Chapter 23: Entering the Urban Legend 'The Letter'

Silence. The atmosphere at this moment was terrifyingly quiet.

Bai Wan’s expression was currently that of someone struggling with severe constipation as he stared at the ancestral graves completely obliterated by the meteor shower, his heart erupting in a silent, frantic internal monologue.

*Holy crap, holy crap, holy crap...!!*

*I’m doomed! I’ve blown the ancestors' tombstones to smithereens!*

Zhou Lu also wore a dull, vacant expression, staring at the tombstones—which were essentially smoking ancestral graves—long and speechless.

After a long silence, Su Yueling finally let out a hollow laugh, trying to ease the tension. "Right... there was supposed to be a meteor shower today, wasn't there?"

Zhou Lu stood frozen for a full minute before snapping back to reality. He lit a cigarette and feigned composure. "Hahaha, did everyone make a wish on the meteor shower? It was pretty spectacular, don't you think? Ah, hahahaha..."

The corners of Liu Tong and the others' mouths twitched uncontrollably.

*Spectacular?* This was the first time in their lives they had seen a meteor shower blow up a graveyard.

Seeing no response from the group, Zhou Lu gave a light cough and chuckled with forced optimism. "Oh, don't all look so grim. We can just make new tombstones, right? The most important thing is that we're safe and sound. Alright, let’s go, let’s go."

Seeing Zhou Lu’s optimistic demeanor, Liu Tong and the others felt a bit more encouraged. As expected of the captain, his mental fortitude was truly impressive.

Zhou Lu smiled and turned to leave, but suddenly stumbled. He looked back, embarrassed, and said, "Liu Tong, give me a hand. My blood pressure is spiking a bit."

"...Alright."

...

The group remained somber on the way back.

The ancestral tombstones, which had been guarded for who knows how long, had been inexplicably destroyed, leaving nothing but debris. Bai Wan felt even more awkward. It was obvious that he had triggered this meteor shower; it had happened once before at the school, and he hadn't expected it to recur.

He felt terribly guilty, wondering if the ancestors would still protect him now that their tombstones had been wiped out by his meteor shower.

The group remained silent until they hailed a car and returned to the Lancheng headquarters. Everyone sat on the sofa, exhausted.

"Today was truly cursed. It seems when my luck is bad, I shouldn't be wandering around," the burly man, Wang Meng, said with a helpless, bitter smile.

"It's fine. If the tombstones are gone, we'll just make new ones. Besides, in today's society, everything is being upgraded. Next time, we'll get the ancestors some trendy, luxury-edition tombstones. They’ll be satisfied, guaranteed," Zhou Lu said, smoking on the sofa.

Listening to their chatter, Bai Wan fell into deep thought.

*Damn it,* the probability of this meteor shower descending was far too high. In the future, he could even treat it as an ultimate move when facing ghosts. The "Meteor Shower Descent" technique—even a ghost would be stunned by that, right?

After chatting for a while longer, Bai Wan decided it was getting late and prepared to go home. Zhou Lu handed him a package. Bai Wan opened it to find 250 Ghost Coins inside.

"Take it. It’s not much, just what the five of us scraped together for you. Pay us back when you’re rich later. As a newcomer, you must be the most short on Ghost Coins, especially since you've entered an unsolvable-level instance," Zhou Lu said with a smile.

Bai Wan was moved as he held the coins. Each Ghost Coin was incredibly precious; after all, clearing a standard instance usually only yielded 100. Giving him half of their stash was a massive favor. While the group certainly had an investment motive, Bai Wan was at the point where he needed these coins the most—it was truly like sending charcoal in the snow.

"Thank you, everyone!" Bai Wan said, deeply touched.

With the coins in hand, Bai Wan planned to go home, rest, and then check on his Ghost Ship. He hadn't stepped inside since acquiring it, and his crew—the old woman and 'Chen Weiyu'—were still in there. Although he wasn't officially the captain yet, he should have gained some level of authority. The next instance would be extremely difficult, so he needed to prepare some trump cards and see if the ship could provide any resources.

Halfway to his destination, Captain Zhou Lu intercepted him and handed him another bag of Ghost Coins. Bai Wan was shocked to find thirty ink-black coins inside—that was 300 Ghost Coins.

Zhou Lu smiled at him. "This is a personal gift from me. Although I'm a veteran player and earn more, my expenses are also high. Money's been a bit tight lately, so this is all I can give you."

"This... Captain..." Bai Wan hesitated, looking at the 300 coins. This was a huge sum. Was this an investment? But he had to remember, he was entering an unsolvable-level instance. If he didn't make it out, this money would be gone...

Trust. He could feel Zhou Lu's trust in him.

Bai Wan wanted to refuse, but he was truly desperate for money. Both buying 'bug' skills and acquiring ghost items were expensive. Thinking about how the system always targeted him, Bai Wan sighed and accepted the coins.

"Thank you, Captain. If I manage to grow stronger, I will definitely help Lancheng if it ever faces trouble," Bai Wan said sincerely.

Facing someone as sincere as Zhou Lu, Bai Wan couldn't refuse—or rather, his current situation didn't allow him to. Though Bai Wan often acted like a jerk, he still had a conscience. Since the man had helped him so selflessly, he would repay that kindness by helping Lancheng within his capabilities.

The moment he accepted the coins, his bond with the Lancheng Agency tightened.

Zhou Lu noticed his reaction, paused for a moment, and then smiled—a genuine, happy smile. "Then I'll be counting on you in the future."

Bai Wan thanked the captain again and turned to leave. He hadn't gone far when he was intercepted once more; a white-haired girl was waiting for him in the distance.

"Ms. Su?" Bai Wan asked, puzzled.

Su Yueling walked over and handed him two red paper seals. "These are Ghost Blood Seals. You can stick them on a ghost to temporarily ward them off. They're one-time-use items, though, so use them wisely."

Bai Wan took the seals, and their attributes appeared before him.

[Ghost Blood Seal
Brief: A low-quality seal made with cursed ghost blood. Sticking it to a ghost has a deterrent effect. Each seal can only be used once.
Note: Just a piece of mass-produced trash from a third-rate craftsman. Trash, absolute trash!!]

"These are items? For me?" Bai Wan was surprised. He’d heard from Liu Tong that Su Yueling was also a newcomer who had only participated in one more game than him. How was she so generous?

Su Yueling smiled warmly. "Well, you're a newcomer entering an unsolvable instance; you must be feeling anxious. I have plenty of these, so I thought I'd give you two..."

"?"

A question mark appeared over Bai Wan’s head. *Wait, what? You have plenty of these?*

Su Yueling continued, "My family has a mid-level craftsman who’s about to advance to a high-level one, so they’ve been making a lot of practice pieces."

*Holy crap!* A mid-level craftsman about to advance to high-level? Bai Wan had just learned from Zhou Lu how rare craftsmen were, especially mid-level ones. Having one in the family meant she was a super-rich heiress.

Bai Wan looked at the white-haired girl with newfound shock; people were truly not what they seemed. Even with a craftsman in the family, Su Yueling was being incredibly generous. She was a truly good person.

In fact, all the members of the Lancheng team were quite good. It made sense—they were official personnel, and for the most part, they were high-principled people; otherwise, they wouldn't be hunting ghosts. Although Bai Wan didn't consider himself a "good person"—believing that good people died young—he had to admit that Su Yueling and Zhou Lu made him feel comfortable.

*I can be a bad person, but when it comes to making friends, I should definitely choose good people!*

"Thank you, thank you," Bai Wan said to the white-haired heiress.

Su Yueling smiled happily. She recalled the captain's advice about "seducing" the newcomer—she realized she couldn't bring herself to do that. But she had always believed that sincerity was the ultimate weapon.

So, she spoke genuinely: "Don't thank me. We’re all in the same agency, which means we’re family. Even though we’ve only known each other for a day, I’ve enjoyed your company, and I consider you a friend. As a friend, there’s no reason not to help when you’re in trouble. Friends are people who go through thick and thin together."

Su Yueling flashed a cute smile and reached out her slender hand. Bai Wan, feeling warmed by her words, took it. Su Yueling looked at the touched newcomer and smiled triumphantly to herself—sincerity really was the ultimate weapon.

Then, a voice echoed in her mind:

[Player Su Yueling has been temporarily selected for the 'Incoming Letter' instance.]

Seeing the message, the smile on Su Yueling’s face froze. She was stunned, her mind flooded with the foolish words she had just uttered.

*Friends are people who go through thick and thin together...*

*I was just saying that! Why did you take it seriously??*

*Huh??? Was there some kind of misunderstanding???*

Her expression turned dismal, and she looked like she was about to cry. Bai Wan was confused; why did Su Yueling suddenly look like she was mourning?

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Nothing... I'm just... moved," she said, tears actually welling up.

"Huh? Moved by what?"

Su Yueling twitched her mouth, forcing a smile. "Friendship! I'm moved by our friendship!"

Bai Wan was touched. What a passionate person Ms. Su was. "Ms. Su, you don't know this, but I've had very few friends growing up. For some reason, people always kept their distance or isolated me. Hearing you say you're my friend today... I'm really moved!"

"I'm sorry, I said the wrong thing."

"Huh??"

"N-nothing... I mean, of course, we’re good friends." Su Yueling forced the words through her teeth. Recalling the magical experiences of her day, she suddenly understood why this boy had no friends.

"Good friends!" Bai Wan patted her shoulder happily and left with the Ghost Blood Seals.

After leaving headquarters, Bai Wan felt joyful. He had made another good friend today.

As he walked away, only Su Yueling remained, wallowing in despair.

...

Back home, Bai Wan immediately pulled out the Ghost Ship. He focused his mind on entering and found himself back on the deck. Seeing the familiar scene, he felt a wave of nostalgia.

The old woman was cleaning the ship, as diligent as ever. Seeing Bai Wan, she smiled. "Captain-to-be, you've arrived."

As he looked at her, information automatically floated into his vision:

[Nameless Granny
Brief: Originally the ship's cook, she became a thrall ghost after the ship was cursed by the Blood Skeleton Bodhisattva, forever destined to cook on the Ghost Ship.
Ability: Ghost Chef—Possesses the ability to process special ingredients into ghost cuisine.
Current Menu:
1. Ghost Hair Steak: (Ordinary Beef + Ghost Hair + 10 Ghost Qi/Coins)
Brief: A dish Nameless Granny is very proud of. Consuming it breaks illusions and prevents ghost contamination for an indefinite duration. (Each ghost hair can only be used once.)
2. Soul Burial Steak: (Ordinary Beef + Soul Burial Grass + 10 Ghost Qi/Coins)
Brief: Soul Burial Grass only grows in lands of deep resentment. Combining it with beef creates a delicious steak that allows the consumer to receive temporary help from restless souls.
Note: More menus are currently locked. As the player owns Nameless Granny, random ghost recipes will be added to the Skull Shop. The rarer the item, the higher the chance of finding rare recipes.]

Bai Wan’s eyes lit up. *Interesting.* This granny was a Ghost Chef; as long as he had the recipes and ingredients, he could make ghost cuisine. He thought about the "Incoming Letter" instance he was about to enter. According to Captain Zhou Lu, unsolvable-level instances might spawn rare Dark Blood Shops, which should contain rare recipes.

He really had to make an effort to find those shops. Whether it was his special "Captain" class or these recipes, they would be a huge help.

"Granny, do you not have a name?" Bai Wan asked, noticing the "Nameless" label.

She shook her head. "Most of my memories are lost. I don't remember. Names don't matter much to me anymore, but if you'd like to give me one for convenience, that's fine."

Bai Wan nodded. It would be easier to have a name. He looked at the ship, remembered his vision of sailing the high seas, and had an idea.

"Granny, you’re still quite beautiful at your age, so you must have been a real beauty in your youth," Bai Wan smiled. "How about I call you Nami?"

The old woman paused, then said, "Nami? That’s a lovely name." She was pleased to be called beautiful.

Bai Wan left her and went to the room where 'Chen Weiyu' was trapped. As soon as she saw him, she scrambled back like a rabbit seeing a hawk, hiding in the corner and peeking out with wide, fearful eyes.

Bai Wan flashed a smile. "Good sister, don't be afraid. Big brother is here."

"Waaaaah!!!" 'Chen Weiyu' clawed at the air like a small animal, trying to scare him off.

Bai Wan kept his smile. "Good sister, Big brother has run into a little trouble. I’m sure you’ll help your dear brother, right?"

'Chen Weiyu' panicked. Seeing that smile reminded her of being trapped in the wall. She tried to run, but couldn't move—the privilege of the Captain-to-be.

"Don't worry, don't worry. Big brother is just borrowing something." He narrowed his eyes and grabbed a handful of 'Chen Weiyu's' hair, yanking it out.

"Waaaaah!!!" she screamed in pain.

"Don't scream, don't scream, it’ll be over soon. Oh dear, I hope I’m not violating women’s rights again, I’m so scared." Bai Wan listened to her screams with a sense of refreshment. After collecting the ghost hair and buying some beef outside, he handed them to Nami.

Soon, a Ghost Hair Steak was served, with the hair wriggling inside—a bit disgusting, but Bai Wan took it anyway. Though gross, its effects were excellent.

He spent 300 Ghost Coins to buy the bug skill "Door Vanish," which was quite practical. He spent the next two days studying materials on the Ghost Game and making preparations. Finally, the countdown for the "Incoming Letter" instance reached zero.

[Ghost Game instance, 'Incoming Letter', now starting!]

In an instant, Bai Wan felt his body lighten. When he came to, he was in an unfamiliar wooden cabin. It looked like his grandmother's old rural house, smelling of heavy dust. From outside, the faint sound of a rooster crowing drifted in—they were in some unknown village.

The cabin was dim. There were seven people in the room—no, six, as one was lying on the floor, lifeless.

Bai Wan was stunned to find himself holding a sharp knife, stained with fresh blood.

*Did... did I kill him?*