Chapter 38.1: Manman (11)

12-16 minutes

“So now, players are all guessing that besides being friendly to the ghost friends, making them scared can also earn luck points.”

On the terrace of Room 407, Ji Mingrui looked at the garden below and said.

“They’re all saying that on that night, each of us gained 3 luck points, some of which were given by the scared ghost friends, and even the 6 luck points from the straw doll were also from it being scared. Many players are already considering whether to use this method to obtain luck points from their ghost friend.”

The incident that occurred at the dining table during lunch shocked all the players and gave a few of them renewed hope.

At that moment, the dining table was filled with silence, within which a faint factor of excitement flowed.

The players were lost in their thoughts, their moods varied, but all the ghost friends cowered, some even crying at the table.

It was Shi Tianzhu who broke the stagnant atmosphere at the time.

She took a napkin and wiped away the tears from her wax doll ghost friend, saying to it, “Don’t be afraid, and don’t be nervous. I don’t need you to give me luck points.”

This seemingly casual remark had a significant effect, slightly suppressing the madness in the hearts of a few players at the time.

The strong did not rely on luck, especially not luck plundered from the weak.

Zhu Shuangshuang said, “Was Shi Tianzhu reminding us just now in the dining room?”

They didn’t know if Shi Tianzhu was reminding them or not, but their hearts were resolute.

Meng Jiang voiced their thoughts, “Regardless of whether she was reminding us or not, let’s not use that method. We already have 6 luck points.”

Ning Su made a grunt and lowered his head to look at the hem of his shirt, where Blood Doll was tightly holding onto it, tears streaming down her face...

He locked eyes with her for a few seconds and helplessly ruffled her hair, saying, “Do you really have to cry? Should I kneel down and promise not to take any luck points?”

“...”

Blood Doll took the bowl from the Gui Sheng’s hand, wiped away her tears, poured the blood from the bowl into the bottle, and stuffed it into her own crimson mouth.

“...”

Your family’s artistic style is indeed unique.

Zhu Shuangshuang looked at Ji Mingrui with some uneasiness, and Ji Mingrui understood what she meant.

Currently, he only had 1 point less luck than them. Maybe if he just scared his ghost friend a little, he could gain 1 point of luck and leave this place with them in a couple of days.

He struggled visibly, sighed, and squatted down to look at his New Year painting doll.

His ghost friend was a doll with two horns resembling two rising sheep, with rosy cheeks and a plastic-like texture. The corners of its red-inked lips were tensed nervously.

Ji Mingrui said to it, “Don’t worry, I’m not in a hurry to obtain luck.”

He was speaking to his ghost friend, but also to the other three, “I know you’re timid, and I won’t scare you.”

His decision didn’t surprise the three of them.

Perhaps because they had the most luck and were not overwhelmed by the new method, they still remembered clearly that the essence of their ghost friend might be a Gu Man Tong.

They also remembered when Zhu Shuangshuang told them that raising a Gu Man Tong was not without danger.

But apparently, some players had forgotten.

Or perhaps they hadn’t forgotten, but they felt there was no other way and could only do this.

In the face of survival, nothing else mattered.

[Congratulations to player Chen Jinpeng for receiving 1 luck point from the ghost friend.]

Downstairs, beside the small garden, Chen Jinpeng was pushing the rag doll towards the door.

The entrance to the castle consisted of two large iron gates. Passing through the gates led to the small garden, and crossing the garden would bring them to the ground floor door of the castle.

The iron gates were iron railings with large gaps between each bar, and Chen Jinpeng was pushing the rag doll through one of those gaps to the outside.

The tea-colored fabric skin of the rag doll was stained with crimson rust spots, and its two hands tightly grasped the iron bars, crying and refusing to go out.

“Boo... Boo...”

“Let’s go, hurry!” Chen Jinpeng forcefully pushed the belly of the rag doll between the iron bars. “Get out!”

The rag doll struggled to stand between the two iron bars. With such a strong push, its arms straightened and became thinner. It tightly held onto the iron bars, and the seams in its hands broke under the strain.

It made a muffled sound, “Buwu! Buwu...“

Chen Jinpeng exerted even more force, almost punching the soft belly of the rag doll. Finally, the rag doll couldn’t hold on any longer and was pushed out of the door, falling onto the stone slab outside.

“Buwu! Buwu!!!“

The rag doll was momentarily confused, but upon realizing that it had been pushed out of the door, it began crying loudly while hurriedly running towards Chen Jinpeng.

The seams at its elbows also came undone, and its arms lifted up in a broken state, attempting to hug Chen Jinpeng’s hand.

It was precisely at this moment that the system notified Chen Jinpeng that he had gained 1 luck point.

Meng Jiang: “He gained 2 luck points.”

Once at the dining table, another time here.

Ji Mingrui said, “Our luck points are announced uniformly at midnight, but his are announced instantly.”

After breaking free from this temptation, he realized that something was not right. It seemed like the system was intentionally motivating the players to act in this way.

Zhu Shuangshuang felt a bit uneasy. She saw the rag doll giving luck points to Chen Jinpeng, and Chen Jinpeng lifted him up, smiling as he patted his head, presumably offering comfort or praising the rag doll.

The rag doll silently cried while holding onto Chen Jinpeng’s arm, its head drooping weakly.

“What is this? Threatening and scaring a child by kicking him out of the house when he doesn’t listen?”

Initially, they were indeed afraid of the ghost friends, but later they realized that these friends were like blank slates, innocently regarding the first player who opened the door for them as the most important and almost the only family they had.

Perhaps, for them, opening the door and letting them inside meant giving them a home.

They couldn’t leave the person they first saw.

From the very first meeting, they gave pure reliance, and as they were treated with tenderness afterward, this attachment deepened continuously.

“They can’t possibly leave, how can they accept being abandoned?”

Ji Mingrui said, “This is his ghost friend, don’t meddle in it. Even if you try to remind him, he won’t appreciate it and might even turn around and blame you.”

Just because they had the highest luck value.

Zhu Shuangshuang wearily replied, “I know.”

It wasn’t their first time exploring a dungeon, and she understood that principle. She just felt a bit suffocated.

While the four players were watching, the four ghost friends were lying on the balcony railing, quietly looking down.

Originally, the other players in the garden were all watching.

Even though they knew that giving luck points when the ghost friends were scared might work, no one immediately resorted to this method.

Once this method was used, it might be irreparable, and they didn’t know what might happen. Moreover, this speculation might not necessarily be accurate.

Chen Jinpeng was different; he had already started in the dining room.

Seeing him once again confirm the feasibility of this method and gaining 2 luck points in less than an hour, other players finally took action.

Apart from Chen Jinpeng, there was also a player on the fifth floor who hadn’t received any luck points so far.

His name was Zhu Ji, and like Chen Jinpeng, he had no other options left.

“The ghost friends are particularly afraid of being driven out!” he said loudly, as if he wanted the whole world to know.

Chen Jinpeng, who obtained 2 luck points, was clearly in a good mood. Ambition glimmered in his eyes. “Isn’t it simple to make them afraid? I will definitely get 8 luck points within two days and leave here before the monster children attack the sixth floor.”

He gained 2 luck points in less than an hour, so achieving 8 points in two days seemed feasible.

He finally felt triumphant.

Zhu Ji also listened with excitement, looking down at his own ghost friend.

His ghost friend looks a lot like a slime figurine toy, appearing as if it’s made of blue foam rubber.

“Pooya.“

When Zhu Ji looked at the slime toy, it muttered unclearly and took a step back inexplicably.

Zhu Ji’s gaze became slightly determined. He made a decision and smiled at the slime toy, bending down to pick it up.

He also placed the ghost friend in the gap of an iron gate. Whether it was because the ghost friend was sticky or for some other reason, he didn’t push the ghost friend outwards like Chen Jinpeng did. Instead, he sat on a nearby stone and poked at it with a wooden stick.

At first, there was no reaction, and the slime toy was directly poked down by the wooden stick.

“Pooya.“

Confused and afraid, it looked at Zhu Ji.

It couldn’t understand why someone who had always been very kind to it would suddenly treat it this way.

The slime stood up and walked towards Zhu Ji, but was knocked down by another blow of the stick, this time with more force, directly pushing it outside the door.

The little slime finally burst into tears.

“Pooya, pooya!”

Crying, it tried to walk towards Zhu Ji, but each time he was poked out by Zhu Ji with the wooden stick.

Again and again.

The slime was indeed made of foam rubber. With each poke from Zhu Ji, with each firm grip on the iron bars, its arms were stretched and pulled, and bubbles formed on its body.

When Zhu Ji saw this, he started poking the bubbles on the slime’s body with the wooden stick.

The sharp tip of the stick pierced through, instantly bursting the bubbles on the slime.

The slime’s crying suddenly became sharp, “Pooya—“

As if it hurt.

Everyone may have had bubbles on their body at some point—bubbles caused by friction on the hands, bubbles formed from a burning sensation at the corner of the mouth, or bubbles caused by a skin condition. The bubbles were pierced when they had just formed, as if tearing through a thin layer of skin film.

Moreover, these were large bubbles that occupied a significant area of the skin.

When the bubbles are popped, they made a “pu” sound, and then the slime felt pain, making a “pooya” sound.

Seemingly finding it amusing, Zhu Ji’s face revealed a smile, saying, “It’s quite fun.”

Bubbles emerge on the ghost friend’s body, and he popped them one by one with a wooden stick. Amidst the sounds of “pupu” and “puya,” the smile on his face gradually turned excited and distorted.

There was a puddle of water at the feet of the slime toy, whether it’s from the water inside the popped bubbles or its tears, it was unclear.

[Congratulations to player Zhu Ji for receiving 1 luck point from the ghost friend.]

[Congratulations to player Chen Jinpeng for receiving 1 luck point from the ghost friend.]

[Congratulations to player Liu Liantian for receiving 1 luck point from the ghost friend.]

...

On the fourth floor, the three individuals couldn’t bear to watch any longer, except Ning Su, who kept his beautiful peach blossom eyes wide open, taking in everything happening below.

His ghost friend, Blood Doll, also sat in front of the railing, silently watching below.

Her small head rested on the railing, and her long, dense hair completely covered her tiny shoulders, making it difficult to discern her expression.

“Hmm?” Gui Sheng next to her turned his head to look at her, and his small, gray-white hand patted her shoulder gently. “Don’t be afraid.”

Blood Doll trembled and turned her head, looking up at Ning Su.

Her eyes were bloodshot, perhaps due to the reflection of the blood colored lily flowers, the crimson color appeared more intense than usual.

Ning Su looked at her for a few seconds, then reached out his hands to her, and Blood Doll stood up, tiptoed, and embraced his neck.

The hand gripping his clothes was forceful, and a cool liquid dampened his neck.

The black veins on his white neck faintly protruded and gradually receded under the stimulation of blood, disappearing bit by bit.

The blood flowing from her eyes had diluted significantly, as if it had been mixed with some liquid.

During dinner, the players’ states were different from noon once again.

Several players who obtained luck points in the afternoon were very excited.

At the dining table, apart from the distinction of floors, there was also a noticeable difference between players who obtained luck points through intimidation and those who didn’t.

The ghost friends who gave away luck points this afternoon sat nervously beside the players, and their eerie faces of different materials revealed signs of exhaustion and tension.

They seemed to have consumed a lot of energy, with a faint layer of lifelessness, becoming less like living beings.

Shi Tianzhu quietly ate her meal without saying anything.

Ning Su received several food and ate to his satisfaction.

After finishing dinner, Ning Su went back to her room to freshen up a bit, taking Gui Sheng and Blood Doll to the sixth floor to find Shi Tianzhu.

While heading to Shi Tianzhu’s room, they passed by Room 603 and saw the rag doll squatting outside the door.