Chapter Ninety-Nine: The Haunted House 32 (Final)

“What should we do?” Su Man glanced at him.
“Simple,” came the reply. “Go into that raging fire, disguise yourself as Aiji, and get rescued by the Precious Princess.”

Qing Nian fell silent, silently stepping back behind Rong Rong, convinced that no one would notice him.
Anyone but him, really.

He could feel the searing heat from the flames; going into the heart of that fire was a certain death sentence.
But hiding was useless—Su Man directly called him out, “Aren’t you trying to atone? Here’s your chance to redeem yourself.”

“I want to atone, but I didn’t plan to do it like this,” Qing Nian admitted. He had thought before that dying for atonement was fate, but now, clearly, he had a chance to survive. Better to live in disgrace than to die honorably. If he could live, why should he die?

He spoke elegantly, “I have money. If I survive, I can make merit, do charity work—that’s atonement too.”

Su Man scoffed. People’s words were often sweeter than songs.

“I! Su Man, I’ll go!” Rong Rong surprisingly volunteered, prompting Su Man to look at her twice.

Rong Rong said, “I’m a girl, just like Aiji.”

Su Man refused, “No need, I’ll go. You have to live.”

She still held a resurrection card; even if she burned to death, she could be revived. But Rong Rong didn’t have that luxury. If she died, it would be final. She was counting on Rong Rong to report on what happened here—she couldn’t afford to lose her.

Besides, when it came to critical moments, she didn’t trust others to handle things.

Having said that, Su Man charged into the inferno without looking back. A few more words, and the chimes would stop.

She moved as if in an empty realm, bending down to slip into a small cabinet.

The surrounding heat waves burned her skin, but she seemed unaffected. One hand tightly gripped Aiji’s slender black hand; the other reached out for the Precious Princess’s sleeve.

Feeling the tug on the sleeve, she pulled Aiji outward, stumbling free.

“Aiji, Precious Princess, you’re free now.”

Two joyful barks echoed. The hall’s chimes ceased just then, and the intense heat vanished. Brilliant sunlight poured through the window. Squinting, Su Man vaguely saw Aiji and the Precious Princess laughing and frolicking as they disappeared into the sunlight.

“Su Man, are you okay?” Rong Rong rushed over, concern etched on her face as she helped her up.

Su Man shook her head—she was fine, unharmed.

As her gaze sharpened, she noticed everything around had changed. The once spotless kitchen was now covered in cobwebs, as if no one had lived there for ages.

The window glass was thick with dust, obscuring the outside view.

Rong Rong told her that not just the kitchen, but everywhere outside looked similarly dilapidated, exuding a sense of decay.

In that moment, Su Man realized the realm of obsession had truly vanished.

A screen appeared, displaying the mission completion summary.

“Rong Rong, don’t forget to file the report,” she reminded once more.

Rong Rong nodded earnestly, promising, “I won’t forget. I’ll report everything that happened here!”

Qing Nian muttered softly behind them, “So, can we leave now?”

The three exited unimpeded. The door that had previously barred their way was now decrepit, seemingly ready to collapse with a gentle push.

Qing Nian bolted the moment he was outside, never looking back. He swore never to come near this house again.

Su Man intended to say farewell to Rong Rong and remind her about the report one last time, but before she could speak, the surroundings shifted, and she found herself back in her own villa.

The live stream had ended at some unknown point.

The screen remained on the results page, displaying her outcome after a moment.

[Mission successfully and perfectly completed.
Reward: 100 Horror Coins
Territory acquired.
Live stream settlement: Total tips received: 153,000 Horror Coins.]

The number startled Su Man.

She examined the details and replayed the stream in her mind. It turned out her stream had suddenly attracted a massive influx of viewers. Simply put, she had gone viral, and many wealthy fans showered her with lavish gifts—nonstop.

All those Horror Coins had been credited directly to her ID card.

She pulled out the parchment map again; the location of the little villa was now flagged as hidden—her territory too.

Claiming this territory had not been easy. Without the massive influx of Horror Coins, she would have considered this game a huge loss.

She only wondered if Rong Rong would truly report what had happened there.

At that moment, Sun Li heard the commotion and came downstairs. Seeing her, he showed a delighted expression. “Su Man, you’re finally back...”

After briefly expressing how much he missed her, he bragged, “Su Man, listen, I did something great!
Someone tried to break into your villa, but I drove them away!”

What? Someone tried to trespass into her villa?

She frowned, displeased, glancing at the screen. How had it tricked her before, saying this was her private territory, yet now claimed someone had broken in?

She was about to ask Sun Li for details when the screen suddenly flickered with static.

Without giving Su Man a chance to speak, subtitles flashed rapidly.

[Special territory detected. Player, prepare yourself...]

Before finishing, more words appeared: [Wait, special territories are highly contested and hard to seize. Let me go fight... no, let me negotiate with them first.]

The screen seemed to crash, freezing on that message—as if it had gone off to battle.

Though curious, Su Man’s priority was still the matter of intruders in her villa.

Sun Li explained that some criminals had gotten lost and wandered here. They intended to rob her, but he proudly declared, “I scared them off; they fled in terror.”

He held up two fingers, “There were two of them—both driven off by me.”

Asked to describe them, he couldn’t say much, only that they looked ordinary.

Su Man didn’t dwell on it; she assumed the screen was exaggerating again.

At that moment, the screen finished its “fight,” or rather, negotiation, and returned with a result:

[Special territory secured. Player, you must strive to occupy this place. It is an extremely important location for your profits! The profit model for special territories differs from your previous holdings. Please take this seriously.]

The screen’s message thoroughly piqued Su Man’s interest.

She casually asked, “If it’s so important, can I bring Sun Li along to assist me?”

The screen didn’t reject immediately. After a two-second pause, it displayed:

[Let me go fight them again.]