At the start of the global game, NPCs happily roamed in instances, completely unalert.

"We can't possibly encounter danger in the game," everyone thought.

Then, a man whose gender was listed as "?" appeared.

He immediately destroyed the first instance he was matched with. Although this attracted the NPCs' attention, not many paid it much mind.

Everyone considered it reasonable for the game to have flaws. That instance must have had design defects, which was why it collapsed.

But then, the second instance crashed.

Coincidentally, this man of indeterminate gender was also in this instance.

Some began to grow wary, while others still believed it was mere coincidence.

Clever supermarket manufacturers immediately seized the business opportunity, urgently launching a type of tag they anticipated people might need. Subsequent instances collapsed one after another, proving their decision savvy; these tags eventually sold out.

Initially, when an instance collapsed, the game operators would try their best to salvage it. But as more and more instances collapsed, the game's rescue measures became increasingly passive, until they finally threw in the towel.

The spectating NPCs realized the gravity of the situation.

"If I don't step up now and condemn the game operators' passive attitude, then when that fiend Gu Mian enters my instance, no one will stand up for me."

The NPCs united to protest.

In response to popular demand, the game operators recently launched the "Instance Ghost Labor Protection Contract."

NPCs could sign this contract with the game operators by paying a certain price. The contract would guarantee the personal safety of its signatories. It also ensured that if Gu Mian attacked them, the game operators would promptly shut down the instance and eject the source of danger.

Accompanying this labor protection contract was the "Instance Accidental Injury/Death Insurance."

Forcibly closing an instance would inevitably cause some damage, requiring funds for repairs. However, with the accidental death insurance, if an insured's instance was damaged due to Gu Mian, the game operators would provide most of the compensation. This greatly reduced the pressure on the victimized NPC to earn money to repair their instance.

It was said that an NPC with the surname Che, upon hearing the game had launched the "Instance Accidental Injury/Death Insurance," lamented his cruel fate and the injustice of heaven, then ran off crying.

Of course, Gu Mian knew nothing about this.

He just heard the ghost beneath him rustle out something paper-like and croak in a hoarse voice, "I have a Labor Protection Contract!"

What Labor Protection Contract?

Before Gu Mian could react, a translucent game panel appeared before him—the same panel he was familiar with, as it popped up every time an instance collapsed.

But the content on the panel was slightly different this time.

[Detecting a Labor Protection Contract signatory in danger! The game will forcibly close said signatory's instance and expel all players from the instance within ten seconds.]

What in the world is this? Gu Mian looked as if he had eaten shit.

Meanwhile, the panel had already begun its countdown.

[8, 7, 6…]

A few seconds later, Gu Mian reappeared in the ticket booth.

The ticket seller didn't seem to notice Gu Mian's return. He was behind the counter, holding a microphone and talking to someone, "…Is this Sunshine Insurance Company? No, no, no, I don't want to buy Instance Accidental Death Insurance. I want to ask if you have insurance for ticket sellers. For example, if someone were to threaten my personal safety with a saw, could you send someone to protect me…?"

Just as he said this, he finally saw Gu Mian, who had just emerged from the instance.

The man in the white coat was smiling warmly at him, revealing a row of gleaming white teeth.

This display of teeth startled the ticket seller so much his hand trembled, and the microphone CLATTERED to the floor.

「…」

"Spit it out! Spit it out now! They're not cooked yet!" As soon as Gu Mian reached his doorstep, he heard Fatty's roar from inside.

He opened the door, and an uncooked mooncake flew out, SMACK!—right on his forehead.

Nearby, Chu Changge retreated two steps to avoid a similar blow to his own forehead.

Gu Mian silently removed the mooncake from his head and looked into the living room.

Xiao Hong was hanging from the opulent chandelier in the living room, holding a mooncake in one hand and chewing something with relish.

Below, Fatty was frantically jumping on tiptoe, trying to snatch the uncooked mooncakes from Xiao Hong's hands.

In the kitchen was Xiao Qiao, who was always stealing things. She was currently sneaking furtively towards the oven, reaching for the half-baked mooncakes inside.

What a delightful welcoming committee, Gu Mian thought.

Ultimately, the welcoming ceremony concluded with Xiao Hong and Xiao Qiao each receiving a beating from Gu Mian.

Due to the antics of these two, it was past seven in the evening by the time Fatty finished baking the mooncakes.

"It's a bit late, but it's perfect for eating mooncakes while admiring the moon," Fatty said cheerfully, placing a plate of freshly baked lotus seed and egg yolk mooncakes before Gu Mian.

He then took out some oiled paper, wrapped several portions of mooncakes, and said, "I'll take some down to Miss Keke and the others."

With that, he trotted off happily with the mooncakes.

Nearby, Xiao Qiao and Xiao Hong had already started fighting over the previous batch of red bean paste mooncakes. In the scuffle, they knocked the specially made "Sister Mooncake" from Brother's hand.

Fatty had specially made a mooncake for Brother, with "Sister" patterned on it. Brother had been treasuring it, never expecting them to knock it away.

So he too joined this war between the girls.

Gu Mian had no inclination to bother with them.

He picked up a lotus seed mooncake and took a bite. It was delicious.

Chu Changge didn't seem to care for them, merely taking a couple of perfunctory bites.

"By the way, before we were kicked out of the instance, you also saw that 'Labor Protection Contract,' right?" Gu Mian asked, watching the ongoing battle.

"I saw it. It seems the game has introduced something new," Chu Changge said, setting down his mooncake. "I suppose it's similar to real-world insurance. If an NPC who has signed the contract unfortunately encounters Gu Mian, the game operators must take countermeasures."

Is encountering me such an unfortunate event? I'm actually very likable, alright.

"This Labor Protection Contract won't be something everyone has, will it? If that's the case, we won't be able to get information from NPCs anymore," Gu Mian mused. "The moment they see me, they'll just whip out this contract, shout 'I have a Labor Protection Contract!' and the instance will immediately kick me out."

What a tragic state of affairs.

"It probably won't come to that. I think this contract only activates when the signatory is in actual danger. In the instance just now, didn't you pin that ghost to the ground and choke him? He only took out the contract when he was on the verge of being strangled to death," Chu Changge said, pushing up his glasses.

That did seem to be the case.

Gu Mian nodded, holding his mooncake. It seems that from now on, I'll have to use gentler methods to gather information from ghosts, he thought to himself.