At six in the morning, the alleys of the old town were already bustling with life.
The wet market was packed with people. Looking down from above, it was a dense crowd of bobbing heads, which inexplicably reminded Song Mo of the water ghosts in the artificial lake.
“Egg cakes! Egg cakes! Brown sugar mini buns—”
A street vendor pushed a tricycle downstairs, calling out his wares.
Song Mo, who had just returned from collecting Materials, felt her mouth water. She slowly went downstairs to buy a large bag of buns and egg cakes.
As she passed by Liu Laosan's door, it was completely quiet inside, with not a single sound.
...
Song Mo took only a single bite of the food she bought before putting it down.
She couldn't taste anything. Chewing the sweet, soft bun felt like chewing on melted wax.
A'yan, on the other hand—Song Mo stuck a candle into an egg cake, and the girl happily held it, eating with relish.
“Oh! It's pastry! Before, my brother and I always saw an old man carrying a shoulder pole crying his wares outside the Shen residence.
The nanny who raised us said things sold outside were dirty and wouldn't let us eat them. So they're actually sweet?”
Song Mo simply stuck candles into the entire bag of cakes and arranged them on the table—it looked incredibly creepy from a distance.
After the Instance 《Campus Ghost Stories》 was cleared, the information was synchronized.
Ink-wash text unfurled and appeared in midair.
First was the public announcement of the clearing players' rewards, followed by the Instance-related details, and finally, the rewards earned for writing the Instance.
It was a massive harvest.
Song Mo's gaze swept over the 【Player Rewards】 column, her fingertips lightly tapping the table.
Player Weng Yang (Ordinary Player)
Rewards: ...
Player Liu Guilan (Special Player: Clay Sculptor)
Rewards: ...
Player Fu Qinqin (Ordinary Player)
Rewards: ...
Player Tan Moli (Ordinary Player)
...
...
Player Ding Feifan (Ordinary Player)
Rewards: 【Red and Green Toilet Paper (Red toilet paper can inflict burn damage on low-grade spirits; green toilet paper can briefly mask one's presence for five minutes.) x1】
【A Page of the Student Handbook (After use, temporarily grants a one-time "Rule Immunity" to negate one minor rule violation penalty. Only effective in rule-based Instances.)】
Gold Ingot x1.
Player Deng Ziwen (Ordinary Player)
Rewards: 【Never-Ending Toilet Paper (The roll can never be fully unraveled. The paper is soft and gentle on the skin.)】
【Portable Toilet (Can summon a clean toilet at any time, isolating odors and yin energy. Must not be disturbed during use. Lasts for one minute, limited to once per day.)】
【A Cup of Cold Soy Milk (Consumable)】, Gold Ingot x1.
Player Zhao Weilai (Special Player: Butcher)
Rewards: 【Red and Green Toilet Paper (...)】
【Bound Inventory Slot x5 (Instance first-kill reward. Maximum storage of 50 per slot. Non-transferable, non-salable.)】
【Thousand-Mile Hunger-Free Pill (...)】
【Pig-Slaying Knife (Iron): Legend has it that this was left behind by a female butcher surnamed Nan during the Song Dynasty. The blade is stained with killing intent, granting a 5% damage bonus against supernatural monsters.】
Gold Ingot x10.
...
...
When she saw Deng Ziwen's column, Song Mo really couldn't keep a straight face.
How on earth did such a small Instance manage to gather so many geniuses?
The brave warrior Zhao Weilai had been bold yet meticulous throughout. In the end, she even managed to stuff the Skin-Peeling Ghost down the drain while crying, successfully securing the first kill.
In a Western fantasy novel, she would at least be a Paladin.
The legendary survivor Zhou Shengsheng had managed to stay alive with only half his body left while acting alone, and even turned into a Skin-Peeling Ghost after death.
As for the incomparably lucky Deng Ziwen, not only did he carry-on to victory without doing anything, but while Zhao Weilai was battling wits with the illusion, and Ding Feifan was face-to-face with the Skin-Peeling Ghost...
...he was having diarrhea.
Even the items he obtained in the end were so hilarious.
Song Mo even had the illusion that the Instance was alive.
Perhaps it wasn't an illusion.
She only wrote the scripts, providing the specific plotlines—like Route 404 wandering on the night of the full moon, or having to complete the gravestone-wiping task to leave Taiping Cemetery.
As for the players entering the Instance, the Instance rewards, and what the players encountered inside, it was all completely randomized.
For example, in the 《Campus Ghost Stories》 Instance, Song Mo had only written the check-in rules for three ghost stories, which was like the skeleton of the Instance.
Meanwhile, the prerequisites for entering the Instance and the punishments for violating the rules seemed more like "flesh and blood" that the Instance had grown on its own.
It was an incredibly wondrous feeling.
...
Song Mo unfurled the Map Ghost, using her finger to add details to the light dot representing the Jiangcheng University Instance:
“To add a point, the trigger rule for 《Campus Ghost Stories》 is making noise after lights out. If the number of people who meet this condition is greater than the entry limit of ten, the Instance will make a random selection.
Conversely, if there aren't enough people, or if the Instance is full, they will have to wait for the Instance to open.”
“As for Zhao Weilai securing the first-kill reward, that can be considered within expectations.”
Song Mo was very satisfied with this outcome. “A novice Instance can force out a player's class potential, which greatly increases its playability.”
The ink-wash text continued to scroll down, and the Instance outputs column popped up.
【Instance: 《Campus Ghost Stories》】
【Status: Closed (Waiting)】
【Instance Output Materials: Rouge Mud, Water-Python Grass, shadow moss, gold ingots, RMB, Low-Grade Materials, Green-Tier Class Cards, items...】
【Current Number of Ghosts in Instance: 5 (The Jumping Ghost, water ghost, The Toilet Ghost...)】
New Permanent NPCs added: 2
Skin-Peeling Ghost: Luo Yiming (Low-Grade Fierce Spirit): Attached to the old school building's restroom. Excels at bewilderment and skin-peeling. Can be upgraded by feeding Materials.
Water Ghost: Fang Wei (Low-Grade Fierce Spirit): Attached to the artificial lake. Excels at dragging and creating illusions. Can be upgraded by feeding Materials.
Note: The remnant soul of the Low-Grade NPC Ghost Skin Zhou Shengsheng has been slain by a player. Would you like to replenish with similar Materials to reset?】
Song Mo thought for a moment. “No need to replenish. The difficulty of a rule-based novice Instance doesn't need to be too high.
Keeping Luo Yiming and Fang Wei is enough. They correspond perfectly to the restroom and artificial lake check-in points.”
As for the very bottom of the panel, that was what she cared about the most—her personal earnings.
Song Mo wore the joyful expression of an honest farmer learning of a bumper harvest.
【First clear of Instance 《Campus Ghost Stories》 has concluded. Currently settling all rewards for this script...】
【Settlement complete. A massive amount of rewards has been distributed to the system inventory. Screenwriter, please check and accept them!】
【Base Rewards:
Gold Ingots x100, 50,000 RMB.
Paper Copper Coins x100 (Low-Grade item, can be used for trading goods within Instances).
White Candles x100 (Yin energy carrier, can be used to trigger low-grade supernatural scenes).
Rouge Mud x10 (Can be used to refine wound medicine, create ghost makeup, and breathe life into clay sculptures).
Red and Green Toilet Paper x5 (Instance output items).
Thousand-Mile Hunger-Free Pill x5.
Water-Python Grass x5 (Highly toxic spiritual plant, can be used to refine poison bait or generate water ghost-type minions).
Low-Grade Spirit Material x300 (Shadows wandering the mortal world. Can be used to generate low-grade NPCs and set up low-grade Instances. Each unit is worth 0.5 Screenwriter Points).
High-Grade Spirit Material: Hungry Ghost; Mid-Grade Spirit Material: Hanged Ghost; Mid-Grade Spirit Material: Night-Weeping Mother; Mid-Grade Spirit Material: Night-Weeping Boy.
Random Class Card (Green Card) x4, Class Identity Card: Fruit Farmer (Green) x1, Class Identity Card: Suona Player (Green) x1】
...
【Script Rating Rewards:
Script Excitement Level: B++ (Complete plot, self-consistent rules, first-kill player emerged, attention increased.)
Screenwriter Points Gained: 1,700 (Current remaining Screenwriter Points: 1,710)
Lifespan Gained: 360 days (Current remaining lifespan: 473 days, 15 hours, 36 minutes...)】
...
【Special Audience Rewards:
Detected that special audience member Liu Guilan has successfully awakened the class 【Clay Sculptor (Primary)】, and Zhao Weilai has successfully awakened the class 【Butcher】. The screenwriter randomly obtains two talent skills.
Skill Name: Clay Sculpting Soul-Infusion (Primary)
Skill Effect: Grants low-grade intelligence to finished clay sculptures. The higher the accuracy of the clay sculpture, the higher the success rate of soul-infusion.
Soul-infused creatures can execute simple commands. Consumes Screenwriter Points to maintain their existence.
Skill Name: Butcher's Touch (Non-upgradable)
Skill Effect: When attacking spirit/corpse-type targets, there is a 20% chance to trigger weakness detection, dealing massive damage.
...
Currently Owned Skills: Rooster Crow Phantom, High-Rise from Flat Ground, Clay Sculpting Soul-Infusion, Butcher's Touch.
...
She had spoken too soon. This wasn't just a bumper harvest; this was gold falling from the sky.
As the "farm owner," Song Mo was naturally overjoyed, and she even greedily eyed Chen Xi's 【Constable】 class:
“With four random green class cards, plus the 【Physician】, 【Fruit Farmer】, and 【Suona Player】 in my hands, and Chen Xi's 【Constable】, I can extract at least nine skills.”
“Fruit Farmer can rapidly accelerate fruit growth... Suona Player can use the suona to pacify supernatural ghosts. They both feel like very practical identity cards.”
Song Mo rubbed her chin, murmuring to herself, “No rush. I can wait for the next new Instance to open and randomly pick some lucky souls.”
She put the class cards into her inventory and counted her Screenwriter Points once more.
This time, she had harvested a grand total of 1,700 Screenwriter Points.
It was several times more than what she got from Taiping Cemetery.
“The revenue from a novice-level Instance is limited.”
Song Mo sighed softly. “The number of people is small, the script's excitement level isn't high enough, and on top of that, the authorities sealed off the school so quickly this time and evacuated the students. There weren't many onlookers—”
Scripts were written to be watched by an audience.
The authorities directly reduced the number of viewers at the source and locked down the news, which made things quite difficult for her.
...
...
Song Mo had previously asked the fierce ghost siblings what those ubiquitous "shadows" actually were.
A'zhu had answered quite quickly:
“My Lady, humans are the leaders of all living things, possessing three souls and seven corporeal souls. Thus, in their daily activities, walking, sitting, lying down, and through their joys, anger, sorrow, and pleasure, they unconsciously emit a bit of life force or death energy.
Over time, these accumulated energies become 'shadows'.”
“This thing is different from a soul. It has no consciousness and no memories. Like leaves falling from a tree or petals dropping from a withered flower, it is merely 'residue' shed from the human body.
If a person's soul leaves their body, they die. But shadows are like a person's nails or hair—it doesn't matter how much is shed.”
Song Mo fell into deep thought, proposing a new hypothesis:
“So, the more people there are in a place, the more shadows there will be. And the stronger the obsession in a place, the more abundant the 'nutrients' for the shadows will be—”
No wonder.
Taiping Cemetery, Route 404 Bus, and Jiangcheng University were all places with dense shadows.
Perhaps even without her, Instances would have naturally spawned in these places eventually.
“Shadows are the nutrients... and Instances are things that grow by relying on those shadows.”
Song Mo repeated in a low voice.
“That's exactly how it is.”
A'yan was holding a little ghost in her hands, repeatedly tearing it apart and putting it back together, her expression completely innocent:
“So places like hospitals, schools, and graveyards are the easiest places to gather yin energy, and the easiest to breed ghosts and monsters—
When there are many shadows, people's delusional thoughts breed, and over time, things can be nurtured.
It's just that for some reason, this place is incredibly clean, with no sign of ghosts, monsters, or demons. It must be because the local government rules with such clarity and order.
Oh, right! A few days ago, when I was catching shadows for Master, I even saw a large rat that was about to gain intelligence!”
“A large rat? A mouse? Isn't that a demon? A demon in reality?”
Song Mo's interest was instantly piqued.
Rate on N.U.
