Nightmare Mission

Night fell.

Zhang Ze had planned to move the Murderous Painting to his hotel for the time being.

Little Zhou flatly refused.

He even had a huge fight with Mrs. Zhou.

No amount of coaxing worked. Even threats failed. Mrs. Zhou went so far as to punish Little Zhou by making him copy Three Hundred Tang Poems a hundred times, but that did absolutely nothing.

Little Zhou refused to let his "sister" leave him, no matter what anyone said.

Zhang Ze was stuck. He couldn't take the Murderous Painting outright, and he couldn't move it to the hotel temporarily. Did that mean leaving it in Mrs. Zhou's home?

He could only console himself: since the painting hadn't caused any trouble yet, perhaps it was best not to move it without good reason.

But staying at Mrs. Zhou's home wasn't an option either.

Her husband had just died, and she was still keeping vigil over him. It wouldn't be appropriate for Zhang Ze to spend the night there.

So he stayed at a hotel for the time being.

At 2:04 a.m., Zhang Ze came across Chen Ge's livestream on his phone.

The stream's title read:

<Are Ghosts Real? I'll Unravel the Mystery with a Mediumship Game in the Bathroom!>

Zhang Ze thought he'd read it wrong.

Chen Ge wasn't supposed to start livestreaming until the Third Ward. Right now, he should only be recording videos. There was no way he'd jump straight into livestreaming.

Move too fast and you could hurt yourself.

Unless...

Zhang Ze thought of a reasonable explanation.

Chen Ge must have heard from Uncle Xu that Zhang Ze had bought the Bumper Car Venue and planned to turn it into a Haunted House. Feeling threatened, he'd picked up the pace and started livestreaming early.

On the stream, Zhang Ze clearly saw the mirror in front of Chen Ge change. Chen Ge's reflection took on a vicious expression and slammed into the glass!

But a small doll on the sink held back whatever was inside the mirror. Countless cracks spread across the glass, yet the thing still couldn't break through.

A few minutes passed.

The thing in the mirror gave up.

Chen Ge slowly opened his eyes and stared at the scene before him in shock.

Comments streamed across the screen:

"Holy shit! That scared me! Streamer, you owe me!"

"Damn, Hollywood's here. AI effects are this good now? Wish I'd known before using them to make memes!"

"Streamer, that acting was incredible. Ever thought about trying your luck in Hengdian? I know a gig—low risk, high reward..."

On the livestream, Chen Ge tidied up, then looked at his phone. Seeing the viewer count soaring, he said:

"Hello, everyone. I'm Chen Ge, owner of the Haunted House."

"Follow the Haunted House's official account, meow! We're at the New Century Amusement Park Haunted House in the East Outskirts of Hanjiang City!"

He had to admit, that was a smart move.

Chen Ge had promptly explained that he ran a Haunted House.

Otherwise, the platform moderators would have sniffed out the stream and banned his account.

Zhang Ze was speechless. He closed the stream.

Chen Ge was moving fast. Next, he should go to Peaceful Apartment, have a chat with the murderer Wang Qi, get the supernatural item—Wang Qi's missing-person notice—and add Peaceful Apartment to his Haunted House.

As for Zhang Ze...

He glanced at the system prompt.

[Murderous Painting, Scream Index: 2 stars]

A two-star scenario, and a Red-Clothed Vengeful Ghost at that. Even a god wouldn't stand a chance.

"Wait."

"I think I know what to do."

It suddenly clicked for Zhang Ze.

Why had Chen Ge seen a ghost on his stream?

Because of a Nightmare Mission from the Black Phone, of course!

The rewards Chen Ge received for Nightmare Missions were always extraordinary. If Zhang Ze completed one of his system's Nightmare Missions, wouldn't he gain some way to protect himself too?

With that thought, Zhang Ze immediately accepted a Nightmare Mission.

[③ (Nightmare): You clearly already know whether ghosts exist. Now you need to help others understand the answer.]

[When you are alone in a room, do you ever suddenly feel an unfamiliar gaze on you? Or perhaps you are not the only one in the room? You cannot see him, but he can see you. Would you like to meet him?]

[Next, you must play a Mediumship Game called Do Not Knock. At 4:04 a.m., start a livestream and turn off every light in the room. Face any wall and silently count. When you reach ten, if you hear any sound you did not make, the game is a success. Otherwise, it is a failure.]

It looked like an ordinary Mediumship Game.

It was even fairly obscure, nothing like famous old games such as Bloody Mary, Pen Fairy, or the Four Corners Game.

Yet Zhang Ze's brow knotted.

Without the doll protecting him, Chen Ge probably would have been done for.

Zhang Ze had no way to fight a Fierce Ghost. If he played a Mediumship Game without preparation and died, who could he complain to?

But if he didn't complete this mission, he still couldn't deal with the Murderous Painting. Either way, he was trapped—a vicious bug with no way out.

After a moment's silence, Zhang Ze took out his phone and called Chen Ge.

"Hello? Who's this? You can book Haunted House tickets on the group-buying app, the shopping app, or in person."

Chen Ge's voice came through the phone.

"It's Zhang Ze. I'm about to play a Mediumship Game, and it's extremely dangerous. If I die, take the venue I just rented and use it to expand your Haunted House. I hope your business keeps growing and that you find your parents soon."

Chen Ge froze on the other end of the line.

He had just finished a Nightmare Mission and was about to claim his reward.

Then this call came in.

He'd thought it was a visitor hoping to book tickets early.

He hadn't expected Zhang Ze.

An emotion Chen Ge couldn't quite name welled up inside him. He's being so generous? He spent tens of thousands renting that venue, and now he's just giving it to me?

And I treated him like a competitor...

Zhang Ze hung up without waiting for Chen Ge to answer.

At least he'd let Chen Ge know.

Knowing Boss Chen... he wouldn't just leave Zhang Ze to die, would he?

Zhang Ze wasn't sure.

As the mission's required time drew closer, Zhang Ze prepared to start his livestream. Taking a lesson from Chen Ge, he gave it an even more sensational title:

<It's 2026—You Haven't Seen a Ghost Yet? Watch Me Meet One Face-to-Face!>

The moment the livestream began, its viewer count shot from a handful to dozens, then hundreds.

Comments flew across the screen like snowflakes:

"Ha! I told you the supernatural was making a comeback. First that Haunted House owner put on a pretty convincing show, and now here's another one."

"Streamer, why are you in a hotel? Are you hooking up with a ghost girl? Show me Nie Xiaoqian and I'll send you a rocket!"

"Don't be scared, kids. I'm a detective with Ghost Eye. Heard there's a Fierce Ghost here? Watch me take it down right now!"

Clearly, he was riding the wave of traffic from Chen Ge's stream. After being frightened, many viewers had searched for similar livestreams out of curiosity.

Zhang Ze had happened to go live at just the right time.

A flood of viewers poured in.

Zhang Ze set his phone on the bedside table.

It was time for the game.