I, the screenwriter, have experienced a resurgence of inspiration.

The tailor shop was dimly lit with yellow light, and everything looked as if it were always covered with a layer of old grease.

Chen Xi could feel the pressure coming from the human bone clothes rack behind him.

She felt nauseous, but her stomach was empty, only acid churning inside.

Chen Xi remembered:

She ruined Sister Fang's human skin coat.

Chen Shulan stood in front of her, her arms pressed intimately against her skin.

The other person's body temperature was so low that just by getting close, Chen Xi's breath was accompanied by white mist.

"Don't be so surprised."

Seemingly noticing her shock, Chen Shulan was in a very good mood, so good that she was even willing to take the initiative to explain:

"I heard from Ah Kun that you're a cop. That's great, girls can be cops too, how impressive!"

Ah Kun, Lu Bingkun.

The image of that strange-looking, human-like large dog immediately flashed into Chen Xi's mind.

A ghost, its limbs severed and replaced with dog legs, its spine forcibly bent, and its mouth sewn into the shape of a dog's mouth.

He was covered in a dog skin, and the dog skin and his soul were intertwined, inseparable forever.

—That was Chen Shulan's doing; it was her revenge against her ex-husband.

"Thank you for saving me, Sister Lan, but you've mistaken me for someone else."

Chen Xi took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down: "I'm not a cop, I'm a new security guard."

She had no intention of revealing her true identity, nor did she intend to let the other party know any more information about her.

In dungeons, in front of ghosts—the more you expose yourself, the greater the danger.

"You don't believe me?"

Chen Shulan spoke up, her voice very soft: "That's true, after all, humans and ghosts are different."

After she finished speaking, she stretched out her long fingers and pressed them against Chen Xi's face.

The fingertips were sharp and hard to the touch, like five icicles pressed against the skin.

Chen Xi could feel the fingernails moving along the contours of her facial bones.

It's like measuring, or inspecting the quality of a piece of goods.

Chen Shulan tilted her head slightly, staring at Chen Xi's face for a long time before finally sighing:

"I originally thought you were my daughter's descendant."

There was a hint of disappointment in her voice. Finally, her fingertips rested on Chen Xi's jawbone and tapped it lightly twice.

"Everyone in the Chen family has a small mole on their chin, and it seems you don't have one..."

Besides, your cautious nature is nothing like the person I used to be.

At this point, the eyes hidden beneath the white cloth paused:

"Can you believe it? I've been dead for so many years—it's like I was asleep, and when I woke up, people said I'd been dead for decades."

As if she had no one to confide in, she continued talking to herself:

"When I died, my relationship with Lu Bingkun was already extremely hostile."

But I was too stupid; I only had time to entrust the girl to someone else, and I couldn't beat him.

I couldn't stop the Chen family, nor could I protect their assets.

Chen Xi didn't understand why the other person was telling her all this. Her hands, hidden behind her back, struggled silently, trying to escape from the skeleton clothes rack.

"And then... how did you become a ghost, and why did you become a player?"

"I don't know, I don't know either."

Chen Shulan opened her palms somewhat blankly, muttering to herself:

"I've been dead for so many years, and I don't know why I've only become a ghost now, nor do I feel like I've suddenly become smarter."

It felt like I'd just taken a nap; my dreams were filled with hatred, and I still felt hatred when I woke up, like I'd just acted in a play.

At this point, Chen Shulan suddenly dropped all her superfluous expressions, turned her head, and faced Chen Xi again:

"I saved you."

"You have to repay me."

Chen Xi remained silent for a while.

Her brain was working at lightning speed, every nerve ending was calculating.

The probability of survival, the possibility of escape, Chen Shulan's true intentions, and the threat from Sister Fang, the skinning ghost.

Countless pieces of information intertwined in her mind, forming a complex web.

She thought of Zheng Wenxuan, who was still nowhere to be found.

There's also Kang Xiaojia, Li Yafei, and Wang Lei.

So she can't die here.

……

……

What do you want?

Chen Xi took the initiative to ask, and Chen Shulan's lips curled up, finally revealing a satisfied smile:

"I want your points."

She spoke very slowly, enunciating each word carefully:

"Note that this refers to all your points, including those you earn in this instance."

She lowered her voice to make sure Chen Xi could hear her:

"You'd better not lie, or I'll chase you all the way to the mortal realm and kill you."

Under the white cloth, her teeth were partially visible, neat and even, but with an eerie bluish-black tinge.

Chen Xi was startled and subconsciously looked at Sister Fang.

Fangjie was still standing there, as if she couldn't hear their conversation, the scissors in her hand piercing through human skin, making a "snip snip" sound.

Chen Xi understood; Fang Jie couldn't hear him.

Chen Shulan's status in this tailor shop was probably much higher than she imagined.

—So high that it could make Sister Fang temporarily put aside murder, so high that it could allow her to bargain with living people here.

So what exactly is the other person's profession?

Could it be that it's golden like hers?

"Will you say yes or no, pretty girl?"

Chen Shulan spoke slowly, as if chatting casually: "By the way, what are the quests for you active players?"

Chen Xi remained silent, still trying to break free of the human bone clothes rack.

task.

Main quests, side quests, and hidden quests.

Chen Shulan may also have a mission, and it's different from the players'—otherwise, she wouldn't be here as a resident.

The decision is made in just three seconds.

"I can give you the points," Chen Xi said calmly, "but only after I've safely left the instance."

She did not lower her guard because of Chen Shulan's "victim" confession.

The only daughter of a gambler.

In those days, which Hong Kong businessman didn't have blood on his hands?

Moreover, Chen Shulan imprisoned Lu Bingkun's ghost, dressed it in a dog skin, and turned it into a dog that could never be freed.

It was an eternal imprisonment of one soul by another, a punishment more cruel than death.

Chen Shulan, as an opponent, was by no means the "powerless to resist" Lu Bingkun that she claimed.

Even the other party's attire: a white cloth covering his face, a white dress, and just by looking at his appearance, he resembled the White Impermanence who had chased her before.

Furthermore, the other party has the ability to rescue people from the clutches of the White Impermanence (a powerful spirit in Chinese mythology).

Chen Xi frowned, countless guesses flashing through his mind.

After listening to Chen Xi's words, Chen Shulan paused for a moment, then laughed out loud:

"You're really difficult to deal with."

She shook her head, her tone surprisingly approving: "Okay. Then the points will be calculated separately."

"On this basis, we will exchange intelligence."

I can tell you what my task is, and you must tell me what your task is. But you must tell me first.

She held up one finger, her dark nails reflecting a faint sheen under the light:

"Ensure fair trade."

Chen Xi quickly thought that one of her tasks upon entering the instance was to gather intelligence.

In this instance, intelligence is sometimes more valuable than points.

Chen Shulan had been here longer than her and was a special "ghost" player, so she had more than one piece of information.

This deal is feasible.

……