Nian's mask had changed from white to red.

Except for...

"What's up with the old man now?"

Yan Jing couldn't help but ask as he looked at Old Master Liu, who had completely wrapped himself up in a tattered military overcoat.

Ever since they met up earlier, the normally brisk old man had been acting incredibly sneaky, as if he were hiding from someone.

"He's become the public enemy of Rotten Vegetable Village."

Beneath the mask, Chen Nian's calm tone carried a clear hint of amusement.

"What did he do?"

Yan Jing asked.

"Grandpa... he... made fried rice... for other people... to eat..."

Mantou struggled to speak. "After... they ate it... they became... very weird..."

"Some got diarrhea, some lost their hair, some went into heat, some lost control of their bowels, and some hallucinated that they were environmental management staff trying to catch the ones who lost control of their bowels,"

Chen Nian said flatly.

Seeing Old Liu taken down a peg made him surprisingly talkative. He mocked, "This old guy is currently being hunted by at least thirty or forty people."

...

Having grasped the situation, Yan Jing patted Old Liu on the shoulder and comforted him, "Old Liu, some things require talent. You can't force it."

"It might not have been my fried rice."

Dragging their suitcases, Old Liu tugged his sunglasses down to the bridge of his nose. He peeked around and whispered, "Every time before I gave it to them, I taste-tested it myself. I only handed it out after making sure I was fine."

"I'm telling you, I suspect..."

"Someone is setting me up."

...

Looking at Old Liu's vigilant gaze, Yan Jing finally understood why things had gone wrong.

The old man was as strong as an ox. Just because he felt fine after eating it didn't mean it was safe for the frail, missing-limbed seniors of Rotten Vegetable Village...

Yan Jing silently mourned for Old Zhang, Old Wang, and the others for two minutes.

After all, they were going on a vacation.

The group was in a fairly relaxed mood, chatting and laughing along the way.

Soon, they crossed the street and arrived at the entrance of the Sun-Swallowing Tower.

From a distance, the Sun-Swallowing Tower looked like an ordinary skyscraper. Other than appearing somewhat eerie surrounded by the Unstable Domain, there was nothing particularly special about it.

But upon getting closer, the building's unique design became apparent.

On the outside, the front doors of the Sun-Swallowing Tower resembled a gaping abyssal maw waiting to devour someone.

The teeth were a jagged door curtain, the tongue was a red-spotted carpet, and the dark red padded revolving door in the center was the tonsil.

Next to the revolving door stood two security guards who were two or three meters tall.

They had long legs like thin sticks, bodies shaped like eggs, and signature pouty lips—exactly identical to what Shen Youran had shown on her computer.

"Please show your passes," the security guard on the right said.

Yan Jing handed over the temporary passes that An Ze had issued back then.

The security guard stretched out a slender arm to take them. After inspecting the passes, he handed them to the guard on his left:

"Low-level temporary passes. You take them in."

Low-level?

Yan Jing and his group exchanged glances.

Something felt off.

"Don't be nervous."

As he led Yan Jing and the others into the building, the guard's pouty lips opened and closed:

"Low-level passes have low-level benefits. Many elites from Old Sin City specifically apply for low-level passes to ensure a fully immersive experience."

"Besides, the process isn't as dangerous as you might imagine."

Hearing this, the group exchanged glances again.

Now things felt even more off.

They... hadn't really imagined any danger at all.

Old Liu definitely hadn't, at least. The suitcase he was carrying contained no fewer than five pairs of board shorts and floral shirts.

The guard first led the bewildered group to the first-floor lobby.

Sweeping a glance across the spacious marble-paved front hall, they saw that it was filled with bizarrely shaped inner world residents.

Aside from a few highly mutated residents, most were dressed in sharp suits or elegant gowns and high heels. Even if their appearances were somewhat peculiar, they carried themselves with grace—clearly the so-called "elites."

The lobby's reception desk was split into two separate counters, rather than the continuous straight line used by most hotels. A winding, circular staircase wrapped around the sides and crossed upward to the second floor.

Between the two reception desks ran a broad, vibrant red carpet, leading to a set of golden double doors marked "Main Drawing Room."

That clearly wasn't Yan Jing's destination. The security guard led them around to the side of the circular staircase, where a narrow elevator door sat nestled beneath the steps.

Stepping into the elevator, the guard began his introduction:

"Welcome to the Sun-Swallowing Tower."

"Before the journey officially begins, I will explain the guidelines for this trip."

"This is a fully immersive experiential journey. Therefore, you will have the opportunity to acquire various identities within our Sun-Swallowing Tower, starting from the bottom and achieving the grand goal of reaching the Summit step by step."

"Now, please select your identities."

With that, the guard pulled a few card-like objects from his pocket, handed them to Yan Jing and the others, and gave a brief introduction.

[Prep Cook]: Stable salary, strict work requirements, heavily constrained by superiors.

[Junior Bartender]: Flexible working hours and requirements, the only profession with commission, highly unstable salary.

[Cleaner]: Simple work, quick to learn, heavy workload, low salary.

[Greeter]: Simple work, long hours, cannot leave the post.

[Junior Masseur]: Difficult work, high salary, irregular working hours.

The moment Yan Jing saw the work badges, he had to admit that this experience was indeed a bit too immersive.

Five minutes ago, he thought he was a tourist receiving special treatment. Five minutes later, he was already picking his service job.

The shift was just a bit too fast.

"We need to discuss this,"

Yan Jing said.

"No problem. You have five minutes to consider," the guard said.

"Please rest assured, everyone, that you have come to the Sun-Swallowing Tower strictly as tourists. If you are dissatisfied at any point, you may choose to opt out at any time after experiencing it for a full day."

"Furthermore, as tourists working as temps, you enjoy immunity from customer complaints."

Yan Jing and the others stared at the work badges, exchanging blank looks. None of them expected their vacation to suddenly turn into a corporate survival game.

But, since they were already here...

In truth, they didn't have many choices.

For the three besides Yan Jing, Greeter—a role requiring frequent communication with others—was an immediate pass.

Moreover, none of the three knew how to cook, mix drinks, or give massages, so it seemed the only option left for them was Cleaner.

Soon, Chen Nian and Mantou made up their minds, choosing the Cleaner position.

But a certain old man surnamed Liu made a completely different choice:

"I'll choose Greeter."

Seeing their confused expressions, Old Master Liu covered his mouth and whispered, "We need someone keeping watch outside. We can't all be cooped up in the building."

"But we're here on vacation..."

Chen Nian massaged his forehead in exasperation.

If someone didn't know better, they'd think the old guy was here to blow up the building.

"I think Old Liu has a point."

Just as the two were deadlocked, Yan Jing stepped in and made the final call:

"As newcomers, we really do need to make thorough preparations."

Greeter was actually a decent choice, mostly because they needed to keep the old man contained. For the sake of the Tower's "elites," they couldn't let him run off to cook.

"You're the only one who gets me, Yi Ji, my boy!"

Old Master Liu happily pushed up his sunglasses.

...

Chen Nian sighed heavily and looked at Yan Jing:

"So what are you picking? Prep Cook?"

"Bartender."

Yan Jing had already made his decision.

Aside from chopping vegetables in the back kitchen, bartending was also a part-time job he had held for a long time in his past life.

More importantly, to prepare for entering a Dungeon, he needed a profession that offered ample time and the chance to gather information.

Other than bartending, the remaining jobs clearly didn't meet those criteria.

As for the unstable salary, that was a drawback he could ignore.

"Then it's settled."

Yan Jing informed the guard of their choices, and soon, everyone received their respective work badges.

"The ranks within the Tower range from highest to lowest: A, B, C, D, and E. Your current ranks are all E3. I am also at this level," the guard explained.

"Is E3 the lowest rank?"

Yan Jing asked.

"No," the guard answered. "There's also E5."

"Those servers in the first-floor lobby are at that level."

With that, he finally pressed the button for their floor: the 6th floor.

"If you wish to increase your rank, you'll need to earn points within the Tower."

"In the Sun-Swallowing Tower, points are the most important thing. They cannot be traded or stolen, and they are required for absolutely everything."

"For instance, if you want to upgrade your temporary passes to permanent ones, all you need is 3,000 points."

"Of course, very few people ever manage to do that."

Yan Jing nodded. He had already learned a bit about points through the information provided by Shen Youran.

For a player, points were the most crucial factor for surviving in the Sun-Swallowing Tower.

Taking daily activities as an example, players in the Tower needed to consume food every hour to maintain their Mental Immunity Value.

Other than the fixed meals provided, exchanging points was the safest method to acquire food.

The information noted that a single meal cost five points.

He just didn't know how difficult it would be to earn those five points.

Grumble— Grumble—

Thinking about food made Yan Jing feel a bit hungry, and a stomach loudly growled.

But he quickly realized it wasn't his.

"Did you skip breakfast?"

Chen Nian looked toward Old Liu.

"It wasn't me."

Old Liu immediately denied it. "Although this old man is indeed a bit hungry, I haven't lost control of my stomach just yet."

"Then is it..."

Chen Nian was about to look at Mantou when Yan Jing's voice rang out:

"It's Mr. Security Guard's."

Called out by Yan Jing, the security guard standing by the elevator doors turned around and smiled apologetically:

"Apologies. I didn't eat quite enough this morning."

As he spoke, he stared intently at their necks and arms. His gaze gradually turned a predatory green, and drool dripped from his pouty lips onto his egg-shaped stomach.

The elevator lights overhead seemed to short-circuit, beginning to flicker sporadically.

But in the end, he tightened the belt around his stomach and turned his head back around.

This wasn't entirely due to the incredible self-control he always prided himself on.

A 'small' part of the reason was that the moment his drool fell, four entirely different streams of weird energy suddenly erupted simultaneously within the cramped elevator.

The goofy quartet from moments before was now staring at him—smiling, glaring sharply, or looking eager for a fight. Beneath the flickering, color-shifting lights overhead, their faces fractured into an ominous dance of light and shadow.

It was as if they had instantly become different people.

The prey had become the hunters, and an aura of danger instantly flooded the narrow space.

This sight jolted him wide awake from his hunger.

Standing with his back to Yan Jing and the others, he stared at the elevator doors in terror, cold sweat breaking out across his back.

These four guys were seriously not normal.