Chapter 53

The bride ghost probably realized she wouldn’t catch up anytime soon. Unable to kill Shi Jian, she could only express her dissatisfaction in this way.

The entire valley echoed with her "bad, bad."

This "bad, bad" was something she learned from the female streamer sharing a room with Shi Jian.

There was a brief moment of silence, followed by awkward glances around. Okay, maybe they were thinking too much—there wouldn’t be that much of a tender scene.

And what Shi Jian had done to the bride ghost didn’t seem to evoke any tenderness either.

The female streamer sharing a room with Shi Jian clicked her tongue, "She couldn’t speak before, right? Is this her first time speaking?"

To hate Shi Jian that much, to the point where she could speak...

Of course, the streamer didn’t voice the second half of her thoughts.

Her words were confirmed by the other female ghosts, "Yes."

The live stream audience started to have some fun.

[Got it! Got it! (nonsense jpg)]

[The first time I looked back by the well, our twisted fate began. You said to me, ‘I’ve found you.’ In that moment, my heart pounded, beating so fast; I waited by the well, waiting for you to appear again. You didn’t come back, but I had long gotten used to waiting. Then you appeared again, took off my clothes... this must be love, right? If it weren’t, how could you take a ghost’s clothes right away? You’re leaving, and I come at the fastest speed, wearing the wedding dress that carries our memories, just to call out to you—‘Bad, bad.’ I couldn’t speak before, but you changed me and made me speak.’]

[Oh my, I learned to speak for you, what kind of top-tier romantic scene is this? This CP is just too easy to ship, love at first sight, mutual love, mutual salvation, mutual pursuit.]

[Love at first sight, meaning when I first saw Shi Jian, I wanted to kill her. I can understand that part. But where’s the mutual salvation?]

[Mutual salvation: The bride ghost helped Shi Jian dig through cement and fought with the village head, saving Shi Jian. Shi Jian’s salvation was getting the mentally handicapped, older female ghost to speak.]

[??? I’m almost convinced. If I hadn’t watched the entire live stream, I’d believe you guys. As for messing around, I still have to hand it to you.]

[Where’s the part where Shi Jian changed the bride ghost and made her speak? That was clearly because the bride ghost was so pissed off.]

She was so angry that she could speak now. Incredible.

Earlier, everyone had felt awkward after their expectations were dashed, their eyes darting around. Now, they all focused their gazes on Shi Jian, eager to see how the person involved would react.

Look at that, such hatred, such resentment.The person involved, Shi Jian, “…”

She really didn’t expect the bride ghost to be so persistent, but Shi Jian quickly, without flushing or skipping a beat, told those around her:

“Call me ‘good girl.’”

Zhou Fan: ???

Forcefully “good girl,” huh?

So you’re just taking advantage of the bride ghost’s low intelligence, right?

Shi Jian remained completely calm: "Anyway, we’re about to leave this dungeon. The bride ghost can’t catch up, and I won’t encounter her again in the future, so whatever she says is fine."

Shi Jian even felt a little sorry. "Bad, bad" could turn into "good, good," but there’s still a big gap between that and being beautiful, pretty, or a fairy. Otherwise, she would have gone with that angle.

At the final moment, Shi Jian even stretched out both hands towards the bride ghost. The bride ghost pointed at her, while Shi Jian returned the gesture by making two heart shapes at the bride ghost.

They were about to leave, and seeing how determined the bride ghost was, the big star had to give her some exclusive benefits. Shi Jian sent her—

A simple heart gesture.

How many people could have such treatment?

Shi Jian happily wanted to whistle, “886.” (a term used to say goodbye, like “bye-bye”).

In the familiar dizziness, Shi Jian left the Happy Village dungeon. Whether it was the female ghosts who had returned to their living appearances after avenging themselves, or the bride ghost still wearing her wedding dress, all of them disappeared.

“Congratulations to the streamer for successfully completing the dungeon, points are being tallied…”

“Congratulations to the streamer for ranking first in the [Happy Village] dungeon with the highest accumulated score, and receiving an achievement. Would you like to view it?”

Thanks to playing the fairy in Happy Village, using fandom tactics to reverse brainwash the wraiths, and a series of flashy moves, Shi Jian once again became the undisputed number one in total points in the dungeon.

Shi Jian temporarily ignored the achievements and points because the moment she entered the transfer station, her phone started ringing nonstop.

Tang Tian had been trying to contact her for the past two days.

Tang Tian wanted to know if Shi Jian had come out of the dungeon yet. She was still quite worried about Shi Jian’s safety, and yesterday, Tang Tian had sent her some good news.Tang Tian: "Sister! I finally got the team-up card!"

With the team-up card, Shi Jian and Tang Tian could team up and enter the next dungeon together.

Although Tang Tian wasn't in front of her, just from the exclamation mark, Shi Jian could feel Tang Tian's joy.

When Shi Jian learned that she could enter the dungeon with a familiar teammate, her mood instantly brightened. She immediately called Tang Tian, knowing that Tang Tian wouldn't be resting at this time.

As expected, Tang Tian quickly picked up the phone.

"Did you come out?" she asked Shi Jian.

Shi Jian replied, "Just came out. I’m at..." Shi Jian looked around and gave Tang Tian her location.

Tang Tian quickly responded that she understood and would get ready to meet Shi Jian.

Shi Jian found a place to sit while waiting for Tang Tian, continuing with the things she hadn't finished earlier.

Every floor of the transfer station had a rest area. In just a few minutes, Shi Jian had rejected five male streamers who tried to strike up a conversation with her.

Eventually, Shi Jian found a more secluded spot, hid herself, and finally got a moment of peace and quiet.

Shi Jian was used to being approached, and if it were any other time, she wouldn't have bothered hiding. But right now, she was too busy.

Shi Jian checked her achievements.

She usually had the system block achievements that came with insults or sarcastic remarks. However, given how angry the bride ghost had been before she left, Shi Jian's curiosity was piqued.

She wondered if there were any absurd achievements this time.

So instead of filtering out the achievements, Shi Jian chose to view them all.

The achievements popped up quickly, and to her surprise, none were related to the bride ghost. The achievements were relatively normal compared to the "Dogs and Shi Jian cannot enter" one from before.

There were achievements like [Strongest Human Trafficker], [Fairy Descends to the Mortal Realm], [Self-Luminous]...

The most absurd one was [Head of the Village Elder’s Fan Club].

Shi Jian couldn’t help but feel confused: ???

"Is this for real? Who's a fan of the Village Elder?"This achievement likely appeared because Shi Jian had reversed brainwashed the ghost servants earlier.

However, the Village Elder probably didn't want someone like Shi Jian as the head of her fan club.

Shi Jian didn't dwell on why none of these titles had anything to do with the bride ghost.

In her heart, Shi Jian had already given an answer.

Perhaps the bride ghost's intelligence was too low, and her final two words were the peak of her intellectual capacity.

This time, Shi Jian had earned over 160,000 points.

Last time it was also 160,000, but that was due to the fish monster bug, which gave double points. This time, it was real, solid points.

Shi Jian was fairly satisfied with the result but didn’t feel overly surprised. If she were live-streaming in real life, this would just be a small amount.

If Zhang Dong were here, he would definitely be excited and shout about how this was eye-opening. More popular, higher-tier streamers could earn hundreds of thousands or even millions of points in a single live stream. But Shi Jian, as a low-level streamer who hadn’t even cleared many dungeons, was already earning as much as a high-tier streamer.

What Shi Jian really had on her mind was her Barbie-pink high heels. She was hoping they could level up. She used them quite a lot in the Happy Village, even clearing paths with them.

But in the end, Shi Jian was disappointed.

The high heels hadn’t leveled up.

"Maybe I haven’t used them enough?"

Shi Jian felt a bit down but didn’t know what else she could do. Besides using them more, she couldn’t think of any other way to level them up.

She checked her information again—

Name: Shi Jian

Class: Low-Level Streamer

Points: 278,355

In her inventory were the high heels, the wig pieces that Xiao Hua had given her, and some pretty clothes, shoes, and bags... all treasures of Shi Jian. She had spent points to increase her inventory size to store them properly.

Shi Jian was already very familiar with the items in her inventory. She could point out exactly what was in each slot with her eyes closed, but this time, she discovered something different.What is this?

Shi Jian's beautiful eyes widened slightly.

A transparent crystal ball quietly lay in her inventory. The appearance of the crystal ball was very beautiful, as though light was flowing inside it. She could vaguely see a curled red mass inside.

At the perfect moment, a sweet mechanical voice sounded, answering Shi Jian's confusion.

"You have received a spirit pet. Please check."

Shi Jian's heart immediately raced. A spirit pet?!

Was it free? Is this really happening?

...

Although Shi Jian hadn’t seen any streamers with spirit pets in the dungeons she’d played, she still knew that spirit pets existed, after all, weather dolls were sold in the market.

Shi Jian had never thought about buying a spirit pet, since she preferred spending her money on something more practical — beauty.

But having a spirit pet was definitely better than not having one. Spirit pets usually meant they had combat abilities or other attributes that could help a streamer, increasing their chances of survival in a dungeon.

The key point was that it was free, Shi Jian hadn’t spent a penny.

Shi Jian suddenly realized: she must have used up all her good luck with the high heels and now the system decided to reward her with a spirit pet!

How did this suddenly happen?

But since the system said the spirit pet was hers, and she hadn’t stolen or fought for it, Shi Jian quickly accepted it. Her curiosity was killing her; she wanted to see what this free spirit pet looked like.

Shi Jian took the crystal ball out of her inventory, silently praying that it wouldn’t look too ugly, or else she wouldn’t be able to show it off.

Upon closer inspection, the spirit pet looked like a small red fox. Shi Jian already mentally pictured the scene of a fox spirit pet following her around.

It must be great.

The crystal ball felt slightly cool to the touch, and it was very simple to use, with a button on top.

Shi Jian, full of anticipation, pressed the switch on the crystal ball.

A flash of white light appeared, and Shi Jian's spirit pet materialized in front of her.The wedding dress was traditional Chinese, with eyes that had no white, only pupils. Her face had faint lines, and she was staring at Shi Jian without saying a word.

Very familiar. How could it not be familiar? Just recently, she had said goodbye.

Shi Jian's expression changed dramatically. She stared at her spirit pet in disbelief.

The Bride Ghost.

"What are you doing out here?!"

Shi Jian was somewhat on the verge of a breakdown. Why was the Bride Ghost from Happy Village here at the transit station? This didn’t seem scientifically possible.

Shi Jian had opened her free spirit pet ball, but there was no little fox inside. Instead, it was the Bride Ghost.

The Bride Ghost didn’t respond to Shi Jian’s question. It was as though she had seen her enemy. In the next second, she eagerly extended her claws toward Shi Jian, radiating a chilling aura as she rushed towards her.

Shi Jian, "……"

In her heart, Shi Jian cursed. She wasn’t going to get any answers from the Bride Ghost. She had to run, and fast—otherwise, the Bride Ghost would kill her.

Just as Shi Jian was running ahead, her friend, Tang Tian, holding a bag of snacks, came to meet up with her. What she saw was this scene—

Her beautiful friend, Shi Jian, was running ahead in Barbie-pink high heels, with the Bride Ghost in wedding attire chasing closely behind. The ghost, with her sharp claws, was relentlessly pursuing Shi Jian.

Tang Tian: ???

Tang Tian felt this scene seemed familiar, and soon enough, memories rushed back.

A similar scene had happened before in the school infirmary at Qing Mountain High, and Tang Tian could even hear Xiao Hua’s monologue echoing in her mind.

“She runs, she chases, and neither of them can escape!”

Tang Tian: But this isn’t in the infirmary, it’s the transit station! Why is there a ghost here? The transit station was supposed to be completely safe!

Of course, Tang Tian wasn’t unreliable. Despite all her confusion, she still threw the snacks to the ground.

She shouted toward Shi Jian, "I’ll help you!"

As she activated the skill [Boss's Blessing] to slow down the Bride Ghost's movements, she yelled to the confused crowd of onlookers nearby, "Quick! Look for the staff!"The transit station had staff, and the staff worked efficiently. Shi Jian hadn’t been running for long before the staff managed to get the Bride Ghost into the spirit pet ball and save Shi Jian from her frantic escape.

It was here that Shi Jian learned the name of the crystal ball—

Spirit Pet Ball.

The staff at the transit station looked human, but their voice and expressions were robotic, lacking the liveliness of the ghosts from the dungeons.

Shi Jian and Tang Tian were taken to the staff office on this floor. Shi Jian was still in shock, and she had something to clarify.

“The ghost from the dungeon came out. Did another bug occur?”

Shi Jian gestured: the Bride Ghost from just now—everyone should have seen her, right?

The staff smiled and told Shi Jian, "Dear, it’s not a bug. That’s your spirit pet."

Shi Jian’s expression nearly broke, “…” What spirit pet? That wasn’t a spirit pet!

Shi Jian patiently explained, “I’m sure she was a ghost from the dungeon. I just came out of that dungeon…” The Bride Ghost was the Bride Ghost, what did she have to do with a spirit pet?

The staff nodded after hearing this, “I see.”

"She was a ghost from the dungeon, but now she has voluntarily become your spirit pet."

The staff went on to explain.

Ghosts from the dungeon could voluntarily become an anchor's spirit pet, but this situation was very rare because the ghost would have to sacrifice half of its combat power.

The staff glanced at the spirit pet ball on the desk, where a vivid red hue could be seen, “She’s willing to sacrifice half of her combat power to follow you. She must really love…”

When it came to the word "love," the staff paused for a second.

Because he felt the unwavering gaze from Shi Jian.

Shi Jian: Please think carefully before you speak.

The staff quickly recalled the image of the Bride Ghost chasing Shi Jian with her long nails and changed his words, “Then she must really hate you.”

She hated you so much that she was willing to lower half her combat power just to follow you out of the dungeon.

"……"

Shi Jian had already anticipated this. No wonder the Bride Ghost hadn’t left her any achievements; it turned out she had sent her entire ghost self out of the dungeon.The Bride Ghost is a very serious ghost; she wants to vent her dissatisfaction face-to-face.

Shi Jian thought for a moment and asked the staff, “Can a spirit pet harm its owner?”

Logically speaking, shouldn’t spirit pets be there to protect their owners?

Perhaps she didn’t need to panic and dodge just now? Maybe the Bride Ghost would’ve been bounced away when her hand touched Shi Jian?

Thinking this, Shi Jian felt that having the Bride Ghost as a spirit pet might not be so bad. In fact, it could be a good thing. After all, the Bride Ghost couldn’t harm her. If she could command the Bride Ghost, that would be even better!

Shi Jian’s lips curved upwards as she looked at the spirit pet ball with a gentle gaze: How is it that a ghost is delivering itself to work?

Of course, reality proved that Shi Jian was thinking too much. The staff answered her, “A spirit pet can harm its owner.”

“If the owner’s abilities are insufficient, the spirit pet can devour the owner.”

The spirit pet can devour the owner, and the owner cannot force the spirit pet to serve them.

The staff kindly reminded Shi Jian that if she got along well with her spirit pet, the spirit pet would likely obey her, right?

He hesitated, adding a “right?”

Shi Jian’s smile faded. “Okay, then let’s return the Bride Ghost. I don’t want this spirit pet. Who wants a dangerous weapon following them around?”

The kind that has a knife.

The staff showed an apologetic expression, “Sorry, dear… and actually, you broke the rules when you released the spirit pet in the transit station. Spirit pets with offensive capabilities could harm other streamers. They can only be released once you enter the dungeon. You should’ve been fined, but since it was your first mistake, we’ll waive the fine. But this will be the last time.”

Shi Jian: Why does it feel like forced buying and selling? Do you think she’ll be happy just because there’s no fine?

The only thing that made Shi Jian feel a little relieved was that she could decide whether or not to release the Bride Ghost from the spirit pet ball.

If she timed it well enough, she could also recall the Bride Ghost into the spirit pet ball before the ghost could strike her with the knife.

Shi Jian amused herself: I can take it back at will.

Shi Jian was now forced to have a spirit pet that only wanted to stab her, and she had to register it. All streamers with spirit pets had to be registered, and it was quite a formal process. The streamer would receive an exclusive spirit pet registration book.

Shi Jian got really into it when it came to this because there was a photo involved. She didn’t even need the staff’s guidance. Holding the spirit pet ball containing the Bride Ghost, she smiled brightly at the camera, showing her eight white teeth with a perfect expression.

The spirit pet ball became Shi Jian’s photo prop ball.Shi Jian even pressed the spirit pet ball against her cheek for the photo because she noticed it made her face look smaller. The Bride Ghost inside the spirit pet ball looked extremely displeased with this arrangement, visibly enraged, as the red mass inside kept moving restlessly and angrily.

Shi Jian pretended not to notice and, facing the camera, said, “Yay!”

From today onward, Shi Jian and the Bride Ghost were officially registered in one book, with the white paper and black characters stating:

Owner: Shi Jian.

Spirit Pet: Bride Ghost.

...

Tang Tian had already listened to Shi Jian’s full account of her entanglement with the Bride Ghost.

After leaving the office, Tang Tian sighed, “So, hatred is longer-lasting than love, huh?”

Shi Jian had suddenly gained a spirit pet with considerable power. Tang Tian should have been extremely envious, but this particular spirit pet was different...

The Bride Ghost was uncontrollable, only thinking about stabbing her owner. This was the only thought behind her lowering half of her abilities to become Shi Jian's spirit pet.

Tang Tian gave Shi Jian some advice, “Just slowly build some rapport with her, maybe she’ll be influenced, right?”

Although it would be difficult to cultivate a bond with a ghost like the Bride Ghost, Tang Tian, being a bit slow, thought maybe Shi Jian could forget about it, right?

Shi Jian indeed took a “let’s try” attitude. She went to the shopping mall’s specialized spirit pet food section and bought some spirit pet snacks, which she delivered into the spirit pet ball for the Bride Ghost.

From the way the snacks were consumed, it seemed the Bride Ghost had eaten them, though Shi Jian wondered whether the Bride Ghost might soften up and be swayed by food.

This would have to wait until the new dungeon to be tested.

...

Shi Jian had completely absorbed the skin-whitening pills by now, so the glowing effect had disappeared. During her rest in the transit station, she studied herself in the mirror and confirmed that she had indeed become a bit whiter.

Tang Tian also confirmed that Shi Jian had become lighter, and it wasn’t just an illusion.

Tang Tian had originally thought that Shi Jian would be angry about spending so much on whitening pills for such a slight change, but to her surprise, Shi Jian was in high spirits and had already forgotten about the Bride Ghost situation.

Shi Jian: Whitening is a long-term effort. It’s easy to become tan, but becoming white is very difficult.

Not to mention for someone like her with naturally pale skin—moving up another level would take a lot of effort.88888 points, totally worth it!

If not for the consideration that she had just taken one and another might affect the results, Shi Jian would have definitely bought more.

After resting for two days, Shi Jian was ready to dive into a new dungeon. She wanted to show off her whitening results to the audience.

Tang Tian had no objections. While Shi Jian entered the dungeon, she would rest and prepare to start her own stream.

Shi Jian and Tang Tian could now team up. Tang Tian handed the team card to the staff, specifying Shi Jian, who agreed and completed the formalities.

“Are you sure you want to enter the new horror game dungeon?”

“…Yes, I’m sure.”

Shi Jian's thoughts started to get muddled. She hadn’t even opened her eyes yet, but she smelled something.

It was sharp and familiar, like... disinfectant!

Shi Jian suddenly opened her eyes. What greeted her was a vast expanse of white. She was lying on a hospital bed, with an IV stand beside her. She was wearing a blue-and-white striped hospital gown, with small text embroidered on it—

Renxin Hospital.

When Shi Jian smelled the disinfectant, she immediately thought of a hospital, and now seeing the situation, it definitely was one.

The background of this dungeon was set in a hospital.

There were several other beds beside Shi Jian, and patients hunched over on them. However, she couldn’t see Tang Tian anywhere.

Shi Jian guessed that Tang Tian might be in another ward.

Now, Shi Jian needed to quickly understand her identity to better deal with any emergencies. From the hospital gown she was wearing, she could deduce that she had been admitted for an illness.

But what illness did she have?

Without needing to ask fellow patients or medical staff, Shi Jian noticed that her medical records were placed on the headboard.

Curious, she opened it. The record stated that she was a psychiatric patient.

A psychiatric patient?

Shi Jian stared at the three words for half a minute.