Chapter 8: Sadako’s Long Hair

June 23rd, 2023

“Did you really step on dog poop?”

“Did the curse of the Red Cotton Coat Ghost come true?”

“Is it that powerful?”

The other group of people who were originally about to leave, upon seeing Xia Xingyu actually guessing it was dog poop, immediately stayed and squatted down to watch the excitement.

Even Xia Xingyu himself looked at Chen Chu with doubt, “The Red Cotton Coat earlier was really no problem?”

Chen Chu furrowed his brows, seemingly recollecting, but in the end, he shook his head, “No problem.”

“Damn it!” Xia Xingyu’s face grew worse.

“Um, I have some tissue here. Do you want to wipe it?” The dog owner took out some tissue prepared for dog poop and offered it to Xia Xingyu.

“No need.” He definitely didn’t want to wipe dog poop on the street.

Xia Xingyu quickly walked towards a nearby lawn and vigorously rubbed his shoe covered in dog poop on the grass, desperately trying to transfer the Labrador’s gift to the blades of grass. If it weren’t for these shoes being a limited edition, he would have gladly taken them off and thrown them away on the spot.

“Unlucky!” The more Xia Xingyu thought about it, the more he felt that his luck today was incredibly unbelievable. The appearance of this dog poop was too mystical. Someone must have cursed him.

After a brief thought, Xia Xingyu took out his phone and found a certain group, mentioning one person.

Hai Wang: [@Wu Wang, are you cursing me behind my back?]

Wu Wang: [???]

Chu: [He just stepped on dog poop.]

As soon as Chen Chu sent this message, the previously quiet group instantly flooded with a series of mocking reaction images, all sorts of poses and expressions.

After the group had laughed enough, Wu Wang finally spoke: [How could I only make you step on dog poop? If it were me, I would definitely curse you with impotence. @ me when you become impotent next time.]

[Hahaha…]

That’s too harsh. If Xia Xingyu mentions Wu Wang again, it’s equivalent to becoming impotent.

The group was once again filled with a series of mockery, angering Xia Xingyu to the point where he almost smashed his phone.

“Chen Chu, what nonsense did you say in the group?” Xia Xingyu turned his head and glared at someone.

“Do you mind?” the hooded youth raised an eyebrow, looking somewhat surprised.

“Of course.” Who likes their embarrassing incidents being made public?

“Then why did you mention Wu Wang in the group?” Chen Chu asked.

“Do you think I wanted to? He blocked me.”

Chen Chu nodded, understanding the situation.

Lin Xuan, who made a small profit, was extremely happy. She took the initiative to invite Song Ranran out to show off and have a barbecue together. Song Ranran bluntly said that Lin Xuan’s recent good fortune was like a dramatic turnaround.

Talking about -99 luck value turning into good luck is all nonsense, but her financial luck did improve quite a bit. In the following days, she suddenly received a call from Tang Mingxu, saying that he wanted to hire her as a permanent NPC.

“Are you saying you want me to continue playing the Red Cotton Coat Ghost? Why?” Wasn’t she just doing a temporary cameo? Why did it seem like she was taking away Shuangge’s job?

“Did you say something when you came out of the coffin that day?” Tang Mingxu asked.

“No.” Lin Xuan had always been dedicated to her work.

“Think again. Did you curse any players?” Tang Mingxu asked.

“Absolutely not. How could I curse players?” Lin Xuan felt guilty.

“Don’t be nervous. I’m not blaming you. Just think carefully. Did you say something to one of the players about them stepping on dog poop or something?” the store manager asked.

“Yes.” But it wasn’t a curse, it was divination.

“Guess what? That player actually stepped on dog poop when they left the building. Hahaha, talk about coincidence! It cracked me up,” Tang Mingxu laughed for a while before continuing, “And then those players spread the word in their social circle, saying that we have a special NPC in the escape room who curses people, and it’s quite an interesting concept. So, we’ve had several waves of players coming in these days, and after completing the game, they all ask why they didn’t encounter the Red Cotton Coat Ghost. I thought about it, and it’s a business opportunity. So, I had a brilliant idea to package you as a unique NPC. I told them that only those who finish the first part of the escape room within an hour can encounter the Red Cotton Coat Ghost at the end and trigger the curse. How about that? Am I a genius or what? Afterward, I announced this on the official website, and the response was overwhelmingly positive. The bookings for the coffin shop escape room are already full for a week ahead. Everyone wants to come and encounter you.”

“…” I’m not a monster, why would they want to encounter me?

“Do you want me to continue cursing? But… it’s not like I can always be accurate,” I can only curse players who happen to be unlucky.

“Oh, it doesn’t have to be accurate. It’s all about the fun. Just say some random curses that don’t really matter. For example, running out of toilet paper, eating instant noodles without the seasoning packet, or if you weren’t so handsome, you would always get into fights when going out,” Tang Mingxu understood the psychology of consumers very well. “Actually, I could have found someone else to play this NPC, but it’s the hype you’ve created. That’s why I want you to do it. So, what do you say? Can Tang-ge count on you?”

“But…” Lin Xuan considered her -99 luck value and felt that there was still a risk of getting beaten up as the hidden NPC in this level, so she hesitated.

“I’ll double your salary,” Tang Mingxu played his trump card.

“I’m in!” Lin Xuan agreed without hesitation.

Whether it’s -99 or 99, as long as the money is right.

College students are the most enthusiastic about joining in on the fun. Tang Mingxu truly understood the psychology of players. When he announced the requirement of completing the escape room within an hour to encounter the Red Cotton Coat Ghost, a frenzy quickly formed within the escape room community. The question of whether they could meet the Red Cotton Coat Ghost overnight became one of the defining factors of an escape room expert.

Under Tang Mingxu’s deliberate promotion, the escape room business gained some popularity in the university town and attracted a team of renowned experts in the escape room scene in Jin City. Tang Mingxu knew they would have no problem completing the challenges, so he called Lin Xuan over early.

Lin Xuan lay in the coffin, feeling a bit bored, so she began to calculate her merit points. During this period, she had earned quite a lot of merit points, and her total was close to 100.

Host: Lin Xuan

Age: 21

Gender: Female

Luck Value: -99

Merit Points: 98

Divination Gold: 0

After this period of adaptation, Lin Xuan discovered that earning merit points was not difficult, but earning money was truly challenging. Take her job at the cake shop, for example. In just one afternoon, she would encounter several incidents where someone’s phone would fall and the screen would shatter or someone would twist their foot while wearing high heels. At times like these, all she needed to do was be a little more attentive, remind the person to be careful with their phone, and offer a helping hand when they were about to twist their foot. It was effortless to earn 10 merit points.

Fortunately, the divination coins were only worth ten yuan. If they were a hundred or a thousand yuan, she would feel sick.

Wait, that’s not right. If the divination coins were that valuable, why would she even bother working? She could just set up a stall under a bridge.

“Clatter.”

The sound of the divination cylinder shaking filled the air. After the familiar scene, the divination result appeared before Lin Xuan’s eyes.

[Shen Zhi, 21 years old, will get a fish bone stuck in the throat during dinner.]

“What a coincidence?” Was someone among these players unlucky?

Even Lin Xuan herself was a bit surprised. She had already planned to curse the person who opened the coffin with “running out of toilet paper” when they went to the bathroom.

“45 minutes have passed. It’s time for the Easter egg. Who will open the coffin?” Someone outside the coffin spoke.

“I’ll do it. My shoes are cheap, so if I step on dog poop, I can just throw them away.” Amidst laughter, someone stepped forward to open the coffin.

With mental preparation, no one was scared by the woman in the red cotton coat inside the coffin. Instead, they eagerly awaited the voice of the Red Cotton Coat Ghost.

Lin Xuan suddenly felt that her role as this NPC was a bit demeaning to her pride, but the program had to be completed. Lin Xuan stood inside the coffin, looking at the young man standing beside it, and asked, “What’s your name?”

The young man was momentarily stunned. Wasn’t it time for the “curse” now? Why was she suddenly asking for his name? But asking for a name wasn’t a big deal, so the young man casually replied, “Wang Kai.”

No.

Lin Xuan ignored him directly and looked at another boy not too far away. “What’s your name?”

The boy was also taken aback and answered, “Fang Feilun.”

Still not.

Lin Xuan looked at the third boy, a bespectacled student. “What’s your name?”

The third boy, having learned from the experience, didn’t hesitate and quickly replied, “Shen Zhi.”

Found him!

Lin Xuan’s eyes lit up. She swiftly climbed out of the coffin and walked towards Shen Zhi. Amidst the astonished gazes of the crowd, she stopped in front of him and began to curse, “You will get a fishbone stuck in your throat. Don’t eat fish today.”

“Ding, congratulations to the host for completing the divination task and gaining a point of merit.”

“Ding, congratulations to the host for accumulating 99 points of merit. The system mall can now be accessed.”

I can open the mall now? Lin Xuan was delighted. Without caring about the reactions of the other players in the secret room, she hurriedly left. With her bouncing figure in the bright red cotton jacket, she looked as festive as the New Year. Needless to say, she was overjoyed.

The “gods” looked at the departing ghost girl in the red cotton jacket and glanced at each other. “So it’s not just anyone who curses the person who opens the coffin.”

“It was designed.”

“And it was designed quite well.”

“Shen Zhi, why don’t we go out and try some fish later? Let’s see if it’s a real curse or if the ghost girl has taken a liking to you.”

“Let’s give it a try.”

Lin Xuan returned to the dressing room, still wearing her makeup. She sat cross-legged and started exploring the system.

In the system panel, the previously grayed-out mall button was now illuminated. Lin Xuan clicked on it and found a whole page filled with items, just like a certain online shopping platform. However, each item was pixelated.

“I can’t see anything at all.” Lin Xuan’s curiosity was greatly disappointed.

“To view the price of the goods, it costs one point of merit. To view the attributes of the goods, it costs ten points of merit. All items in the mall can only be purchased with merit points,” the system explained.

“I have to spend merit points just to see the prices? Why don’t you go rob someone?” This revelation shocked Lin Xuan’s entire family. She had never heard of a place where asking for the price would cost you.

“If the host disagrees with this type of selling method, you can also choose to draw a lottery to obtain the items. After obtaining the items, you can view their attributes for free without additional charges,” the system replied.

Lin Xuan could hardly believe what she was hearing. All the items were mine, and I can view their attributes for free. Shouldn’t I be thanking you?

“How do I draw the lottery?” Lin Xuan couldn’t be bothered to complain.

“99 merit points can be used to draw the lottery once,” the system said.

“…So many?” She only had a total of 99 merit points, and one draw would use them all up?

What a rip-off!

Or is it that most of the prices in the mall are above 99 merit points?

“Since the host is entering the mall for the first time, a unique discount activity is available. One-tenth of the price, only ten merit points required to draw the lottery,” the system explained.

“One-tenth isn’t 9.9?” Lin Xuan, being a student of finance, was meticulous.

“The mall does not negotiate prices. Please consider whether to participate in the discount activity. The discount activity is only available for one day,” the system replied.

One-tenth, and the activity only lasts for one day? If there’s a bargain, I won’t let it slip away: “Draw!”

“The lottery begins.” Suddenly, the system panel distorted, and all the pixelated items were absorbed into a disc, which then began to spin rapidly.

With this level of pixelation, does it even matter if it spins or not?

Lin Xuan complained and casually clicked on one of the pixelated items.

“Congratulations, host. You have drawn item number 009, Sadako’s long hair. Please go to the inventory to check the item’s attributes.”