When she first entered, Qi Xu was still rejoicing that the haunted house's ticket booth wasn't set up right at the entrance, otherwise she would have been kicked out on the spot for not being able to pay, which would have been awkward.
But it wasn't until she truly felt the bone-chilling gloomy wind that she realized the special effects of this haunted house were a little too realistic, weren't they?
"Heheheh... This tourist, there is something wrong with you. Your three chances have been used up. What are you doing here? Do you want me to eat you?"
A ghostly shadow drifted over, its edges like torn rags shredded by an invisible hand, squirming and flickering in the dim light. As it spoke, a massive mouth full of sharp fangs split open right in its center.
Those teeth were not neatly arranged; rather, they looked like countless curved shards of broken glass, densely embedded in a bloody, mangled mucous membrane. A sickeningly sweet, putrid stench rushed over with its breath, carrying the metallic smell of dirt and corpses, making her throat tighten...
No wonder it was a monster working in the haunted house. With such an appearance, it really wouldn't be appropriate to place it outside.
Not only was it completely mismatched with this dreamlike amusement park instance, but it also felt somewhat disconnected from the entire "Survival Game." It would fit much better in a "Weird Invasion Game."
Without a second thought, Qi Xu took out 100 game coins and stuffed them directly into its mouth, even getting her fingertip scratched by a glass-like shard in the process.
"I'm paying a premium for the ticket. I'm not intentionally breaking the rules or trying to make things difficult for you; I just want you to earn a few more game coins. Of course, if you're not willing, I can leave right away, but I hope you believe that I am very sincere."
Right now, money wasn't important; her life was. If it thought she was here to break the rules, taking out a weakling whose three-dimensional stats were all 10s wouldn't even require a single move.
"Heheheh, you're not afraid of me? It really has been a long time since I've seen..."
It had been a long time since it had seen such a fragrant, delicious, and interesting human. It directly opened its bloody maw again, as if to bite off half of her head. Scared now? Ugly human!
But Qi Xu had already gone off script. Why did this sentence and this situation feel so familiar? When she first met Ah She, hadn't it said the exact same thing?
That unfinished half sentence...
Qi Xu instantly understood. This must be an old friend who had lost its memory, otherwise how could it be doing so miserably?
It was most likely a monster she had implicated in one of her previous rounds of the game, similar to Ah She's situation. Her eyes couldn't help but become a bit more affectionate.
"Long time no see, old friend. You don't need to say too much, I understand everything. Can you leave this instance?
If you can leave the instance, I'll give you some more survival coins so you can change jobs. This instance is too depressing. You should go be a store manager at a station, and it'll be convenient for us to have dinner together when you get back."
The ghost monster was stunned. What kind of approach was this? Were current players all this wild? Trying to form connections right off the bat? Who is your old friend? And being a store manager... that would take at least several years of saving up!
Ugly players only spout big words! Besides, I just gathered enough energy from the void, stood out, defeated many competitors from the same batch, and became a glorious and excellent monster NPC. I've only been on the job for two or three days...
And you're telling me we're old friends? Where did we meet to become such good friends? In the void? How could someone who came out of the void still be a human?
This person must be stupid. Does this count as breaking the rules? Can I kill her? Oh no, as a new employee, I didn't pay attention during the internship training. I really don't know what to do in this situation...
Seeing its confused and bewildered look, Qi Xu understood. It must be trapped in this instance and couldn't get out.
She directly pointed at her own stomach. "Come on, hit me here. It's best if you make me spit blood and punch me out of the haunted house. It doesn't matter if you can't use survival coins, I'll go earn some game coins for you!"
Although the ghost monster didn't understand, it followed suit, delivering a powerful spinning tail whip directly into Qi Xu's stomach.
Qi Xu turned into a parabola and was punched right out of the haunted house...
Hiss... This old friend is a bit violent, and its acting skills aren't that great either. You just had to pretend, why use so much force? It hurts to death...
"Her Royal Highness the Princess has come out!"
"She came out, or rather, she flew out..."
"Hiss... Just now I suspected this Princess was a human player in disguise, but now I'm certain she's not. Otherwise, she would have been directly infected and turned into a puppet. How could she get beaten up and spit blood?"
"Exactly. Which smartasses were yelling nonsense over here just now? Do you think we can't tell the difference between a player and an NPC? Even if one person is stupid, could so many people be stupid together?"
"At a glance, this is clearly a storyline of a showdown between a protagonist and an antagonist NPC. Before I joined the survival game, I was a game streamer. I've played thousands of games like this, I definitely wouldn't be wrong!"
This was exactly the effect Qi Xu wanted. She vaguely listened to what the players were saying, took a deep breath, and stood up from the ground with difficulty, looking tragic, enduring immense pain, and coughing up blood like crazy.
She wasn't faking it; it was real.
It really hurt, a pain like all her internal organs had been displaced...
Good grief, is this how you strike a good friend?
Qi Xu abruptly raised her hand to wipe the blood from the corner of her mouth. Where her fingertips brushed past, bright red blood droplets splattered all over her face, overlapping with the wet crimson at her lips.
The princess dress on her body was already stained with dirt, and the transparent wings on her back were half broken. Paired with her determined gaze and murderous expression, that wildness mixed with wretchedness and unruliness was like a blood-quenched blade, suddenly producing a thrilling tension...
"Evil spirit entity, I know you're in there! Let my friend go! Otherwise, I will fight you to the bitter end!"
Qi Xu's throat tasted of sweet blood, and her voice was hoarse. She pointed her fairy wand straight at the haunted house, screaming in her heart: Hurry up and bring me my Oscar!
"Your Royal Highness, are you alright? Hiss, you look a bit miserable."
Qi Xu directly cleared her throat and looked around at the crowd of onlookers watching the spectacle. After realizing that those two acquaintances weren't there, she cleared her throat again and loudly announced all the methods for clearing the amusement park rides that she knew.
The players were a bit stunned.
Immediately after, Qi Xu raised her arm and shouted, "Which player is willing to help me successfully defeat the evil spirit entity!"
"Me!"
"Me, me! I am willing!"
"Count me in, haha, victory is in sight!"
The players raised their hands in response one after another. This instance was really interesting, there was actually an NPC leading them to fight another NPC!
"No, this is a fated battle between me and it. I don't need you human players to join in, but I do need your game coin sponsorships. I, Princess Ophelia Lien van der Berg Moonshadow Gilded Rabbit, hereby promise that those who are willing to help me will always be accompanied by good luck!"
...........
