Chapter 77

Not every Awakened has the ability to clear dungeons solo. Often, they rely on external help.

Money isn’t everything, but at critical moments, it can buy your life.

Just like now. Zhu Ming posted a thread offering dungeon escort services. Within moments, plenty of people had viewed it.

Unfortunately, it was her first time doing this kind of business on the forum, so most were hesitant. Someone only contacted her that evening.

One hundred thousand per run. Fifty thousand deposit upfront, the rest upon completion.

Zhu Ming stared at that price, utterly speechless, but she still typed out a “dear” in an attempt to haggle.

The Guest on the other end replied: “Did you ever consider that the price is low because I’m also dirt poor, QAQ? Once I pass this stage, there’s a next stage. Don’t I need to save some money for the future?”

Zhu Ming: “…”

The Guest continued: “How about this: if you do a good job this time, I’ll hire you next time too. And I can refer other clients to you.”

Zhu Ming: “…”

Zhu Ming began seriously considering it. Venturing through the Dark Realm was dangerous, but the potential client base was huge. It was an investment-worthy project.

Everything is hardest at the start. Once her reputation was established, she wouldn’t have to worry about raising her prices later.

So Zhu Ming agreed. She scheduled a meet-up with the guest for the weekend and received the fifty-thousand deposit. Everything was ready, just waiting for the right moment.

The next day, she received another call. The woman on the other end sounded overjoyed. “Xiao Ming, last night someone made a huge anonymous donation! The money for Qianqian’s surgery and follow-up costs are all covered now. We can even afford corrective surgeries for a few new children who just came in… How did you manage to get that five hundred thousand? Did you borrow it from someone? I should just send it back to you. You’ve worked so hard all these years. We don’t need the money now, so don’t overexert yourself.”

The woman was Zhao Yan, the current director of the Huailin City Rainbow Children’s Welfare Home. Her mother was the previous director. It was the place Zhu Ming grew up in. Many years had passed, but they’d never lost contact.

Occasionally, Zhu Ming would visit the Old Director and play with the younger kids.

Qianqian, whom Zhao Yan mentioned, had a good relationship with Zhu Ming. So, hearing she was the one in trouble, Zhu Ming, no matter how much she disliked causing trouble, still went to Wenren Bai for a loan.

But she wasn’t the gentle, patient big-sister type. Most of the time, she simply sent money instead of bonding emotionally.

Hearing the welfare home had received funds delighted Zhu Ming too. “You don’t need to return that five hundred thousand. Use it to buy the kids some snacks and cheer them up. Don’t worry about my side, I’ll manage. But just how much did this person donate? Are you sure you don’t need my money after all?”

Zhao Yan said, “A full ten million! Occasionally generous individuals do donate to our home, but such a large anonymous sum… we’ve only seen it three times in twenty years. Come to think of it, the last two times were also the year you graduated high school.”

Huailin was a small place. Huailin City Rainbow Children’s Welfare Home was also an inconspicuous, minor institution. Often, when the wealthy chose to donate, they wouldn’t even notice this place. This ten million, therefore, was the single largest donation they’d received in seven years.

Hearing this, Zhu Ming suddenly felt a twinge of strangeness. “The year I graduated high school… besides my family, someone else also donated a huge sum?”

The Zhu Family wasn’t stingy. When they found Zhu Ming, they directly wired a sum of money to the welfare home. The Old Director had been on-site at the time. But the Zhu Family was always low-key, so they’d requested anonymity.

“Yeah, you didn’t know? Ah, right, you’d already left by then. It was a full year after you left before you reconnected with us. I did forget to mention it.”

Zhao Yan didn’t know exactly what Zhu Ming did after graduating high school. She only knew she’d been taken away by her family to attend university in the Flower Capital. Although they’d stayed in contact the last few years, Zhu Ming rarely spoke of her own affairs, only saying she was doing well.

Zhu Ming mused thoughtfully, “Oh, oh. That’s quite a coincidence indeed.”

After hanging up, Zhu Ming sat by the window and pondered. Having someone donate money to ease the pressure was naturally a good thing. But was it really just a coincidence? Something about this felt tangled around her, as though someone had been watching her from the shadows all along.

Seven years ago, and now…

Zhu Ming suddenly looked up and addressed the empty air: “Yin Yu, does this have something to do with you? By the way, are you really that timid? Hiding all the time, do you think I’ll eat you? If you’ve got the guts, let’s settle this in a dungeon.”

Silence filled the air. Naturally, no one replied.

Weekend arrived. The scheduled client knocked on the studio’s main door.

It happened to be the final day of the client’s invitation deadline. Hearing Zhu Ming was about to enter a dungeon, Yun Zouchuan rushed over and said, “Calculating the timing, I’m due to receive my invitation soon too. Let me join this time. Otherwise, it might clash with my monthly exam at the start of the school term.”

The Guest naturally wouldn’t object to having one more person to protect him. His name was Xu Xuanyu, a male university student. His Supernatural Ability was communicating with small animals.

So Zhu Ming and Yun Zouchuan added their names to his Invitation Letter. Soon enough, they received corresponding invitations themselves.

One thing worth noting: Wenren Bai didn’t come today.

She had been consistently trying to find Yin Yu in the dungeons but had failed several times in a row. Wenren Bai concluded Yin Yu wouldn’t appear around Zhu Ming again in the short term, so she opted out this time.

Night fell. As soon as the clock struck twelve, accompanied by a wave of dizziness, Zhu Ming and the other two entered the dungeon.

Immediately, Zhu Ming scanned her surroundings. She found herself, Yun Zouchuan, and Xu Xuanyu standing in an ordinary, modernly decorated Service Hall.

The hall was empty. Up ahead stood a machine with a crank lever. Around twenty adults were standing there. Judging by their expressions, they were all Participants.

Suddenly, Yun Zouchuan pointed towards a corner and said, “Boss, look!”

Zhu Ming followed her gaze. Her brow twitched violently, and she nearly rolled up her sleeves and charged over.

Damn you, Yin Yu! You’ve actually shown up again!

Possibly feeling the intensity of Zhu Ming’s stare, Yin Yu noticed her, turned back with a smile, and waved. “What a coincidence, Mingming.”

But Zhu Ming didn’t find it coincidental at all. She suspected Yin Yu had been monitoring her all along—and intentionally avoiding Wenren Bai.

Fine. Let’s check the task first. She’ll deal with her later.

Most people shared Zhu Ming’s thought process. They pulled out their Invitation Letters to see the task first.

[We cordially invite you to our world: Happy Home.

Task: Pass the Parental Assessment

Hints: 1. Be kind to your child.

2. The maximum duration for this task is one month.

3. The consequences of failure are yours to bear.

4. Please explore the remaining rules on your own.

Note: Upon completing the task, simply tear up the invitation to leave this world.]

The invitation’s content was very brief. Unlike the previous times, the task duration wasn’t fixed; there was considerable room for maneuver.

Five minutes later, a clicking sound echoed from the front—the sound of small leather shoes stepping across the spotless, polished marble floor.

Everyone looked over. A little girl, who looked no older than ten, appeared at the front.

Despite being a child, she was dressed in full formal attire. A small black-and-white business suit, a tiny bow tie, a little hat, a small walking stick—she had it all. Coupled with her stern little face, it created an unexpected and unusual contrast of “cute but serious.”

One female Participant crouched down with a smile and reached out. “Little friend, are you here to guide us?”

The little girl raised her cane and smacked the older sister’s hand away with a smack. “Yes. You will address me respectfully as Ms. Q. I will now announce your specific tasks.”

What a Ms. Q. Small in stature but immense in presence. Perhaps because she looked so harmless, even when she put on a cold, stern face, her chubby cheeks still radiated an innocent, naive charm.

“Alright, Ms. Q. Please instruct us. What do we do next?”

Ms. Q ignored the teasing tone in the older sister’s voice. She rapped her cane and pointed towards the machine in the hall. “Now, all parents, please line up and collect your Door Cards for team assignments. A six-day Parental Assessment will now commence. Those who pass may leave Happy Home. Those who fail must enter the Parental Reformatory for re-education!”

The task was to pass the Parental Assessment… meaning the Participants had to play the role of good fathers and mothers?

Soon enough, everyone lined up. The Participant at the very front of the line asked, “Can’t we form our own teams?”

Ms. Q lifted her chin and huffed, “The team assignments and role selections this time are random! Hurry up and draw!”

No one knew what the consequences were for defying Ms. Q, but by now, most of the Participants here weren’t first-timers in a dungeon. Without further grumbling, they followed Ms. Q’s instructions, stepping up one by one to crank the machine.

When it was Zhu Ming’s turn, the Door Card she drew read: 3-1 Dad.

After everyone had drawn, Ms. Q rapped her cane once more, then suddenly pointed behind them and declared, “Now, parents, you may return home and begin your assessment!”

Opposite the glass doors of the Service Hall stood a four-story building. Above the first-floor entrance hung a large signboard with the words “Happy Home” written in a cute, cartoony font.

Along the street, some shops were open. Small NPCs moved back and forth, their acting painfully stiff.

The entire world wasn’t very large—just this one street. Beyond it, everything was obscured by thick fog.

Following the instructions, the Participants headed towards the Happy Home building. If they’d guessed correctly, it was time for everyone to return to their respective homes.

Zhu Ming compared her Door Card with Yun Zouchuan and Xu Xuanyu’s. As it turned out, the latter two were lucky enough to be drawn into the same household. Yun Zouchuan was 5-2 Dad, and Xu Xuanyu was 5-2 Mom.

Although the roles they played were somewhat reversed, at least they had each other. Zhu Ming consoled them: “Then A-Zou will guide Little Xu in the early stages. If we don’t pass, we might meet again later. We’ll figure it out then.”

That “Parental Reformatory” didn’t sound like a pleasant place at all. It would be best to just pass the assessment directly and leave.

Xu Xuanyu nodded grimly. “Let’s hope there’s no combat segment this time.”

Inside the Happy Home building, there was an old elevator that moved at a painfully slow pace. Zhu Ming took the Safety Passage stairs and climbed to the third floor.

When she reached the door marked 3-1, Zhu Ming discovered that her “wife” was actually an acquaintance…

“What a coincidence, Mingming. I never imagined we’d be assigned to the same group.” Yin Yu smiled as she used the Door Card to open the door. She found and changed into slippers with the ease of returning to her own home, showing no sign that this was her first time stepping inside.

Zhu Ming’s expression shifted rapidly. In stony silence, she followed inside and slammed the door shut. Without even changing her shoes, she grabbed Yin Yu by the collar, slammed her against the wall, and demanded, “What the hell are you playing at?!”

In the next second, a sharp electronic beep sounded in the living room. A synthesized voice announced: “Father committed domestic violence. Deduct ten points!”