"Favorability levels with the ghosts currently in your possession:
Yin Guoheng (Residual Thought): Stranger (You can't be called friends; he helped you out of pure instinct)
Du Ruoshui (Residual Thought): Stranger
Yin Munan (Residual Thought): Stranger
Yin Xiaoxiao (Fierce Ghost): Slight Favorability (You've caught her attention; in her eyes, you're a step above a stranger)
Zhang Ya (Red-Clothed Fierce Ghost): Devoted (You are someone special to her; she likes you — but it's the version of you after death that she likes)
Ghost favorability has been unlocked. You can increase favorability by having them hear screams containing visitors' negative emotions, gifting items imbued with resentment value, or completing a ghost's favorability quest.
Once favorability reaches a certain threshold, the ghost will selectively obey your commands.
Note: Only fierce ghosts burdened with deep grudges, bloodshed, and malice come with favorability quests. Completing a favorability quest greatly boosts affinity and allows the ghost to fulfill one request for you that does not go against her own will!"
This newly unlocked feature in the phone game gave Chen Ge a much deeper understanding of the "guests" around him.
He fished the smallest cloth doll out of his pocket. This doll looked no different from the others on the surface, but the phone game had given her a different evaluation — the other three were residual thoughts, while she alone was classified as a fierce ghost.
"You? A fierce ghost? Looking like this?" Chen Ge poked Xiaoxiao's cheek. Dangling in midair, Xiaoxiao seemed a little miffed. The impression she gave Chen Ge was that of a kitten that hadn't been weaned yet, baring its fangs and claws while shouting, "I'm super fierce!"
"I suppose it's an unexpected bonus." If Yin Xiaoxiao was the gentle, kind-hearted anomaly among fierce ghosts, then Zhang Ya was likely the other extreme. This was the first time the phone game had ever given a special evaluation of "Red-Clothed Fierce Ghost."
"What's the difference between a red-clothed fierce ghost and a regular fierce ghost?" Chen Ge tapped on Zhang Ya's name. The screen flickered, and a blood-red interface appeared.
"Accept Zhang Ya's favorability quest? Warning! This quest carries a certain level of danger!"
The blood-red exclusive interface made Chen Ge break out in a cold sweat. "I thought only fierce ghosts burdened with deep grudges, bloodshed, and malice came with favorability quests? Could my luck in this area really be that absurd? One random pull, and I land a top-tier drop?"
What Chen Ge was really thinking underneath was that he'd be perfectly happy to pass on this kind of "top-tier," but he was afraid Zhang Ya might be lurking somewhere nearby listening in, so he didn't dare say it out loud.
"Devoted. Likes me after death. This lady has serious issues."
After exiting the phone interface, the fear the mirror monster had instilled in Chen Ge had completely dissipated. Compared to the one he'd pulled from the lottery, the dark figure in the mirror seemed pretty mundane.
But that didn't mean Chen Ge would let it off the hook — quite the opposite. He had already marked it as a target that had to be eliminated no matter the cost. Only by dealing with the mirror monster could the haunted house operate safely.
The unlocking of ghost favorability gave Chen Ge more options. In his view, this feature on the black phone was likely preparation for bringing ghosts into the haunted house to work.
As the game's content continued to flesh out, Chen Ge's interest in it only grew deeper.
After going through the newly unlocked feature, Chen Ge turned to inspect his second reward — the Yin Eyes.
Nightmare-level quest rewards had the ability to alter one's own body. Chen Ge tried looking off into the distance. Apart from being able to see a little more clearly in the dark, the Yin Eyes didn't seem to have any other apparent effect.