Chapter 3: Game

Source: https://www.gongzicp.com/novel-1388844.html
This translation was originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com

Although Shu Ya has returned to her old profession, she dares not take on overly mysterious jobs, so she doesn't earn much money. She mainly continues with her small business.

Life is exhausting and bitter for her, so much so that she no longer has time to practice martial arts. Long periods without exercise have naturally aged her.

But Shu Yushuang has been persistently practicing martial arts.

Shu Ya suddenly realizes that the little girl who used to be shorter than her waist can now look her in the eye.

Shu Ya sighs lightly and says, "Shuang'er, study hard, and don't worry about anything else. Seeing you go to university is my only wish. Besides, do you think every time you're taken to the police station, I don't have to spend money to bail you out? And why didn't you discuss something like this with me first? I have to worry about you like this every day."

Shu Yushuang felt guilty and said, "Master, I'm sorry. You've worked so hard these years. It's my fault. But I got into fights because those people were bullying girls..."

"Ah," Shu Ya sighed again, "It's noble to uphold justice, but it must be done with restraint."

"I know," Shu Yushuang, seeing Shu Ya wasn't as angry anymore, continued negotiating with her, "Master, I want to get a job now."

"Are you kidding? If you don't get into college, can you justify my hard work?"

"I..."

Shu Ya bitterly said, "It's because I suffered from a lack of education. Otherwise, why would I need to work so hard? Do you still want to follow my path?"

"I understand, Master. I'll study hard," Shu Yushuang replied with remorse.

From then on, Shu Yushuang returned to her previous state. Although she occasionally still taught lessons to those bullies who picked on girls, she never landed in the police station again.

Despite Shu Yushuang's significant drop in academic performance earlier, she was lucky she was only in her first year of high school. If she started studying hard now, there was still plenty of time.

Since that conversation with Shu Ya, Shu Yushuang returned to her old self. She performed well thereafter and got into a decent university.

On the day Shu Yushuang received her university acceptance letter, Shu Ya stayed up all night happily. 

But now, the more important issue for her is Shu Yushuang's tuition fees. Looking at her savings, it's barely enough for the first year's tuition, but Shu Yushuang's living expenses are still uncertain. 

Thinking about this, she couldn't sleep anymore.

Shu Ya sat up from the sofa and under the moonlight, she saw Shu Yushuang also wide awake, not asleep.

"Master, why aren't you sleeping?"

"Aren't you the same?"

"I'm thinking, is going to this university really necessary?"

"After getting into such a good school, you're still saying this? Don't be silly, don't worry about the tuition fees, I still have money."

Shu Yushuang turned over, and Shu Ya couldn't see her eyes, but she didn't hear her speak for a long time, thinking she had fallen asleep.

"Master, I will go to work tomorrow and earn a little bit."

Shu Ya was about to object, but a sharp pain from her old injury in her waist stopped her from saying anything further.

This injury was from a previous beating. If she had sought timely treatment, there wouldn't have been any lingering effects. However, she found hospital visits too expensive, so she merely applied a few plasters to deal with it, leading to the root of her illness.

In the end, Shu Ya could only say, "Be careful. Don't trust strangers, don't eat food given by others, and don't follow strangers..."

Shu Yushuang patiently waited for Shu Ya to finish before responding, "I understand, Master."

Even though she said this, how could Shu Ya truly feel relieved?

The next day, before Shu Yushuang left home, Shu Ya prepared some self-defense tools for her and gave her a long lecture.

It was only when Shu Yushuang shook her phone, indicating she would stay in touch, that Shu Ya let her go.

In less than half a day, Shu Yushuang found a job.

She said she found it herself, but it was actually her high school homeroom teacher who helped her.

This teacher was kind-hearted and knew about Shu Yushuang's family's difficult financial situation, often helping her during school. When the homeroom teacher learned that Shu Yushuang was looking for a part-time job, they proactively introduced her to a job as a waitress in a small restaurant.

Although the monthly salary for this job was only 1500 yuan, with only one day off per month, it included meals, accommodation, and bonuses. So Shu Yushuang agreed immediately.

The summer vacation after the college entrance exams was exceptionally long, and Shu Yushuang worked at that small restaurant for three months.

During those three months, she earned over six thousand yuan including bonuses. The first thing she did after leaving the restaurant was to buy a smartphone for Shu Ya.

Shu Ya had saved up for a long time to buy Shu Yushuang a smartphone, but she herself had always used an old-fashioned, worn-out phone.

Although Shu Ya always said that a phone just needed to make calls, Shu Yushuang wanted to see Shu Ya frequently after going to university, something only a smartphone with video calling could achieve.

But Shu Yushuang didn't expect that buying a smartphone for Shu Ya would become the biggest regret of her life.

Returning home with the brand new phone, Shu Yushuang found that Shu Ya wasn't there.

Source: https://www.gongzicp.com/novel-1388844.html
This translation was originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com

She thought Shu Ya must have gone out to set up her stall again and didn't pay much attention to it.

Shu Ya returned home late at night.

She immediately saw Shu Yushuang sleeping soundly on the bed and the smartphone placed on the table. Underneath the phone was a note: "Master, this is a gift from me. I hope you like it."

Shu Ya shook her head helplessly but still picked up the phone. Although she had never used a smartphone before, she had seen Shu Yushuang use one enough times not to be completely clueless.

She excitedly opened every app on the phone and used them for a few minutes before closing them. Until finally, only one app remained.

The name of that app was strange: "Hell Online", with a skull icon.

Shu Ya felt uneasy about such things now and had no desire to open it directly. She wanted to uninstall the app immediately.

However, no matter how she tried to press the icon, she couldn't uninstall the app.

Shu Ya thought she might have made a mistake, so she dared not touch the phone again, planning to ask Shu Yushuang to uninstall the app for her the next day.

However, strangely, the next day, Shu Yushuang told Shu Ya that she hadn't seen any skull icon on the phone at all.

"Master, are you sure you saw it right? I haven't touched the phone since we bought it, and it's a new phone, not a used one. How could there be such a strange app like you described?"

Shu Ya looked at Shu Yushuang, then back at the phone.

The skull icon stubbornly remained in the center of the phone's screen, shining brightly.

But Shu Yushuang simply couldn't see it.

Shu Ya knew Shu Yushuang wasn't the type to joke around. Her voice trembling, she asked, "You really can't see it?"

"I really can't, Master. What's wrong with you?"

Shu Yushuang also realized the seriousness of the situation, but she thought Shu Ya might be experiencing hallucinations due to fatigue, not considering supernatural possibilities.

After observing Shu Yushuang's expression, Shu Ya had to sadly admit that Shu Yushuang genuinely didn't know about this.

Shu Ya recalled the incident from many years ago, remembering the school fire.

"It seems... I'm still haunted."

"What did you say, Master?"

"When are you leaving?"

"Let's not worry about that for now. Is there something wrong with your health?"

"No, I just misread something. When are you going to school?"

"Master, are you sure you're okay? I can go to school a few days later..."

"No!"

Shu Ya was extremely anxious now. She feared that if Shu Yushuang stayed a minute longer, she would end up in the same situation, haunted by spirits like herself.

Shu Yushuang was startled by her reprimand and said somewhat aggrievedly, "I'm just worried about you."

Shu Ya realized her tone was too harsh and softened her voice. "Tuition fees are so expensive, we can't afford to waste a single day. Hurry and go to school."

"But it's just the beginning of the school year, and there's military training first, not classes..."

"So you want to skip military training?"

"Of course not, I'm really worried about your health!"

"I'm fine. Be obedient and go to school."

Despite Shu Yushuang's reluctance, under Shu Ya's urging, she picked up her suitcase that afternoon and left home.

Although Shu Yushuang felt deeply saddened when she left, Shu Ya didn't have time to explain much.

After Shu Yushuang left, Shu Ya retrieved a very old cloth bag hidden under the bed.

The bag looked quite worn; it was originally white but had turned yellow over time.

Shu Ya opened the bag and took out yellow paper, cinnabar, and a "book" bound with various types of paper. The cover of the book was plain, with the title "Comprehensive Guide to Ghost Hunting" written on it.

She smiled bitterly and said, "Master, it turns out you really didn't deceive me. But you probably didn't expect technology to develop so rapidly that even ghosts can hide in smartphones. You probably don't know how to break this, do you?"

Shu Ya flipped through "Comprehensive Guide to Ghost Hunting" while continuing to talk to herself, "I really regret not learning from you properly back then. Now that I've encountered this, I have to figure it out last minute... and maybe won't even figure it out."

After a while, she regretfully set the book aside.

"Indeed, there's no solution."

Despite saying so, she still drew several protective talismans and placed them around the room. However, she wasn't sure how effective they would be.

Anxiously, Shu Ya waited for several days but found no ghosts coming out of the phone. Instead, the app sent her numerous messages, urging her to enter a place called “Dungeon".

Shu Ya completely ignored these messages.

Until one day, she noticed a message from the app saying, "If you don't enter the dungeon* within three days, you will be erased."

*Instance Dungeon - a private or separate version of a dungeon, raid, or zone in a multiplayer online game. It is generated for a specific group of players, meaning they do not have to compete with others for resources, enemies, or boss fights. I'll translate this sometimes as 'dungeon' or 'instance'

It was then that Shu Ya started taking those previous messages seriously.

After reviewing all the messages she had previously ignored, Shu Ya finally understood that entering this "Dungeon" wasn't a death sentence. 

As long as she completed the tasks inside and avoided ghostly attacks, she could survive the Dungeon and even earn bonuses. 

After completing ten Dungeons, she could completely leave this game and receive many rewards. Those forced to enter the Dungeon like her were called Executors.

Shu Ya finally decided to enter the Dungeon for the sake of those bonuses. 

However, before doing so, she needed to transfer all her savings to Shu Yushuang. After all, what would happen if she died in the Dungeon?

Afraid that Shu Yushuang would rush back home, Shu Ya used a well-intentioned lie to explain why she transferred so much money to her at once, soothing her concerns.

After completing everything she needed to do, Shu Ya finally entered her first Dungeon.

The first Dungeon was a beginner-friendly one, short with simple tasks, and basically, no one would die inside.

Shu Ya was no exception; she quickly emerged from this Dungeon and received a bonus of 1000 yuan.

Although the money wasn't much, it was enough to make Shu Ya excited.

Shu Ya decided not to transfer the money to Shu Yushuang temporarily and instead kept it for herself to enjoy some good food.

Entering the Dungeon really could earn money, much faster than selling things at stalls. After completing a few more Dungeons, she would have enough for the child's tuition and living expenses.

As Shu Ya enjoyed the food she had never been willing to eat before, she thought excitedly.

But at that time, she did not realize that high returns come with high risks.

To obtain so much wealth, the process was bound to be extremely dangerous.

While Shu Ya fantasized about her future wealthy life, in another dimension's prison playground, a pale-faced woman opened her eyes underground.