Chapter 63: The Haunted School, Sun Doll (1)
Although Yan Xingwen’s body had disintegrated into scraps of paper, his spiritual energy still lingered in the room. But he couldn’t remain for long. He needed to leave quickly.
Before departing, only one idea occupied Yan Xingwen’s mind: Who told Tang Mu, that damned girl, to always resort to killing at the slightest provocation? He was determined to cure her of this deadly habit! Serves her right!
...
Tang Mu stared at the scattered paper scraps all over the floor, remaining dazed for more than an hour. She thought she would cry aloud in sorrow, but in truth, when pain reached its extreme, numbness followed. And then, there would be no more dramatic reactions.
She mechanically gathered all the scraps, found a box, and placed them inside, curling them up in a small plastic container. It was as though these scraps were Yan Xingwen’s ashes, and the box his urn.
After finishing, she lay on the floor and searched for more scraps for over two hours, checking every nook and cranny for anything she might have missed. Only when she was certain there was not a single piece left did her body relax; she gazed blankly at the room and drifted off into another spell of emptiness.
She didn’t know how long she sat there.
Suddenly, Tang Mu craved alcohol. She was not a drinker and couldn’t handle much, but now she wanted the numbness, the tingling rush of her heart pounding from the effects of ethanol.
It wouldn’t feel good. But she wanted to feel bad.
So she walked downstairs, indifferent, and entered a gray bar in virtual space, ordered a cocktail, and swallowed it coldly.
As for the other patrons in the bar, they were entirely outside Tang Mu’s sphere of concern.
“Hey, what scenario did you just play?”
“Screaming Hotel. I got three E-grade items and a D-grade item. None are bound, so I can trade them freely. Should fetch a decent price! Points don’t have many uses in the real world, but here? We can do whatever we want, right?”
“Exactly! Come on, brother, let’s drink!”
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...
“But it’s strange—NPCs seem no longer confined to a single scenario. Take the Creepy Monastery I played a few times ago: the NPC who failed to kill me actually followed me into Screaming Hotel. He told me he was furious and regretful for not finishing me off in the last game. Losing his eerie face cost him prestige among the monsters, and now he can’t hold his head up as a proper fiend. He insisted he needed to kill me to feel better.”
“Too bad he didn’t get me this time either... but who knows if next time, I’ll be lucky enough to escape again…”
Their conversation was lively.
Suddenly, the barmaid shouted, drawing everyone’s attention, “Hey, miss, you don’t want the drink you just ordered?”
No response.
Tang Mu returned to the game lobby, took her game card, and inserted it into a computer.
“Your IP address has been activated.”
“Game card inserted.”
The game card clicked, popping up the following content:
Extreme Escape: Scenario 2—The 1924 Train Murder Case completed.
Mission grade: A. Completion: 95%.
Calculating rewards—
Item rewards:
[Eli’s Gold-Rimmed Glasses (D)]—A pair of glasses that can see through anything. No matter the complexity, wearing them will reveal your solution. Maintained with special cleaning fluid, sold in the shop at 50 points per bottle. Unbound.
[Ottilia’s Pearl Necklace (E)]—Increases charm by 10. Upon use, all NPCs will pity you. Unbound.
[Gilles’ Feather Fountain Pen (E)]—Whatever is written with this pen comes true! Unbound.
[Hunter’s Starry Paintbrush (E)]—Van Gogh’s starry sky. Paint anything with this brush, and the subject will be fixed within the canvas. For use with [Hunter’s Starry Canvas (E)]. Unbound.
[Hunter’s Starry Canvas (E)]—Use as per [Hunter’s Starry Paintbrush (E)]. Unbound.
[Balthazar’s Collector’s Firearm (D)]—A favorite item in chase-and-kill scenarios. Not recommended for sale. Unbound.
[Augustine’s Chemical Bioweapon Box (C)]—Pandora’s box. Open it for assorted chemical and biological weapons. Wish for any virus or strain, and your wish will come true. Bound.
Game points awarded: 35,000.
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Miscellaneous rewards: Mental Stimulant x10, Blood Replenisher x10, Herb Box x10.
Please select items to sell.
The prompt “Please select items to sell” popped up and wouldn’t disappear no matter how Tang Mu tried.
So Tang Mu listed [Ottilia’s Pearl Necklace (E)] in the shop and clicked sell.
It was sold in less than a second. After deducting the handling fee, the remaining points were credited to Tang Mu’s account linked to the shop.
Tang Mu checked her account balance.
Remaining points: 43,122.
Don’t be fooled by the forty thousand points... If used for mere amusement, that could last for years. But for buying game items above grade C, it’s a drop in the bucket—not nearly enough.
After handling her item transactions,
Tang Mu clicked Continue Game with an expressionless face.
The computer screen displayed:
Warning: In the past ten days, player has entered scenarios 2 times. With severe depletion of spiritual energy, repeated entry will be considered intentional suicide by Extreme Escape. If the player dies early in the scenario due to insufficient spiritual energy, Extreme Escape will not bear any criminal responsibility!
She ignored the long-winded useless warning.
Tang Mu still chose to continue.
Scenario “Creepy School, Sunny Doll” has been opened for the player. This is a solo scenario; all characters except the player are NPCs.
Game hint: Everyone has their own insurmountable demons and obsessions. The most dangerous enemy in this world is not others, but yourself. Please enjoy the game—aside from pleasure, it will fully grant you every form of pain!
After the game prompt,
The screen went dark.
When the light returned and Tang Mu could see the scene before her—
She could not help but frown.