chapter 23

Lu Li looked at his wrist in confusion.

There was no wound.

The strange sensation from earlier had also disappeared.

“I heard you.” From Luo Jia Bai’s occasional complaints, Lu Li roughly understood some of the company’s settings, so he decided to negotiate some benefits for himself. “If I help check for bugs in the Necromancer Game, will you pay me a salary?”

Bosi asked, “Can you use Spirit Money? As long as you’re still in the Necromancer Game, the universal currency is different from your original world.”

Lu Li reminded him, “I want some Points.”

“That way, maybe I’ll work a little harder in the Instance. After all, no reward, no motivation.”

Bosi fell silent.

Although he had never cared about the Necromancer Game before being bound to Lu Li, as the Underworld King, he did have an account from the very beginning of the game’s development.

The account had never been opened, but all the basic functions were there, and it was a rather special Gold Card. It could watch live streams of Instances at all levels, send rewards, and even allow him to personally enter an Instance through the account.

Bosi recalled where he had placed that card and planned to look for it when he returned.

There should be Points in the card.

It would be more than enough to pay Lu Li’s salary, so he nodded slightly, agreeing to this human’s bold proposal.

“Settlement after leaving the Instance.”

He needed to check the card’s balance before calculating Lu Li’s wages.

“Will there be holidays after each Instance is checked?” Lu Li asked. “Are your ghosts here working all year round without a break?”

Bosi: “I can give you a single-digit number of days off.”

Lu Li asked again, “What about year-end bonuses? Are there gifts for holidays?”

“Don’t push your luck.”

“Alright.” After repeatedly testing the Underworld King’s patience, Lu Li finally restrained himself. “I accept this job.”

At least he had managed to secure some Points and a few days off.

Not bad at all.

If he hadn’t mentioned it just now, wouldn’t he have worked for nothing?

The Underworld King looked handsome and charming, but in reality, he was a rather ruthless capitalist.

Returning to the wall, Lu Li found a familiar corner and sat down.

The corner was cramped, and the cold, hard walls on both sides gave him a great sense of security.

Before sleeping, he still had one thing to do.

Shopping.

Finally having some time to rest, he could carefully browse through the Shop from start to finish. Lu Li first brought up the current Live Stream Room data:

[Audience: 19,856]

[Live Stream Room Total Ranking: 1st]

[Points: 41,186]

The number of Audience was steadily dropping. By the time Lu Li swiped away from this screen, it had already fallen to just over 15,000.

He had a clear goal and went straight to the Shop.

The Shop’s categories were divided according to the popularity of Player exchanges: Weapon, Medicine, Material, Food and Drink, Clothing, Appearance, and Other. Each Item under a category showed the number of times it had been exchanged.

The first two categories were extremely popular, with a small red “hot” tag floating in the upper left corner.

The entire Weapon page was locked.

Because Game Night belonged to Players and Evil Spirits, and there was an Evil Spirit protection mechanism, the Weapon category could not be traded at night.

Lu Li clicked on Food and Drink. Compared to the essential items in the previous categories, this page was noticeably much quieter, with the most exchanged items all in the first row.

Instant Noodles, exchanged over 900,000 times, cost 20 Points per cup.

Compressed Biscuit, exchanged over 100,000 times, cost 10 Points each.

Jerky, exchanged over 10,000 times, cost 60 Points per strip.

…

Instant and energy-type foods were the most popular, with the occasional fruit also performing well. From the third row down, the number of exchanges dropped sharply, and most items were ignored.

On one hand, in the Necromancer Game, Players had no time to savor gourmet food.

On the other hand, these fancy foods were simply too expensive.
The same number of Points could buy a life.

Very few Players would waste Points on something like this just to satisfy their appetite.

Lu Li’s fingertip hovered over the screen, his pupils illuminated by its glow.

He tapped, and a picture of a cake appeared.

The cake was simple – just a single layer with no filling, haphazardly smeared with white cream, topped with a single strawberry and a sprinkle of powdered sugar. Its appearance was far from appealing.

This two-inch cake cost 30,000 Points.

Lu Li redeemed it without blinking. His Wristband flashed, and the cake, complete with a plate and fork, appeared instantly in his hand.

He stared at the cake, lost in memories.

What did the cake the Clown gave to Nuo Nuo look like during the day?

It was still missing a candle.

He redeemed a candle as well, only to discover that fire was in the Weapon category, which was locked during Game Night.

–

They carefully moved aside a corner of the desk, piled with documents.

The metal plate with the cake was pushed forward.

Bosi paused his quill, a bit displeased. “What are you doing?”

Lu Li’s eyes were full of hope. “I remember your fingers can light fires. Could you help me light the candle?”

Bosi thought he’d misheard.

It was the first time anyone had asked to borrow Underworld Fire.

It wasn’t for judgment or punishment.

“No.” Bosi looked at the ridiculous candle on the cake and refused. He hated sweet things. “Don’t get cream on the documents.”

“Just this once,” Lu Li persisted. “When this Instance ends, I won’t ask for a salary. I want to celebrate a Birthday, blow out the candle, and share the cake with you.”

The cramped room was quiet, filled with the scent of cake. Lu Li leaned in a little closer.

“Is that okay?”

Bosi realized this human Player was a very troublesome existence.

Usually, he didn’t even need to say no; his subordinate Evil Gods could read his mood and understand immediately.

But now, even after he’d already refused, Lu Li kept pressing on.

Bosi didn’t understand. “Is today your Birthday?”

Lu Li replied, “I think yesterday should have been my Birthday. But today isn’t too late. To celebrate starting a brand new life, today is my Birthday.”

He had enough Points to buy himself a ceremonial gift.

Tonight, he’d started a long-term, stable job.

From now on, he would be in charge of his own life.

It felt wonderful.

Bosi was stunned for a moment, then said stiffly, “I don’t eat cake.”

His fingers brushed the tip of the candle, and a faint Underworld Fire flickered to life.

“Keep it away from me.”

Lu Li happily carried the cake back to his corner and said, “Bosi, you really are a good ghost.”

Bosi didn’t feel particularly happy. He tried to focus on his paperwork again, but his attention kept being drawn away by the rustling sounds from the corner.

He glanced over to see Lu Li clasping his hands together, earnestly making a wish to the candle.

When he couldn’t blow it out, Lu Li pinched the flame with two fingers, burning holes in his hand before finally extinguishing it.

Lu Li cut a small piece of cake, put it in his mouth, and immediately spat it out as if he couldn’t bear it. Then, almost self-destructively, he cut another piece and forced it even deeper down his throat, swallowing it but then spitting it out even more painfully.

Had the cake from the Shop expired?

Today, he’d been busy searching for documents at the Necromancer Game Headquarters and hadn’t checked the food safety.

“If you don’t want to eat it, then don’t,” Bosi said, setting down his quill.

His tone wasn’t harsh; he just couldn’t understand this behavior.

“Sorry, did I disturb you?” Lu Li thought for a moment, his voice a little hoarse. “I want to eat it, but my… stomach isn’t very good.”