Welcome to Rule City

After the post-mortem meeting, everyone found themselves with nothing much to do today, so they decided to move to the Leisure Room. There, they ate, drank, and chatted, exchanging the latest information, news, or amusing stories while also discussing which snacks were delicious and which ones to avoid next time.

The members of Under the Bronze never considered saving enough money to leave; the goal seemed too distant. Moreover, being too cautious about spending-avoiding food, drinks, or buying equipment-might lead to an untimely demise without having enjoyed anything, which would be tragic.

Mu Ai shared their sentiment. When money was tight, she had no choice but to be frugal. But when she had money, she would never wrong herself under a well-planned budget. She would eat and drink as she pleased and would go all out to acquire handy tools and weapons.

As the saying goes: Money is like a bastard; spend it and earn more. What’s the point of earning money if you don’t spend it?

Ever since she could leave the Guize Community, Mu Ai had stopped visiting the small, expensive supermarket with poor service there. She preferred to risk triggering a Random Event or seeing something unpleasant by shopping at the large supermarket on Commercial Street.

“This time, I got two cards from that guy named Jin,” Mu Ai summoned the Rulebook to show off her spoils to her companions. “Though the second one isn’t very useful, it seems fun.”

[Customized Twenty-Sided Die (Ordinary)

Description: This is a die customized especially for you. To enhance its quality faster, you need to roll it more often. The longer you interact with it, the more in sync you become.

Usage: It can replace any die in situations requiring a roll. The higher the quality, the better the effect.

After changing owners, the die’s quality resets to zero, starting from ordinary.

Notes: Even though it’s customized for you, don’t take it too seriously. It’s just a die; do you really expect it to wag its tail for you?]

[Negative Example

Description: A book with only three pages, it randomly narrates the fates of three people who broke the rules each day.

Usage: It serves as a great warning, reminding people to follow the rules in the City of Rules. Whether discovered or potential rules, all must be followed.

Notes: Don’t worry about social death; you’ll never find yourself in this book-if you do, you probably won’t have the chance to care.]

“The die is nice. Roll it often when you have nothing to do; you never know when it might come in handy,” Anton said, glancing at the black die with gold numbers, then leaned over to pick up the materialized Negative Example. “Three stories a day? Let’s see who they are-”

The others gathered around out of curiosity, but no one touched the die. Since it required rolling and contact to gradually improve its quality, they, as outsiders, refrained from touching it, lest they erase Mu Ai’s aura from it.

There were no such concerns with the Negative Example. It felt more like a data collection, which could be materialized and kept in the data room rather than taken into a dungeon for battles.

“Wow, look at this. The data format is really simple,” Anton said after reading the first page, placing the book on the table for others to see. “Saying it’s a waste to read ten lines at a glance is an understatement.”

[Name: Song Jinsheng

Rule Violation: Loudly talking in the cinema

Outcome: Death]

Mu Ai: …Apologies to those who can read ten lines at a glance. What a waste, truly a waste.

The format on the next two pages was identical, detailing someone cutting in line and another calling people to cut in line. The outcome was the same: death, even if they knew each other.

Fu Xi sneered, “It’s understandable if they all came together or someone had to step out temporarily. But I hate it when one person comes down, and as the time approaches, they call friends and relatives, who then shamelessly stand at the front without a word of courtesy.”

Sano nodded in agreement, “And they never think they’re in the wrong. Instead, they think those behind them are being difficult. You can’t do anything about them outside, but doing this in Guize City is asking for death.”

Mu Ai raised an eyebrow, “That reminds me of some sci-fi novels about AI. People, with the intention of strictly following the law, created AI patrols that showed no mercy, arresting anyone who broke the law or behavioral norms.”

Sano, intrigued, asked, “And then?”

Mu Ai shrugged, “Initially, everyone was satisfied because they dealt with petty thieves, scammers, line-cutters, and jaywalkers-things that infuriated people but rarely had satisfying outcomes. The turning point came with a series of unintentional rule violations. Even though those people were passive, they were still taken away, leaving onlookers anxious and dividing people into two factions.”

At this point, Mu Ai shook her head, “I don’t remember much of the follow-up. I only recall the AI patrols being smashed to pieces by angry people, with the authorities announcing they wouldn’t produce new AI patrols. People cheered for their long-lost freedom until three months later, when they started complaining about rule-breakers again, hoping for smarter AI patrols.”

“That’s really…” Anton leaned back in his chair, arms crossed, taking a moment before commenting, “a very human behavior.”

“Humans are inherently complex and contradictory,” Fu Xi philosophically concluded, “but it’s precisely because of this that we have such different yet similar selves.”

Fu Xi’s words brought a moment of silence to the room, which Meng Hao broke by clapping his hands, dispelling the strange atmosphere. “Let’s not dwell on that. If we’re going to think, let’s think about what to have for dinner tonight-no ‘whatever’ allowed.”

“I want to eat ramen,” Mu Ai raised her hand, “the kind with yellow broth, double meat, and pickled vegetables.”

Ivan followed suit, raising his hand as well, “I want beer with my drink. I just got out of a Dungeon, so I’m not going anywhere for now. Applying for this month’s drinking quota.”

Sano chimed in, “I want spicy and sour shredded potatoes, and also some pork jelly!”

Fu Xi coughed twice, then raised her hand earnestly, “I’ll have shredded chicken noodles, no scallions.”

Anton glanced around at everyone, crossing his legs with an expression that said ‘you mortals,’ “Braised beef noodles are the eternal god. You all really don’t know how to eat.”

Meng Hao stood up, “Great, we have a consensus. Dinner will be ramen.”

Mu Ai asked curiously, “What are you having?”

Meng Hao raised an eyebrow, “Only kids make choices. Adults choose everything-besides, the portions there are quite small, trying a bit of each won’t necessarily fill you up.”

“Wow,” Mu Ai exclaimed in Anton’s tone, deciding she had to see for herself just how small the portions were that evening.

And then she understood, not only are the joys and sorrows of people not shared, but even their assessments of portion sizes differ.

…

After eating and drinking their fill, the group returned to the villa, and it was completely dark outside, though there were still a few hours before bedtime. Meng Hao and Ivan, as usual, went to the gym, and Sano found a spot in the training room to do yoga.

Mu Ai had decided to take it easy for a few days, so she stayed in the Leisure Room with Anton and Fu Xi, who had finally finished their work, to watch TV-incidentally, since the villa already had a TV installed before she arrived, her own was set up in her room, but she preferred watching with friends.

The TV was broadcasting news from Guize City, mostly things that local NPCs would care about. Just like in reality, Mu Ai wasn’t interested in this kind of news and was busy on her phone, messaging a few friends still in Building 2.

[Zhou Yao: Everyone in Building 2 has gone crazy. No idea which hero did it, but that guy died in a Fixed Instance. Joyful news, jpg.]

[Cui Lue: They say it was that scumbag, but he’s been missing for days. No one’s seen him, and many think he ran away secretly.]

[Chu Tiankuo: Maybe he found someone else to rely on, but what value does a person like him have? His ex-wife is the one I feel sorry for, being questioned for days.]

[Cui Lue: They didn’t get anything out of her. After a few Building Managers talked to his ex-wife alone, they stopped pursuing it. Maybe the scumbag is already dead. Even if Guize Community doesn’t allow mutual… there’s still the outside.]

[Zhou Yao: Let’s not talk about him, bad luck. I heard that Fixed Instance got upgraded, and the guides need to be redone. Many people are acting like they’re about to die.]

[Mu Ai: Who took over in the end?]

[Chu Tiankuo: Not sure, but it seems other Building Managers plan to select someone from Building 2 to be the new Building Manager and continue leading the group. But from what I’ve heard, they’ll have to explore a few times before they can determine the route.]

[Cui Lue: Whoever wants to can go. I’m not going. By the way, how many Random Instances have you guys completed?]

[Chu Tiankuo: Three, and one was with a Benefit Ticket. A sad but strong smile.JPG]

[Mu Ai: (patting head) Last time I almost went crazy coming out. Your Contamination Value isn’t as high as mine, so you should be okay?]

[Chu Tiankuo: Yeah, I’m okay. At least it strengthened my atheism. (laughing and crying)]

[Cui Lue: You two are really lucky. I pray you don’t invite me. I never liked watching movies, and I don’t want to now.]

[Zhou Yao: I’ve also done three Dungeons. If it weren’t for someone helping me, I wouldn’t have seen you guys-Mu Ai, I’ve joined the ‘Sisterhood,’ want to come?]

[Mu Ai: No, I have a guild. The people are quite nice.]

[Zhou Yao: That’s good. Oh, there’s an announcement. They’ve chosen a new Building Manager. I’ll go check out the excitement.]

[Cui Lue: I’ll join you.]

[Chu Tiankuo: Wait for me.]

The group chat quieted down afterward. Mu Ai figured they’d be watching the excitement for a while, maybe until tomorrow, so she turned off her screen and focused on the TV, just in time to hear a sensitive keyword that caught her attention-“Black Umbrella Corporation.”

Mu Ai immediately perked up, staring at the TV without blinking. On the screen, the rabbit-headed news anchor’s three-part mouth opened and closed, reciting a cold verdict in a warm voice.

[… It is reported that a certain high-ranking official of the Black Umbrella Corporation had been secretly funding an unlicensed Testing Ground and conducting illegal and inhumane human experiments in private. Due to special circumstances, the Testing Ground was forced to shut down. The high-ranking official fled with funds, and the Black Umbrella Corporation stated that this was purely an individual’s actions, unknown to others. The company strongly condemns such inhumane behavior and is willing to provide information to the Guize City police to assist in the capture.

Currently, the Guize City government has taken over the Testing Ground, which will be converted and opened to the public as a museum in the future.]

Mu Ai blinked. So the USB drive had taken effect? What was this, had she destroyed another Fixed Instance, or had she upgraded it again?

As she was pondering, a notification popped up on her phone.

[Ding~ Your new package has arrived in the mailbox, please check it.]