At this moment, the system had yet to send the task to the group, but upon hearing the male ghost’s question, the experienced Cai Wenfeng was the first to nod and say, “Yes, we’re the new waiters.”
“Jie jie jie.”
A burst of eerie laughter suddenly came from the male ghost’s mouth. Under the dim lighting, the uneven lumps of flesh on his face quivered and trembled along with his creepy laugh.
“Young man, you look quite good. Work hard. If you run into any trouble, you can come to my room tonight. I’ll give you some private instruction.”
The male ghost suddenly raised his hand and slapped Cai Wenfeng on the butt.
The expression on Cai Wenfeng’s face froze, and his handsome face flushed red…
He seemed to have just been sexually harassed at work!
If this were the real world, Cai Wenfeng would have already gifted this male ghost a pair of silver bracelets, along with 15 days of full room and board1“pair of silver bracelets, along with 15 days of full room and board”: is a sarcastic and humorous way of saying he would have had the ghost arrested and jailed. “Silver bracelets” refers to handcuffs. “15 days of full room and board” refers to a 15-day detention in a jail or holding cell, where meals and accommodation are “provided.”.
But this was the Horror World. He could only endure in silence.
The male ghost was very satisfied with this batch of employees. He pointed to the clothes on the shelf and said, “Put on these uniforms and come out. For the next few days, you are the restaurant’s staff.”
With that, he pinched his orchid fingers and sashayed away.
Qing Li’s tightly pressed lips trembled slightly. Witnessing the true unspoken rules of the workplace for the first time, she cast a sympathetic glance at poor Cai Wenfeng.
“Young man, boys also need to protect themselves when they’re out and about.”
Qing Li patted his shoulder.
Cai Wenfeng gave a helpless smile. “Little Master, don’t make fun of me.”
A dignified seven-foot-tall man, harassed by an ugly ghost, too angry to speak out—what a disgrace.
“One hundred thousand, and I’ll take care of it for you.”
Qing Li was rarely warmhearted, though still with payment as a prerequisite.
The tension in Cai Wenfeng’s expression eased. He had heard of Qing Li’s skills, so he transferred the money without hesitation.
“Little Master, if you can handle this, I’ll owe you one.”
“Take money to ward off disaster. Favors are easy to give, but debts are hard to repay, so there’s no need for you to say you owe me,” Qing Li said with a faint smile.
Cai Wenfeng paused, then looked at Qing Li with a gaze that turned into admiration.
This little girl may be greedy for money, but she wasn’t greedy in heart!
At the same time, the system’s mission finally arrived, fashionably late.
Game Name: Hungry Ghost Restaurant
Danger Level: 5 Stars
Mission: Players are required to work part-time at the restaurant for three days.
Hint 1: This restaurant only serves special guests. If you anger a guest, you might end up as food on the table.
Hint 2: Encrypted (Unlocked at 100,000 Popularity Points)
Hint 3: Encrypted (Unlocked at 500,000 Popularity Points)
The “5-star” difficulty level immediately made the other players’ faces change color.
The mission had just begun, and some already felt despair rising.
Cai Wenfeng was the first to grab a uniform from the shelf and put it on. The clothes were covered in bloodstains—not so much like a work uniform, more like the remains of a victim.
In this cramped break room, there was no separation between men and women. The other players also picked up the uniforms and changed into them—only Qing Li remained still.
“Qing Li, aren’t you going to change?” Wang Lili was already dressed. Who knew how long these clothes had gone unwashed—her skin itched uncomfortably.
Qing Li looked disgusted. “Too filthy.”
Wang Lili: “……”
Everyone thought it was filthy, but no one dared defy the ghost’s orders…
“You’d better put it on. Otherwise, you might trigger a death condition and be attacked by the ghosts.”
She knew Qing Li had skills, but having never seen them firsthand, she was still worried.
“It’s fine. I’ll have new clothes to wear soon,” Qing Li said confidently, curling her lips into a smile, then was the first to walk out of the break room.
Chen Fang sneered at Qing Li’s retreating figure. “What a show-off. Just wait, she’ll be the first to get herself killed.”
The male ghost waiting outside saw that Qing Li hadn’t put on the uniform. His hideous face instantly turned menacing, and in a voice as harsh as a crow’s caw, he coldly said, “Why aren’t you wearing your uniform?”
“That uniform is so dirty. If I wear it out and the guests see it, wouldn’t it make them question the cleanliness of our restaurant? For the sake of the restaurant’s reputation, of course I can’t wear it,” Qing Li replied matter-of-factly.
The male ghost froze for a moment, clearly not expecting a human to argue so unreasonably.
【The little village girl makes a good point. With uniforms this dirty, the restaurant kitchen’s hygiene must be even worse.】
【No need to imagine—I already pictured it. A kitchen full of severed limbs, maggots crawling everywhere, and flies buzzing all over.】
【Oh, so the Horror World’s restaurants are the same as the ones in our real world!】
【↑ You, upstairs, really understand sarcasm.】
“Human, I suggest you obediently put on the uniform and get to work, or you can choose to be served on a platter as an ingredient,” the male ghost said, his sunken eyes narrowing with a vicious gleam.
“Maybe… you could also choose to bring me a clean set of clothes.” Qing Li’s eyes narrowed as well.
But compared to the male ghost, the aura she gave off was harmless and innocent.
“Looks like you’re asking for death.”
The male ghost was furious, the lumps of flesh on his face bunching together. He raised his withered ghost claw and lunged toward Qing Li. But the next second…
Ten fingers rolled across the floor.
The ghost claw, now missing its fingers, instantly became short and powerless.
“Sorry, I have a cleanliness obsession. Your filthy hand almost touched me, so I chopped them off. That’s not too much, is it?”
Qing Li still wore that harmless, innocent smile. In her hand was the scalpel Dr. Chu had given her—its sharp blade sliced through bone like cutting through mud.
The male ghost, now missing all his fingers, flew into a rage. With a furious roar from his mouth, tendrils of black ghostly aura surged wildly from his body. His form swelled, withered arms transforming into bulging muscle. He swung them at Qing Li.
“Boom—”
Just as Qing Li dodged, the wall behind her was smashed clean through.
The corners of Qing Li’s lips curled into a cold smirk. She raised her hand, and five yellow talismans floated in the air before her.
As she formed a hand seal, the talismans instantly attached themselves to the male ghost.
“Metal.”
Qing Li softly uttered a single word.
Black chains burst out from the ground, wrapping tightly around the male ghost.
“Thunder.”
Thick bolts of lightning appeared out of nowhere and struck the male ghost, roasting him to a crisp—charred on the outside, tender on the inside.
“Fire.”
Flames roared to life, engulfing him. The male ghost let out an inhuman, agonized scream.
As he was reduced to ashes, the screaming abruptly stopped. Qing Li spoke again:
“Earth.”
The tiles on the ground cracked open, and the soil beneath seemed to come alive, rising and forming a mound over the spot where the ghost had turned to ash.
One final word:
“Wood.”
A wooden block dropped from above, stabbing into the mound like a gravestone.
Just like that, the male ghost had flamboyantly received his boxed lunch. (Note: “领了盒饭” is slang for dying, often used humorously or ironically, literally meaning “received a boxed meal.”)
This whole sequence left the other players utterly dumbfounded.
“So this… this is Little Master Qing Li’s process for eliminating a ghost?” Cai Wenfeng said in shock.
Qing Li shook her head and replied earnestly, “Normally, just one talisman would be enough. But since you spent 100,000 popularity points to ask for my help, if I handled it too easily, you might feel it wasn’t worth it. So I added some unnecessary steps to make it feel like you got your money’s worth.”
Cai Wenfeng’s mouth twitched. “……”
Well, thank you very much. You really do know how to look out for me.