"Kid! Hold up! I was testing you!"
Seeing the boy about to leave, Kane quickly chased after him and called out.
"Testing? So... you *will* take me as your disciple?" The boy looked shocked, the sudden reversal too good to be true.
"I knew you were coming from the start. Asking for money was to test your resolve. Teaching you principles was to gauge your understanding. Telling you to leave was to see if fate would truly bind us! Yet... you chose to depart!"
Kane adopted an expression of profound heartache, as if mourning the loss of a promising seedling.
"But I treasure talent (and treasure) above life itself! Therefore, I grant you one final chance. The malevolent spirits within this room... I captured them specifically to test your innate gift. Destroy them all now. Succeed, and you become my disciple. Fail, and our bond ends."
Kane clasped his hands behind his back, projecting an air of inscrutable mastery, though sweat was already beading on his forehead. He silently prayed the kid wouldn't refuse, or he'd have to get on his knees and beg.
"Really?! Okay! I'll do it!"
Fortunately, the boy was thoroughly bamboozled. Without hesitation, he ran back into the room. Raising his hand, a surge of Spirit Power/Aura erupted, flashing like lightning and briefly illuminating the entire space. Even useless Kane saw them now.
There were seven or eight. Some retained vaguely human shapes, others were utterly distorted and mutated, crawling on walls or hanging upside-down from the ceiling. Pairs of blood-red eyes fixed on Kane, their predatory, eerie stares sending chills down his spine.
*"How the hell did I survive the first month?!"*
Kane clamped his legs together, nearly pissing himself. But the boy was already done. He'd obliterated every spirit in a blink. He walked back towards Kane, his face a picture of eager anticipation.
Kane wiped the sweat from his brow, forcing back the threatening leakage. He affected an air of serene detachment, giving the boy an approving head-pat and a satisfied smile.
The boy left his contact information. Kane sent him off soon after – he was a student, after all, and couldn't wander too late. But Kane laid down the rules: The Master's precious life comes first, so Leo must be available at all times. And that five-dollar weekly allowance? Consider it tuition. Yep, Kane was that shameless.
"Whew, that mysterious app should be active now. Tough going."
Thinking of his ordeal, Kane shook his head sadly. He sat at his desk. The information on his computer had indeed changed!
**[Congratulations, User! First squad member recruited. APP activated.]**
**[Lucky Draw function unlocked. Missions function unlocked. Squad Member List unlocked.]**
**[Squad Members]**
**[Kane]**
Gender: Male
Age: 22
Talent: Unlucky
Spirit Power/Aura: Lv0
Spirit Skill: Salt Sprinkling
Evaluation: Utterly useless. Stats abysmal. Only capable of 'exorcising' ghosts via Salt Sprinkling massages and smooth-talking. Salt Sprinkling is exceptionally rated as a Spirit Skill purely to console the user, as it has a minuscule effect.
"Shut the hell up..."
Kane looked at his own information, his face flushing. Thank goodness no one else saw it; he'd die of embarrassment.
**[Leo]**
Gender: Male
Age: 14
Talent: ??
Spirit Power/Aura: ??
Spirit Skill: ??
Evaluation: Formidable talent. Pity he met the wrong master.
It was only seeing the name 'Leo' that Kane remembered he hadn't even asked the boy's name before getting free labor – no, *profiting* five dollars off him.
"If this doesn't work out, I'm switching to multi-level marketing."
Kane mocked himself as he opened the Lucky Draw feature of the mysterious app. The interface was simple: a multicolored wheel and a pointer. Below it, 'Draw Attempts: 2'. One was the reward for recruiting Leo, the other for activating the app.
"Draw! Draw the d*mn thing! My luck can't get any worse. Anything I get is profit!"
Kane clenched his buttocks, gritted his teeth, and clicked 'Draw'. The wheel spun rapidly, Kane's heartbeat keeping pace.
"Anything! Something for survival, best. Or something I can sell!"
The wheel slowed... and stopped on a blue section.
**[Basic Sensitivity]**
Type: Talent
Effect: Grants preliminary perception and minor influence over spiritual entities. Due to being basic, effects are extremely limited.
Upgrade: 0%
Evaluation: Now you can sense them. But you also became tastier.
Seeing the result, Kane stared for a second... then erupted.
"What the hell is this?! 'Tastier'?! So I'm friggin' bait now?! What good is sensing them if it just makes me a bigger target?!"
Kane fought the urge to smash the laptop, taking deep breaths to calm down.
"Ugh... whatever. I was already unlucky with ghosts crawling all over me. Being a bit tastier probably doesn't change much. What's a few more lice? If I get eaten someday, maybe I'll get a 'delicious' review. Not bad!"
Kane forced himself to find the silver lining. Simultaneously, he felt a change. His body temperature seemed to drop slightly. A previously unknown region in his mind opened. And he sensed something else – a spirit residing *inside* him! It didn't feel malicious, just incredibly weak and battered, as if covered in wounds.
"Were you... protecting me?"
Kane thought of the ferocious ghosts he'd just seen and suddenly understood how he'd survived the first month. Leo's arrival had been timely. Another two days, and this pitiful spirit might have dissipated, taking Kane down with it.
The spirit seemed to have fallen into a deep slumber, unaware of the outside world. Kane had to let it rest for now. He started his second draw. The wheel spun... slowed... and landed on the smallest section, colored red!
**[Snowbloom]**
Type: Nether Plant
Growth Progress: 10%
Effect: Hosts the soul of Eve.
Ghost Verse:
*Snowbloom sweet, flesh-flower neat,*
*Limbs and bones beneath your feet.*
*Save her? Slay her? Choose your way,*
*But don't you dare take her home to stay.*
Evaluation: Sink into its beauty. Ignore what lies buried below.
The moment the item info appeared, Kane felt something was wrong. His desk gave a violent shudder. Then, his new Basic Sensitivity kicked in. A wave of chilling Yin energy emanated from the large bottom drawer. Kane gulped. Standing far back, he used a broom handle to nudge the drawer open. Inside sat an earthenware flowerpot filled with soil. At its center grew a grotesque sprout.
The sprout didn't look like a plant. It resembled a severed finger bone, its tip covered in hair-like fuzz. It was deeply unsettling.
"What kind of underworld crap is this?"
After waiting cautiously with no reaction, Kane gathered his courage and placed the pot on his desk, examining it closely. He noticed dried bloodstains on the pot's rim, suggesting this flower wasn't watered with H₂O.
Simultaneously, the APP's mission panel lit up with new notifications. Kane tore his eyes from the Snowbloom and opened 'Missions'.
**[User has activated the Missions function for the first time. Difficulty reduced for the first three Nightmare Missions. User, cherish this opportunity.]**
**[Congratulations, User, on obtaining a special item. Related mission unlocked. Completing the mission will yield special rewards.]**
**[Milestone Mission: The Office left by your parents is crucial. Manage the Office and recruit a third member, raising Office Popularity to 30/1000.]**
Reward: Cash 100,000, Random Talent, Random Special Item.
Hint: Updates upon completion. High safety, rich rewards. Records the User's growth.
**[Ordinary Mission: Leo is a shy boy, poor at socializing. Help your first squad member make his first friend.]**
Reward: Cash 5, Leo's Favorability ↑, Random Spirit Skill.
Hint: Ordinary Missions refresh weekly. Failure if not completed. Chance to reappear later.
**[Nightmare Mission: Love is the cruelest demon in the world.]**
Reward: Cash 10,000, Random Talent, Random Spirit Skill, Office Popularity +500.
Hint: Nightmare Missions refresh daily. Failure results from rejection, non-completion, or death. Same mission won't reappear. Difficulty reduced for first three attempts. Abandoning consumes an attempt. WARNING! Most Nightmare Missions are extremely dangerous. User, choose carefully.
**[Special Mission: Snowbloom. Uncover the truth hidden within Creekview Apartments. Resolve Eve's lingering obsession.]**
Reward: Cash 5,000, Eve's Fragmented Soul, Snowbloom Matures.
Hint: Special Missions have no time limit. Disappear upon completion. Will not refresh.
"All this at once?"
Kane carefully read every mission's details and rewards, his mind seesawing.
His cowardly personality screamed *ABORT!* But his empty wallet and the depleted instant noodle box urged him towards certain doom. Finally, Kane made his decision!
"Hmph! The bold eat well, the timid starve! Who's afraid of who! The Nightmare Mission is weakened anyway! Free stuff!"
Kane pumped himself up and accepted the Nightmare Mission. The Milestone Mission couldn't be rushed, the Ordinary Mission's reward was peanuts – only the Nightmare and Special Missions fit the bill.
**[Nightmare Mission: Flesh Pot Nightmare accepted. Reach Creekview Apartments within 48 hours. Investigate the truth behind Eve's disappearance.]**
**[WARNING: Different choices will lead to entirely different outcomes. Choose each step carefully.]**