Chapter 12: A Live Performance of "And Then There Were None."
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In Qingyuan City, northern district, inside a fast-food restaurant near the Garden Inn.
Chen Kun ordered two servings of pork knuckle rice and was enjoying his meal with Hei Hao. Unless something unexpected happened, he would have to spend the night at the inn again—he had nowhere else to go.
Although he had some points in his pocket—exactly 383 points—this was only enough for them to eat pork knuckle rice. Renting a place was out of the question, and buying a house was pure fantasy. He did own full rights to the Enlighten Coffee shop, but staying there at night was forbidden; it wasn’t classified as a safe house.
After all, it was a “yin-yang shop,” operating for spirits at night, hardly a suitable residence.
What caught his attention, however, was the new profession he had unlocked—the Fear Tyrant Apostle.
He glanced at his status panel. Upon becoming a level one professional, he gained basic skills and exclusive abilities unique to unlockers. The requirements to unlock this profession were slightly easier for others than for him.
Still, he felt a subtle doubt.
Survive three times within 24 hours with fear at 100%—was this unlocking condition really so difficult? The supernatural anomaly had occurred decades ago in this world, yet no one had managed to meet this condition all this time?
The two skills were:
—
“Skill Name”: Hammer of Terror.
“Skill Level”: Level 1.
“Skill Effect”: When fear reaches 100%, physical attributes slightly increase.
“Skill Upgrade”: Spend 100 points to level up.
—
“Skill Name”: Power of Terror (exclusive to profession unlockers).
“Skill Level”: Level 1.
“Skill Effect”: When fear reaches 100%, your physical attacks deal 10% spiritual damage to ethereal ghosts.
“Skill Upgrade”: Spend 100 points to level up.
—
“…Hah.”
Chen Kun put down his chopsticks and exhaled deeply, then sat quietly, staring at these two newly acquired skills. Both required fear to hit 100% to activate.
Not bad.
They fit the profession’s character perfectly.
In such a cursed world, having two skills like these offered a sliver of security, though the trigger condition was harsh. For him, triggering it wasn’t difficult, but the mental strain was considerable.
“Later, let’s watch a horror movie back at the inn,” he muttered after some thought, clenching his teeth and speaking with resolve, “Maybe I can desensitize myself. That way, I might adapt better to this world.”
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“Ah?”
Hei Hao, sitting across from him, was momentarily stunned, then said in disbelief, “Brother Kun, you actually want to watch a horror movie?!”
Keep in mind—Brother Kun was the kind of person who once beat someone to a bloody pulp just for sending him a slightly scary video. He was terrified of ghosts to the extreme. And yet, he was now voluntarily choosing to watch horror films?
But Hei Hao quickly understood: Kun was trying to adapt actively to this world.
“Then why not go to the cinema? They have 3D, surround sound, it’s more immersive, and—”
Mid-sentence, Hei Hao suddenly stopped, awkwardly glancing at Chen Kun’s expressionless face, realizing how foolish his suggestion was.
Taking Kun to a cinema to watch a horror movie would turn the cinema itself into a real-life horror scene.
It’d be much scarier than any movie.
A live-action version of ‘And Then There Were None.’
“Wait!”
“Brother Kun, if you watch that with me, won’t I be the one suffering?!”
“That’s true,” Chen Kun frowned slightly. “But I can’t watch alone. If there are more people, I might feel a bit safer. Alone, I definitely can’t do it.”
“Let’s go back to the inn. I’ll think about this.”
“Let’s switch to the Starry Sky Inn next door—change places, try to shake off the bad luck.”
...
Downstairs at the Starry Sky Inn.
Chen Kun checked the inn’s details carefully on his smartwatch through the public reviews app.
“Level 1 safe house. Last customer death occurred 37 days ago. Customer death rate within a year: 3%.”
“Safety features: each room’s windows are equipped with level 1 haunted furniture ‘Spirit Guard Window Frames.’”
“Not bad,” Chen Kun nodded with mild satisfaction. “Although it’s pricier—the cheapest single room costs 50 points per night—each room here has haunted furniture, so the security is significantly better. I should be able to sleep well tonight.”
Honestly,
He had expected a restless night last night but ended up sleeping soundly.
A dreamless night, waking naturally at dawn.
Haunted furniture refers to items with defensive or offensive capabilities. Safe houses equipped with such furniture enjoy greater nighttime security. If the Garden Inn had these Spirit Guard Window Frames last night, that level-1 ghost doll wouldn’t have been able to enter.
“This world even has public reviews?”
Hei Hao, standing nearby, looked baffled at the many built-in apps on the smartwatch. “Is this information really reliable?”
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“Let’s go.”
Chen Kun said no more, shook his head, and strode into the inn.
The front desk attendant was a normal person this time—not a bare-chested middle-aged woman, but a middle-aged man.
“Chen Kun?”
Just as he entered, the man at the front desk looked at him with a slight frown.
“Uh... you know me?”
“Yeah. The owner of the Garden Inn next door is my wife. She told me about you. Staying here today is your best choice. My inn’s security is much better than hers.”
“Single room?”
“Double room.”
“Double rooms cost 60 points.”
“Alright.”
...
Chen Kun watched the middle-aged man lead the way up the stairs expressionlessly, his mouth twitching slightly. This man... wasn’t wearing pants.
It was obvious.
People’s mental state in this world really was not good. But did this really relieve stress? It just seemed like it would make things worse.
...
In front of room 404.
Chen Kun looked at the familiar number and sighed softly. He didn’t say much to the innkeeper, instead leading Hei Hao into the double room, hoping tonight would be peaceful.
He had to admit, having someone else around was a comfort.
With another person by his side, he felt much safer.
It was noon.
There was still plenty of daylight left. He planned to use his smartwatch to learn more about this world.
At that moment, he received several messages from the young woman—the ones sent before the incident. They expressed worry and disbelief at how unlucky he was...
The later messages were congratulatory.
Apparently, she had learned he survived. The last message offered 30,000 points to purchase permanent ownership of the coffee shop he held rights to.