A Manual for Surviving a Weird World

Chapter 396 Finding Friends

Clang—

A loud clanging sound, like a solid steel pipe falling to the ground, followed by the slow opening of a 50-centimeter-thick solid steel security door, from which a furtive little head peeked out.

"Well done, Xia Rong." Ning Zhe beckoned, and Xia Rong bent her short legs and jumped into his palm with a powerful kick. She climbed up his arm and onto his shoulder, disappearing from sight.

Ning Zhe glanced sideways at Plumeria and gave her a signal before stepping forward and opening the door. The first thing he saw were two solid steel bolts, each as thick as an adult's upper arm, lying on the ground, showing signs of being forcibly bent. This all-steel security door wasn't equipped with any advanced combination lock or fingerprint lock; it used the most primitive physical locking structure—in layman's terms, the kind of door bolts found in ancient homes.

Stepping over the knee-high threshold into the house, a thin layer of dust covered the living room floor on the first floor. A series of cat-paw-sized footprints stretched from the doorway all the way up the stairs, left by Xia Rong when she opened the door. Apart from that, there were no other signs of human activity.

Cabinets, refrigerators, and shelves were placed against the wall, with a rolled-up dance mat leaning against the corner, and several chairs tucked under the long table, covered in dust.

“It seems like no one has been here for a long time,” Plumeria whispered.

"Let's go upstairs and take a look." Ning Zhe did not choose to leave the living room to check the other rooms on the first floor, but instead followed the small footprints left by Xia Rong up the stairs to the second floor.

The second-floor floor was covered with foam puzzle mats, the kind commonly found in kindergartens, covering the entire hall. They were carefully pieced together to form a smiling cat face, surrounded by small tents in pink, yellow, and blue. The pink one was Kirby, the yellow one was Pikachu, and the blue one was Sonic the Hedgehog. Various other children's toys were scattered all over the floor.

“So many children’s toys.” Plumeria followed Ning Zhe upstairs. One wall of the living room was completely covered by a huge wall-mounted TV, while the other walls were covered with small items such as jump ropes and paintings.

“Yin Lishang is a few years younger than you, and his mind is about the same as a child who has just started elementary school. Spending a little money on some children’s toys can make this troublesome person happy. There are very few more cost-effective deals than this.” Ning Zhe stepped onto the puzzle mat and came to the pink tent. Looking at the children’s toys scattered all over the ground, he could already picture the two sisters, Zhang Hanying and Zhang Yunwen, playing and coaxing the child with Yin Lishang here.

Ning Zhe unzipped the pink tent and looked inside; it was completely empty.

Plumeria unzipped the blue tent, glanced inside, and said, "There's a literacy chart inside."

Ning Zhe stepped forward to take a look. It was one of those voice-based literacy charts commonly found in baby stores, with common initials, finals, and Chinese characters written on it. Pressing your hand on a Chinese character would produce the corresponding pronunciation. Plumeria reached out and pressed the letters on it, but no sound came out; the battery was probably dead.

They pulled open the last yellow tent to check it out. The two inspected the living room and found nothing suspicious except for Xia Rong's footprints. The floor mats, tents, and scattered children's toys were covered with a thin layer of dust, indicating that no one had touched them for a long time.

"Let's take a look at the room." Ning Zhe put the half-eaten nut chocolate back in its place, walked past the cat smiley face pattern in the center of the hall, and headed towards the door on the right side of the hall.

The second floor has four bedrooms and a living room, including two bedrooms, a bathroom, and a shower room. The bedroom on the right side of the living room is where Yin Lishang lives, while the bedroom on the left side is where the Zhang sisters, Hanying and Yunwen, live. They usually take turns keeping Yin Lishang company while the other rests.

Hearing the sound, Plumeria hurriedly followed Ning Zhe toward the bedroom door, clutching the substitute straw doll tightly in her hand as she passed the smiling cat face in the center of the hall. Suddenly, a mechanical electronic voice sounded from behind her:
[Little friend, are you still there?]

Plumeria abruptly stopped, her heart skipping a beat. Ning Zhe, who was standing at the bedroom door, also turned around, and the two of them turned their gazes toward the direction from which the sound came, where there was a blue children's tent with a Sonic pattern.

"The sound came from inside the tent..." Plumeria whispered. Her Chinese was only so-so, and she didn't quite catch what she said. 【Goodbye, little one!】

Having heard it clearly this time, Plumeria felt a chill run down her spine, and beads of cold sweat slid down the back of her neck.

“It was the literacy chart that was talking,” Ning Zhe said casually. “According to the program settings, it will emit a sound reminder when there is no interaction for a long time. If there is still no interaction after the reminder, it will automatically shut down. Those two sounds just now were the standby and shutdown reminder sounds.”

“But Master, that literacy chart… isn’t it out of power?” Plumeria was still a little worried, cautiously staring at Sonic the Hedgehog on the blue tent.

"How much power is left in the battery is a mystery, like the front and back of a USB drive. You can't know for sure without direct observation." Ning Zhe shrugged, raised his hand and lifted Xia Rong, preparing to throw her out of the balcony window into the bedroom. Plumeria also relaxed a little and continued walking towards Ning Zhe.

[Little friend, are you still there?]

Instantly, both of them stopped moving at the same time. The living room, covered in dust, was quiet except for the mechanical, cold, and harsh electronic voice, like a phone call from hell.

Where are you, little friend?

[Little friend, are you still there?]

【kid……】

boom--!
A rag doll slammed hard against the blue tent that had made the sound. Ning Zhe threw Xia Rong out and ordered in a deep voice, "Tear it up."

The cold words seemed to have flipped a forbidden switch. The rag doll named Xia Rong, who had initially appeared as a cute little girl, suddenly vanished. It pounced on all fours like a mad dog. Plumeria rushed to Ning Zhe's side. The two leaned against the door and saw the ferocious Sonic the Hedgehog on the blue tent being torn to shreds from head to toe. The literacy chart was ripped to pieces, and the exposed circuit boards and wires crackled with bright white sparks.

Xia Rong crawled on the ground, using both hands and feet, as bursts of white noise, mixed with mechanical electronic voices, emanated from the bow-shaped speaker.
Little friend, we've found you...

*Smack!* Xia Rong raised her short hand and smashed the plastic bow speaker into pieces.

Plumeria held the straw doll in her left arm and Ning Zhe's arm with her right, her brows furrowed as she looked at the mess in the living room: "It said it found me?"

Ning Zhe's expression turned slightly serious. He was about to reach out and beckon Xia Rong back when suddenly, he heard the metallic clang of a door latch being unlocked behind him, and a cool breeze swept down his spine.

The bedroom door opened.

(End of this chapter)