Chapter 9: You Fake Chosen One

The solitary shop stood on the open ground, made all the more desolate by the night, gloomy and dark; with a gust of cold wind, it was practically the perfect location for a haunted tomb.

Looking at the shop, which was nowhere near a village or a store, Longxi felt a chill in his heart, and he swallowed a mouthful of saliva: "This is the shop you chose?"

"That's right!" Lin Bai nodded, borrowing the sales pitch of the agency clerk, "There is no competition from peers nearby, the traffic is convenient, it's easy for people coming to eat to park, it's an absolutely top-tier, number-one prime location..."

"..." Longxi's gaze toward Lin Bai immediately turned sympathetic; with this level of intelligence, it would be a disservice to his own conscience not to scam him!

Lin Bai calmly handed over the lantern in his hand and sighed: "Little brother, I'm counting on you; my life and livelihood are all entrusted to you."

The game had just begun.

No one knew what they would encounter, and everyone was exploring how to play this game; of course, most people were still unconsciously applying their past gaming experience.

At the thought that he was very likely to be the first player to encounter the plot mode, Longxi quickly perked up, and the discomfort of facing the Haunted House was swept away; he stretched his muscles and bones and walked toward the shop: "Wait for my good news."

The moment the player entered the shop, Lin Bai immediately put away his smile, staring at the pitch-black doorway, pricking up his ears to listen to the movement inside.

What kind of specs the ghost inside had would be decided in one go.

"Get out, don't disturb our life." A woman's scolding voice.

As soon as the words fell.

It was as if a great wind had blown up in the room, followed by a clattering sound.

Longxi's lantern flickered once and then went out.

"To think it's a female ghost; don't just hide in the dark and scare people, come out and let me take a look." Longxi's flippant voice rang out.

If his level were higher, perhaps he would be a bit more cautious.

But a newbie had nothing but one life, so naturally, he was brave and invincible, fearing nothing.

Besides, he didn't believe from the bottom of his heart that the mobs in the newbie village could be that powerful; since the server had just opened, they had to give players a place to grind for experience!

"Get out." A rough man's voice followed.

Such a good temper!

Outside, Lin Bai was filled with emotion; his wife had been flirted with right in front of him, yet this male ghost hadn't slapped him to death...

"The ones who should get out are you." Switching to the male ghost, Longxi immediately transformed into an emissary of justice, "You evil spirits shouldn't remain in the human world to begin with; I advise you to dissipate early, otherwise, if we really start fighting, be careful that you won't even have the chance to be reincarnated..."

Bang!

Lin Bai's vision blurred, and a black shadow flew out of the shop, falling at his feet, sending dust flying.

Not dead?

Waving his hand to disperse the dust from the tip of his nose, Lin Bai looked at Longxi by his feet, his face full of concern: "Little brother, are you alright?"

"I'm fine." Longxi scrambled up, staring at the pitch-black doorway, thinking to himself, 'Damn it, it's not a mob, it's a BOSS; I have to grind my level up before I can handle it!'

While observing the ghost, Lin Bai was also observing the player; being thrown out from seven or eight meters away, the player didn't even frown, which was enough to prove that the player lacked a sense of pain!

So envious!

Bah!

They didn't even have a sense of pain, yet they claimed to be one hundred percent realistic; how shameless!

Lin Bai quickly adjusted his mindset, acting as if he hadn't seen Longxi's disheveled state, and offered flattery without hesitation: "To retreat unscathed in front of a ghost, little brother is truly worthy of being a Chosen One; such skill truly makes me envious. I implore you to rid the human world of this scourge..."

As he spoke.

Lin Bai bowed to the ground, his posture perfectly executed.

At this moment.

In his eyes, Longxi was light, he was hope, he was Ultraman...

There was no help for it.

This guy had come out too fast.

He hadn't served his purpose as a tool man at all.

Lin Bai knew it was a bit much to ask a newbie to fight a BOSS.

But at least he should have figured out the ghost's background, attack methods, or how it killed people!

"I..." Longxi looked at the doorway again and said regretfully, "I can't do it; I didn't bring a suitable weapon today. Once I find a suitable weapon, I'll come back to deal with him."

It was clearly a small BOSS inside; at his current level, going up there was just serving himself on a platter. He knew the location, so he would come back when his level was higher.

"Little brother, I have a kitchen knife here; I wonder if it will do?" Lin Bai pulled a kitchen knife from behind his back; he knew what players needed. While strolling through the night market, he had bought a tool on a whim, and on the way, he had taken the time to knock a few chips into the kitchen knife against a stone.

If you aren't obsessed, you won't succeed; Lin Bai constantly reminded himself to cultivate the habit of treating tasks as life, preferably as natural as eating and drinking.

A white-tier weapon with a Flaw?

Seeing the Chipped Kitchen Knife for an instant, Longxi was stunned for a moment, but he still took the knife: "Good, then I'll try again."

"Get out of my house!"

A roar.

Longxi came out even faster than before; he was sent flying out without even saying a word.

Lin Bai stood there.

Longxi lay there.

The two stared at each other with wide eyes.

Lin Bai coughed lightly, giving him a way out: "Young hero, you must have been ambushed by the ghost, right?"

"That's right, I was careless, and the knife wasn't very easy to use; it would be best if you could find me a long Sword." Longxi climbed up, pretending to be calm, and patted the dust off his body.

As a dignified player, how could he lose face in front of an NPC.

Besides, the NPC in front of him didn't seem very intelligent; if he couldn't beat the BOSS, it would be good to swindle a few more pieces of equipment out of him.

"Little brother, I'm a cook." Lin Bai spread his hands helplessly, reminding him.

"Then let's change the day. Wait until I have retrieved my Sword, and then I will come back to battle the ghost. Set your heart at ease; I will definitely help you get rid of that ghost." Longxi glanced at Lin Bai, turned, and walked away, not even mentioning the return of the kitchen knife.

It has always been me scamming others; how could anyone scam me?

Lin Bai gave a soft huff and asked resentfully, "Little brother, are you really a Chosen One?"

"Of course." Longxi stopped in his tracks; one still had to show a certain amount of respect when dealing with a quest NPC.

"The Chosen One is helpful and moves forward with courage, but I haven't seen that in you." Lin Bai looked at Longxi and said forlornly, "If you aren't one, I won't make things difficult for you. Just tell me, and I can go look for someone else. I heard that ghosts can survive in the human world because they hide treasures on their bodies..."

Treasures?

The quest I triggered—no matter what, I have to be the one to complete the first kill!

Who doesn't know that the first kill reward is the highest?

Furthermore.

It is said that most bosses in the game are one-time encounters.

Once you pass this village, there will be no such opportunity again.

On the forums, so many big shots haven't even encountered a quest NPC!

Longxi quickly turned back around, his face full of smiles: "Shopkeeper, don't be like that! It's not that I didn't have time to prepare, right?! Two days, give me two days, and I will definitely come to help you get rid of him."

"For us business people, time is money." NPCs could be willful. Lin Bai sighed and said aggrievedly, "Little brother, don't fob me off anymore. I know you look down on me too. The old immortals were all liars, and there are irresponsible people among the Chosen Ones as well..."

"How did I look down on you?" Longxi looked at Lin Bai helplessly, feeling defeated by this NPC who acted as if he had suffered a great grievance at the drop of a hat.

However.

He didn't dare to say anything too excessive, fearing that the quest he had in hand would fly away.

It's not good when a crappy game has too much realism; the NPCs are harder to serve one after another, and it's inexplicably frustrating.

"You promised me you would come to get rid of the evil spirits, but you've entered the door twice, and each time you came right back out as soon as you went in. It seems you didn't even see the face of the ghost. Although on the surface you were beaten out by the ghost, I saw it clearly—the ghost didn't even hurt a hair on your body."

Lin Bai looked at Longxi resentfully, "You are a Chosen One, a person with great abilities. Being thrown out of the house for more than ten meters—if it were anyone else, their bones would have been broken long ago. But don't talk about crying out in pain; you didn't even frown. You didn't use your full strength at all. If this isn't fobbing me off, then what is? I know, once you leave, you definitely won't come back..."

What the hell is this thick, resentful-wife tone?

I don't cry out in pain because I have no sense of pain, and the reason my bones aren't broken is because the ghost inside played some tricks...

Longxi complained inwardly, but he had no way to explain it to this stubborn NPC. He took a deep breath: "Shopkeeper, I really don't have a handy weapon."

"You don't even know what the ghosts inside look like; it's obvious you aren't putting your heart into it." Lin Bai accurately struck the vital point.

"I..." Longxi choked.

"If I had your abilities, even if I were preparing to come back next time, I would have to figure out the situation inside this time—how many enemies are inside, what means they have to hurt people—I would learn as much as I could." Lin Bai continued, "Only by knowing yourself and your enemy can you win every battle. You didn't do anything, yet you say you'll come back next time; even a fool wouldn't believe that."

Longxi was speechless, staring blankly at Lin Bai, complaining in his heart: *You have such precise logic, how did they manage to sell this shop to you? *

Lin Bai's eyes seemed to see through everything: "I guessed right, didn't I?"

Damn!

Longxi cursed under his breath. He wanted to turn and leave, but he couldn't bear to part with this dungeon that only he knew about. He gritted his teeth: "Fine, as you wish. I will go and figure out the situation inside."

He took a deep breath and went all out; at worst, he would just die a few more times.

What this NPC said wasn't necessarily a bad method. Anyway, he was a newbie and had nothing to lose; maybe he could really find the weakness of the ghost inside!

(End of chapter)