Weird Stories: Gothic Lolita Begins

Glancing at the homeless middle-aged man, Lenari thought for a moment and said softly:

"Guanghui, let him go. After all, this vending machine legend is indeed an 'opportunity' compared to others."

So, the restraints suffered by the middle-aged man were released.

Regaining his freedom, the middle-aged man still stood where he was.

He moved his aching arms, and tried to turn his eyes that were glued to the vending machine, trying to see the direction of the girl's voice behind him. He hesitated, as if he was suddenly unsure whether to continue pressing the button of the vending machine.

In the not-so-clean bridge hole, Lenari floated in the air to avoid touching the surrounding dirt. Seeing the man hesitating, he couldn't help but urge him:

"You continue? We won't interfere with you anymore, no matter what 'drinks' you buy in the end."

"... Do you know this urban legend?" The middle-aged man looked very nervous, but he still plucked up the courage to ask.

"It's not important." Lenari said, "Hurry up, once I take this vending machine away, you will have no chance."

"... I won't ask why you can 'take away' urban legends." The middle-aged man was silent for a moment, and said in a low voice, "I am a gambler. A big gamble ruined everything I have worked hard for in the past, and now, another big gamble is within my reach..."

"... If you want to listen to my advice," Lenari said indifferently, "then I will say that gambling is not advisable, but your life is your own."

"... No, I don't want to listen to such frivolous advice." The middle-aged man no longer tried to adjust his sight, staring at the old vending machine in front of him without focus, "I just, just complained casually... After all, this time, I might lose my life."

"Oh."

"... Anyway, thank you for listening to me." The middle-aged man took a deep breath and finally made up his mind.

He stepped forward and pressed one of the buttons in several neat rows, then put the one-dollar green coin tightly held in the palm of his other hand into the coin slot.

——This vending machine doesn't mind the denomination of the coins put in, as long as they are valuable coins.

A can of monotonous bright red packaged beverage rolled steadily into the delivery port with a loud "click".

At this point, the middle-aged man's heart became calm instead.

He calmly and steadily reached out to pick up the unmarked red can, opened the pull ring in an ordinary and ordinary way, put the can mouth to his mouth, raised his head and drank it all in one breath.

The middle-aged man licked the liquid on his lips and waited calmly.

Nothing happened.

The middle-aged man's expression gradually became confused, and he couldn't help but raise the empty can in his hand, lowered his head and looked inside through the narrow can mouth, trying to confirm whether he had drunk it all.

The can of drink had obviously been drunk by the middle-aged man.

However, nothing happened.

"I don't mind you continuing to 'next'." The girl's pleasant and indifferent voice sounded from the side, awakening the middle-aged man from his increasingly serious confusion.

Afterwards, the middle-aged man finally realized what had happened.

He forced himself to make an ugly, crying and laughing expression, muttering to himself: "Sure enough, even God does not agree with my escape method of leaving everything to external things..."

"God has no time to care about what a grain of dust is doing." Lenari complained.

"...You are right." The middle-aged man pulled the corners of his mouth with difficulty, and his smile was uglier than crying.

"So, are you going to continue?" Lenari asked.

The middle-aged man hesitated for a moment and shook his head: "No... Maybe it's time for me to cheer up and start again."

"Good luck."

"Thank you--"

The middle-aged man's thanks just came to an abrupt end.

He blinked and found in a daze that what he saw was just an ordinary, somewhat dirty bridge pier. There was no vending machine.

The middle-aged man looked up and looked around.

In the dim bridge hole, where only the distant lights reflected on the water surface were the light source, there was no one except himself, let alone the girl.

The middle-aged man lowered his head and looked at the monotonous big red can in his hand, which was the only thing that could prove that everything just now was not his delusion. He did not move for a long time.

For a long time.

The middle-aged man finally moved. He slowly opened his mouth, revealing a bright and relieved smile, and the rotten and maggoty skin and flesh fell down.

...

Obsidian Temple, inner hall.

Lenari rolled up the old fuselage of the "Late Night Surprise Vending Machine" and studied it back and forth for a long time, but to no avail."Alas... As expected, the operating principles of these strange stories are more difficult to understand than the other..." said the abstract, amorphous black limbs sighing.

"... Why did you suddenly stop maintaining your human form?" The puzzled voice of the Radiant Principle sounded out of thin air in the hall that was set up to be as dark as the middle of the night to take care of the vending machine that "haunts the day and comes out at night".

"Although the human form is good, I also want to relax occasionally." Lenari replied briskly, "Speaking of which, did the earthbound spirit just now pass away?"

"Passed away."

"What did he do in his life? Why did he die there?" Lenari asked curiously.

"A self-made rich first generation, he poured all his money into an investment and failed, lost all his money, and died of illness in the bridge hole." The Radiant Principle said calmly.

"... So, gambling is not advisable."

Lenari sighed and turned back to study the "Late Night Surprise Vending Machine" that was wrapped between the abstract tentacles.

"How is it? Can you figure out the principle of this thing?" Lenari asked expectantly.

"It will take some time." The Radiant Truth replied, "If you are in a hurry, there are two options. One is to mobilize more power, and the other is to let me dismantle it."

"Forget it. It would be a pity to dismantle it. It's worth this little time."

"Okay."

...

The next morning, Lucia finally couldn't stand the "slow" and step-by-step sailing of the Peace, and led a group of employees to "open the door" and return to the office.

The living room on the second floor of "Rumor has it that there is an office".

As soon as she entered the door, Lucia saw Lenari, Lei, Chloe, Wang Bao, and a girl who looked quite similar to Lenari, with light blonde hair and pupils, surrounding an old beverage vending machine with serious paint peeling. On the sofa not far away, even a rarely seen Lucas was refreshed.

"Good morning, everyone!" Lucia greeted happily.

"Good morning." Lenari finally turned his attention away from the vending machine and said jokingly, "Are you not going to continue to follow the ship's 'procedures'?"