Chapter 40.2: Manman (13)

11-14 minutes

Zhu Ji’s new ghost friend was a dark green balloon doll, like those toys made of different-shaped balloons that are sold by the roadside.

Apart from its bulging, trembling eyes, which were a bit eerie, the balloon doll didn’t look as terrifying as the other ghost friends at first glance.

The balloon was tightly inflated, with a shiny surface that appeared very fragile. It would burst with a single poke from a sharp object.

Therefore, Zhu Ji took great care of it, almost always holding it and keeping it away from even flowers and plants. It was like treating an ancestor.

After observing for a while, Zhu Shuangshuang asked, “Zhu Ji, what about your slime ghost friend?”

They had just had an argument yesterday morning, and Zhu Shuangshuang seemed to have forgotten. As a girl, she didn’t seem to care anymore, and Zhu Ji, who was in a good mood today, didn’t mind either.

He replied, “He’s in the room.”

Zhu Shuangshuang found it hard to understand. “You locked it in the room? It’s not still trapped in a birdcage, is it?”

Zhu Ji’s face slightly changed. “Mind your own business!”

Zhu Shuangshuang persisted, “Zhu Ji! You don’t think it’s no longer lucky and useful, so you neglect and abandon it, do you?”

Being exposed, Zhu Ji’s expression turned uglier. “What’s wrong with you? Why are you always bothering me?”

Zhu Shuangshuang said, “The slime doll is not worthless; it’s precious!”

Seeing that Zhu Ji was about to react aggressively, Ji Mingrui pulled Zhu Shuangshuang back and whispered to her, “He’s right, let’s not interfere.”

Zhu Shuangshuang clenched her fist in anger and turned her head away.

She looked up towards the direction of the fifth floor.

In order to defend against the monster children, all the windows on the fifth floor were tightly sealed, and once the door was closed, no light could enter the room. It must be pitch black inside.

She murmured, “I wonder how it’s doing.”

Whether it was because of Zhu Shuangshuang’s words or not, Zhu Ji stood in the garden for a while and then went upstairs with his new ghost friend in his arms.

As expected, when the door to the room on the fifth floor was closed, it was pitch black.

Zhu Ji sealed off the terrace and all the windows, allowing no ray of light to enter.

In the pitch-black darkness, the slime toy was tied up inside a birdcage, hanging its head dejectedly.

Around the bound wrists, there were numerous densely packed bubbles, dripping and falling downward, releasing an unidentified liquid.

After Zhu Ji received a bit of luck from his new ghost friend last night, he threw the slime toy onto the sofa. He threw it too hard, causing the birdcage to roll off the sofa. At that time, Zhu Ji was solely focused on his new ghost friend on the bed and paid no attention to the slime toy that rolled into the corner.

He gently spoke to his balloon ghost friend, telling it bedtime stories, one of which was “The Little Match Girl.”

The slime toy listened quietly, imagining the light from the matchstick in the little girl’s hand. It stayed like that in the corner for the entire night.

When it wearily opened its eyes in the morning, it saw Zhu Ji leaving with a smile on his face, carefully holding the balloon doll, and heard the sound of the door closing with a “bang.”

Without casting a glance at the slime toy, perhaps forgetting about it, Zhu Ji continued leaving it in the dark corner.

It pressed against the cold iron bars, bubbles forming on its back, its wrists numb from being bound for two days.

Its brain felt heavy and sluggish, as if unable to function.

Suddenly, it seemed to hear the sound of the door opening and raised its head in a daze.

Its entire body was covered in light blue slime, with only its pupils black and unfocused. It looked towards the doorway and, upon seeing the person clearly, a glimmer of light appeared in its eyes.

“Po... Ya...“

‘Have you come to fetch me?’

A watery sheen appeared in its pupils as it widened his eyes and looked at Zhu Ji, filled with fragile anticipation.

In that moment, Zhu Ji found the black pupils wrapped in blue to be somewhat terrifying.

This was a ghost.

As soon as that thought arose in his mind, he dismissed it.

This was a useless ghost.

He carefully held his new ghost friend and picked up the birdcage as he walked outside.

The light in the eyes of the slime toy dimmed when it saw the ghost friend being held in his arms.

It was taken to a corner of the garden, where its hands were tied to the birdcage. It watched Zhu Ji playing on the swing and sliding down the slide with the new ghost friend, being cautious and gentle.

Just like before, even more gentle than before.

“Pooya...“

This time, Zhu Ji didn’t poke him with a stick, but it still cried in pain.

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

Zhu Ji suddenly looked up.

First, he looked at the new ghost friend, thinking about how the ghost friend didn’t give luck during happy moments in the daytime. Then, he looked at the slime toy locked inside the birdcage, his eyes brightening.

Other players also looked at the slime toy in surprise.

The third method of gaining luck appeared.

It seemed like... sadness?

Zhu Ji excitedly walked over to the slime toy, staring at it intently.

He obtained two luck points through intimidation. The new ghost friend gave him another luck point last night, and now with this, it was already four points.

Zhu Ji rubbed his hands excitedly, looking at the slime toy as if lost in thought.

Zhu Shuangshuang suddenly felt a sinking feeling in her heart. She had a sense that all of this was being guided by something, leading in a terrifying direction.

“Is there something strange about the slime toy?” she asked.

Ning Su: “Its wrists have become thinner.”

Zhu Shuangshuang exclaimed, “Ah!”

Indeed.

The rope tied around its wrist hadn’t moved; it’s still securely tied.

But when it was originally bound, there shouldn’t have been any blisters on its wrist. Now, there were bubbles forming, and they fit perfectly, indicating that its wrist had become much thinner.

Zhu Shuangshuang suddenly widened her eyes. “Bubu is also very fragile!”

Chen Jinpeng only pushed it out once, throwing it once, and many of the stitches on its body broke. When he was suspended in front of the monstrous child, the stitches that had been gently pulled off, revealing the loose ends of the thread, and its head became separated from its body.

Ning Su pursed his lips. “And they are very sensitive.”

Fragile and sensitive, with a clean body made of crystal.

Ji Mingrui’s expression tightened. “Bubu only gave three points of luck before it died.”

Just as Zhu Shuangshuang was about to stand up, she suddenly heard a loud noise.

Zhu Ji kicked the birdcage away with his foot.

The birdcage rolled quickly in the garden, making several rounds before finally coming to a stop among the rose bushes.

The slime toy inside the birdcage kept flipping over, with its head never lifting up. It wasn’t until it was pierced by a rose thorn and trapped in a bubble that its body trembled slightly.

Zhu Ji approached his new ghost friend, lowered his head, and looked at the slime toy pierced by the rose thorn.

He tapped the birdcage upward with his foot. “Why are you sad? You were originally a worthless waste that couldn’t give luck. How can you compare to the balloon doll?”

He gently touched the balloon doll and then looked at the slime toy with eyes full of coldness and disgust.

“Poo... ya...“

A drop of blue tear fell from Zhu Ji’s black leather boot.

The slime toy struggled against the iron bar it was bound to, exerting its strength.

Even though he kicked with force, it was just a very light kick.

Zhu Ji stared at the tear on his boots and became excited.

He kicked the birdcage towards the flowers, and the dirt on the soles of his feet fell onto the slime toy, blending into its body.

The pure and clear light blue color now appeared somewhat dirty.

“You useless piece of trash! Why did you knock on my door back then? Why am I so unlucky!” Zhu Ji exclaimed, feeling unlucky.

“Zhu Ji! Stop it! It’s not useless! Didn’t you notice it can leave the house?” Zhu Shuangshuang shouted at him in frustration.

Zhu Ji didn’t understand for a moment. Right now, all he could think about was how to make the slime toy sad and give him luck points.

He rolled his foot against the birdcage again. “Why aren’t you making any sound?”

The slime toy remained silent.

He rolled his foot again, but still no sound came from it.

Zhu Ji was taken aback and lifted his foot.

Just as he lifted his foot, the slime toy’s arm fell down.

From the rope.

From its wrist, it snapped.

The small blue hand was still attached to the birdcage by the rope, but the arm had fallen off.

Then the other arm also snapped from where it was tied.

Zhu Ji was startled and took a step back. “W-what’s happening to you?”

No one answered him.

Bubbles started appearing all over the slime toy’s body.

Its entire body turned into bubbles.

The two small blue hands tied to the rope also transformed into tiny, clean bubbles.

Under the sunlight, pure and bright bubbles burst one by one in front of Zhu Ji.

“Plop,” “Plop,” “Plop”

[Player Zhu Ji’s ghost friend has been destroyed.]

Caught off guard by this statement, Zhu Ji jumped up in fright, accidentally throwing his ghost friend out of his arms in the process. “Ah!”

A player’s death usually followed this statement.

Then, he realized that he still had one ghost friend remaining.

He turned his head and found that all the players were staring at him.

Feeling embarrassed and anxious, he let out a forced laugh, not knowing who he was addressing. “I only kicked him, and he wasn’t even a real person. It was too fragile. Who can I blame?”

“If he’s dead, he’s dead. Useless trash that can’t give luck points. I still have a potential stock ghost friend...”

He saw that everyone was still staring at him.

All the players and the ghost friends.

In this moment, each ghost friend seemed to have changed. They stared at him, and on their eerie faces made of different materials, it seemed like they were showing a smile.

Zhu Ji’s body was covered in goosebumps.

He looked back at the players, who were wide-eyed and staring at him, or rather, at something behind him.

Cold sweat suddenly streamed down his face.

Only then did he remember that he had just thrown his ghost friend out in fear.

He threw it into the rose bushes.

The roses had densely packed thorns, which pierced the slime’s body during its last struggle before dying.

The slime toy was already exhausted and hadn’t moved at all, but at that moment, it trembled slightly.

The thorns of a rose must be sharp and painful.

His legs trembled, and terrified gasps escaped from his mouth. He dared not turn around to look.

His new ghost friend was a balloon doll.

From last night until today, he had been holding it carefully in his arms.

The chubby balloon was very fragile.

When he finally turned around unsteadily to look, his face was already covered in dense beads of sweat dripping rapidly down his chin.

This castle was quaint and magnificent, with a garden filled with vibrant and passionate Freudian roses. The roses bloomed abundantly, and their thorns grew lush and wild.

He had thrown the balloon doll behind the birdcage.

He looked at it, made of balloons, but he didn’t know what was inside. It had weight.

After being thrown out, it pressed against the flower branches, sinking into the dense tangle of rose branches and sharp rose thorns.

The balloon gradually deflated, deflated...

Something red dripped and trickled into the soil among the flowers.

The balloon was left with only a layer of skin.

Reflected in Zhu Ji’s pupils was a human skin.

His own skin.

[Player Zhu Ji’s ghost friend has been destroyed.]

The system’s announcement did not stop this time.

[Player Zhu Ji has died.]

In the beautiful garden, various roses bloomed luxuriously, and bright and adorable sunflowers stood alongside.

A thin layer of human skin lay there.