You said you were going to make games, how did you become the richest man without doing anything?

Chapter 569 Returning to the familiar convenience store
The fluorescent blue sensor pod slowly closed, and G-chan lay on the soft sensor pad, closing her eyes. Data streams flowed through her consciousness like a galaxy, and in an instant, she became Tang Yin again.

In the darkness of the night, memories flickered through Tang Yin's mind like shattered glass. Each fragment reflected a different image: a bloody scene, shrill screams, thick fog, and the giant wolf. These fragmented fragments suddenly froze him in place, cold sweat oozing from his forehead.

"Wait, how could I—"

Tang Yin gripped the steering wheel tightly as a sudden thought struck him. He had experienced this before, not just once, but several times. It was as if time had somehow reversed, bringing him back to this night again and again.

"Backtracking?" He smiled bitterly and shook his head. "You must be joking. How can such a surreal thing be possible?"

But reason told him that without recalling it, many things were simply inexplicable. For example, he clearly remembered the feeling of dying, the excruciating pain of being torn apart by a wild beast, the despair of his life slipping away. It was all so real and terrifying. Yet, he was alive and well now, sitting in this car on a mountain road.

Tang Yin tried to recall more details, but his memory was fragmented, as if cut by a knife. He remembered going to the Hidden Mist Village, meeting many people there, experiencing a series of bizarre events, and finally meeting his death. But the specific details were like being shrouded in a thick fog, and he could not recall them at all.

"It feels like this last time, too." He rubbed his temples. "It's like someone deliberately cut into my memory."

The fuel gauge on the dashboard teetered, signaling it was running low. The phone screen was dim, the battery level down to the single digits, the signal bar long gone. Worse still, a sudden pang of thirst washed over me, leaving my throat burning.

“Exactly the same as last time.”

The road ahead gradually became clearer, and a neon sign flickered in the night. It was a convenience store, the last supply point before Baifengzhuang. Thinking of the sleazy-looking clerk, Tang Yin couldn't help but clench his fists, anger boiling in his chest.

But now wasn't the time to dwell on that. If his guess was correct, if this truly was a flashback, then this convenience store was the first signpost to the truth. Perhaps all the puzzles had to start all over again from here.

The night wind howled, and the shadows of the trees swayed, as if telling a secret unknown to the world. Tang Yin took a deep breath and adjusted his sitting position. This time, he was determined to find the truth and change that bloody ending.

"Now that I've been given a chance to start over," he stared at the lights of the convenience store ahead, "I'll never make the same mistake again this time."

The wheels rolled over the asphalt road, making a subtle sound. Tang Yin knew that on this seemingly ordinary night, the gears of fate had begun to turn. And he would once again step into the abyss full of mystery.

The convenience store's automatic doors slid open, letting out a rush of cold air. Fluorescent tubes overhead emitted a faint hum, illuminating the narrow aisles between the shelves. Tang Yin took a deep breath, trying to calm his inner irritation. Although he was deeply disgusted by the clerk's attitude, his current situation didn't allow him to be picky. At least in this pitch-black night, the lights were on.

Behind the counter, the clerk with faded red hair raised her eyelids and glanced at him with an indifferent expression. She had dark purple nail polish and a magazine tucked between her fingers. She said lazily, "Welcome."

Although she didn't even raise her eyelids when she said this, her arrogant attitude actually made Tang Yin feel relieved. In this strange cycle, her harshness seemed to be the only constant, giving him a strange sense of security.

"Tsk!" the clerk made an impatient clicking sound.

Tang Yin knew that in her eyes, he was just a troublesome guest who came late at night. This thought made him feel a little funny. If she knew what was going to happen next, she probably wouldn't have such an attitude.

Pushing his shopping cart through the shelves, Tang Yin began to make large purchases. He dumped everything he could possibly need in the Hidden Mist Village into the cart. Supplies were extremely scarce in that remote mountain village, so it was always better to be prepared.

"Check out." Tang Yin pushed a fully loaded shopping cart to the counter.

The clerk glanced at the mountain of merchandise and raised an eyebrow. "Huh? Why are you buying so many things?"

Reluctantly, she stood up and picked up the cash register scanner. The beeping sound echoed in the silent store. She grumbled softly as she worked. Tang Yin noticed that she had to turn on the radio to record this large transaction, which was exactly what he wanted.

While waiting to pay, Tang Yin pretended to ask casually, "I'm looking for people nearby. Do you have a map?"

"Huh? Of course not." The clerk rolled his eyes.

"I think there should be, please." Tang Yin showed a sincere expression.

The clerk sighed: "Wait." She turned and walked towards the storage room at the back of the store, her footsteps echoing in the empty store.

A moment later, she returned with a folding map: "Found it."

Tang Yin nodded secretly in his heart, it was indeed so.

The clerk pointed to a point on the map: "The store is here. Go north at this intersection."

"Yeah." Tang Yin listened carefully.

"There's an overpass here. There's a big rock near the first intersection after the overpass. Turn right there and go straight ahead." She gestured on the map with her fingers painted dark purple.

Tang Yin frowned at the map. "There's only forest on the map, right?" He clearly remembered that the mountain road wasn't even paved, and an accident could happen if one wasn't careful. Why had she led him down that dangerous road last time?
"It's just not on the map. There's a village there," the clerk replied nonchalantly.

This answer piqued Tang Yin's curiosity. Wuyin Village was indeed remote and seemed like a paradise, but how did this girl know about it? "It seems dangerous to ride a bike there. Where's Baifeng Manor?"

"It takes two hours to walk along a shitty mountain road to get there," the clerk said bluntly.

"Wait, can I take notes?"

"as you like."

Tang Yin took out his phone and wrote it down in his memo while continuing to ask, "What about the town next door?"

"There are two mountains between us." The clerk interrupted him impatiently.

Tang Yin looked at the route she had scribbled on the map and couldn't help but complain internally. Two mountains? Isn't that a rather arbitrary way of measuring distance? But for now, he could only write it down. As the night deepened, the convenience store window reflected his exhausted face. The answer lay just ahead, but he had no idea how far he had to go.

The clerk, with a curl of faded red hair, frowned slightly and glanced at the wall clock. After a moment of hesitation, he said, "Ah, it's already late at night. It's better not to run around around here."

The white light from the fluorescent tubes reflected on her slightly pale face, softening her originally sharp features. Tang Yin was stunned for a moment, and a warm feeling rose in his heart - this fierce-looking clerk, could he be worried about him?
But then he thought, if she was really so kind, why did she point him to that dangerous road last time? The steep mountain road in his memory was especially slippery on a rainy night, and the moment the tires slipped seemed to be right before his eyes. Tang Yin couldn't help but shudder.

The clerk seemed to notice his hesitation, and his tone softened unexpectedly: "To retreat when faced with difficulties is also an act of courage."

Should we retreat when faced with difficulties? Tang Yin silently repeated this sentence in his mind. The convenience store in the night seemed to have become an isolated island, and the two of them were the only two residents on this isolated island.

"Well, I'll consider it, thank you~" Tang Yin responded casually.

"Goodbye." The clerk had turned her attention back to her magazine.

Just as he was about to leave, Tang Yin suddenly remembered something and turned around to ask, "Oh, by the way, are there any local specialty drinks here? They don't seem to be on the shelves."

The clerk looked up with an impatient expression: "No, if it's not on the shelf, then it's not available."

"Maybe there's one backstage?" Tang Yin pressed relentlessly. Moonlight streamed in through the glass door, casting mottled shadows on the ground. "You're the one," the clerk rolled his eyes, his tone clearly filled with dissatisfaction.

"Don't get excited, let's go and take a look first." Tang Yin raised his hands and made a gesture of surrender.

The clerk sighed and looked helpless: "Wait." After that, she dragged her feet to the storage room in the backstage.

A moment later, unexpectedly, she came back with something: "Found it."

Tang Yin's eyes widened as he stared in disbelief at the plastic bottle she pulled out from the backstage. The bottle was filled with a 500ml, inky black liquid. Affixed to it was a clearly handwritten label with the words "Wild Vegetable Coke" scribbled crookedly.

This convenience store is truly a treasure chest, housing all sorts of bizarre and strange things. Tang Yin smacked his lips in amazement.

"Oh, sorry, there are too many luggage. Do you have any rubber ropes here to tie the luggage to the rear rack of the car?" He made another seemingly unreasonable request.

The clerk's expression instantly turned ferocious: "Do you really think a convenience store is a jack of all trades?"

"Please, can you help me take a look backstage?" Tang Yin showed his most sincere smile.

"Wait." The clerk said through gritted teeth and disappeared behind the backstage door again.

"Found it." She actually came back with something again!
Tang Yin watched this incredible development and grew bolder. He pulled a crumpled note from his pocket and asked cautiously, "Um, could you also help me check backstage for the other things written on this note?"

The clerk's eyes seemed to be spitting fire: "Are you done yet? Believe it or not, I will kill you!?" She raised her fist, and her fingers with dark purple nails trembled slightly with anger.

"Queen, please spare me! Just take a look! Just take a look!!" Tang Yin took two steps back exaggeratedly, acting terrified.

"Wait!!" The clerk snatched the note and turned away angrily.

"Thank you so much!" Tang Yin shouted at her back. Under the light of the convenience store, he noticed the corner of the clerk's mouth curled up slightly, but it was so fleeting that it was hard to tell if it was an illusion. The night was filled with an eerie atmosphere, and this surly clerk seemed to be the key to solving the mystery.

after awhile.

Shopkeeper: “We found them all!!”

Tang Yin: "What the hell is going on with this convenience store?!"

Oh no, Tang Yin felt that this clerk would really kill him. Fortunately, the procurement of supplies went smoothly.

Tang Yin picked up his things and ran away.

Open that bottle of mysterious vegetable cola.

The moth-attracting lamp above his head emitted a sharp electric sound from time to time. Tang Yin raised his head and took a sip.

...It has a cool, stimulating feeling and a subtle grassy aroma, and it tastes pretty good.

I thought this local drink must taste weird, but I didn't expect it to be so delicious.

...It's a bit of a pity that I can't complain about this. Tang Yin confirmed the ingredients of the Coke again.

Cola, plant essence.

...Wait, the raw material is Coca-Cola?

In other words, is Coke itself mixed from purchased finished products?
What exactly is that plant essence? It can be either juice or poison, right?

Is this drink really okay?

Whatever, at least it tastes good.

Returning the original route should be the most correct choice.

There is a life-threatening situation in Baifeng Manor, go back quickly.

If you interpret the meaning of [Death Rewind] in this way, then the right thing to do might be to avoid it at all costs.

But - is the truth really that simple?

Although there is no source, Tang Yin suspects that the source of this supernatural phenomenon is hidden in that magical village...

...If this mystery is not solved, Tang Yin will not be able to escape the cycle of death.

Tang Yin wondered what would happen if he just left? Would he spend the rest of his life in an ordinary way outside, and then come back here after he died?
...If one dies of old age, will one regain youth?
It seems pretty good, but is there really such a good thing?
...This is just his guess.

Maybe he had never set foot on that mountain road.

Maybe from then until now, everything before death was just a dream, and once you die, you will return to the origin of the dream.

If that’s the case…what’s the meaning of his future life?
How can he truly move forward without breaking free from his shackles?

In addition, if we ignore this strange, abnormal, inexplicable——

A terrifying phenomenon, can he return to the city?

When the game reached this point, the audience in the live broadcast room started discussing again:
"Could it be that Tang Yin wants to back out?"

G-chan said, "Why don't we try to go back the way we came? Maybe we can get to safety then?"

So, after drinking the carbonated drink, Tang Yin decided to give the initiative to rationality, or rather, opportunism.

Oh my, it was really a magical experience. When he returns, it should become a topic of summer horror stories, right?

(End of this chapter)