Mu Anqi doubted her own ears, a look of utter disbelief crossing her face. She met those eyes, only to find that Ghost General's gaze wasn't as sharp as it had been back in Circus. In fact, she even detected a hint of…admiration?
"But I... am a living person." Mu Anqi was hesitant to refuse directly, but no matter how beautiful or powerful the female ghost was, she didn't want to become a ghost. Struggling with her decision, she forced a smile. "I don't really want to die again."
Ghost General paused for a moment. "Second game?" She first met Mu Anqi when she went to Circus to watch a performance. That's when she noticed this " Money Tree " player and couldn't help but take a closer look. The time flow in Nirvana Space and Shattered Mirror Continent was different, and after relaxing, she was busy sending people to clear out the Black Mirror Vortexes appearing in various locations. Time had passed, and she didn't know how many times Mu Anqi had played the game. But… judging from his cluelessness, it was clear he hadn't completed the third game. So, not much time had passed.
"…Ah, yes." Mu Anqi realized the sudden awkwardness. She scratched her head, recalling the information Greed had demanded outrageously. Clearly, she knew nothing about the Shattered Mirror Continent and Nirvana Space, Ghosts and players… including the relationships between these individual games. "Players and Ghosts …can they be on the same side?"
"To pledge allegiance, to cooperate," Ghost General said calmly. "You players have mentioned Ghost bosses in various places. Players have all sorts of special abilities, and bosses will naturally recruit them if needed. You can look into it after this game."
Mu Anqi never expected such a thing to happen. But subconsciously, she didn't ask about the reasons or connections, but instead asked, "...So, are you good at it?"
" Opening Origin, Level 4"
Mu Anqi "…"
It sounds impressive but I don't understand it.
Ghost General didn't give Mu Anqi much information directly, nor did he explain the level of Opening Origin 4 in Shattered Mirror Continent, and he didn't even mention the ranking system. Clearly, he wanted Mu Anqi to return to Nirvana Paradise and find the answers himself.
As for the recruitment... Mu Anqi agreed wholeheartedly.
However, this wasn't a direct recruitment. After Mu Anqi agreed, Ghost General gave Mu Anqi a token.
"Take this, and use it when you enter the trial dungeon next time you play the game."
"There are more trials?" Mu Anqi took the token. It was a piece of black metal, cold to the touch, and its material was unclear. The token only had incomprehensible patterns and no writing.
In the short time it took to receive the token, when he looked up again, the female Ghost General had vanished. Mu Anqi stood there, frozen, clutching the token and shivering involuntarily.
Mu Anqi didn't even know how she got back to her room. She sat on the bed for a long while before belatedly realizing how dangerous her situation had been, and how incredibly lucky she had been to receive that token. Was it lucky?
Mu Anqi didn't know. But then she thought, since she was still in the game " Seven Nights Hotel," which wasn't Ghost General's territory, this general probably... wouldn't be able to just randomly slaughter players, right?
Of course, these are all just speculations.
"It seems... my ability is quite rare," Mu Anqi concluded.
Otherwise, the female Ghost General wouldn't have sent her an invitation during her first game. That invitation... might have been triggered after she reached a certain number of game attempts and gained a certain understanding of the Shattered Mirror Continent, leading her directly into the Ghost General's instance. And that... should have been the moment the Ghost General intended to recruit her. However, this time, she and the Ghost General "luckily" met again.
Mu Anqi put himself in the player's shoes. If he were the boss, facing a player who could magically generate money every time they played a game and then distribute it as a bonus, then looking at that player... would probably be like looking at a "treasure trove," a " money tree," or an "automatic ATM." Recruiting that kind of player would likely be quite valuable.
Thinking about it this way, the reason she was valued and recruited ahead of schedule becomes quite simple. It's because her ability isn't just for show; it's an extremely effective form of "single-person control"! As long as she speaks fast enough and thinks quickly enough, she can even transition from single-person control to "group control"!
With this in mind, it's easy to understand Ghost General's change of attitude.
When Ghost General first saw her in the game, he treated her like a cannon fodder bug and didn't even bother to look at her.
Her abilities were revealed midway through the game, and she upgraded from a tiny bug to a Money Tree.
This time, the boss discovered her potential and realized that she was not just a money tree that could only generate money and be used for decoration, so he directly offered to recruit her!
Opening Origin, fourth class... Mu Anqi pondered the term several times, feeling a strange familiarity with the name of this class. Opening Origin... Temple?
e
This game has a Circus and a hotel; it doesn't seem like an ancient world at all. So why is there a Ghost General? This continent... could each region have its own unique system? Wait, the initial introduction... mentioned demons and ghosts. But in both games, she's only encountered ghosts; she hasn't encountered any demons or anything like that.
The instance map is really big.
"Hey bastard, can you talk? If you can, name your price, anything under a hundred. Consider telling me some basic facts about this Shattered Mirror Continent?" Mu Anqi, lying in bed, heard someone crawling under the bed and couldn't help but ask.
A dark figure?
The room fell silent.
Mu Anqi sighed, unable to describe her feelings, turned over, and fell into a deep sleep.
...
Unlike Mu Anqi, who suddenly discovered a hidden scenario, the other players were still diligently following the main storyline.
After completing the game, Chu Zhongfei became obsessed with the movies here, binge-watching all sorts of sci-fi blockbusters every day. According to him, his previous life was a complete waste; all those movies he watched were garbage! Look at the special effects of this escape game, look at the actors' performances and the production quality!
What do you call a big-budget production?! (Leans back tactically)
Although Mu Anqi had doubts about the "big production" when he heard these things, whether it was a true account... is not necessarily true.
Now, Chu Zhongfei spends all his time after meals in his private movie theater, watching movies non-stop. He carefully calculates his remaining time and the blockbusters he hasn't seen yet, and doesn't want to spend too much time eating. If the theater didn't close at night, Chu Zhongfei would practically sleep there.
According to him, once this game is over, who knows where the next one will be?
Compared to Chu Zhongfei, a sci-fi enthusiast, Wu Sansheng appeared much calmer. She explored all the hotel facilities beforehand. Finally, she went to the cinema to watch a movie. However, she didn't watch any sci-fi films, but rather various documentaries.
"In the documentary, I saw the life of a serial killer," Wu Sansheng said.
She suspects that some of these documentaries may have been filmed on the Shattered Mirror Continent. She also suspects that some of the protagonists in these films are the reincarnations of ghosts who died on this continent.
She watched the films intently, and by the end of the day, her notebook was filled with notes. She had practically extracted the essence and outline of each movie. If she were to encounter a specific Ghost- related instance in the future, this would be like having the answer in advance.
"However, it's generally unlikely to happen." Wu Sansheng was self-aware and understood the nature of the escape game. Such an unfair situation should be very difficult to occur. "But there's still a lot of room for learning."
After Zhao Guogu, relying on his powerful innate ability to navigate the illusion of the night of jealousy, passed through the illusion, except for Chu Zhongfei who only watched science fiction films, Zhao Guogu, Wu Sansheng, and Mu Anqi watched the documentary together attentively. After the film ended, Mu Anqi carefully studied Wu Sansheng's viewing notes and made a copy for his own safekeeping.
Mu Anqi had no idea what the Ghost General's assessment instance was all about, nor did she know how it differed from the game the players were currently playing, or how difficult it was. But Mu Anqi was acutely aware that her survival was almost entirely due to her supernatural abilities. The courses she had taken using points in her spatial dimension… their effects were completely negligible in this game.
Now I finally have a top student teammate, and she's also incredibly friendly. It wouldn't hurt to learn from Wu Sansheng's way of thinking. What if I encounter a game next time that requires solving puzzles to complete it? As for Zhao Guogu … he's certainly a great teammate, but his incredible luck is something I can't learn from.
On the morning of the seventh day, Mu Anqi and the others gathered in the corridor, preparing to leave the hotel together. They waited until 7:30 before the door to room A401 was slowly opened. Shen Bufan was dressed neatly and in perfect condition, but his face was deathly pale, and his right arm was empty…
On the seventh night, he seemed to have suffered considerable injuries. But he survived, and by the time he returned to Nirvana Space, these injuries would be healed.
Mu Anqi hesitated whether to go over and inquire, but Shen Bufan didn't bother with pleasantries. After opening the door, he quickly turned and went downstairs, sparing them any embarrassment.
After that, the seven nights passed peacefully. Mu Anqi and the others added each other as friends and then left the hotel.
[Completed the game Seven Nights Hotel. Rating in progress—]
[Rank B (Gained special item, overall rating increased)]
[Passive triggered! Gain 600 completion points]
[Drawing rewards for official players who have completed the game—]
[Ding! Congratulations, player, you have obtained an exquisite doll!]
[47:59:59 until the next game starts]
The game ended, and Mu Anqi returned to his humble room in Nirvana Space.
After the second game, the break time was extended to two days... That's good, at least it won't be so rushed. And becoming a full player also grants an additional reward for drawing items.
Exquisitely crafted dolls are very popular with children.
The doll was indeed exquisite and adorable; the fabric of its little dress was more than twice as good as her tracksuit. However… Mu Anqi examined the doll from all angles and realized it seemed to be just an ordinary doll. It wasn't a prop, and it didn't have any special effects. Ah, right, the system did say it was an item draw.
"..." Mu Anqi put the doll into her backpack with a bit of helplessness. She couldn't help but wonder, would someone as lucky as Zhao Guogu... get a prop every time the game ends?!
After resting again, Mu Anqi glanced at the three new friends in his friend list but didn't immediately chat with them. There wasn't much to talk about; none of them knew much about Nirvana Space. Now that the game was finally over, the first thing everyone would do was upgrade their skills… right?
Mu Anqi looked at the different blue numbers after the three names, somewhat puzzled. This clearly wasn't the number of times the game had been played; after all… Chu Zhongfei didn't seem like a veteran who had completed the game nine times. But what did these numbers represent… well, he'd think about it later.
Mu Anqi opened her backpack and saw a bag full of translucent, round crystal chips. Her suspicions were confirmed. She could accumulate guansi (imperial shards )!
[Note: Guan Si cannot be traded on Nirvana Space.]
Mu Anqi wasn't surprised to receive the notification. After all, this was normal.
Then she skillfully opened the skill template. Returning here a second time, she clearly knew what she needed, what she should do, and how to save time.