85. Vessel of Ghostly Whispers

Upon hearing what Chen Sheng said, the headless girl seemed to come back to life on the spot, instantly revived. She hurriedly handed a ghost copper coin to Chen Sheng, then clenched her small fists tightly, gripping the remaining coins with all her might.

Chen Sheng took the ghost copper coin and examined it. Its shape was very similar to coins in the real world: round on the outside and square in the center. However, perhaps because it was made from green copper, the coin gleamed with a jade-like luster and exuded an inexplicable chill that seeped into his body through his fingertips, making him shiver involuntarily.

He was not surprised by this astonishingly realistic sensation—after all, it was not the first time he had experienced it.

Turning the coin over, he immediately noticed four extremely complicated characters engraved on the other side.

Strictly speaking, these could barely be called characters.

They resembled arcane symbols more than proper writing; even after three years working in a hospital, Chen Sheng could not recognize them.

“So these were just made up by the game designers, weren’t they?” he speculated inwardly. He handed the ghost copper coin back to the headless girl and asked, “What do these four characters mean?”

Seeing Chen Sheng return the coin, Qian Shaoshao’s pale face bloomed with a radiant smile.

“It means ‘Heaven is dead,’” she replied. “This is the written form of the Ghost Tongue language.”

Though she couldn’t speak Ghost Tongue, as a ghost who cherished money above all else, she could not possibly fail to recognize the four characters stamped on ghost copper coins.

Chen Sheng’s expression grew odd at her words. “Heaven is dead”—shouldn’t the next line be “The Yellow Heaven shall rise”?

“Does this ghost copper coin have any special uses?” he asked, thinking that, since it originated from the “World’s End” map, it must serve a purpose beyond that of ghostly currency.

“It can be used as an offering. In general, vengeful spirits will accept it. If you have enough ghost copper coins, you might even be able to buy your life…” Qian Shaoshao said uncertainly.

Although she had been a ghost for many years, she had always been at the lowest rung of the hierarchy and knew little of more advanced matters.

Chen Sheng nodded. It seemed that, for players, ghost copper coins were somewhat more valuable than blade tokens and functioned as a consumable resource.

Then he asked, “While I was away, did you hear any news about that ghost—the one who calls itself the Lord God?”

“Yes.”

“Where is it?”

“It’s already fled,” Qian Shaoshao answered, gesturing around them. “There are no living people left in Golden Town. Once that ghost escaped, the rule that allowed the living to enter and the dead to leave vanished. The survivors realized the truth about the town and all ran away within a day.”

Chen Sheng was baffled.

He thought for a moment, then asked with curiosity, “What about the reincarnators who were tricked into working for nothing?”

“I heard that ghost took them with it, planning to find another place to attempt becoming a vengeful spirit again,” Qian Shaoshao explained, recounting all she had heard.

“How could that ghost abandon its plans here so suddenly?” Chen Sheng raised his brows in surprise.

“Rumor has it that it’s related to a Punishment Artifact…” Qian Shaoshao replied uncertainly. The ghost had left without warning, and only a few garbled words remained, circulating as hearsay.

“Punishment Artifact?” Chen Sheng mused, but neither thought of himself nor of the Punishment Artifact mentioned by the “vendor” of the Underworld Chariot. Instead, his mind wandered—mathematics really is too hard! If you can’t do it, you simply can’t!

He said understandingly, “For that ghost to know when to cut its losses and retreat is no small feat. To realize you’re hopeless at math and immediately decide to start over from scratch—that kind of decisiveness even a ruthless wolf couldn’t muster!”

Of course, this was said for the benefit of the “headless girl NPC” before him.

In truth, he was thinking: This ghost, which once dominated one of the Three Great Ghost Towns, clearly has a related storyline that will only unfold once it advances to a vengeful spirit.

As for what really happened—

It was simply that two powerful Punishment Artifacts had appeared in Golden Town in quick succession, one of which forcibly shattered the “derived rules” the ghost had painstakingly established. For a ghost that had not yet advanced to a vengeful spirit, this was akin to being threatened with a nuclear bomb in the real world—except the bomb was tied directly to the ghost itself!

How could it not flee overnight, carrying the reincarnators with it?

“Come on, let’s go back,” Chen Sheng said.

“Where are we going?” Qian Shaoshao asked.

“I forgot to ask the school principal ghost for my reward,” Chen Sheng admitted. Only now did he realize the value of ghost copper coins, and naturally decided to go back and demand some “compensation.”

“Reward? What reward?” Qian Shaoshao was puzzled.

“Oh, right—there wasn’t a quest…” Chen Sheng caught himself. After “logging out,” he’d been distracted by a certain girl and then had worked all day, so he’d forgotten. Still, that was no obstacle: “Then, compensation for emotional distress! And lost wages!”

He shamelessly played the rogue.

Facing Chen Sheng’s unreasonable demands, the school principal ghost—blocked at the gate—stared at him wide-eyed, his face full of a “ghost-life in doubt” expression.

Were it not for his clear awareness that the man before him possessed a Punishment Artifact and that he was no match for him—and considering that his own “former backer,” upon learning of Chen Sheng’s presence, had fled Golden Town overnight—the principal ghost would probably have been unable to restrain himself from attacking.

“So, how many blade tokens do you want?” the principal ghost asked, face stricken. Though he’d been a school principal in life and Golden Town was a prosperous place, he had managed to amass little wealth—his children were wastrels, each more short-lived than the last.

“I don’t want blade tokens. Do you have any ghost copper coins?” Chen Sheng said, summoning his prized artifact. Smiling brightly and speaking in a gentle tone, he added, “Don’t worry, I’m only asking for a little compensation for distress and lost wages. I’m not here to threaten you, and certainly not to rob you, so there’s no need to call the police. Oh, and if you don’t have any ghost copper coins, then never mind…”

Under Chen Sheng’s “friendly” gaze, the principal ghost shuddered.

He’s taken out a Punishment Artifact—how is that not a threat? And who would believe the nonsense about “never mind if you don’t have ghost copper coins”? If I can’t produce them, I’ll probably be strangled by that artifact in the next instant!

“Yes, I have!” the principal ghost hurriedly replied. After all, he was a formidable ghost who’d existed here for many years—he had some savings.

“I have some too…”

Other ghosts in the school chimed in, scrambling to offer what they had. In their eyes, this wasn’t compensation for distress, but money to buy their lives.