Chapter 27
Chapter 27
Man-Eating Crocodile didn’t dare take it.
If used correctly, this thing was essentially an extra life.
For example, if a streamer managed to survive until the seventh day, they could use the Review Card to exploit a bug in the Instance and escape directly from the Live Stream Room.
Qiao Yu looked at the other man’s face, which was a mix of longing and hesitation, and told him the truth. “If I’m not mistaken, Li Xiaoqin’s next target is you.”
Man-Eating Crocodile: !!!
“You didn’t get your House Number Plate. It’s probably with the Landlord Uncle right now.”
Qiao Yu slowly added another hair-raising speculation. Almost instantly, Man-Eating Crocodile took the Review Card with both hands, staring at the small card-no bigger than a playing card-with extreme devotion.
“Dad, I can never repay such a great kindness. I can only…”
“Don’t you dare try that ‘repaying with my body’ routine. I told you, you’re not my type!” Qiao Yu looked away in disgust. He was very picky, okay?
His ex-boyfriend’s face was enough to dominate the entire entertainment industry, let alone this scrawny little guy in front of him.
“How about this? Add me on WeChat and just transfer me the money?”
Man-Eating Crocodile: “…”
Who said anything about offering their body? He was straight, okay?!
“Talking about money hurts the bond between father and son, doesn’t it?” Brother Crocodile gave a dry laugh.
“If you really consider me your father, then don’t hurt my wallet.”
Brother Crocodile: “…”
Just then, Room 4005 began to grow restless again. After a few bursts of static, the television resumed its broadcast.
A blue-purple palm appeared on the screen, looking as if it were about to reach out past the glass.
“Aaaaaah-” Brother Crocodile had just tucked away the Review Card when he turned around to see a blue-purple hand already emerging from the screen.
“Sadako… it’s Sadako!”
Damn it, why was there a Sadako in his ‘dad’s’ room too?!
This kind of world-renowned vengeful spirit was on a completely different level than Li Xiaoqin.
The point was… why would Sadako appear in a Beginner Instance?!
While he was frozen with fear, his brain stalling, he saw a figure quickly walk up to the television from the corner of his eye.
The purple-black fingers tapped the edge of the TV set one by one, as if testing the surface or deliberately trying to create a terrifying atmosphere.
Suddenly, Qiao Yu reached out and pinched Sadako’s fingers. “What are you doing?”
Sadako’s voice was as coarse as sandpaper. “…Going home.”
The sound came from the bottom of the TV. Qiao Yu leaned down to look under the screen, seemingly doubting if Sister Sadako was crouching underneath. However, since he now had a physical body, he couldn’t perform high-difficulty maneuvers like phasing through screens. He could only press his face against the cold glass and say with difficulty, “Sister, I think you’re crawling in the wrong direction. Your well is behind you.”
In the next second, Sister Sadako straightened up, her head topped with a mop of greasy hair that looked like it hadn’t been washed in eight hundred years. “Sorry, I have night blindness. Carry on, I won’t disturb you~”
Qiao Yu let go in disgust almost the moment Sister Sadako stood up, leaning his body back for good measure.
Honestly, she was a girl after all; couldn’t she wash her hair before coming out?
“Oh, right.” On the gray-white interface of the screen, Sister Sadako, dressed in white, suddenly paused by the well and said quickly, “I’ve followed you, streamer! Once you promote to a Blue-Name Streamer, I’ll join your fan club. Big sis will always support you~”
With that, Sister Sadako jumped into the well with a splash. Was she… blushing?
Man-Eating Crocodile: ??
What the hell… what was going on?!
This was a haunted house, right?
Not a fan meeting! You’re a world-famous top-tier vengeful spirit-who are you acting all shy for?!
Brother Crocodile was confused. “What’s a fan club?”
Qiao Yu was equally perplexed. “If you don’t know, how should I?”
At that moment, Sister Sadako’s voice drifted eerily from the television. “You’ll find out eventually.”
Qiao Yu didn’t press for more details. Instead, he asked curiously, “Why are you even here?”
“Because the owner of this apartment was watching… a movie I starred in when they died.”
Qiao Yu: “…”
She was just making a cameo in this Instance, but she hadn’t expected to be stuck inside the TV for two whole days…
It was absolutely mortifying.
With a sharp *snap*, Sadako turned off the TV and went back into her shell.
The crisis vanished instantly. Man-Eating Crocodile looked like he was questioning his entire reality. “She… she… she…”
“The old man living downstairs from Ma Dongmei speaks more clearly than you,” Qiao Yu remarked.
Insulted for no reason, Brother Crocodile forced himself to regain some semblance of speech. “…Daddy, as long as you can get me out of this Instance alive, I don’t care about Ma Dongmei. You can call me Meng Tejiao for all I care.”
He was really willing to throw away his dignity for this.
*Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud-*
Another eerie sound echoed from the direction of the kitchen.
-It’s just one thing after another. I told you Room 4005 was a high-risk room!
-High-risk for normal people, maybe? The streamer clearly isn’t normal.
-Exactly, he’s not human.
-If he’s not human, is he a ghost? Hahaha.
-Dammit, I’m not joking!
-Is the guy upstairs that scared? You can tell he’s just some trash who can’t even construct a Beginner Instance.
-He really isn’t human! I. SAW. IT!
-Yeah, yeah, sure you did.
-Fuck!
“What now?” Brother Crocodile was like a startled bird in this live-streamed Instance, even more easily spooked than Qiao Yu.
“Do you want to know?”
“I do. If I don’t know, I’ll start imagining things, and that’s even scarier.”
Qiao Yu shrugged. “Then why don’t you just push the door open and take a look?”
“…”
If I had the guts to do that, why would I be asking you?!
The thin, small young man looked at Qiao Yu with big, watery, pitiful eyes. “Daddy, I’m scared~”
He really had a way of getting to people. Some people were immune to threats but weak against pleas-and Qiao Yu was one of them.
“Fine, fine, I give up. Can you please stop the waterworks?” With that, Qiao Yu walked over to the sliding kitchen door and pushed it open.
*Rattle-*
The rollers slid slowly across the track, revealing a cramped, pitch-black kitchen.
A blurry Ghost Shadow stood behind the marble countertop, holding a kitchen knife and hacking away at something on a cutting board. *Thud, thud, thud.*
A thin stream of water trickled from the faucet in the sink, carrying the pungent, metallic stench of blood toward the two men.
Suddenly, the shadow at the counter raised its knife, freezing mid-air as it turned toward the doorway.
“Ah!” It was a Ghost.
*Click-*
Someone flipped the switch for the kitchen’s fluorescent light. The bright white glow chased away the darkness, along with the shadow at the counter.
Man-Eating Crocodile snapped his jaw shut and rubbed his eyes in confusion. “Eh? Where’s the ghost?”
*Click-*
The light was switched off again. The featureless Ghost raised its knife high, resuming its previous motion as it began to turn its body.
“Isn’t it right here?” Qiao Yu shrugged.
“AAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!”
*Click-*
The Ghost Shadow vanished.
*Click-*
The Ghost Shadow appeared.
*Click-*
The Ghost Shadow vanished again.
*Click-*
The Ghost Shadow appeared again.
Qiao Yu began flipping the switch to a rhythmic beat: “Untz-untz-untz-untz.”