"Extra rewards for completing over ninety percent of the mission?"
Chen Ge had just discovered that he'd obtained a hidden item and felt a small spark of excitement, but the moment he tapped open the item description, all his anticipation evaporated. "A missing-person flyer for Wang Qi counts as a reward? The Black Phone couldn't have gotten this wrong, could it? This looks more like a curse!"
Forcing himself to read through the creepy item description, a new question surfaced in Chen Ge's mind.
"What on earth is Resentment Value?" Going by the literal meaning, the flyer given as a reward by the Black Phone should carry Wang Qi's lingering grudge.
"No normal person would ever need this thing. Could it be that it isn't meant for the living?" Chen Ge glanced over his shoulder at his own shadow, then shook his head to banish the thought.
A little past seven, the police car pulled back into New Century Paradise. Chen Ge collected the haunted house spare key from the gatekeeper and returned to his own haunted house.
After a full night of running around, he was completely spent. He collapsed onto the break-room couch, feeling as though his entire skeleton was about to fall apart.
He pulled out his phone, only to find the battery long dead. He had no idea when the livestream had cut off.
He plugged in the charger and powered it back on.
The phone's built-in pedometer showed that he had walked over forty thousand steps the previous night—first place among all his friends. Below that was a like from Xiao Wan.
"I really need to start working out. Not so I can knock anyone out—just so I can outrun them." Chen Ge scrolled through his phone and pulled up He Shan's number. Not wanting to wake him, he sent a cautious text instead. But before two or three seconds had passed, He Shan called back on his own.
"Holy crap! Boss, you're still alive!" He Shan's voice was so loud it gave Chen Ge a headache.
"You were really hoping I'd croak? Keep it down—you'll wake your whole dorm."
"Sleep? No way! Last night they were all glued to your stream. We've been up since then!"
This actually made Chen Ge a little touched. He was about to say "tell the guys I said thanks" when He Shan's next words tumbled out.
"Once the stream cut out, they all insisted you'd been killed and made me bet them a meal. So now I'm set for food next week."
"My life is worth one meal? You really don't have to share that joy with me, seriously…" Chen Ge had nothing left to say to this hopelessly blunt guy.
"Anyway, Boss, you being alive is all that matters. I was genuinely scared I'd run into you in our lab one day. You know, during our forensic practicum, the instructor photographs the victims for us to study and analyze…"
"Okay, okay." Chen Ge rubbed his temples, brain pounding. "I'm fine. Thanks for your help this time. I'll treat you to a meal when I get the chance."
He hurriedly hung up and opened his short-video profile page, only to be surprised by a follower spike of over three thousand.
"Seriously? A black-screen livestream gains followers?" He checked his DMs next. The already-overflowing inbox was filled with the same question over and over: Streamer, are you still alive?
"Not a single one of them knows how to say something auspicious!"
Seeing that his haunted house ad was still pinned to his homepage and that neither his stream nor his profile had been banned, Chen Ge let out a sigh of relief. He tossed the phone aside, buried his face in the pillow, and stretched luxuriously.
"Not thinking about anything. Today I'm just going to slack off and get a good night's sleep."
He stripped off his clothes, closed his eyes, and drifted off to sleep almost immediately.
The sun rose. A new day dawned. Sunlight poured into the room, gilding the edges of the bedsheets in gold.