Chapter 2: The Bride of the Enigmatic King (2)

The old Crone's face was a map of wrinkles. Her back was hunched, and her gloomy, muddied, and yellowed eyes stared menacingly at the brides and woodsmen, filled with venomous resentment.

All experienced players knew—the appearance of an NPC meant the game had begun. Simultaneously, the Crone’s cold, chilling voice drifted through the air.

“If you wish to board the boat, you must pay with Wraith Coins. Without them, you cannot cross.”

Her voice was somber and hoarse, like fingernails endlessly scraping across a blackboard—a sensation that seemed to pierce straight through one's spine. Yet, compared to the panic of the others, Tang Mu’s teammate, Xue Fen—the very one Joseph had just dismissed as a whimpering puppy—couldn’t help but tug at Tang Mu’s sleeve.

Feeling the pull, Tang Mu’s gaze fell to him. Under her eyes, Xue Fen lowered his head, his face flushing with shyness.

Tang Mu was puzzled. “Is something wrong?” she asked gently, maintaining the demeanor of a big sister who wouldn’t be too harsh on her little brother.

Being watched by such a beauty, Xue Fen's blush crept all the way to his neck. He looked down, hiding the faint Q of spades glint in his amber eyes—a reflection caused by the game’s internal lighting, a mark reserved for certain special beings.

“Thank you,” he murmured.

Tang Mu didn’t understand. “For what?”

“For helping me out earlier,” he replied. “That Joseph—he’s pretty popular in your world, isn’t he? If it were me…I probably wouldn’t even have the chance to speak to you. If not for the game matchmaking, I wouldn’t deserve to stand by your side.”

He looked on the verge of tears—classic manipulative sweetness.

But Tang Mu had seen all sorts of people. Did he really think he could outplay her with such tricks? Hardly.

“So, you need to work hard too, little brother,” Tang Mu said, playing the caring big sister to perfection. “This is a B- level instance. The survival rate is rumored to be less than 10%. Out of the 52 people here, perhaps only five or six will survive. Do you want to be on the death list?”

Xue Fen shook his head in panic.

“If you don’t want to die, then focus your mind where it matters.”

“How can we earn Wraith Coins?” someone asked.

Unlike certain abnormal players only interested in flirting with beauties, there were still plenty of normal players who aimed to collect in-game items to sell at a high price in the Metaverse Shop.

Every item in the game could be listed for sale. The Metaverse Shop was a unique space connecting the real and the unreal, where players could trade items acquired in-game with others. Even the most common F-grade item could fetch over ten thousand gold coins in the real world. The lure of such profits drew even ordinary people, with no disabilities, to try their luck in the game.

Since the question was asked, the Crone pointed to several stalls in the odd market nearby. “Go there, and trade what you have on you.”

Trade what, exactly? Suspicious, the players entered the Wraith Market.

The underworld’s market was dimly lit. There were few shops, and none displayed anything fit for the living world. The first stall, for example, showcased bloody hearts, severed hands and feet, nauseating brains, and tangled intestines. Those with weaker stomachs vomited on the spot.

Next to each sample was a label: Wraith Heart, 5 coins each. Wraith Claw, 2 coins per pair. Wraith Leg, 2 coins per limb. Wraith Blood, 1 coin per bowl. Wraith Brain, 5 coins each.

The other stalls were much the same.

The crowd was shocked.

“How many coins do we need to trade for, then?”

“Twenty,” the Crone’s voice drifted from behind, sending shivers down their spines.

In other words, one had to kill a person to afford a ticket for the boat.

Meanwhile, their game was being live-streamed on various video platforms.

“Haha, can you believe these newbies drew ‘The Wraith King’s Bride’ for their run? None of their accounts are older than six months! The most experienced has only played three times. They’re doomed, doomed! At the end, none will survive, just you wait.”

“Yeah, it’s only the first stage and already you have to kill just to survive. If you can’t get on the boat, you die. If you do get on, you still die!”

“Unless…”

Any spoilers were instantly censored by the system. Even if new players could review the game script after clearing it, they were forbidden to leak any details. Besides, anything could happen in-game—one small change could alter the entire storyline.

So, as all veteran players knew, strategies were useless.

“Does this mean…we have to cut ourselves up?”

“Oh! He’s killed someone! No, wait, he’s killed a wraith!”

A male player dressed as a woodsman had killed his teammate.

The wraith bride stared at him, wide-eyed with disbelief.

The woodsman, Zhou Zhi, gripped a wraith blade he’d snatched from the market stall and kept bowing in apology. “Qiao Fang, I’m sorry! I didn’t mean it—I just want to survive…”

His actions drew scorn from others.

“I heard Qiao Fang is Zhou Zhi’s girlfriend,” someone whispered, pulling his teammate aside. Though he tried to keep his voice down, in the game, even the softest whisper was as loud as a shout.

“They were on the same tour bus. The bus crashed off a cliff, but they didn’t die outright. Their bodies have been in the ICU ever since. Their parents gave them game passes, hoping if they could clear the game, they’d hold a wedding for them.”

“Tch, who would have thought.”

“That’s why you should stay away from men. They only bring you misfortune.”

Zhou Zhi glared at the group gossiping about him, but they remained defiant. After his glare, he couldn’t be bothered.

After all, these gossipers were his classmates. As long as he cleared the game, received the rewards and items, what woman could he not have? As for these people—just a bunch of cannon fodder doomed to fail.

Just the thought of clearing a B- level game and winning a hundred thousand gold coins plus countless items filled Zhou Zhi with excitement.

Yet, he did not make it onto the boat.

The Crone spared him only a glance, her voice chilling: “The bride perished in vain, and the woodsman died of grief.”

Zhou Zhi’s excitement froze on his face.