The young man offered a serene, well-practiced smile.
Ye Shu walked right past him, heading for a different tunnel.
Her instincts told her that this boy was far from simple. No matter what his purpose in approaching her, it was safer to keep a respectful distance.
To avoid that person, Ye Shu deliberately took a long detour.
She found a cave and began to dig.
[Obtained: Low-grade ore crystal x1.]
[Obtained: Ordinary ore crystal x1.]
After searching through ten caves, she had found three ordinary ore crystals, and one low-grade ore crystal to boot.
No sooner had she tucked the crystals away than the dirt wall opposite her was broken through. Crawling out from the narrow cave was a slender girl. Even in the dim light, Ye Shu could tell she wasn't weak—several low-grade lanterns hung at her side, and there was no one accompanying her.
Their gazes met and lingered.
Instantly, the atmosphere in the catacomb stilled.
On the fourth day in this world, aside from that strange young man and the exchange point, this was the first living person Ye Shu had encountered underground.
"Hello, I'm a new player this round."
"Lin Yaoyao."
"Um... I got lost. Accidentally wandered into this tunnel."
Lin Yaoyao fiddled nervously with the hem of her shirt, sneaking a cautious glance at Ye Shu.
"Mm."
"You should go."
Ye Shu continued gnawing on a biscuit, pointing to a side corridor, indicating the girl should leave.
Midnight struck.
The catacomb ghosts returned.
This time, Ye Shu finally saw it clearly—their appearance was abrupt, as if simply placed before her, or perhaps they'd always been here, just unable to manifest during the day. No wonder she'd felt watched even when the sun was up.
Ye Shu popped a few red dates in her mouth, deftly slashed open her palm, and smeared her fresh blood across it.
[Player has slain: Low-tier Catacomb Ghost x1, awarded 10 points.]
[Player has slain: Mid-tier Catacomb Ghost x1, awarded 20 points.]
Points. Beautiful, precious points.
The catacomb ghosts were worth more than any other strange entity or monster in all her previous runs!
Even the weakest ghost was worth 10 points.
A player could barely survive a dungeon run for that amount. This was a windfall. The only cost was a bit of blood. At this rate... she really might develop anemia.
Listening to the constant chiming of the system notifications, Ye Shu beamed with delight—she hardly noticed the pain.
Daytime always passed swiftly.
That night, Su Bai lit a lantern, closed her eyes, and huddled at her post, conserving her strength.
Sitting quietly against the earth, time slipped by. She didn't know how long had passed when a gust of wind startled her awake.
Somehow, the flame in her lantern had gone out.
All around her was nothing but the whistling wind and the soft scrabbling sound of nails on packed dirt.
The darkness was absolute.
Leaning against the corner, she felt blindly for her lantern. Suddenly, her fingertips brushed against something icy cold—Su Bai recoiled at once, finding her fingers sticky, with a sickening stench of rot.
She'd never faced a catacomb ghost directly, but Su Bai knew one was right beside her; all she had to do was look up and her face would be inches from it.
With a sideways glance, she saw it.
In the inky black of the catacomb, that white shape stood out starkly.
Suddenly, the catacomb ghost seemed to sense her, shuffling her way.
[Ding! Your SAN value has dropped by 10 points.]
[Current SAN: 70.]
Panic washed over Su Bai. She whipped out a talisman for warding evil.
She wore the triangular paper charm against her chest, and the chill in the air suddenly eased.
She'd scammed this tool off of Ye Shu—should be enough for one ghost...
But no sooner had she felt relieved than the talisman on her chest began to heat up, then, to her horror, burst into spontaneous flame and crumbled to ashes.
"This ghost is cheating the system!"
"It's not even the fourth day, and the game's already gone for the kill? This isn't a difficulty spike, it's a cliff!"
Just seeing the catacomb ghost sent her SAN value plummeting.
[Player #10086, SAN -65.]
[SAN now at 55.]
[Drop below 30 and you'll lose your sanity!]"
Su Bai didn't care about sanity at this point—she grabbed her lantern and hurled it at the catacomb ghost.
Physical attacks... useless, of course.
The lantern simply passed straight through the ghost.
It smashed against the wall, shattering to bits.
"Why do these things even exist? They're even more unlikable than Da Piaoliang's cat!"
People really do unlock hidden reserves of strength when pushed to the brink.
Su Bai believed it now.
[Beep... your SAN is down to 28...]
But she could no longer hear the system notification. Gathering her powers, she conjured a fireball and flung it at the haunting figure.
Luckily, fire worked—the ghost sizzled, oozing, howling in agony.
"That's what you get for showing off!"
"Tonight, it's either you or me who dies!"
With her psychic gifts burning literally and figuratively, Su Bai incinerated the catacomb ghosts that drew near, reducing them to powder, and chased down the rest before they could escape.
When the last of them dissipated to ashes, she was spent, collapsing where she stood.
Everything became hazy—she felt as if she were back at the beginning.
She lay there unconscious for who knew how long. When Su Bai finally awoke, aching from head to toe, she couldn't even twitch a finger. Dazed, she looked around; the ghosts were gone.
"What... just happened?"
She vaguely remembered her SAN value dropping below twenty before she blacked out. Had someone saved her?
.........
Day five in the underworld.
There seemed to be fewer ghosts now, but their strength had risen sharply.
Ordinary lanterns no longer repelled the catacomb ghosts.
Only the higher-ranking ones gave Ye Shu any trouble—the rest fell with a single strike.
Days: mining ore crystals. Nights: ghost-slaying for points.
Two days' effort, and she'd hoarded over two thousand points. Of all the twisted games she'd endured, this was the most bountiful.
Ye Shu often visited the exchange point; by now, many players recognized her.
"Exchange: advanced lantern."
The monster at the counter took her ore crystals and handed over a red lantern without a word.
Jealous murmurs buzzed among the players nearby.
"A red lantern! Take care of it—should last at least three whole nights."
"Hey, maybe we should buddy up with her? There's a chance the pro might take us in."
"If only we could steal it—that woman's carrying plenty of lanterns and supplies."
"..."
Among them, one gaze bored into Ye Shu, sticky and obsessive.
She noticed it at once. When she looked over, the figure ducked back into the crowd. With a hundred or so players at the exchange, there was no way to spot the stalker.
But if they were after her—
They'd show themselves soon enough.
Maybe... it was even someone familiar.
Stepping into the dim tunnel, Ye Shu heard quick, careless footsteps rush after her.
"Come out. I won't say it twice."
Ye Shu didn't even turn. She stared straight ahead.