Chapter Sixty-Eight: The Haunted House (Part 1)

Originally, there should have been no one but herself in her villa, but suddenly, someone appeared, causing Su Man to glance back with a hint of unease. To her surprise, it was Sun Li.

She had recognized Sun Li’s voice earlier, though she never imagined something so absurd would happen. Now, standing face-to-face with him, she found the situation truly ridiculous.

How did he follow her here? How exactly did he manage to come?

She looked at the light screen beside her, which offered an explanation, albeit a bizarre one: "Each version contains different treasures, and those with abilities are considered a type of treasure."

"Speak plainly," she demanded.

"He wants to acknowledge you as his master."

"You can choose to accept or refuse."

"What is his ability?" she asked.

"You need to discover that yourself," the screen replied.

Sun Li had no idea he was being scrutinized. His eyes wandered over the spacious villa. “This is really nice, Su Man. Will I be able to live here too, from now on?”

Su Man’s mind had been blank until his words sparked a sudden inspiration. She realized exactly what she could use Sun Li for.

“Accept,” she replied decisively.

"You will need to pay him five Thrill Coins a month," the screen calculated abruptly. "Additionally, there's the fee for hiring NPCs for new territories, and the cost to maintain two territories..."

The screen rattled off a long list of expenses. "You need to pay thirty Thrill Coins."

She had just earned enough Thrill Coins from this round to cover these expenses.

Suddenly, she thought, perhaps she was not some hidden king after all; she was more like a hapless victim.

Her territory had not earned her any money yet, and if she only did tasks like this, she would never be able to maintain her lands.

Clearly, she needed to come up with a solution.

Sun Li ended up staying. Su Man assigned him the task of guarding the villa.

Although the screen claimed it was a private territory, Su Man was cautious; if anything unexpected happened or someone tried to rob her, it would be troublesome.

With everything settled, it was time for her next game.

She had no time for leisure; she needed to work hard to earn her meager income.

But this time, instead of rolling dice as before, she wanted to ask the screen for a shortcut.

She hoped to go somewhere she could earn plenty of Thrill Coins. Her ambition was great—she wanted to strike it rich in one go.

She considered all sorts of possibilities, expecting the screen to refuse her with various excuses. But unexpectedly, it reached out for payment with mercenary directness: "Ten Thrill Coins for arrangement, five Thrill Coins for entry."

Each item was clearly priced.

If it could really help her earn big money, then spending this much was worth it.

After paying, the screen informed her that she had already experienced two games and was now familiar with the rules. Next, it would arrange for her to enter a more formal game scenario.

*

"Ten years ago, a three-story villa in the city center was the site of a massacre. Later, it was said that all explorers who entered were killed inside, and afterwards, no one dared to take over the property. Now, it has become a famous abandoned haunted house. You and five others of different backgrounds have agreed online to explore the mansion together."

All previous explorers ended up dead, yet they still dared to come explore—and at night, no less. Su Man silently mocked the situation with a blank expression.

"Your identity is a university student from XX University."

This time, she was given an identity.

It seemed that the arrangement fee was well spent.

But what concerned her most was the light screen broadcasting live before her.

The screen explained that after verifying her identity card, she could start streaming, and all earnings would be converted into Thrill Coins.

Currently, only two or three viewers were in the streaming room.

But then, a reminder appeared on the screen.

"Do not promote superstitious beliefs. If any phenomenon cannot be explained scientifically, the stream will be forcibly terminated."

A live broadcast in a horror world where superstition was forbidden—what was she supposed to stream?

"Hello, you must be Su Man?" Under the streetlight, a young woman dressed in professional attire approached and greeted her.

"Hello," Su Man replied, recalling from her identity memory that this woman was Chen Meng, a secretary at a large company with a passion for adventure. Judging by her appearance, she must have come straight from work.

After exchanging pleasantries, a man walked over, his frame dry and thin like a stick figure. He wore an oversized hooded sweatshirt that nearly covered his entire face; his exposed mouth stammered as he greeted them, "Hello, I’m Hu... Hu... Hu Chai."

Hu Chai, Su Man labeled him in her mind—an ultra-reclusive homebody.

Nothing about these people seemed particularly explosive; the viewers probably wouldn’t find them very entertaining.

Yet, she noticed that among the mere five viewers, someone was curious about Hu Chai’s face.

"Host, pull down his hood so we can see his face. We’ll reward you with five candies."

A candy was worth one yuan, five candies five yuan—the equivalent of five Thrill Coins.

That was acceptable; as for politeness, Su Man never cared for it.

Hu Chai happened to be walking in front of her. She reached out and tugged at his hood, causing it to fall off. He turned to look at her in alarm.

Her expression remained calm, her voice perfectly natural. "There was a bug on your hood; I took it off for you."

Hu Chai said nothing, but quickly put his hood back on.

"Well, he actually looks decent under the hood. I thought he'd be ugly, ha ha," said a viewer in the streaming room, who dutifully rewarded five candies.

He was right; Su Man also thought Hu Chai looked good—rosy lips and white teeth. It was the hoodie that distorted his build and made him seem odd.

Chen Meng hesitated, then asked, "Are you that celebrity?"

She lowered her voice, "Chai Hu, that extremely famous star! Ah, Hu Chai reversed is Chai Hu!"

But then she grew confused. "But I heard that celebrity was injured in the hospital, about to die..."

What Chen Meng said was also in Su Man’s memory. The news had reported that the star was injured while filming, falling from the third floor and sent to the hospital for emergency treatment; he was still not out of danger.

"I’m not him, I just look alike," Hu Chai shrank his neck and shook his head. "With my personality, I could never be a star."

Chen Meng’s gaze remained doubtful. "I remember you said you came for the thrill, but with your personality..."

She stopped herself.

Su Man also looked at him.

Hu Chai seemed even more nervous, but refused to speak further.

Creak—the rusty iron gate behind them suddenly opened by itself.

"Wow, the door moved! The door moved!" a viewer exclaimed in the streaming room.

That comment reminded Su Man. She stepped forward, pretending to push the door naturally. "It’s old and neglected; the wind must have blown it open."

No sooner had she finished speaking than the dark little villa suddenly lit up.

"The lights are on! The lights are on again!" another viewer shouted.

Su Man had no time to think of a reason. Suddenly, a large face appeared in front of her, nearly touching hers.

"Wow, an old tree-bark monster just came out of the house!"