【Current Skills: Heaven's Justice, Rooster Crow Phantom, High-Rise from Flat Ground, Felt Tent, Marrow-Cleansing Detoxification, Heal the Wounded, Sword Box, Cow Language, Nibble, Stinging Nettle Toilet Paper.】
Song Mo scrolled through her skill list expressionlessly, officially declaring that her luck had completely run out.
Others only joked about having absurd luck, but she was genuinely cursed with it.
The 【Sword Box】 skill spawned an iron sword every day, perfectly adding to Song Mo's dilemma of having absolutely no use for iron swords while also not wanting to sell them as scrap metal.
Assuming one longsword weighed about five pounds, and based on the current price of scrap iron at 2,050 yuan per ton, Song Mo only needed to save up for 424,179 days to achieve financial freedom.
“Fun fact: living to a hundred is only a little over thirty thousand days. By that logic, I only need to hoard them for one thousand two hundred years.”
Song Mo rubbed her face, laughing in sheer exasperation.
“And then there's 【Heal the Wounded】. What on earth? It instantly restores fifty percent of the target's current health, but consumes sixty percent of their current health? If the patient only has fifty percent health left, does this skill just kill them and force them to cough up some extra blood?
“Whatever, I'll generously categorize you as an offensive skill. As for 【Cow Language】 and 【Nibble】... I should really give you two a round of applause. How wonderfully thoughtful. Were you worried I wouldn't have enough fodder for my cattle, so you decided to remind me to feed them every six hours?”
To the side, the fierce ghost A'yan shrank entirely into the ceiling, refusing to show her face.
A gacha player who had just suffered a terrible streak of bad luck was far more terrifying than any fierce ghost.
“...”
Song Mo took a deep breath, feeling a rare surge of intense irritation that made her temples throb.
“And did you think I forgot about you—【Stinging Nettle Toilet Paper】?”
Huoma, scientifically known as urtica or stinging nettle, was also called the "biting weed." It was named for the formic acid-filled stinging hairs covering the entire plant.
Touching it just once would deliver an agonizing sting, guaranteed to make anyone wish they had never been born.
How did a skill like this even have the audacity to sneak into her skill pool?
Song Mo admitted that when she had laughed at Deng Ziwen's toilet prop earlier, her voice might have been a bit too loud and her attitude a little too arrogant.
But she truly didn't deserve a punishment this cruel.
Just imagine: if she encountered some terrifying specter in the future that could teleport or freeze time, her opening move would be to sting its buttocks with stinging nettle.
Who would ever think she was a normal person?
Song Mo immediately decided to bury this skill at the absolute bottom of her skill list.
—And only use it in secret.
Knock, knock, knock.
While Song Mo was wallowing in disgust, she suddenly heard three knocks on the door.
After she called out, two young agents dressed in Special Investigation Bureau uniforms quickly walked in.
One was male and the other female. The female agent was in charge of questioning, while the male agent handled the recording.
“Hello, my name is Chen Meihua, and this is my colleague, Li Zhiyuan. Please understand that all of our conversations will be audio and video recorded.”
Agent Chen spoke softly, seemingly trying to soothe Song Mo's nerves.
“First of all, don't be afraid. The Instance is completely over, and you have safely returned to the real world.”
“You are a rookie player who survived this Route 404 Instance. Since it's your first time participating in an Instance, experiencing fear, panic, physical weakness, and dazedness are all normal aftereffects.”
“Many rookies experience similar symptoms. You'll recover after a few days of rest, and you can also apply for free official psychological counseling. There's no need to be overly anxious.”
“Okay.”
Song Mo nodded, keeping her head lowered as she diligently played her original, introverted self.
“Thank you.”
It was good that she could still speak.
The two agents exchanged a glance, and Agent Chen looked down to confirm the information in her hands.
“Could you please tell us your name, age, occupation, and education level, as well as your general experience inside the Instance?”
“A brief description will do. We're just making an official record for archiving. We'll set up an exclusive player file for you later and register you under the Special Investigation Bureau for unified management.”
“...O-Okay.”
Song Mo maintained her "deeply shaken" expression. When she looked up, her eyes still held lingering terror.
“I, I don't know why I got on that bus. There were... there were many people without legs on the bus... and then... I went to wipe tombstones... Yes, the quest said to wipe tombstones...”
“I don't know where the others went either... There were so many ghosts on the bus... As for the tombstone, I, I got lucky. As soon as I went in, I saw one with my name on it. After I wiped it clean, I just kept waiting until I came out...”
Even though her words were disorganized and rambling, Chen Meihua and Xiao Li showed no impatience whatsoever. Instead, a touch of sympathy appeared in their eyes.
It was only natural for a normal person's speech to be chaotic after suffering a massive shock.
If she had been perfectly articulate, fluent, and able to describe the entire scene without any expression, they would have instead suspected she was some sort of rogue serial killer.
“That must have been so hard. It was completely unexpected.”
Chen Meihua lowered her voice. “Recently, abnormal changes in Instances have been occurring frequently, and many onlookers are randomly dragged in. You did incredibly well just to survive in one piece.”
“We'll arrange a full psychological counseling program and an aftereffects checkup for you later... Of course, these are all provided free of charge.”
Beside her, Xiao Li looked sympathetic as he quickly typed Song Mo's statement into the electronic file.
At this point, he suddenly chimed in:
“Hello, Song Mo. Now for the final core registration—player class and skill registration.”
“All players who successfully survive a supernatural Instance have a chance of triggering a Talent Class awakening.”
“Please focus and sense if there are any changes in your body, such as awakening an exclusive class or special skills.”
“Just tell us the truth. We will enter it into the official database, which is kept strictly confidential for life and will never be leaked.”
Song Mo "hesitated" for a moment, appearing unsure of whether she should speak.
Chen Meihua's tone was incredibly gentle, almost as if she were coaxing a child:
“Don't be nervous. Even if it's a very minor ability or a completely useless talent, you need to register it truthfully.”
“This is very important for your subsequent player rating, team matchmaking, and resource support.”
“My class is 【Spirit Medium】, and it's currently only Level 1. What is the blue color next to the class name? Is it the grade...?”
Song Mo fidgeted with her fingers and slowly gave her answer.
“I only have one passive skill, 【Yin-Yang Eyes】. I don't really know if it's useful or not—”
She needed a player identity to serve as an excuse for her future solo operations.
This class shouldn't be too high-profile to avoid drawing unwanted greed or intense scrutiny.
But it couldn't be completely useless either, or else she would slip entirely out of the Special Investigation Bureau's radar, making it difficult to secure official identity documents for A'zhu and A'yan later.
—What? You say the 【Spirit Medium】 class doesn't exist in the Instance database?
Do you even understand the confidence of someone with a god's-eye view? (Tactical lean-back)
“That's perfectly fine!”
Chen Meihua perked up instantly. She leaned forward, her tone filled with anticipation:
“Regardless of strength or utility, as long as it's a class awakened from an Instance, it is a precious talent! We will register every single one!”
“Currently, the types of player classes recorded by the bureau are limited. Many niche classes are being discovered for the first time, making them extremely valuable!”
It wasn't an offensive skill, and it was only of blue grade.
Then again, extremely rare gold-grade classes like Chief Chen's weren't something one saw every day.
Xiao Li sighed softly, but he still recorded it diligently.
Since the appearance of Instances, the Special Investigation Bureau had registered several hundred players to date.
Yet, Class Users were still few and far between.
“If you choose not to join the Special Investigation Bureau, you will be considered an unofficial player. You'll only need to update your class status periodically, but you might not receive certain official resources and firsthand Instance intelligence as quickly as official players.”
After completing the registration, Chen Meihua handed Song Mo a small paper booklet.
“Next is our standard procedure. Let me introduce the exclusive benefits for rookie players who join the official regulatory system. You can take your time to think it over.”
“First, all player Instance runs, physical training, and psychological therapy are fully covered by public funds.”
“Second, for all subsequent Instance quests, the officials will organize unified teams, matching you with the most optimal teammates based on data to prevent players from killing each other.”
“Third, based on your Instance records and contribution ratings, the officials will issue exclusive professional certificates, integrating you into the public service talent system and granting you government establishment benefits.”
“Lastly, you'll have priority intelligence access. You can view all public Instance rules, flip through files on supernatural entities, access Instance danger warnings, clearance guides, and so on...”
“Additionally, the officials will apply for a special talent subsidy on your behalf, so you won't have to worry about making a living.”
“Since you've only just awakened, you aren't familiar with using your abilities yet. Training with an official squad in the future will help you slowly accumulate experience.”
Song Mo listened quietly, but her mind was racing with calculations.
As expected, the authorities were moving at their usual, lightning-fast pace.
How long had it been, and they were already starting to map out a grade system and class ratings?
And being able to view the archives meant the officials had already compiled a summary of all the supernatural entities that had appeared?
She would have to find some time to take a look.
While the three of them were talking, a figure passed by the half-open door.
Wearing a dark blue training uniform, her posture straight and her shoulder lines sharp, she was the commander-in-chief of this Instance's containment site—Chen Xi.
Having just finished wrapping up the cleanup at Taiping Cemetery, she was currently instructing her subordinates on data archiving and casualty statistics.
Just moments ago, Chen Xi had also received an urgent notification from headquarters.
The Jiangcheng University squad had just escaped their Instance.
It was an incredibly brutal, foreign nightmare-level Instance with a survival rate of less than one in ten.
Xiao Li recognized her at a glance and immediately called out, “Chief Chen!”
Hearing the voice, the fast-walking Chen Xi paused slightly, turning her head.
Song Mo watched as the woman's gaze swept across the ward door, taking a quick look at the layout of the room.
“A newly cleared Instance player?”
Her tone carried a hint of exhaustion. “Is her state stable?”
“Her state is very stable, Captain Chen!”
Xiao Li reported excitedly, “Mild mental exhaustion, no physical injuries. She also just registered her class, which will be viewable once the data is uploaded!”
“Good. Your hard work will pay off, and it'll support your continuous applications to join the Special Investigation Bureau.”
Chen Xi nodded slightly, giving Song Mo a gentle nod of acknowledgment on the hospital bed.
It was merely a polite gesture of reassurance and acknowledgment from an official to a surviving citizen.
There were no extra words, nor did she linger for even a second.
Naturally, she had no idea that this was the very first meeting between the Screenwriter and a character from her own script.
Song Mo stared at the upright figure, finding the feeling rather surreal.
This was her first time interacting with Chen Xi up close, and the first time she saw her own reflection in the other woman's eyes.
Chen Xi was the first special spectator in the 《Living Corpse》 Instance she had penned.
She was professional, calm, and decisive—practically the most standard, perfect Executor within the Special Investigation Bureau's regulatory framework.
The character from her plotted script now drew breath in the flesh.
That subtle rift between reality and illusion made Song Mo's heart pound wildly once again.
On a desolate hill of solitary graves, a fierce tiger feasted on humans; in a deep, dark pool, a giant python suspended corpses over the water.
In a bizarre pavilion, beautiful souls drifted like sheer gauze; inside towering skyscrapers, the malice of human hearts weighed heavier than a thousand tons.
In a dimension invisible to ordinary people, an endless stream of inspiration transformed into ink-like characters, continuously splitting and recombining in midair:
【Ghosts in the Hong Kong Building】
【Year of Great Famine】
【Snake Order of the East Garden】
【Painting Skins, Painting Hearts】
【Underworld Messengers Borrowing Longevity】
Song Mo came up with countless new Instance concepts.
At the same time, she opened the settlement rewards for 《London Death Subway》.
Rate on N.U.
