"Chi Nian?"
Su Ming snapped his fingers, summoning the Jumper Ghost.
"I have a question for you."
"If Chi Nian were a ghost, what was her true purpose for visiting me last time?"
Su Ming stared at the Jumper Ghost.
The thinking of ghosts is quite different from that of ordinary people.
Just as Su Ming had said.
If Chi Nian were a ghost, she should have come to claim his life last time, not to advise him to focus on his studies.
The Jumper Ghost tilted its head, pondering for a long time before stammering, "G-Great King, I don't know either."
"Every ghost has a different pattern of killing."
"Great King, could it be..." It lowered its voice and said, "She wants to tutor you to death."
Su Ming slapped it: "Get out of here."
But on second thought, it wasn't entirely impossible.
A 24-hour tutoring session without sleep, studying to the death, could indeed cause someone to drop dead.
But this didn't match Chi Nian's frequent and bizarre behavior of dating both men and women.
She swings both ways, this one.
"Great King, Great King," the Jumper Ghost quickly turned its head, "Although I'm not sure if Chi Nian is a ghost."
"But one thing is certain."
"You've been marked."
Su Ming frowned, staring at the Jumper Ghost in confusion, "Marked?"
The Jumper Ghost explained.
In fact, it had marked Su Ming before, then came to claim his life through the mark.
But before it marked him, there were already other ghost marks on Su Ming.
Though faint, they were indeed there.
"Why didn't you say so earlier?" Su Ming glared at the Jumper Ghost.
The Jumper Ghost replied aggrievedly, "Great King, you didn't ask me."
Su Ming grabbed the Jumper Ghost's clothes and asked, "Tell me, how long have I been marked?"
The Jumper Ghost gave a definite answer: "Before I came to claim your life, the mark on you had been there for at least half a month."
Half a month ago, Su Ming was still an ordinary person.
He hadn't yet bound to the "Raising Ghosts" game or contained the Jumper Ghost.
Except for going out on weekends, he spent his weekdays at school.
This was very strange.
A ghost had marked him for at least half a month but hadn't made a move.
What was it waiting for?
At this moment, Jiang Qian returned from the balcony after finishing her call.
She opened the balcony door and apologized, "Great King, my cousin said she has something to do today and can't come."
"Otherwise..."
Su Ming raised his hand, "No need."
"I'll go to school tomorrow."
"But..." Jiang Qian wanted to say something, but Su Ming interrupted her, "Enough, there's no 'but'."
"I'll handle your cousin's matter."
"You don't need to worry about anything else; I have my own plans."
After sending Jiang Qian off, Su Ming received a delivery call from the management bureau.
The items he exchanged for last night had been shipped and were expected to arrive around seven tonight.
Item No. 094, the "Mutated Humanoid Fish Statue," had also been shipped and was expected to arrive in three days.
The call explained why the "Mutated Humanoid Fish Statue" was being delivered slowly.
Because it's a Sealed Object.
It requires professional personnel to escort it, road closures throughout the journey, and periodic checks for contamination leaks.
In short, caution upon caution, not a single mistake can be made.
Su Ming understood.
After hanging up, Su Ming whistled, feeling quite pleased.
If nothing unexpected happened, the Ghost School Belle's favorability would upgrade tonight.
He immediately purchased an extra-large round bed and several pounds of rose petals locally, noting: Urgent.
Then, he turned and went into the bathroom to take a shower, scrubbing until even the crevices of his nails shone, and sprayed himself with perfume.
After tidying up, he went to the mall.
He bought a new outfit and got a stylish haircut.
When Su Ming finally stepped into the classroom, the Ghost School Belle looked at him with slight confusion.
He seemed a bit different today.
Su Ming paid no mind to the Ghost School Belle's confusion.
Upon entering the classroom, he placed the high-risk and taboo items previously chosen by the Ghost School Belle on the desk.
Then, without a word, he began cleaning the classroom.
He moved the desks and chairs aside, clearing a large space, and laid down a carpet.
Not a single wrinkle or fringe was left unstraightened.
Next, he took a large round bed from his inventory and carefully placed it in the center of the carpet.
When the Ghost School Belle started absorbing the second item.
Su Ming was already making the bed, putting on sheets, duvet covers, and pillowcases, with a very serious attitude.
After making the bed, he scattered a handful of rose petals on it.
When the Ghost School Belle absorbed the third item.
Su Ming was heating a wooden tub, pouring in the remaining rose petals, and then arranging shampoo, shower gel, toothbrush, cup, and facial cleanser in order.
When the Ghost School Belle absorbed the fourth item.
Su Ming was already lying on the bed, satisfied with his setup.
Then he propped his face with one hand, gently patting the bed with the other, almost saying, "Come on over."
When the Ghost School Belle absorbed the last item.
The most beautiful music began to play.
[Favorability +10, Current: Unfamiliar (200/200)]
[Detected Ghost School Belle's favorability has reached the limit]
[Activate Favorability Upgrade Task]
[Favorability Upgrade Task: Investigate the Ghost School Belle's Name]
Su Ming froze on the bed, like a computer crashing, even his gaze was blank.
A gust of wind seemed like it would shatter him.
Damn it!
There's actually a damn favorability upgrade task!
Are you kidding me?
After all this effort, you're telling me to wait even longer.
"Damn~"
He almost exploded on the spot.
Although the favorability hadn't successfully upgraded.
The Ghost School Belle's attitude was much better than before.
She walked slowly to Su Ming, extended her fair fingers, handed the school badge to Su Ming, and then pointed to the classroom door.
The door to the classroom had always been locked.
The curtains and windows were sealed shut.
Now, that door could finally be opened.
The key to the door was the school badge the Ghost School Belle handed to Su Ming.
Grabbing the school badge, Su Ming shouted, "Wait for me, I'll be right back, you go ahead and wash."
Urgent, urgent, urgent.
In a rush, he didn't even have time to put on pants, grabbed the school badge, and dashed out.
He inserted the school badge into the door lock.
With a soft click, the door opened.
He pushed it open.
A strong sense of distortion swept over.
This distortion seemed to fold and compress the entire space.
When Su Ming came to his senses, he was already standing in a dim, eerie corridor.
The walls on both sides of the corridor were shattered, stained with a lot of dark red blood.
Moreover, the corridor was very quiet, so quiet that he could hear his own breathing.
But occasionally, he could hear faint sobbing and dragging sounds.
He could even see some wandering eerie figures.
The next second, a game interface appeared before Su Ming's eyes.
[Hengan Middle School]
[Game Requirement: Reach the Honor Wall in the teaching building and obtain the Ghost School Belle's name]
[Game Rule: Clear in one life]
"What!"
Su Ming was dumbfounded.
What does it mean to clear in one life?
Soon, Su Ming understood what it meant to clear in one life.
In the Hengan Middle School instance, if he touched any ghost from Hengan Middle School, he would instantly drop dead, without any chance to buffer.
Besides the ghosts, there were many underworld traps.
For example, while walking, blood water might suddenly appear underfoot and suck him in.
While leaning against the wall and moving slowly, a hand might suddenly reach through the wall and pull him in.
Su Ming even thought about breaking the glass and jumping out.
However, everything in Hengan Middle School was protected by an invisible force, indestructible.
This led to Su Ming dying dozens of times in just over an hour.
After dying, he would revive directly in the classroom where the Ghost School Belle was, then reopen the classroom door to play the game again.
Got it.
This damn thing is a horror version of real-life Mario, and it's damn spooky.