I Got My Cheat Skill by Acting My Way into a Horror Protagonist Role Chapter 37

The top floor of the second building couldn't be opened either, which was basically within Xu Zisheng's expectations.

So, he still had to go to the third residential building.

He had to face that ghostly old woman, who was probably still stubbornly guarding the place. Without returning the stolen item, she would continue resisting the rules' suppression to stay there.

Xu Zisheng looked at the safety lock in his hand. It was an old object with exquisite craftsmanship, worn at the edges but clearly well-preserved, obviously something extremely cherished.

He had also witnessed the ghost tool's ability of this safety lock.

If he said he hadn't thought about keeping the item for himself, others wouldn't believe it, and Xu Zisheng himself didn't believe it either.

In his current state, with the corpse axe in hand, launching a surprise attack wasn't impossible.

Xu Zisheng slightly lowered his gaze. The character "Bao" engraved in the center of the safety lock had been rubbed until it shone faintly. He could roughly guess this thing's origins.

Regardless of how powerful that ghostly old woman's level was—at most it wouldn't exceed B-rank—she was still resisting the rules' pressure to guard that place, wasn't it precisely because this safety lock was something she absolutely couldn't lose?

"Tch, if I directly return it to that old woman, wouldn't I be at a loss."

No matter what, he always had to demand some benefits.

It seemed he was going to make a losing business deal.

Xiao Gui'an watched through the proxy system's screen as Xu Zisheng's expression slightly changed, and also clearly saw what Chen Ze had stolen back then.

A child's safety lock.

For a moment, he didn't know what to say, but from Xu Zisheng's reaction, it seemed he planned to return it.

Truly worthy of being someone he favored—Xu Zisheng was still quite gentle and righteous in certain aspects.

The silver bell lightly swayed.

Xu Zisheng stepped onto the sixth floor of the third residential building again. With extreme alertness, he dodged the attacks of two red paper figures, swiftly moving aside to look at the old woman wearing cotton clothes with a face full of wrinkles.

Her condition didn't look as good as before. The already scarce flesh on her face seemed deeply sunken inward due to pressure, almost skin and bones, completely bloodless.

Her sparse hair had now almost completely fallen out, with large, ugly corpse spots appearing on her head. The withered hands that had previously steadily held large scissors were now trembling slightly.

"It's you again, kid... It seems you truly want to come die at this old woman's hands—"

A sinister light flickered in the ghostly old woman's eyes, and a long-standing, unresolved stench of decay spread through the air.

"Don't be so impatient, granny." Xu Zisheng's bony, slender fingers flipped, and the safety lock appeared in his hand as if by magic. "I came to return something, with no ill intentions."

A gentle, trustworthy smile curled on his face.

He could somewhat handle the psychology of such lonely elderly people. "As for that fat thief, I've already disposed of him out of humanitarian concerns."

"Give it back to me!" The moment she saw the object in Xu Zisheng's hand, the ghostly old woman became extremely anxious, the skin and flesh on her ghostly face tightening together, appearing fierce and terrifying.

Xu Zisheng extended his hand, placing it over the stair gap, the safety lock swaying slightly at his fingertips.

"Of course I can return it to you, but there should be something in exchange, right?"

Curling the corner of his lips, Xu Zisheng said shamelessly, "After all, you gave me quite a beating just now when I came up. I need some compensation for medical expenses, and of course, you should let me go up."

If he directly returned it, the other party would probably be suspicious—where in the world are there such good deeds that require no cost?

So, appearing a bit greedy and having demands wouldn't make the situation too awkward. Xu Zisheng understood this principle well.

Could directly snatching it by force succeed?

The ghostly old woman narrowed her turbid eyes slightly. Now that the object was in the other's hands, her old bones might not necessarily be able to retrieve it.

If the other party kept using the safety lock for defense, how much would her poor A'Bao suffer...

"If you dare deceive me, even if I die, I'll make sure you accompany this old bone."

The surrounding small red paper figures ultimately looked at each other, then hopped back to the ghostly old woman's side, quietly slipping into the half-open door behind her.

After rummaging inside for a while, they brought out who knows what.

Dozens of small red paper figures came out holding various objects. Some were carrying an already tarnished golden phoenix jade hairpin, some held a string of love knots, and there was even a pair of embroidered shoes with exquisite embroidery, fine stitching, still well-preserved, clearly something infused with much care and effort.

It was unknown whether it represented a young girl's affectionate feelings as a bride or a mother's reluctant sewing under the lamp before her daughter's marriage.

"Many of these are this old woman's former dowry items. They're not particularly big or small, but can be put to use—objects with some ability. Choose from them."

The ghostly old woman spoke in a hoarse, unpleasant voice, concealing some reluctance. She had clearly brought out many valuable items from her possession, intending to exchange them for the safety lock in Xu Zisheng's hand.

"What's this—making me seem disrespectful to elders and unkind to the young." Xu Zisheng scanned through the pile of items—a bunch of dowry pieces. He could roughly deduce their effects. Awkward as they might be, they were still usable.

However, Xu Zisheng's gaze ultimately fell on the black scissors in her hand. He raised his chin, "How about using that for exchange?"

The ghostly old woman looked at the scissors in her hand. This was also an old object that had accompanied her for a lifetime, but it could still be exchanged.

She somewhat unsteadily removed the silver bells tied to the red silk thread, slowly loosening the tight strings.

Having endured the pressure of the instance rules outside the door for too long, most of her body had begun to rot, and her movements had slowed considerably.

The small red paper figures surrounded her like loyal guards, diligently holding the removed silver bells while simultaneously keeping watch on Xu Zisheng nearby.

"Alright..."

"Fine, returning it to you." Xu Zisheng didn't hesitate either, directly tossing the safety lock over. It drew a perfect arc through the air, landing in the ghostly old woman's hands.

A cautious expression appeared in the ghostly old woman's turbid, terrifying eyes. She gently stroked the safety lock, as if rubbing her grandson's head, looking like an ordinary old woman. "My little treasure has suffered, come, grandma will take you home..."

Her wrinkled hands trembling, she carefully put away the safety lock, gently crouched down, placed the large black scissors on the ground, and said, "Made by the old craftsman from town back then, quite sturdy."

A barely audible voice drifted through the dark, sunless corridor, "Thank you, kid..."

The ghostly figure seemed to hunch even more, slowly turning around, her hand seemingly holding a short, small child's figure.

The safety lock swayed gently around its neck. Grandmother and grandson holding hands tightly, they just stepped into the old, dilapidated door.

Xu Zisheng picked up the large black scissors, weighed them in his hand, and lightly nodded. Good feel—another handy tool for the future.

Without hesitation, he headed toward higher floors.

The next two or three floors were quiet, with no blocking ghosts encountered.

Counting down the time until the second round ended in his heart.

[All players, the second round game time has ended. Character rotation time is five minutes. Please all players actively prepare—]

[In the second round of the game, unfortunate players have been eliminated. We deeply regret this and hope all players can continue to spend the third round happily, enjoying wonderful game time!]

[Rotation countdown: 00:05:00]

[Another round change period has arrived. Have you found the real ghost in the game? Please write your answer on the blackboard on the rooftop!]

[Remember to go upstairs quietly and not disturb other existences!]

[Rotation countdown: 00:05:00]

Xu Zisheng gently pushed open the door and walked onto the rooftop. The night wind was cold, a kind of Yin cold that seeped into people's bones. It was very dark, with no light source, making it basically impossible to see the surrounding scenery.

Lifting his gaze, the entire city loomed faintly in the mist, like a black giant beast crouching on the earth, who knows how many lives it had devoured.

The rooftop appeared quite empty, without much clutter. At the very edge, black fishing nets were loosely arranged in circles, serving little protective function.

Xu Zisheng looked around, searching for the small blackboard in the dark, when suddenly he sensed a gaze tightly locking onto him.

He abruptly turned around to see a figure standing at the edge of the rooftop. The other had messy black hair hanging down, a rotting, stinking hair tie around the wrist, a faded, shrunken school uniform draped over the body, revealing purple, thin wrists and ankles.

And the so-called blackboard was not far from the other, with a dirty backpack stuck with various things placed beneath the blackboard.

"Tap—" Xu Zisheng walked over, not looking at the other, ignoring that shadow-like, profound gaze. Feeling behind the blackboard, he found broken, sticky chalk pieces.

He formally wrote the three characters "Wu Yunqiao" on the small blackboard, then waited for the game system to announce the game's end.

Two seconds passed—no response—

Danger nerves wildly warning, Xu Zisheng didn't hesitate at all. He directly dropped the chalk, rolled over in a somersault, leaped down from the rooftop to the top floor steps, then tightly closed the door leading to the rooftop.

The extremely fierce banging sounds continued for over ten strikes behind the door before stopping.

Simultaneously, the game system's voice sounded, [Error! Error! 『Real Ghost』 search error!!!—]

[Current remaining conversion time: 00:02:23]

...

Then, an even bigger shock awaited the players. Once the time arrived.

[Remaining time: 00:00:00]

[Please all players begin the third round of the game!!!]

[Third round does not activate character change!!!]

[Current player identity: 『Hiders』 (No change until game end!!)]

[Please everyone enjoy the final carnival moment of the game!!!]