They chatted happily. If not for knowing some of the inside story, Gou Baopu would really have suspected that Su Er’s surname was actually Gou, and that he was some branch of his own family who had strayed outside.
Su Er was more anxious than Gou Baopu. After tomorrow, players would be thrown into their respective dead-end scenarios. He had to secure benefits as quickly as possible.
His eyes flickered as he restrained himself from showing an overly urgent attitude.
But Gou Baopu saw through him at once, habitually twirling the red bead in his hand as he asked, “You want me to spread the word as soon as possible?”
Before the 80–20 split of benefits was carved up into 90–10, Su Er said in a low voice, “Once we’re inside the instance, life or death is uncertain. If I fall in the next run, the whole plan will definitely go to waste.”
Gou Baopu said nothing, but neither did he deny it.
Su Er continued, “If I can sell the first batch of insurance before being thrown into the next instance, even if an accident happens, we can still pocket a small profit.”
Watching the other’s expression, he began buttering him up extravagantly. “It sounds far-fetched, but with your ability, drawing up the contract and getting the publicity done in a single night is absolutely no problem.”
A plump finger wiggled in front of him. “Half a night is enough. By tomorrow morning, just wait for your benefits.”
Su Er froze for a moment—an unexpected bonus.
“Trades among ghosts and monsters mostly use yin-objects,” Gou Baopu said indifferently. “Such things are useless to you. I’ll convert them into items.”
At that, Su Er immediately glanced toward the direction of Green Lotus Sage.
Gou Baopu added, “Even without a broker, there won’t be any skimming.”
The host’s professional ethics were high—but killing people without compensation was another matter. No one knew this better than Su Er. He sneered, “Dumping a large number of items on me at once would just be a death sentence.”
Gou Baopu’s expression didn’t change. He didn’t believe the man would die at the hands of players—he just disliked being led by the nose, and so made trouble in passing.
At that moment, a milky-white pebble suddenly appeared in Su Er’s hand.
“When needed, drip a drop of blood. A porter will deliver the item to you at any time and explain its usage.” Gou Baopu smiled. “But the profit split changes to ninety–ten in my favor.”
A profiteer.
Su Er’s eyelid twitched.
He had to admit he was tempted. There was no time to go to a transfer station; even if he had a pile of items, he couldn’t identify them. Most were one-time use objects—at a critical moment, he couldn’t possibly test them one by one.
“Fine.” He gritted his teeth and agreed, then added, “I’ll decide the number and type of items delivered.”
Gou Baopu shook his head. “That would break game balance.”
In other words, the delivered items might turn out to be rather useless.
While Su Er hesitated, Green Lotus Sage, unconcerned, remarked, “Too many benefits—rules won’t allow this deal to go through.”
In short, no matter which option he chose, there were unavoidable drawbacks.
Su Er quickly accepted reality and pointed at Green Lotus Sage. “Shouldn’t we pay him some hush money?”
This time it was Gou Baopu’s turn to feel a headache. He’d never imagined this man would one day take the initiative to fight for someone else’s interests.
Without paying much attention to their exchange, what surprised Su Er in the end was that even the rabbit waiters at the hotel got some benefits. The host specifically said they were obtained thanks to Su Er, and that for the next day they shouldn’t be harassed.
That finally made him comfortable.
See—same salted-fish, but Green Lotus Sage was far more transparent than Mister East Wind.
Calling over a few rabbit attendants, he waved his hand. “Head east of the city.”
Each corner of the city had its own scene.
Many street vendors pushed little carts selling mooncakes. They looked friendly, but a closer look revealed that none of them had any heartbeat at all.
Su Er sat in a tricycle, a soft fur blanket beneath him. One rabbit waiter fanned him while another served tea at any time.
Vendors who had been ready to approach now hesitated.
As monsters, it was only natural to ensure that every player who entered had no way out. But this human who had just arrived… why did he also have monsters escorting him?
He was only a visitor here—at most a tourist. As long as he didn’t actively participate in the game, Green Lotus Sage could provide him with maximum convenience.
Before leaving the hotel, the host had given him an employee badge and the identity of a Ghost Market city enforcer. The condition was that Su Er must not interfere with any player, or else he would be punished by the rules.
Looking around, all he saw were ghosts in human guise. He was in no hurry, letting the tricycle amble slowly toward the densest area.
Food-related challenges in dungeons often turned out unexpectedly disgusting, and this time was no exception. At a street corner, a player was playing a tasting game with vegetarian and meat mooncakes, his face nearly green. The tricycle rolled past without reaction.
Soon after, Su Er spotted a few familiar figures… Among them, Ji Heng was most visible due to his height. His sleeve was splattered with nearly black-purple blood—some unlucky monster must have been slain.
Sensing something, Ji Heng suddenly lifted his head, and their gazes collided mid-air.
Su Er sat openly in the tricycle, looking down with disdain. “Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west.”
Ji Heng replied calmly, “It’s been less than an hour since we separated.”
At that, Su Er straightened slightly, taking the tea handed over by the rabbit waiter.
Wan Yi, who was on the same mission as Ji Heng, looked on with a complicated expression. Recruiting two rabbit underlings in such a short time was no small feat.
For the greater picture, Su Er directed the rabbit attendants to park under the shade of a tree, closed his eyes, and rested while waiting for this round’s mini-game to end.
With eyes shut, his hearing sharpened infinitely. Footsteps, cries, the noises of the surroundings strung together, as if he had returned to modern society. Who knew how much time had passed when an extra breath reached his ears—Su Er’s eyes snapped open.
Ji Heng leapt into the tricycle, saying nothing the whole way.
When they returned to the hotel, the rabbit attendants finished their task and left. Su Er signaled with his eyes for the other to start asking questions, giving him a chance to boast of his “great achievements.”
Ji Heng cooperatively opened his mouth. “Please begin your performance.”
“......”a
Su Er coughed lightly, restoring his usual composure, and recounted in full the deal he had struck with Gou Baopu.
After hearing it, Ji Heng frowned. “In the long run, this may plant a seed of disaster.”
Su Er knew that well, but for now he only cared about short-term gains. “Once you get through the death-end scenarios, there will be time to plan for the future.”
The die was cast, so Ji Heng said nothing more, only asked, “The host didn’t stop you at all?”
“Very cooperative.”
When Su Er said this, his voice sank, clearly with some wariness in it.
Ji Heng frowned. “Artificial intelligences may not feel anger like humans do, but you still need to watch out.”
Su Er nodded. More than watch out—facing Green Lotus Sage, he hadn’t dared relax for even a moment.
While Ji Heng was still pondering, Su Er went straight to the point, his voice drifting softly: “Don’t forget our earlier bet.”
A promise once made must not be broken, or it would create a rift between them. Ji Heng grew especially serious. “You’d better think this through.”
There was, after all, an easier way: just keep clearing instances steadily, and the chance of escaping the game alive was actually quite high.
But Su Er was broad-minded in this regard, and handed him a piece of paper.
Ji Heng unfolded it—an 800-word essay, titled Friends Walk Together for Life. It quoted classics and references, all to prove that one should live with a clear conscience. After reading, Ji Heng completely gave up on trying to persuade him.
This man’s brainwashing ability was first-rate. He even had a written piece prepared, which showed he had already brainwashed himself.
At last they reached agreement. Night had already deepened like ink.
That night Su Er couldn’t sleep at all. He wasn’t the only one—he vaguely heard Ji Heng turn over a few times too.
When the morning sun streamed in, Su Er sat up instantly, with an odd feeling of release. Forced sleep was truly unpleasant.
The two of them walked toward the dining hall and ran into Yi Zhu on the way. With obvious dark circles under her eyes, she paused when she saw the bluish tinge beneath Su Er’s own eyelids. “I thought you wouldn’t be nervous.”
Su Er tugged at his mouth. “Just thinking about clues.”
With the information he had, he’d spent the whole night puzzling over what Ji Heng’s death end scenario might be. Compared to Li Zicang and the others, his was much vaguer.
At breakfast, the players were more silent than usual.
Finally Green Lotus Sage entered. Seeing Li Zicang wolfing down his food, he said slowly, “You can eat more slowly. Up next is the sightseeing tour.”
Though they had already known in advance that the last day had no missions, hearing it confirmed still brought a touch of disappointment.
“I believe everyone has already found their own hope.” Green Lotus Sage raised his glass in a gesture of congratulation.
He wasn’t wrong—those still alive had indeed obtained some clues.
Su Er rubbed the little stone Gou Baopu had given him and asked quietly, “Should we call for items now?”
Ji Heng shook his head. “The game’s difficulty adjusts slightly according to players’ overall strength. Wait until we’re inside the instance.”
After the meal, Green Lotus Sage led everyone walking along the streets. With the monsters gone, the city now looked rather desolate.
“Deception has existed for ninety years now…”
Green Lotus Sage wore a microphone, doubling as a tour guide.
“Maybe I should get hold of more invisibility cloaks, hide out here for a while…”
Though Su Er’s voice was very low, Green Lotus Sage heard it clearly, his speech catching for a moment.
Su Er was daydreaming wildly when suddenly a chill ran through him. Looking up, he saw the host squint his eyes.
Just joking.
He mouthed.
Green Lotus Sage paused with a smile.
In just a few seconds, his internal database had already run through countless conditions, quickly concluding: there was a fifty percent chance this man would stage some kind of scene before leaving.
Green Lotus Sage immediately decided. “The sooner you die, the sooner you reincarnate. You go first.”
Su Er: “But I still wanted to look around…”
Green Lotus Sage tossed him a lotus seed. “A team item, on me.”
Su Er looked at Ji Heng.
“Alright,” Ji Heng nodded.
Seeing a benefit, Li Zicang hurriedly said, “Give me one too, I’m willing to enter the instance directly.”
Green Lotus Sage stated the cruel truth calmly. “I could give you ten, and you’d still have no one to team with.”
“......”a
Right to the heart.
Clutching the lotus seed, Su Er suddenly said before leaving, “Doesn’t the game still owe me achievement points?”
In the Maze, he had clashed several times with Teng Snake Lord. Fiction had made plenty of money off it—surely he deserved a few points.
“It’s been two instances already, at least some interest should be due.” Su Er put on a shy look. “For example, one extra achievement.”
The system filtered his words and judged it a reasonable request.
After a brief silence, Green Lotus Sage said, “Hold on, I’ve already forwarded your request.”
At that moment, Su Er truly felt the advantage of an intelligent host. With any other, not only would they refuse to relay it, they’d ignore him and just throw him straight into the instance.
He hadn’t even had two minutes to be pleased when a muffled thunderclap suddenly sounded in his ears. His body twitched reflexively.
[Congratulations to player Su Er for obtaining the achievement “Recommended Student.”]
[Congratulations to player Su Er for obtaining the achievement “Rich Beyond Measure.”]
[Congratulations to player Su Er for obtaining the achievement “A grown son cannot be kept; in leaving, he leaves behind enmity.”]
The first two he could understand. Puzzled, Su Er asked, “The last one means…?”
“The game gifted it to you.”
He had only said it casually, not expecting it to actually happen. But the meaning of this last achievement point was truly hard to grasp.
Green Lotus Sage said gently, “Dear, it’s a hint that you should hurry up and get lost.”
“......”
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