Main Quest

The public screen overhead flickered, displaying a new prompt:

[Five targets selected simultaneously. The player must complete five main and side quests. Failure to conquer any single target results in trial failure. If successful, the player will accumulate five portions of experience.]

[Confirm selection of these targets?]

Dating five people at once and earning five times the experience points?

Nice!

Wen Nan clicked confirm without a moment's hesitation.

[The novice trial has officially begun! We wish the player good luck!]

In the dormitory, the three remaining novice players stared at Wen Nan in stunned silence, as if looking at a complete idiot.

Did he have any idea what he was doing?

Was there something wrong with his brain?

It was one thing not to find a way to avoid the female ghost boss, but to actively seek out five female ghosts at once? Was he in such a hurry to die?

"He's an expert."

The bespectacled man said, opening the [Community] tab on his player panel.

Since they hadn't passed the novice trial yet, most functions in the [Community] were locked, with only four windows lit up.

Those were the live-stream rooms for the four of them.

Just as the countdown ended and the prompt signaling the start of the trial sounded, the live-stream rooms opened.

In [Nine Times a Night]'s live-stream room, a barrage of comments began to flood in:

[It's happening!]

[Let me see which poor newbie got the classic map this time.]

[Holy crap! Am I seeing this right? His charm stat is maxed out?]

[Damn! Impressive!]

[Maxed charm? Is he planning to use a honey trap on the female ghosts?]

[Keep it clean, folks.]

[Holy crap, holy crap, holy crap! Look at the targets he chose!]

[Five of them? All female ghosts!]

[Holy crap, holy crap, holy crap, holy crap, holy crap, holy crap.]

[I've seen people pick the wrong target before, but I've never seen someone pick every single wrong option!]

[Seriously, are streamers really risking their lives for clout now?]

[Fine, followed. I love watching people court death.]

[Looks like this is going to be a speedrun.]

[Nine Times a Night, right? I'll remember you. See you in the spectator stands.]

Players in the trial could not see the live-stream comments; they could only see the broadcast feed and real-time statistics.

Judging by those real-time stats, the moment Wen Nan selected all five targets, his stream's popularity skyrocketed from under 100 to over 30,000!

The stream's popularity updated every minute, converting into gold coins in real-time and depositing them into the player's account.

In those few short minutes, Wen Nan had already banked 20 gold coins.

His popularity continued to soar, meaning the rate of gold accumulation would only get faster.

At this rate, he would be able to afford the most expensive item in the novice trial area in less than an hour—

The [Safety Bubble], priced at 1,000 gold coins.

With that equipment, he might just be able to turn the tables.

"An expert, he really is an expert." Watching the popularity of Wen Nan's stream, the athlete couldn't help but sigh, "Could he be a veteran player on a smurf account, coming to the novice area to stomp noobs?"

But the chubby guy couldn't help but question, "But isn't this too risky? What if he gets killed before he earns enough for the 1,000-coin item..."

The bespectacled man was already convinced that Wen Nan was some hidden pro. He shook his head dismissively, "Don't question it, just learn!"

Wen Nan was still standing on the table. He couldn't hear what the three of them were whispering about, but seeing their gazes shift from disdain to admiration and worship, he felt a bit confused.

Could his maxed-out charm stat be effective on other players too?

[Beep!]

[New player quest received, please check!]

[Main Quest 1: Please attend the appointment.]

[Quest Description: Your target has sent you an invitation. Hurry up and go spend a pleasant evening with them!]

Four items simultaneously appeared in the hands of the four players—

The athlete held a basketball; his buddy had asked him to go shoot some hoops.

The bespectacled student held a bar of soap; his brother had asked him to go to the bathhouse.

The chubby student held a test paper marked with a score of nine; his homeroom teacher had asked him to come to the office.

As for Wen Nan, he held a pink envelope, inside of which was written in elegant handwriting: [Meet me by the small flower bed at the edge of the sports field at eight o'clock tonight].

Checking the time, it was currently seven-fifty-five.

Tucking the envelope away, Wen Nan rushed out of the dormitory.

A chilling night breeze hit him in the face, carrying a strange, bloody scent.

On the path from the dormitory to the sports field, he didn't see a single soul. The surroundings were deathly silent, and Wen Nan could clearly hear his own heartbeat.

The only streetlamp nearby was short-circuiting, buzzing as it flickered with an unstable light.

A figure with long, disheveled hair suddenly appeared beneath the lamp.

Wen Nan's footsteps faltered.

He squinted, but the figure vanished as quickly as it had appeared.

"Meow—"

A black cat darted out from the bushes and collided with his leg, forcing Wen Nan to stagger back two steps.

Regaining his footing, Wen Nan shook his head with a sense of helplessness.

A romance strategy game with such a gloomy aesthetic—it was like playing a horror game.

Could it be that they were trying to use the suspension bridge effect to create a more realistic romantic experience for the players?

If so, the game developers had certainly put a lot of thought into it.

With that thought in mind, Wen Nan quickened his pace and arrived at the edge of the sports field.

From a distance, he saw a girl sitting alone by the flower bed.

The girl was petite with chin-length hair, a small, upturned nose, and large, round eyes. Her thick lashes were lowered, casting two gray shadows onto her cheeks.

She had her thin legs curled up, clutching a backpack that looked a size larger than her own body, her fingers idly picking at the side zipper.

This had to be his pure and cute deskmate.

Wen Nan quickly reached his conclusion.

Sure enough, the system's voice rang out in his mind:

[Name: Liu Qi (Qiqi)]
[Identity: Pure and cute deskmate]
[Background: Qiqi is your deskmate and a neighbor you grew up with. You are familiar with each other and often walked to school together. It wasn't until the final sprint of senior year that you chose to live on campus to focus on your studies, and you gradually drifted apart. Tonight, Qiqi gathered her courage to send you an invitation.]
[Strategy Difficulty: ★★★☆]

Sensing someone approaching, Qiqi looked up. The moment she saw Wen Nan, her previously vacant eyes immediately ignited with light.

Her eyes curved into crescents, and she jumped up like a little rabbit, clutching her heavy backpack as she bounced over to Wen Nan.

"Brother! You came! I thought... I thought you wouldn't come."

Wen Nan smiled at her, "You asked me, how could I not come?"

Qiqi lowered her head, not answering.

She had sent quite a few letters out, sitting by this flower bed night after night, waiting, but she had never received a response. She had already given up hope, yet she hadn't expected that this time, she would actually wait for her brother to arrive.

"Have you been waiting long?" Wen Nan asked softly, seeing her silence.

Qiqi quickly composed herself, lifted her small face, and shook her head with a smile, "No, I haven't been waiting long at all."

As she spoke, she shouldered her backpack and walked toward the sports field, "Let's go."

Wen Nan reached out to take the strap of her bag, wanting to help her carry it, "What do you have in here? It's so heavy."

Qiqi dodged to the side, clutching the bag to her chest like a puppy guarding its food, not letting Wen Nan touch it, "It's not heavy! I can carry it myself."

Seeing this, Wen Nan let her be.

The two arrived at the bleachers by the sports field and sat side-by-side on the steps.

Qiqi opened her backpack, and when Wen Nan looked over, he realized it was stuffed full of bottled sparkling water.

They were all the same brand, but in different, colorful flavors.

Wen Nan couldn't help but mutter to himself, did she really like this brand of soda that much? Did she have to collect the whole set and carry it around with her?

Qiqi rummaged through her bag, her fingers hesitating between a green bottle and a yellow one.

She placed her small hand on the yellow bottle for a few seconds, then, as if thinking of something, she pursed her lips, blushed, and shook her head. Finally, she changed her mind and grabbed the green bottle, handing it to Wen Nan.

"Here, Brother, have a drink."

Wen Nan looked at the bright green beverage, feeling slightly hesitant.

Hmm... under normal circumstances, he wouldn't really want this color.

But meeting Qiqi's sparkling, expectant eyes, Wen Nan still reached out and took it.

Qiqi was happy; she lowered her head and let out a little giggle.

Just as Wen Nan was about to twist off the cap, his gaze caught a row of eye-catching ad copy on the packaging—

[When the moon is overhead, it's time to hold hands.]

Wen Nan's movements paused.

So, Qiqi had bought every single flavor just to collect the cheesy pickup lines on the packaging?

While Wen Nan was stunned, Qiqi looked up at the pitch-black night sky, looking a bit disappointed.

"Ah, there's no moon tonight."

As she spoke, she carefully scooted a little closer to Wen Nan, quietly moving her hand toward his.

Just as their hands were about to touch, Wen Nan raised his hand, twisted off the cap, and took a sip.

With her hand meeting only empty air, Qiqi stared blankly at Wen Nan and asked him in a small voice:

"Do you... like it?"

"What?"

"That."

Qiqi raised her hand and pointed at the soda bottle, though it was unclear if she meant the flavor or the ad copy.

Wen Nan glanced at the night sky, which had stars but no moon, and shook his head. "There's no moon, so it's not appropriate."

"Oh..."

Qiqi stopped trying to hold his hand. She pulled her hand back completely, wrapped her arms around her knees, and wished she could shrink into a tiny ball and hide underground.

Her little mouth pouted, and her eyes turned red.

Meanwhile, in Nine Times a Night's livestream, the chat was buzzing:

[Is this really a female ghost? She's so cute, how could she be a ghost?]

[Buddy, are you a first-round casualty? You don't even know such basic common sense? The more heart-fluttering a female ghost is, the more terrifying she is. For a three-and-a-half-star level, being this cute is perfectly normal.]

[Ah, I see. I didn't even pass the first map, and the highest level I've cleared is only one star. Compared to this, it's worlds apart.]

[Hold her hand.]

[Touch her.]

[Nine Times a Night, are you impotent?]

Just then, several red, highlighted comments floated by:

[Don't touch her! Don't touch her! Don't touch her!!!]

[Important things must be said three times!]

[My friend's novice trial was clearing Qiqi. He touched her, and now the grass on his grave is three meters high!]

[Really? What happens if you touch her?]

[You don't want to know.]

[This Nine Times a Night, he really doesn't seem like a newbie, does he?]

[To have such strong willpower and not go for the hand-holding—it seems he's done similar clears before.]

[Could he really be a veteran player here to crush the newbies?]

As the chat was discussing this, they saw Wen Nan lean over toward Qiqi, raising his arm in a gesture that looked almost like an embrace, draping it over her shoulder.

This sudden, intimate movement startled Qiqi. She instinctively straightened her back, her cheek accidentally brushing against the back of Wen Nan's hand.

Wen Nan froze slightly, clearly feeling the texture of her cheek—icy cold, delicate, smooth, and soft.

[?]

[???]

[He touched her!]

It was only a brief touch; Wen Nan quickly pulled his arm back, a bottle of yellow soda now in his hand.

Only then did Qiqi realize that Wen Nan hadn't been trying to hug her at all, but was simply reaching for the backpack she had placed beside her to get this bottle of water.

She turned her head, staring straight at Wen Nan.

Blue-purple veins gradually crawled across her once-fair skin, and in her large eyes, the pupils vanished, leaving only hollow, white sclera.

Two streams of thick, black blood trickled down from her eyes.

[It's over.]

[She's revealed her true form.]

Wen Nan stared fixedly at Qiqi's face, momentarily stunned.

9527: [Beep!]

9527: [Dearest Nine Times a Night, congratulations! Your account has exceeded 1,000 gold coins! If there is anything you would like to purchase, please let me know at any time.]

Before the voice had even faded, the system thoughtfully pulled up the shop interface, which clearly displayed one purchasable item:

[Safety Bubble: The player wearing this equipment can be immune to all attacks for 30 minutes. (Only applicable to targets of four stars and below)]

9527: [Would you like to use your gold coins now?]

Wen Nan: [Use them.]

9527: [Very well, purchasing the equipment for you now—]

Wen Nan: [—No, do not purchase the equipment.]

9527: [...]

Wen Nan: [Now, help me open a betting pool in the livestream room. Use all of my existing gold coins to place a bet.]

9527: [...Understood.]

The betting pool opened, and the odds instantly soared to 86.37.

Wen Nan looked back at the girl in front of him.

He raised his hand, his thumb gently wiping away the blood flowing from the corner of her eye, and said in a low voice, "It was just refusing to hold hands, why are you crying?"

As he spoke, he handed over the yellow soda bottle in his hand.

Printed on it was a line of tacky romantic prose in the same style—

[The starry sky is perfect for kissing].

"I don't think green suits me; I'm better suited for doing yellow things."

With those words, Wen Nan leaned in and kissed Qiqi's lips.