Chapter 16: Goodbye, Brother

On the soft, massive bed, Sang Yu tumbled through clouds and rain with Brother. Like a female ghost who had sated herself on Yang energy, her flushed cheeks beamed with utter satisfaction.

Furthermore, after sleeping with this cheap brother of hers, she felt her ghostly powers faintly rising once again.

No wonder dual cultivation through Yang-draining had been so popular in the ghost realm back then, with female ghosts scrambling to leach off scholars for free.

If she had known earlier, she would have slept with a few more men back when she was still a ghost.

A thin layer of sweat covered Brother’s body, his breathing gradually growing heavy and labored. Sang Yu felt he was probably reaching the tipping point. Digging her nails into his back, she prepared to cooperate with him…

“Ding! The game has ended. Congratulations to player Sang Yu for successfully completing the quest.”

An even colder mechanical voice rang out in Sang Yu’s mind.

Sang Yu froze. A flash of white light exploded before her eyes, and all the imagery vanished completely.

Yet in that final split second, Sang Yu caught sight of Brother’s dark, gloomy face, black as pitch.

“Goodbye, Brother.”

Sang Yu’s lips moved softly; she had no idea whether he managed to hear her voice at the end.

The white light vanished, and in the very next second, Sang Yu found herself standing inside a stark white space.

The white space was utterly empty, save for a single lamp overhead emitting a bright, glaring light.

Sang Yu was wrapped in a nightgown. Before she even had time to inspect her current situation, the System’s cursing voice exploded inside her head.

“FUCK its mother’s egg! This dumbass horror game system, AHHH…”

“We were just a tiny bit away! Just one tiny bit away from completing the romance quest!”

“I’m gonna go crazy! I’m gonna twist and crawl around in the dark, I’m gonna swing on a monkey trapeze, I’m gonna go beat up kindergarteners…”

The System was genuinely going insane with rage.

The romance progress had already reached 99%. They were only short of the very final step to achieve complete success.

Moreover, after Sang Yu arrived in the white space, Brother’s favorability score suddenly plummeted drastically.

“Ding! Target favorability -10. Current favorability is at 89%.”

“Ding! Target favorability -20. Current favorability is at 69%.”

“Ding! Target favorability -90.0001%. Current favorability is at -59.99999%…”

Seeing that there were even decimals involved, Sang Yu fell silent too.

Promptly, she joined forces with the System to unleash a barrage of curses at the horror game.

The System cursed until its throat was practically smoking before finally stopping.

Sang Yu said, “System, you’re a system too. Why don’t you just destroy the horror game’s system and be done with it?”

A fierce gleam flashed across her eyes.

The white puffball System immediately weakened, confessing sheepishly, “Can’t beat it. Its level is tens of thousands of times higher than mine; I’d just get beaten to death by it.”

It was merely the trashiest romance system, completely useless for anything else.

It still had that bit of self-awareness.

“Host, even though I can’t beat the horror game’s system, I’ve already investigated all the data regarding this world,” the System said in a flattering tone.

Sang Yu rubbed her sore waist and motioned for the System to report to her slowly.

System: “Sixteen years ago, horror suddenly descended upon this world. A hundred human players are selected at a time to enter weird spaces and challenge horror survival games. Players who clear the game successfully receive various rewards, while those who die or fail in the game have both their bodies and souls erased.”

Sang Yu’s eyes flickered slightly as she asked, “Can you investigate the reason why the horror game appeared?”

The System shook its round little head, “My level is too low to probe into the truth.”

“Then how can we leave this place?” Sang Yu asked again.

The System answered quickly, “According to information published by humans in this world, successfully clearing 100 horror games will allow a player to return to the real world. However, up until now, not a single person has returned alive.”

100—it was a hope, but even more so a desperation.

“The place we’re currently in is the Player Lounge. After successfully completing a quest, players receive 24 to 72 hours of rest time. Inside this lounge, you will enjoy absolute safety. You can also spend tip money to purchase various furniture, food, weapons… though purchased items can only be used inside the lounge and cannot be brought into games.”

“What is tip money?” Sang Yu asked, slightly puzzled.

The System explained, “Tip money comes from when players participate in games. The process is broadcast live on software viewed by humans. Humans then send gifts to support players they like. The gift amounts are converted into gold coins, which become the player’s tip money.”

“Also, inside horror games, to raise player survival rates, players can use tip money to buy survival items. These items can save your life at critical moments.”

Hearing the System’s explanation, Sang Yu finally realized that her entire quest performance had been live-streamed the whole time.

Noticing Sang Yu’s embarrassed look, the System quickly explained, “Don’t worry, Host! The horror livestream automatically protects players’ privacy.”

“Then I can rest easy.”

Sang Yu’s cheeks turned slightly red. She really didn’t want her bed scene with Brother to be broadcast live to the entire internet.

Even though she was a female ghost, she still cared about her dignity.

The information the System provided to Sang Yu was actually common knowledge long memorized by the humans of this world.

However, Sang Yu was a transmigrated outsider who knew nothing about this world when she was selected to participate in the horror game.

This easily created an information gap.

Following the System’s guidance, Sang Yu checked her tip money. Seeing the digits stretching into tens, hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands… and over a million, her eyes lit up slightly.

So much money!

The System was excited too, “Host! Money! So much money! We’re rich!”

Using the tip money, Sang Yu decisively bought a wardrobe, a bed, clothes, shoes, and more from the Horror Mall…

She furnished the empty white space into a cozy little home.

Along the way, she glanced at the survival items in the mall, but upon realizing that even the cheapest item cost a million in tip money, she immediately exited the store.

Hesitating for even one more second would be disrespecting money.

Damn it, this is highway robbery!

“Host, we should check the task settlement rewards!” the System urged, its voice carrying an anxious, impatient edge.

After a game ends and the player returns to the lounge, the task settlement takes place ten minutes later.

Those who cleared the game successfully receive certain rewards.

A few seconds later, Sang Yu received the task settlement notification chime.

Game Name: What’s Wrong with Brother?
Quest Completion Rate: 100%
Quest Rating: S-Class
Quest Points: 1000 points
Quest Reward: Special Skill: Crow Mouth
(Note: Can only be used once per day. Good predictions never come true, but bad predictions are scarily accurate! Only works on humans~)

Looking at the task reward, both the System and Sang Yu fell dead silent.

Go to hell with your Crow Mouth!

What kind of garbage reward is this?!