Ch. 12 - Emergency Patch 2.0

In the end, Liu Tong still decided to follow the procedure and head to the library to search for the ship’s blueprint. After all, an entity getting stuck in a wall wasn’t exactly a common occurrence — who knew when the bug might fix itself?

Bai Wan and Zhang Wen had no objections. Not like they had anything better to do.

Over the next two days, the three of them continued combing through the library. It was massive, and with just three people, progress was slow. They’d only managed to go through about three-quarters of it — it would take another full day to finish the rest of it.

Still, their days were surprisingly relaxed. With the ghost trapped behind the wall, no one was trying to kill them.

“This steak’s really good. You should try some,” Bai Wan said, handing a slice to Zhang Wen.

Zhang Wen took a bite and nodded in approval. “It really is. Gotta say, that old lady’s cooking is excellent. Reminds me of this famous steakhouse I went to during summer break. Feels about the same quality.”

“Man, must be nice being a teacher. You get summer and winter vacations,” Bai Wan said, a little envious.

“Little Bai, you’re still in uni, right? Once you graduate, maybe consider going into teaching. I can recommend my school,” Zhang Wen offered.

“Teaching, huh? I’ll give it some thought...”

Liu Tong sat nearby sipping tea, watching Bai Wan and Zhang Wen laughing and eating together. He opened his mouth several times to say something... but always stopped short. He wanted to remind them they were currently in a Paranormal Game, not on a summer cruise vacation.

Can you two please take this seriously?

Still... even Liu Tong couldn’t help but be lulled into a sense of ease by how peaceful everything had become. It really did start to feel like they were just relaxing on a ship.

Maybe... maybe that ghost really is stuck for good?

That thought crossed his mind, and his gaze shifted toward Bai Wan. There was something complex — maybe even awe-struck — in his gaze.

He wasn’t an idiot. There was no way this was just a random bug. He vaguely remembered overhearing Bai Wan and Chen Weiyu talking outside that day. He couldn’t make out the words, but he’d definitely heard voices.

Something must’ve happened out there. Could it have really been... this laid-back, seemingly careless youth who glitched the ghost into the wall?

If so...

Then the power he possessed was frankly absurd, especially for a newbie.

Player abilities were tied closely to their real-life traits. Liu Tong couldn’t even imagine what kind of gift could cause an effect like that.

Was it really him?

If it was...then this guy’s potential was terrifying. Even those top-tier players — the legendary prodigies hailed as the ceiling of the Paranormal Game — hadn’t pulled off something this insane in their first dungeon.

Liu Tong’s thoughts drifted. Then he glanced back down at his plate and couldn’t resist cutting himself another piece of steak.

“This steak really is good. I’ll have to take my kid to get steaks.” He smiled, genuinely content for the moment.

And just as they were still finishing their meal, a flash of light flickered in their minds.

[Dear players of the Paranormal Game:

The system’s current version has now been stable for 1.5 years. We are officially rolling out Paranormal Game 2.0, which includes enhancements to the Ghost Cruise dungeon.]

[Enhancement Patch: If a paranormal entity is trapped in place for more than two days, it will now gain access to a one-time-use Dimensional Gate to escape its confinement.]

[As compensation for affected players in this dungeon, a reward has been issued. Thank you for your ongoing support of the Paranormal Game.]

Bai Wan stared at the announcement, overflowing with complaints.

They pushed out a 2.0 patch just to fix this one boss? Dimensional Gate my ass. They might as well just slap the word Targeted Nerf across his forehead.

And “Thank you for your continued support”?

Then why don’t you give us a bloody way to quit?!

Absolutely shameless.

Only the compensation made him feel a little better.

[Player reward received: 300 Paranormal Coins.]

Three hundred coins — now that was a decent chunk. With this, he could finally afford to use the Bloody Skeleton Bandage. At 40 coins per second, he’d be able to activate it for about seven seconds.

Not long... but hey, still a lifesaving tool.

Liu Tong and Zhang Wen also received compensation, but they only got 100 coins each. Probably because the bug was Bai Wan’s doing in the first place.

“So... the ghost’s getting out now?” Zhang Wen muttered, wiping sweat from his forehead. The rare downtime had been nice while it lasted... but it was officially over.

Suddenly, the wall that had been completely blank now shimmered, and a dark, swirling portal appeared. Out of it stepped 'Chen Weiyu'.

She looked pale and drained, like someone suffering from a long bout of malnutrition. Her eyes were dull, her movements slow, like someone who’d spent two days locked in a very small, very dark room.

“Ah... I’m starving. My door glitched,” she mumbled, then shot Bai Wan a resentful glare, before quickly shifting into a bright, sweet smile. A smile that was unmistakably fake.

She looked like an overworked retail worker, smiling at a customer she absolutely loathed but still had to serve.

That’s the mark of a professional ghost. Unlike feral entities, professionals had to keep up appearances — no matter what happened, they had to play their role.

‘Chen Weiyu’ dutifully sat at the dining table, chatting with the group as if nothing had happened. Her act was flawless.

Seeing this, Liu Tong and Zhang Wen couldn’t help but feel a little ashamed.

Look at her — so committed to her job! She had just spent two days in solitary confinement and still clocked in without missing a beat.

Meanwhile, they had been slacking off the whole time. If only they were half as professional, they’d have gotten promotions by now!

That said, Zhang Wen was a teacher, and he’d always been good at reading students. To him, Chen Weiyu had always come across as shy and introverted.

But now... the vibe was off. She looked exactly the same — but that socially anxious demeanor? Completely gone.

Yup. Definitely a ghost. Even a professional disguise had its flaws.

Just then, 'Chen Weiyu' turned to Zhang Wen and said cheerfully, “Mr. Zhang, wanna play a round of Honor of Kings with me tonight? I don’t have any teammates.”

Zhang Wen started sweating instantly and waved his hands. “Uh, maybe not. I’m not very good at it...”

Girl, that’s not an invitation to game. That’s a trap.

When he declined, she turned to Liu Tong instead. “Then how about you, Brother Liu? Want to duo queue with me?”

Liu Tong grinned. “Oh no, I’m terrible. You should ask Bai Wan. He’s got 30 stars in King rank. Plays Diao Chan like a god.”

...You little shit

Bai Wan’s face twitched.

Screw you, Shit-Head Liu! You conniving bastard!

30 stars your mom!

Still smiling sweetly, 'Chen Weiyu' turned to Bai Wan. “Brother Bai Wan, will you play with me tonight?”

“Sure. Let’s not wait until tonight. We can start right now.” Bai Wan stood up with a bright smile and walked straight toward her room.

'Chen Weiyu' paused, then followed.

When the two of them reached the door, she stepped forward — but stopped mid-step.

Her body trembled slightly. She didn’t go in.

Instead, she turned to Bai Wan and said cautiously, “You go first.”

Bai Wan waved his hand. “Ladies first. After you.”

“I insist, you first.”

“What? Don’t you trust your good ol’ Bai Wan? Go on in.”

“You first.”

“No, no. You.”

“Why don’t you want to go in?”

“Well, why should I go in if you’re not going in?”

“Then why should I go in if you haven’t gone in?”

“I—”

Watching them bicker like two school children, Liu Tong and Zhang Wen were completely speechless.

For the love of—why does Bai Wan always turn the Paranormal Game into a bloody comedy skit?! Can we get some seriousness here?!

Why is he arguing with a ghost?!

Is he five?!

Liu Tong had played many dungeons before. Every one of them had been filled with despair, death, and terror.

But this one? This one felt... wrong. Like something bizarre had crept into the mix and changed the whole tone.

He glanced at Bai Wan again, eyes full of complex emotion. 

This guy might seem immature and unreliable on the surface... But clearly — the ghost was afraid to go in first.

So it really was Bai Wan who bugged the ghost into the wall? Just what the hell kind of ability does this guy have...?

……

While Bai Wan and 'Chen Weiyu' were still bickering over who should enter the room first…

Outside the game world, the Paranormal Game forums had exploded in discussion over the sudden patch.

“Wait, the Paranormal Game’s first version ran stable for a year and a half. Why a sudden update now?”

“No idea. The Ghost Cruise... if I remember correctly, isn’t that a newbie dungeon?”

Meanwhile, in an office building in Lan City.

“Captain! The Paranormal Game updated! You gotta see this!” a young man cried out, staring wide-eyed at his computer screen.

“What? Let me see...” The middle-aged man called Captain leaned over — and froze.

What the hell? 

The patch notes said...buffing Paranormal Entities? If an entity got trapped in one spot for more than two days, it could now open a Dimensional Gate to escape?

Why the hell would an entity be stuck in one place for two days?! Ghost Cruise was a starter dungeon! Players there barely had the tools to survive, let alone trap an entity!

“Ning Ning, remind me, Liu Tong’s participating in that dungeon, right?” the captain asked, glancing at the young woman beside him.

The girl — polite, composed, with a refined face — nodded. “Yes, Liu Tong’s team entered that dungeon.”

The captain frowned thoughtfully. He knew Liu Tong’s level. He was clever, but not someone capable of trapping an entity for two full days.

Which means...a newbie?

Interesting.

The captain’s blood began to stir. He didn’t know how this rookie did it, but managing to trap an entity for two whole days in the very first dungeon?

That wasn’t just impressive — it was incredible. Maybe, just maybe... Lan City was about to welcome another true talent.

“Keep a close watch on that dungeon’s progress. There’ll be a performance report after they clear it. I want updates the moment it drops.”

He was genuinely excited.

That end-of-dungeon report would include evaluations for every player. It would be clear at a glance whether a real prodigy had emerged.

He could only hope.

……

Back inside the dungeon.

Bai Wan and 'Chen Weiyu' couldn’t agree on who should enter the room first. So they both awkwardly sat back down at the table.

Bai Wan smiled at the dark-faced 'Chen Weiyu'. The fact that he’d been provoking her so brazenly and she still hadn’t lashed out — said a lot.

There were clearly strict killing restrictions in place.

Thinking back carefully, it all made sense now. Just like before, when 'Zhang Wen' had invited Lin Xi to "sleep together," and now 'Chen Weiyu' inviting him to play mobile games at night...

It was clear.

The entity, the ghost, couldn't kill unless the human accepted the invitation and entered the same room. This is the first killing condition.

The second major pattern was observation. Once the ghost observed and confirmed there was a human inside — via sight or sound — it could kill. The earlier incident where 'Zhang Wen' tried to eavesdrop had been exactly that.

Thinking it through, Bai Wan realized...these two patterns didn’t conflict — they reinforced each other.

The ghost needed confirmation. If they could see or hear someone was there, it triggered the kill condition. Inviting someone into the same room? The perfect guarantee of observation.

Just like the little girl's diary had warned: Don’t make a sound. Pretend no one’s there.

Summing up:

The ghost’s killing mechanism relied on detecting human presence. If a player stayed silent and hidden, the ghost couldn’t be sure. But if there was noise or a sighting, the kill flag was triggered.

This also proved the fact that the ghost couldn’t simply barge into rooms at will…for now.

As Liu Tong had once said, there were two main types of entities in the Paranormal Game: Patterned Entities (follow strict rules) & Indiscriminate Entities (kill anything on sight)

Clearly, the one haunting the Midnight Hawk... was the patterned type. And the path to clearing this dungeon was growing clearer.

Each night, someone would be randomly replaced by the ghost. The ghost’s primary mechanism remained: detect, confirm, kill, whether through sound, sight, or invitation. The invitation was its method for a guaranteed observation.

Bai Wan also realized something else.

They’d chatted casually with 'Chen Weiyu' during the day — without consequence. Which meant that detection alone wasn’t enough, there had to be another condition.

Probably time.

Yes — it must be. This ghost could only kill during the night.

Bai Wan was piecing everything together now.

And just then, looking at 'Chen Weiyu', a bold idea formed in his mind. He weighed the risks carefully and smiled faintly. For now, the plan could wait.

Since Lin Xi was gone, it was down to just four people: Bai Wan, Liu Tong, Zhang Wen, and 'Chen Weiyu'. And since none of them had any appetite left, they resumed searching the library for the ship’s blueprints.

Another day passed with no luck. But tomorrow... they would definitely find it.

And then... another night fell.

Once again, 'Chen Weiyu' tried to get someone to play mobile games with her. And once again, she was rejected by everyone.

Sulking, she retreated to her room.

Bai Wan considered trying to trap her against the wall again — but quickly dismissed the idea. The first time had succeeded because of the element of surprise. Now that she was on guard, trying it again would just get him killed.

He played it safe, returning to his own room and sitting quietly on the bed, staring into the dark sea beyond the window.

Tonight, there was no rain, but the sky was choked with thick clouds, the moon completely hidden. The already black sea became even more oppressive.

Time ticked by, minute by minute.

Midnight approached.

When the clock struck twelve, Bai Wan’s eyes sharpened.

He stared hard at the door. And then — he heard it.

Tap. Tap.

Footsteps.

Followed by a small, creepy voice whispering outside:

“Bai Wan... come out and play... Let’s play together... okay?”

It was Chen Weiyu’s voice, or rather, something mimicking it.

Bai Wan remained silent.

During the day, he had dared to tease the ghost. At night, there was no room for jokes.

This was the real thing. The deadliest phase.

“Bai Wan... come play with me...”

“Come out...”

Click.

The doorknob rattled.

A heavy force twisted it violently.

And then—

Crack.

In front of Bai Wan’s grim expression, the old wooden door knob snapped off completely, clattering to the floor.

Screeeeeee...

The door creaked open just a crack, letting in a flood of icy air and impenetrable darkness.

As the end of the dungeon approached...

The ghost had learned how to open doors.

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