The next day, Afterlife.
Dressed in a navy-blue high-collared uniform, Jiang Yu navigated through the sprawling Afterlife bar.
At some point, the second button of his shirt had been torn off.
Afterlife was huge, occupying an entire five-story building.
On the surface, it was a bar and KTV, but in reality, it offered a one-stop bath and massage service.
The first floor was for drinking and clubbing, the second floor was the KTV, the third floor offered foot baths and massages, and the fourth floor housed high-end VIP private rooms, typically used to receive major clients.
The fifth floor consisted of executive offices.
Jiang Yu had heard some old employees mention that Afterlife seemed to have an underground section as well.
But he had no idea if it was true or not, and he couldn’t be bothered to find out.
With his own survival crisis still hanging over his head, he didn’t have the spare mental capacity to speculate on other things.
He adjusted his disheveled collar and sighed.
Somehow, the news of him almost being forced into a room by a female sugar mommy had leaked.
As a result, the young ladies working at the venue had started teasing him, both intentionally and unintentionally.
In the words of these older sisters: “The young handsome guy is still a virgin.
Touching him is a win no matter what!” Now, not only did he have to guard against these ladies groping him, but he also had to constantly worry about whether his water had been spiked.
Just moments ago, a close colleague of his, feeling thirsty, had taken a sip of the water Jiang Yu had left on the bar.
Without a word, the colleague collapsed onto the floor, writhing and twisting his body as if burning up.
From the looks of it, the water had been spiked with some kind of aphrodisiac.
Holy crap, this was insane!
Carrying a tray of drinks, he arrived at the door of a private booth, knocked, and a highly polite response soon came from inside: “Come in!” Only then did he enter with the drinks.
Sitting in the private room were three pot-bellied middle-aged men, two women, and someone Jiang Yu recognized.
It was Afterlife’s manager, a charming, elegant young woman.
She noticed Jiang Yu as well and gave him a slight nod.
Jiang Yu nodded back in greeting.
The men raised their glasses and bragged to one another.
“You’re talking about Old Capital-era Vodka?
Ha!
What kind of horse piss is that?
No kick, no proof!
When it comes to liquor, nothing beats the Flying Moutai from the Old Capital era!” “Flying Moutai…
how long ago was that?
I’ve only seen two bottles of it in the wine cellar back when my old man was mayor.
Once, when he wasn’t home, I snuck into the cellar and quietly poured a tiny cup.
Damn, that sauce-aroma wafted out the moment I opened the cap.
Just one sniff and I was almost drunk!” “Did you taste it then?” The man smacked his lips, intentionally staying quiet with a lingering, tipsy expression on his face.
“Ha!
This kid is showing off again.
I heard about this from a bureau chief back then.
This punk passed out drunk from just a single sniff!
Then his grandfather hung him from the chandelier and whipped him with a belt all night long.
Hahaha…” Everyone in the booth laughed good-naturedly, without any trace of mockery.
After Jiang Yu finished swapping out the drinks for the guests, he picked up the empty bottles and prepared to leave.
“I heard the booze from the Outer Ring is decent.
Wonder if you guys have tried it.” “The Outer Ring?
It’d be a miracle if that godforsaken desert had any good liquor!” “Hey, don’t say that.
Last time, my secretary brought me a flask of Outer Ring Fuel Drink.
Don’t look down on it just because it’s from the Outer Ring—the kick from that stuff is unreal!
That night, I reclaimed my peak vigor.
My body felt eighteen again, and my wife couldn’t even get out of bed the next day!” “Really that potent?
I don’t believe it…” *Click.* The door of the private room was gently closed.
Jiang Yu carried the empty bottles toward the washing room.
He turned over the conversation of those politician-looking men in his mind.
Vodka?
Flying Moutai?
They sounded a bit like the liquors from Earth before his transmigration.
Maybe it was just a coincidence that the names were similar.
None of that was important.
What mattered was that he had heard an unfamiliar name.
Outer Ring?
He had only been in this world for a short month, and his general knowledge about it mostly came from what his former colleagues had told him.
The Outer Ring was something he hadn’t heard of before, let alone understood.
He would like to check out the Outer Ring if he ever got the chance.
…
His working hours flew by.
Jiang Yu sidestepped to avoid two Thiren catgirls who staggered toward him as if drunk.
Their acting was truly abysmal.
The locker room.
Jiang Yu shed his work uniform, which was heavily scented with makeup and powder, and put on his own jacket.
After scanning his face to clock out, he left Afterlife immediately.
[Detected host received 20,000 Dennies] [Remaining Dennies: 20,600] Afterlife was quite humane when it came to paying wages.
Once you clocked out, Afterlife’s AI system would transfer the pay directly into your account.
It was countless times better than those entrepreneurs on Earth who loved to withhold their workers’ pay.
He pulled out his phone.
It was still early, only 5:00 PM.
He should go to Sixth Street to visit Ling.
Passing by a fruit shop, Jiang Yu—who suffered from severe decision paralysis—wandered around the store for a long time.
In the end, under the clerk’s enthusiastic recommendation, he bought a box of strawberries and a bag of apples.
It cost him a total of 20,500 Dennies.
[Remaining Dennies: 100] Jiang Yu: …
*Fruit assassins, huh?
Is it too late to get a refund?* …
Sixth Street.
Jiang Yu stood at the subway exit, looking at the novel street outside.
On his previous two visits, the situation had been urgent, and he had headed straight for the video store without paying attention to Sixth Street’s environment.
Before taking more than a few steps, he spotted a bare-bottomed Bangboo model.
*Is this Sixth Street even decent?* Arriving at the entrance of the video store, just as he was about to push the door open, a dog barked behind him.
“Woof!
Woof!” Jiang Yu glanced back.
It was a husky sitting inside a newsstand.
Perhaps hoping that a fresh face like Jiang Yu would patronize his little shop, he howled and barked twice more, wagging his tail like a metronome.
Jiang Yu guessed the husky’s intention, waved his hand, and smiled.
“I’ll patronize your shop next time!
I’m visiting a friend first!” Howl nodded, waving a paw painted with green nail polish.
Jiang Yu was somewhat surprised.
This husky was incredibly human-like.
Stepping into the video store, he saw Zhe organizing videos on the shelves.
“Welcome!” Zhe greeted politely, noticing a customer entering.
“Hello, Store Manager!” Jiang Yu smiled.
Zhe realized the guest was actually Jiang Yu, who was carrying two bags of fruit.
He immediately guessed the purpose of his visit.
He immediately put down the video in his hand and walked over to greet him.
“Ling is fine.
She has already woken up from her coma.” Jiang Yu handed the strawberries and apples to Zhe.
He scanned the store but didn’t see Ling, so he asked, “Where is Ling?
I don’t see her.” Zhe showed an apologetic smile.
“Sorry, Ling said she was a bit tired and went upstairs to rest.” Having learned that Ling was fine, he didn’t quite know what else to say to Zhe, so he prepared to take his leave.
Seeing Jiang Yu about to leave, Zhe quickly stopped him.
“Sit down and have some tea first.
I’ll go call Ling down.” Then Zhe teased, “If you leave without having even a sip of tea after bringing such a valuable gift, the neighbors will laugh at us for having no manners.” Since Zhe put it that way, Jiang Yu didn’t refuse anymore.
However, the phrase “valuable gift” left him somewhat puzzled.
They were just two bags of fruit—how could they be considered valuable?
Zhe walked into a room marked “Staff Only”.
Jiang Yu stood at the doorway and looked inside; it was a workshop.
“Come in, Jiang Yu.” “Is it alright for me to go in?” “It’s fine.
You’re not an outsider.” With the owner’s permission, Jiang Yu stepped into the room, which was filled with a massive number of TV screens.
*As expected of video-peddlers.
The number of TVs in this room is insane.* Just as Jiang Yu was looking around the room, a blue eye suddenly lit up on a computer screen on the desk.
After peering at Jiang Yu, it quickly vanished.
Although it was only for a brief half-second, Jiang Yu’s keen senses caught the subtle detail.
He glanced at Zhe, who was setting up the tea set.
Since the other party hadn’t taken the initiative to introduce it, it wouldn’t be polite for him to ask.
After all, everyone had their own secrets.
*Thud, thud, thud…* Just then, a rapid succession of footsteps came from the stairs.
“Brother!” “I smell it!
Did you buy strawberries?!
And they’re my favorite cream strawberries!…”