This is a Curse

"So... you suffer from sleep paralysis every night?"

Nan Yue was silent for a moment before replying with a touch of helplessness. "I don't think it's exactly sleep paralysis, but your description is quite fitting."

Wasn't the thing living inside her body just like a malevolent ghost?

Zhu Xi Ning studied Nan Yue with curiosity. "Have you seen it? Does it have a physical form? Does it appear during the day?"

Nan Yue shook her head. "I only know it appears every night. It's not like the ghosts in the missions. If I had to describe it, I'd say it's something purer and darker."

"It's like... horror itself."

Nan Yue didn't think the thing inside her was a ghost with a specific shape. It was more like a mass of sentient chaos representing primordial evil.

"No wonder you're so brave during missions."

Zhu Xi Ning marveled. She had previously felt that Nan Yue's courage was excessive. Although many students scored high on the fear desensitization tests, those were simulations after all. Even the best would feel fear when facing actual life-and-death situations and literal ghosts.

Experienced veterans only developed a certain level of resistance, allowing them to maintain their ability to think even when facing monsters.

However, Nan Yue was just a rookie who had only completed a few missions. Logically, she shouldn't be so indifferent to everything within the mission worlds.

But if Nan Yue carried something even more terrifying within herself, then everything made sense.

Nan Yue had been observing the two of them. Gu Xiang Kai hadn't said much, and Zhu Xi Ning's questions were relatively superficial.

Nan Yue felt tense. She considered herself a selfish person; if she were faced with such an unpredictable factor, she would likely distance herself from it.

She wondered if she was about to lose two teammates and return to being alone.

The bed shook slightly as Zhu Xi Ning scrambled over on all fours and plopped down next to Nan Yue.

A moment later, Nan Yue's hand was enveloped by a warm palm. "It must be so hard for you, A-Nan. No wonder you're always in such a foul mood when you wake up after a mission."

Zhu Xi Ning clicked her tongue. "It turns out you've been tormented all night without any rest. Anyone would be angry!"

A warm flame seemed to ignite in Nan Yue's heart, illuminating her entire being.

"Could you... not make it sound so suggestive?" Nan Yue protested, her eyes welling with tears.

Zhu Xi Ning burst out laughing and threw an arm around Nan Yue's shoulders. "Didn't you say the frequency of that thing appearing has decreased after a few missions? That's a good thing! Maybe we'll get rid of it completely before we even reach Eden."

Nan Yue remained silent for a moment. "Aren't you... afraid?"

The smile froze on Zhu Xi Ning's face. She wanted to say she wasn't, but looking into Nan Yue's serious eyes, she couldn't bring herself to lie.

How could they not be afraid?

It was something more terrifying than mission ghosts.

It was a fear unrestrained by any rules.

They were scavengers who risked their lives in missions just to earn a few days of peace. Who wouldn't be afraid to have such a thing beside them during those rare moments of safety?

Zhu Xi Ning's pupils trembled slightly, betraying the fear she had been hiding so well.

Nan Yue lowered her head. Just as she was about to speak, Gu Xiang Kai, who had been silent, spoke up lazily.

"Of course we're afraid. Any human would be."

"But compared to us, you must be even more terrified."

"Not only are you afraid of being consumed by that thing, but you're also afraid of involving others."

Gu Xiang Kai stretched his long legs and leaned against the wall. "Fortunately, there are signs of it being suppressed. Besides... that thing has its uses, doesn't it?"

Nan Yue didn't hide anything. "Yes. I found that I seem to be able to use its power during missions to attack ghosts."

Zhu Xi Ning covered her mouth slightly. "No wonder! I knew Gu Xiang Kai shouldn't have been able to escape on his own!"

Gu Xiang Kai: ???

"But I don't have good control over it yet. In Multi-fortune Town, I could only scare away the child ghosts. This time..."

Gu Xiang Kai disagreed. "Geng Xin Hui was much stronger than those child ghosts. The fact that you could make him immediately abandon me as his target means you must have had energy stronger than his. And that's after only using it a few times."

"Who knows what level you'll reach in the future?"

Gu Xiang Kai's expression was uncharacteristically serious.

"I just think the energy between you and the thing inside you is a matter of ebb and flow. Nan Yue, you must stay strong."

"Don't let your mind waver. You have to believe that one day, it won't be it consuming you, but you consuming it and making its energy entirely your own."

Gu Xiang Kai said softly, "There's a saying in the mission world: 'When Heaven is about to confer a great responsibility on a person, it first exercises their mind with suffering and their sinews and bones with toil.'"

"All scavengers are the same. We have the same growth and the same education. But you're different."

Gu Xiang Kai's gaze was playful. "Maybe you're the one destined for that great responsibility. This so-called curse might just be an opportunity."

Nan Yue wanted to laugh. Gu Xiang Kai didn't seem like the type to believe in such things. He seemed more like the type who, if he didn't like his fortune, would stomp on it and demand a better one.

Yet, Gu Xiang Kai's words were etched deeply into Nan Yue's mind.

In some mysterious way, she felt he might be right.

"In short, we can't help you with that part. It's all up to you. But you don't need to worry about us."

Gu Xiang Kai glanced at Zhu Xi Ning, who had regained her composure. "Since we're teammates, we take the good with the bad."

"Don't carry a psychological burden. Neither she nor I are the type to just team up with anyone. We both recognized your potential and wanted to ride your coattails."

"We can't just take the benefits and run as soon as there's a bit of danger."

Gu Xiang Kai's eyes were half-closed, but his tone was firm.

"That's not how things work in this life."

Zhu Xi Ning smiled. "I was thinking the same thing. So don't overthink it, A-Nan. Just get some rest, and we'll enter the next mission when the time comes."

Zhu Xi Ning tilted her head, looking at Nan Yue. "I have a feeling you're going to become incredibly strong."

...

Nan Yue slept very well that night.

The thing inside her didn't appear until six days later. Nan Yue felt that after using its power in the mission, its appearance was delayed.

It seemed Gu Xiang Kai was right about the ebb and flow of their energy.

To satisfy Zhu Xi Ning's request, they went to a discount store to buy winter clothes. They returned to the South District and spent the whole afternoon playing in the snow.

Mostly, Gu Xiang Kai stood there while Nan Yue and Zhu Xi Ning pelted him with snowballs.

The day ended with the three of them sitting on a bench under a streetlamp, holding hot cocoa and watching the heavy snow fall.

"This is so nice. I wish it could stay like this forever."

Zhu Xi Ning took a big gulp, her cheeks flushed red.

"If I had a choice, I think I'd want to be an actress."

"You know, an actress? Like the ones in the dramas we saw in the mission worlds."

Gu Xiang Kai wasn't interested in the topic, but Nan Yue gave it some serious thought.

"I think... I'd want to be a teacher."