A Perilous Bargain with the Dead

A thought took root in Eric's mind.

Among so many coffins surely lay nothing but ghosts, yet she had suffered no harm so far. The only near-fatal crisis had been diffused through chocolate—and that peril had emerged only after she had initiated contact by knocking on a coffin.

"It seems that as long as I refrain from provoking them, I'll remain unharmed," Eric mused, withdrawing her gaze to seek out the chocolate-consuming ghost once more.

Upon finding it, Eric did not hastily pose her question. Instead, she gently tapped the coffin lid with a box of chocolates before setting it down and stepping back several paces.

Sure enough, the lid trembled, and a pale hand appeared to retrieve the chocolates.

"Pardon my intrusion again. Might you know where Miss Wang is? If you can point me in the right direction, I'll bring you an entire crate of chocolates," she proposed.

Silence followed, the restless murmurs of other coffins rising around her, their agitation more pronounced now. Eric dared not dwell on what stirred within them, fearing her own terror might overwhelm her.

After ten long seconds, the ghost finally spoke.

"How many boxes in a crate?"

A promising sign.

"One crate contains twenty boxes," Eric replied promptly.

"I want two crates, and you must give them willingly," came the stern reply.

The condition carried weight, but Eric had no time to ponder. "Very well, I offer them willingly, with no reluctance whatsoever. I only ask that you guide me to Miss Wang."

"Bring them first," the ghost demanded.

Eric fetched one crate from her supplies. "This is a deposit; once I find Wang Cuifen, I will deliver the other crate."

"That won't do!" the ghost growled. "Give me both now! Hurry, or I'll tell you nothing."

When that gambit failed, Eric had no choice but to present the second crate as well.

Though the coffin was minuscule, the ghost somehow dragged both boxes inside, after which silence ensued.

Bargaining with spirits was fraught with peril; Eric feared treachery.

The surrounding coffins grew even more restless. She suspected a time limit to locating Miss Wang; failure to retrieve her promptly might unleash all the spirits, dooming Eric's survival.

She waited patiently, praying for an answer.

If the ghost broke her promise after pocketing the chocolates, Eric would have no recourse but to keep knocking on coffins—a reckless gamble.

Fortunately, the ghost proved faithful. Within two minutes, the coffin lid rose slightly, revealing not a hand this time, but a piece of cardboard.

The coffin fell silent as the cardboard fluttered to the ground. Eric cautiously used a mop handle to draw it closer. Upon it was sketched a map in vivid red blood.

Centering herself at the chocolate ghost's coffin, Eric began her search according to the map.

To hasten her progress, she broke into a run, her instincts warning that time was scarce.

Arriving at the indicated coffin, she saw it nearly submerged in blood and dared not approach rashly.

Taking deep, steadying breaths, Eric gently knocked on its lid. "Is Miss Wang here?" she asked, immediately retreating.

"Cough, cough—I am. Who are you?"

Her heart leapt. "The company sent me to escort you," Eric replied cautiously, lacking knowledge of the company's true name.

"Oh, the company finally dispatched someone for me! Then help me open the door, will you?"

Eric reached out but prudently asked, "Since I'm escorting you to the company, may I request that you leave a review of my work? A perfect score would be appreciated."

"A review now? Wasn't it done by fingerprint before?" the ghost coughed.

It was as Eric suspected—a potential trap set by the NPC. Yet she had no choice but to take the risk.

The coffin lid lifted, and bathed in the crimson lanterns' glow, Eric braced for a gruesome sight—but to her surprise, she beheld a middle-aged lady in a pristine white suit and skirt.

The woman offered a rueful smile. "Thank you for your trouble. Cough, I have a slight cold and don't feel well. Today's meeting is important—luckily, you came to get me on time, or I would have missed it."

Supporting the woman, Eric felt the softness and warmth of her arm—she was alive. As they walked forward, the surroundings shifted: the red lanterns and coffins vanished, and they had returned to the parking lot.

Task accomplished? The sudden joy left Eric momentarily speechless.

"Little one, are you all right?" Miss Wang asked kindly.

"I'm fine. I'm just helping you. The elevator is this way."

Together, they took the elevator upstairs. Eric guided Miss Wang to the eighteenth floor and watched her enter the CEO's office with assistance from the receptionist.

Holding the task card stamped with completion marks, Eric still felt as if dreaming.

The supermarket had saved her once again. Without that invaluable resource, locating Wang Cuifen amidst hundreds of coffins would have been impossible. Each coffin knocked upon invited wrath from its ghostly occupant. Had her luck failed, she might have had to face dozens more, all fruitless searches—and, seeing that one coffin soaked in blood, she dared not even glance its way.

She could not fathom enduring encounters with so many vengeful spirits. Survival from such a trial seemed beyond reach.

Filled with gratitude, relief, and lingering dread, Eric returned to the office on the thirteenth floor.

"You actually came back?!" 

Most players in the office had yet to drift off to sleep, and upon seeing Eric, their expressions were as if confronting a specter. Scott blurted out, "You're not dead?" 

A pang of unease gripped her heart as Eric swiftly scanned the room, noting that the two other players assigned to the same time slot as her were conspicuously absent. 

"Is your name Eric? Incredible! You're the only one to survive the midnight task! What was your mission, and how did you accomplish it?" 

Surrounded by eager players, Eric felt a profound uneasiness weighing on her inmost thoughts. Faced with their excited and probing inquiries, she found herself incapable of fabricating a coherent explanation for her triumph on such short notice. 

"Alright, you all stop crowding her. Eric looks pale; surely the task drained her. Let her sit and rest," Justin intervened. 

Under burning gazes, Eric retreated to her workstation and, during the brief walk of mere three or four meters, hastily crafted a plan. 

"…I was fortunate; the very first coffin I opened contained Miss Wang Cuifen," Eric admitted. 

"No way! Your luck is beyond belief! How did you choose?" 

"That can't be — would the game really be so merciful?" 

"Miss, we're all in the same boat. You can't hide something so crucial; it concerns everyone's survival." 

"I just had good luck," Eric insisted, unwavering despite mounting skepticism. When tempers flared and a player attempted to confront her physically, Justin stepped in. 

His face darkened. "If this escalates further, it'll be disgraceful. What kind of skill is it to bully a young girl?" 

"But how could a midnight mission be so easy to pass? She must be hiding something!" 

"We said before exchanging information that truth must be discerned independently; no one can guarantee anything! Enough quarrelling—it's embarrassing!" 

The matter subsided, and Eric was grateful for Justin's deft control. 

"Go get some sleep—you have watch duty from three to four a.m., remember?" Though task cards had been issued at six o'clock for two consecutive days, players maintained night watches for safety. 

"Understood." 

After a scant two and a half hours of rest, Eric was roused by the on-duty shift player. 

Another player was sharing watch duty with her; they exchanged no words, both suppressing yawns at their respective stations. 

The night air was chilly, and occasionally Eric heard the elevator's ascent and descent outside, with floor announcements punctuating the stillness—chilling to the core. 

At length, the other player could no longer contain his fears and tiptoed over to sit beside Eric. 

"Tell me, the elevator's still moving… what exactly—what's riding the elevator?" 

His trembling voice was barely a whisper, lips inches from Eric's ear. Goosebumps erupted along her skin, and she deftly evaded the closeness under the pretense of tidying her hair. 

"That's a question better left unpondered. Don't think about it—focus on your watch." 

The man instead reached to drape a hand over Eric's shoulder, murmuring, "We can keep each other warm—" 

Anger flared in Eric's chest; her complexion darkened like a thundercloud. She seized his hand and shoved it away, offering no mercy. "Get lost!" 

The man's expression flickered, lips curling with resentment. "You—" 

Sleepers began mumbling in their sleep and rolling restlessly. The man swallowed his retort, unwilling to disturb the others. 

"Go away," Eric commanded coldly. 

Seeing the frost in her gaze, the man recognized an unyielding foe. His hopes of exploiting the parking lot dungeon and perhaps taking advantage of Eric were dashed. Begrudgingly, he returned to his station. 

Seated once more, he noticed Eric's unblinking stare fixed upon him. With only a lamp or two flickering in the dim office, she resembled a ghost herself. The man shuddered involuntarily, guilt making him avert his gaze and turn his back. 

Eric maintained her watchful gaze a moment longer before lowering her eyes, her rigid spine finally relaxing. 

As her shift ended, Eric roused the next player and collapsed into restless sleep. 

Her dreams were fraught with coffins; she fled amidst stacks of them while countless ghostly figures leapt from their resting places in pursuit. She found herself ensnared in spectral grasp, gasping for breath… 

"The task cards have been issued!" 

Startled awake by the call, Eric bolted upright, heart pounding fiercely. A glance at the clock confirmed it was six in the morning. 

"No need for the rest to keep watch now, right? Doesn't this prove the cards are issued at six?" 

"We all kept watch. Now that it's your turn, you say it's unnecessary? How shameless!" 

"I still think it's better to keep watch—for the first day, none of us knew the exact time the cards were issued; we were all in the meeting room then." 

"Enough bickering! Check your task cards!" 

Picking up her own card, Eric's eyes immediately sought the assigned time.