Hidden Items

As the fat man watched, Wen Nan turned and left the teachers' office.

There was still some time before the results were tallied, so he decided to wander around On Campus and see if he could find any hidden items.

The grounds weren't large. It was the weekend, and the place was deserted. He couldn't see anyone anywhere.

Wen Nan strolled over to the flower bed in front of the classroom building and started rummaging through it.

The flower bed reeked of musty soil, sour garbage, and the rank stench of decaying animal carcasses. A hot, humid summer breeze blew the smell straight up his nose.

Fortunately, the stench was nothing to Wen Nan. Back in the hospital, he'd encountered smells a hundred times worse—and had practically enjoyed them.

But after rummaging for a while, he hadn't found a single item.

That made no sense.

Even on a Trial Map, Wen Nan's experience told him that a tucked-away corner like this should hold a pleasant surprise.

Could this game be entirely focused on romance routes, with no hidden items on the map?

That didn't make sense either.

When he'd first arrived at the spawn point, the system had said that exploring the map could earn additional upgrades and attribute points. In other words, the game should have areas meant for free exploration.

Was he exploring the wrong way?

After pondering for a moment, Wen Nan went over to the trash can and leaned in to look.

The trash can smelled a hundred times worse than the flower bed. This time, even Wen Nan had to pinch his nose to endure it.

At a glance, it held nothing but empty drink bottles, bloodstained tissues, withered leaves and branches, rotting animal flesh and fur, and brownish-yellow droppings...

Without much hesitation, Wen Nan reached in and began digging through the garbage.

[?]

[???]

[Who am I? Where am I?]

[Why am I watching a streamer dig through garbage in a horror survival game?]

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

[What are you doing? Stop already!]

[Wait, don't you guys explore the map when you do a dungeon? The streamer's obviously looking for hidden items, right?]

[It's a Trial Map. Everyone who goes in is a newbie. It's their first time. They're lucky if they don't get scared to death by the female ghost. Who has the energy to explore the map?]

[Exactly.]

[By the way, has anyone actually found hidden items on this map?]

[Hard to say.]

...
...

"Got one."

Wen Nan's heart leaped. At last, he'd found something with an unusual texture in the trash can.

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

9527: [Congratulations, contestant! You've discovered a hidden item on this map: Empty Cola Can.]

Wen Nan: ...

That item's name was so blunt, so plain and unadorned.

Wen Nan: [What does this item do?]

9527: [Empty Cola Can: Can be deposited at the system's Trash Transfer Station for a reward of 1 gold coin.]

Wen Nan: ?

Why did this feel so familiar...?

As he was thinking about it, Wen Nan looked up and saw an old man standing in front of him.

The old man was hunched over, his hands filthy, a woven sack slung over his shoulder. He looked at the Empty Cola Can in Wen Nan's hand with a complicated expression.

Wen Nan: ...

Had he run into a fellow scavenger?

Wen Nan looked down at the crushed Empty Cola Can in his hand. In the end, he held it out to the old man who was collecting trash.

The old man hesitated. "You don't want it?"

Wen Nan shrugged. "It's fine. I've got enough to get by."

The old man silently met Wen Nan's gaze for a moment.

He'd actually been watching the young man for quite a while. The other had rummaged around this area for some time and clearly looked short on money.

He was only saying that so the old man wouldn't feel indebted, right?

Thinking this, the old man tucked the Empty Cola Can into his sack and said with a sigh, "There aren't many young people as considerate of their elders as you these days. You're a good kid. If you still want to scavenge, go have a look up there. I usually don't go to that area."

As he spoke, the old man pointed toward the classroom building.

Wen Nan followed the direction of his finger and saw the public restroom beside the stairs.

Was this an NPC giving him a clue?

Wen Nan nodded and thanked the old man before turning toward the classroom building.

The public restroom was much like any other. There was a row of sinks at the front, a row of urinals beside them, and a row of toilet stalls farther along.

But, like the flower bed and the trash can, this restroom smelled particularly awful.

Dark red bloodstains covered the floor. Walking in, he felt as if he'd stumbled onto a crime scene.

Braving the stench, Wen Nan checked every stall, then looked over the urinals as well. He found no sign of any hidden items.

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

The arrow's tail curved around in a full circle, and at the end, someone had written: "The other side."

The other side... That meant the women's restroom, didn't it?

Well, of course. The useful plot and items always seemed to favor the women's restroom, never the men's.

Fortunately, there was no one around. Apart from the sounds of whipping and the fat man's wails coming from the nearby office, all was quiet.

Wen Nan looked around the women's restroom and, after making sure no one was nearby, stepped inside.

The women's restroom was much the same as the men's, except it had no urinals and... there were some strange noises.

Wen Nan stood by the entrance and listened carefully for a moment. He could hear what seemed to be a very faint drip, drip, along with the distant sound of a girl quietly crying.

Could Moaning Myrtle be crying in here?

The thought had barely occurred to him before Wen Nan dismissed it. Definitely not. Aside from how out of place a character like that would be in a dating game, even if a player really did have that sort of niche preference, the game probably wouldn't have the rights.

Wen Nan went to the far end and checked each stall in turn. He found nothing unusual.

A little dispirited, he walked over to the sinks.

Through the shattered mirror, Wen Nan saw—

A long-haired female ghost had suddenly appeared behind him.

She had no pupils, only huge white eyes. Her seven orifices streamed thick, black blood. Perched on Wen Nan's shoulder, she bared a grotesque grin at him.

[Holy shit!]

[Green is protecting us.]

[Good grief, no wonder the fat guy was so scared after going to the bathroom earlier.]

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

[The streamer's way too calm, isn't he? He's not even running?]

...
...

Wen Nan looked straight at the female ghost behind him through the mirror for a moment, then started to smile.

It had been a long time since he'd seen a "little sister" with a look like that.

Now that he thought about it, he even felt a little nostalgic.

Smack!

Wen Nan raised his arm and punched the mirror.

The glass shattered with a clatter and scattered across the floor.

A pitch-black chest appeared on the wall behind the mirror.

There it was! A hidden item!

The last time he'd opened a pitch-black chest, Wen Nan had obtained an Archmage Staff Fragment. What kind of treasure would he get this time?