Chapter 280: The Amazing Warehouse

"Warehouse search for Dao...?" The two of them stared at me blankly.

"That's right..." I turned around, opened the iron door, and stepped inside. "Now, there's a 'Dao' in this room. If you can find it within, uh, five minutes, then this 'Dao' is yours!"

"Oh...?" The beautiful sister stroked her chin and thought for a moment before saying, "Xiao Laoshu, is this really okay? This 'rule' sounds like it was just made up on the spot."

"How could it be made up...?"

This sister is so smart!

"This, this rule... My 'Shengxiao' challenge has always followed this rule..."

"Alright, alright..." The beautiful sister nodded with a smile. "Today is really something special. We've actually encountered such a 'Shengxiao'."

She turned back and asked the exceptionally beautiful sister, "Xiao Yao, what do you think?"

"We're just here to look for strategies, so what kind of 'Shengxiao' it is doesn't matter to us." The sister called Xiao Yao said, "Xiao Laoshu, how do you collect the entry fee?"

"Ah... the... entry..." I suddenly remembered what Hu Shushu had told me, that every game has an 'entry fee'. "For my 'Shengxiao' challenge, it requires two coins."

"Two coins?" Xiao Yao asked, puzzled.

"Two 'Dao'!" I corrected myself.

"Two 'Dao' doesn't seem right either..." The other beautiful sister said, "If we give you two 'Dao', but your game only yields one 'Dao', who would want to play? So, Xiao Laoshu, are you sure this is okay?"

Oh no, I think I messed up.

"I... I mean, the two of you together need two 'Dao'... Actually, each person only needs one 'Dao'..."

"That still doesn't make sense..." Xiao Yao frowned and asked, "Wouldn't we still end up with no profit?"

"Pfft..." The beautiful sister covered her mouth and laughed. "What's going on? Why are you so adorable, you little kid?"

Oh no, oh no... I really messed up.

Xiao Yao shook her head and said to the beautiful sister, "Ruo Xue, do you think it's necessary to play this game? Isn't this just a waste of time?"

"But don't you find it interesting? One 'Dao' for one 'Dao'... This child has designed such a quirky game." The sister called Ruo Xue said, "Don't you want to try it?"

"You say 'quirky'?" Xiao Yao thought for a moment. "Does that mean the 'Dao' in her warehouse is hard to find?"

"I don't know, but I think it's fun. I have to check it out." Ruo Xue pulled a 'Dao' from her pocket. "Here, Xiao Laoshu, you're in business today."

"Ah! Thank you, sister!" I felt especially happy as I took the 'Dao'. I had earned a 'Dao' for Bai Yang Gege.

"What are you saying..." Ruo Xue laughed again at my words. "What's with 'thank you, sister'? Do you even know what your role is right now?"

"Ah, I... I mean... The entry fee is collected, so the challenge can start!" I turned and opened the iron door. "You have five minutes—I'll count to three hundred in my head."

"Got it." To my surprise, Ruo Xue came over and patted my head.

But I'm the referee!

After I closed the iron door, I started counting silently in my mind, since I don't even have a watch.

When I got to about one hundred fifty, I heard Ruo Xue knocking things over inside.

She seemed to be searching really hard, and I started feeling a bit guilty about tricking her.

At that moment, Xiao Yao spoke up: "Xiao Laoshu... how long have you been a 'Shengxiao'?"

"Ah, I... this is my first day."

"Your first day?!" Xiao Yao was stunned, then fell silent for a while. "So, that means this game was really just designed today... right?"

"Ah... yes." I nodded. "Sister, you..."

"Don't call me 'sister' anymore..." A hint of sadness flashed in Xiao Yao's eyes, as if she were deep in thought.

I didn't dare say anything else—I felt like everything I did was wrong.

"Don't forget to keep counting," Xiao Yao reminded me. "You haven't lost track, have you?"

"Uh..."

Finally, I finished counting to three hundred, and I turned to open the door.

Ruo Xue had indeed turned the warehouse inside out—it was a complete mess.

"What on earth? Is there really a 'Dao' in here?" Ruo Xue let down her tied-up hair, looking a bit tired. "It's so small and stuffy in there—I almost got overheated."

"Oh...?" Xiao Yao hesitated. "Really, Ruo Xue... you couldn't find it either?"

"Ha ha." Ruo Xue laughed. "I didn't use 'Hui Xiang'; I just wanted to see what kind of game this child designed."

"Then... then you might have failed the challenge, sister." I said, "You... you should come out first. I need to clean up inside..."

Ruo Xue looked at the chaotic warehouse and said apologetically, "Xiao Laoshu, do you have to clean this up by yourself every time?"

"Ah... I suppose so..." I nodded.

"With your small build, cleaning the warehouse would take all day, wouldn't it?"

"Don't ask." Xiao Yao said, "This child is on her first day as a 'Shengxiao', and you've already made a mess of things."

"What?" Ruo Xue exclaimed, "Her first day..."

She thought for a moment, then walked over and grabbed my hand.

"Ah?" I jumped in surprise. "What are you doing?"

"Don't move." Ruo Xue said, "Xiao Laoshu, listen carefully—this might be a magical warehouse."

"A magical warehouse...?"

"Don't speak." Ruo Xue interrupted me and continued, "I used to dream about having a magical room where, no matter how messy I made it, it would automatically clean itself up whenever friends came over."

I didn't quite understand what Ruo Xue meant.

"So you need to grasp the logic here..." I noticed a bead of sweat on Ruo Xue's forehead, as if this explanation was tough for her. "Xiao Laoshu... if someone comes to find you, then the warehouse gets cleaned up nice and neat... got it?"

"I understand... I definitely won't leave it messy like this..."

"Good." Ruo Xue nodded after hearing that, then let go of my hand.

She still looked tired, and she waved her hand, saying, "Xiao Yao, give it a try."

Xiao Yao looked at her, puzzled: "Ruo Xue... I don't get what you're doing."

"I'm just helping this child out." Ruo Xue said, "Is there anything wrong with that?"

Xiao Yao narrowed her eyes: "In my view, you're not helping the child... we're both 'participants', yet you're helping a 'Shengxiao'..."

"Hmm..." Ruo Xue thought for a moment and said, "It doesn't matter. Even if she's a 'Shengxiao', in my eyes, she's just a kid. Isn't that one of the things you like about me?"

Xiao Yao paused, then reached out and opened the warehouse door. I peeked inside with her.

To my amazement, it was completely tidy—all the scattered items had been put back on the shelves.