Both check-ins for the day were completed in the morning. During the afternoon free time, some players, thinking the boss might post another task, crowded around him and cast pitiful, tragic looks his way, hoping he wouldn’t assign them more chores. The boss ignored them, busy with his own affairs.

Later, Qi Yang woke up and, having missed lunch, went downstairs intending to ask the cafeteria staff to fry him a private dish. Qi Yang no longer bothered to be polite with these NPCs—he did what he wanted. When he reached the ground floor and saw a circle of people around the boss, Yang Jiang was among them. He glanced around, didn’t see Kang Lian, and, as if he knew Qi Yang was looking for her, Yang Jiang said Kang Lian was in Yi Xinming’s room taking care of someone.

Qi Yang’s impression of Yang Jiang deepened somewhat from what it had been. He didn’t mind adding one or two more people to his team, as long as they weren’t too foolish and didn’t cause trouble for everyone.

“What are they doing?” Qi Yang asked, tilting his chin.

Yang Jiang shook his head and smiled, “Yesterday afternoon there was a hidden mission to the neighboring village. Everyone thought maybe there’d be another this afternoon, but the boss never said anything, so they’ve all been waiting there.”

“No one asked?” Qi Yang’s eyes hinted at that meaning—no one asked the boss if there was a mission.

“Nope, everyone’s too scared. They figure if they don’t ask, there won’t be a mission.” It was, in a way, a kind of self-deception.

Qi Yang’s eyes flashed, and he suddenly raised his voice a bit: “Boss, any tasks this afternoon?”

Suddenly a voice appeared, and the players gathered around the boss all turned their heads in unison to look at Qi Yang, each of them wearing warped expressions.

Some turned their necks back and stared at the boss with trembling fear, thinking at that moment that if the boss nodded, they’d immediately pin his head down.

“No, the afternoon and evening are free time, but…” Just as everyone was about to breathe a sigh of relief, the boss said “but,” and compared to the first two sentences, it was this “but” that made them panic.

“But what?” Qi Yang wasn’t the least bit flustered. Whether there was a task or not, it would most likely be much the same as yesterday afternoon. The spirits here treated him like an honored guest, so he felt completely at ease.

“Just don’t go too far. It’s been a bit restless around here these past couple of days—seems like there have been robberies or something.” the owner warned. These ghosts and monsters didn’t dare mess with Qi Yang; if they scared him, none of them could afford to pay.

If they’re other players, then there’s nothing to hold back—better to scare them stiff, make them scream bloody murder.

“Thanks.” Qi Yang smiled in thanks and turned to leave.

“Hey, where are you going?” Yang Jiang saw Qi Yang seeming about to go out and took two steps to catch up.

“Let’s go eat. I haven’t had lunch yet. After we eat, we’ll walk around nearby.” Qi Yang’s stomach was rumbling; it felt empty and he really wanted to eat something delicious.

Yang Jiang frowned. “You already forgot what the boss just said? Didn’t he say the area isn’t safe?”

Qi Yang waved his hand, feigning nonchalance. “I’m just going to take a walk, I won’t go far.” He said that to calm others, but secretly he wanted to go farther.

After Qi Yang left the inn, Yang Jiang wanted to follow, but reason prevailed. Qi Yang was different; Yang Jiang had an instinctive feeling that, judging by his performance in the game over the past two days, the man didn’t seem to fear terror or death at all. Rather than coming to escape, he seemed to be here to enjoy the game.

Thinking this, Yang Jiang shook his head. Not everyone feared death; some simply weren’t afraid of dying. Perhaps Qi Yang was that kind of person. The players who came here each had their own peculiarities. Yang Jiang walked upstairs, reached Yi Xinming’s room, and knocked gently on the door.

Kang Lian inside the house came to check the door. She had originally thought it was Qi Yang, but it turned out to be Yang Jiang. Kang Lian glanced twice behind Yang Jiang, and Yang Jiang, as before, immediately told her where Qi Yang had gone.

“Qi Yang went to the restaurant next door to eat.”

“Mm.” Kang Lian nodded. If Qi Yang went out, that man would certainly accompany him; he hardly ever left Qi Yang’s side.

Kang Lian let Yang Jiang into the room. Yang Jiang asked how Yi Xinming was doing at the moment. Kang Lian said, “He took some painkillers and went to sleep.”

Yang Jiang looked toward the bed. Yi Xinming’s face was all wrapped in bandages, only his eyes, nose, and mouth exposed. There was still a faint metallic smell of blood in the room. A strong sense of guilt welled up inside Yang Jiang again — if Yi Xinming hadn’t pushed him, the person lying on the bed would have been him. Or he might not even be on a bed, but lying cold in the bamboo grove, with no one to collect the body.

Kang Lian had been keeping watch here for a while and was mentally tired. When she saw Yang Jiang arrive, she asked him to help keep an eye on things and went back to her room to sleep.

As Kang Lian opened the door to leave, Yang Jiang repeated what the downstairs boss had just said: “It’s not very safe outside. If you have to go out, don’t go too far.”

“I know, thanks.” After thanking him, Kang Lian returned to her room. She didn’t lie down immediately; instead she stood by the window. From her window she could see the restaurant not far away. From what Yang Jiang had said, Qi Yang had gone to lunch. Kang Lian showed a faint smile, and that smile

Rongli felt a trace of envy; she truly envied Qi Yang—able to remain as composed and unruffled in this horror game that made everyone else tremble as if he were in the real world. If anyone could survive to the end of the game, Kang Lian thought Qi Yang would surely be one of them.

As for herself, Kang Lian didn’t know—she could only try to make herself live a little longer.

When he went downstairs he didn’t see Nan Sheng, and stepping out of the inn there was no one in sight. Qi Yang thought Nan Sheng had, like last night, gone off to handle some private matter. As he reached the restaurant and arrived at the doorway, Qi Yang noticed a handsome face seated inside; the man stood up and walked over as soon as he saw Qi Yang.

“Hungry?” Nan Sheng smiled, and the smile looked softer and kinder the more Qi Yang looked at it, without a trace of coldness.

“Yeah, pretty hungry.” Qi Yang nodded, his fair face almost reflective, shining more brilliantly than a gemstone.

Nan Sheng stared at Qi Yang’s profile, thinking that a few hours ago he had only kissed Qi Yang’s lips—if he’d known, he should have kissed Qi Yang’s cheek. Tonight he planned to sneak into Qi Yang’s room and make that thought come true.

Qi Yang glanced to the side and happened to see Nan Sheng’s eyes light up; his gaze sharpened. “What are you daydreaming about now?”

“I want to kiss you!” Nan Sheng blurted out.

Qi Yang laughed and responded, “I refuse!”

Nan Sheng put on a mock look of disappointment, overly theatrical.

Qi Yang didn’t bother to look. He walked to a dining table, and as he reached to pull out a chair, Nan Sheng—long limbs and all—moved faster. Qi Yang glanced back; Nan Sheng wore an expression that said “I’m happy to serve you.” His face was that of a domineering boss, but his actions clashed with that image. Qi Yang didn’t care to analyze it further. Nan Sheng was, after all, capricious by nature, or maybe for some other reason. If the other person wanted to fawn over him, he’d accept it—after all, it was the other’s choice and had nothing to do with him.

With that in mind, Qi Yang accepted Nan Sheng’s services without any psychological burden.

They sat for a while and Qi Yang didn’t see any restaurant staff come over; he wondered inwardly whether he was no longer special. After sitting a bit longer, the dishes were brought out directly. Qi Yang remembered he hadn’t ordered yet, and he stared suspiciously at Nan Sheng.

“I ordered the dishes in advance and had them prepare everything, so you can start cooking as soon as you get here.” It saved Qi Yang the time of ordering again.

“If you don’t like any of these, order something else.” Nan Sheng said, though he actually knew these dishes were exactly what Qi Yang would like—these weren’t chosen at random but picked after a private inquiry. After all, it was someone he cared for, and his baby; Nan Sheng was far more concerned about Qi Yang’s matters than his own.

The pregnant husband’s first place, for now.

Qi Yang smiled.

He said nothing. The dishes were soon all served; looking at them, they were all the cuisine he liked. Qi Yang fixed his gaze on Nan Sheng for a moment, not asking how this man knew his favorite dishes—given this man’s abilities, it was probably easy to find out.

Qi Yang wondered again why the man didn’t contact him in the living world, but he thought about it for a bit and didn’t probe further.

He didn’t want to rack his brains over those things; the future that needed to be known would reveal itself.

The dishes weren’t particularly tasty or nutritious, but even with Qi Yang’s modest appetite, he ate two bowls of rice this meal. It didn’t feel full while sitting, but as soon as he stood up his stomach was bloated.

Qi Yang rubbed his stomach with his hand. Seeing him look stuffed, Nan Sheng reached out to help rub, but Qi Yang dodged his hand. The gentle expression he’d had moments before was instantly tinged with wariness.

At first Nan Sheng didn’t understand, but he quickly guessed why Qi Yang would be on guard about him touching his stomach.

Nan Sheng withdrew his hand, his smile now edged with apology.

Qi Yang suddenly realized he had overreacted. He studied Nan Sheng’s expression and saw no sign of suspicion, so he relaxed. Little did he know that before he even came to the game, Nan Sheng already knew about his pregnancy. It was for that reason Nan Sheng had instructed the lower-level spirits to be extra careful around Qi Yang—anyone who offended him would pay dearly.

His complexion back to normal, Qi Yang left the dining hall with Nan Sheng trailing him like a bodyguard. The two walked to the back of the inn where there was a small hill. They climbed halfway up; Qi Yang had intended to reach the top, but his legs began to ache and throb at the waist area, so he stopped on the slope. He moved a little off the path to a hillside overgrown with weeds where few people passed and sat down directly on the ground. Qi Yang sat while Nan Sheng remained standing. From the trees behind them, many spirits quietly peered out. After confirming the newcomer was Qi Yang, they slipped back but stayed nearby, watching from the side in case his foot slipped or he was injured; then they could pose as passing villagers and help.

The villager-spirits didn’t have to pretend, since the top boss was right there. Although Nan Sheng concealed his aura—undetectable to ordinary-level NPCs—he certainly wouldn’t stand by and watch Qi Yang get into trouble. If anything happened to him, it would mean this game boss was utterly incompetent to let his future wife and child come to harm.

Qi Yang sat on the grass and gazed at the distant mountains, the verdant, rolling ranges. As for the scenery, there was truly nothing to complain about—if it weren’t for the world of ghosts and monsters, Qi Yang thought, he might have come to like this place.

Qi Yang looked at the scenery; the person behind him just watched him. In Nan Sheng’s eyes,

the present world and the game world combined—there was nothing that could compare to Qi Yang. Nan Sheng’s gaze was deep and dark; his eyes slid down and quietly fixed on Qi Yang’s flat belly. In a few more months their child would be born. When the child grew a little, the two of them would bring the child here. Their baby, Nan Sheng believed, would surely love this game world too. The child didn’t need to be too obedient, didn’t need to be sensible—being mischievous was fine, because in this space the one in power was Nan Sheng.

This man, Nan Sheng—a ghost who had been single for over a hundred years—had, without even realizing it himself, fallen in love.

He even indulged in the daydream of soon having a child, picturing a happy, perfect little family of three.

After staying on the grass for a while, Qi Yang noticed he had no watch, and there was no sun to be seen in this world. Although it was bright, the sun remained hidden behind the clouds. Enjoying the mountain breeze, Qi Yang felt content. While the others were still worrying about what terrifying dangers might arise in the coming days, Qi Yang was simply taking in the scenery. He hadn’t expected a day like this, nor that he possessed a special ability he didn’t even know about.

I hope this specialness can last a bit longer and not suddenly vanish one day — he would probably miss the present when that happens.

They had pretty much finished admiring the scenery. The sky seemed to be darkening; here the boundary between day and night was clear, and night arrived in an instant.

Qi Yang stood up and brushed the leaves off his clothes. Nan Sheng, a competent bodyguard, had been standing behind him the whole time. Qi Yang’s expression softened a little: “Let’s head back.”

Nan Sheng’s eyes were dark and bright; he walked straight up to Qi Yang and blocked him.

Qi Yang raised an eyebrow, not knowing what Nan Sheng intended to do.

“I’ll carry you down the mountain!” Nan Sheng had never been moved by anyone before, nor had he ever actively hugged or carried anyone. In front of Qi Yang, things he hadn’t done in a hundred years—things that even seemed laughable to him—he did again and again, and took pleasure in doing them.

Can carrying your wife be called laughable? That’s something others could beg for and never get.

Nan Sheng forgot his former cold, domineering persona; in front of Qi Yang he was nothing more than Qi Yang’s admirer and the father of the child in Qi Yang’s womb.

Qi Yang squinted—this guy’s addicted, huh? Qi Yang wanted to refuse immediately; his leg wasn’t actually broken. Seeing the steep, winding mountain path below, he knew descending was harder than climbing. In the past he would have shoved Nan Sheng away right off, but remembering there was a child in his belly and that his ankle had felt a bit swollen when they first arrived, he realized that if he actually walked down now his foot might hurt badly by evening.

Looking at Nan Sheng’s expectant, sparkling eyes

Eyes, Qi Yang nodded: “Alright.”

Nan Sheng had thought Qi Yang would refuse, but Qi Yang simply agreed—this made Nan Sheng happier than if every player had been wiped out in the tenth game.

He turned and crouched down; a few seconds later someone leaned against his back. The other person gripped Nan Sheng’s shoulders, face close—Nan Sheng could vaguely feel Qi Yang’s warm breath against his back. A rush of heat washed through him, and his entire cold heart suddenly grew warm.

Nan Sheng slowly hoisted Qi Yang onto his back and carried him down the mountain; on the rough, uneven path he walked as if it were flat ground.

Qi Yang lay across Nan Sheng’s broad back. The way this man pursued him was really relentless—if it had been someone else, he probably would have fallen long ago. Qi Yang wondered to himself whether he had been moved.

Moved? Maybe a little stirred, but it was still far from being captivated or in love—after all, Qi Yang hadn’t yet given up the idea of terminating the pregnancy.

Giving birth — him, a man, giving birth — just the image of it made Qi Yang recoil all over.

So if there was any chance, he would definitely terminate the pregnancy.

Qi Yang and Nan Sheng had completely different ideas.

Before returning to the inn, Qi Yang told Nan Sheng to put him down; he decided against letting people see him being carried on Nan Sheng’s back.

There was still some time before dinner, so Qi Yang went upstairs to Yi Xinming’s room. After resting for a while, Yi Xinming had come to again; the blood on his face had been cleaned off, and he had changed into a fresh set of clothes.

Qi Yang pulled a chair over and sat down beside Yi Xinming’s bed.

“I’m much better now.” Before Qi Yang could ask, Yi Xinming smiled first and answered hoarsely.

“That’s good. I’ll pack dinner and bring it up.” For now Yi Xinming was still focused on recuperation; he avoided moving unless absolutely necessary.

“Thank you.” There were red veins in Yi Xinming’s eyes, but he still smiled.

“I heard from Yang Jiang that you got hurt protecting him.” Qi Yang brought up the matter.

Yi Xinming nodded and gave a small “hmm.”

“I remember you didn’t seem this enthusiastic in past games. Why are you different this time? If possible, I still hope you’ll put your own safety first.” Yi Xinming was his companion; although they hadn’t cleared many games together, just as people can fall in love at first sight, friends can also build camaraderie in a short time.

Qi Yang hadn’t had many close friends before, and he didn’t want to waste emotional energy maintaining relationships—but people change, one way or another.

Yi Xinming looked into Qi Yang’s eyes—there was a look that showed he truly considered him a friend.

Expression.

“Okay.” Yi Xinming followed Qi Yang’s words. Actually afterward he regretted it a bit; he didn’t know why he had rushed forward to push Yang Jiang away. If given another chance he definitely wouldn’t do that.

He considered himself lucky — only a cut on the face. He wasn’t afraid of being disfigured; he didn’t make his living from his looks anyway. Besides, there was already a full eight-figure sum in his account. Money held a lot of power.

“I’ll get you some water.” Qi Yang saw the cup on the bedside was empty, so he picked it up to refill it.

Qi Yang held the cup but didn’t hand it to Yi Xinming. There was a familiar habit left in the cup; Yi Xinming lowered his head slightly, took the straw in his mouth, and sipped slowly.

After talking with Qi Yang for a while, Yi Xinming felt tired again. He lay down to rest, and Qi Yang stepped out of the room, saying he’d bring dinner up in a bit.

Qi Yang went downstairs. The lobby and the small garden outside were filled with players; Qiao Ran’s group of six was there too. They were sitting around together, apparently talking about something funny, their laughter echoing through the inn.

Qi Yang moved closer to listen. They were discussing the games they’d cleared earlier and making jokes about those unfortunate players who’d already died. Although Qi Yang wasn’t some saint who would demand others follow him just because of his special status so he could protect them, he still felt it was cruel to make the dead the butt of jokes. No matter how he heard it, their behavior seemed too nasty.

Qiao Ran sat on the sofa, chuckling sometimes at the jokes, but he didn’t stop them either. Evidently, no matter how kind he acted, in essence he wasn’t much different from someone like Zhong Chong.

Qi Yang had no expectations of Qiao Ran; he was simply someone unrelated to him.

He walked to an empty seat and sat down; Yang Jiang and Kang Lian were sitting there. Nan Sheng had just come down from upstairs. Qi Yang glanced obliquely toward the stairs—maybe it was just his imagination, but he felt as if Nan Sheng had just been off doing something, and there was a look about him as if he’d hurried back.

But if he’d really just come back, he would have entered through the front door, not come down the stairs, Qi Yang thought — he was probably just overthinking it.

Nan Sheng walked over to Qi Yang. He didn’t take a seat but called Qi Yang to go finish their meal at the restaurant.

Sitting here with the surrounding noise, Qi Yang really wanted to listen, so he stood up and left with Nan Sheng, and Kang Lian and the others naturally followed.

On the way, Kang Lian asked if anything would happen if Yi Xinming didn’t come down to eat. Before Qi Yang could answer, Yang Jiang jumped in: “I’ll pack it up and bring it upstairs; that’ll be fine.”

Kang Lian remembered that she could pack things to go. She realized this was a game world, where many rules differed from the real world, and when packing..

There shouldn’t be much difference about the rent matter.

When the few of them went to the restaurant, one table was already seated there. The people at that table had seen Qi Yang order before and realized that you could order dishes here, so they had gone ahead to place additional orders rather than eating what the restaurant had agreed to prepare for them. The waitstaff weren’t very pleased with those people. Qi Yang was Qi Yang, and that person received special treatment because of his status, so the employees resented that others wanted to enjoy the same treatment. Their faces were cold when taking orders, as if to say hurry up and order, don’t waste my time.

The players saw the server showing two different faces to them and to Qi Yang; someone voiced a complaint, and the staff member snapped back: “That’s just how I am—if you don’t like it, go eat somewhere else.”

The players also didn’t dare directly confront the NPCs, afraid they’d secretly add things to their dishes, so they had to grit their teeth and swallow it.

When Qi Yang arrived he didn’t see the scene, but while he was ordering he received the resentful stares from the neighboring table. Qi Yang found it odd, but he didn’t bother to address it.

The staff greeted Qi Yang with smiling faces, treating him like a VIP. Kang Lian, having seen stranger things, was unperturbed by the display. Yang Jiang widened his eyes and looked at Qi Yang with particular admiration, thinking to himself that even ghosts and monsters judge by looks.

After the meal, Yang Jiang carried the packed food to Yi Xinming’s room. Qi Yang walked around the inn for a stroll, while Nan Sheng stuck close by, scowling at anyone who came near.

Nothing happened that night; the third day arrived.

On the third day there was unexpectedly only one check-in spot, but even that one didn’t look simple: eat lunch on a small island out at sea. First you had to take a yacht to the island, and once there there was no guide—like the previous two days, players were only given a map to find their way.

Neither the sea nor the island looked particularly safe, and especially when riding on a yacht—if something went wrong and the yacht capsized, they’d all likely end up as floating corpses on the water.