Chapter 5: Dungeon 【Diligent Gardener】, Clearing…

005

In a patch of greenery within the Villa District on Wealth Avenue, a young man dressed as a gardener held a large pair of shears. He trimmed the landscape trees according to the blueprint in his hand while tentatively glancing left and right.

In recent years, the Strange Talk Game’s invasion of the Real World had accelerated. More and more ordinary people from the Real World were selected to enter the Strange Talk Game, becoming players.

Among the players, those who could join the Weird Tales Confidentiality Bureau and obtain an official position were undoubtedly the cream of the crop.

Unlike ordinary players, the operatives of the Weird Tales Confidentiality Bureau’s action team not only had to consider survival when entering game dungeons but also had to collect as much information about the Strange Talk Game as possible.

If ordinary players heard this, they would probably despair. According to the Weird Tales Confidentiality Bureau’s speculation, the Strange Talk Game actually had another name: the Strange Talk World.

This damn thing was very likely not a bunch of individual dungeons waiting for them to clear at all! It was a complete world!

What did that mean?

He didn’t dare think about it anymore.

This shitty reality.

Rao Fei’s gaze casually swept over the “Weird” jogging past him for the third time.

The first two times, another Weird that gave him an intense sense of oppression had been exercising with this one, so he hadn’t dared to act rashly.

After waiting about twenty minutes, that Weird finally left. Only this seemingly harmless Weird remained, continuing its morning exercise.

Weirds like this one, which seemed to pose absolutely no threat at first glance, only had two possibilities: either extremely strong or extremely weak.

Considering this was Wealth Avenue—a gathering place for high-danger-level dungeons marked in red in the Bureau’s archive files—Rao Fei rationally analyzed that this Weird was most likely the former.

But he decided to bet on the latter possibility.

The phone in his pocket vibrated. Rao Fei took it out and glanced at it. Seeing Bureau Chief Zhao’s sarcastic message about sending him an obituary, he chuckled.

He wanted to say that this decision seemed pretty reckless.

But opportunities like this were rare. A B+ Grade Wealth Avenue dungeon.

Previously, someone from the Central Bureau had entered a Wealth Avenue dungeon, but the dungeon’s level was too high, restricting the player’s actions. Surviving was already fortunate enough; there was no chance to explore beyond the dungeon.

He also wanted to say that he only had one death opportunity left. Even if he won the bet and this was an extremely weak little Weird, he couldn’t go back.

It was like provoking a weak bear cub in the forest—the only thing awaiting him was being torn apart by the mother bear.

“Hope that next time someone from the Bureau draws the Wealth Avenue Gardener dungeon, they go easy on the trash Weirds inside. Might end up hitting me. Sigh, my dad’s got a hot temper. Hope the Bureau Chief doesn’t get slapped when delivering the news.”

Rao Fei muttered softly. He had a lot he wanted to send but in the end just took out his phone, glanced at it, and put it back.

He had to conserve it. What if he made a major discovery later? He needed to send out the information before being assimilated by the Weird.

The more information, the more item consumption.

When Su Ximu reached his fourth lap of morning exercise, he also felt a bit tired and began walking slowly along the pebble path.

After walking for about three or four minutes, he followed his memory to a stone bench by the path and sat down to rest.

From the opposite side of the stone bench came the snip-snip sound of shears cutting leaves, like white noise—somehow quite pleasant.

The pruned messy branches fell to the ground. Su Ximu sat close enough to smell the fresh scent unique to grass and plants.

Su Ximu looked up, smiled politely at the gardener who was also looking his way, then lowered his head again and took out his phone.

In such a suitable atmosphere, he planned to learn more about this world online.

First, he opened the Wenxun Entertainment App under Su Media Group.

As soon as the app loaded, the local hot search bar occupying the center of the screen caught his eye.

【Beware Sunshine Apartment, Landlord Skin-Peeling Ghost! Disturbing Tenants】

【Patient Escaped from Rehabilitation Mental Hospital—Citizens, Stay Safe】

【Trash Pharma Company! Ruined My Youth, Pay Up!】

【Local Famous Writer Releases New Work: My 30 Days Cohabiting with Humans】

Su Ximu nodded as he read. It seemed the customs here were slightly different from his previous world, but overall quite similar.

He tried analyzing: The first hot search was probably about the landlord raising rent, then some low-quality tenants causing dissatisfaction among others. He skipped the second and third for now. The fourth—this was likely a fantasy or horror novelist.

He was getting into it when the snip-snip sounds by his ear suddenly stopped, replaced by the noisy clamor of children.

“Ah!! This tree isn’t the shape I like! I want a pink little pig shape!”

“Hahaha, Meimei, let’s play ball here! Watch the ball!”

“Playing ball is no fun. Give it to me! Give me your shears, I wanna play!”

“This flower is so pretty. I’m gonna tidy it up and pull it out to take home and show Mommy.”

A group of neatly dressed children who looked like little angels were now acting like little demons.

A chubby boy in a yellow shirt smashed his rubber ball hard at the sapling the gardener had just shaped. The little tree shook violently, shedding leaves in a rustle.

Another little girl in a pink skirt squatted down and yanked with both hands. In the blink of an eye, two corners of the flowerbed were missing, looking especially jarring.

These children completely ignored the “No Damaging Greenery” sign standing not far from them.

After playing with the ball, the chubby boy started demanding the gardener’s shears.

His attitude was very overbearing. Fat and round like a meatball, he probably had considerable strength too.

But the hardworking gardener every day wouldn’t let him take the shears so easily.

Seeing he couldn’t get the shears, the bullying boy’s face visibly reddened. He roared, “Give it to me! Or we’ll destroy everything here!”

As a staff member hired by the Villa District property management, the poor gardener could only protect his shears. He couldn’t do anything that didn’t fit his role, including scolding or stopping the owners’ kids.

Because this was a rich area. Owners paid so much in property fees not for the management to discipline their children.

All the gardener could do was restore this greenery as quickly as possible after these little demons had their fun and left, awaiting the property manager’s inspection.

The children’s actions were too fast. Su Ximu felt like in an instant, they’d turned the place into a mess.

The young gardener, who looked only a few years older than him, stood at a loss on the spot. He could only hold his shears and watch helplessly as his hard work was destroyed.

The boy on the stone bench blinked, then beckoned to the still-furious, red-faced chubby boy. “I have candy here. Wanna come? I also have something to tell you.”

The roaring chubby boy immediately shut up. In a rough voice, “Candy?”

He toddled over, trampling more grass along the way.

“Where’s the candy? Gimme quick!” The chubby boy demanded rudely.

Su Ximu took out a piece of candy Third Brother had stuffed him with before leaving. He dangled it in front of the chubby boy, watching as the kid became completely entranced by it, drool flowing down his chin.

It really flowed down.

The other kids wrecking the lawn were instantly drawn to the candy too. They swarmed over.

Rao Fei, dressed in gardener clothes and feigning helplessness nearby, flashed a strange glint in his eyes.

He strongly suspected this candy contained more than just sugar.

Only something infused with Weird power could elicit this reaction from these child Weirds.

Surrounded by kids, Su Ximu closed his palm and looked at the chubby boy. “I have something to tell you first.”

“What?” The chubby boy’s gaze remained hooked.

Su Ximu cleared his throat lightly and addressed all the kids staring at him. In a loud voice, “Ahem, your pants are open!”

“You look like you’re seven or eight already. Still wearing split-crotch pants?”

The chubby boy subconsciously clutched his butt crack.

The other kids’ attention shifted from the candy. They burst into laughter.

The little girl holding a bunch of flowers and grass, with green sap still between her fingers and a flower crown on her head, laughed heartily while pointing at the chubby boy’s butt. “Haha, I saw your little pee-pee!”

The redness that had just faded from the chubby boy’s face surged back. He clenched his fists and roared, “No laughing!”

“Hahaha…” The little girl kept laughing.

But the next second, the big brother with the candy asked her, “Are you Meimei? I saw your mom earlier. She’s looking for you. She said she’ll spank you when she finds you.”

Su Ximu wasn’t lying. At the start of his jog with Third Brother, he’d run into a neighbor. Third Brother seemed to have business with her, so they talked. That’s why he continued alone.

As he left, he overheard the neighbor saying she didn’t know where Meimei had run off to again and would beat her when she got home.

“I’m gonna tell your mom you not only ran around but ate candy from strangers.”

“Tattletale!” The little girl balled her fists, a flash of fear on her face. She dropped her flowers and grass and bolted away.

The second the little girl ran, the chubby boy couldn’t stand the mockery from the others either. He shoved one kid aside and ran off head down.

As for the remaining kids, Su Ximu shook his hand and showed a thoughtful expression. “Hmm… You’ve messed up this whole place.”

Seeing their Lao Da and Big Sister Boss both run off crying, the remaining kids instantly became super obedient. One quick-witted little boy even squatted down to start cleaning up.

With many hands, it really made light work. Twenty minutes later, even the stomped grass was propped back up.

The flowers pulled from the flowerbed were replanted, though they looked a bit wilted.

Su Ximu helped during this time too.

He also slipped some things into these little guys’ pockets when they weren’t paying attention.

The leader kid patted his hands and walked up to the big brother, looking up expectantly. “We’re all done.”

The most destructive Lao Da and Big Sister Boss had left.

Su Ximu nodded and gave a thumbs-up in praise. “Mm, very good.”

Then, under everyone’s expectant gazes, he lowered his head, unwrapped the candy, and popped it into his own mouth.

The kids: “Candy… candy…”

With the candy in his mouth, cheeks bulging slightly, the boy looked up. “Hm?”

He never said he’d give it right after they finished.

That was just what they should do.

They hadn’t even apologized to the gardener whose work was interrupted yet.

The leader kid blinked his eyes, tears welling up. But seeing the tag on the brother’s chest, he could only continue blinking pitifully.

Nearby, Rao Fei silently noted in his mind:

Dungeon: 【Diligent Gardener】

Clearing difficulty: While working, a group of child Weirds would randomly appear to cause chaos.

Clearing method: A morning exercise Weird might randomly appear. This Weird seemed to have a sense of justice and liked bullying kids.

A few seconds later, the little boy holding back tears finally couldn’t anymore. A crystal teardrop slid down his cheek.

He sniffled, then like his Lao Da and Big Sister Boss, burst into heartbroken wails and ran off.

This set off the other sad kids too.

The group of kids, who looked no older than six, cried all the way as they scattered.

“I’m gonna tell my mom when I get home!”

“Wahhh, I’ll get my dad to beat you!”

“I’ll remember you!”