Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Snow Mountain Town 4

If you won’t do it, there are plenty of others who will!

As night fell, the lights of the safehouse drew in a few unwelcome guests who had been prowling nearby.

This time, Jiang Qibai left the lights on. She stood before the safehouse’s only window, fiddling with something in her hands.

Knowing she needed to maintain a safe distance from the Shadow Ghosts, she had taken the dagger from her Novice Gift Pack and securely lashed it to the end of a trekking pole using paracord she’d found at an outdoor gear store.

After tightening the knots, Jiang Qibai weighed the improvised weapon in her hand, practicing a few thrusting motions to get a feel for it.

She had modified the dagger into a short spear, allowing her to fight the Shadow Ghosts from a distance.

The Shadow Ghosts feared light, but the safehouse’s incandescent bulb emitted a dim glow. Far from deterring the creatures, it only seemed to provoke their hostility.

Jiang Qibai was counting on this very fact. Several Shadow Ghosts were now drifting outside the window. Startled by the sound of the window being pushed open, they turned their heads in unison. Their gaunt, elongated figures were terrifying in the dark, multiple eyes glowing with a faint, ominous red light. Original translation by Lhaozi, read at lhaozitranslation.com

Novice Protection Period… Novice Protection Period… Jiang Qibai chanted the words in her mind, trying to ignore the other Shadow Ghosts. She focused all her attention on the one closest to her and thrust her short spear forward.

Damn it.

Even though she’d practiced the movements countless times on the simple target in the Safehouse, there was still a discrepancy in actual combat. The dagger grazed the Shadow Ghost’s temple, only slicing its ear.

The Shadow Ghost immediately lunged, its dark red eyes fixed on Jiang Qibai.

Click.

Jiang Qibai switched on the flashlight with her other hand. The flashlight, also a gift from the Novice Gift Pack, was incredibly bright. Its beam pierced the Shadow Ghost just inches away. The creature, about to attack, instinctively shut its eyes, its body freezing for a split second.

This is my chance.

This time, Jiang Qibai’s short spear plunged straight into the Shadow Ghost’s eye socket—accurate and brutal. She even twisted it inside. Original translation by Lhaozi, read at lhaozitranslation.com

The Shadow Ghost collapsed limply.

Thanks to the lethal strike effect and the 50% attack bonus she received while attacking from the Safehouse, she could easily dispatch a Shadow Ghost. It was far less effort than before.

More importantly, the Safehouse was still under the Novice Protection Period. The Shadow Ghosts passing by the window seemed completely unaware of Jiang Qibai’s presence and wouldn’t attack on their own. Yet, Jiang Qibai could seize the opportunity to deliver a charged strike.

Using this method, she killed four Shadow Ghosts in a row. After her initial mistake, every subsequent kill was a one-hit kill, and she grew more proficient with each one.

After a brief rest, Jiang Qibai took out her flashlight and swept its beam across the distance, drawing out several more Shadow Ghosts from the end of the alley.

Gripping her homemade short spear, which was still dripping with an unidentified liquid, Jiang Qibai got back to work.

Before long, she heard a notification from the System.

[ Achievement Unlocked: [Overtime Worker, Overtime Soul] — Once you start working overtime, you’re a wage slave for life. Reward: [Blank Employee Badge] ] Original translation by Lhaozi, read at lhaozitranslation.com

Jiang Qibai took the Blank Employee Badge in her hand and examined its description.

[ Blank Employee Badge Quality: B-grade Description: Subdue and control a monster whose total attributes are lower than the player’s. Note: Why do all the work yourself when you can hire someone else? ]

Jiang Qibai’s eyes lit up. Does this mean I have a helper now? Controlling a Shadow Ghost would definitely boost my monster-killing efficiency.

She tried using the Blank Employee Badge on a nearby Shadow Ghost, but received a failure notification.

It doesn’t work? Jiang Qibai re-read the badge’s description. The reason for the failure was likely that the Shadow Ghost’s total attributes were higher than her own.

Are there any monsters with attributes lower than a Shadow Ghost’s? Jiang Qibai sank into deep doubt.

Wait, does HP count as an attribute?

Jiang Qibai decided to test this theory. This time, she deliberately held back her strength when attacking the Shadow Ghost, leaving it alive. But the Blank Employee Badge still failed to activate. Original translation by Lhaozi, read at lhaozitranslation.com

The Shadow Ghost’s eyes gleamed with a fierce light as it lunged at her.

Jiang Qibai took a step back, and the Safehouse’s HP dropped by 3.

She hurriedly switched on her flashlight, her other hand descending in a heavy blow. Surprisingly, this strike still failed to kill the Shadow Ghost. As if possessed by a sudden impulse, Jiang Qibai used the Blank Employee Badge again.

The Shadow Ghost vanished instantly from before her, and a dark, blurry figure appeared on the badge.

[ Mutated Shadow Ghost HP: 8/20 Strength: 4 Defense: 2 Agility: 8 Spirit: 0 ]

So it’s a Mutated Shadow Ghost. No wonder it’s harder to kill than the others. Now, it would be working for her.

Jiang Qibai released her new employee. The creature emerged, expressionless, its eyes bleeding. It looked extremely unhappy.

Though the Mutated Shadow Ghost controlled by the Blank Employee Badge had very little HP left, its speed was far superior to the other Shadow Ghosts. Jiang Qibai assigned it to lure the monsters and finish them off if she missed. Her monster-killing efficiency indeed skyrocketed. Original translation by Lhaozi, read at lhaozitranslation.com

Only when her arm grew so sore that it affected her accuracy, causing her to miss several times, and realizing the hour was getting late—she had to go out tomorrow—did she reluctantly end her monster-slaying spree for the night.

[ Points: 62 ]

Have you ever fought for your life to pay off your mortgage? She had.

At this rate, she would definitely be able to pay off her mortgage before the Safehouse’s Novice Protection Period ended. She might even have some Points left over.

Having worked overtime until the middle of the night, Jiang Qibai slept until the sun was high in the sky.

Still, she didn’t wake up feeling rested. Her muscles were all sore.

The precious daylight hours were slipping away, second by second, but Jiang Qibai didn’t panic. She had already planned her day: she was heading to the bar near the Safehouse.

Her food supplies were dangerously low. She’d already finished the bread the System had issued, and the beef jerky and crackers were gone after last night’s meal. The hazelnut butter was calorie-dense, but it wasn’t a meal. After waking up today, Jiang Qibai had crushed a packet of instant noodles, mixed in the seasoning, and eaten them straight from the box. That left her with only one final packet of noodles that could even remotely be considered a main course. Original translation by Lhaozi, read at lhaozitranslation.com

As for buying food from the System Mall, that was her absolute last resort. The prices there were ridiculously inflated, and Jiang Qibai refused to waste the Points she had worked so hard to earn.

She was pinning high hopes on today’s trip to the bar.

After eating and drinking her fill, Jiang Qibai left the Safehouse.

The moment she had woken up, she had already released the Shadow Ghost employee from her Blank Employee Badge, ordering it to drag all the Shadow Ghost corpses near the Safehouse far away. Seeing the area outside her door clean and tidy, Jiang Qibai’s mood brightened.

Jiang Qibai slipped into the bar through the back door. She first tapped the doorframe to create a distraction, then swept her flashlight across the dim corners of the room.

Sure enough, three dark figures emerged from the shadows, lunging at her.

Her Mutated Shadow Ghost employee intercepted one. With lightning-fast reflexes, Jiang Qibai drove her dagger-short spear into the eye socket of another, then ducked low to evade the third’s sharp claws.

A chill ran down her back. Jiang Qibai sprang up instantly, launching a counterattack before she even had a chance to check her own condition. Original translation by Lhaozi, read at lhaozitranslation.com

After dispatching the last Shadow Ghost, she noticed her HP had dropped to (9/10), and her only trench coat was slashed with a large gash.

Losing just one HP wouldn’t hinder her next moves. The System Mall sold Novice Medical Kits for 20 Points, but she had no intention of buying one unless it became an emergency.

The commotion she’d caused the previous night had lured most of the Shadow Ghosts lurking in the bar out into the back alley. Aside from the three she’d just fought, the place was now temporarily clear of monsters.

Once she confirmed the area was safe, Jiang Qibai wasted no time in hauling the supplies out of the bar.

Compared to other shops, the bar—though clearly looted—still held a fair amount of valuable supplies. A quick scan revealed over a dozen bottles of hard liquor on the shelves behind the counter: vodka, whiskey, and the like. Some were full, others half-empty.

Hard liquor keeps for a long time after opening, Jiang Qibai thought. Without a second thought, she swept them all into her Spatial Bracelet.

Below the main shelves was a row of built-in bar fridges. They had long since lost power. Jiang Qibai peeked inside and saw beers, mixers like juice and sparkling water, and some unrecognizable, shriveled fruit. She pulled the doors open.

The fruit had dried out, turning black and wrinkled. Fortunately, it didn’t smell. As for the rest of the bottles and cans in the fridge, she didn’t have time to check their expiration dates one by one. She decided to take them back to the safehouse and sort through them there. Original translation by Lhaozi, read at lhaozitranslation.com

These drinks took up a lot of room. After filling the lower level of her Spatial Bracelet, she didn’t dare stack heavy items on the upper level, deciding to save that space for lighter things instead.

The bar area also yielded plenty of useful tools: ice buckets, cutting boards, fruit knives, and bottle openers. She even spotted two large packs of napkins—exactly what she had been hoping for.

She then found the utility closet in the corner of the bar and packed away all the buckets, mops, rags, cleaning agents, and disinfectants inside. She also found some nails, screws, and similar items before heading back to the safehouse to unload.

On her second trip back to the bar, Jiang Qibai slipped into the warehouse. The space looked somewhat empty, with most of the supplies already taken, but fortunately, a few things remained.

First, she found a box of bar snacks containing various nuts, dried fruits, and jerky. The packaging was still intact, and none of the bags were bloated, so they shouldn’t have spoiled.

Next, she found two large boxes of concentrated coffee liquid, each containing thirty sachets. There were also two bottles each of pomegranate syrup and vanilla syrup, one pack of ordinary table salt, and one pack of smoked sea salt.

The warehouse should have been stocked mostly with liquor, but it had all been hauled away, leaving only drag marks on the floor. All that remained for Jiang Qibai were a case of soda water, a case of energy drinks, and two cases of bottled water.

Once she had thoroughly scavenged the first floor, she discovered the stairs leading to the second. Original translation by Lhaozi, read at lhaozitranslation.com

The second floor was much smaller than the first. Besides the public area, it also contained a small employee locker room and a staff breakroom.

Inside the staff locker room, a row of wooden cabinets lined the wall. Jiang Qibai reached out and tugged at one, only to find all the doors locked. She pulled out her old friend—a rusty wrench—and slammed it down hard on the lock.

The lock was sturdy. After several heavy blows from Jiang Qibai, it remained completely unscathed. The wooden cabinet door, however, was unexpectedly thin. One of her stray hits had punched a gaping hole right through it.

I should have known better than to waste my strength, Jiang Qibai thought, decisively shifting her target. The cabinet door didn’t disappoint this time; with a sharp crack, it split wide open along the edge of the hole.

[ You have unlocked the achievement: [Door-Shattering Man]. Reward: Strength +1 ]

Jiang Qibai froze for a moment. Wait, I can get rewards for stuff like this?

Inside the locker room, she found two thick coats and a hoodie. She immediately threw on one of the coats and the hoodie, then thought it over and layered a loose-fitting trench coat—which had a large rip in the back—over the top. It was partly for warmth, but also because an extra layer of clothing meant an extra layer of protection if a monster ambushed her. If the other coat had actually fit over everything else, she would have worn that too.

Just as she was about to leave the locker room, Jiang Qibai spotted a wooden baseball bat leaning behind the door. A wave of delight washed over her. As a survival game enthusiast, she knew exactly how useful a baseball bat could be. With a little modification, her wrench could finally retire. Original translation by Lhaozi, read at lhaozitranslation.com