101. This master NPC is quite useful.

He has a torture device...
He has a torture device...
He has a torture device...

The little female ghost silently repeated this three times in her heart, suddenly finding this rebellious disciple incredibly pleasing to her eyes.

"Master, long time no see!" Chen Sheng enthusiastically spread his arms wide. After all, this time he was asking for a favor. However, in response to Chen Sheng's warm gesture, the little female ghost only slightly lifted her small face upon hearing his voice, then turned to look at him with an expressionless face.

This immediately struck Chen Sheng as odd.

After all, this wasn’t some rigid, programmed NPC from other games but a highly intelligent, humanized NPC with a distinct personality, even more lifelike than people in the real world. There was no reason for her to show no reaction at all!

Chen Sheng raised an eyebrow and asked, "Master, you haven’t seen me for so long, and you don’t have any reaction?"

The flow of time in this healing game was much faster than in the real world.

This was normal.

Except for some special games, in most games the passage of time was dozens, even hundreds or thousands of times faster than in reality.

However, this healing game’s time flow wasn’t that exaggerated—only off by a few times.

This difference in time flow was neither fast nor slow, especially when accumulated.

He hadn’t “logged into the game” for three days, and he had spent quite some time in one of the three major ghost towns, Golden Town. Adding it all up, Chen Sheng hadn’t met this female ghost for over half a month.

Logically, after more than twenty days apart, the little female ghost should have shown at least a trace of happiness upon seeing him again! After all, he was her precious disciple!

Scarcity made things valuable, and when there were many disciples, competition was fierce; so being the only one naturally elevated him from an ordinary disciple to a treasured one.

At least, that was how Chen Sheng saw it.

At this moment, the little female ghost only recalled that besides forcing herself to look pleased, she needed to express it.

“Oh.”

She replied curtly, then climbed up from the cold floor, opened her arms, and hugged Chen Sheng’s leg in response.

Right after Chen Sheng had pulled her out of the television, he had casually tossed her onto the floor.

Chen Sheng didn’t mind this gesture at all; in fact, he even pretended to embrace her with both hands, as if hugging the ghost.

---

Straight to the point, he asked, "Master, do you know if there’s been any strange objects recently in Upper Sanjiang City that are harming people? Like a painting..."

“Well... I don’t think I’ve heard much about that,” the little female ghost said, pausing briefly before shaking her head. She had been busy “toiling” in the Netherworld recently and hadn’t had time to roam the human world.

A human dwelling projected into the Netherworld as a “foundation” could be transformed into a “residence,” but it required a lengthy period of sedimentation.

This process took a very long time.

During this period, if subjected to external force, the “residence” could collapse at any moment.

However, if a “residence” granted by the Netherworld was seized from other ghosts, it could form in an extremely short time.

By contrast, a “residence” transformed from a “foundation” lacked this effect.

Once a “residence” formed, it would generate “rules” derived from it.

These derived rules could protect the “residence” and the ghosts within it. Naturally, the larger the “residence,” the stronger the rules it generated!

A residence the size of a street could generate rules potent enough to deter malevolent spirits.

If a ghost occupied a street-sized territory granted by the Netherworld, even if not a malevolent spirit, it could evolve into a nightmare in the human world, possessing the power of a malevolent spirit and even suppressing the revival of torture devices.

But if it was transformed from a foundation, the derived rules were weaker and fraught with many hidden dangers.

For example, the human dwelling serving as the projection core “foundation” must not be destroyed.

The little female ghost’s previous territory had collapsed instantly when the villa of a wealthy man named Li was burned down, allowing her enemies to seize and divide it.

“Then Master, could you help me ask around?”

Chen Sheng wasn’t surprised by her answer.

“Alright.”

The little female ghost readily agreed and then slipped back into the television. She didn’t want to stay with this rebellious disciple even for a second longer.

(〃＞皿＜)

Damn it, why does that torture device have to be so sycophantic?

Why can’t a torture device take a liking to her?

Chen Sheng didn’t keep her waiting long. Soon, her pale gray face appeared on the television screen.

“You’re talking about the Delusional Painting. It seems there’s also a malevolent spirit involved. That spirit has taken control of the Delusional Painting, weakening its contamination, so it didn’t kill the first person who opened it. As a result, that painting spread into Upper Sanjiang City. As for its purpose and who that spirit is, the ghosts here are too scared to say.”

“Also, that Delusional Painting is currently with a teacher at a school that teaches painting.”

After speaking, the pale gray face vanished instantly. Then a pale gray hand extended from the television screen and switched it off. Just before the TV completely powered down, the hand quickly retracted.

Having received the answer, Chen Sheng immediately wanted to leave, but after taking a few steps, he reopened the television.

The pale gray face appeared once more on the screen. She widened her lifeless eyes and looked at Chen Sheng with a blank face.

“Goodbye, Master!”

The little female ghost: “...”

“Goodbye!” The pale gray hand reached out again and switched off the television.

Only then did Chen Sheng leave the “old mansion” contentedly. After all, one must be polite! How could he leave without saying goodbye to his master?

Of course, the main reason was that this master was quite useful.

Later, if he couldn’t find the source of the third file, he would come back and ask this master to step out again.

Shortly after Chen Sheng left, Yu Youxin arrived.

She simply stood at a distance and didn’t approach. But with just one glance, she clearly discerned the details of this “old mansion.”

“Huh, this is actually a projection foundation of the Netherworld!”

“Which fool ghost did this?”

“Using such a local foundation—aren’t they afraid that one day the house might leak and affect themselves?”

She was naturally well aware of the “residence” granted by the Netherworld.

If not for the desire to return to life and her unwillingness to see others feed the derived rules with human lives, she would have liked to evolve into a nightmare in the Netherworld herself.

After all, although she hovered between life and death, she was essentially a ghost. Once in the Netherworld, she could surely obtain a small “residence” from it.

And she also had the ability to protect her “residence.”

That said, acquiring a “residence” wasn’t truly without cost...

Ghosts who took a “residence” lost any chance of returning to life.