Chapter 15

Tang Tian looked at Shi Jian, who was completely immersed in taking selfies, and figured there was no need to comfort her anymore.

This new roommate actually had a pretty strong mindset.

Shi Jian didn’t hog the bathroom. Once she noticed Tang Tian was waiting outside, she gave up the spot and returned to her bed to start a 308-shot burst selfie session.

After taking pictures, Shi Jian felt a bit better. The camera on this free phone was surprisingly good. Before sleeping, she even spent some time exploring the app.

Aside from personal info, the streaming app also had a mall. Once she clicked in, Shi Jian felt like a whole new world had opened up.

Shi Jian: Shopping was one of her hobbies! Online shopping was pretty much the same thing.

The mall in the app had everything from defensive to offensive items—even ghost dolls and spirit pets.

Shi Jian could understand that—they seemed useful. But there was no way she’d let that ugly thing follow her around. As she kept scrolling, she even saw a phoenix mount. That’s where she started to lose comprehension.

The slogan read: Only one hundred million points—just one hundred million points—and the dazzling phoenix is yours to take home.

Shi Jian’s big eyes were full of big confusion.

Ridiculous, right?

Why would something like that even exist?

And even if someone did have a hundred million points, would they seriously stay in this ghost place to buy a phoenix mount? Not gonna lie though, she was a bit curious.

Shi Jian also came across whitening pills and skin-enhancing pills, all advertised as having no side effects.

She was genuinely tempted. Her skin was already fair and nice, but who doesn’t want to be fairer and have better skin?

Still, no matter how tempted or dazzled she was... it was useless—Shi Jian had no money.

Anything useful in the mall was absurdly expensive. Even that wound-healing pill Zhang Dong had given to the painter cost five hundred points.

Shi Jian tossed the phone aside in frustration. Enough. Sleep.

...

The next day, Shi Jian met up with Zhang Dong again.

Zhang Dong had been going on yesterday about how he had to take Shi Jian for some beef noodles. On the way to the restaurant, Shi Jian noticed that on every floor, in the most prominent location, there was a massive screen scrolling text.

“That’s the streamer points leaderboard. It updates every day at midnight,” Zhang Dong explained.

Shi Jian moved a little closer. A lot of people were standing around, looking up at the screen and whispering to each other.

“Damn, so jealous. When will I ever make it into the top 100?”

“Keep dreaming.”

“Screw you!”

There were about a hundred names listed on the screen, with their points displayed next to them. The top ten names were bolded—looming high and mighty.

Shi Jian was genuinely moved. The rankings made her realize just how many people were caught up in the chase. This place was like a miniature fame-and-fortune arena, an alternative entertainment industry.

If you had high popularity and lots of points, you could enjoy a high-quality life, gain attention, even adoration.

If your popularity was low, you faded into obscurity. Except unlike the real entertainment industry where you just quit the scene, here in horror game streaming—it meant actual death.Even more brutal and cruel.

Shi Jian noticed that the higher the rank, the greater the points gap. The first-place streamer had already accumulated over seventy million points—more than double the second-place.

Shi Jian asked Zhang Dong, “Do you know any of the people up there? Are the top ten all high-level streamers?”

Zhang Dong nodded. “Of course they’re high-level streamers. But how would I know them? I’m not at that level... Big boss, go for it! I believe in you. If you make it into the top hundred, then I’ll be someone who knows a popular streamer.”

Zhang Dong genuinely thought Shi Jian could do it—she definitely had the potential to become a popular streamer.

Shi Jian didn’t say much, her gaze fixed on the front of the rankings.

Even though the current hundredth place had a string of zeros more than her, Shi Jian felt she was going to the top.

She had shot to fame right from her debut and worked her way up to the A-list. So why couldn’t she be number one here?

First, make that hundred million!

Shi Jian’s blood was just starting to boil when a sloppy-looking man swaggered up to her, grinning, “Hey beautiful, you new here?”

...

Zhang Dong immediately sensed something was off and stepped in front of Shi Jian, blocking the guy with a gruff voice, “What do you want?”

The man curled his lips and pointed behind him. “Bro, don’t butt in. I’m just here to pass a message for our Bro Biao.”

A few thug-like guys stood not far away. The one in front must’ve been the “Bro Biao” he mentioned—a face full of menace, wearing a floral shirt, chewing betel nut, with tattoos on his arms. He looked like serious trouble.

Noticing Shi Jian’s gaze, the man even made a heart gesture toward her.

Zhang Dong cursed silently. He leaned close to Shi Jian and whispered, “Wang Biao is a notorious local thug.”

Zhang Dong might not know the top-ranking streamers, but he knew who Wang Biao was—did all kinds of bad stuff, especially lecherous.

Didn’t expect the big boss to get targeted the moment she arrived.

As expected, the thug continued speaking to Shi Jian, “Let me be straight. You're in luck. Our Bro Biao’s taken a liking to you. Don’t be ungrateful—he’s about to be promoted to a mid-tier streamer.”

“If you’re with our Bro Biao, you’ll live the good life. He said he’ll buy you a gold bracelet and a big necklace. But if you don’t behave…”

Zhang Dong cut him off. “You’re not allowed to hurt anyone at the Transfer Station. Are you looking to get reported?!”

Wang Biao, clearly running out of patience, walked over and greeted Shi Jian, “Hi, beautiful.”

Then he picked up where his underling left off. “If you don’t behave, sure, I can’t hurt you in the Transfer Station. But what about in the dungeons?”

“Think it over, beautiful.”

That was a direct threat!

Wang Biao was practically drooling the moment he saw Shi Jian. A girl this stunning had to be new—otherwise, she would’ve been snatched up long ago by other stronger male streamers. Acting on a “strike first” impulse, Wang Biao quickly called his lackeys to corner her.

Wang Biao was the uneducated kind of villain, but villains often did well in the dungeons. The key was, his stream was pretty popular. Part of it was birds of a feather—his audience liked his style. The rest just came to curse him out.

Hate-watching was still traffic. Why else would so many internet celebrities go the infamy route?

After threatening Shi Jian, Wang Biao was thrilled to see her beautiful face show a panicked expression. But then Shi Jian turned to Zhang Dong and asked, “Do I look uglier today? Is it hard to look at me?”

Wang Biao: ?Zhang Dong: ?

Zhang Dong had no idea why Shi Jian suddenly asked something so unrelated to the situation. He was caught off guard but still seriously took a look.

“Nope.”

“Still just as good-looking as ever.”

Shi Jian’s condition was on point—slept well last night, used toner and lotion, her fair skin had a rosy glow. She was a beauty capable of killing with her looks.

Getting that denial, Shi Jian looked confused and annoyed. “If I haven’t gotten uglier, then how does someone like him even dare to hit on me?”

Her slender finger pointed at Wang Biao.

Wang Biao was dumbfounded, “...” What’s wrong with him, huh?!

Other nearby streamers watching the scene had been worried, feeling sorry that a flower was about to be stuck in a pile of dung. But once they realized what Shi Jian meant, they burst into laughter.

No one could top that!

Shi Jian had never lacked suitors—social elites, industry leaders, she’d seen it all. A guy like Wang Biao hitting on her was just laughable.

How did he dare? What guts. Shi Jian didn’t admire that kind of courage though—she’d rather he kept it.

She tossed that so-called "blessing" away without hesitation—let Wang Biao’s lackey pick it up. She didn’t take his threats seriously either, even though Wang Biao left with a menacing glare.

“Just you wait!”

...

Shi Jian didn’t take Wang Biao seriously, but “manager” Zhang Dong was getting nervous.

To protect Shi Jian’s safety, Zhang Dong prepared a bunch of masks for her and repeatedly reminded her not to go out unnecessarily. He offered to deliver food to her dorm or accompany her if she really needed to go out.

Staying in the room was getting boring, so on the fourth day at the Transfer Station, Shi Jian decided to enter a new dungeon.

She needed attention, needed popularity. Even if she couldn’t interact with the livestream audience, it was still better than rotting in her dorm.

Her two temporary roommates had already left in the previous two days. After saying goodbye to Zhang Dong, Shi Jian also greeted Tang Tian.

Tang Tian didn’t expect Shi Jian to enter a new dungeon so soon. “Let’s go out together—I’m also entering one today.”

“I actually thought you’d stay the full ten days before leaving. A lot of people do. When I first got out of the newbie dungeon, I stayed until the very end because I had no choice.”

After all, everyone fears death—especially after first arriving here.

Tang Tian: This new roommate really is mentally tough.

Shi Jian gave an awkward smile. She couldn’t explain that, for her, being ignored was scarier than death.

So, bold as ever, Shi Jian left with Tang Tian. They went to the designated area to schedule their dungeon entry, then split up.

Dungeon assignments were random. Otherwise, Zhang Dong had wanted to go with Shi Jian into the next one. But Shi Jian heard that once you reach a certain level—or buy certain items—you can form teams with specific streamers.

That was still a long way off for her.

...

Shi Jian scheduled her time, completed the procedures, and once again heard that sweet mechanical voice in her head.“Streamer, do you confirm you want to enter a new horror game instance?”

Shi Jian, “...Confirm?”

Suddenly not so sure—why did she want to run away all of a sudden?!

Shi Jian felt like a visitor at an amusement park who starts regretting just before the rollercoaster takes off. But it was too late to escape; once the instance was activated, it was just like the rollercoaster starting.

Her eyelids began to grow heavy again, her thoughts became muddled, and by the time Shi Jian regained some consciousness, she found herself inside a classroom.

Above the blackboard was a huge banner, white background with red characters:

"Grades, grades, the lifeline of students."

The red paint—possibly of poor quality—looked thick and heavy, and a lot of it had dripped outside the borders of the characters, giving an unsettling vibe.

In front of Shi Jian sat many students in school uniforms. At the podium stood a middle-aged man wearing glasses who looked like a dean. He was waving a pointer stick and speaking passionately.

“Students should act like students! Every year you're worse than the last! If you don't get an A grade on the final exam this time, you’ll all be held back and kept in school!”

Shi Jian caught the key point—If you don’t get an A grade on the final exam, you’ll be held back?

So that’s the clearance condition? Kind of like how she had to leave the Rose Castle?

A horror game school instance was definitely no ordinary school. Being held back wouldn't lead to anything good.

She wasn’t given much time to stay clear-headed. The dean who had just been speaking passionately suddenly turned stern. He looked in Shi Jian’s direction and asked in a hoarse voice:

“Why aren’t you wearing your uniform?”

He slammed the pointer stick twice on the desk with heavy force. The pressure was intense. The scariest part? The desk, which should’ve been harder than the stick, actually cracked.

Yes—it cracked.

Shi Jian felt like she was about to crack too: Uniform?

Was he talking about her?

Shi Jian’s heart clenched. She abruptly looked down. She was wearing the clothes she had left the Transfer Station in—

A white tracksuit, a gift from Zhang Dong.

But on the desk in front of her was a neatly folded blue-and-white school uniform, with [Qingshan First High] embroidered on the front.

But she just arrived—how could she have had time to change?

The dean brandished the pointer stick and marched quickly toward Shi Jian. It was hard not to suspect he’d use that stick to beat someone, and the result might be the same as the cracked desk.

Shi Jian heard a cry of alarm, “What do we do? He’s coming!”

It wasn’t just Shi Jian—others scattered around the room weren’t wearing uniforms either. They looked like they’d also just entered the instance, and everyone was clearly panicking.

Viewers entering the public livestream room were also shocked.

【Everyone’s stunned—what’s going on?! Are a few streamers going to die right at the start?!】

The dean’s footsteps slowed down, because just after he spoke, Shi Jian had grabbed the uniform and was throwing it on. The uniform seemed to come alive, twisting and swirling in the air, and quickly slipped onto her body.

In just over ten seconds, Shi Jian went from wearing a plain white tracksuit to being clad in blue and white, transforming from a completely out-of-place streamer into a proper student of Qingshan High.Shi Jian gave a faint smile after finishing her outfit change, hiding her skills and fame.

Quickly changing clothes, doing quick changes backstage in front of staff while running during performances—that was just one of the many skills of a female celebrity.

The traditional high school uniform was oversized and baggy; not only could it fit other clothes underneath, it could probably fit two Shi Jians inside without a problem.