Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Snow Mountain Town 3

“What’s in the Anti-Intrusion System?”

Thanks to Snow Mountain Town’s unique scenery, outdoor gear shops were everywhere. They typically offered down jackets and windbreakers for sale or rent to tourists.

The shop Jiang Qibai found was quite large, even displaying a sign for ski equipment rentals. However, it had clearly been picked clean by other Players.

Price tags and packaging bags were strewn across the floor, mixed with trash left behind by Players who had stopped here. Most of the merchandise on the shelves had vanished.

Spatial Bracelets were standard equipment for all Players. Even if they couldn’t wear all the clothes themselves, they could store them in their spatial storage to trade with others later. No one would leave good stuff behind.

But Jiang Qibai refused to give up on the possibility of finding hidden gems. She grabbed a discarded trekking pole from a corner and began rummaging through a pile of miscellaneous items.

A pair of ski gloves, wedged against the grid panel behind a shelf with only a corner showing, was spotted by her sharp eyes. She also found two pairs of quick-dry pants; though they weren’t her size, they were still wearable.

Beyond that, she found a few smaller items: a lunchbox, multifunction pliers, a survival whistle, a thermos, and ski goggles. Original translation by Lhaozi, read at lhaozitranslation.com

The biggest surprise was a half-box of wool socks in the stockroom. Somehow, other players had missed them, and Jiang Qibai promptly swept them all into her storage.

In a corner, she also spotted a black hammer. Her heart leaped—she desperately needed a proper weapon. The dagger was too short, and the wrench lacked enough killing power. This hammer was perfect.

But the moment she picked it up, she felt the weight was off. A closer look revealed it was a rubber mallet for driving tent stakes, completely useless for killing monsters. Even so, she decided to keep it. What if I find a use for it later?

Seeing that she’d thoroughly scavenged this area, Jiang Qibai moved to another section. Some of the larger items here hadn’t been picked clean yet—things like snowboards, folding tables, moon chairs, and folding camping carts.

They had likely been left behind because they were too bulky and not very useful.

Jiang Qibai picked a suitably sized folding camping cart and stowed it in her spatial storage. She ate a bit of beef jerky to replenish her energy before finally leaving the outdoor goods store.

As she stepped out of the store, Jiang Qibai noticed several Shadow Ghost corpses strewn along the roadside, each with a gaping hole in its chest. She remembered clearly—there had been no bodies here before she entered the shop. Nor had she heard any sounds of combat while rummaging for supplies inside.

The fight must have ended quickly, she thought. The opponent must have had an overwhelming advantage over the Shadow Ghosts. Original translation by Lhaozi, read at lhaozitranslation.com

Jiang Qibai scanned her surroundings but saw no sign of the other Player. She had spent a long time in the outdoor supply store; the person had likely just been passing through and was already gone.

Encountering other Players wasn’t necessarily a good or bad thing. Jiang Qibai had no intention of actively seeking a group to team up with, so she simply walked around the Shadow Ghost corpses and headed toward her next target.

She hadn’t forgotten that her safehouse didn’t even have a mattress. She planned to grab some bedding from the small inn ahead.

Just as she stepped onto the stairs, she froze. Her sixth sense screamed that something was wrong.

At that moment, around the corner, a man and a woman—both Players—were talking.

“We’ll have this area cleared in another day,” the man said. “The earliest we can make our move is the day after tomorrow.”

“Alright, I’ll notify Xingshan… Wait, there’s a Player heading that way,” the man said, frowning.

“Looks like a newbie,” the female Player judged by Jiang Qibai’s thin clothing. “Should we warn her—oh, never mind. She’s already gone. Smart move.” Original translation by Lhaozi, read at lhaozitranslation.com

Seeing this, the two turned away and resumed their discussion.

Jiang Qibai stood outside the inn for a moment before decisively turning to leave. Compared to the other shops, which looked like they’d been ravaged by a typhoon, this inn was astonishingly clean. The lobby floor was spotless, the Lucky Cat at the front desk waved its paw back and forth, and even the plants seemed well-tended, lush and green.

Something this unusual always spells trouble, Jiang Qibai thought. She was just a rookie who’d only been in the Dungeon for two days. When in doubt, the best move was to get away. After all, this wasn’t the only place in town with a mattress.

As she rounded the street corner, she passed the two figures at a safe distance and saw the information hovering above their heads.

So Talents aren’t displayed publicly, Jiang Qibai noted.

Judging by their gear and weapons, these two Players were clearly experienced veterans. They didn’t seem to be on guard against Jiang Qibai; in fact, one of them kept her back turned the entire time.

But as Jiang Qibai drew closer, the short-haired Player named Suisui An sharpened her gaze. Original translation by Lhaozi, read at lhaozitranslation.com

“What’s up?” she asked, her hand resting on the weapon at her waist.

Jiang Qibai stopped a respectful distance away to show she meant no harm. “Thank you.”

“For what?” The Player raised an eyebrow, confused.

“I saw you cleared out the Shadow Ghosts nearby,” Jiang Qibai explained. “It made my supply run a lot smoother, so I wanted to come say thanks.” In truth, she hadn’t actually seen them fight; she was just guessing.

Definitely a newbie who hasn’t adjusted to the Doomsday Dungeon, Suisui An thought. Who would go out of their way to talk to other Players over something like this?

“…No need to thank me,” Suisui An replied, her face stiff. She clearly wasn’t used to this kind of gratitude.

With the groundwork laid, Jiang Qibai feigned a bit of awkwardness. “Um, do you happen to know where Players usually go to trade supplies?”

Though Jiang Qibai had a map of the town, her stats were too low to venture out and explore recklessly. Original translation by Lhaozi, read at lhaozitranslation.com

She also lacked a proper weapon. If she couldn’t find one soon, she’d have to consider trading with other Players. The fastest way to find out where they gathered was, naturally, to ask veteran Players who had survived in the town longer.

The middle-aged man, his back to Jiang Qibai, turned around. The downward curve of his eyebrows gave him a perpetually gloomy look.

“Central Square,” he answered curtly, seemingly eager to send her on her way.

“Thank you,” Jiang Qibai said immediately.

“If you can’t handle the monsters alone, you can find people there to form a party to grind mobs and pay off the mortgage,” Suisui An added. She didn’t know why she’d said it; by the time she realized, the words were already out.

Jiang Qibai paused, sensing an opportunity to gather more information. She feigned confusion. “But I thought the ‘Pay the Mortgage’ quest didn’t have a time limit?”

Why did I have to run my mouth? Suisui An berated herself, quickly explaining, “If you don’t complete the Novice Quest, it’ll keep occupying the Daily Quest slot. Without Daily Quests, you can’t get System Rewards, and you won’t be able to upgrade your Player stats or your Safehouse.”

So that’s how it works. Original translation by Lhaozi, read at lhaozitranslation.com

Jiang Qibai thanked the two women earnestly once more before turning to leave.

No wonder no new quests had appeared, she thought. I have to finish the Novice Quest first.

Could their daily quest be to clear the monsters in this district? Jiang Qibai’s mind wandered.

She had chosen these two specifically for a reason. She had been circling the area, and they must have noticed her long ago. The fact that they hadn’t made a move, despite being clearly more powerful than her, meant they harbored no ill will.

Combined with her “broke and clueless novice” buff, Jiang Qibai decided it was worth the risk.

Even her choice of words when approaching them was calculated. In psychology, there’s a concept called the “Benjamin Franklin Effect,” which suggests that people who have already helped you are more likely to help you again.

Even a trivial favor can subconsciously make someone want to maintain a consistent image of themselves, often making them more willing to agree to a larger request later.

By forcing her gratitude upon Suisui An, Jiang Qibai had tricked her into subconsciously feeling she had already helped her once. What’s one more time? Original translation by Lhaozi, read at lhaozitranslation.com

Whether the psychological trick had actually worked or not, she had gotten the information she needed.

“Central Square…” Jiang Qibai simply marked the location on the town map. It wasn’t the right time to head there.

The world suddenly dimmed. Jiang Qibai looked up to see the sun momentarily obscured by a peak of the snow-covered mountains. In another moment, it would vanish completely behind the range.

Sunset came early in Snow Mountain Town. It was barely 4:00 PM. Though she hadn’t gathered all the supplies she wanted, Jiang Qibai decided to return to the safehouse. Lingering any longer risked an accident.

At this moment, she had zero capacity to handle any risks. Even the slightest difficulty could bring her down.

The block where she’d been scavenging had luckily been cleared by Hugo and Suisui An. However, the area near the safehouse was different. Perhaps because it was just one street away from the bar, the density of Shadow Ghosts here was much higher than elsewhere, making the nights exceptionally lively.

Jiang Qibai detoured as much as possible, paying extra attention to the dark corners. When she couldn’t avoid them, she used obstacles and the fading sunlight to her advantage, kiting the Shadow Ghosts before striking them down.

After earning six points and using her only offensive skill, [ Sword Come ], Jiang Qibai finally returned to the safehouse. As she shut the heavy door, a wave of relief washed over her. Original translation by Lhaozi, read at lhaozitranslation.com

Though the safehouse was crude, it was the only place where she could finally relax her mind and stop treating every rustle in the wind like an enemy attack.

She began by organizing the supplies from her Spatial Bracelet. Towels, shampoo, and toiletries went into the bathroom. Food was placed on the four-tiered cart from the barbershop. The hair dryer, wool socks, and a handful of miscellaneous items were tossed into the folding camping wagon.

She hadn’t eaten much all day, only gnawing on a few strips of beef jerky. Her nerves had been so frayed while she was out that she hadn’t even felt hungry. But the moment she stepped back into the Safehouse, a wave of starvation crashed over her. Jiang Qibai glanced at her food stash and reached for a cup of instant noodles on the shelf, only to put it back when she remembered she didn’t have a kettle.

For some reason, her mind drifted back to that hotel she hadn’t entered. It definitely had the mattress, bedding, and kettle she craved most right now.

Could Hugo and Suisui An’s appearance be linked to that eerie hotel? She pondered this as she grabbed a piece of bread, slathered it with a thick layer of hazelnut spread, and took a large bite.

After filling her stomach, she noticed a change in the Safehouse.

When she had left that morning, the Safehouse had been attacked by a Shadow Ghost, and its HP had dropped to (49/50). Now, looking again, it had returned to its maximum value.

It seems the Safehouse has an Auto-Regeneration ability. Original translation by Lhaozi, read at lhaozitranslation.com

After spending a little time exploring, Jiang Qibai finally figured out how to access the Safehouse’s attribute information.

[ Bai Qi’s Safehouse (Novice Protection Period Active, Time Remaining: 47:12:44) Life: 50/50 Defense: 5 Auto-Repair Speed: 1 point/hour Anti-Intrusion System: None ]

The Mall also sold items that could restore the Safehouse’s Life.

Among them were the [ Safehouse Repair Kit ], a single-use item that restored 30 Life points, and the [ Safehouse Maintenance Kit ], which lasted for one week and increased the Safehouse’s hourly regeneration speed by 2 points.

These two items were priced at 200 and 500 Points, respectively. Not only did Jiang Qibai lack the Points to buy them, but even if she had them, she wouldn’t prioritize healing items. Taking a beating passively was no match for taking the initiative to strike back; the best defense was a good offense.

“What kind of Anti-Intrusion Systems are available?” Jiang Qibai was much more interested in this and searched for the keyword in the Mall.

The System coldly displayed a notification, reminding her that she must first pay off the Safehouse purchase cost before the Anti-Intrusion System would be unlocked.

Jiang Qibai shut the Mall with a huff. Original translation by Lhaozi, read at lhaozitranslation.com

This is how the System treats players burdened with a mortgage.

Still, Jiang Qibai already had a plan to pay off the mortgage. The idea had even occurred to her before Suisui An reminded her to pay it off early, and she would be able to put it into practice very soon.