Chapter 60: Half the Time Has Passed

The little vine didn't care about its name. Newly born into the world, it was filled mostly with excitement and curiosity.

Xia Wulei left it in the spatial dimension to explore freely and returned to the instance herself.

The instance had already passed its halfway mark, and ghosts and spirits began to run amok.

When everyone went to sleep that night, the doors to their rooms were knocked upon.

Yu Guang lived alone and adhered strictly to the principle of never opening the door, combined with the blanket barrier ultimate technique. Meanwhile, Bako and Cui Chengzhi had talismans pasted on their doors; the moment a little ghost touched the door, it vanished into thin air, allowing Bako to sleep soundly until dawn.

The rooms were the best sanctuary provided by the system for the players. Without a medium, ghosts found it very difficult to enter a player's room under the restriction of the rules.

Of course, if one foolishly opened the door themselves, there was nothing the system could do.

When the little female ghost knocked on the door of Xia Wulei and Cheng Cheng's room, the door opened with just a single tap.

A flash of delight crossed the little female ghost's heart. Neatly and decisively, she pulled her head down, took it in her hands, and began making a ghostly face.

"Give~ back~ my~ head~"

The little female ghost did not wait for the anticipated scream; instead, a somewhat familiar, pleasant female voice filled with amusement rang out.

"Isn't your head right there in your hands? What, do you think I didn't kick it far enough last time?"

The little female ghost slowly raised her skull.

"Ahhhhh why is it you again ahhhhh——"

Before she could finish her sentence, a flash of cold light swept past. Xia Wulei brought her hoe down, and the little female ghost instantly dissipated.

Heh, 10% energy acquired.

At the same time, the little ghost preparing to knock on Li Lianxin's door looked up and locked eyes with Xia Wulei.

Xia Wulei waved enthusiastically: "Here to be a guest? Come over and play."

The little ghost: ……

The little ghost slowly sat down: "I'm tired, sister. Just send me back directly. Or how about you give me your contact info? When you leave the instance, I won't come out to scare people anymore."

Finding it quite amusing, Xia Wulei sat down in front of him and asked, "Back where? Could it be that you're a resident of the Premonitory Realm?"

Xia Wulei suddenly recalled the system prompt A Shui heard when she took him away.

The little ghost nodded: "I'm a low-level ghost living in the lower stratum. Usually, I just get by by coming into instances to do odd jobs and absorbing a little energy to make a living. Hey, sister, we have to pay energy just to enter instances. You've already made me lose energy twice, please spare my life..."

Goodness gracious, so there really was a lower stratum!

Xia Wulei was astonished. So ghosts had to work part-time too?

It was fortunate that A Shui had slipped away quickly and started a self-sufficient life with her.

Under the little ghost's explanations, Xia Wulei came to understand that the ghosts and spirits within the instances were divided into two categories.

One category consisted of residents from the Premonitory Realm like him, who spent their own energy to come and work part-time in instances; the other category consisted of ghosts native to the instances, who remained forever trapped within the same instance, just like A Shui previously.

The little ghost had a name, though it was merely a codename: Bai Yi, because he was the one hundred and tenth ghost to enter the lower stratum of the Premonitory Realm.

Bai Yi said proudly, "Our lower stratum now has thousands of ghosts! Many ghosts have even upgraded to high-level spirits! However, mid- and high-level spirits are basically existence like instance bosses, so they don't need to run over here specifically to earn energy."

Xia Wulei mercilessly mocked, "One hundred and ten isn't even a particularly late number, how come you're still just a little ghost?"

Bai Yi was left speechless.

Killing a ghost and striking at his heart, sister!

"Things like this... it's all about talent, you know..."

Bai Yi's appearance was that of a teenage boy, and under Xia Wulei's critique, he looked somewhat wronged and pitiful.

He was timid, possessed no special skills, and lacked the capability to become an instance boss, leaving him with no choice but to act as a minor ghost to scare people and earn a bit of energy.

Sometimes, when his luck was bad and he ran into high-level players, he couldn't even earn back his capital.

Taking pity on him, Xia Wulei pulled a washed apple from her spatial dimension—one of the few remaining fruits she had harvested from the level-four soil.

"Here, eat. Once you're full, I'll send you on your way."

Bai Yi: ……Listen to yourself, is that something a human would say?

Thinking that this trip had been in vain once again, Bai Yi took a bite of the apple. It was sweet and crisp.

Bai Yi froze.

Gosh, this is way too good?!

Before Bai Yi even had a chance to savor it, Xia Wulei made a swift decision and sent him straight back to his hometown.

20% energy acquired. Xia Wulei calculated that it could be converted into two thousand points, which meant she had made quite a substantial profit this time.

The next morning, Yu Guang was the only one bearing heavy dark circles under his eyes.

"Ghost knocking on doors last night—it didn't leave until the early hours of the morning, keeping me from getting any sleep..."

As soon as these words were uttered, three pairs of eyes blinked in blank incomprehension.

"What ghost knocking on doors?"

Yu Guang felt utterly凌乱 in the wind: What does that mean? Are you all saying you just picked on me alone?

As the group was chatting while gathered in room 503 to eat breakfast, a figure suddenly pushed the door open in a rush.

Xia Wulei turned her head to look and saw Lin Yitong from room 501.

Lin Yitong looked extremely anxious. Over the past few days, she had visibly grown much more haggard, and her cheeks were sunken.

She rushed through the door and made a bee-line for Cui Chengzhi: "Master Cui, I can't hold on any longer!"

"For the past two days, while I was sleeping, Li Xi kept talking right by my ear, speaking in a language I couldn't possibly understand! I suspect she is casting a curse on me, she has gone mad, and she wants to drag me down to die with her!"

Lin Yitong's eyes were bloodshot, and it was clear she truly hadn't rested well; her long nails were dug deep into her own flesh, her emotions teetering on the verge of collapse.

Cui Chengzhi's expression also turned grave as he nodded: "In that case, I will draw a talisman for you to keep the yin energy from coming near you."

Clutching at it like a drowning person grabbing a straw, Lin Yitong nodded, looking expectantly at Cui Chengzhi as he took out paper and brush.

Cui Chengzhi focused his mind, raised the brush, and was just about to let the tip touch the paper when Xia Wulei, who had just finished a bowl of congee, pressed down on his hand.

"Don't waste paper and brush, she has no use for this."

Cui Chengzhi looked perplexed: "What?"

The others were equally baffled, save for Cheng澄, whose expression remained entirely normal as she calmly drank her congee.

"I read Grandpa Liu's diary downstairs. Room 501 only has one person living in it. There is no roommate whatsoever; from beginning to end, there was only Miss Lin in that room all alone."

Xia Wulei looked at Lin Yitong, who kept her head lowered so her face remained obscured.

"Miss Lin is probably suffering from schizophrenia. Your so-called roommate is merely someone you imagined, or perhaps another personality you split off into."

"Hearing incomprehensible languages by your ear and experiencing sleep disturbances are all symptoms of schizophrenia. However, given that you believe your roommate is trying to harm you, it's very likely you also suffer from persecutory delusions."

Xia Wulei added helpfully, "I've just read similar posts before, I'm not a doctor. Miss Lin should go see a doctor as soon as possible."

Perhaps Lin Yitong's previous condition was only a minor issue, but having stayed in this apartment for so long, even minor issues had turned severe.

As soon as Xia Wulei finished speaking, the players collectively heard the system prompt ringing in their ears.

[Ding! Congratulations to player Xia Wulei for discovering a clue: The Girl with the Self-Generated Friend!]