Hidden Item

Under the fatty's watchful gaze, Wen Nan turned and left the faculty office.

With some time left before the settlement, he decided to wander around the campus to see if he could find any hidden items.

The grounds were not large, and since it was the weekend, the place was empty, with no one to be seen anywhere.

Wen Nan strolled leisurely toward the flowerbed in front of the teaching building and began digging through it with his head down.

The flowerbed was filled with the musty smell of soil, the sour stench of trash, and the pungent odor of rotting animal carcasses; as the sultry summer evening breeze blew, it rushed straight into his nostrils.

Fortunately, a mere bit of stench couldn't faze Wen Nan. Back in the hospital, he had experienced smells a hundred times worse and had endured them with ease.

However, after rummaging through the whole thing, he didn't find a single item.

This wasn't scientific.

Even for a trial map, based on Wen Nan's experience, a nook or cranny like this should have held a surprise.

Could it be that this game focused entirely on romance strategies and didn't include hidden items within the map?

That didn't make sense either.

When he first entered the spawn point, the system had stated that exploring the map could grant additional experience and attribute point rewards, which meant the game should have sections designed for free exploration.

Was his method of exploration wrong?

After a moment of thought, Wen Nan walked over to a trash can and peered inside.

The smell inside the trash can was a hundred times more pungent than the flowerbed; this time, even Wen Nan had to pinch his nose to endure it.

Looking inside, there was nothing but empty beverage bottles, blood-stained tissues, withered leaves and branches, rotting animal flesh and fur, and brownish excrement...

Without much hesitation, Wen Nan reached straight in and started digging and digging through the trash.

[?]

[???]

[Who am I, and where am I?]

[Why am I watching a streamer dig through trash in a horror escape game?]

[I can smell it through the screen...]

[What is he doing? Stop him, quick!]

[Wait, didn't you guys explore the map when you ran dungeons before? The streamer is clearly looking for hidden items, right?]

[This is a trial map. Everyone who enters is a newbie. It's a miracle if they don't get scared to death by the female ghost on their first try; who has the mood to explore the map?]

[Exactly.]

[By the way, has anyone actually found a hidden item in this map?]

[Hard to say.]

"Got it."

Wen Nan felt a surge of joy as he finally unearthed an object with a peculiar texture from the trash can.

He pulled it out and saw it was a crushed Empty Cola Can.

9527: [Congratulations to the contestant! You have discovered a hidden item in this map: Empty Cola Can.]

Wen Nan: ...

The name of this item was truly simple, crude, and unadorned.

Wen Nan: [What is the use of this item?]

9527: [Empty Cola Can: Can be deposited into the Trash Transfer Station within the system to receive a reward of 1 gold coin.]

Wen Nan: ?

This action... why did it feel so familiar?

Just as he was thinking this, he looked up and saw an old man standing before him.

The old man was hunched over, his hands covered in filth, carrying a woven plastic bag. When he looked at the Empty Cola Can in Wen Nan's hand, his expression was complex.

Wen Nan: ...

Did he run into a colleague?

He glanced down at the crushed Empty Cola Can in his hand, then finally raised his hand and handed it to the old man who collected trash.

The old man hesitated for a moment. "You don't need it?"

Wen Nan shrugged. "It's fine, I'm doing alright for myself."

The old man stared silently at Wen Nan for a while.

He had actually been observing this young man for quite a while; the other party had been rummaging around his area for some time, and it was clear that he was in desperate need of money.

Was he saying that now just to spare him the psychological burden?

Thinking of this, the old man stuffed an Empty Cola Can into his snake-skin bag and sighed, "There aren't many young people like you left who respect the old and cherish the young. Good lad, if you still want to scavenge, go take a look up there. I usually don't go to that area."

As the old man spoke, he raised his hand and pointed toward the teaching building.

Wen Nan followed the direction of the old man's finger and saw that it was the public restroom by the stairwell.

Is this an NPC giving out information?

Wen Nan nodded, thanked the old man, and turned to head toward the teaching building.

The public restroom was no different from most others; the outermost area had a row of sinks, followed by a row of urinals, and then a row of toilet stalls.

However, just like the flower beds and trash cans, the smell here was exceptionally strong.

Dark red bloodstains covered the floor; walking in felt like stumbling into a crime scene.

Enduring the foul stench, Wen Nan searched every stall and checked the urinals, but found no traces of any hidden items.

Finally, in the corner by the sinks, he saw an arrow drawn in red blood.

The tail of the arrow curved one hundred and eighty degrees, and at the end, it was written—the other side.

The other side... wouldn't that be the women's restroom?

Fine, as expected, useful plot points and items only favor the women's restroom and never appear in the men's.

Fortunately, there was no one around; aside from the sound of whipping and the Fatty's wailing coming from the nearby office, the surroundings were deathly silent.

Wen Nan looked around the women's restroom to ensure no one was approaching, then stepped inside.

The style of the women's restroom was much the same as the men's, except for the lack of urinals and... the presence of some strange sounds.

Wen Nan stood at the entrance and listened carefully for a moment; it sounded like a faint "drip, drip" of water, along with the vague, weak sobbing of a girl.

Could there be a Moaning Myrtle here?

As soon as the thought popped up, Wen Nan quickly dismissed it—definitely not. Not to mention how jarring such a character would be in a dating game, even if a player had such a peculiar hobby, it probably wouldn't be copyrighted.

Wen Nan walked to the very back and checked each stall one by one, but found nothing unusual.

Feeling a bit discouraged, he walked over to the sinks.

Through the shattered mirror, Wen Nan saw—

Behind him, a female ghost with disheveled long hair had suddenly appeared.

The ghost had no pupils, only wide, white, staring eyes, and thick, black blood flowed from her seven orifices. She leaned over Wen Nan's shoulder and flashed a hideous grin at him.

[Holy crap]

[Green protects us]

[Mommy, no wonder the Fatty was so terrified after going to the bathroom earlier]

[If it were me, I'd hide in the office and never come out again]

[Is the streamer too calm? He's not even running?]

Wen Nan stared straight at the female ghost behind him through the mirror for a moment, then began to laugh.

It had been a long time since a "little sister" like this had appeared in his mind.

Come to think of it, he actually felt a bit nostalgic.

Crack!

Wen Nan raised his arm and smashed his fist into the mirror.

The glass shattered into a pile on the floor.

On the wall behind the mirror, a pitch-black treasure chest emerged.

Got it! A hidden item!

Last time he opened a pitch-black treasure chest, Wen Nan successfully obtained an Archmage Staff Fragment. What kind of treasure would he get this time?