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Chapter 071 An Unconditional Contribution Is Also Selfish to Some Extent

Outside, Brother Haonan was just as dumbfounded: “Uh, I really don’t know that… The documents didn’t mention how to deal with ghosts bumping into walls.”

Ling Mo thought for a moment and asked, “What’s the situation with the fatty?”

“He’s still alive… Damn, that really freaked me out.” The fatty’s voice was shaky, “We used up two copper coins, but that female ghost should have left, the door is open now, but outside is the study.”

“Do we know the ghost’s name? This is crucial mission intel.”

“Got it, her name is Barbara Johnson.”

“…An outsider?”

“Who knows?” Someone named Wen didn’t care about that, “So what’s our next move? Hurry up, the longer we delay, the more dangerous it gets.”

Brother Haonan quickly said, “Locate her position, use the Spirit Communication Device to talk to her, no matter what she says, we just need to record three of her sentences. That’s the last mission.”

“Can you still see her position?” Ling Mo asked.

Brother Haonan replied, “I should be able to, let me adjust the tracking… Barbara Johnson, yes, that’s it—oh, got it, her last activity trace was… wait! She reappeared! On the second-floor corridor! No, she’s gone to the first-floor corridor! Now she’s in the first-floor hall! Wait… what the hell, how did she get out?! Oh no, she’s coming for me!! Ahhh, no! Ah ah &@￥#！@#…”

The communication suddenly cut off.

The channel fell silent for a moment, then the fatty’s voice floated in: “Are we done for?”

The commander was blown up.

“Not necessarily,” Ling Mo shook his head, “She shouldn’t attack the same person three times; otherwise, the substitute doll wouldn’t be necessary. The game probably doesn’t allow a player to remain in a safe zone indefinitely, and now they’ve dragged him into the battlefield.”

“So our current mission is to talk to the ghost three times and then find a way to escape?”

“Pretty much.”

“Alright then,” the fatty sighed, “I’ll mute myself for now, contact me if anything comes up, and you all be careful.”

Ling Mo also turned off the intercom, looking at Xia Xinyan: “Now we can only rely on ourselves.”

Xia Xinyan smiled slightly: “I believe you can get me out.”

Ling Mo then took her hand, smiling nonchalantly: “I think so too, let’s go.”

For a moment, Xia Xinyan’s expression stiffened.

She realized Ling Mo seemed to be immune to her previous tactics.

Or perhaps, he had already gained the upper hand.

This was definitely not the situation she wanted to see, but it was the way she initially chose to get close to Ling Mo; changing strategies now… seemed somewhat inappropriate.

So why was she so confidently aggressive back then?

…No, she had to think of a way to regain control.

That nerd, she didn’t believe she couldn’t deal with him.

But for now, she could let him show off a bit; the dungeon was the priority.

As if to encourage her, Tianji finally delivered the long-awaited dungeon mission—

【Point Task Released: Clearing the dungeon with Xia Xinyan will earn 3000 points】

【Point Task Released: Successfully resisting one ghost attack will earn 1000 points; protecting Xia Xinyan from a ghost attack will earn 2000 points; this task can be stacked】

【Additional Task Released: Achieving an S rank in the dungeon will grant a lottery chance】

Xia Xinyan: “…”

She felt this system was definitely just here to annoy her.

Unfortunately, Tianji didn’t provide any explanations for these tasks.

Ling Mo was oblivious, cautiously investigating in the villa alongside Xia Xinyan. The space here was completely chaotic, every door leading to a different dimension, even closing and reopening them revealed entirely different scenes. Without Brother Haonan’s guiding map, they didn’t even know where they were and had to be wary of any ghosts that might appear. Only now did Ling Mo truly understand why this dungeon was rated as medium difficulty.

The experience they had accumulated from previous dungeons was utterly useless here.

However, they had barely explored for a while when Brother Haonan’s voice suddenly crackled over the intercom: “…Hello, is anyone there? Say something, please, I’m scared.”

The first to respond was Wen: “What the hell! You’re still alive? Where are you?”

“Not dead… Damn, it’s really terrifying,” Brother Haonan’s voice trembled, “I’m still in the car, but something feels off outside, I think I’ve been sucked into this villa… It seems like I’m in the storage room.”

“Hurry and see where we are,” the fatty’s tone was also not good, “You said we’d find the ghost, and now we don’t even know where we are. Damn, this dungeon is really disgusting, why not just blow up the command center directly?”

“Wait a moment, let me check… You’re all on the second floor, really close…” Brother Haonan still sounded a bit shaken, “I think I’ve been forced down into the action, brothers, I might get ghosted soon, you need to help me then.”

“How can we help you?” Ling Mo asked.

“I’m not sure, but… it might help to call her name. I accidentally said ‘Barbara’ earlier… hiss—the ghost seems to really dislike people calling her name, but we can just give it a shot.”

“So we still have to talk to her?”

“If we use the Spirit Communication Device, it shouldn’t be a problem, but we need to ensure she’s within range of the device, which means being in the same room; otherwise, it’s useless. Plus, if she’s about to hunt you down, using the device won’t help; you have to talk to her after she’s calm.”

“…Got it, playing with fire, huh?” The fatty sighed in relief, “Let’s leave it to fate.”

Ling Mo hung up the intercom, thought for a moment, and then handed all his copper coins to Xia Xinyan: “Xinyan, take these, that way if she comes looking for us, it can protect you.”

Xia Xinyan immediately pushed them back without thinking: “No need, I trust you to protect me.”

If she used them herself, who would do the task?

Unfortunately, Ling Mo didn’t realize this, still stubbornly trying to protect her his way: “Just take them; it’s safer that way.”

Xia Xinyan bit her lip.

What a blockhead.

She couldn’t just scold him directly, it was really frustrating.

After a few seconds, she forced a smile and softly said, “You’ve given me all the life-saving items… is it because you’re planning to abandon me if you die first?”

“I’m not! It’s just…” Ling Mo wanted to refute immediately but couldn’t find the right words.

He just wanted to protect Xia Xinyan…

“I know, I know…” Xia Xinyan smiled, slowly pushing the copper coins back, her tone very gentle, “I know you want to protect me, but this makes me uncomfortable. An unconditional contribution is also a form of selfishness, and this is just a game. I’d rather die together with you than live on alone.”

Ling Mo was momentarily stunned.

Dying together with him…

Even if it was just a game, in this moment, that phrase seemed to tug at a certain string in his heart.

After a moment of silence, he withdrew his hand: “Even if it’s a game, I will definitely protect you.”

His tone was filled with resolve.

He didn’t know if he was saying it to Xia Xinyan or to himself.

Only he knew what Xia Xinyan’s words meant to him.

It was a feeling he had never experienced before.

Total trust from a girlfriend.

It even temporarily overshadowed the fear of the current dungeon, immersing him unwittingly.

And also…

An unconditional contribution is also selfish to some extent…

Is it really like that…