Ch. 19 - A Shaken Forum and an Unprecedented Settlement

The Paranormal Game had its own official forum—one not managed by players, though they could leave posts and comments. Its main purpose was to publish information related to the game. One such function was the posting of result and reward settlement records.

However, because player settlements were considered private, the forum only released generalized summaries.

Even so, what emerged this time shocked everyone.

...

Zhou Lu sat in front of the computer with the core members of the Lan City team, waiting in anticipation.

“You’re saying that the new guy inside the dungeon had the ability to erase doors?” Zhou Lu looked to Liu Tong, full of interest.

“It’s true,” Liu Tong replied earnestly. “The newcomer behaved a little strangely, but he possessed a very peculiar ability. With that power, he managed to trap the Paranormal in a wall—twice. That’s how we cleared the dungeon.”

Liu Tong could still vividly recall the image of Bai Wan sealing the entity into the wall.

“If that’s really the case, then that ability is incredibly valuable,” Zhou Lu murmured. Memories of past casualties flickered through his mind. If only they’d had the power to erase doors back then, the team’s sacrifice rate wouldn’t have been so high.

“What’s his real-life profession?” Zhou Lu asked, a bit curious. “What kind of job leads to awakening that kind of ability?”

Liu Tong hesitated before answering, “According to him... he said he’s a plumber? But not quite an ordinary one.”

“A plumber? What’s so special about him?” Zhou Lu was caught off guard.

Liu Tong recalled the peculiar introduction and replied with an odd expression, “Well… it’s a little hard to explain. He said he was like Mario—you know, like in the game? The kind who can enter sewers and reach the coin house…”

“…Huh?” The whole room fell silent. Everyone turned to stare at Liu Tong with looks of disbelief.

What kind of joke is this?

Zhou Lu sat there, stunned, trying to make any logical connection between “door erasure” and “Mario.”

After a long mental struggle that yielded nothing, he simply turned to Liu Tong and gave him a sympathetic pat on the shoulder. “You just got out of a dungeon, you must be exhausted. I’ll give you two days off. There’s a new gym in Lan City. Let’s go hit the weights this weekend, clear your mind.”

He said it with a hopeful look.

“No, really—I’m serious, Captain… you go on your own.” Liu Tong was half-laughing, half-crying. That mysterious young man really did introduce himself just like that, and he’d looked completely sincere about it.

“Captain, the settlement’s out.”  A girl with white hair behind Zhou Lu suddenly spoke. 

Su Yuening had been keeping a close eye on the page and was the first to spot the forum’s settlement announcement.

“Oh? Let’s see how this mysterious newcomer Liu Tong mentioned actually performed.”

The group crowded in, eagerly reading the dungeon settlement report.

[System: The Ghost Cruise dungeon has ended. Publishing player settlement data for encouragement…]

First up was Liu Tong and the other players. Liu Tong had received a B-grade rating and 150 Paranormal Coins. The others had only received the standard C-grade.

“A B rating is pretty solid. Keep up the good work,” Zhou Lu said, giving Liu Tong an approving pat on the shoulder. Liu Tong was still relatively new, but sharp and cautious. He’d go far.

“This time’s clear was all thanks to Bai Wan,” Liu Tong said, shaking his head.

To be honest, his own performance had been average. He was surprised to get a B at all.

Zhou Lu and the others scrolled down, eyes full of anticipation as they looked for Bai Wan’s record. Every new player from Lan City was a potential recruit. Let alone this one, whose talent, by all accounts, was extraordinary.

“Oh? He named his character ‘Family’?” Zhou Lu muttered curiously.

But when they read Bai Wan’s actual settlement…

Their jaws dropped. The more they read, the more stunned they became.

[Player Name: Family]

[Settlement Grade: -S. Paranormal Coins Awarded: 0]

[Exclusive Title Earned: He Always Breaks Everything]

Quality: Epic

Effect: This player emits an abnormal lure to Paranormal Entities. Paranormals are more likely to target this player first.

[Additionally, due to uncontrollable circumstances, the Ghost Cruise dungeon will be permanently retired. Thank you for your continued support.]

The room fell into stunned silence.

“Did… did I read that wrong?” A bespectacled young man took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes.

What the hell did he just see? Why did the grade say ‘negative S’? What even was that?! A negative score?

“Wait… that newbie actually earned a title?” Su Yuening’s wide eyes sparkled with astonishment.

Titles were supposed to be honors only the most elite, the most gifted players could earn. Only a handful of players across the entire Paranormal Game had ever gotten one.

“But what the hell kind of title effect is that?” Zhou Lu was baffled too.

He Always Breaks Everything? And the ability… is attracting Paranormals? What kind of hell-level curse is that?

Just what the hell did this mysterious rookie do? Did he… kill the game’s parents or something?

Zhou Lu truly couldn’t imagine any other scenario that would make the Paranormal Game take such a heavy-handed approach.

Liu Tong just stood there in a daze, especially after seeing the final line:

[Due to uncontrollable factors, the Ghost Cruise dungeon will be permanently retired.]

His mind flashed back to Bai Wan, who hadn’t logged out right away but said instead… that he wanted to look around a bit.

Wait…no way! You said you were going sightseeing—how did you end up nuking the entire dungeon?!

Liu Tong didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

At this very moment, the Paranormal Game forum was in uproar.

Most people recognized Liu Tong, as he was a known veteran. And each starting dungeon only ever assigned one vet per team. Which meant this player called “Family” was definitely a rookie, and yet he had earned a title?

This was the first time in history that a newcomer had earned one during their very first dungeon.

“Holy crap. I nearly pissed myself during my first run. This guy? First dungeon and he’s already earned a damn title. This is what it means to be someone else’s golden child, huh?”

“He’s a beast for sure. Just too bad the title effect is, like, hell-tier. Wonder how he feels about getting the first-ever negative score, haha.”

“Wait, why did the Ghost Cruise dungeon suddenly retire? What on earth happened in there…”

Suddenly, someone posted a shocking update: “Guys, this newcomer made it into the Bounty Board’s top 50!”

“No way—what?! Holy crap, it’s true! He’s ranked 48!”

The Bounty Board was a ranking system within the Paranormal Game. No one really knew why the system had it, but one thing was clear: only high-potential players ever appeared on it. Anyone who managed to kill someone on the board would receive a huge coin reward.

Some said the board was created to hunt down talented players. Others thought it was a trial by fire—a rite of passage. Either way, getting on the Bounty Board was both an honor… and a death sentence.

Normally, it was dominated by veteran players. Everyone in the top 100 had participated in at least five dungeons.

But now, this newcomer had burst straight into 48th place. Just what the hell had he done to earn that kind of title, that kind of score… and a place on the board?

Zhou Lu and his team were beyond curious.

“What exactly happened on that ghost ship?” Zhou Lu couldn’t help turning to ask Liu Tong.

Liu Tong simply shrugged helplessly. “Boss, I really don’t know.”

He’d logged out right after clearing the dungeon, so he had no idea what that half-mad Bai Wan had done afterward.

“Get in touch with him. See if he has any interest in joining Lan City’s official branch,” Zhou Lu said eagerly. With the recent B-class paranormal incident that had taken out many of their Para-Hunters, they were in dire need of new recruits.

Liu Tong nodded. Players who’d participated in the same dungeon could message each other through the forum, even though, technically, he also had Bai Wan’s phone number.

After all, that bastard had used his phone inside the game to call a ghost. Liu Tong had tossed the thing the second he exited the dungeon.

He found Bai Wan’s in-game ID—‘Family’—and fired off a message.

……

In a residential district of Lan City, Bai Wan was leisurely admiring his newly acquired loot. After playing with the miniature ghost ship for a while, he picked up the Blood Husk Idol.

But the moment his fingers touched it, the idol shuddered like something alive and immediately drilled into his arm.

Whoosh! 

A burst of crimson light flashed, and a blood-red eye opened on his forearm where the idol had vanished.

The system’s voice chimed in:

[Some abyssal-grade Paranormal Artifacts will integrate into the user’s body. No need to panic.]

Bai Wan stared at the eye on his arm, both curious and surprised. “Hey, System. Now that I’ve got this thing, does that mean I can use a Ninth-Level Domain Expansion?”

[No.]

The system’s answer was ice-cold.

“What about an Eighth-Level Domain?” Bai Wan pressed, refusing to give up.

[Not even a First-Level Domain.]

“…Oh.” Bai Wan rolled his eyes. Seriously? So much for being abyssal-grade…

With a glance of disdain at the eye on his arm, he opened his skill panel. He’d earned a skill point after clearing the dungeon and could also choose a new bug skill.

Just as he was about to start, his phone buzzed. He looked down. It was a private message from the Paranormal Game forum.

He was a little surprised at first. Why is the game forum showing up on his phone now? But after thinking about it, he shrugged. It was a paranormal game, after all. If it popped up in his toilet, he wouldn’t be surprised either.

He opened the app and saw a message from a user named ‘Tong.’

[Bro, what the hell did you do to the Ghost Ship?]

Bai Wan instantly guessed that it must be Liu Tong.

He replied: [I’m innocent, bro. I didn’t do anything.]

Liu Tong messaged back almost immediately.

[Heh… You said the same thing when you stuck ‘Chen Weiyu’ in a wall. Whatever, let’s skip that. So, interested in joining Lan City’s Bureau of Special Affairs? The monthly salary is 100,000. You’ll also get access to dungeon intel. Once you’re official, you’ll get 200 Paranormal Coins a month, plus access to rental artifacts.]

The benefits were certainly tempting. With a 100k salary, he’d never have to worry about food and rent again. And 200 Paranormal Coins per month? That was no small amount either—considering the base reward for clearing a dungeon was just 100.

Still, Bai Wan knew it couldn’t be that simple. There would always be a cost.

So he asked: [What exactly would I have to do if I joined?]

About ten seconds later, Liu Tong responded:

[Since you’re already a Paranormal Player, I’ll be honest. The Ghost Cruise dungeon we just played—it was based on a real historical incident. Our bureau’s sole mission is to hunt paranormals and protect Lan City.]

So paranormal creatures really do exist beyond the dungeons? 

Bai Wan wasn’t surprised at all.

I mean, there’s an actual paranormal game. Would real ghosts and monsters really be that strange?

He wasn’t particularly interested in joining any official organizations, but this was a great chance to gather intel.

He replied: [Hunt paranormals? Can we actually do that?]

Liu Tong elaborated: [Yes. Check your character panel. You should see a mode called ‘Hunt Mode.’ When activated, it generates a domain, and within that domain, your in-game skills and artifacts will work in real life.]

As if to demonstrate their sincerity, Liu Tong sent a detailed follow-up:

[Skills behave slightly differently within the Hunt Domain. You can look into that yourself. Just remember, once Hunt Mode is activated, the paranormals you face are real. There are no safe zones, no pre-set solutions, and no coin rewards.]

[Think of Hunt Mode as a safety net provided by the Paranormal Game. When a player encounters a real-world paranormal, they can activate Hunt Mode to survive.]

That was… unexpected. Bai Wan had assumed the Paranormal Game was the villain in all this. But now… it didn’t seem quite so black and white.

If the game didn’t exist, humanity would be completely defenseless against paranormals. This Hunt Mode—it gave people a fighting chance.

So this “Bureau of Special Affairs” was essentially a task force powered by the game, using in-game mechanics to counter real threats?

That sounded incredibly dangerous. Hunting real paranormals… That couldn’t be safe.

No wonder they were offering 200 coins a month. What if some super-powerful entity showed up and they ordered him to deal with it? Would he have a choice?

So Bai Wan responded politely:

[Thank you for the offer. I’m deeply honored that the Bureau would consider me. However, after serious reflection and careful self-assessment, I believe I am not suited for the current position. Thank you once again for the opportunity.]

“…What the hell?” Liu Tong stared at the screen, lips twitching.

This guy… is he writing a civil servant resignation letter?

In the next moment, Liu Tong sent over a stack of documents.

[No worries. Take a look at this. It's a special contract. No obligations, no chain of command. Just complete a task, get a reward. It’s basically a collaboration agreement.]

Bai Wan blinked at the sheer number of files sent his way.

[Wow. This is… impressively prepared.]

Liu Tong replied:

[Bro, it’s the new normal. Nine out of ten players these days don’t want anything to do with the government. You think we wouldn’t have contingency plans?]

Bai Wan laughed when he saw that.

[Alright, I’ll look through it later. Let me finish upgrading my skills first.]

After sending the message, he put his phone aside. He’d review the contract later—his skill point came first.

With anticipation, he opened his character panel and saw a flashing exclamation mark indicating a new skill was ready to be learned.

He clicked on it immediately.

A few seconds later, a sunflower-shaped icon lit up.

[Congratulations. You have acquired the bug skill: Sunflower That Absorbs Sunlight.]

Comments