Ex-Girlfriend

This was a ruined town.

The ruined, collapsed buildings in town vaguely resembled the Western architecture of early medieval Europe. A freezing wind blew in from the wilderness, passing through the town with silent wails.

—Strictly speaking, this was a place that had completely "died."

Bai Zhi did not risk crossing the two dangerous streets to reach the Auction House. Instead, after leaving the Plaza, he entered a ruined house and took out the Shadow Realm Permanent Deed.

Other Players could stay in this world for at most an hour each day, but he was an exception. With the Access Pass, he could theoretically remain here indefinitely.

"So this town really is my territory..."

As Bai Zhi took out the Shadow Realm Permanent Deed, he felt a faint connection between himself and the land beneath his feet. However, that connection was exceedingly weak; unless he deliberately focused on it, he would not even notice it.

After closing his eyes and sensing it for a moment, Bai Zhi walked toward a nearby wall. Wisps of black mist spread from the Land Deed in his hand, enveloping his entire body in an instant.

When Bai Zhi opened his eyes, he found himself somewhere familiar. The dim Lights overhead flickered on and off, while everything farther away was swallowed by Dead silent darkness.

—It was the dark Corridor with the flickering Lights that he had visited before.

After looking around thoughtfully, Bai Zhi lowered his head and glanced at the Land Deed in his hand. Sure enough, the last remaining [Shadow Crystal] had been completely used up during that teleportation.

Walking down the Corridor and turning three consecutive corners, Bai Zhi arrived at a small room resembling a Rest Hall. Fifteen Dolls had been arranged neatly across its floor.

Without bothering with the Dolls for the moment, Bai Zhi walked with a rather strange expression toward the only relatively intact table in the room.

Perhaps because the Shadow Realm Permanent Deed had made him the owner of this territory, he could understand the unfamiliar writing printed on the tattered flyers scattered across the table.

"...A Haunted House?"

Large amusement parks often had entertainment facilities like Haunted Houses. Bai Zhi had not expected to encounter one in this so-called Otherworld.

"...So I ran straight out through the entrance of the Haunted House back then? As expected of me."

Returning to the fifteen Dolls on the floor with a somewhat strange expression, Bai Zhi stuffed every lifelike Doll into his Inventory. Whatever that little boy had intended by bringing those fifteen people into the Haunted House and turning them into Dolls had nothing to do with him.

"Maybe he wanted to turn them into his own citizens... What a shame. I can't stay here for too long."

Looking at the Constitution points on his Attribute Panel, which had dropped into a dangerous range as time passed, Bai Zhi shook his head slightly and chose to return to the Real World.

Including the time he had spent lingering in the Plaza, he had been gone for around ten minutes. By the time he returned to the Real World, the students who had come to visit their hospitalized classmate with him had already left the hospital. Compared with before, the entire ward was much quieter.

"Tch, I should stay out of places like that in the future. At the very least, I need to wait until my Constitution is higher... No wonder every Player can only stay there for an hour a day."

After looking at his somewhat pale face in the Mirror, Bai Zhi shook his head and took the fifteen Dolls out of his Inventory.

These Dolls had clearly been crafted by a master. Every detail was exquisitely delicate, and their terrified expressions were unnervingly realistic... though they had originally been real people.

Glancing at the students lying on the Hospital Beds, Bai Zhi placed the Dolls under the Sunlight. Once he watched them rapidly vanish beneath the Sunlight, he clapped his hands and decided to take a few Apples from the get-well fruit as payment.

Seriously, he could not understand why anyone brought fruit when visiting people in comas. Wouldn't it be better to do what he did and pick a huge bouquet of Wildflowers from the roadside?

Just as Bai Zhi was about to pick an Apple from the bag on the Bedside Table, the Ward Door suddenly opened. A Young Girl with waist-length hair tied into a Ponytail entered.

"Long time no see. You've really fallen far, haven't you? You actually have the nerve to steal a Patient's gifts?"

Looking at the vaguely familiar Young Girl who had entered from outside, Bai Zhi had not even searched his memories for information about her before she coldly addressed him.

"Don't make things up. I chipped in for this fruit too."

Squinting, Bai Zhi had already recalled her identity. He casually picked an Apple and, having no interest in continuing the conversation, tossed out that reply before turning and walking past her toward the ward exit.

Continuing this conversation would definitely lead to trouble. Strictly speaking, this Young Girl who had suddenly appeared outside the Ward Door with inexplicable hostility toward him was his Third Ex-girlfriend. He had no intention of taking the blame for that dead guy...

Women really were... such a pain.

That bastard really was just as shameless as before...

Watching him stroll past her as though no one else existed, Mu Qiansè was so furious that her teeth itched.

More than ten minutes earlier, she had sensed fluctuations of Spiritual Energy. Afraid that an Anomaly Incident might break out at the hospital, she had immediately gone on high alert. Yet not only had she failed to find the source of those Spiritual Energy fluctuations, she had encountered the person she hated most in the world.

—Her Ex-boyfriend, at least in name.

Mu Qiansè's assessment of her Ex-boyfriend was that he was good for nothing except being handsome. Her most unforgettable memories in life had all been given to her by him.

And judging from what had just happened, he had clearly intended to sneak some of the gifts meant for visiting Patients after the other students left. His pale face obviously meant he had just pulled an all-nighter at an Internet Cafe. Even after she caught him red-handed, he had remained perfectly composed, which only proved how shameless he was...

"So how did this guy manage to win over a Campus Belle...? Can being handsome really let you do whatever you want?"

Thinking of the scandalous rumors that had been spreading throughout the school a few days ago about a certain Campus Belle and him, Mu Qiansè's expression turned rather strange.

"No, I need to find a chance to warn her. She absolutely cannot be deceived by looks like I was..."

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