Paper Life 29

Shang Nan stood before the square table, a bit dazed. So after all that talk, Yu Zhibai just wanted to market himself.

Others couldn't tell, but Shang Nan could distinguish the difference between Yu Zhibai and the others with crystal clarity. Perhaps due to the lighting in this hall, everyone's face was shrouded in a layer of deep red, making their eyes appear especially pitch-black. Yet in such an environment, Yu Zhibai's face didn't look the slightest bit eerie; instead, it looked unusually harmonious.

Everyone felt that Yu Zhibai was right.

Zhao Xiaofan voiced the doubt in his heart, "But the top student's item has already been used. Will this work?"

Zhang Hu waved his hand, "Who cares if it works or not. If the top student doesn't work, every one of us can try bowing with Shang Nan."

"..."

Yu Zhibai was pushed to Shang Nan's side. Although it was clearly just a game, looking at the bright red 'Double Happiness' character on the wall and hearing the background music that fluctuated in volume and tempo, Shang Nan felt inexplicably nervous and slightly creeped out.

Zhu Mai couldn't wait to get from this hall to the next and urged Zhang Hu, "Hurry up and shout."

Zhang Hu swallowed his saliva and abruptly raised his voice.

"One..."

"Wait." Yu Zhibai suddenly interrupted Zhang Hu, making Zhang Hu look like a male duck being choked by the neck.

"What's wrong?" Zhu Mai asked nervously. Did the top student discover something again?

Yu Zhibai lowered his eyes, looking thoughtfully at the red cloth crumpled in Shang Nan's hand. After a few seconds, he looked up, "Shang Nan's item hasn't been used."

His tone was very official and formulaic. Coupled with the fact that this was a game and everyone just wanted to get through this hall quickly, they felt the top student must share the same sentiment.

Zhao Xiaofan hurriedly said, "Then, then, then Shang Nan, hurry up and put on this veil."

At this point, Shang Nan had completely become a tool person. He resignedly placed the red veil over his head. The material of the veil wasn't thick, so it didn't block out light completely, but with his vision restricted, his other senses were amplified. He could even hear his own breathing and heartbeat.

A hand reached out from underneath and helped him adjust it slightly. Snow-white fingers; Shang Nan knew without guessing that it was Yu Zhibai.

He also knew it was a Paper Person. Only a Paper Person would have so many thoughts, densely packed like dragon fruit seeds.

Zhang Hu started up again. This was the first time in his life doing this kind of work, so he wasn't very skilled.

"First bow to Heaven and Earth!"

"Second bow to the High Hall~~"

"Send into the bridal chamber."

After Zhang Hu finished shouting, the others came up to heckle. Before Shang Nan could react, he was pushed from behind and bumped into Yu Zhibai's embrace.

"Quick, quick, quick, send, send, send!" Zhu Mai played excitedly, not forgetting to beckon the two people beside him. His palm pressed against Shang Nan's back, and the people next to him also placed their palms on top. They were ice-cold, bruised and black, not quite looking like human skin color.

Zhu Mai froze and stared blankly to his left and right. Unknown to him when it happened, their group's numbers had doubled. The extra people all had bruised and black faces, sluggish eyes, and were grinning along with them, pushing hard against Shang Nan and Yu Zhibai.

"Help!!!! Why is it me again?!" Zhu Mai hurriedly retracted his hand and ran crazily away from the center. Only after hearing his miserable scream did the others realize that those heckling along with them weren't human. Screams tore through the air beside Shang Nan's ears. In the confusion, Shang Nan changed out of the clothes. He didn't care about the red veil falling to the ground; instead, he pulled Yu Zhibai, threaded through the chaotic crowd, and found the switch for the exit.

After Zhang Hu ran out of that hall, two red lip prints had appeared out of nowhere on his face. He looked like he had lost the will to live, "I was kissed twice by a ghost."

Shang Nan glanced at Yu Zhibai, "What was that hall?"

Just as his voice fell, a black shadow flickered before his eyes. It fell from directly above, landing right on Shang Nan's face, blocking one eye.

"Funeral affairs." Yu Zhibai raised his hand and gently peeled the paper money off Shang Nan's face. It was a copper-coin-shaped piece of white paper money, a thin sheet. After Yu Zhibai answered, more paper money began to fall one after another from above.

"Holy crap, what is this?" Zhang Hu scrambled to pat the paper money off his body, but it was like rain, fluttering down everywhere. "Are they sick?"

Just as his voice fell, a large clump of paper money smashed directly onto Zhang Hu's head, nearly burying him.

"..."

Zhang Hu was a bit dazed: "Am I being retaliated against?"

Lin Xin: "I think so."

"What kind of paper money is this?" Zhao Xiaofan grabbed a piece at random. "I've seen it on TV."

"Scattering road money, used during funeral processions," Yu Zhibai said.

Zhu Mai's legs started shaking again. After today, he would never play this kind of game again; he really wasn't suited for it.

Zhao Xiaofan was getting into the zone, "Is it the same as the last hall? But this hall is pitch black; there's nothing here."

Inside the hall, it was quiet—too quiet. Nothing could be heard. They could only see the people closest to them; slightly further away, everything was pitch black.

The quieter it was, the more it creeped people out.

Without them realizing it, the paper money had stopped drifting down from overhead. A thick layer of paper money already paved the ground beneath their feet. Stepping on such things really left a bad taste in one's mouth.

Outside the hall.

Inside the monitoring room, the monitor for Hall 3 suddenly went black. The other halls were fine.

The boy sitting in front of the computer leaned back in his chair. "Should we notify them?"

"Ask through the intercom. If they want to continue, and if any unexpected situation arises later or they want to come out early, they can call us."

The intercom in Zhang Hu's hand suddenly rang, startling everyone. Shang Nan had intended to discover something about the paper money, but the sudden noise startled him too, and he subconsciously leaned closer to Yu Zhibai.

After listening to the person on the other end explain the situation, Zhang Hu indicated they could continue, and if anything happened, they would call out.

Zhu Mai acted silly. "So there are monitors."

Zhao Xiaofan said, "Of course. Otherwise, what if something happens to the players inside?"

Zhu Mai looked at Zhang Hu, "Then try the intercom, see if you can call out?"

"Are you kidding? If they can call in, of course we can call out..." Zhang Hu said as he pressed the button on the intercom. He waited for a few seconds, but there was no reaction.

Zhu Mai swallowed, "Try, try again."

Zhang Hu pressed harder again. After getting no reaction, he pressed every button once and said "Hello" a few times into the intercom, but there was still no response.

"Could it be broken?" Shang Nan dropped the paper money in his hand and took the intercom from Zhang Hu. He checked it; there was certainly nothing wrong with the casing. But clearly, just a second ago, they had spoken with the staff, meaning this intercom was originally working and not broken.

Zhao Xiaofan continued to act like a famous detective, crossing his arms and stroking his chin, "Maybe everything happening now is part of this hall, including the staff saying the monitor is broken, followed by us finding the intercom unusable. Maybe they cut the intercom signal so it can only receive calls but not dial out..."

Everyone felt Zhao Xiaofan made a lot of sense because, other than that, they couldn't think of a more convincing explanation.

Zhao Xiaofan nodded. Just as he was about to say what to do next, a pale hand suddenly reached out from behind him, grabbed his neck, and dragged him backward. Zhao Xiaofan was dragged off the ground almost instantly. After being dragged for a distance, he was slammed hard onto the ground, screaming in pain.

Zhu Mai was in an uproar, "The staff in this hall are so strong!"

Zhang Hu backed away repeatedly, "Who's going to be next?"

Everyone was ready to flee at any moment.

Shang Nan looked at Zhao Xiaofan lying on the ground, vaguely feeling something was wrong. No matter what the theme of this exhibition was, they were guests, consumers. With the way Zhao Xiaofan was slammed onto the ground, he would definitely be bruised all over when he got out, maybe even have broken bones. How could anyone doing legitimate business treat guests so violently?

"I'll go take a look." Shang Nan walked in the opposite direction of the group, wanting to check on Zhao Xiaofan. Zhao Xiaofan lay on the ground, gasping for air. He stared blankly at the approaching Shang Nan. Only after Shang Nan got close did he see the purple bruise marks on the other's neck.

Shang Nan was slightly stunned. The hand was too heavy; it wasn't normal.

"Get up." Shang Nan reached out, attempting to pull Zhao Xiaofan up.

Zhao Xiaofan reached his hand toward Shang Nan. Just as he was about to touch Shang Nan, that hand appeared again, instantly strangling Zhao Xiaofan's neck. Zhao Xiaofan retracted his hand and tried hard to pry open the hand gripping his neck, making "ah ah" sounds with his mouth, his face flushing red.

Shang Nan hurriedly squatted beside Zhao Xiaofan and said sternly to the owner of that hand, "You've gone too far."

Only after squatting down did the distance close. The owner of the hand was also squatting. He slowly raised his head and looked at Shang Nan. After Shang Nan saw the other person's face clearly, his eyes slowly widened in disbelief. He was almost instantly stunned.

Why is Lu Yang here?

Seeing Shang Nan, Lu Yang grinned. He quickly reached out his other hand and strangled Shang Nan's neck with a strength that didn't belong to a human, making resistance impossible.

Shang Nan's first sensation wasn't suffocation or pain, but shock. Lu Yang's face was pale, his lips looked like they had been smeared with a layer of blood. Not only that, he smelled of paper paste. Shang Nan had only smelled this scent when close to Yu Zhibai in his Paper Person form.

Lu Yang's fingers kept tightening. He wanted Shang Nan to die, wanted everyone in this room to be buried with him. Who told them to be unlucky? Who told them to play with Shang Nan and Yu Zhibai?

Shang Nan didn't return for a long time. Yu Zhibai frowned. "I'll go look."

Zhu Mai stopped him. "Let's move together. Otherwise, one by one, I feel like we're just feeding the enemy."

For the first time, Zhang Hu felt Zhu Mai had a brain. "Mai-zi is right, let's go together. More people, more strength."

Whether they went together or not didn't affect Yu Zhibai much. There definitely wasn't a good influence, but there might be a bad one.

Actually, Zhu Mai and Zhang Hu's thinking was like this: Zhao Xiaofan and Shang Nan were their strategists, and Yu Zhibai was also a strategist. If all three of them left, leaving a bunch of idiots behind, they would only be able to scream for help.

Yu Zhibai walked in front.

The others followed behind him.

"So strange. Zhao Xiaofan wasn't far from us just now," Zhang Hu gradually felt crept out because this hall had no hints, and the intercom couldn't be used. He was very uneasy, but he couldn't explain the source of this uneasiness.

"I see them!!!!" Lin Xin saw them first. She pointed in a direction, "Why are they both lying on the ground?" She was excited. After Lin Xin reported the news, Yu Zhibai quickened his pace and ran toward Shang Nan, while Lu Yang suddenly appeared behind Lin Xin, grabbed her hair, and slammed her hard onto the ground.

With a muffled thud, Lin Xin groaned. She heard the sound of something breaking in her body.

"Holy crap, are you okay?" No matter how unreliable Zhang Hu was, he knew Lin Xin's fall wasn't just simply lying on the ground. Seeing Lin Xin in so much pain she couldn't move, Zhang Hu got angry too. Looking in the direction behind Lin Xin, he shouted, "Play your mom! We're not playing anymore! Let us out!"

Lu Yang's pale face appeared before them. He looked woodenly at the people in front of him and grinned, "I'm here today to send Shang Nan and Yu Zhibai on their way. As for you guys... you can be their funeral objects. You have a good relationship anyway, don't you?"

"Lu... Lu Yang?" Zhang Hu didn't react immediately. He thought he saw wrong and turned to look at Zhu Mai's pig face to cleanse his eyes. "I didn't see wrong, right?"

Zhu Mai's lips were trembling, "No, you didn't see wrong."

The other boys slowly realized something was wrong and slowly backed away.

The exhibition hall with no hints, the paper money falling from above, the broken monitor, and the intercom that couldn't dial out—everything indicated that they had fallen into a trap.

Shang Nan had the System. Except for monsters, no one could take his life. 14 had been helping him. But Zhao Xiaofan was obviously not doing well; from lack of oxygen for too long, his eyes were somewhat unfocused and gradually losing focus.

"Can you save him?"

[14: I am parasitic in your consciousness. I cannot detach from you to go to someone else's consciousness.]

Just as Shang Nan was despairing, Yu Zhibai finally arrived. Yu Zhibai helped Shang Nan up from the ground and patted Shang Nan's face. Shang Nan slowly opened his eyes, bending over and coughing violently, "Xiao Bai, check on Zhao Xiaofan. I'm fine."

Zhao Xiaofan? Who?

"The person next to me." Shang Nan understood Paper People too well; it just couldn't be bothered to care.

Yu Zhibai squatted beside Zhao Xiaofan, looked at the strangle marks on his neck, paused, then reached out and pinched Zhao Xiaofan's neck. Zhao Xiaofan's neck seemed to become like one of his Paper Effigies in his hands, allowing him to manipulate it.

But Zhao Xiaofan's complexion improved noticeably. After the improvement, Yu Zhibai immediately withdrew his hand and looked at Shang Nan, "The windpipe was blocked."

The smell of paper paste lingered in the air. Yu Zhibai was very familiar with this smell, but in this world, only he was a Paper Person. How could other Paper People appear? Even if just inferior products?

"It's Lu Yang." Shang Nan sat on the ground to catch his breath before climbing up. Looking at Zhao Xiaofan who had passed out on the ground, he thought for a moment and took off his jacket to cover him, including his head. "This way, he might not be discovered so easily."

Yu Zhibai lowered his eyes and thought, "Yu Changyue isn't the only one who knows this craft."

"Are you saying Lu Yang is also a Paper Person?" Shang Nan was a bit confused.

Yu Zhibai slowly shook his head.

[14: Data arrived.]

[14: After Lu Yang died, his father tried to find a way to cure him, but human death is irreversible, including for Yu Zhibai. His father then took a crooked path. Do you remember your mother, Dai Lili's, Paper Effigy? His father, through Dai Lili, found the person who made the Paper Effigy for Dai Lili and begged them to save Lu Yang, even if he became a Paper Person. Becoming a Paper Person has conditions: first, the person hasn't lost all signs of life; second, the craftsman must have exquisite skills and never committed a sin in their life; and it requires the heart's blood of a close relative. Lu Yang met none of these conditions, but because his father insisted, although Lu Yang became a Paper Person, he is no different from a ghost.]

Shang Nan was too shocked to speak. Lu Yang's father really... Shang Nan couldn't evaluate him. But in contrast to his actions, Shang Nan saw that Yu Changyue loved Yu Zhibai very, very, very much, and loved Yu She even more.

"Stay right here." Yu Zhibai knew Shang Nan didn't bring his schoolbag today and didn't have the Paper Doll on him. He thought for a moment, then directly tore a large piece off his own clothes, tore out a Little Paper Person with his bare hands, and handed it to Shang Nan. "Lu Yang's level is very low, it'll be fine."

Turning around, Yu Zhibai took a lighter out of his pocket.

Zhang Hu's side was already in chaos. They had attended Lu Yang's funeral during the day, so they naturally knew this Lu Yang wasn't human. But the intercom was broken, and they didn't know where the exit of this hall was. At first, they wanted to run, but realizing running was useless, they decided to go for broke.

Zhu Mai rolled up his sleeves, "I've had enough of your bullying at school. Damn it, you're dead and I still have to take your crap? Screw it, let's fight!"

Zhang Hu didn't expect Zhu Mai to be so tough, considering he was crying from fear of ghosts just a moment ago. "Mai-zi is my idol."

Maybe it was the desire to survive, maybe it was youth, or maybe because friends were by their side, courage outweighed fear. The boys howled as they ran toward Lu Yang together.

With so many of them, they should be able to win...

"Yi!"

"Ai!"

"Oof!"

Imagination is beautiful.

Lu Yang took them down one punch at a time. He lifted the last boy by the neck and slammed him heavily onto the ground. Seeing the person faint, he strolled over to Zhu Mai and stepped on Zhu Mai's chest. Zhu Mai almost stopped breathing, but because of this, he exploded, "Kill me if you have the guts, you damn thing that's neither human nor ghost!"

Zhang Hu really admired Zhu Mai at this moment. He had been punched in the face; half his face felt caved in, and he must have lost a tooth because air was leaking through. He struggled to crawl up and grabbed Lu Yang's pant leg. Zhu Mai's face was already blue and purple.

But Lu Yang remained immovable.

Zhang Hu's tears flowed unknowingly. He and Zhu Mai weren't that close, but they had been classmates through junior and senior high, and their families had business cooperation...

Just as he felt despair, a streak of fire flashed past his eyes and landed at Lu Yang's feet. It was a lighter. Zhang Hu sniffled. Who threw that? What use is that? Offering a smoke?

Before he could generate more guesses, he saw the lighter's flame ignite Lu Yang's shoe. The shoe was clearly a sneaker, but the tongues of fire seemed to find a home, climbing rapidly up along the pant leg.

Lu Yang couldn't feel pain. He looked down, watching the fire slowly burn up his legs. When his calves burned to ash, he couldn't stand steadily and fell to the ground, making it even more convenient for the fire.

Zhang Hu and Zhu Mai watched helplessly as Lu Yang was engulfed by the fire. Lu Yang crawled on the ground with both hands, trying to reach out and grab something, but soon, his clothes caught fire. His hands, his head—all burned away, leaving only a small pile of black ash on the ground.

The scene remained silent for a long time. They would remember this sight for the rest of their lives.

As soon as Lu Yang vanished, Zhang Hu tried pressing the intercom. The staff's voice came through quickly. Zhang Hu had never felt their voices were so kind. He instantly wailed loudly. Looking at Zhu Mai, who was struggling to breathe, he shouted, "Help!"

......

The Cute Strawberry Studio had never had such an incident in their horror exhibitions; even their young boss was alerted.

Ten people went in just fine, but only two walked out on their own. The others were either carried out on backs or stretchers.

Zhu Mai was too tall and the stretcher was too short. Yu Zhibai carried him out on his back. Zhu Mai leaned on Yu Zhibai's shoulder and sobbed, "Top student, thank you. I wish you and Shang Nan a happy union for a hundred years."

Yu Zhibai remained silent for a few seconds, then said, "No need to thank me."

After handing Zhu Mai over to the medical staff, Yu Zhibai turned back to the ticket checkpoint. His expression was indifferent. After the accident, the staff were already very nervous, worrying Yu Zhibai was there to cause trouble, so their scalps tightened instantly.

The boy said "Hello" and asked, "When we checked our tickets earlier, you were in charge of keeping my boyfriend's roses."

Oh, he wanted the flower. They instantly breathed a sigh of relief. Not only did they give the flowers to Yu Zhibai, but they also returned everyone else's belongings to him.

It was the weekend. Several ambulances parked at the mall entrance were conspicuous enough, not to mention the white coats heading for the top floor. It immediately aroused the curiosity and inquisitive desire of many people.

The lead doctor asked the staff, "What happened?" In a place like this, it would usually be a fire or a stampede; other things were unlikely.

The team leader on duty today had a face full of complexity, "They said they ran into a ghost."

Doctor: "..."

But whether they met a ghost or not couldn't be verified. The fact was they were injured, and sending them to the hospital for examination and treatment as soon as possible was the most important thing.

Shang Nan and Yu Zhibai didn't go with them. Shang Nan knew he was fine.

After watching them being hauled away, Shang Nan still felt some palpitations, "Lu Yang..."

"He was already dead. This was just a thing created by his father." Yu Zhibai held the umbrella, his expression indifferent, cooler than the rain.

Shang Nan suddenly came up with a hypothesis, "If his father was willing to exchange his own lifespan, is it possible for Lu Yang to become a Paper Person?"

Yu Zhibai didn't know what he was thinking. He paused for a long time before giving Shang Nan an answer.

"Perhaps."

Shang Nan felt something wasn't quite right with the other person. He tilted his head to examine Yu Zhibai. Perhaps because the rain was too heavy, fine threads of rain drifted under the umbrella and into Yu Zhibai's eyes. The color slowly spread, pitch-black, making his expression even less distinct.

"You seem to be in a very bad mood. What's wrong?" Shang Nan asked.

Yu Zhibai looked at the endless stream of traffic on the road and the splashed white water spray. After a while, he looked at Shang Nan. His expression remained indifferent, and even his tone was faint, "Are you very curious about Lu Yang's affairs?"

"Of course," Shang Nan answered without thinking. Know the enemy and know yourself, and you can fight a hundred battles with no danger.

Yu Zhibai's eyelids lowered, and he asked softly, "Do you like me because I am a Paper Person?"