I Will Never Submit to Miss Grim Reaper - Chapter 221

Chapter 221: Tonight, the Moon Doesn’t Close

 

Around 8:30 in the evening, as the customers of the cafe left one by one, the cafe gradually became deserted as usual.

 

“The people here are so friendly!”

 

Unlike me, who was already mentally and physically exhausted, along with Lan Jiajia, Ouyang Xue, Fei Luo, who had been busy all day making milk tea for the second-floor customers, was excited throughout the entire process. It seemed like she had found some new toy, constantly sharing her “insights” of the day with me and Yin Xiamo.

 

“These customers are so non-confrontational! Even if I accidentally spilled some milk, they just laugh it off cutely, without any hint of blame!”

 

“And, do you know? They come here just to relax. I didn’t feel any hostility at all!”

 

“This place is really perfect for retirement. Everyone is so leisurely, and the weather has been calm all day!”

 

“Everyone is so honest, they take their milk tea and obediently scan to pay, unlike those people back in… um, back then, who were so picky and often dined and dashed, making up excuses!”

 

Faced with Fei Luo’s excitement, Yin Xiamo just lowered her voice, gesturing for her to not speak so loudly.

 

“Okay okay, we’ve already said there’s a little difference between here and there… in this country, there’s hardly any war, and education is widespread, so people generally have high quality.”

 

“Where we’re from, because the customers who come to buy alcohol at the shop are mostly… mercenaries or adventurers, they don’t know when they’ll die. Maybe they took a commission today and got lost in the forest and can’t come out, so they’re generally more irritable.”

 

“Speaking of which, Fei Luo, you’re a bartender, and yet mercenaries dare to cause trouble? Are they insane?”

 

“Sometimes, but I’m too lazy to deal with them, I just transform without horns and wings…”

 

During the casual conversation, Ouyang Xue, who had changed her clothes, came down from the second floor.

 

“Are you guys in a hurry tonight?”

 

“Huh?” I turned my head. “Sister Ouyang, is there something going on?”

 

“Well, not really. Su Yunjin gave me the key to the basement this afternoon. If you’re interested, you can go there now.”

 

Ouyang Xue shook the key in her hand. “I never thought they would have the basement ready when the café was built, and it seems to be the first area to be finished.”

 

“The first area to be finished?” I was puzzled. “What does that mean?”

 

“When they were laying the foundation, they dug deep. The building was constructed from below,” Ouyang Xue explained.

 

Walking to the middle of me, Yin Xiamo, and Fei Luo, Ouyang Xue pointed to the ground. “The basement was built first, and then the ground level, including the power lines, signal lines, and network cables, were all buried. When the time comes, the workers just need to move the equipment in and do some simple decoration.”

 

For some reason, upon hearing this, Yin Xiamo chuckled softly. “Boss, didn’t you know there was another floor underneath?”

 

“I didn’t know. How could I have known? When they sent me here, the building was already almost renovated. I was responsible for some follow-up work and publicity. I thought it was just a regular restaurant. How would I know there was such a big part underneath?” I replied.

 

Ouyang Xue looked a bit puzzled. “Could it be that Xiao Mo knew about it a long time ago?”

 

“No, no,” Yin Xiamo quickly waved her hand. “I was just asking casually.”

 

But you did know, didn’t you?

I gave Yin Xiamo a look that said, “You’re not being honest.”

 

Ordinary people might not know Xiao Mo, but I’m very clear about this guy’s background. With Xiao Mo’s personality and level of caution, I don’t believe for a moment that she would come over here to work with me without investigating the details of this shop. And just now, Ouyang Xue mentioned that “the wires and network cables below were buried long ago,” which means there must be some lines leading downstairs. It doesn’t make sense for Xiao Mo, a lightning magic user, to be insensitive to these circuits.

 

“Oh, by the way,” Ouyang Xue said, taking out her phone and showing me and Fei Luo a few pages from the Tongmeng website.

 

There were several popular videos on there, each with over a hundred thousand views:

 

“New Handsome Maid at Shangjing Cat Café”

“You Call This Making Coffee?”

“Mom, I Want to Marry Her!”

 

The content of these videos almost exclusively featured scenes of Fei Luo at the central service counter on the second floor, adjusting coffee and milk tea.

 

“Fei Luo has such a great figure and looks very pretty. I posted a status update at noon today, saying we have a new maid at our café named Fei Luo. As of just now, it has garnered over a hundred thousand views. The comment section is full of people wondering if I, as the manager, specialize in sheltering visitors from another world.”

 

Putting away her phone, Ouyang Xue put her hands on her hips. “So many people can’t believe that our new maid can have almost the same looks as Nuo’er and Xiao Mo. They feel like we don’t belong to this world.”

 

Um… um… what do you want me to say to that? Although I also feel that my, Xiao Mo’s, and Fei Luo’s looks are indeed a bit unreal.

 

I naturally don’t need to say much. I have a cute style, chubby cheeks, smooth and fair skin, big watery eyes, a petite nose, and cherry lips, giving the impression of a character from an anime world. Xiao Mo, on the other hand, leans towards the girly style, giving an overall impression of a fresh and evil elf.

 

If a cafe finds employees who are both physically attractive and appealing, it might make the news. People might think the manager is lucky to have cute girls willing to work hard at their café. After a few months, the hype would die down. But if this café has two girls with flawless looks, figures, and skin helping out, then everyone would think this café is truly blessed by the heavens, and they’d want to come see for themselves.

 

But if this café has three employees of the same type, all of whom are almost flawless in their beauty, and their “attributes” are different – one loli, one young girl, and one big bunny girl – then almost everyone’s first reaction would be: Is this shop cheating or what?”

 

Moreover, Ai Luodi and Lan Jiajia, who also work in the café, have good looks, and Ouyang Xue is a mature woman with explosive curves…

 

“Actually, we really don’t belong to this world.”

 

After a moment of silence, I jokingly said, “I’m an elf from another world, Xiao Mo is a demon from another world, and this one… this one is a dragon from another world, the kind that can devour giant octopuses in one bite.”

 

“I don’t eat giant octopuses!”

 

Hearing me say this, Fei Luo wrinkled her nose in disgust. “That thing is slimy and squirts ink. It’s not as delicious as hammerhead lizards.”

 

“Oh, so you’ve all set yourselves up like that?”

 

Hearing me say this, Ouyang Xue had the expression she expected, a knowing one. “Xiao Mo does indeed have a demonic aura, and as for Fei Luo… saying she’s a dragon, her demeanor does kind of fit, but Nuo’er, what kind of elf are you? Are there elves that young?”

 

“Of course there are!” I blurted out, then remembered something. “No way, I’m not that young. I’m very mature, okay!”

 

“In my eyes, besides being mature in your dealings with people, you’re not much different from a ten-year-old girl in terms of speech and personality,” Ouyang Xue said, crossing her arms.

 

“You say you’re an elf. Assuming the lifespan of elves is ten thousand years, you’re at most at the level of a five-hundred-year-old, right? Do you wear a green and white feather ball gown and ankle socks every day, like those designed for shuttlecocks, and run around everywhere?”

 

I felt something rising above my head. “Feather ball gown? What’s that…”

 

“Hey, folks, having a meeting?”

 

As we were talking, Ai Luodi pushed open the glass door and walked in, yawning. Her gaze landed on Fei Luo. “New employee?”

 

“Hello,” Fei Luo approached. “I’m new here. My name is Fei Luo.”

 

“Foreigner?”

 

“No, my last name is Fei.”

 

“A rare surname.”

 

Ai Luodi nodded. “I woke up this afternoon and saw you while scrolling through videos. Your photos and videos were almost flooding my QQ group and WeChat group.”

 

“What are QQ and WeChat groups?”

 

This time it was Ai Luodi’s turn to be curious. “Huh?”

 

“Fei Luo used to… um, work as a bartender in a relatively remote place,” I quickly intervened. “She’s not very familiar with big city life and is currently adjusting.”

 

“Yes,” Yin Xiamo chimed in, helping to explain. “Just think of her as a dragon who spent ten years bartending in another world and just learned to speak when she came here.”

 

“Her character setting is a dragon?” Ai Luodi seemed pensive, then walked over and patted my shoulder.

 

“One hero, one demon, and now we have a dragon. Hmm, very good. I like your chuunibyou vibe, Nuo’er. It means you have a rich imagination, suitable for writing novels.”

 

“Um…” I was momentarily at a loss for words due to Ai Luodi’s praise.

 

Actually… this wasn’t the product of a rich imagination, it was true, my dear former editor.

 

“Since Ai Luodi is here too, and there aren’t many people in the café, let’s go downstairs,” Ouyang Xue suggested, holding the key. She glanced at a few customers still lingering in the corner of the first floor at this time, who were sitting in chairs playing on their phones, and tapped a few times on her own phone screen.

 

Suddenly, scrolling text appeared on the main screen of the first floor and on the small screens of the dining tables.

 

“Manager and staff are cleaning the warehouse… If you need assistance, please press the call maid button.”

 

“I remember that dandy young master said the entrance is over here…”

 

Leading us to the cat living area, we opened the metal door that even a cat couldn’t stop, walked into the soft cushion area filled with cats and cat climbing frames, and then opened the “cat warehouse” here.

 

This warehouse is usually used to store some cat canned food, cat snacks, or freeze-dried treats. It’s equipped with a special low-temperature air conditioner, mainly to ensure the freshness of the cat snacks inside. When the canned food and freeze-dried treats outside run out, we come here to replenish them. In most cases, no one frequents this place.

 

“He said the entrance is temporarily set here, and once the downstairs is built, they’ll move the door somewhere else…”

 

Inside the low-temperature warehouse, Ouyang Xue turned on the flashlight on her phone and searched behind a small cat climbing frame at the end of the warehouse until she found a button.

 

“Found it,” she said, turning around. “Close the door behind you, don’t let the cats in.”

 

“Okay,” I closed the door behind me, leaving Ouyang Xue’s phone as the only source of light in the spacious corridor.

 

*Click…*

 

With a sound of something being pressed, the wall behind the cat climbing frame slowly slid apart, revealing a staircase leading downwards.

 

“Follow me, be careful,” Ouyang Xue walked ahead like an elder sister. “Especially you, Nuo’er, with your short legs and small feet, don’t trip.”

 

“What…”

I instinctively wanted to retort, then suddenly realized… she might have a point.

 

But why should I be specially cautioned just because I have short legs and small feet? That’s discrimination!

 

“The people in the city really think far ahead,” Ouyang Xue remarked as we descended the stairs.

 

“I originally thought this was just a very ordinary project. I came here to help them out casually, get the café up and running, support a manager, and then I could go back for a promotion or retire.”

 

“But these people not only expanded the café to such a large scale, they’ve even planned out projects for Tenth District. If I’m not mistaken, they’ve probably already buried the underwater cables by now.”

 

“The particle collider in the Craftsman District was built five years ago. That thing was a money pit from the start. There were so many people cursing about it back then, and then the Craftsman District rose because of it. After 2020, all sorts of high-tech products kept emerging one after another. I’m starting to suspect there might be even more secretive aspects to the whole project…”

 

Yin Xiamo and I exchanged a glance. “Is this something we can discuss?”

 

Ouyang Xue neither confirmed nor denied. “There are currently no surveillance cameras or recording devices in this basement. You can say whatever you want.”

 

“Isn’t that a bit exaggerated?” Ai Luodi yawned.

 

“Although the particle collider is a money drain, from a long-term perspective… well, I don’t really understand what it does, but maybe it’s just our Shenzhen City being more avant-garde, wanting to keep up with cutting-edge physics in the world?”

 

“Perhaps,” I said.

 

As we spoke, Ouyang Xue had already reached the bottom of the stairs and used her phone to shine light on the rudimentary door lock in front, finding the keyhole.

 

“There won’t be any traps here, right?” Fei Luo, who was behind us, worried.

 

“Like suddenly a steamroller rushing out from the front, or a bunch of arrows shooting out from above, or the ground under our feet suddenly disappearing?”

 

Ouyang Xue turned around, twisting the key as she said, “Are you really treating this place as another world?”

 

Then, with a *click* sound of the door opening, the front door swung open—

 

revealing a very spacious area.

 

There were many small rooms on both sides of the space, resembling a bar, but the specifications and layout were somewhat like an internet café.

 

Moreover, the space here was much larger than that of an internet café, with no computer desks or computers.

 

You could faintly see some small bottles on the ground, like spray paint cans.

 

Some of the bottles seemed to have leaked, with a yellowish area here and a reddish one there. It seemed like someone had also drawn something on the floor.

 

Despite my good eyesight, in this almost lightless place, I could only follow the light from Ouyang Xue’s phone as I looked into the room, observing this spacious basement.

 

“Wait a moment, I remember that dandy young master said there’s a light switch here.”

 

Being the first to step through the door into the basement, Ouyang Xue looked around and started feeling along the walls.

 

“What are these? Did the workers forget to take away the spray paint?” Ai Luodi, who followed inside, crouched down in front of one of the small bottles and examined the label on it. “Acrylic paint?”

 

At that moment, there was a *click*, and a colorful LED tube light, triggered by the switch Ouyang Xue had just pressed, began to extend forward amidst dazzling red, yellow, blue, green, and purple lights. Finally, it lit up the entire basement like a spark.

 

*Click click click—*

 

In less than three seconds, the previously dark basement transformed into a world filled with LED lights, floating billboards, and LCD TV screens.

 

One, two, three LED tubes encircled the vast space, constantly changing colors as if breathing.

 

At the central bar counter ahead, a rotating LCD screen displayed scrolling subtitles:

?I can’t wait for you to clean the cupboard, but now you’re leaving, leaving only a small mark. I sit quietly in the silent night, savoring your surprise…?

 

On the left side, an entrance to a room featured an exquisite small table with a hovering lamp of unknown principle, above which floated a small pistol.

 

Adjacent to the pistol room was a table and chairs seemingly for passersby to rest or drink, with a pair of metal gloves placed on top.

 

Further ahead, there was a huge screen displaying a full moon, providing nearly 80% of the basement’s light source.

 

To the right seemed to be a small shooting range, with a skull-adorned OLED screen hanging on the range, and at the center of the range was a massive silver screen. The silver screen faintly revealed the silhouette of a black, armored man, with a string of English text flashing beside: “Adam Smasher.”

 

In the area where the shadowy man’s head was, a dart was firmly lodged.

 

“Oh my, this is way too cool.”

 

Seeing the surreal scene in the basement, Ai Luodi couldn’t sit still.

 

“How much electricity would this take for just one night? They must have some powerful cooperation with the power company.”

 

“Is this the extent of youth culture nowadays?”

 

Even the worldly-wise Ouyang Xue was astonished by the basement’s “cyberpunk” makeover, “Su Yunjin said this was just undecorated?”

 

“Is this human technology?”

 

Fei Luo also exclaimed, “Though it’s a bit dazzling, it’s indeed shocking.”

 

“Xiao Mo…”

 

I leaned in closer to Yin Xiamo’s ear. “You actually knew about this place, didn’t you?”

 

“I could sense it to some extent.”

 

Yin Xiamo lowered her voice. “I knew there was a massive power grid and electronic equipment beneath the café, and I knew these electronics posed no harm to people, but I didn’t expect the effect to be this astonishing.”

 

“I love it here.”

 

Ai Luodi picked up a can from the ground, shook it, looked around, and found what seemed to be a designated area for graffiti. He sprayed a yellow strip onto it, making a “sizzling” sound.

 

“Be careful, that thing might be toxic.”

 

Ouyang Xue turned around. “Ai Luodi, you’re being too reckless…”

 

“No, I’ve used this stuff before.”

 

Ai Luodi put the spray can aside. “When I was studying abroad, I competed in skateboarding with some street punks. They lost, so they treated me to barbecue and taught me how to spray graffiti.”

 

As he spoke, Ai Luodi seemed to be lost in some kind of memory. “Thinking back, I was pretty wild back then.”

 

I was a bit surprised. “Ai Luodi studied abroad?”

 

“Studied abroad for three years, couldn’t stand it and came back.”

 

Ai Luodi picked up a stick from the ground, kicked out a skull from somewhere, and aimed at the moon on the big screen in front. With a swing of the stick, the skull was knocked out.

 

“Sister Ouyang.”

 

Then, Ai Luodi said to Ouyang Xue, “When this place is ready, can I come down to work at night? I really like the decor style here.”

 

“Well, you can, but we probably need to hire a few more people, and it’s urgent.”

 

Ouyang Xue, who had already walked to the center bar, wiped the sweat from her forehead. “This place is really beautiful, almost unreal. I’ll take care of the upper part.”

 

“Hiring people and letting Nuo’er take charge would be fine, she always manages to find people,” Ai Luodi said, turning to me. “Right, Nuo’er?”

 

“Is that what you think of me…” I chuckled.

 

“Even if you tell me something unusual, I still won’t understand…”

 

“It’s okay, I know Nuo’er will figure it out,” Ai Luodi yawned, walking over to me.

 

“Nuo’er is an elf, Xiao Mo is a demon, Fei Luo is a dragon. What else do we need? How about looking for an angel, recruiting a game-loving angel? She would definitely enjoy the environment here.”

 

“……”

 

Half an hour later, Xiao Mo, Fei Luo, and I arrived above the Nanqi Tower, looking at the sea bathed in the silvery moonlight ahead. From my perspective, the bottom floor of the Nanqi Tower was lit up as usual.

 

The elderly people living there should be there now, listening to the radio while facing the sea.

 

“Should we tell him about Zhou Xiaofei’s matter?”

 

After enjoying the sea breeze for a while, I turned to Xiao Mo and said.

 

In fact, the place where the elderly person lived was very close to Zhou Xiaofei’s grandmother’s house.

 

Or rather, their two houses were separated by a forest, with a straight-line distance of about three kilometers. But perhaps because there were no roads inside the forest, the old man’s attention was always on the sea ahead. Even if he occasionally went to the city to buy things, he didn’t take the road that passed Zhou Xiaofei’s grandmother’s house, so the two of them had never been able to meet.

 

Similarly, Zhou Xiaofei’s grandmother’s house had only one road leading out, which headed northwest towards the Nanqi District. This was the same direction where Xiao Mo and I rode our bicycles to the Honor District, opposite to the road the old man took when he “self-built” his house in the city.

 

These two people… The old man went to the southeast of Shenzhen District, which was towards the Craftsman District, while Zhou Xiaofei’s grandmother’s main activity area was to the southwest of Shenzhen District, close to the Honor District.

 

These two districts symbolized different things – one represented wealth and prosperity, while the other represented technology and progress. The Honor District was the wealthy area, while the Craftsman District was the area of artisans. And the Nanqi District was sandwiched between these two areas, with the Central District above representing the gathering place for ordinary people and workers.

 

If Zhou Xiaofei’s grandmother was indeed the “girlfriend” of the old man back then, surviving after encountering trouble at the seaside, she probably couldn’t bear to leave her “boyfriend”. After the incident, she may have settled in the forest near the Nanqi District. However, perhaps because she was pregnant at the time, she had to focus on raising her children.

 

Anyway, the specific situation… Unless we can travel through time, no one can guess what really happened back then.

 

“Does Nuo’er want to tell them?”

Under the bright moonlight, after listening to my question, Yin Xiamo turned her face away.

 

“This matter can be left for you to decide.”

 

“I…” Instinctively, I asked, “Should I make a choice?”

 

“Mm.” Lying down on the open space of the Nanqi Tower, Yin Xiamo gazed at the full moon above her head.

 

“No one can predict what will happen in the future. Now the old man is getting old, living alone here quite comfortably. He has always been unable to see the girl he once knew, and there’s a longing in his heart. But if he were to find out that the girl from back then was actually in the nearby forest all these years, and they were to meet, after so many years have passed, after the brief excitement, no one can guarantee that the story will go in the direction of a fairy tale.”

 

“The old man’s longing from before is gone, replaced by a new companion. Over the decades, this companion may have changed, both in appearance and personality. The old man’s dreams may shatter, Zhou Xiaofei may gain a grandfather, and her mother may gain a stepfather. Family matters, the mundane aspects of life… no one can be sure if such a life is what they truly want.”

 

Yin Xiamo’s words left me silent for a long time. I don’t know why, but tonight’s moonlight is exceptionally beautiful, the moon unusually large, casting a layer of silver light over both me and Yin Xiamo on top of the Nanqi Tower.

 

“Have you… ever had to make a choice?”

 

A few seconds later, she raised her head, looking at the round moon. “For example, after the hero dies and the demon army becomes so powerful, have you ever thought of giving up, or perhaps taking another path… something like that?”

 

“No, not at all.”

 

“Huh?”

 

“Yeah, for you, I’m very determined.”

 

Yin Xiamo smiled. “The most I’ve had to choose is whether to eat you today or tomorrow.”

 

“Huh?”

 

“The moon here is more beautiful than in my hometown.”

 

Under my gaze, Yin Xiamo stood up with a whoosh and extended a hand toward me. “My princess, would you like to add a moon-watching session to our night?”

 

“Moon-watching?”

 

I took out my phone from my pocket and glanced at the time.

 

“I think we’d better not. It’s already…”

 

However, before I could finish my sentence, Yin Xiamo snatched my phone away and effortlessly tossed it into the sea.

 

“Hey!” Instinctively, I reached out to retrieve my phone, but the girl beside me reacted quickly, grabbing my hand and pulling me into her arms like a princess. Then, with a leap, she soared into the air, catching the phone in mid-air before it could fall.

 

“You took too long to answer, so let me choose on behalf of the princess!” she exclaimed as she flew higher into the sky.

 

Suddenly, a gust of wind swept in, and Fei Luo, now transformed into a dragon, flew past below us, blocking out a large portion of the moonlight.

 

With a steady landing on the dragon’s back, Yin Xiamo set me down.

 

“Welcome to the world of sin and desire, my princess.”

 

“……”

 

……