Chapter 66: Chapter 66: The Great Cold Country’s Breakdown, Piao Dagen Is Stunned by a Doll

At the sight of this scene...

Research Headquarters.

"Th-th-this—"

A buzz went through Wang Xiuwen’s head, and he felt the blood rush to his face. The monumental surprise left him reeling, and his heart began to race.

He stared blankly at the big screen, where the audience from Dragon Country was going wild in the comments.

He felt as if he were in a dream.

[HOLY SHIT??? An instance that’s friendly to Dragon Country? This is the first time I’ve ever seen anything like it!]

[So does this mean we’re basically partners now?]

[I was in the middle of disciplining my bratty kid when I saw this. I was so stunned I just stopped. No more discipline for him—we’re having a feast tonight!]

[Dragon Country has friendly relations with so many nations, but this is the first time we’ve ever had them with a ghostly instance!]

[Forget Dragon Country, no country in the entire world has ever established friendly relations with an instance!!!]

[And it’s an SS-rank instance! Does this mean our players can go in and out as they please from now on, without having to worry about being harmed by ghosts?]

[Thank you, Yun Zhenyue! Thank you, the great Gu Yuan!]

[Yun Zhenyue hasn’t even managed to win over Gu Yuan yet, and she’s already earned the goodwill of an entire instance. Damn... Could it be that the director of Reincarnation Hospital actually knows the great Gu Yuan?]

These exhilarating comments!

They voiced the very thoughts in Wang Xiuwen’s mind.

This was a monumental strategic step for Dragon Country!

It was like humanity’s first step on the moon!

Though it was just one small step, it was a giant leap for all of humanity!

Forging a strategic alliance with the SS-rank Reincarnation Hospital!

This was enough to put Dragon Country ahead of every other nation, allowing them to truly establish a foothold in the Ghost World!

Using this as an anchor, they could constantly expand. Earning ghost coins to cultivate talent, forging partnerships with more instances—all of it had become a tangible possibility.

This was far more precious than any top-grade Ghost Artifact or powerful ghost cat!

This was something worthy of creating a new national holiday to celebrate!

And this was only the third instance Yun Zhenyue had explored...

It was hard to imagine.

Just how much Dragon Country stood to gain once she finally entered that orphanage.

...

In sharp contrast...

At the Great Cold Country’s Supernatural Matchmaking Research Center.

Every staff member’s face was ashen.

Reincarnation Hospital had actually become hostile toward the Great Cold Country?

The terrifying news!

It was as devastating as if the Flower Flag Country had publicly announced they were disowning their "son," the Great Cold Country.

Just moments ago, they were still laughing at the people of Dragon Country.

And now?

They could only watch the panicked comments from the Great Cold Country’s audience flood the screen.

A wave of despair washed over them all.

[Does this mean our players from the Great Cold Country can’t enter Reincarnation Hospital anymore?]

[This was that Dragon Country woman’s doing? All because of a single sentence she said?]

[How is that possible? Unless she knows the director. Her? As if.]

[There’s no way that Dragon Country woman could do it on her own. But don’t forget, she has her marriage partner, Gu Yuan.]

[Dammit, you all think way too highly of that Gu Yuan! He isn’t even a Crimson-robed Ghost. What makes you think he’d know the director?]

The audience from the Great Cold Country was in a complete uproar.

A massive flame war that shocked everyone swept the entire nation.

The central point of the debate...

...was why the director had bestowed such a favor upon Dragon Country.

Some speculated that Yun Zhenyue might know the director and that it was all a conspiracy by Dragon Country.

Others claimed that Gu Yuan had curried favor with the director, leading to the Great Cold Country being targeted.

Whatever the case, the full truth...

...could only be revealed by the hospital’s director in person.

...

「In the dead of night.」

The Dragon Country players all returned to their dorms to rest.

Not a single person chose to leave immediately.

After all, it was Yun Zhenyue who had secured them such wonderful treatment.

And they hadn’t yet had a chance to thank her properly.

Besides, they all had positions now, so they didn’t have to worry about their safety. They were all focused on learning the supernatural medical arts as soon as possible to benefit future Dragon Country players who came to the hospital.

Yun Zhenyue also picked an empty dorm room and fell asleep.

At this very moment.

An ugly ghost, clutching a butcher knife, crept up to the dormitory building.

This ghost was Piao Dagen, who had been following Yun Zhenyue all along!

He had actually arrived at Reincarnation Hospital a day ago.

But Yun Zhenyue was always surrounded by people or other ghosts.

And she had a habit of going to the most dangerous places.

So Piao Dagen had been forced to suppress his killing intent.

But now, seeing that Yun Zhenyue was alone in her room...

A glint of greed appeared in Piao Dagen’s eyes.

He had always believed Yun Zhenyue was carrying a full 10,000 ghost coins on her!

If he could just kill her without anyone—or anything—knowing...

That huge fortune in ghost coins would be his for the taking!

Then, with the vast Ghost World at his feet, he could go anywhere he pleased!

’Little mouse... I’m here...’

’I promise I’ll make it quick.’

Piao Dagen tiptoed to the door of Yun Zhenyue’s room, his sinister eyes fixed on the doorknob.

He gently twisted the doorknob!

But he found it was locked from the inside.

But that wasn’t about to stop Piao Dagen.

He was the Midnight Butcher!

Countless "little mice" had fallen to his cleaver.

Piao Dagen reached out with a bluish-white arm. His hand, covered in corpse spots, gripped the doorknob tightly. Then, with a steady, powerful motion, he forced it to turn.

CLICK~

There was an extremely faint sound!

He had broken the lock.

The whole motion took less than a second.

The sound was no louder than a pencil dropping to the floor.

Quickly,

Piao Dagen slipped cautiously into Yun Zhenyue’s room.

Shrouded by the night,

he could make out the entire layout of the room.

The beige curtains in the living area cast dappled specks of light from the faint glow of a streetlamp outside. A small refrigerator hummed softly to the side. A fragrant sachet hung on the frosted glass of the bathroom door, its faint scent filling the air. On the balcony, pothos vines grew with vibrant life.

The entire place was much larger than his own home in Wansheng District.

And the living conditions were simply superb!

This left even the worldly Piao Dagen secretly stunned.

’Damn that little mouse... to think she’s living in a place this nice...’

A mix of envy and jealousy surged through Piao Dagen, and he tightened his grip on the cleaver.

He walked slowly toward the only bedroom in the suite.

’That hateful woman must be fast asleep.’

But just as Piao Dagen’s hand was on the bedroom doorknob,

before he could open it,

he suddenly felt a stinging chill from behind him!

That feeling!

It was as if some terrifying beast had its eyes fixed on his back! 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

"Who’s there?!"

Piao Dagen was terrified, cold sweat beading on his temples.

He raised his cleaver high, ready to swing it down at a moment’s notice.

But all he saw was a doll sitting on the coffee table.

It was an uncanny panda doll.

The doll’s left eye socket was empty, while its right eye glowed like a blood moon. Its mouth, stitched shut with cotton thread, was stretched into an exaggerated arc—a smile that wasn’t a smile, as if it were mocking him.

As a faint breeze blew past, its fur trembled, revealing the dark red stuffing underneath. It wasn’t cotton, but rather some kind of bizarre, fleshy fiber.

’What... what the hell is this thing?’

’Han Sumei never said this little mouse had something like this!’

Piao Dagen’s back was drenched in cold sweat, and his heart leaped into his throat. He could clearly sense that this panda doll was no inanimate object.

Instead, it felt like one of the supernatural beasts he had encountered before.

Paranoid, frenzied, bloodthirsty, apathetic...

Those spectral beasts lacked even a shred of sanity.

They didn’t act for personal gain; their sole purpose was to slaughter every living thing in sight.

’If that panda doll is protecting her, there’s no way I can kill Yun Zhenyue!’

’In fact, I’ll be the one in danger!’

Trembling with fear, Piao Dagen suddenly realized a terrifying possibility.

’Could it be... this is a trap?’