Chapter 20: Skynet World

When the countdown reached zero, Xiao Muyu found herself in a room.

The room was simply furnished. There was a desk in front of her, and sitting behind it was Arbiter No. 001, who had taken Old Liao away not long ago.

It was a little girl who looked only about eight or nine years old, but she exuded a maturity and wisdom far beyond her age.

“Congratulations on clearing Instance No. 001. According to the rules, you get one gacha draw after clearing the game. Additionally, since your score this round is significantly higher than the required threshold, you have cleared the game at level 5, which means there’s an extra reward. Isn’t that a nice surprise?” The girl blinked her big eyes while smiling with her dimples showing, looking quite endearing.

It was just unfortunate that, given the current circumstances, Xiao Muyu couldn’t muster even a trace of fondness for the girl. She merely gave a polite response, “How exciting.”

The little girl wasn’t offended at all; in fact, her eyes shone even brighter. “You’re really interesting; I bet a lot of people like you. Come on, let’s begin.”

With that, the girl made a motion with her hand, and a card appeared before Xiao Muyu, resembling a scratch-off ticket, with a button below that said ‘Tap to Draw’.

It felt very absurd and out of place, but Xiao Muyu still reached out and tapped the button. The card immediately began to spin rapidly, and after a moment, it stopped and revealed the result.

However, when she saw the four words displayed on it, Xiao Muyu’s calm expression began to crack. Even though she had no idea what prizes the gacha could offer, she certainly hadn’t expected this—a sight all too familiar in real life, both embarrassing and exasperating.

“Thank you for playing!” exclaimed the surprised little girl.

She stared at Xiao Muyu for a long moment before covering her snicker behind her hand, pleased as a punch. Finally, with a hint of mischief in her voice, she said, “I’ve hosted thousands upon thousands of players who have cleared instances, and honestly, this is only the second time I’ve ever seen a ‘Thank you for playing’ result. Would you say your luck is good, or just extremely bad?”

Xiao Muyu, at a loss for words, looked at the ‘Thank you for playing’ card in front of her. Since it was a reward for clearing an instance, it ought to be something useful for future levels. The ‘Thank you for playing’ card essentially meant she got nothing. Her luck really was…

She couldn’t help but wonder who the first unlucky person was.

“So, what’s the extra reward?”

After Xiao Muyu finished speaking, she saw Arbiter No. 001 hand her another card. She hesitated a little and asked, “Is this going to be another ‘Thank you for playing’?”

No. 001 shook her head with a smile, and said, “The extra reward is directly related to the instance. You can draw without worry.”

Xiao Muyu had no other choice.

At the same time, in different spaces, Xiao Muyu and Shen Qingqiu both reached out to flip over the card. Three seconds later, the expressions on their faces were surprisingly similar—furrowed brows, squinted eyes, and a hint of indescribable disdain.

Across from them, the two identical-looking Arbiter No. 001s wore the same smile and asked, “What’s wrong? Not satisfied?”

Xiao Muyu’s expression quickly returned to normal. “No, I’m just a bit surprised.”

Item Obtained: Human Skin Mask
Rarity: S
Acquisition Method: Extremely low probability of dropping after clearing the “Human Skin Manor” instance.
Item Description: Human Skin Mask—No need to overthink, it’s just a mask made from human skin. It has impeccable fit and softness. If a face falls from the sky, would you want it? Of course, you would—if you care about appearances. The Human Skin Mask allows you to replicate any face (not limited to human face). By wearing the Human Skin Mask, you can become that person for up to half an hour, guaranteed even their own mother wouldn’t notice the difference.
Note: This item has a limited number of uses—three times only. Please use wisely and explore carefully.

Although the item’s description was somewhat bizarre, and the idea of wearing a human skin mask was certainly pushing her limits, Xiao Muyu couldn’t turn down such a useful tool.

And since the description mentioned that it wasn’t limited to human face, did this mean she could disguise herself as a ghost if she encountered one in a future instance? It was a shame that the mask only had three uses. Despite how disgusting it seemed, if a critical moment came, she wouldn’t have the luxury of being picky.

“Alright, you must be exhausted after your first run. You now have a day to rest and explore Skynet World. Oh, I almost forgot to tell you—you can exchange points for Skynet World’s currency. One point equals one hundred gold coins, so you can buy some things to prepare for emergencies.” After saying this, Arbiter No. 001 waved at her.

A blinding white light flashed before Xiao Muyu’s eyes, forcing her to close them instinctively. When she opened them again, she found herself standing on a street.

As she watched the heavy foot and car traffic, Xiao Muyu felt that the three days she had just experienced had almost pushed her twenty-plus years in the real world far out of her mind, as if it were a lifetime ago.

What was strange, however, was that no one on the street seemed to notice her sudden appearance. Vendors and shopkeepers continued shouting their wares as if nothing had happened.

Xiao Muyu realized that she felt hungry and frowned.

She discovered that the prices of goods in this so-called Skynet World were ridiculously high. A single bowl of noodles cost sixty gold coins, and a proper meal would probably cost around a hundred or two hundred gold coins.

But there were even stranger things. As Xiao Muyu stood at the entrance to a small street, she noticed that the whole street was completely different from the bustling street outside. There were all sorts of ghost-hunting gadgets hanging inside.

There were Eight Trigrams (Bagua) mirrors, amulets, all sorts of miscellaneous charms, peach wood swords, bronze swords, and even blood of black dog¹—all kinds of items were on display.

As soon as Xiao Muyu entered, someone enthusiastically approached her to make a sale.

“Is this your first time here, miss? You look new. You must have entered a supernatural instance, right? I have all kinds of ghost-hunting tools here that will guarantee your safety and turn misfortune into fortune! Celestial Master Zhang had personally drawn this charm. No ghosts below A-rank will dare come near it… It’s only 20,000 gold coins.”

Xiao Muyu abruptly stopped walking. The person thought he had her hooked and was secretly pleased, but Xiao Muyu calmly replied, “You already know it’s my first time here, so where did you get the confidence to believe I have 20,000 gold coins?”

This momentarily stunned the man, but he quickly responded, “All new customers get a 30% discount, but just this once, you can immediately take it away with only 6,000 coins. You won’t find a better price anywhere on this street!”

Xiao Muyu huffed out a laugh at this. “You’re quite astute; it seems you’re very clear about the 60 points for passing.”

The man’s smile became somewhat awkward. He withdrew his hand, and his demeanor turned much more serious. “Please, continue to look and choose.” After saying this, he bowed slightly and went off to attend to other business.

As Xiao Muyu walked along, she saw many people browsing inside. Some looked like they had found the greatest treasure and quickly pulled out their money, while others appeared troubled and embarrassingly short of money; they eventually gritted their teeth and opted for something else. Business on this street was booming.

Moreover, there wasn’t just a shop selling various odd Taoist items. There were also several shops selling crucifixes, silverware, and statues of Jesus and the Virgin Mary. Xiao Muyu shook her head and prepared to leave.

“Are you not planning to buy anything?” A voice from a stranger beside her made Xiao Muyu turn and look.

It was a young man, over 1.8 meters tall, dressed in a black suit with a bow tie—a typical English gentleman’s attire. The man had a strikingly handsome face with captivating deep brown eyes. He was currently looking at Xiao Muyu with a hint of inquisitive interest, and seemed somewhat felicitous.

He had approached her quite randomly, so Xiao Muyu didn’t respond at first.

The man continued, “Players who will come are those that had been selected for supernatural instances. For newcomers, the items here represent a sense of security, even a lifeline.”

“Only for newcomers, I suppose. There probably aren’t any repeat customers here,” Xiao Muyu ended up replying.

The man looked slightly surprised. “Are you implying that all of this is fake?”

Xiao Muyu refuted, “I didn’t say that; you did. Perhaps the statues of Jesus and the Virgin Mary can save people, but don’t some instances come with their own protection?”

It was like scouring antique markets; there were lots of fakes that could easily mislead an inexperienced newbie. Furthermore, if they were really that useful, instances wouldn’t be so much of a threat.

“Relying on a one-time sale won’t last them long, so they target newcomers, but there are actually some good items. However, it requires not only money but also a discerning eye.” After saying this, he reached into a pile of amulets, pulled out a worn-out triangular amulet, and promptly paid the vendor four hundred gold coins.

“Here, the most common amulet. It might not truly protect you, but it can serve as a warning.” With that, he handed the amulet to Xiao Muyu.

Xiao Muyu didn’t take it, reasoning, “We’ve only just met; I’d feel undeserving of this.” She gave him a nod and was about to leave.

The man chuckled, his voice warm and gentlemanly. “Don’t misunderstand, miss. Among so many people on this street, you immediately caught my eye. My intuition tells me that I should befriend you. Skynet may be vast, but it can also be quite small at times, so we might meet again. Please think of this as my gift for our first meeting, and accept it.”

Although it sounded a bit like a pickup line, he was polite and respectful, maintaining the right balance without being overly forward or pushy; Xiao Muyu didn’t find him off-putting.

She glanced at him and reached out to take the amulet. Whether he was sincere or not, accepting it was more beneficial for her. If it was a useful thing she could bring with her, it would become an important asset.

“Nothing comes for free; I’ll pay you,” she insisted. The man could read the determination in her expression.

“It looks like you trust me,” the man replied with a smile, and then graciously accepted the gold coins Xiao Muyu handed him.

“May I be so bold as to ask for your name? I’m Shen Shiyi²,” he said, pronouncing his name slowly and with emphasis, as if it were important.

Shen? For some reason, Xiao Muyu was momentarily stunned upon hearing this surname.

However, she quickly figured that using a real name in a place like this might not be a good idea. The name ‘Shen Shiyi’ didn’t quite match the man. He probably made it up.

So, Xiao Muyu opened her mouth to respond: “If we do meet again, I can tell you then. Otherwise, it wouldn’t mean anything.”

Shen Shiyi watched her walk away amidst the noisy crowd and the chaotic, bustling street. Despite this, her solitary figure remained undisturbed, as she quietly left through the din.

Shen Shiyi’s lips curled into a faint smile, his expression shifting from interest to a gentle calmness before settling into a more subdued mood. Moments later, another man approached him respectfully and said, “Master Shiyi, the banquet is about to begin.”

“Let’s go; it’s time to get ready.” The smile faded from his face as he turned to leave.

Meanwhile, Xiao Muyu found herself with yet another question. A formally dressed person shouldn’t be in a place like this. It wasn’t that he spotted her on this little street by chance; rather, it seemed like he came specifically because she was there.

What was the reason, though? Why would someone like her, who had died tragically and ended up in this supernatural world, draw anyone’s attention?

Since she couldn’t figure it out, she didn’t bother with it. She looked down at the points she had left—only 121 points, equivalent to 12,100 gold coins.

She found that everything in this world came with an explanation, pointing out which items could be taken into instances, and which were prohibited. Basic necessities weren’t allowed. She didn’t have to guess much about the rest. However, she couldn’t help but recall something Chen Dong and Chen Xi said when they were trying to rob her that day.

“This woman is a bit strange. How could she bring these items over?”

She had brought her bag with her to this world. Had they meant that things from the real world couldn’t come in with them?

This peculiar thought popped into her mind, but she knew too little, and therefore still had no way of answering it.

Although points were hard to come by, Xiao Muyu wasn’t too stingy with them. That place had been really rough on her clothes, so she bought two new sets.

She found that when it came to self-defense items, she couldn’t bring in the ordinary ones, and those that she could, were prohibitively expensive—far beyond what she could afford. She could bring the amulet she just got, though. It seemed that she still needed to slowly explore the rules of this world.

Oddly enough, she thought of Shen Qingqiu and the dagger she carried. It didn’t look like an ordinary item, and without it, they probably wouldn’t have survived. Was it something Shen Qingqiu had bought, or obtained through gacha?

————

The eyes of the receptionist at the front desk lit up upon seeing a familiar face in front of him, and he greeted her politely, “Miss Shen, you’re back?”

Shen Qingqiu just glanced at him briefly without lingering, and went straight upstairs. After she left, a girl standing next to the male receptionist gave him a sharp look and said mockingly, “Zhou Yuan, you’re really all about appearances, aren’t you? Throwing yourself at such a cold woman… Didn’t you see she had no interest in you whatsoever?”

The man, Zhou Yuan, wasn’t upset at all. Instead, he chuckled and replied, “That’s what makes it worthwhile. Besides, people like her are living on borrowed time, who knows when they might be gone for good? It’d be a shame not to enjoy things while she can.”

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Footnotes:

1. 1. All these items are for exorcising and/or warding off evil spirits and bad luck ↩︎
2. 
   2. Shen – same shen as in Shen Qingqiu, Shiyi – eleven ↩︎

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Author had something to say:

Intermission break. Is Xiao Xiao’s luck good or bad?

Question: A face falls from the sky. Should you take it or not?
If you don’t take it, you’ll ‘lose face’, but if you take it, you’re ‘thick-skinned’. It’s a little joke I heard when I was very young.

The chapters after this will be VIP chapters. I hope everyone will continue to support me!