An Unusual Life Beginning with Evil Spirits

Volume 1. Let the Game Begin

"One-time Mission Exemption Ticket? Two hundred and fifty points?"

"One-time Disguise Ticket, two hundred points? Can disguise as any object, duration permanent, dispelled upon action."

"One-time Body Repair Ticket, usable once per game, can temporarily repair all physical damage, effect lasts until the end of the current game? One hundred points?"

"One-time Invisibility? Only ten seconds of invisibility, can't even move, and it still costs fifteen points?"

"One-time Substitute Doll..."

Looking at the dazzling array of goods, no less than hundreds of kinds, I examined each one carefully.

None of the items could be used to counter the Anomalies; they were all tools for escape.

This indicated... the game did not support confrontation between humans and Anomalies.

It could also be understood as... humans being unable to confront Anomalies head-on.

And now, I started to hesitate.

Because, this was my first time entering the game with preparation.

From the experience I had surviving on the bus, it was indeed true that Anomalies could not be resisted through any known human method.

So now came the choices...

I had three hundred points, and there were many things I could buy.

But now I hesitated, because the choices were complicated.

All items labeled with "one-time" were things that could only be used once in the game, and this was exactly where my hesitation lay.

I happened to have three hundred points, and that World Watch had caught my eye.

Pause time for five seconds, cannot be used more than three times in a single game.

These three hundred points effectively gave me three chances to face the Anomalies directly and survive.

Adding the substitute doll provided at the start of the game, I had four chances to survive!

However... another point gave me a huge headache — my left calf was still broken, still supported by a brace.

If I really needed to run for my life, having one leg was extremely dangerous.

If I chose body repair, it would mean giving up the three chances to escape from the Anomalies, because body repair cost one hundred points, and in a single game, only one one-time item could be present.

If I chose the one-time Body Repair, then the other one-time tools could no longer be used in the same game, except for the one-time Substitute Doll that was given at the beginning — no other items with "one-time" could be reused.

On one hand was the chance to face the Anomalies four times and survive.

On the other hand was repairing my left leg, giving myself the ability to run, but with only one chance to face the Anomalies...

Sitting on the sofa, looking at the clock hanging in the living room, there was still more than an hour before midnight.

In my mind, I kept calculating the gains and losses of each exchange.

Items under two hundred points were basically all one-time.

The only one-time item over two hundred points was the One-time Mission Exemption Ticket...

If I used the One-time Mission Exemption Ticket this time, then next time, I could only use two "one-time" items.

From the surface of this mission, the chance of survival seemed high, but who knew what dangers the next one might bring.

If I only had two one-time survival tools, I might not survive.

"Take a gamble? Or... play it safe?"

As for why I was forced into this game, I had no reason to complain...

What had happened was already done.

Now I needed to think about how to deal with it, not curse the heavens and blame others — that would only make things worse.

From the item shop, it looked like if I could save up five thousand points, I could permanently exit the game.

But on the other hand, how many points a single game would award was uncertain.

And how many points were needed to ensure survival by exchanging for items — that was also unclear.

My first game gave me one hundred points.

Surviving an S-class gave me two hundred points.

In other words, an S-class danger only gave two hundred points, so how many S-classes must I survive?

If... I say if! I exchanged for no items and could survive 25 S-class danger events, then I would have the right to permanently exit the game.

But... was that possible?

S-class horror... just like on the bus.

I didn't even know what happened.

Just one glance, and I was dead.

Dying was easier than eating or drinking.

Without exchanging items, even a genius couldn't guarantee perfection.

Any small mistake would mean death.

Looking at it this way, if I wanted to exchange for items and survive at the same time, and ultimately escape the game, I would have to experience more than fifty S-class horror events.

But... even with items, who could guarantee safely making it through fifty S-class horrors?

That was almost... an impossible task.

But... I had no choice now.

I knew that once my physical body died and my soul had no place to reside, I would become an evil spirit driven solely by instinct to hunt all souls.

That was not something I wanted to see.

One-time Body Repair + One-time Substitute Doll.

Three Time Stops + One-time Substitute Doll.

Thinking back to what happened on the bus, I gritted my teeth and stomped my foot!

"Ugh~ it hurts..."

Hugging my leg and lying on the table, my eyes welled up with tears as I cursed...

"Damn it, why the hell did I stomp... it hurts so bad..."

After enduring for a while, waiting for the pain to ease, I hesitated, lowered my head, looked at my left leg, and took a deep breath.

In the past two days, when I had nothing to do, I had already examined the structure of the brace on my calf, so I knew very well how to remove it.

Removal was necessary...

If I didn’t remove it, it could lead to an accident.

Although my body's recovery ability had already exceeded that of an average person, the bone still hadn’t completely healed.

But I couldn’t worry about that anymore!

I didn’t know how dangerous this game would be, so I could only give it my all to survive.

Only then could I investigate why something like this was happening.

I searched around the living room, checking here and there, but didn’t find any suitable tools.

After a slight hesitation, I walked to the front of the ward.

I remembered… there was a toolbox at the nurse station, there should be a wrench, which I could use to remove the brace.

It was a nice idea, but as I approached the door, I suddenly felt a chill coming from outside.

Frowning slightly, I suddenly remembered one of the rules...

‘Rule 4 of this game: Players are not allowed to leave the ward before midnight.’

Could it be… that there was something outside the door?!?

With a hint of panic, I slowly opened the peephole… the hallway lights were still on, and there was nothing there.

But I just felt… a strong sense of fear coming from outside the door…

‘Gulp!’

I swallowed hard, slowly placing my hand on the doorknob.

A freezing cold sensation surged through my palm and into my whole body.

Struggling, I leaned my body against the door and pressed my ear to it.

It was quiet… however… in the silence outside the door, a very eerie sound suddenly came.

“Whoo~ whoo~”

That heavy breathing was right outside the door!

In an instant, every hair on my body stood on end.

I jerked my head up and looked through the peephole!

But… outside the door, there was still nothing.

Yet the breathing began to grow louder...

“Whoo~ whoo~”

The increasingly distinct breathing made my scalp tingle!

I quickly let go of the doorknob and stumbled a step back.

The breathing… abruptly stopped.

My heart in my chest felt like it was going to leap out, pounding non-stop.

In a blink, sweat soaked my palms.

A breeze blew past, making my whole body feel cold, and in the next second… that breathing suddenly came from behind me!!

“Hsss~ whoo~ you…”

“Aaaahhhhhhh!!!!!!”

Terrified, I let out a piercing scream and whipped around — and instantly… saw Aunt Zhao, wearing a dazed and sleepy face of shock.

We stared at each other for a whole minute… then Aunt Zhao finished the sentence.

“What are you doing?”

I almost died from fright!

Damn it!

“I… I…”

Fear made my whole body stiff.

I never thought I would be this scared — my body frozen, I couldn’t even speak.

Aunt Zhao, seemingly startled by my scream too, patted her sturdy chest, gave me a glare and said:

“You scared me to death, what are you doing!”

“N-nothing, just wanted to go to the bathroom.”

That soul-losing feeling gradually faded.

My senses returned to my consciousness, and only then did I realize my whole body was drenched in cold sweat.

“I told you before, didn’t I? If you think of something, just call me. Look at this — all sweaty — your wound must be hurting again, right?”

As she spoke, Aunt Zhao came over and supported my left side.

“You’re such a good girl — pretty and sensible — but way too strong-willed. Even if the doctor said your wound heals faster than others, you shouldn’t push yourself like this. Come on, come on, I’ll help you…”

“No, Aunt Zhao…”

“What? Still haven’t gone to the bathroom? Then let’s go to the bathroom first.”

“No… Aunt Zhao, you go first. I’m fine, really…”

“No, no, your parents asked me to take care of you. How can I not? Alright now, be good, come, I’ll support you. Be careful, don’t touch the wound. Ah~ that’s right! Slowly, slowly~ careful…”

Faced with Aunt Zhao’s warm and heartfelt concern, I could only wear a helpless smile as I walked into the bathroom.

Honestly… after sitting in the living room for an hour and getting scared into a cold sweat, I really did feel the urge to pee…

After I finished in the bathroom, Aunt Zhao helped me back to bed.

Only then did she go to the bathroom herself.

Then she went to the living room again, though it seemed she didn’t check my notes.

Instead, she brought them back to me and reminded me, “If anything happens, call me first,” before turning off the lights and going back to sleep.

About ten minutes later, Aunt Zhao was mostly asleep.

I crawled into the blanket, looked at my left leg with the brace under the light of my phone’s flashlight, hesitated again and again, and finally reached out both hands, placing them on the screws of the brace…