"I didn't expect there to be another set of rules here, but why is it Rule Three?"
He Gu wasn't particularly surprised. The rules in the world of strange tales could appear in any form and in any place, often more than one.
The envelope left by Zhang Chao contained the first set of rules. What about Rule Two?
Perhaps he had missed some details and overlooked the second set of rules?
Forget it, he would look for it later.
Looking at the rules in front of him, He Gu secretly felt fortunate.
If He Gu had listened to the dormitory administrator's advice and not come to the store, he wouldn't have seen these rules.
However, these rules were specific to the store. If he didn't enter the store, it seemed like it wouldn't make a difference whether he saw them or not.
But for He Gu, there was still a difference because he could see one hidden piece of information on the rules more than others!
"The hidden information says that before entering the store, one must ensure that there are no parrot feathers on oneself. Parrot feathers… it's parrots again. The importance of parrots seems to be even higher than I imagined…"
He Gu secretly noted this information and took out his phone to take a photo for easy reference.
Then, taking advantage of the store's lighting, He Gu carefully checked himself to make sure there were no parrot feathers on him.
Afterwards, he stood at the entrance of the store and looked around. He finally walked in after seeing a cashier wearing a white uniform behind the cash register.
"Welcome."
The cashier behind the cash register called out without even lifting their head, their tone very harsh.
He Gu glanced over and saw that the cashier was wearing a white duckbill cap, with the brim pressed low and their head always lowered, making it impossible to see their face clearly.
Ignoring the cashier, He Gu walked straight into the store and began selecting items.
The store wasn't big, but it had a wide variety of products.
He Gu even saw pre-made bento boxes and raw steaks.
However, these were not within He Gu's range of purchase. He only took some bread, instant noodles, and mineral water, and then thought for a moment before also taking a box of pure milk.
Afterwards, He Gu brought the pile of items to the cash register to check out.
The cashier behind the cash register still had their head lowered. After helping He Gu put all the items into a large bag, they said in a harsh tone, "A total of 174 yuan."
He Gu took out two one-hundred-yuan bills from the envelope left by Zhang Chao and handed them over.
The cashier took the money and, still with their head lowered, found the change while speaking in a harsh tone, "We have a new promotion for 'Delicious Beef Cubes' in our store. Would you like to try some?"
Thinking of the fourth rule he had just seen outside the store, He Gu immediately shook his head, "No, thank you."
After being rejected, the cashier didn't say anything else and silently handed over some change to He Gu.
However, when He Gu received it, he realized that the change seemed off.
He lowered his head and took a closer look. This wasn't money at all, but several yellow paper offerings!
He Gu's heart tightened, and when he looked up, he found that the cashier behind the cash register had already taken off their hat at some point and was now looking at him with a smile that wasn't quite a smile.
And their work uniform had somehow turned black!
He Gu immediately turned around to look inside the store and realized that there were only two people left: him and the cashier!
Store Rule Two: If there is no cashier wearing a white uniform in the store, please leave immediately!
Thinking of this, He Gu panicked.
He didn't even care about the paper offerings in his hand. He grabbed the bag of items he had just bought and rushed out.
However, after leaving the store, He Gu heard footsteps behind him.
He hurriedly turned his head and glanced back, only to find that the lights in the store had already gone out, and the cashier was stiffly walking towards him!
He Gu instantly panicked and started running.
Fortunately, the cashier's movements were stiff and slow, and He Gu quickly left them behind.
At this moment, He Gu noticed that all the streetlights around him had gone out, except for a few scattered lights in the direction of the dormitory building. The entire campus was pitch black.
The dark and silent environment made He Gu even more anxious. He continued running towards the dormitory building with his head down.
Soon, He Gu ran into a small grove.
This small grove was very small, only the size of a basketball court.
If he passed through this small grove, He Gu would reach the dormitory building.
However, just at this moment, a black shadow suddenly darted out from the trees ahead, and then He Gu saw a pair of green-glowing eyes in the middle of the road.
"Fuck!"
This sudden appearance of the black shadow startled He Gu, and he instinctively stopped in his tracks.
Upon closer inspection, He Gu realized that it was a black cat.
The black cat stood in the middle of the path, showing its teeth with a fierce expression towards He Gu.
From its posture, it seemed like it could pounce on He Gu at any moment.
Perhaps because he was too nervous, He Gu felt a sense of danger even from this small and skinny black cat.
Especially when he looked into those green, oily eyes, He Gu had the illusion that he was its prey.
Seeing the black cat slowly approaching him step by step, He Gu took a deep breath to calm himself down. At the same time, he started scanning his surroundings with his eyes, hoping to find a stone or a branch to drive away the black cat.
Just at this moment, footsteps sounded not far behind He Gu.
TAP, TAP, TAP…
The cashier was chasing after him!
He Gu felt like his breath was about to stop. Without thinking too much, he prepared to charge through the black cat's obstruction with a brave face.However, before He Gu could react, he saw the black cat puff up its fur as if it had seen something extremely terrifying. It let out a shrill cry and darted into the darkness, disappearing from sight.
At the same time, the footsteps behind him seemed to have reached a spot less than a meter away from him!
A chill ran down He Gu's spine. He didn't dare to look back, and he started running forward as if his life depended on it.
Half a minute later, a panting He Gu had already reached the entrance of the dormitory building.
The janitor, wearing a red vest, was still sitting there, fanning himself with a straw fan. He chuckled and said, "Why are you running so fast? Were you chased by a dog?"
He Gu stopped in front of the janitor, panting heavily. He nervously glanced back, but the small grove was pitch black, and he couldn't see anything.
The footsteps didn't follow him anymore!
He Gu let out a long sigh of relief, feeling more exhausted than after running a marathon.
Just as He Gu was catching his breath at the dormitory entrance, the janitor suddenly stood up and said, "Well, it's nine o'clock, I have to close the door."
As he spoke, the janitor moved his chair inside and began to pull the two outward-opening iron doors back.
While pulling the doors, the janitor asked He Gu, "Are you going in or not? If you're not, I'm going to lock the door."
At this point, He Gu was so tired that he could barely speak. He gasped, "In, of course I'm going in."
Staying out overnight was against the school rules, so He Gu certainly couldn't spend the night outside.
He Gu took a few more breaths, stood up, and prepared to go in.
At this moment, He Gu suddenly noticed an A4 paper stuck on the outside of the iron door that the janitor had just pulled back.
【Rule Two】
1. Please keep the dormitory clean;
2. The dormitory building closes promptly at 21:00 every night. Please do not return late;
3. Please do not walk in the corridor between midnight and 6 a.m.;
4. Please remember, there are no cats in the dormitory building. If you hear a cat's cry, please ignore it;
***
After He Gu finished reading the above rules, a line of red text slowly appeared at the bottom:
Hidden information: All emotions and desires will be amplified in the dormitory. Please ensure to breathe fresh air outside at least once a day.