This kind of straightforward and honest answer, under the player's "weird" filter toward ghosts, only made him feel that beneath the white paper was a ghost's smug smile. Hearing the ghost say this, Zhao Huazhu instantly became interested. His innate superhuman strength activated, and with one hand he pressed the white-paper resident down onto the sofa, using his knee to assist in restraining the resident's body, while his other hand reached directly for that piece of white paper.
"I want to see what kind of unspeakable face you're hiding!"
It felt cold to the touch, and the texture was like real paper. But as Zhao Huazhu applied force, he found the paper surprisingly tough and unexpectedly firm, as if it had fused into the skin and flesh, making it quite difficult to tear.
—But under the buff of innate divine strength, this posed no problem at all.
His muscles bulged and his power activated. Zhao Huazhu firmly pinned down the wildly struggling white-paper resident. Though the resident struggled with great strength, he couldn't overturn Zhao Huazhu at full power.
"Rip—"
The white paper was torn off. In that instant, the resident's struggles ceased as well.
The corners of Zhao Huazhu's mouth still held a cold smile. Feeling refreshed and righteous, he prepared to take a look at the ghost's true face—only to be met with yet another blank sheet of white paper…
What was going on? That piece of paper was clearly still in his hand! Zhao Huazhu frowned and casually tossed the paper away. Just as he was about to tear again, the white paper on the resident's face began to seep with layers of blood from underneath, gradually staining the entire sheet red…
Faced with such a sudden change, Zhao Huazhu also sensed something was wrong. He was just about to activate his ability to eliminate the ghost when a sharp pain shot through his stomach. He looked down—only to see a hand suddenly burst out from the white-paper resident's chest, stabbing directly into his body and yanking out his intestines.
Rip—
The white-paper resident's clothes were torn open, a layer of white paper ripped away, as if unsealing a curse and releasing the monster within. The creature was drenched in blood, letting out low whimpers, and it tore open Zhao Huazhu's belly with its bare hands, then slowly ripped him apart inch by inch.
If you listened closely, you could clearly hear the creature's low, pained whimpers: "It hurts, it hurts, it hurts so much…"
Blood soaked into the sofa, dyeing everything red. Moonlight spilled in through the window, and two dark shadows tangled on the wall—one gradually collapsing and shriveling, while the other slowly rose to its feet.
"It hurts so much…"
The paper rustled. The white paper on the resident's face had already turned red, blood continuously dripping down. His clothes were stripped away, revealing a white skeleton with streaks of red flesh. Covered in blood, he stepped into the bedroom one step at a time.
"My god, I am willing to offer you everything…"
…
Zhao Huazhu's case was a special one. Other players who were also staying overnight entered the house, staying alert in case the white-paper residents suddenly turned violent, while rummaging through the place trying to find hidden clues. They rushed into the guest room, overturned the sofa, made a mess in the kitchen, and finally entered the white-paper resident's master bedroom. After searching thoroughly, they still found nothing.
And at that moment, the white-paper resident who had been silently standing at the door watching them without a word, suddenly appeared behind them without a sound and quietly asked, "What are you looking for?"
They turned around abruptly—only to see that flawless white paper face, with ink-black blotches spreading from dark dots, painfully glaring to the eyes.
…
"Morning." Mu Anqi got up early. After a quick wash, she stepped out to find the white-paper resident standing at the doorway like a statue again. "Let's have noodles for breakfast too, okay? I think we still have some pickled vegetables at home? Can you make some sour soup beef noodles?"
The white-paper resident standing stiffly at the door kept staring at Mu Anqi with that paper face. Mu Anqi wasn't sure what the white-paper resident was thinking. But in any case, a few seconds later, the white-paper resident slowly moved her feet and headed toward the kitchen.
"Hey, you're really so good to me. Can I stay at your place again tonight?" Mu Anqi sat obediently on the sofa, watching the busy figure in the kitchen. As she spoke, she pulled out twenty coins from her backpack and placed them on the coffee table. "I don't have anything particularly valuable on me, but you can snack on these."
The aroma of sour soup and beef drifted over, making Mu Anqi's mouth water even more. She felt increasingly hungry. When a large bowl of sour soup beef noodles piled high with fatty beef was brought out, Mu Anqi eagerly picked up her chopsticks, blew on it a few times, and took big bites. "Your cooking is amazing!"
The white-paper resident sat on a small stool across from the coffee table, picking up little crystal chunks from the table with his hands and popping them into her mouth—crunch crunch—like she was eating candy.
"Can I stay over at your place again tonight?" After finishing the sour soup beef noodles, Mu Anqi felt a little too full. She picked up her bowl and chopsticks to wash them in the kitchen, then turned around to find the white-paper resident watching her like a statue again from beside the sofa.
"Yes."
"But I can't really tell you guys apart." Mu Anqi touched her chin thoughtfully, then turned and opened the fridge, taking out two apples. She stuffed one into her backpack and put the other into the white-paper resident's hand. "You have to hold onto this apple all day. That way, I'll be able to recognize you at a glance."
"..." The white-paper resident looked down at the apple in her hand, then looked at Mu Anqi, and solemnly nodded. "I will."
After spending a night together, Mu Anqi had tentatively concluded that the white-paper resident was a harmless creature in this instance. Of course, harmless as long as you didn't break the rules or show disrespect to the Goddess of Beauty. Thinking further, the fact that a white-paper resident could transform into one of the beauty cult members—it made sense. Get provoked, and boom, they go dark.
Glancing at the time, it was about time to head back to the spawn point to regroup with the other players. She might even be able to gather some intel. Hmm… Mu Anqi opened her backpack and split the coins into sets of ten, wrapping each into red envelopes. This way, the next time she used her skill, she could just toss a red envelope directly. If one wasn't enough, she'd throw two. If two weren't enough, she'd throw five. Even if the ghost didn't accept bribes, seeing a red envelope would at least make it hesitate—and that brief hesitation was enough for Mu Anqi to chant a few more blessings. She kept going until she'd made 100 red envelopes. That left her with 620 coins in her bag—enough to wrap a bigger one if she encountered a more powerful ghost.
If only this skill could bribe players too, that would be perfect. She wondered what skill she might draw next time. Although players were allowed to draw one skill after every game… Mu Anqi felt that not many players were as lucky as her, able to draw one every time. After all, if a player only cleared the game with a C-rank, the reward was just 200 points total—and that still had to cover food and living costs in the Paradise.
Money-based powers really are amazing.
Thinking this, Mu Anqi bid farewell to the white-paper resident and headed toward the house at the player spawn point.
Before she even got close, she saw tin soldier beauty cultists pushing carts away—seemed like the players had just finished breakfast? Mu Anqi thought she had arrived at just the right time.
But for some reason, the moment she stepped inside, all the players in the room turned to stare at her.
"You're not dead?!"
Someone even blurted out such a shocked remark.
"Why would I be dead? I didn't break any rules." Mu Anqi couldn't understand. Among the crowd, she spotted the female player who had invited her to try surviving together yesterday. That player also looked surprised, but when she saw Mu Anqi, she gave a small nod in greeting.
"What's your ability? What did you do last night? Did you find anything? And how did you survive? What do you have in your backpack?" A player strode over with big steps, firing off questions one after another. The players in the house all looked exhausted—it was clear they hadn't slept well last night.
"She just got back—do you really need to be this aggressive?" the female player in the corner, who had teamed up with others, couldn't help but speak up. But it had no effect whatsoever. That player came straight over, the bloodshot veins in his eyes looking truly frightening.
"If you want information, shouldn't you at least offer something in exchange?" Mu Anqi took two steps back, putting distance between herself and the player. Her hand slipped into her pocket, gripping the candy cane tightly.
"Fucking talk when I tell you to! Don't fucking refuse a toast only to drink a forfeit—"
[T/N: "敬酒不吃吃罚酒" (refuse a toast only to drink a forfeit) refers to the situation where someone initially declines a toast but is then forced to drink a forfeit (a punishment or consequence).]
The candy cane in Mu Anqi's hand rapidly enlarged. She gripped the curved end with one hand, and the "barrel" of the cane was aimed directly at the player's forehead.
"You were saying—what were you going to make me eat?" Mu Anqi gave a shy smile, her whole demeanor radiating innocence and sweetness.
This scene was immediately broadcast on the big screen on the BOSS's side.
"Is that a prop? This player already has a prop after only two games?" The peony demon stared at the screen in surprise. The close-up showed the young female player wearing a faintly bashful smile, her skin white as jade, her beauty like morning sunlight—completely the picture of a delicate, doll-like girl. Yet her eyes were full of life, and in their glimmer was a hint of cunning. "Whose side brought her in? I'll trade for her with energy."
Yet no BOSS claimed her.
Ji Huaichu leaned back in her seat, fiddling absently with the strap at her waist as she watched the small screen in front of her Unlike the other bosses present, after watching Mu Anqi's overnight "lodging maneuver," she didn't think it was anything worth getting excited over. As for the prop? That walking money tree might lack other things, but she definitely didn't lack money.
…
"Mis—misunderstanding! He was just too worked up, he didn't mean to bully you!" Other players quickly gathered around to mediate. "We're all going through a trial instance here—there's no need to make things ugly. We need unity, cooperation, and win-win outcomes."
Mu Anqi was baffled. Just moments ago, when that guy was aggressively yelling at her, none of these people dared utter a single word. But now that she made a move, suddenly they were all here defending him? And pulling this group-unity nonsense? Ridiculous.
"Hey, Bai Zhengguang, hurry up and apologize to the girl."
"No need." Mu Anqi subtly curled her lips, putting away the candy cane. She had no use for an apology from someone like that. If he was petty, he might try to ambush her later. "My ability is single-target control. The place I stayed at only had one white-paper resident, so my ability could be used to its full potential. That's why I stayed there. Nothing happened last night—the white-paper resident didn't try to assassinate or chase me. I slept through the night, had breakfast there, and then came over."
"No way! The white-paper resident at the place I stayed—he chased me all night! I barely escaped the house and got caught by the beauty cult!"
"I'm telling the truth—I said it, I just honestly slept through the night!"
Amid the crowd of players, two different voices rang out at the same time.
"Chased? What did you do?" Mu Anqi looked toward the two indignant players. "Also, judging by how worked up you are… are you saying that some players who stayed overnight didn't make it back today—died?"
"Yes, three players haven't shown up," said the female player leaning against the wall. She lo
oked exhausted. "Starting from midnight last night, we were chased by that squad of tin soldiers for three hours straight."