Happy Supermarket, Level Completed

A pure white space, boundless and limitless.

Shi Mo stood in that extreme whiteness, feeling the subtle changes brought about by the upgrade of 'telepathic communication' from level B to level A—the communication distance was longer, more targets could be connected, information transmission was clearer, the number of rules for judgment increased to two, and the accuracy rate also increased to 90%.

"Host, I still don't quite understand." The system's electronic voice sounded puzzled. "You could have wished for a new ability, such as a stronger attack skill or a life-saving item. Why did you choose to upgrade this support skill again?"

"Troublesome," Shi Mo said succinctly.

【what? 】

"New abilities require familiarization and practice. Most low-level skills," he recalled the few pieces of junk he'd looted from the supermarket, "are worthless. This one," he was referring to 'telepathy,' "is at least easy to use, and the judgment rules are somewhat useful."

[...] The system was speechless. This reason was so simple, crude, and irrefutable.

Okay, whatever makes you happy.

With the wish fulfilled, the Pure White Gate reappeared.

Shi Mo had no regrets and took a step forward.

The shift in space brought a momentary sense of weightlessness, and the next second, his firm feet landed on the soft carpet. Familiar air, belonging to Bai Xu Villa, filled his nostrils with a faint, cool fragrance.

He is back.

However, as soon as he looked up, he almost bumped into someone.

Bai Xu seemed to be walking from the direction of the living room, preparing to go upstairs. The two unexpectedly met in the spacious entrance hall.

Shi Mo is 188 cm tall, and Bai Xu is 183 cm tall. The five-centimeter height difference becomes obvious at such a close distance. The two are almost face to face, and can clearly see themselves reflected in each other's eyes.

Shi Mo's heterochromatic eyes, one of molten gold and the other of blood red, remained calm and undisturbed.

A clear look of astonishment flashed across Bai Xu's deep, rule-abiding eyes.

Clearly, Bai Xu hadn't expected to encounter Shi Mo, who had just returned from the dungeon, here in this way.

Logically, the candidates should return to the location they were at before entering the instance, but Shi Mo's situation clearly cannot be judged by common sense? Or is there something special about the villa itself?

A moment of silence.

Bai Xu was the first to react, taking half a step back to create a polite and safe distance, and coughing lightly twice to cover up the embarrassment of that moment.

"...You're back?"

"Mm," Shi Mo replied.

Bai Xu looked at him. Shi Mo was still wearing the casual clothes he wore before entering the dungeon. They were clean and tidy, and he looked lazy. There was no sign of injury, fatigue, or shock.

This was completely different from the situation his subordinates reported regarding the "Happy Supermarket" instance, which, although low-level, had bizarre rules and a low survival rate. Especially since... he had just learned about Shi Mo's "feats" in the instance through special channels.

He carefully chose his tone, trying to speak calmly: "Just now... we detected the end of the F-level 'Happy Supermarket' instance, with six survivors. Based on some leaked information fragments," he paused, "your... handling of things inside was quite unique."

Shi Mo raised an eyebrow, waiting for him to continue.

"Using forceful methods to 'verify' product issues pointed out by customers," Bai Xu's tone carried a hint of inquiry, "did we discover some clues or loopholes in the rules that we hadn't grasped before? For example, are some customer accusations actually a form of reverse suggestion? Or is the definition of 'service' broader than we understand it?"

This was the most reasonable explanation Bai Xu could think of. Shi Mo's actions seemed crazy, but the result was clearing the level without taking any damage. This must be based on some kind of profound insight into the rules.

Shi Mo looked at him, his heterochromatic pupils revealing no glint of arrogance or hidden wisdom, only a pure, almost bored, composure.

"No," he answered crisply.

Bai Xu: "...?"

"There weren't any clues, and no loopholes were found," Shi Mo added, his tone as calm as if he were simply stating that the weather was nice today. "I just thought it would be faster that way."

Bai Xu: "...Relatively fast?"

"Hmm." Shi Mo nodded. "Dealing with them is too boring. It's more efficient to directly 'solve' the root of the problem."

Bai Xu's expression froze instantly. His green eyes, which always seemed to see through the rules and understand the essence of things, now clearly reflected Shi Mo's expressionless face, which was uttering shocking words.

Just because...you're bored? Or you feel you're not being efficient?

So you're using smashing oil bottles to "serve" customers?! And you actually succeeded?!

Bai Xu felt his lips twitch uncontrollably, and he struggled to maintain his composure.

He took a deep breath, trying to understand this way of thinking: "...Do you know how dangerous that is? If the rules determine that you've attacked a customer, you could be eliminated instantly?"

"Oh." Shi Mo's reaction was indifferent. "It didn't erase it."

Bai Xu: "..."

He couldn't respond to that! This was gamble with his life! No, it wasn't even a gamble; it was utter madness!

Looking at Shi Mo's matter-of-fact attitude, as if he didn't think there was anything wrong with his behavior, he suddenly felt that all the previous speculations about him being a "hidden master" or a "rule observer" seemed so ridiculous.

This guy is a walking, uncontrollable time bomb! His behavior is entirely based on his own preferences and efficiency, and he doesn't care about rules or dangers at all!

"...Next time, perhaps we can take a more...safe approach." Bai Xu could only manage to utter this dryly in the end. He knew that these words would probably have no effect on Shi Mo.

"Hmm, depends on my mood." Shi Mo didn't take it seriously at all. He walked past Bai Xu and headed straight for the stairs, seemingly intending to go back to his room.

Bai Xu watched his retreating figure, rubbed his temples, and felt even more exhausted than dealing with an A-rank dungeon. He began to seriously doubt whether recruiting this guy into the Seventh Sequence was the right decision.

"By the way," Shi Mo stopped on the stairs, turned to look at Bai Xu, his heterochromatic eyes appearing somewhat eerie in the indoor light, "when will you be able to use that technology that allows you to enter dungeons early again?"

Bai Xu: "...It takes time to prepare and find a suitable target instance." He was now a little hesitant to let this guy into the instance easily; who knew what kind of trouble he might cause.

"As soon as possible." Shi Mo said these two words and turned to go upstairs.

Bai Xu stood alone in the entrance hall, silent for a long time.

He began to seriously consider whether he should add more layers of security measures to his villa.

At the very least, it should be able to withstand... an attack from an oil bottle?