Chapter 48: Why Every Chapter Needs a Title

On her way up the stairs, Su Yeye retrieved a longsword from her [Inventory], with faint arcs of electricity dancing across its blade.

Her 6 points of Willpower violently erupted, instantly increasing all attributes by +6.

Her Perception, now reaching 22 points, carefully scanned for dangers within the residential building.

Just as she stepped onto the fourth floor—

Click—!

The door of apartment 402 suddenly swung open, and a middle-aged woman walked out. Her eyes lit up the moment she saw Su Yeye, and she spoke in a overly familiar tone, "My, what a pretty young lady. Is this some kind of cosplay uniform? My son loves playing those games too. This sword looks so realistic, it even has lightning special effects. Let me introduce you to my son, I'm sure he'll love you..."

As she spoke, the woman even reached out to touch the blade of Su Yeye's sword.

"Back off!"

A cold glint flashed in Su Yeye's eyes as she said frostily.

The woman was instantly struck as if by lightning, rendered completely speechless.

Su Yeye demanded, "Answer me now, is there anything unusual on the fourth floor today?"

With a vacant look in her eyes, the woman involuntarily replied, "No, I haven't felt anything out of the ordinary."

A wave of doubt immediately welled up in Su Yeye's heart. This...

Thud, thud, thud—!

At this moment, Li Pingxia also ran up to the fourth floor and saw Su Yeye subduing a passerby. "What's going on?"

Su Yeye frowned. "Captain, don't you find it strange? When I arrived here, I didn't sense any Ghost Domain at all, and..."

With that, she looked at the middle-aged woman. "The residents here also claim there is nothing unusual."

Li Pingxia said with absolute certainty, "No abnormality is the biggest abnormality! I cannot take the risk of betting whether the equipment from the Eighth Factory is faulty or if a far more terrifying entity is lurking inside."

Both Su Yeye and Li Pingxia understood that ghosts were not entirely mindless monsters; the higher their rank, the greater their intelligence. They knew how to disguise themselves, lurk, and plot schemes, which meant precautions were absolutely necessary.

However, Li Pingxia had other ideas. She continued, "Since it's safe for now, you should wait here for the Branch Captain."

"Just in case, to prevent the ghost from performing some kind of ritual inside, I will go in first to scout out the information. You remain outside as backup."

She wasn't afraid of dying; what she feared was the death of Su Yeye, an S-rank rated player.

She glanced at Ding Zhijian's apartment, 401, and added, "Remember, do not enter without my command."

Su Yeye said, "But..."

Li Pingxia suddenly smiled. "Little level 5 rookie, don't steal the job of an 8th-level veteran like me."

"Remember, if anything happens to me, don't do anything foolish like charging in to give them a double kill or pulling a heroic sacrifice. Just wait for the Branch Captain to reinforce us."

---

Su Yeye fell silent. She tightened her grip on the sword hilt. "Understood."

Staring at the doorplate of 401, Su Yeye nodded slightly, though she had already made up her mind—if Sister Li fell into danger, she would definitely go in to save her.

Click—!

The door of 401 suddenly opened, causing Su Yeye and Li Pingxia to tense up instantly.

Yet what came into view was an utterly ordinary young man. His student-like face made him look just like any regular college student.

Leaning lazily against the doorframe, the young man remarked, "You guys are really slow, and you dawdled at the door for so long that I had to come out and welcome you myself."

Li Pingxia spoke up, "You are..."

Before she could finish her sentence, her gaze fell upon the player ID floating above the young man's head: [Wutian: LV4]. "You're a player!"

Baiming said nothing, merely gesturing to Li Pingxia and Su Yeye with his eyes.

Li Pingxia and Su Yeye exchanged glances, and their own player IDs successively lit up above their heads: [Can't Hold It Anymore: LV8] and [Frosting: LV5].

Li Pingxia said, "I am the captain of the First Squad of the East City Relevant Department. You are... Wait, you're [Wutian]!"

Su Yeye asked in astonishment, "The Captain knows him? Which branch of the Relevant Department is he from?"

Li Pingxia replied, "No, he's a free player—an S-rank rated free player. I saw his ID yesterday when I was checking the national database."

"A free player?" Su Yeye looked at Baiming in disbelief. "You were the one who cleared the Ghost Domain?"

Su Yeye wasn't an idiot; it would be too foolish not to connect the dots to the previous anomalies now.

"Very surprising?" Baiming raised an eyebrow.

"Of course!" Su Yeye blurted out. "Anomalies descending into the real world are extremely dangerous, and the rewards gained after clearing them are incomparable to dungeons. It's a high-risk, low-return task."

"Ordinary free players wouldn't be willing to do it."

While Su Yeye looked down on free players as a whole, she didn't hold contempt for certain exceptional ones.

Just like how domestic citizens might harbor a negative impression upon hearing about overseas Chinese, yet would still look up with profound respect whenever someone with monumental achievements was mentioned.

Therefore, toward Baiming, who had cleared the Ghost Domain and rectified her mistake, Su Yeye's attitude was exceptionally friendly.

Coupled with hearing that the other party was an S-rank player, her initial impression of him rose by another notch.

Hearing Su Yeye put it that way, Baiming felt like he had taken a massive loss.

Yes, he had genuinely thought that clearing ghosts descended in the real world would yield the same return rate as dungeons.

As a result...

That was it?

---

He hadn't even leveled up to Level 5.

If it weren't for him, a mere Level 4 player entering this so-called Ghost Domain would have been perma-controlled to death.

How could there have been any possibility of a counter-kill?

Even with his [Rebel] trait, he hadn't been able to resist that control. Wanting to resolve it would have required at least a Level 8 player.

Players of that level would more or less possess traits and equipment that added Willpower resistance, which, combined with their innate Willpower attribute, would allow them to withstand the control of Rule 1.

Or simply put, sending in a middle-aged woman player over the age of fifty-five who didn't violate the rules would have solved it easily.

It wasn't as if Baiming hadn't seen players mention the high risk and low return in the forum post titled [Anomalies Surging Within Half a Year! The Terrifying Truth 99% of People Don't Know!].

Yet without experiencing it firsthand, who could know whether that was merely information suppression meant for a monopoly?

To prevent other players from stealing monsters and leveling up?

Baiming broke the silence. "I think *you* are the strange one. Is that outfit really practical for combat?"

Su Yeye was holding a longsword wreathed in electric arcs, yet she was wearing an exquisitely crafted Lolita dress.

The ivory-white dress was covered in layers of intricate lace, and the fluffy skirt swayed gently with her movements like a blooming night-blooming cereus.

The white shoes on her feet even had heels.

Baiming feared that if she tried to run, the heel might snap, causing her to fall and be killed by a ghost.

Especially her hair—long, cascading like a waterfall, pitch-black and silky, reaching all the way down to her waist and tied back with a white lace bow. She looked like a noble young lady who had stepped straight out of a classical oil painting, dignified, sweet, and pretty.

Yet Baiming couldn't help thinking: if someone grabbed that hair during a fight, wouldn't she be completely done for?

Players like [Wind Chant], [Iris], [Marshmallow and Cat], and Li Pingxia all wore shoulder-length short hair.

That was what a normal player's attire should look like.

Su Yeye said with a hint of complacency, "What do you know? This is a system-certified piece of equipment with actual attributes."

Baiming countered, "Adding attributes is fine, but aren't you afraid your clothes might get snagged during combat? If the quality is poor, it's easily damaged; if the quality is too good, it might not tear when caught and end up holding you back."

Su Yeye smiled mysteriously. "That's where you're wrong. Do you want to—"

Li Pingxia gave a light cough, interrupting their conversation. "[Wutian], do you have a reason for waiting here for us?"