“Shut up. Don’t talk,” Yu Qing said.
With Uncle Yuan nowhere to be seen, the rich young man had only to think of all the trivial matters he would now have to handle personally, and his mood immediately sank.
On top of that, Mi Xiaobai’s we’re screwed had sounded far too gleeful. Unsurprisingly, a holographic screen popped up.
Favorability -1.
Yu Qing deliberately left the screen there for a moment—long enough for a certain someone to read it clearly—before closing it himself.
Yet the instant it vanished, another notification appeared.
Favorability +2.
“?”
The increase came completely out of nowhere. Even Mi Xiaobai sounded surprised. He was just about to get a better look when Yu Qing instantly dismissed the screen, not allowing it to remain for even a second longer.
Displeasure seemed to radiate from every inch of him. After exuding cold air for a while, he turned to Mi Xiaobai.
“Can these notifications be turned off or not? It’s annoying having them pop up all the time.”
“You really want them off?” Mi Xiaobai asked.
Obviously. Why keep them around just to piss me off?
A certain bastard’s true nature immediately surfaced.
“Ah,” he said, sounding deeply regretful.
But worried that if the holographic screens kept popping up Yu Qing might actually develop murderous intent, Mi Xiaobai added, “I’m not that familiar with the settings either, but if you really want them gone, take out your phone and see if you can find a settings menu.”
The clever Mr. Painted Skin was already quite proficient with the device. He quickly found the settings and changed Favorability changes to Minimized.
Once he was done, he muttered irritably, “Why isn’t there an option to turn it off completely? Useless.”
In any case, after he adjusted the useless thing’s settings, it turned into a tiny figure resembling Painted Skin and appeared in the upper-right corner of his vision.
After remaining still for a while, the little figure shrank again until only its head was visible.
Despite the head’s utterly expressionless face and glacially aloof appearance, it still did considerable damage to the dignity a Ghost Deity ought to possess.
Yu Qing tapped it several times and confirmed that it truly could not be closed. Left with no choice, he ignored it.
After warning Mi Xiaobai, “Don’t cause trouble,” he started toward the two idiots standing frozen outside the noodle shop.
The moment Three Ks saw Yu Qing, he looked as though he had found a lifeline. He grabbed Shan Bei and shook him.
“He’s here! He’s here!”
The one fiercer than any ghost was here.
Shan Bei was still trapped in the horror of seeing his dead schoolmate appear inside the game. At the sight of Yu Qing, he barely pulled himself together and quietly asked Three Ks, “Who’s that?”
Three Ks looked blankly at him. “That Smiley guy. Didn’t you say he was your boss? You made his account. You don’t recognize him?”
Shan Bei looked equally baffled.
“The account I made didn’t look like that.”
Influenced by his client’s nickname, ^ ^, Shan Bei had chosen a handsome default model with a somewhat wild, devil-may-care air.
Yu Qing was crossing the street toward them now, dressed entirely in black. His suit half melted into the night, his tall figure cold and aloof, carrying an unmistakable sense of keep away if you value your life.
There was absolutely nothing wild or devil-may-care about him.
Shan Bei stared, not daring to go meet him. In a low voice, he said, “You could beat me to death and I still never would’ve guessed the boss himself was this type.”
Three Ks agreed. “You’d have to be beaten to death several times. Your boss might have more than one type.”
Shan Bei: “?”
When Yu Qing reached them, Shan Bei nervously took half a step back.
Then, feeling that would be rude, he proactively introduced himself.
“Boss, I’m that game booster. Definitely Not Scallop.”
Yu Qing knew nothing about snails or scallops and was just about to say, I don’t know you, when Mi Xiaobai quietly explained by his ear, “Ah. The guy who made the account for me.”
What does that have to do with me?
Yu Qing retorted inwardly, but aloud he merely gave a curt, “Mm,” barely enough to count as acknowledging Shan Bei’s greeting.
Three Ks was somewhat more familiar with him.
He had originally planned to keep calling him Smiley, but the moment he remembered what had happened in the last instance, the nickname suddenly felt a little too disrespectful.
He agonized over it for exactly one second before deciding to follow Shan Bei’s lead and call Yu Qing “Boss.”
“Hey, Boss Smiley. We meet again.”
They greeted him, but neither Three Ks nor Shan Bei had recovered from Lord Spicy Soup’s death. Their faces remained grim.
Yu Qing’s gaze swept across them.
“Why are you looking at me like you’re attending a funeral?”
“…”
Shan Bei thought, What a mouth on this guy.
But why was even his voice different from when the account had been created?
Three Ks, however, did not mind the icy words. After all, in the previous instance, this man had spoken just as coldly while saving his life.
“It’s not a funeral,” he hurriedly told Yu Qing. “Boss, you have no idea. Something terrifying just happened to us.”
Three Ks carefully explained everything involving Lord Spicy Soup. He had been worried Yu Qing would ask, Who’s Lord Spicy Soup?
Instead, Yu Qing merely thought for a moment before his expression darkened.
“You mean when you people come here to play this game, if you die here, you might die outside the island city too,” Yu Qing said. “And then the people who die get sent here?”
Three Ks nodded.
“Yeah… that seems to be the case. But we’ve only seen one example so far, so we can’t be completely sure.”
“One is already one too many,” Shan Bei said. “Who would dare gamble on that uncertainty?”
For a brief moment, he felt something strange about Yu Qing’s wording.
The man had consistently said you people rather than when we play this game.
But before Shan Bei could think any further—
Current time: 9:13 PM. You have remained stationary for 13 consecutive minutes. Remaining stationary for 15 minutes will be considered passive gameplay. The instance quest will automatically be judged a failure, resulting in elimination by death.
Special encounter instances have a time limit. Failure to progress the storyline and complete the final quest within the allotted time will still be judged a failure.
46:13.
Shan Bei: “!!!”
He practically sprang into the air and immediately began running circles around Yu Qing.
Yu Qing, serving as the bewildered pillar in this impromptu ritual, stared at him suspiciously.
He was just about to ask what was wrong with this man—whether his name was Snail or Scallop or whatever—when Three Ks also yelped and hurriedly joined the circle.
Yu Qing: “?”
What is wrong with these people?
Three Ks ran as he anxiously explained, “No, Boss, listen! We stood here too long just now, and we’ll die if we keep standing around. We need to start the quest. The quest… let me think! Ah! A place to stay!”
“The beginner instance guide said that whenever you enter an instance, the first thing you should do is find somewhere to stay. That’s the only safe room.”
At that reminder, Yu Qing remembered as well.
His expression instantly worsened.
After all, the last time the rich young man had checked into a hotel, he had suffered an inexplicable humiliation.
“I’m not staying anywhere. Go yourselves.”
He refused categorically, strode past his two teammates, and headed directly toward the little noodle shop with its doors and windows tightly shut.
Three Ks and Scallop might not know what was special about this noodle shop, but Yu Qing did.
It was precisely why he and Mi Xiaobai had come here.
Yu Qing stopped outside and listened in silence for a moment.
The interior was utterly still. It seemed merely closed for the night, yet there was not the slightest trace of living presence inside.
He examined the edge of the door. Stone brick and metal fitted together tightly, without even the thinnest gap.
He was just about to make his fingers into a blade and break through the door the same way he had back at the low-rent housing when a notification appeared the instant he touched its edge.
Unprovoked destruction of a quest location will likewise be considered passive gameplay. The instance quest will automatically be judged a failure. The entire team will be eliminated by death.
Yu Qing: “…”
The system seemed intimately familiar with his temper.
It had even gone out of its way to include the words entire team.
He remembered what Three Ks and that Snail fellow had said.
If someone died in the game, they might die outside the island city as well.
His soul struggled irritably with the matter for a moment before he finally withdrew his hand, displeasure written all over his face.
A paper lantern swayed gently in the drizzle, illuminating a small brass bell beside the door.
Yu Qing flicked it with one finger.
Its delicate chime drifted eerily through the long, narrow alley, and yet another notification appeared.
The noodle shop is closed for the night. The owner does not receive guests after dark. Please return tomorrow.
Tomorrow…
Even if the shop opened at seven in the morning, that meant waiting almost another ten hours.
Which raised a problem.
He was penniless and buried in debt.
Where exactly was he supposed to spend those ten hours?
Yu Qing irritably flicked the blue-green butterfly’s wing and forced two quiet words through his teeth.
“Say something.”
Mi Xiaobai coughed softly, then imitated his lowered voice.
“It’s a shame the covered arcades here aren’t very tall, and there aren’t many lights on the street. Otherwise, sitting on a rooftop and looking down would actually give you a pretty nice view.”
Yu Qing: “…”
Bastard.
Wasn’t that just sleeping on the damn street?!
He was about to curse when he caught sight of Three Ks and Snail hurrying toward them from the corner of his eye.
Yu Qing pressed his lips together again and said nothing.
The deep voice by his ear continued describing the scenery for another moment before finally giving up with a helpless laugh.
“Forget it. Even I’m starting to feel shameless trying to dress this up.”
Yu Qing gave a cold snort.
But he still did not speak.
Three Ks rushed up, clasped his hands together, and practically bowed to him.
“Boss, we just checked. There’s a little hotel upstairs that’s still open, and it’s really cheap. Are you sure you won’t stay there?”
Yu Qing sneered.
“With what money? Should I take out a loan?”
Three Ks: “…”
Right.
He had nearly forgotten about the boss’s astonishing assets.
“I’ll pay for you.”
“No.”
Yu Qing had never possessed the concept of spending someone else’s money, much less the money of someone he barely knew.
Then Three Ks looked at him with a face on the verge of tears.
“Please. Neither of us dares go without you.”
Yu Qing: “…”
Three minutes later, after mentally killing the debt-ridden Mi Xiaobai eight hundred times, Yu Qing was standing before the reception desk of the little hotel.
The place was far worse than Blue Bay Hotel had been.
The metal storefront was covered in rust, and the elevator looked as though it had gone ten thousand years without maintenance. It was so narrow only one person could fit inside at a time.
Most importantly, the hotel was tiny. It occupied only three or four rooms’ worth of space in the entire arcade building.
Yet Three Ks actually asked the receptionist, “Do you have a suite? I want the three of us to stay together.”
After saying that, he thought for a moment and made an even bolder request.
“Better yet, something for five people. We still have two friends who haven’t arrived.”
Mi Xiaobai sighed.
“Ambitious.”
He kept making comments, and Yu Qing had no way to answer him, so he simply raised a hand and pinched the butterfly’s wings together.
Shan Bei noticed and cautiously pointed at the butterfly.
“Boss, is that butterfly your pet too? It looks like you’re about to crush it to death.”
Expressionless, Yu Qing released it.
Then he heard a quiet laugh from a certain someone.
“…”
Crushing it to death might not be so bad after all.
Three Ks’s negotiations finally produced a result.
The receptionist swept his dead-fish gaze across them and, astonishingly, nodded.
“There is a room that sleeps five.”
Three Ks breathed a sigh of relief. He was just about to announce the good news when he turned and met Yu Qing’s eyes.
He immediately behaved himself and asked the receptionist, “It’s not one huge shared bed, right?”
The receptionist answered in a mechanical, utterly flat voice.
“No. They’re separate.”
Only then did Three Ks truly relax.
He took out his phone and was about to scan his personal information code to pay when the receptionist held out a hand.
“To check in, you must provide one individual two-inch photograph.”
It was the first time Three Ks had ever heard such a requirement.
“What do you need a photo for?”
The receptionist kept his hand out and mechanically repeated himself.
“To check in, you must provide one individual two-inch photograph.”
He was just about to repeat it a third time when Three Ks, his scalp beginning to prickle, cut him off.
“Okay, okay, we need photos. But what if we didn’t bring any?”
The receptionist pointed to the left.
“Turn left after going out, then go up one floor. There’s a photography studio. Everyone here gets their pictures taken there.”
Three Ks tried to bargain.
“I’m the one booking the room. Does that mean you only need my picture?”
The receptionist extended his hand again.
“Everyone.”
Then, as though emphasizing the point, he added:
“Individual photographs only.”
Three Ks grew worried.
He was afraid that the instant Boss Smiley heard he had to pay for a photograph, he would toss out another, No money. Not doing it.
Fortunately, he did not.
Ever since they had told him about Lord Spicy Soup, Boss Smiley had become just a tiny bit easier to talk to…
All you had to do was tearfully tell him, I’m still young. I’m scared of dying. Please.
Then he would scowl and reluctantly agree.
In the modern age, places called “photography studios” had long since vanished.
Three Ks and Shan Bei had only ever seen them in period dramas.
They felt their way up another floor and found an equally dingy storefront.
The lightbox beside the door flickered from a faulty connection. Four blocky characters read:
PHOTOGRAPHY
Next to the lightbox were countless faded photographs pasted across the wall without any apparent arrangement, densely covering it from floor to ceiling.
Yu Qing glanced at them and immediately found the chaotic display irritating.
He was just about to step inside when he backed up and took another look.
Everyone in the photographs was smiling.
Yet every single mouth curved upward at precisely the same angle, as though each smile had been measured out with a ruler and compass.
Mi Xiaobai’s lazy voice sounded beside his ear.
“I spaced out just now and didn’t hear clearly. Did the hotel owner say he wanted individual photos?”
Yu Qing’s gaze shifted.
He scanned the wall from top to bottom.
There were group photographs of every imaginable kind.
But not a single individual portrait.
The owner of the photography studio was a short-haired woman in a qipao. Sitting on a tall, slender stool, she lifted her eyelids and glanced at the newcomers.
“Who comes to take pictures this late?”
When Yu Qing entered, her sleepy gaze landed on him before shifting toward the others.
Yawning, she called toward the back.
“The fitting room is through that door. Pick out a formal outfit and change into it. We’ll do your makeup too.”
“We have to change clothes and wear makeup?!”
Before Three Ks and Shan Bei could even process what was happening, a staff member pushed them into the fitting room.
The woman in the qipao looked at Yu Qing next.
“There’s another one already dressed formally, so he doesn’t need to change. Just do his makeup.”
Yu Qing: “?”
Mi Xiaobai drew out a quiet:
“Wow.”
Yu Qing: “…”
Say wow one more time and you die.
Yet someone continued courting death.
“I’ve only ever seen you change skins. I’ve never seen you wear makeup.”
Yu Qing: “…”
There was absolutely no possibility that he was putting on any kind of makeup.
He was just about to issue a threat when a staff member emerged from the inner room carrying an album.
Beneath the dim, wavering light, the employee opened it in front of Yu Qing.
“There are lots of makeup styles. Pick one,” the employee said softly without even lifting their head.
Yu Qing lowered his eyes.
Every face arranged across the album had the same deathly white base.
The brows and eyes were shaded a bruised blue-black.
The lips and cheeks were painted a rosy rouge.
Every single one of them—
was makeup for the dead.