The Red-Clothed Vicious Ghost stood in place, its gaze fixed directly at Lin Huai, wearing a pleading smile reminiscent of a stray pregnant cat trying to win over a kind-hearted female college student to take care of her.
Lin Huai: …
For centuries, he had been the one who terrified others, never needing to please anyone. Now, watching the Red-Clothed Vicious Ghost wear his face and display expressions that were never his, he felt for the first time the sensation of “replacement” that only a scoundrel seeking a substitute would understand.
But when you smile, you don’t resemble him anymore. Chu Tian stepped in front of Lin Huai, who was being stared at by the ghost, and let out a cold “hmph” before lunging forward with a wrench in hand. The ghost shrieked, on the verge of tears, and turned to throw itself into Lin Huai’s embrace.
Though Lin Huai wasn’t human, he had no intention of engaging in self-inflicted madness. He took two steps back, and the ghost missed its target. Just as it was about to pounce again, it was struck hard in the waist and fell to the ground.
The ghost: …
It looked at Lin Huai with eyes that seemed to ask, “Am I not your favorite person?” Lin Huai didn’t respond but instead covered his eyes with his icy hands.
For a moment, the scene inside the room was utterly incompatible with the usual tone of Jinjiang novels. So incompatible, in fact, that Lin Huai couldn’t even describe what he was seeing. When he finally uncovered his eyes, the mosaic on the ground had already been picked up by Chu Tian and, like the previous female ghost, flushed down the toilet.
…He looks so furious and violent… Lin Huai silently moved aside.
“Remember to be a good person in your next life,” Chu Tian said kindly as he pressed the toilet flush button. “And don’t mess with people you shouldn’t mess with.”
When he turned around again, apart from Ye Xian, who was comforting the pale-faced Lin Huai, everyone else’s eyes were on him—some fearful, some uneasy, some panicked.
Chu Tian reassured them with a firm gaze: “Don’t worry, that ghost won’t come back.”
After a moment of thought, he raised the wrench for added emphasis: “We’re completely safe now.”
Everyone: …
Their expressions suggested that Chu Tian was the source of all the unease in the villa. After a while, Huang Lu hesitantly spoke up: “Thank… thank you?”
“You’re welcome,” Chu Tian replied with a smile, particularly bright when he looked at Lin Huai. “Just serving the people.”
The chaos caused by “Heartbeat Memories” temporarily came to an end. There were still three hours until 8 a.m., but everyone was wide awake. The eleven of them crowded into Chu Tian and Lin Huai’s room, eagerly awaiting Chu Tian’s explanation of the path to survival.
Chu Tian had intended to have Lin Huai assist in the presentation, but the latter was curled up in a corner, pale and withdrawn, so he regretfully proceeded with a solo performance.
He picked up a black courier package and pointed at the logistics information: “In modern society, e-commerce has become a crucial part of the economy, and courier services are one of the pillars supporting its rapid development… Consumers should be vigilant about several common issues during online shopping.”
“First,” Chu Tian extended a finger, “there’s online fraud. Once confirmed, online fraud can result in a sentence of three to seven years depending on the amount involved…”
“Second,” he extended two fingers, “is not carefully reading product details. Buying blood orange masks but receiving a box of blood oranges, or purchasing a fake MAC lipstick with a ‘buy one, get ten’ guarantee but receiving eleven fakes—it all boils down to not reading the product details properly…”
“Third,” he extended three fingers, “is buying Lucky Bags. There’s no such thing as a free lunch. Lucky Bags are mostly collections of defective products, with more flaws than bugs in a freshman’s SolidWorks model. Hoping for a freebie is like expecting your 996 boss to suddenly give you a promotion and raise…”
Ni Xiao: “Something outrageous just snuck in there!!”
“As the saying goes, understand the problem to reach the peak,” Chu Tian nonchalantly brushed off Ni Xiao’s comment and cast a sharp look at the group. “Having said all this, have you all figured out the key to surviving this Game and solving the puzzle?”
He looked at them like a physics teacher in an advanced class, facing a super difficult problem from Jiangsu Province, with an expectant gaze for the national exam takers.
No one responded.
He then turned to Ye Xian, like a physics teacher turning to his trusted class representative: “Ye Xian, what do you think?”
Ye Xian squinted and said, “I think… it wants me dead.”
After he spoke, the others couldn’t help but nod in agreement.
Chu Tian was disappointed. His gaze wandered and finally landed on Lin Huai, who was curled up in the corner.
“Seven-day no-reason return policy,” Chu Tian said. “The key to surviving this Game lies in the seven-day no-reason return policy. The Game lasts four days. During these four days, players purchase items and confront the Game. Then, upon receiving ghostly items, they quickly return them using the seven-day no-reason return policy. The Game only requires daily purchases but doesn’t prohibit daily returns. By using a time-difference strategy—buying large quantities of items until the money runs out and quickly returning the ghostly items—the Game ends before the refunds are processed. This is the way to safely pass the Game.”
Everyone was stunned.
“This…” Tang Wen didn’t know how to respond. “This… feels too much like a joke…”
“Our survival is a game to them,” Chu Tian said lightly. “Manipulating the rules, defeating them, and surviving—isn’t that the trick to staying alive in the Game?”
Zhang Lu suddenly asked, “Who are they?”
In response to the girl’s question, Chu Tian shrugged.
“I don’t know,” he said. “Maybe they’re something like ‘gods’ from another dimension.”
“They watch our struggles, release ghostly viruses, and treat our survival as a game,” Chu Tian pointed at the sky. “It’s infuriating. But I don’t believe in any gods. I’m a materialist.”
The group fell silent for a long time. Finally, Ye Xian was the first to speak. He opened his mouth and said, “What about the Lucky Bags…”
“The Lucky Bags?” Chu Tian smiled. “They’re a trap.”
“Why?”
“Because Lucky Bags are the only items that can’t be returned with a seven-day no-reason return policy.”
This was the deeply buried trap.
“But,” Huang Lu questioned, “you, Lin Huai, and Zhang Lu were the first to buy Lucky Bags. Why were you fine, while those who bought them later…”
Before she could finish, Chu Tian scratched his head: “About that…”
“I actually don’t know.”
Ye Keke spat out her water, and Chu Tian continued: “But after thinking about it, I’ve come up with a plausible answer.”
Before he could speak, Ye Xian quickly interjected: “Don’t tell us it’s because you’re good-looking…”
“Without the beautiful buyer reviews from the first three customers, how could we attract more suckers to buy?” Chu Tian said lightly. “Drop the bait, and the blind fish will come to nibble. That’s what they call equivalent exchange… no, marketing tactics.”
The group fell silent again. After a while, Huang Lu spoke up: “Then tomorrow, we’ll follow Chu Tian’s advice and spend all our money, then return the items.”
The sun outside the villa had risen, and sunlight filtered through the curtains, falling on Chu Tian. He stared out the window for a moment, then looked at his watch and said, “Now, I’ll say one last thing.”
Huang Lu looked at him: “What?”
“The ghost hiding among us is you.”
His words caused an uproar. No one expected Chu Tian to strike at this moment. His finger pointed at a middle-aged woman sitting nearby.
Her face was swollen and sallow. It was Peng Xuan.
Everyone was stunned, and at that moment, all the lights in the villa turned on. “Peng Xuan’s” face began to rot, and a mixture of red and yellow pus flowed down from a wound on her forehead. It let out a hoarse laugh and looked at Chu Tian: “How did you find me?”
Everyone screamed and scattered, leaving only Chu Tian and Lin Huai unmoved—one delivering a speech, the other in a withdrawn state.
“Trash,” Chu Tian said.
Under the ghost’s attack, “Peng Xuan’s” face showed a venomous expression. Chu Tian, however, spoke unhurriedly: “Because you collected trash. Although there are indeed some overly clean and nosy friendly aunties in this world who, within days of moving in, would pry into your marital status and emotional life, and even steal your cardboard boxes and takeout under the guise of tidying the hallway… but an auntie who still collects trash in a Game is highly suspicious. What you were collecting wasn’t trash but the forgotten seven-day no-reason return slips inside the courier bags.”
With that, he pulled out an evidence bag: “The ashes inside are the proof. They’re from Ye Xian’s fan and Huang Lu’s handbag.”
“Peng Xuan” said, “Just because of that, you suspected me?”
“Also, there’s Zhang Lu’s phone. Atoms neither appear nor disappear out of thin air; they can only transfer from one object to another. Zhang Lu’s phone was taken by Feng Yao but disappeared in the bathroom. Someone must have entered the scene while Zhang Lu was unconscious and taken the phone…”
“Peng Xuan” fell silent for a moment, then said, “That wasn’t me…”
“Confess and you’ll be treated leniently, resist and you’ll be punished severely. You have the right to remain silent, but anything you say…”
“It was the Mirror Ghost that sent it back…”
“Don’t struggle in vain…”
“So your second deduction doesn’t hold… ah!!”
“Shut up,” Chu Tian coldly smashed the wrench onto “Peng Xan’s” head and looked at the group. “Does everyone agree with my deduction?”
Everyone: …
They nodded against their will, and Chu Tian smiled brightly: “Now, onto the third point of the deduction, which is also very important.”
“During lunch yesterday, Peng Xuan consumed a large amount of soybeans and sweet potatoes, and after the meal, she drank an entire bottle of ice-cold cola,” he said. “After that, I observed her all afternoon and evening. She didn’t go to the bathroom, nor did she fart or burp. The ability to suppress such physiological reactions is not something a human should be capable of.”
“Therefore, Peng Xuan being a ghost is an indisputable fact.”
As the identification succeeded, the sound of the villa’s front door opening came from downstairs. The scenery outside the window also changed, returning to the twilight when they first entered the villa.
Time began to flow again, and Peng Xuan, struck by the wrench, disappeared into thin air.
The ten survivors looked at each other, all in disbelief.
Is… is it really over?
Is… is it really over in such a ridiculous way?
This is so scammy!!
They turned their gazes to Chu Tian, the culprit, who lazily smiled at them: “No need to thank me. Go home early.”
Everyone: …
After thanking Chu Tian, they left the villa one by one. The last to leave were Chu Tian, Lin Huai, and Ye Xian. Ye Xian looked at the twilight outside and expressed his gratitude to Chu Tian one last time before leaving.
At the entrance, only Chu Tian and Lin Huai remained.
Lin Huai crouched on the ground, his eyes vacant. Chu Tian assumed he was frightened by the bloody scene and crouched down to look at him: “Let’s go, the Game is over…”
“Is it really over…” Lin Huai murmured.
The usually mischievous person’s rare vulnerability amused Chu Tian. He ruffled Lin Huai’s hair, particularly the hairline, and asked, “What else?”
“…I… I still have over a hundred yuan left…”
Chu Tian found it funny: “It’s already over. No need to worry about that anymore.”
“The pajamas and T-shirts I bought… were also taken back by the Game…”
“That’s a good thing.”
Lin Huai looked as if he had lost his entire world, his usually dark eyes unusually soft. Chu Tian crouched down and sighed: “I know you’re upset.”
“Yeah.”
“Liking 2D characters and treating them as your dream lovers isn’t something to be ashamed of,” Chu Tian said. “When I was a carefree youth, I also dreamed of marrying Saber and reaching the pinnacle of life…”
“What… what are you talking about?”
Chu Tian looked at him as if he were a stubbornly delusional otaku: “That man in ancient costume is from a game, right? You really like him?”
Lin Huai: …
“Back then, the ghost was looking at you…” Chu Tian gazed into his eyes. “How do you know him?” he asked, his tone suggestive.
Lin Huai: …
Lin Huai buried his head in his arms and muttered, “Forget it, you wouldn’t understand.”
Chu Tian said, “I do. I’ve had more romantic experiences than you…”
Lin Huai asked, “Oh? Like what?”
Chu Tian counted on his fingers: “About seven or eight. There’s Nanami Ayanami, Tobiichi Origami, Aisaka Taiga, Rei Ayanami, Su Mucheng, Lu Xueqi…”
They’re all 2D characters and novel characters!! This guy is the real otaku!!
Lin Huai didn’t want to talk to him anymore. Chu Tian continued, “It’s normal to react like this the first time. You’ll get used to it after a few more times.”
Then he added, “Newcomers usually feel a lot of pressure. You’ve done well. When you get back to school, visit sites like xxxxhub to relax…”
Lin Huai: “What hub?”
Chu Tian said, “GitHub, a paradise for the ascetic, perfect for cultivating your mind. Amitabha.”
Lin Huai: …
I’m fking dying the author is so freaking funny???