Ch. 15 - Mario’s Coin Room and the Cockpit That Shouldn’t Exist
Bug Abuse? I Swear I'm Just Playing Normally!This chapter is broken. Please report this on discord.
This chapter is broken. Please report this on discord.
“What… what was that thing just now?” Zhang Wen's face had gone pale. After glimpsing the colossal being shrouded in mist, he genuinely thought he was doomed.
“That was probably the so-called ‘god’ mentioned in the little girl’s diary.” Liu Tong said, only just recovering from the sheer terror.
“There’s actually something that terrifying in this world?” Bai Wan, for once, looked serious, pressing a hand to his chest where his heart was still pounding violently.
As the difficulty of these Paranormal Game dungeons escalates, will players eventually have to face monsters like that?
Bai Wan struggled to imagine how one could ever overcome such an existence.
And what’s worse—if this game really is a reenactment of history… then could such a ‘god’ actually be lurking somewhere in the real ocean?
If so… that's truly terrifying.
“Relax,” Liu Tong said. “This is just a newbie dungeon. That thing’s obviously part of the background setting. If it were real and active, we’d all be dead already. Oh, and remember this heart-pounding sensation. It’s called a heartbeat warning.”
He explained to everyone, “Sometimes you’ll encounter threats in the game far beyond the dungeon’s difficulty. That’s when the game’s safety mechanism kicks in—heartbeat warning. That kind of ghost typically doesn’t affect the main quest line. So when the heartbeat starts pounding, just run. Run until it settles down. That’s how you know you’ve left its territory.”
Bai Wan curiously touched his rapidly thumping chest.
So that’s what a heartbeat warning is. The game’s… surprisingly considerate.
“Alright,” Liu Tong said with a smile, “in any case, we’re still alive. Congratulations, everyone. Once we exit, we’ll be able to collect our rewards.”
At that, everyone visibly relaxed. Indeed—no matter what happened, they’d made it out alive. Only one person had died in this dungeon: Lin Xi. Not bad, all things considered.
Of course, all thanks to Bai Wan.
Zhang Wen didn’t hesitate to log out. He clearly wanted to spend zero extra seconds in this game.
Chen Weiyu also stirred awake in a daze. Upon hearing they’d cleared the dungeon, she was overjoyed. She’d pretty much slept through the entire thing and cleared it while lying down. Talk about being lucky. After thanking Bai Wan, she too logged out.
“Let’s head out together,” Liu Tong said. “See what sort of rating we got. You managed to clear the dungeon by literally bug-trapping a ghost in a wall. Your score’s gotta be at least an A.”
An A-rank reward would be no small feat. Liu Tong had already played three dungeons, and his best score was just a B.
“You go ahead. I still wanna explore this ghost ship a bit,” Bai Wan said suddenly, remembering he hadn’t yet used his Mario’s Coin Room skill.
Might as well use this chance to see what that ability actually does. To be honest, he was a little excited.
Liu Tong gave him a puzzled look. Who the hell would want to stroll around a haunted cruise ship after clearing the dungeon? But then again, the young man before him was clearly insane.
Wouldn’t even be surprised if Bai Wan said he wanted to use the ghost ship’s toilet.
“Alright then, I’ll head out first. I’ll contact you later,” Liu Tong said, giving Bai Wan a courteous nod before logging out.
Hearing that Liu Tong wanted to reach out, Bai Wan looked slightly confused. Then it clicked. Liu Tong was with the officials—probably planning to recruit him.
But Bai Wan had no interest in joining them.
After Liu Tong left, Bai Wan slung his family photo frame back onto his back and made his way to the restroom on the first floor. He was quite curious—there was a drain in there. Would it actually work as a pipe entrance?
After all, it didn’t look like an actual pipe.
He gently pressed his hand to the grate, and to his surprise, a black void opened up inside the drain, and he was sucked right in.
Whoosh!
Bai Wan felt his body accelerate rapidly as darkness swallowed him.
A few seconds later, light returned and a hidden space unfolded before him. It was about the size of half a football field. The place was empty… save for a strange grid of floating wooden bricks suspended in midair.
He recognized them instantly—these were the signature blocks from the Mario games, the kind that spit out coins or mushrooms when hit.
But according to the skill’s description, his current level was still only Level 1. It only unlocked access to the sewer realm—no coins or mushrooms yet.
A timer hovered at the top of the space, counting down from ten minutes. That was how long he could stay inside.
With plenty of time and the room relatively small, Bai Wan leisurely began exploring. It only took him two minutes to finish scouting the whole area.
“Hm?”
Suddenly, Bai Wan paused.
There were two exits. One was the pipe he came through—but where did the other one lead?
Curious, he walked over to the second green pipe and placed a hand on it.
Whoosh!
In a flash, he was once again propelled forward, until he landed with a thud.
Thump!
Bai Wan brushed the dust off his backside and began surveying the new room… and the more he looked, the more stunned he became.
“This… this is…” A trace of shock appeared in his eyes.
What appeared before him wasn’t any room he’d been in before.
It was the cockpit—the ship’s bridge! The very place that had always been locked and inaccessible.
Seeing the glowing digital displays and the captain’s chair, Bai Wan stood frozen for a long while.
Damn, this must be some kind of Easter egg?
Logically, players shouldn’t be able to reach the cockpit. After all, the main door was locked tight.
But thanks to his buggy skill Mario’s sewer pipe, he’d glitched his way in. So the ability isn’t just good for hiding. It could also send him to random rooms?
That… is actually kind of fun.
“This really is a ghost ship,” Bai Wan muttered as he curiously explored the captain’s cabin.
Even from birth, his bizarre bug trait had caused him no shortage of suffering. But if there was one upside, it was that bug-hunting could be entertaining.
Running experiments on all these odd game glitches… was surprisingly fun. Just like today, discovering a hidden cockpit that players weren’t meant to access. It was like stumbling across a secret map filled with hidden treasure.
Bai Wan wandered the room with great interest—until his steps froze abruptly.
His gaze had landed on the steering wheel.
And a dangerous idea suddenly popped into his mind.
Could he pilot the ghost ship? And if he could… what would happen?
The storyline only ever mentioned sailing to Four Seasons Island. But if he could take the helm—could he sail somewhere else?
Actually… is there even anywhere else to go? After all, this is just a game. Not the real world.
His eyes turned to the mysterious sea beyond the windows, a hint of anticipation stirring in his heart.
Then, without hesitation, he sat down in the captain’s chair—and placed both hands on the wheel.