In the stifling heat of July, Cihang City felt oppressive.
The air clung to the skin like glue, making it hard to breathe. The leaden sky rumbled with distant thunder, signaling an impending downpour.
In front of the Happiness Internet Cafe, a plain-looking man with black hair wore a puzzled expression. "What's going on? Did I die again?"
Chen Feng, 26, was a game streamer.
By sheer luck, he had crossed over into another world.
Fortunately, the language and writing in this world seemed no different from Earth, and aside from his clothes, Chen Feng also brought along a system.
Indeed, within Chen Feng's eyes was a high-tech, transparent screen invisible to others.
[LY-03-CDDD Save and Load System]
As the name suggests.
This system allowed Chen Feng to set a save point, and when he died, the world would rewind time, letting him load the save and start over.
Chen Feng could load the save nine times in total, but now it showed:
[Load Attempts: 8]
"One life less."
Chen Feng carefully recalled his last experience but couldn't figure out who had killed him.
Raindrops the size of beans began to fall from the sky.
Chen Feng looked at the Happiness Internet Cafe across the street. If he remembered correctly, a young woman would soon walk out.
With a click.
The glass door opened.
An elegant lady in a deep V-neck lace-trimmed top and a body-hugging skirt stepped out. She was tall, and at Chen Feng's height of 1.8 meters, he had to look up at her, estimating her to be around two meters tall.
He Ting, the boss lady of Happiness Internet Cafe, a widow.
They say 18-year-old girls are fresh and lively, but a 36-year-old woman is twice as enchanting, captivating with every smile and frown, like discovering oil in a backyard—stunningly beautiful.
He Ting said, "Handsome, you don't look well. You'd better find a place to shelter from the rain before it starts."
And upon hearing that Chen Feng had nowhere to go.
He Ting added, "Then, why not come to my place to avoid the rain?"
Chen Feng nodded. Last time, he was invited into the internet cafe by He Ting in the same way.
As he pushed the door open, the sound of keyboards and mice clicking filled the air. The air conditioning inside wasn't too strong, making the temperature more comfortable than cool.
Chen Feng saw a male and female police officer preparing to leave. The man looked to be in his forties, holding a cigarette in his left hand and a lighter in his right, a typical uncle. The woman was young, seemingly new to the job, but her eyes were determined, like a resolute rose.
"Master."
"I've told you how many times, use titles while on duty!"
A classic mentor-mentee duo.
After the police left, He Ting began introducing the internet cafe staff to Chen Feng: two female cashiers, one cold and one warm, both stunningly beautiful, and four male attendants, silent and somewhat human-looking.
"This is She Qingqing," He Ting pointed to a girl wearing a black lace eye mask. "Qingqing just had eye surgery, so she's a bit sensitive to light."
"Sister He, did you bring another stray in?"
She Qingqing had a large chest but a small heart.
She coldly remarked, "I just mopped the floor, and this guy dirtied it!"
"It's pouring outside; you can't just let him get soaked," said Zhu Xianxian, a long-legged beauty in a white silk camisole with a sunny smile, speaking up for Chen Feng. "Are you hungry? Want me to make you some instant noodles?"
Chen Feng waved his hand. "No need."
Sensing Chen Feng's embarrassment, Zhu Xianxian winked and said, "It's okay, my treat."
Beware of Greeks bearing gifts, as they say.
Chen Feng scoffed inwardly. In his previous life, he had been moved by Zhu Xianxian's meticulous care, completely infatuated.
But now, reborn, Chen Feng had no interest in any romantic nonsense.
So Chen Feng replied with neither humility nor arrogance, "Then let me help out a bit."
Explore the extended edition on pawread.com.
Next to the internet cafe's cashier counter was a small bar that provided drinks for customers. With a surge in coffee orders, the two cashiers were overwhelmed.
Coffee powder, water, stir, add ice.
Chen Feng quickly completed the task and asked Xianxian, "Would you like me to make you a cup of coffee too?"
Zhu Xianxian politely declined, "I don't like coffee, you can have it."
Seeing Chen Feng's nimble hands, the boss lady He Ting pointed to a job notice on the internet cafe wall that read "Long-term Internet Cafe Attendant Wanted, No Long-term Attendants" and asked if Chen Feng would like to work there: "3200 base salary, meals and accommodation included, 200 full attendance bonus, 4 days off per month, and a certain amount of free internet access each month. Any issues?"
Here it was.
After realizing he had died once, Chen Feng's first thought was to stay away from this haunted internet cafe.
But thinking it over, with the rain pouring outside and being a black-market immigrant with nowhere to go, if something could happen in a crowded internet cafe, wouldn't it be even more dangerous to stay outside alone in the rain?
So, like last time, after careful consideration, Chen Feng chose to stay.
At this point, He Ting explained the three rules of the internet cafe to Chen Feng.
"First, no going to the Third Floor."
"Our internet cafe has three floors. The first floor is the regular internet area, the second floor is for private gaming rooms and staff dormitories, and the third floor is to be converted into a billiard hall, but construction hasn't started yet. It's full of cement and building materials, so don't go up there and damage anything."
"Second, don't set the air conditioning too low."
"Qingqing recently caught a cold and can't handle the cold air."
"Third, be wary of people in White Coats."
"Those in White Coats are lunatics from the Fourth Hospital Internet Addiction Rehabilitation Academy. If you don't want trouble, stay away from them."
Although these bizarre rules puzzled the previous Chen Feng, considering they were willing to hire him, a person without an ID, he had no complaints.
An internet cafe attendant is akin to a server, with simple tasks like restocking snacks like betel nuts and instant noodles, delivering drinks to customers, wiping down keyboards and mice, sweeping the floor, and cleaning up.
As for technical tasks like computer repairs, those weren't part of their job.
"Attendant! The machine's stuck!"
"Restart it!"
"Attendant! The machine's broken!"
"Restart it!"
Whenever someone asked, the male attendants always responded this way.
Hours passed, and the rain outside showed no sign of letting up.
Boss lady He Ting handed Chen Feng a key, "Walk down the second-floor corridor to the end, the room on the right is yours. If you're tired, get some rest."
"And, I live right across from you, so if you need anything, just come to me."
With that, the boss lady winked and swayed her way upstairs.
Was she hinting at something?
Watching the boss lady's graceful figure, Chen Feng almost felt like giving up.
But to survive, he had to keep trying.
The attendant job was on a two-shift rotation, from 9 AM to 9 PM, and then from 9 PM to 9 AM. But since Chen Feng had just started, technically, he didn't have to work today.
However, last time, Chen Feng followed the boss lady's advice, went to sleep, had a nice dream, and then woke up to find himself back at the save point.
Can't sleep, sleeping means death.
Chen Feng kept his eyes on the door, determined to find out what exactly happened this time.
Proofreader: Peter Pan
Wuxia / Martial Arts
Urban / Supernatural
Urban / Sci-fi
Isekai / Mature
Sci-fi / Supernatural
Supernatural / Drama
LitRPG / Urban
Xuanhuan
Mecha / Sci-fi