"I… lost an eye." Jax turned his head toward Piper, his gaze somewhat askew—he hadn't yet adapted to seeing the world with a single eye.
Piper hissed in dismay. "They took your eye just for a stack of spirit money? This shop is daylight robbery."
As soon as she said that, the lights in the incense shop flickered ominously. Piper's face turned pale, and she fell silent at once.
Axel, another male player, asked, "Would a healing kit restore your vision?"
"I doubt it... It feels like I've lost the left side of my vision forever." Jax struggled to describe it—his left eye felt like it had been torn out from the soul itself. Still, he wanted to try. He purchased a supernatural healing kit and used it.
It vanished into silence, like a stone dropped in deep water.
Jax forced a bitter smile. "Nothing. I still can't see."
One player, flustered, cried out, "You need a supernatural healing kit! Don't skimp on your points!"
"I did use a supernatural one."
"D-Don't be discouraged. Maybe it's just a temporary effect. Maybe once you leave the instance, your vision will come back."
"Thank you."
He thanked the player for the comfort, then turned and thanked Piper for helping him. He didn't even want to imagine what might've happened had he dropped the incense—would that have counted as a failed offering? He had already lost an eye; at the very least, the purchase had to succeed.
Straightening his spine, Jax cradled the stack of spirit money and walked out of the incense shop.
Eric had been watching closely. As Jax stepped out and reboarded the bus, she sensed something was off about him, though she couldn't pinpoint exactly what.
Jax said nothing, gripping a handrail tightly to steady himself.
It wasn't long before Eric began to understand what kind of toll the transactions had taken on the other players.
One had lost a left hand.
Another, their voice.
A third had been stripped of their beauty…
Some limped back onto the bus, missing a foot. Others climbed aboard bald and dazed.
Every single player who had made a purchase had lost something in return.
"I didn't dare buy anything," Julia muttered, sighing. "I didn't want to gamble what the game might take from me. In this place, you'd rather carry more than less. The game isn't generous. Anything extra it gives you, it'll take back eventually—but what it takes, it'll never return."
Eric did a quick count—only twenty-nine players had made purchases. After witnessing the cost others had paid, the rest had backed down.
Julia's words reminded her of her own past. After the Beast Lab instance, her body had mutated—and healing kits had been useless. It had taken several dungeons before the symptoms faded. She also remembered a supernatural parade event that had left her with ghost sight for several instances, though that too had eventually passed.
She shared her experience. "Maybe it's of some reference."
For the first time since returning to the bus, Jax spoke. He asked Eric a few questions—just enough to draw some reassurance and resolve from her.
"I'll survive. After a few more instances… maybe my eye will return."
He had to believe that. The alternative was too bleak.
Axel, who had lost his left hand, said, "You're lucky. I'm down a hand. That woman over there lost a leg. If we enter a regular dungeon next, we're probably dead."
Elise's expression darkened. With merged entrances, fate was now dictated by luck.
"I *told* you it wasn't worth it," someone muttered. "Buying stuff cost us more than it gave."
"Maybe you didn't need to buy anything. Just browse. Like sightseeing."
"..."
"Is everyone back? Why isn't the bus moving?"
"One's still missing. Is there anyone else still inside?" Eric asked the last to return—Valentina.
Valentina was a newcomer to the game. Formerly radiant and stunning—the type of beauty you'd expect on TV—she had once stood out even among eighty players. But after leaving the incense shop, she returned almost unrecognizable.
Her face was now so plain it melted into the crowd. But Valentina felt oddly at peace. Appearance meant little. What she feared more was losing her vision or limbs on her very first dungeon, blind and clueless.
Losing her beauty was, in her eyes, the smallest possible price. She felt extraordinarily lucky.
Hearing Eric's question, she quickly answered, "One more female player inside."
She looked up to Eric with admiration—she had been the first to complete a transaction and the only one who had returned unscathed. Envy and respect stirred in equal measure.
"Who is it? Why isn't she back yet?"
"So many people waiting for her—maybe someone should go hurry her up."
"Who wants to go? You?"
They glanced toward the driver. He remained unmoving, expressionless. Eric, seeing this, felt no need to worry just yet.
She thought to herself—the player still inside had better come out soon. No one knew when the driver would start the engine.
Just as that thought passed, a female player emerged. Isabel strode out of the shop, climbed aboard, and shouted at the driver, "Wait! I haven't paid yet!"
Then she darted down and yanked Parker's corpse from the floor.
Corpses gained weight after death. Gritting her teeth, Isabel dragged the body down, sweating profusely.
"What is she doing?" one player asked, puzzled.
Eric understood immediately—this player had taken an unorthodox route. She was going to **barter with a corpse**.
A bold move. But not necessarily a foolish one.
Eric watched the shop entrance, waiting for her silhouette to reappear.
"Damn, she's got guts. Dragging a whole corpse in there alone… You think it'll work?"
"Who knows?"
The one who replied sounded uneasy—deep down, he was hoping it *wouldn't* work. Otherwise, wouldn't she have taken all the advantage for herself?
Ten minutes later, Isabel emerged from the shop holding a paper effigy.
Frustration rippled through the players—especially those who had entered the shop but bought nothing. They felt they had missed a golden opportunity.
As Isabel reboarded, complaints rose at once.
"Hey, not cool! If you had such a great idea, why didn't you tell us? We could've all chipped in!"
"Seriously! A corpse that big—we could've split it up. Or picked items together and shared the cost!"
Now, the body had been used up for a single paper doll. What a waste.
Isabel raised a brow. "The body was right there. You didn't think of it—that's your problem. And none of you helped me when I was dragging it, did you?"
She gave a cold snort and turned away, ignoring the players' bitter, jealous stares. She stood beside the woman in white, feeling that the ghost was far less terrifying than those behind her—at least the ghost didn't *scheme*.
The brief argument had barely ended when the bus engine roared to life.
"What? We're leaving already? I haven't decided if I want to go back—" a player shouted.
Eric clutched the handrail and stared calmly ahead.
**Where would the next stop be?**
After a few minutes, someone by the roadside flagged the bus.
This time, it was a mother and son. The man helped an elderly woman aboard.
This time, the players knew better—no one dared strike up conversation.
A sharp player seated near the front immediately stood and turned away. She said nothing, but the gesture clearly offered her seat.
No one else dared sit in the newly emptied spot.
The man helped the old woman sit and nodded to the player. "Thank you."
The bus now held three new ghost NPCs—players assumed the mother and son were spirits too.
Add to that a dozen paper effigies and the pale bus lights, and the atmosphere inside was suffocating.
Eric glanced at the man. He carried a bulging backpack—stuffed full of something.
What could it be?
No one spoke. The bus fell into a heavy silence.
Ten minutes later, the next stop arrived.
Eric saw the red cross ahead and knew: **the hospital**.
In horror tales, hospitals were classic stages of terror. The moment you heard the word, images of dreadful scenes flooded your mind.
The bus stopped. The doors opened—once again leaving the decision up to the players.
The woman in white alighted first, followed closely by the mother and son.
Eric followed at once. After the incense shop, she had learned the value of tracking the NPCs.
Fewer players disembarked this time, but those who had made purchases at the incense shop did.
They had already paid dearly—they would not retreat now.
The three NPCs navigated the hospital with practiced ease.
Eric followed behind, eyes sharp, scanning her surroundings.
The fluorescent lights overhead gleamed stark white, reflecting off the polished tiles beneath her feet.
Then she glanced forward—and saw that the three NPCs **cast no shadows**.
As expected—the mother and son were ghosts.
The trio passed silently through the hospital corridors, descending a staircase to a large door.
They pushed it open. Eric's gaze landed on the sign by the entrance:
**Morgue.**
Exhaling slowly, she stepped inside.
Some players hesitated.
Some chose to follow.
Others turned back.
**A morgue. Late at night. In a haunted hospital.**
Just the thought sent shivers down their spines.
"Maybe… let's wait. Listen first."
"Yeah, I'll just open the door a crack—"
As the door creaked open, a gust of icy air surged out.
White mist swirled thick in the air—visibility was nil.
They strained their ears—but all they could hear was the wind.
The morgue offered no clues.
And *that* was the worst sign of all.