Chapter 35 Initially, no one cared.
"Really not?"
the agent seemed honest with Bai Mu. "Even if there were, it wouldn't be your turn. Rota City is developing so well; anyone with a brain knows how valuable houses are near Rota Avenue. Who would sell their property for no reason unless something bad happened?"
Wanting to buy a house in a certain area, aside from normal locations, it's rare to find one readily available in prime areas. Even if there were, they wouldn't just be listed here. They
'd already been snapped up by people in another circle.
As long as Rota City doesn't decline, in this booming city, why would someone lacking firsthand information have the chance to make a sure-fire investment?
Renting a house there is easy; buying is another matter entirely.
"If you're interested, I can find you a better place, also near Rota Avenue."
"That's not good enough. I want something I can afford."
"Other places are fine too." The agent's eyes darted around, and he pulled out a map: "Look here, convenient transportation, not far from Rota Avenue, and Rota City has more than just one prosperous area.
This place is under development; it will definitely become the second Rota Avenue!"
The agent's words sounded good, but Bai Mu remained unmoved. Under development? That meant a promising future, huh? He, without firsthand information, could only observe the future.
"I know someone near Rota Avenue, and I'd like to live closer to her."
"Uh?" The middle-aged agent blinked, for a moment wondering if Bai Mu had already hooked up with a wealthy woman—at least not the landlady.
"Then I recommend you rent a place. There are long-term rental options available."
The houses near Rota Avenue are investment properties. Whether the owners live there or not isn't important. If they need the property later, they'll have already made enough from their investment. As for the tenants, a small loss is acceptable; they don't care about the penalty for breaking the lease.
The important thing is that someone lives in the vacant house, which is a form of maintenance.
"No, I want to buy."
"There really aren't any."
"Then I'll come back and ask again next time."
If not, then so be it. Bai Mu didn't insist. After he left the agency, another person came in. The middle-aged agent glanced at them and continued working.
Aside from people like Bai Mu with strong ulterior motives, others who came here weren't necessarily looking for him.
He wasn't the only agent here.
But the middle-aged agent hadn't expected the other person to also be looking for him.
"Strange…when did I become so popular?" the middle-aged agent muttered, smiling at the new customer.
After seeing the new customer off, he became even more suspicious. The person who came seemed fine, but the conversation was mostly probing, trying to find out about his 'recent situation'.
The middle-aged real estate agent felt a chill run down his spine. In his middle age, he was becoming increasingly jaded; who would bother asking about him? He thought seriously for a moment, even flipping through his recent transaction records when there were no customers.
He didn't seem to have offended anyone.
Bai Mu strolled along Rota Avenue. This time, he wasn't carrying any dangerous goods, and he had money, so he felt quite confident shopping here.
Through the bustling streets of Rota City, Bai Mu did discover some influences of the alternate dreams on this world. For example, some of the cars here seem to have been influenced by the Dream World.
Although ordinary people can't access the Dream World, its information inevitably seeps into their lives. This
is evident in the Dream World experience store.
Items brought from the Dream World, as long as they're not controlled goods, can circulate among ordinary people. Whether they can afford them is another matter, but ordinary people can access them.
And the designs of things from the Dream World—if they're copied, so be it. Will the people in the Dream World really sue for copyright infringement?
This is only because this world hasn't fully developed into the modern, networked society Bai Mu is familiar with; otherwise, the information from the Dream World would be even greater. But then, there would probably be new policies to deal with it, right?
Given the significant influence of the Dream World, shouldn't this world's development be more efficient?
Bai Mu was curious about this. He found a library on Rota Avenue. A library that could operate here wouldn't need to worry about its collection, especially for someone like him who, before his transmigration, hadn't read many physical books except during his school years.
There were so many books here that finding the one he wanted was particularly troublesome.
The library didn't have many books about alternate dreams. The ones Bai Mu found were mostly vague and didn't delve into the subject.
Some were local novels about alternate dreams.
Clearly, anything involving the core essence wouldn't appear in a public library, but after searching extensively, Bai Mu had found some useful information.
Alternate dreams had existed for over sixty years. Initially, no one paid attention to them, assuming they were just someone's fantasy.
Before that, everything in this world was normal, then… then it stopped. The book didn't elaborate on what happened afterward.
"Damn it…" He put the book back, and since he was already there, he bought a few books that interested him and left the library.
His place had no computer or internet; the electrical wiring was only for powering the light bulbs and couldn't be used anywhere else.
Reading was better than going back to play with guns. After disconnecting from the online world, Bai Mu began to feel the importance of books, and a new anxiety.
His phone battery was slowly decreasing; at this rate, it would be bricked in less than a month.
Back home, Bai Mu cooked a meal, played with some guns afterward, and then casually reclined on the sofa, picking up a book he'd bought to read.
The book was a fantasy novel centered around alternate dreams, with a biohazard theme. It told the story of a lucky yet unlucky person who was accidentally drawn into an alternate dream.
After experiencing a series of events, he finally escaped the dream, but reality was also affected. His town became overrun with zombies, and the unfortunate protagonist had to rely on his experience gained in the dream to escape the sealed-off town… In short,
the story is about the protagonist's experience studying in an alternate dream and then making a name for himself in reality. However, Bai Mu felt that the book's presence in the library was more of a public awareness campaign about the dangers of alternate dreams.
A perfectly good town was destroyed by the dream; everyone who entered the dream, including the protagonist, either died or became a zombie, leaving only one lucky survivor.
The book practically screamed: if you encounter an alternate dream, don't try anything reckless; calling the police is the most important thing. Otherwise, it won't just be one person who suffers, but their family and friends as well.
Bai Mu wondered if he should write some novels in this world when he had nothing to do. As long as it involved illustrating the dangers of alternate dreams, there should be something to write about in this world, right?
Unaware of the time, Bai Mu heard a knock on the door—
(End of Chapter)