The moment the result appeared, the most shocked person was actually the one involved.
Su Er, with a serious expression, wanted to excuse himself by claiming the pearl might be broken, but before he could even open his mouth, the score popped up: 11.5384615.
If it weren’t restricted to showing only ten digits, this string of numbers might have gone on endlessly.
Su Er actually felt relieved and calmly said, “You can tell from the score—the pearl malfunctioned.”
However, the expressions on everyone’s faces didn’t ease at all. Qu Qingming even picked up his wine glass and slowly sipped, using it to hide his expression.
In the silence, Su Er looked at Ji Heng with a victim's demeanor, but Ji Heng calmly analyzed, “Counting the pearl, there are 26 people present. For 23 of them, your thoughts aren’t exactly a secret.”
After all, this was how Su Er normally behaved.
Ji Heng added, “The ones truly surprised were probably me, the pearl, and you.”
At this point, Qu Qingming put down his wine glass and smiled without warmth. “I guess the pearl couldn't determine the value of the secret, so it used the simplest method—calculating the individual's percentage weight, then tripling that.”
Su Er slightly raised his head and seriously did some mental math… 10/26 × 3—yeah, that was probably about right.
He gave a dry laugh and turned to his teammates. “I don’t think like that.”
It was all part of the game’s scheme.
Ji Heng remained calm.
Su Er blinked, then suddenly asked, “What did you think it would display?”
Ji Heng replied, “Censored text.”
Considering a certain someone’s abnormal understanding of the game, that wasn’t out of the question.
Su Er pressed his lips together and sat back down, but couldn’t help glancing sideways. Next to him, Lu Quanqiu’s chest was heaving, his eyes bulging slightly—it was the expression of someone barely able to contain their excitement.
A death immunity coupon!
He was going to receive a death immunity coupon!
As the final second ticked down, and it was confirmed that no score higher than 71 had appeared, Mister Rose announced the result.
“Congratulations,” the host said, looking at Lu Quanqiu. He performed a sleight of hand and produced a shimmering golden slip of paper.
It was about the size of a ticket, with no writing on it—just a beautiful pearl drawn in the center.
After being in the instance so long, everyone had become overly suspicious. To Su Er, that pearl looked almost alive.
Lu Quanqiu trembled as he took the slip and carefully put it away.
Man Jiangshan leaned in to get a better look, but Lu guarded it as if protecting it from a thief.
The host never said the coupon was bound to a person. In other words, anyone with the ability could snatch it. Once the initial joy passed, Lu Quanqiu became understandably paranoid.
Su Er kindly reminded him, “This death immunity coupon might be problematic. Try not to use it.”
Lu looked at him skeptically and with some displeasure. “You like showing off, but choked at the end. I think you're just jealous!”
As their conversation grew unpleasant, Man Jiangshan quietly shifted his stool farther away. Lu Quanqiu’s behavior was clearly abnormal—even for someone impulsive, this kind of irrational provocation was suspicious.
Was he just overly obsessed with the coupon, or was something else going on?
Man Jiangshan, who was good at reading people, paid close attention to the host and staff, and noticed all of their smiles looked... strange. As if they had long expected this moment to happen.
The tension in the room was thick, ready to ignite at any second.
Fortunately, before the atmosphere could get worse, the flames of anger were never given a chance to ignite—
Even after being directly insulted, Su Er didn’t show a trace of anger. Instead, he cheerfully explained, “I’m not coveting the death immunity coupon, and I’m certainly not jealous.”
To prove it, he placed his hand on the pearl again. The same phrase appeared: Everyone here is trash.
Lu Quanqiu froze and slowly calmed down… He had almost forgotten—this guy saw everyone as trash.
Who gets jealous of trash?
Su Er added at just the right moment, “Such a simple game, and they’re handing out a death immunity coupon? Does that seem reasonable to you?”
Lu Quanqiu frowned. The red flush on his face faded a bit from excitement, but the allure of the coupon was too strong. He remained defensive toward everyone.
The overly uneventful conclusion clearly disappointed Mister Rose. His gaze was downright creepy.
Su Er politely tried to change the topic with a cough hidden behind a tissue. “Shall we continue?” he asked pleasantly.
Mister Rose spoke up, addressing all the players, “One final round remains. Anyone interested can draw lots.”
Su Er became more cautious now, showing no intention of drawing. Lu Quanqiu, holding the coupon, naturally wouldn’t take the risk either.
Man Jiangshan hesitated, feeling even more resentful toward Lu Quanqiu. Regardless of what trickery might be behind the coupon, just having it brought some peace of mind. The altar had been discovered by the two of them, yet only one benefited.
“It’s okay,” Su Er said reassuringly, his voice calm. “Losing your composure can cost you the instance.”
Man Jiangshan paused for a moment, then genuinely said, “Thank you.”
Across from them, the row of water ghosts looked at each other and began speaking in hoarse, unpleasant voices. But their voices were so low that even at this close distance, Su Er couldn’t make out a single word.
Ji Heng, who could read lips, translated: “Roughly, they’re calling you a green tea.”
Su Er wasn’t too surprised. In the beginner rounds, he had acted however he liked, but later realized surface-level civility was sometimes necessary. Making friends was more useful than making enemies.
After a few deep breaths, Man Jiangshan finally calmed down. Just as he was about to close his eyes and draw a lot, Ji Heng suddenly said, “I’ll do it.”
After a brief hesitation, Man Jiangshan willingly gave up without any sign of resistance.
Ji Heng reached out unceremoniously. He had already touched one stick, but for some reason, at the last moment, he didn’t pull it out and instead chose the one next to it.
Mister Rose’s expression turned cold. “You really are something.”
Ji Heng didn’t immediately look at the contents of the bamboo slip; instead, he smiled modestly. “Just high-class trash, not worth mentioning.”
Su Er, who had been quietly sitting there, felt somewhat targeted by that comment.
The game Ji Heng drew had no text explanation, only a painting. Due to limited space, many elements were crammed together, making it hard to discern.
Mister Rose abruptly retrieved the slip and, after a few seconds of silence, suddenly announced the banquet was over.
Ji Heng didn’t react much, but Man Jiangshan couldn’t help speaking up first: “The game hasn’t even started.”
The gentleman decisively declared, “It was a blank slip.”
Man Jiangshan frowned. There was clearly a pattern on the slip.
The host clearly disliked being questioned. Though his expression turned cold, he still perfunctorily explained, “This game requires participation from new staff members. Today is the banquet. They don’t officially begin work until tomorrow.”
It sounded logical, but whether it was convincing was up for debate.
At least, Su Er had every reason to suspect the host’s move was to avoid the water ghosts being harmed.
With the banquet over, staff members returned to their rooms, leaving the players to clean up the leftover food.
While wiping the table, Su Er noticed out of the corner of his eye that Man Jiangshan was speaking with Lu Quanqiu. The tension between them from the earlier game seemed to have completely disappeared.
He didn’t want to blatantly eavesdrop, so most of his focus remained on the cloth in his hand.
“I’ll take care of it.” As he was gathering the trash, Lu Quanqiu walked over and offered, “I’ll clean the rest. You should rest early.”
Su Er raised his eyebrows in suspicion.
Lu Quanqiu scratched his head sheepishly. “I was too impulsive earlier. Thanks for the heads-up.”
Although he didn’t think things were that simple, Su Er went along with it. He washed his hands and went upstairs to rest.
Not long after he left, Lu Quanqiu turned his gaze to Ji Heng, and with a flattering tone, took over the work in Ji Heng’s hands. Ji Heng didn’t even ask why—he simply returned to his room.
Lu Quanqiu let out a breath of relief.
The banquet had started early. Even though the game delayed things for several hours, it still wasn’t quite midnight.
Lying in bed, Su Er kept recalling the content of Qu Qingming’s diary, trying to find any clues. Time ticked by. The stars in the sky were gradually obscured by clouds, growing dim.
Just as he was about to grasp something, his train of thought was abruptly shattered by a rustling noise. He turned his face—and met eyes with a human head hanging upside down outside the window. The long waterfall-like white hair hung down straight, looking particularly eerie in the dark night.
He...llo...there!
The head slowly opened its mouth.
Lack of emotion didn’t mean the absence of fear. Faced with such a face so suddenly, Su Er’s body instinctively tensed.
The water ghost noticed the slight dilation in his pupils and revealed a gleeful, prankster smile before climbing away like a monkey.
His thoughts forcibly interrupted, Su Er felt a tight knot in his chest—he now truly understood what it meant to be stifled with frustration. Thanks to being singled out earlier by Mister Rose, he figured he was now the designated target of these water ghosts for the next few days.
And sure enough, reality proved him a prophet. That night, as he drifted in and out of sleep, someone knocked on his door.
In copies, 90% of door-knocking at night means ghosts. As the unlucky soul being targeted, Su Er didn’t have time to feel panic before he heard chaotic footsteps in the hallway—like mischievous kids knocking and running.
That same prank repeated three or four times throughout the night.
Under such conditions, it was a miracle Su Er got any sleep. Before dawn, he got up and washed his face with cold water, trying to wake himself.
As water trickled off his hands into the sink with a dull splash, Su Er noticed something was off. He opened his eyes and saw the sink clogged with white hair, completely blocking the drain.
Disgusting and shameless little tricks—but effective.
Water ghosts were indeed extremely vengeful creatures. To make matters worse, they were very fast, and any place with water could be their lair, making them hard to catch.
After three failed attempts to trap them, Su Er still looked tired as he went downstairs.
It was a gloomy day. Heavy clouds loomed low in the sky, and the ground floor hall was filled with a dark, oppressive atmosphere.
“Water ghosts aren’t strong, just annoyingly persistent,” Mister Rose said from a shadowy corner. The flower on his ear was slightly more vivid than usual. “You’ll understand that more and more soon.”
Sensing the malicious implication in his words, Su Er frowned.
Everything else was tolerable—but if the water ghosts kept pulling these petty tricks, it could seriously interfere with completing the mission.
Su Er paused in thought. Whatever he came up with made him suddenly break into a wide grin, unable to hold back.
Mister Rose remained expressionless, but the petals on his ear lightly quivered in sync with Su Er’s laughter.
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