“I can’t keep living like this another day.”
A little after eight at night, Song Yu lay slumped over the counter in his little shop deep in the Alley, sighing helplessly.
Before him sat a steaming cup of instant noodles, along with the computer on the counter.
He slurped up a mouthful of noodles, then glanced at the webpage on the counter computer.
『Hiring a typist, 200+ a day, reliable daily pay. Just a fifty-yuan deposit...』
『Rent out your TT account, 80 per hour. Earn money while lying down...』
『Like and follow short videos. Fifty cents per follow, all you need is a phone. The perfect part-time job for stay-at-home moms. We’re waiting for you...』
……
“Damn, is there not a single legitimate online part-time job?”
Song Yu kept scrolling through the webpages. Working outside was out of the question; he still wanted to live a few more years.
Official statistics showed that the odds of being killed by ghosts and monsters while staying at home were only 1.2%.
Ever since some unknown scheming bastard had arranged for a dump truck to send him to this world, he had been living and eating in this Snack Shop for over two months.
Every day, he went out for a stroll during daylight, closed up before six in the evening, checked the news online, and then went to sleep. His routine was impeccable.
Song Yu stuck to his principle of not going out at night.
Since a ghost or monster could suddenly spring out of some dark corner at any moment, he couldn’t be bothered to investigate why, after crossing over, he had somehow ended up owning a two-story Snack Shop despite knowing nobody in the area.
Since he was here, he might as well make the best of it.
For now, his main quest was simply to stay alive.
“Knock, knock, knock...”
A soft knock sounded. Song Yu’s hand froze on the mouse as he looked toward the two tightly shut wooden doors.
Someone was still outside this late?
No. After seven, there was no way anyone could be seen on the streets.
And whoever he saw might not be human.
Song Yu paused for two seconds, pretended he hadn’t heard anything, shut down the computer, and tiptoed toward the bedroom upstairs.
As long as I don’t get curious, I’ll be safe.
Song Yu tried to reassure himself. He didn’t want to fight another ghost creature.
Although that so-called battle had happened when an unlucky ghost tried to hurt him two days ago, only to accidentally throw itself onto some kitchen utensils in the back kitchen and kill itself, he never wanted to go through that again.
“Please, help us... We’re with the Special Affairs Bureau. My teammate is injured and urgently needs a place to rest.”
A weak voice came from outside, making Song Yu’s hair stand on end.
They could imitate human identities to trick people now?
He continued upstairs.
“I can smell the instant noodles. Let us rest inside for the night, and I can put in a request with the bureau for a protective magical artifact for you.”
A protective magical artifact?
Song Yu didn’t stop walking. If he opened the door, he’d probably get a game-over screen right away. He wouldn’t need any magical artifacts then.
“And a generous reward,” the man’s voice added.
Song Yu stopped, padded over to the door, and quietly listened for any sounds outside.
Since he was being so polite, if he was a ghost creature, he must be trying to trick Song Yu into opening the door so he could attack.
A woman’s low voice came from outside. “Cough, cough... Captain Liu, no one opens their door at night. I can barely keep it under control anymore. I’ll only drag you down. In our current state, staying out in the dark for too long is too dangerous. Captain, you should leave now. We can’t both get caught up in this.”
The man cursed:
“What the hell are you talking about?
“If they still don’t open the door, I’ll just break it down. I’ll pay for a new one at dawn. Even if we both get fired, that’s better than dying out here.”
The voices outside gradually fell quiet, as if they were hesitating.
“Hey, you there? Where are your credentials?”
After thinking for two seconds, Song Yu asked.
Some ghost creatures followed certain rules. For instance, they couldn’t enter a human home unless invited, and some couldn’t hurt people face-to-face.
These rules were bizarre, but people had pieced them together with countless lives.
“Here.”
One corner of an ID card was pushed through the gap beneath the wooden door.
Song Yu carefully pulled it inside, then quickly opened an app on his phone with a red-and-blue icon and entered the ID number.
『Liu Feng, captain of the Seventh Squad, Third Group, Liangcheng Special Affairs Bureau.』
It matched the credentials. They were real.
Song Yu thought for a moment, then went to the back kitchen and picked up a Cleaver.
Then he slowly opened the old wooden door and saw two people outside, covered in dust.
The smaller woman was half-lying down, while the man crouched beside her.
Both of them were sizing him up.
“Come in, quickly.” Song Yu glanced at the darkness outside and urged them in.
He had already spotted their distinctive uniforms and the red-and-blue emblem on their chests.
Liu Feng said nothing. He carried his teammate inside.
Song Yu quickly shut the door and let out a deep breath.
When he turned around, he saw the man named Liu Feng sizing him up.
“Your colleague... is she all right?” Song Yu quietly hid the Cleaver behind his back, showing none of the awkwardness of having refused to open the door just moments ago.
Liu Feng shook his head slightly. “Not very well. Hello. You confirmed our identities just now, right? We’ve run into an emergency, so we’d like to stay here for the night. We’ll leave at dawn, and someone will compensate you afterward.”
Song Yu asked, “You won’t bring any danger here, will you?”
“No. As long as we aren’t exposed to the darkness for too long and tracked down, you won’t be in any trouble.”
Only then did Song Yu nod. “That should be fine, but I only have one bed.”
“That’s all right. We can stay right here.”
Song Yu hesitated, then asked, “Are you... Ghost Tamers?”
Nearly half of the Special Affairs Bureau’s staff were Ghost Tamers. They increased their abilities by fusing with ghost creatures so they could fight them.
“Yes.” Liu Feng hesitated, then nodded.
“Is there really a ghost inside you?”
Song Yu was full of curiosity.
The one he’d encountered before had been so ugly, with a horribly twisted face. Even now, just thinking about it made his back turn cold. They were incredibly brave to fuse with ghost creatures and boost their combat strength.
Liu Feng nodded indifferently. He had no extra energy to indulge an ordinary person’s curiosity. At that moment, he was frowning deeply as he looked at his teammate.
She had no obvious external injuries, but her face was sallow and she had heavy dark circles under her eyes, as if she’d been up all night. She had even lost most of her ability to move.
Liu Feng knew the reason, but there was nothing he could do about it.
“Do you have any water or food?”
He turned to look at the Shopkeeper. This was a Snack Shop, so surely they had something.
“Well... I really don’t have any food. I’ve been having money troubles lately, so I haven’t stocked up on anything extra. No one would open up to sell us anything if we went out now, either. I do have water, though.”
Song Yu answered honestly, then glanced at the counter. “But there’s half a cup of instant noodles left over from my meal...”
Liu Feng sighed. “Never mind, then. Could you pour us a glass of water?”
After a brief silence, Song Yu seemed to think of something and asked, “Have you captured a Vengeful Soul?”
Liu Feng furrowed his brows. “Sorry, we can’t disclose that.”
Song Yu said, “I’ve heard that it’s hard to destroy ghost creatures. Usually, you capture them and bring them back to the Special Affairs Bureau to destroy them. If you have a Vengeful Soul with you, I could get you some food.”
“Hm? What do you mean?”
“Actually, I have three Youtiao in the shop.”
Liu Feng said urgently, “Then hurry and bring them over. Name your price.”
Li Xinxin was in very poor condition. The two of them hadn’t eaten for over a day because of their mission, and one reason she’d ended up like this was that she had lost too much stamina to keep up with her current energy expenditure.
“It’s not about money. These aren’t ordinary Youtiao. They can only be exchanged for Vengeful Souls: one Vengeful Soul for one Youtiao. I thought that since you’re Ghost Tamers, you might happen to have captured a ghost creature with you.”
Liu Feng’s gaze turned cold as he stared at Song Yu.
Song Yu added, “If you’re not willing, just forget I said anything.”
“One Vengeful Soul for one Youtiao?” Liu Feng said slowly.
Song Yu nodded. “That’s right. It’s a family precept passed down through generations. I can’t go against it.”
“And those three Youtiao are family heirlooms, too?” Liu Feng asked expressionlessly.
“Not exactly. I made them myself.”
“So your family precept says to exchange food for Vengeful Souls, but ghost creatures only started appearing five years ago.” Liu Feng remained expressionless.
“Maybe my ancestors... could see the future?” Song Yu said tentatively, lying through his teeth.
Liu Feng took a deep breath.
“Get me one Youtiao first. I’ll see just how special it is. But if I give you a Vengeful Soul, it had better not kill you before you can do anything with it.”
Song Yu nodded repeatedly. “Don’t worry. I have a way to handle it.”
Then he dashed into the back kitchen and hurried back out a few seconds later.
“Here, Captain Liu. Just put the Vengeful Soul in here.”
Liu Feng stared at the cloth bag Song Yu held open in both hands, dusted with a bit of flour, and fell silent.
That was the Flour Bag from his shop, wasn’t it?
“Be careful,” Liu Feng said.
Then he rummaged around inside his clothes and took out a Small Jade Bottle, its mouth tightly sealed with a wooden stopper.
It was only a Vengeful Soul. Even if it went berserk after being released, he could subdue it with ease.
He wanted to see what this kid was up to.
Seeing Song Yu nod again to confirm, Liu Feng didn’t hesitate. He pulled out the wooden stopper and tipped the contents into the bag.