Zhan Rong managed to get away safely. Night then fell. she waited for the haunted road to reveal its eerie side and then did her utmost to pretend she was not bothered by the scary slightly obese white lady that showed up.
When the progress bar showed some change, she rejoiced in her heart and persisted for an hour.
Afterward, she began to run with all her might towards the nearest 24/7 convenience store. Although it was a bit out of place, when she realized how crazy she acted just now, she found solace from the fact that at least no one from those who saw her terrible appearance knew her.
"Tomorrow"s the last day." She encouraged herself. Although in the following minute, her eyes that were almost tearing up closed.
It was not easy even for her to persist until now. Even though in the first few days, it seemed as if she had gradually accepted the changes in her eyesight and had become more tolerant of seeing unusual beings, it didn"t mean her mind and body was not getting exhausted by those things.
In front of others, she had always been a tough lady. But it didn"t mean she could act like that all the time. All humans had their moments of weakness and she was no exception.
Tomorrow, once the progress turned a hundred percent, she would be able to rest, right? Just that much was all she wanted as a reward. She was not even aiming for freedom now.
Poor Zhan Rong had no idea about the hostility of the child spirit against her.
It was the mentality of most people to promise to do a thing and set something as their target progress but go a little further than that, whether intentional or not, for a guarantee, or for just for fun.
For example, a girl ordered by her mom to buy soy sauce would know how much the price was but would still bring excess to not be embarra.s.sed in case she was charged more than the SRP.
Another case was how a kid would promise his dad that he would stop playing games around 8 pm, but would actually play until 10 pm. Sometimes it was out of necessity, sometimes people just couldn"t help doing so or they found a.s.surance in doing or getting extra.
Zhan Rong, unfortunately, had no idea that the one hundred percent the system set for her was actually more than what was needed. Ninety percent was enough to awaken Jiang Li and she had already collected that much from the haunted spot of the white lady.
In other words, the further suffering, unworthy trip in Zhan Rong"s terms, was no longer necessary. Yet the system did not remind her.
When Jiang Li woke up, he only terrorized the system with some threats and curses. The child spirit, after all, was afraid of him for a reason he didn"t know and was not really curious to know.
"I"ll take over from him," the guy said after yawning and reading everything recorded in Zhan Rong"s panel. He specifically showed great interest in the first page where he saw what his b.a.s.t.a.r.d system named itself to Zhan Rong.
"Ghost Petting System, huh?" Jiang Li"s tone was weird, his face a lot darker than usual,.which also made him a bit more terrifying as a baleful spirit.
"Thank you for muting me, I don"t need to answer," thought the child spirit who shuddered upon seeing his expression and hurriedly began to play dead. No matter what kinds of words were thrown at it, it no longer responded. One would just be compelled to wonder whether it still exists.
Jiang Li was truly annoyed this time. The system acted outside his set expectations and even made up a cringeworthy t.i.tle. Didn"t he merely instruct it to act like a normal system and protect Zhan Rong while guiding her towards mild Yin-rich places? How come everything was a bit over the top?
For some time, the ominous air surrounding him continued to thicken. But after the scolding, he calmed down.
While floating behind Zhan Rong in his thinking pose, he plunged into deep contemplation, then shook his head and chuckled, "When I gave it some more thoughts, it"s actually interesting. So I will be the reward after the seven-day trial?"
System: … You didn"t give any points. What else can I offer?
On one hand, the child spirit wished he could say that.
On the other, the ghost realized the whole thing could actually be amusing and fun. Before he knew it, the irritation was gone and he began to look forward to it, planning to make up to the girl by playing a good pet for her.
Unfortunately, when the time was up and Zhan Rong visited a haunted tunnel, she failed. The tunnel was indeed hunted but the Yin energy there fell short by about 1.4%. Who could imagine the despair she felt?
When that happened, Jiang Li was not around, tracking the spell that locked on Zhan Rong before the girl arrived at the last haunted location. After following the trace of spell, a grey mist that later pointed him to the villainess Gu Mochou. Because the latter went as far as to bother a mall"s security guard and a team of computer professional to get Zhan Rong"s name and birthday, he was surprised.
"Why is this woman curious about Zhan Rong?" he wondered after disrupting the spell Gu Mochou cast.
He didn"t immediately leave, intending to observe the woman from afar. His forehead then creased since he had yet to see what happened to this woman after the male lead"s amnesia arc. "This girl is my target this time but I can"t see through her. Am I just too weak, or she"s just our of ordinary? Also, isn"t she here too early? There are still two weeks before the university resumes."
One of the female ghosts was supposed to be here before Gu Mochou.
His face had a frown on it as he looked at the villainess from outside her hotel room. The woman appeared like a cheerful young lady of a rich family, a typical spoiled brat. However, could she really be called normal if she kept mumbling a dead guy"s name while capturing and brainwas.h.i.+ng a spirit to locate Zhan Rong for her?
Jiang Li did not dare come forward since he had not forgetten yet that he was a ghost. Although he could nullify her dark arts, it was still a fact that the villainess was secretly a Daoist capable of hunting and converting him. No matter how small the chances are, he had no plans to become a mindless ghost puppet, alright!
It was past midnight when the woman got tired of her failed attempts and went to sleep. Jiang Li immediately floated back to Zhan Rong afterwards.
He had no idea that when he was not around, the system had already administered the punishment for her failure. It sent the consciousness of the tearful Zhan Rong into an illusion where she was being hunted by monsters from the underworld.
Who knew what method system employed to freeze the time temporarily? In her perception, she had stayed in that "h.e.l.l Dungeon" for another seven days. For a week, she had to forget her dignity to flee and survive. She was on the brink of crying when she got back to reality.
[Congratulations, Esteemed Host, on Clearing the h.e.l.l Difficulty Dungeon: Realm of Astral Monsters!]
"What the heck!" The male ghost exclaimed seeing the odd state of the girl and the changes in the content of the panel.
Jiang Li managed to return just in time to see her reading the announcements with bloodshot eyes and trembling lips, like she was disecting and destroying the system in her mind for the nth time.
It was still the same date and Jiang Li was only late by 10 minutes. Yet Zhan Rong already got into another so-called dungeon and escaped out of it. He didn"t understand how all of that happened. However, her reactions and the words on the floating screen didn"t seem like mere product of his imagination.
[For clearing it solo, you are automatically declared as MVP]
[Congratulations! For a job well done (Specifically for not crying and even completing the quest slightly ahead of time) you are eligible for an additional reward]
[Unconditionally receive: Exclusive Pet Ghost - Jiang Li] The pet ghost was psychologically prepared but was still rendered speechless.
[Host, you can get one more reward. Choose among the choices and pick one skill... Choices: Programming, Hacking, Ancient Calligraphy, Singing, Acting, Cursing]
Black lines appeared on his face upon seeing the last option. Cursing? When did he become so uncultured that his knowledge in profane language became a skill?
For a while, he doubted life and wondered what possessed him to give the system the autonomy to create scenarios. Seething in rage and, he took back the command and swore to do everything by himself from now on. Unfortunately, by then, it was already quite late. Those already written couldn"t be erased since doing so would be useless given that the girl had read everything.
[Other options not available yet to esteemed host... Your level is too low, the system doesn"t even bother to show it. Please select one from those mentioned above]
[Just a reminder. After choosing, please find a way to please your exclusive pet ghost. Your skills will be imparted by him after all so the happier he is, the earlier you"ll get/enjoy your full reward]
Zhan Rong was still experiencing something akin to PSTD so she didn"t make any move, although her fierce eyes were on the few options presented to her. Meanwhile, Jiang Li"s lips and face were spasming at the last line on the panel.
[Tip: Summoning him and holding his hands might make him immediately teach you the skill]