Chapter 31
Chapter 31
Seven days passed in the blink of an eye.
Returning from the banquet hall, Chu Yue carried a faint scent of alcohol. He massaged his temples and tilted his head back to drain a bowl of sobering tea.
After showering, Chu Yue dressed himself neatly once more.
Today was the seventh day, the final deadline given to him by the Nightmare Trading System. He didn’t know exactly when that moment would arrive.
He didn’t want to spend four or five days in a set of pajamas like last time.
Just as he had suspected, shortly after he lay down and drifted into a hazy sleep, Chu Yue felt a weightlessness lift from his body.
When he opened his eyes again, he had returned to the white void he had visited before.
[Welcome back, Mr. Chu.] It was the same voice as before.
A transparent square screen floated in front of Chu Yue.
[Seven days have passed, Mr. Chu. It is time to make your choice. Have you reached a decision?]
Chu Yue looked at it and spoke calmly. “I have.”
[Very well, Mr. Chu. You only have one chance, and there will be no opportunity for regret. Please make your choice.]
As the voice finished, two options appeared on the screen.
[Yes]
[No]
Chu Yue looked at those two words and, without any hesitation, tapped [Yes].
The light dissipated.
[Congratulations, Mr. Chu, on binding with the Nightmare System. The redemption challenge has been activated. We hope you are prepared. We wish you a pleasant game.]
For some reason, Chu Yue felt as though the voice sounded slightly regretful.
“What should I do next?” Chu Yue asked, looking at the screen.
However, the screen provided no answer.
The previous male voice had been like a novice guide in a game app; once the binding was complete, he had gone completely offline.
Chu Yue looked around, almost thinking he had been scammed by this unscrupulous System.
But just then, the transparent screen, which resembled a chat panel, went dark.
Two seconds later, it lit up again. It was completely different from the previous simple and elegant interface.
This time, the transparent panel had turned black, and the font was a dark crimson, possessing a horror-movie aesthetic.
[Player: Player 099. Wish in the process of redemption-]
[Please enter your nickname.]
Chu Yue thought for a moment, then tapped his finger on the screen to enter two characters.
The original text on the screen blurred and spread out like an ink painting soaked in water.
[Player: Biyue]
[You have a Newbie Gift Pack. Would you like to open it now?]
Seeing the familiar options on the screen, Chu Yue confirmed without a second thought.
[Opening Newbie Gift Pack…]
[Newbie Gift Pack opened. Loot dropped: Initial Skill “Charm” x1, Points x1, Level 1 Clue x1, Level 1 Backpack x1.]
[Congratulations, Player Biyue, for drawing one gold nugget and three piles of shit from the Super Gift Pack. Your luck is truly terrible. We hope you keep trying!]
Chu Yue wasn’t particularly surprised. His luck had never been good since he was a child. According to this System’s phrasing, at least he had managed to get one gold nugget, right?
[Commencing Points settlement: Instance clearance +100 Points; Instance mission completion +150 Points; 100% Fatality Rate Instance clearance +1000 Points; Home-field 100% Fatality Rate Instance clearance +1500 Points; Permanent closure of Sunset Town Instance -3000 Points; System binding initial +10 Points.]
[Remaining Points: -240]
[Purchasing Power: Slum Scavenger]
Looking at that long list of Points settlements, Chu Yue was baffled.
While he didn’t fully understand the various rewards, he could guess their general meaning. But what was the deal with that final deduction?
So, after spending so many days in fear in that survival game, hovering between life and death and coming out with injuries, he ended up with a negative score?
If he wasn’t mistaken, that game Instance had closed because of Li Ergou.
Because Li Ergou had fed human flesh to the residents before the prayer, he had incited the wrath of the Deity in that Instance. All the townspeople were wiped out, and thus, Sunset Town was closed.
But what did that have to do with him? It wasn’t like he was the one who pushed the plot in that direction.
How could they deduct his Points!
Chu Yue didn’t consider himself a man obsessed with money, but having thirty million snatched away at once sat poorly with him as a businessman, no matter how he looked at it.
[Instance Guide Clues: 2]
[Level: Level Zero]
[Guide Level: Level One]
[Level One Instance Modes: “Fairy Tales”, “Horror Collection”, “Folk Affairs”, “Deity Game”]
[Level One Instance Guide Progress: 0/4]
[Please select your Guide Mode]
[Fairy Tales]
[Horror Collection]
[Folk Affairs]
[Deity Game]
Scanning the list from top to bottom, Chu Yue understood.
Looking at the guide progress, it seemed he would have to complete all four modes to successfully advance from Level Zero to Level One.
No wonder leveling up was so difficult. He had originally thought he only needed to clear twelve Instances to beat the game, but now it appeared that wasn’t the case at all.
He looked through them one by one; they were four completely different genres.
Just looking at the titles, it was impossible to tell which one was safer.
He definitely wouldn’t choose Fairy Tales. He knew that in a game like this, fairy tales would be anything but simple.
That being the case, it didn’t seem to matter which of the remaining three he picked.
While he was still hesitating over which Instance to enter next, Shen Yubi’s state of mind on the other side was far more complicated.
At that moment, Shen Yubi was sitting at a table.
Just moments ago, the Transformed Ghost that had followed Chu Yue back to the real world had returned.
The Transformed Ghost was a skill Shen Yubi had obtained when he first entered the game; it was essentially another version of himself.
Shen Yubi was perfectly aware of how his other self had behaved outside over the past few days.
He hadn’t expected that this trip out would allow him to see his grandfather.
The old man looked much older than he did in his memories, but fortunately, he still seemed healthy.
By now, Chu Yue was likely already making his decision…
“Hey! What are you thinking about? If you keep staring like that, Sister Jiang might start getting ideas.”
Guan Doujin raised a hand and tossed a jar of wine to Shen Yubi. “We finally have a few days to rest. Today, we must drink until we drop.”
Shen Yubi’s face was full of distaste. “Stay away from me.”
He was waiting for news.
Waiting for the news that would determine his future.
“Hey! Did you go stupid after one game? All you do all day is daze off. What, are you scared?”
Glancing sideways at him, Shen Yubi lashed out with a kick, sending Guan Doujin to the floor with an “Ouch!”
“You little brat!”
Guan Doujin scrambled up and started cursing, but Shen Yubi simply turned away and ignored him.
He didn’t have to wait long. Just after their little spat, the System sent a message.
Seeing his movement, Guan Doujin curiously climbed back up to watch.
Shen Yubi didn’t guard against him. He tapped open the fresh message, which contained only a single line of text.
[Player 099, the Redemption Mission has been activated. Please be prepared.]
“Holy shit!”
“Holy…”
Guan Doujin shouted a string of curses, staring at that line of text in shock.
When Shen Yubi had spoken to Jiang Jiu a few days ago, he hadn’t felt much. But now, seeing those words with his own eyes and understanding exactly what they meant, he felt like he was going to explode.
A situation with a near-zero probability among hundreds of thousands of people had actually happened to his brother.
For a moment, he didn’t know how to express it, so he gave Shen Yubi a heavy slap on the shoulder!
“Haha! You lucky dog! All those years of waiting weren’t for nothing!”
When the whole world forgets you, and tells someone else word for word that you never existed-do you really exist?
After more than ten years, when the only person in the world who remembers you still believes you once existed-what kind of feeling is that?
After the past few days of processing, Shen Yubi’s emotions were no longer as turbulent as they were at the start. Yet, seeing those words now, his heart was still stirred.
Only now did it truly feel real: there was still someone in this world who cared.