To be honest, even though Chen Luren wandered around [Footbath Street] like a lecherous person every day, he was still a college student, too young after all. Strictly speaking, he had never been exposed to deeper things. Therefore, even though he knew this was a bizarre world instance and the masseuse in front of him was a ghost, Chen Luren showed an unnatural expression. After all, it was his first time, and it was normal to be nervous.
However, this sinister masseuse had been in this business for many years and had seen countless people. She could tell Chen Luren's state at a glance. Therefore, to prevent Chen Luren from feeling embarrassed, she didn't say a word and started her skilled operation as soon as she came up.
Not to mention, feeling the professional and icy touch of the sinister masseuse, Chen Luren quickly snapped out of his previous flustered mood. This is a ghost. It was as if he was hypnotizing himself, repeating these words in his mind.
Next, after using his mental intuition to confirm again and again that he was temporarily out of danger, Chen Luren grew bolder. The two of them didn't communicate for a while. One was taking meticulous care of Chen Luren with professional techniques, while the other, while enjoying it, was analyzing the information prompted by the system in his mind.
In his view, the bizarre world instance was currently very different from instances in some online games. It seemed to focus more on the plot, at least for now. Therefore, after confirming that there was no immediate danger, Chen Luren began to repeatedly study the prompt information given by the system. The key to clearing the instance was often hidden in the details.
According to the information described in the system prompt, the sinister masseuse seemed very happy to serve a handsome man, which was quite normal. After all, everyone has the love of beauty, and the sinister masseuse was once human. It was normal for her to have some thoughts when seeing a handsome man.
However, it seemed that her boyfriend kept a close eye on her. When he saw a handsome man, he even beat her before she started serving. This confused Chen Luren. How did the sinister masseuse's boyfriend know that the person she was serving was a handsome man? Moreover, under what circumstances would a man let his woman engage in such a job? This was the most critical point.
After some analysis, the answer Chen Luren guessed made him feel sorry for the sinister masseuse. Obviously, that man was supported by women. Or there was another possibility: this man was the leader of an organized prostitution ring with a gangster nature. He controlled not just one masseuse but all the masseuses here.
At the thought of this, Chen Luren's mind couldn't help but flash back to the information about [Footbath Street] he had found online. According to the police bulletin, the fire that occurred in Hongmanlang Bath Center a few years ago was apparently started by a masseuse here who couldn't stand the beatings and harbored resentment. At that time, almost everyone in the bath center died except the boss. As for the boss, because of his deep background, although the police found out that he had gangster connections, he eventually found a scapegoat and is still living a carefree life. This incident caused a great stir on the Internet at that time, but it was deliberately suppressed not long after. Chen Luren also flipped through a lot of information before finally finding this piece of information.
"Beatings, control, the masseuse's resentment accumulated to a certain extent, and finally she took the action of perishing together." "This is consistent with the information prompted by the system before. This sinister masseuse was beaten and warned before coming in, and it also mentioned the information about her accumulated resentment."
"Seems like... the direction of the plot is on point."
"Then how the hell do I clear this bizarre instance?"
At this moment, Chen Luren's mind raced. Combining the fact that the old shaman often came here, a thought suddenly struck him: could the condition to clear this instance be to prevent this disaster from happening?
But then he frowned. This disaster had already occurred in reality. The current situation felt more like a loop—repeating the past due to lingering resentment, similar to the ghost movie trope where a violent death causes the spirit to endlessly replay its final moments. Like a 跳楼 ghost (suicide ghost) forever repeating the act of jumping from that building.
If this trope applied to the instance, everything made sense. The masseuse's arson and mass death in reality would endlessly repeat in the bizarre world.
"???"
"Why repeat this scene? Does the sinister masseuse's resentment fade each time?"
Chen Luren speculated, forgetting entirely that the masseuse was still working on him—even missing the fact that her massage pressure and focus had shifted. First it was his shoulders and upper body; now her hands were edging toward... sensitive areas.
Thankfully, her hands were ice-cold—reminders of her non-living state. The moment her fingers brushed a certain spot, Chen Luren jolted back to reality.
"Wait—no need to massage there."
" Handsome, it's part of the service," the masseuse mumbled, head down to hide her bruises. As she spoke, she made a blatantly seductive move, each gesture teasing his nerves.
As a newbie, Chen Luren took deep breaths, forcing himself to speak: "Look, beauty, you don't have to do this. Just chat with me—I'll pay full price." His tone was unusually gentle.
The masseuse froze, staring at him with unreadable eyes. In her years of work, she'd seen countless men—most, regardless of age, came for the same thing. Some even had perverse requests. At least handsome clients were easier on the eyes, but they rarely visited such places. Most clients here were middle-aged, 油腻 (greasy) men.
A sunny, fresh-faced guy like Chen Luren was a rare treat. She'd expected him to cave to temptation, but his words triggered a strange ache. If he isn't here for that, why come? Looking for true love? Or... does he despise me?
The moment this thought struck, her once-delicate face contorted into a 狰狞 (ghastly) mask—caught perfectly in Chen Luren's horrified gaze.