The crude fireworks of Gao Yang’s making slowly dissipated in the night sky as Fresh Snow stared, lost in the sight.
“So pretty.”
Then she finally turned to Gao Yang, not realizing that she lost her disguise. “Again? I want to see some more.”
Gao Yang’s smile froze, and his face turned ashen. His heart almost stopped beating.
A second passed as his brain refused to function.
Ring—
The phone in his pocket jerked him back to reality. He slowly picked up the call. It was Officer Huang.
“Where did you go, Gao Yang?”
“...”
“Get back here! Something’s wrong! A vendor got seriously injured and is still unconscious...”
“...”
“Hey, are you listening?”
“Officer Huang,” Gao Yang said in a grave, trembling voice. “You don’t have to return the 0.5 jinwu.”
“What?”
“Get everybody and run.”
Gao Yang hung up.
He looked up to meet Fresh Snow’s gaze. She blinked, her eyes beautiful like rubies. “What’s wrong?”
“So you really are a ghost,” Gao Yang mustered the courage to say, all the while secretly focusing his energy in his palms.
“I told you.”
The girl nodded easily with a naive look on her face.
“So...” Gao Yang paused. “You came to kill me?”
“No.” Fresh Snow shook her head, her smile coy. “I came to eat you.”
—[Warning, you are in extremely great danger.]
—[Luck acquisition rate increases to 5000 times.]
Gao Yang’s heart sank into a bottomless pit. Fear slithered around him and strangled him like a large boa.
While he had run into an enemy who pushed his Luck points acquisition rate to 5000 times before, this time, he wasn’t facing a monstrous being who had lost control after injecting medicine, but someone with intelligence and the ability to plan.
He knew he stood no chance, but he had to try.
Just when he was going to use Fire, though, his rationality broke out of the clutch of his fear and stopped him.
No, something isn’t adding up.
Think, think quickly!
If Fresh Snow planned to eat me in the beginning, why didn’t the system notice? Why did it only notice now? Can it be that she didn’t start out wanting to eat me, but came to feel the urge suddenly?
It isn’t impossible, but it is improbable.
While there are psychopaths who confess their love and attempt to kill you in the same breath, Fresh Snow doesn’t seem like such a person.
Then maybe...maybe Fresh Snow isn’t the source of danger.
While Gao Yang was still hesitating, Fresh Snow cocked her head and smiled. “But I changed my mind!”
Gao Yang didn’t dare say anything.
“I’ve decided.” Fresh Snow looked expectant. “I’m going to be your friend!”
“Friend?” Gao Yang couldn’t wrap his head around that.
“Yeah!” Fresh Snow nodded seriously. “We’ll be best friends!”
“Sure!”
Gao Yang was practically shouting in his head. As long as you don’t eat me, I’ll be your friends, even your slaves! A real man knows when to kneel!
“Okay!” Fresh Snow nodded happily. “You gave your word, and you have to keep it!”
“I’ll...keep my word, for sure.”
“Pinky promise!” Fresh Snow reached out to him.
And this is something a Spectre does?
Gao Yang did his best to arrange his pale face into a smile, offering his hand. “Pinky promise.”
“Pinkies, then thumbs! The promise will last a hundred years!”
Fresh Snow curled her pinky around Gao Yang’s and shook it in excitement. Then she pressed her thumb to his.
Gao Yang was worried that it would be some kind of evil ritual, contract, or curse, but he didn’t dare say no.
Afterwards, he didn’t feel any change to his body, as if it was a simple pinky promise.
“We’re best friends from now on!” Fresh Snow announced giddily, but then her smile dropped. “Oh, no! Sister’s here!”
“Sister?” asked Gao Yang.
“She’s here to find me!” Fresh Snow shot to her feet in panic and scrambled toward the door.
It dawned on Gao Yang that the source of the danger was the girl’s sister.
“I, I’ve got to go!”
Fresh Snow quickly opened the door, her silver hair tousled by the sweeping night wind. At some point, the moon had decided to make an appearance. The clear light illuminated her innocent-looking face.
“See you next time, Gao Yang.” She turned around, her eyes curved into a pair of crescent moons.
“...See you next time.”
Then Fresh Snow jumped and disappeared into the dark.
Gao Yang’s face was still stuck in a forced smile. He quickly accessed the system.
The 5000 times bonus no longer applied.
He let out a long breath and slowly stood up, looking down from the pod. Fresh Snow was gone, leaving only a blue curtain fluttering in the wind, stuck in the axle of the ferris wheel.
Ring, ring, ring—
The phone in his pocket kept vibrating.
Gao Yang wiped away the sweat on his palms and picked up. Wang Zikai shouted from the other end of the line, “Where are you, Bro? Don’t panic! I’m coming to save you!”
Grimacing, Gao Yang pulled the phone away from his ear. That almost broke his eardrum.
He said with a wry smile, “I’m at the ferris wheel. Come save me.”
His legs might as well be jelly.
...
No sooner had Gao Yang jumped off the ferris wheel that Officer Huang, Qing Ling, and Wang Zikai rushed over to him.
Leading the charge, Wang Zikai brandished the three bone claws protruding from the back of his right hand, ready for an epic fight.
“Where’s the lizardman! The bastard!” Wang Zikai looked around.
“It ran,” said Gao Yang.
“It got lucky!” Wang Zikai turned to Gao Yang. “Why did you run off on your own?”
“I wanted a freebie and almost paid with my life.” Gao Yang was feeling deeply regretful. “I’ll tell you about it later.”
“Alright. At least you’re fine.” Officer Huang was sweating as well.
“Oh,” Gao Yang turned to him. “What happened on your end?”
“Let’s walk and talk.” Officer Huang holstered his gun, his expression severe.
As they made their way to the haunted house, Officer Huang explained what had happened. After Fat Jun slapped Wang Zikai twice with no apparent reason, Wang Zikai chased after Fat Jun in rage inside the haunted house, swearing that he would skin Fat Jun alive. Worried that things would escalate into something bad, Officer Huang caught up with them to play peacemaker.
That brought them to a storage room by accident, and inside lay an unconscious man.
Officer Huang called Chen Ying over immediately. The man was indeed a member of the Hundred Rivers Union, and he was a vendor—the vendor of the shop Gao Yang visited, as Officer Huang found out. And both Gao Yang and the fake vendor were already gone when Officer Huang got there.
Unable to find Gao Yang anywhere, Officer Huang called him. In response, Gao Yang simply told Officer Huang to run.
That gave Officer Huang a rough idea about what had happened. He grabbed Qing Ling and Wang Zikai to come to Gao Yang’s rescue.
“Did you get grabbed by the girl pretending to be the vendor, Gao Yang?” Officer Huang looked at him.
Qing Ling’s attention was on him as well. “Who was she? Was she strong?”
Gao Yang gave Officer Huang and Qing Ling a look. The three of them slowed down and fell back so that Wang Zikai was some distance ahead.
Gao Yang mouthed, “Spectre.”
“What?” Officer Huang almost cried out.
Qing Ling frowned, her expression frosty.
“It’s alright,” Gao Yang quickly said. “We’ll talk about it more later.”
The four of them returned to the haunted house and entered the marketplace. Most of the vendors had closed shops. They made a circle around something, murmuring among themselves.
“Passing through.” Officer Huang led Gao Yang through the crowd.
At the center of the circle lay a young man. He was dressed in a checkered shirt, a pair of jeans, and running shoes. Beside him was a backpack. He looked like a typical programmer.
Fat Jun squatted by the man’s side, holding his arm with both hands to heal him.
On the man’s left arm were two faint indentations, like a bite mark left by an animal.
“How is he?” Chen Ying asked worriedly.
Fat Jun shook his head gravely, sounding lost. “The blood has stopped and the wound has healed. But something feels wrong.”
The crude fireworks of Gao Yang’s making slowly dissipated in the night sky as Fresh Snow stared, lost in the sight.
“So pretty.”
Then she finally turned to Gao Yang, not realizing that she lost her disguise. “Again? I want to see some more.”
Gao Yang’s smile froze, and his face turned ashen. His heart almost stopped beating.
A second passed as his brain refused to function.
Ring—
The phone in his pocket jerked him back to reality. He slowly picked up the call. It was Officer Huang.
“Where did you go, Gao Yang?”
“...”
“Get back here! Something’s wrong! A vendor got seriously injured and is still unconscious...”
“...”
“Hey, are you listening?”
“Officer Huang,” Gao Yang said in a grave, trembling voice. “You don’t have to return the 0.5 jinwu.”
“What?”
“Get everybody and run.”
Gao Yang hung up.
He looked up to meet Fresh Snow’s gaze. She blinked, her eyes beautiful like rubies. “What’s wrong?”
“So you really are a ghost,” Gao Yang mustered the courage to say, all the while secretly focusing his energy in his palms.
“I told you.”
The girl nodded easily with a naive look on her face.
“So...” Gao Yang paused. “You came to kill me?”
“No.” Fresh Snow shook her head, her smile coy. “I came to eat you.”
—[Warning, you are in extremely great danger.]
—[Luck acquisition rate increases to 5000 times.]
Gao Yang’s heart sank into a bottomless pit. Fear slithered around him and strangled him like a large boa.
While he had run into an enemy who pushed his Luck points acquisition rate to 5000 times before, this time, he wasn’t facing a monstrous being who had lost control after injecting medicine, but someone with intelligence and the ability to plan.
He knew he stood no chance, but he had to try.
Just when he was going to use Fire, though, his rationality broke out of the clutch of his fear and stopped him.
No, something isn’t adding up.
Think, think quickly!
If Fresh Snow planned to eat me in the beginning, why didn’t the system notice? Why did it only notice now? Can it be that she didn’t start out wanting to eat me, but came to feel the urge suddenly?
It isn’t impossible, but it is improbable.
While there are psychopaths who confess their love and attempt to kill you in the same breath, Fresh Snow doesn’t seem like such a person.
Then maybe...maybe Fresh Snow isn’t the source of danger.
While Gao Yang was still hesitating, Fresh Snow cocked her head and smiled. “But I changed my mind!”
Gao Yang didn’t dare say anything.
“I’ve decided.” Fresh Snow looked expectant. “I’m going to be your friend!”
“Friend?” Gao Yang couldn’t wrap his head around that.
“Yeah!” Fresh Snow nodded seriously. “We’ll be best friends!”
“Sure!”
Gao Yang was practically shouting in his head. As long as you don’t eat me, I’ll be your friends, even your slaves! A real man knows when to kneel!
“Okay!” Fresh Snow nodded happily. “You gave your word, and you have to keep it!”
“I’ll...keep my word, for sure.”
“Pinky promise!” Fresh Snow reached out to him.
And this is something a Spectre does?
Gao Yang did his best to arrange his pale face into a smile, offering his hand. “Pinky promise.”
“Pinkies, then thumbs! The promise will last a hundred years!”
Fresh Snow curled her pinky around Gao Yang’s and shook it in excitement. Then she pressed her thumb to his.
Gao Yang was worried that it would be some kind of evil ritual, contract, or curse, but he didn’t dare say no.
Afterwards, he didn’t feel any change to his body, as if it was a simple pinky promise.
“We’re best friends from now on!” Fresh Snow announced giddily, but then her smile dropped. “Oh, no! Sister’s here!”
“Sister?” asked Gao Yang.
“She’s here to find me!” Fresh Snow shot to her feet in panic and scrambled toward the door.
It dawned on Gao Yang that the source of the danger was the girl’s sister.
“I, I’ve got to go!”
Fresh Snow quickly opened the door, her silver hair tousled by the sweeping night wind. At some point, the moon had decided to make an appearance. The clear light illuminated her innocent-looking face.
“See you next time, Gao Yang.” She turned around, her eyes curved into a pair of crescent moons.
“...See you next time.”
Then Fresh Snow jumped and disappeared into the dark.
Gao Yang’s face was still stuck in a forced smile. He quickly accessed the system.
The 5000 times bonus no longer applied.
He let out a long breath and slowly stood up, looking down from the pod. Fresh Snow was gone, leaving only a blue curtain fluttering in the wind, stuck in the axle of the ferris wheel.
Ring, ring, ring—
The phone in his pocket kept vibrating.
Gao Yang wiped away the sweat on his palms and picked up. Wang Zikai shouted from the other end of the line, “Where are you, Bro? Don’t panic! I’m coming to save you!”
Grimacing, Gao Yang pulled the phone away from his ear. That almost broke his eardrum.
He said with a wry smile, “I’m at the ferris wheel. Come save me.”
His legs might as well be jelly.
...
No sooner had Gao Yang jumped off the ferris wheel that Officer Huang, Qing Ling, and Wang Zikai rushed over to him.
Leading the charge, Wang Zikai brandished the three bone claws protruding from the back of his right hand, ready for an epic fight.
“Where’s the lizardman! The bastard!” Wang Zikai looked around.
“It ran,” said Gao Yang.
“It got lucky!” Wang Zikai turned to Gao Yang. “Why did you run off on your own?”
“I wanted a freebie and almost paid with my life.” Gao Yang was feeling deeply regretful. “I’ll tell you about it later.”
“Alright. At least you’re fine.” Officer Huang was sweating as well.
“Oh,” Gao Yang turned to him. “What happened on your end?”
“Let’s walk and talk.” Officer Huang holstered his gun, his expression severe.
As they made their way to the haunted house, Officer Huang explained what had happened. After Fat Jun slapped Wang Zikai twice with no apparent reason, Wang Zikai chased after Fat Jun in rage inside the haunted house, swearing that he would skin Fat Jun alive. Worried that things would escalate into something bad, Officer Huang caught up with them to play peacemaker.
That brought them to a storage room by accident, and inside lay an unconscious man.
Officer Huang called Chen Ying over immediately. The man was indeed a member of the Hundred Rivers Union, and he was a vendor—the vendor of the shop Gao Yang visited, as Officer Huang found out. And both Gao Yang and the fake vendor were already gone when Officer Huang got there.
Unable to find Gao Yang anywhere, Officer Huang called him. In response, Gao Yang simply told Officer Huang to run.
That gave Officer Huang a rough idea about what had happened. He grabbed Qing Ling and Wang Zikai to come to Gao Yang’s rescue.
“Did you get grabbed by the girl pretending to be the vendor, Gao Yang?” Officer Huang looked at him.
Qing Ling’s attention was on him as well. “Who was she? Was she strong?”
Gao Yang gave Officer Huang and Qing Ling a look. The three of them slowed down and fell back so that Wang Zikai was some distance ahead.
Gao Yang mouthed, “Spectre.”
“What?” Officer Huang almost cried out.
Qing Ling frowned, her expression frosty.
“It’s alright,” Gao Yang quickly said. “We’ll talk about it more later.”
The four of them returned to the haunted house and entered the marketplace. Most of the vendors had closed shops. They made a circle around something, murmuring among themselves.
“Passing through.” Officer Huang led Gao Yang through the crowd.
At the center of the circle lay a young man. He was dressed in a checkered shirt, a pair of jeans, and running shoes. Beside him was a backpack. He looked like a typical programmer.
Fat Jun squatted by the man’s side, holding his arm with both hands to heal him.
On the man’s left arm were two faint indentations, like a bite mark left by an animal.
“How is he?” Chen Ying asked worriedly.
Fat Jun shook his head gravely, sounding lost. “The blood has stopped and the wound has healed. But something feels wrong.”
