Doomsday Dealer

Chapter 5: A Strange Yet Familiar Society

"I've already told you my name, and I hope you'll be completely honest with me in our upcoming conversation," Marcus said as he pulled out a notebook from his bag, looking up at Sophia. "Your daily life, family relationships, what the company told you, and why you're in a psychiatric hospital?"

Sophia rested her hands on her knees and said earnestly, "I'm not mentally ill. I was mistakenly sent here. I'm a student at Longshan High School, and I only have my parents at home..."

Marcus listened carefully, nodding continuously.

Sophia wasn't mentally ill—this was somewhat unexpected for him, but obviously good news.

From what he heard about her daily life, the living habits here were extremely similar to Earth's, just much more backward.

This stage of development was something he had experienced in his childhood... Currently, adapting to this world didn't seem like a big problem—in fact, there might be no adaptation difficulty at all.

Sophia continued her account. When she mentioned her dreams, Marcus's pen suddenly stopped, and he said, "You mean there's something wrong with that rain? A heavy rain that lasted five days, people started going crazy, and then it was cannibalism and world chaos?"

"Yes..."

Marcus's jaw muscles tensed, and his heart felt like someone had grabbed it tightly!

He had gritted his teeth and accepted the whole time travel thing, and he knew about the apocalypse in advance.

Now it seemed that a zombie crisis wasn't too strange either.

But the problem was that the infection method was rain?!

Omnipresent water contamination... Water was the most important survival resource. If water became problematic, could humans still survive?!

"Cousin, are you okay?" Sophia asked quietly, seeing him distracted.

Suppressing the fear in his heart, Marcus forced a smile: "I'm fine, continue. You also mentioned the company in your dream. When did the company contact you, and when did they notify you that I would come?"

"I only learned about the company and your appearance in recent days."

"At that time, a voice suddenly appeared in my dream saying it was some Heavenly Dao Company, asking if I wanted to live. I said yes, then it said the contract was signed and they would send someone to help me, and then there was no more sound... That's about it."

"That's correct, our company works that way," Marcus agreed verbally, but internally he was cursing up a storm.

Isn't this f*****g extortion?! Forcing a cow to drink water! Who doesn't want to live? You have to sign a contract just to stay alive?

He had just clicked a mouse and got sent to outer space for labor dispatch.

However, there were many problems in Sophia's words. She had known about his appearance several days ago, while he had clearly only been recruited by the company a few hours ago.

The time difference was significant. Was it because of the time travel?

Could the company predict the future, or was this premeditated, or some other situation...

The underlying reasons were too complex to figure out immediately, and Sophia's understanding of the company was close to zero.

But just from this situation, it seemed that without completing this task, he would absolutely have no way to contact the company!

In other words, he had no choice but to complete the mission!

Cursing again in his mind, Marcus continued writing and asked, "Let's continue. Wait until I finish asking before you ask."

"Okay," Sophia replied weakly.

"How many days are left until that rain? Do you have an accurate memory?"

"Starting from today, there are still seven days. I remember this very clearly!"

"Seven days... Within seven days, whether by acting pitiful or putting on a show, can you get back home?"

"I don't know. I've said I want to go home, but my mom keeps telling me to stay here for treatment. But she's quite worried about me being here and comes to see me every day."

"Alright, let's skip this question for now... Are there any rental properties near your home? The closer to you, the better."

Sophia's eyes gradually brightened: "Yes! There are several rooms for rent in the same building as my home, with phone numbers posted on the windows."

"Hmm... Continue telling me about your daily life and your parents."

Ten minutes later, Marcus stopped taking notes again.

He had gathered some information about the apocalypse and gained further understanding of this world.

But with only seven days, he had to speed up.

This girl Sophia seemed quite clever, but she seriously lacked social experience.

Continuing to ask about her personal life might lead to intelligence that could mislead him.

Twirling his pen twice, Marcus changed the subject: "How much does your family of three spend each month? What are your parents' salaries?"

Sophia slowly developed a question mark above her head, hesitating before answering: "They both earn over two thousand... Our family seems to spend around two thousand each month."

Marcus continued: "Is this a society ruled by law?"

"Uh? Of course it is. We have many laws."

"When something happens at work or school, do you need to find connections or acquaintances?"

"Of course you have to find them. How else would you get things done?"

"Alright, I understand."

Stopping his pen, he pondered briefly: "Do you think you're pretty?"

"Hmm... How could I not be?"

"Do you think I'm handsome? How's my clothing style?"

"Quite handsome... Your clothes look very nice too, but they seem particularly hot."

"Are there any audio-video stores, markets, internet cafes nearby?"

"The first two exist, but I don't know about internet cafes."

"What's the molecular chemical formula for water?"

"H₂O"

"Hmm... Do you have periods? Do you use sanitary pads?"

"Ah?" Sophia's pretty face gradually turned red.

"Answer quickly!"

"...Yes, I do..."

After asking several more questions, Marcus closed his notebook and fell into thought.

This society had weak legal awareness and emphasized personal relationships.

Seven days later might be the apocalypse, with five consecutive days of heavy rain, problems beginning to emerge, and suspected zombies appearing.

The rainfall coverage area was unknown, and violent institutions in the rainfall zone would likely be quickly dismantled. The military power of this world probably couldn't be relied upon in the short term.

At the molecular level, water was no different from Earth's and could be safely consumed, but water contamination basically cut off any wilderness survival options. There wasn't much time or money to prepare a shelter, and he couldn't forcibly take Sophia away either.

But the seven thousand-plus yuan in his hands had strong purchasing power—at least renting a place and stockpiling supplies was barely feasible. Setting up near her home was the best option.

In terms of communication, common knowledge, culture, and personal image, Earth and this world had no major differences, so he could integrate quickly.

During the seven days, it was best to be honest and not violate any laws or regulations or provoke anyone.

As for other matters, he could only explore them himself after getting out...

Thinking this, Marcus suddenly realized a problem!

He picked up his pen and wrote H₂O on paper, showing it to Sophia.

"Do you recognize what I wrote?"

"I don't recognize it."

"f**k!"

"Why are you cursing at me?" Sophia looked confused: "What is this? I really don't recognize it..."

As expected!

Marcus frowned deeply.

He could understand and see all the writing and language in this world, and others could understand what he said—this must be the effect of the company or that mask.

But when his own writing appeared on paper, people in this world couldn't understand it at all!

Renting here also required contracts, and if his writing couldn't be understood by others, this was a big problem.

Thinking of this, Marcus tore off another piece of paper and handed the pen to Sophia.

"Write two characters for me: 'Su' from 'awaken' and 'Jin' from 'ashes.' Write them heavily, stroke by stroke."

Sophia didn't understand why, but still obediently complied.

After she finished writing, Marcus pulled back the paper and glanced at it.

Seeing the two Chinese characters, he reached out to touch the back of the paper.

Feeling the raised marks from the pen, he couldn't help but feel utterly helpless.

It should match his ID card, but what his eyes saw was completely different from the actual handwriting!

The company's service had a bug—forced translation... The mask couldn't be removed, and now he could only use this method to feel out how to write his own name.

Helplessly putting away the signature paper, Marcus said: "That's all I'll ask for now. Feel free to say whatever you want."

Sophia nervously nodded, then mustered the courage to ask the question in her mind: "Cousin... you're an alien, aren't you?"