Bug Abuse? I Swear I'm Just Playing Normally!
Ch. 3 - Entering the Dungeon: Ghost Cruise

Hearing Liu Tong call his name, Bai Wan finally ended his usual round of family quarrels, cleared his throat, and introduced himself.

“Ahem, I’m Bai Wan. Currently unemployed. My ability? If I climb into a sewer, I can enter Mario’s Coin Room.”

Liu Tong: “...Huh?”

Everyone: “???”

For a moment, the air went completely still.

Mario... seriously? Has this guy played too many games?

Abilities awakened in the Paranormal Game were closely tied to real-world experiences. No matter how hard they tried, no one could imagine what kind of normal person could awaken something like this.

“Uh... quite the interesting ability. Maybe this brother here used to be a miner... or a plumber... maybe?”

Even the experienced Liu Tong froze for several seconds before racking his brain and managing to squeeze out a halfway plausible excuse. Though frankly, even he couldn’t figure out how any regular plumber was supposed to access a coin room through a sewer...

The atmosphere remained deeply awkward. But that awkwardness didn’t last long.

Suddenly, everyone’s expressions changed.

Bai Wan’s did too.

His heart gave a violent thump as the surrounding temperature rapidly plummeted.

Grey text floated up before his eyes.

[The Paranormal Game is officially starting...]

[Dungeon: Ghost Cruise]

[As a university student, you were enjoying a leisurely summer vacation. You and your friends planned to spend your holiday on Four Seasons Island — an isolated place only accessible by ship. Thus, you boarded the Midnight Hawk, embarking on a week-long cruise journey...]

[Main Objective: Survive for one week, until you reach land]

[Number of Players: 5]

Bai Wan felt his mind blur as the scene around him shifted once more.

Instinctively, he scanned his surroundings.

Wooden chairs and floors. Rooms lined the distant walls, each with their own doors. Overhead, a chandelier swayed slightly, and from far away came the faint sound of water lapping. Though still seated at the table, the environment had completely changed. 

They were already aboard the ship.

Everyone wore grim expressions — even Liu Tong was no exception.

“The Midnight Hawk... this is going to be troublesome.” Liu Tong’s brow furrowed tightly.

“Hss... is this that legendary Midnight Hawk?” Physical education teacher Zhang Wen couldn’t help but suck in a cold breath.

Lin Xi, the livestreamer girl, looked confused. “What’s the Midnight Hawk?” 

“It was a private British cruise ship from 1999. The story goes that a group of tourists went on vacation, got caught in a sudden fog, and eventually... every single person on board mysteriously vanished. In short, this is a—”

“Ghost ship!” Liu Tong explained grimly.

“Gh-ghost ship...?” Lin Xi’s face instantly turned pale.

Wiping the cold sweat from his forehead, Zhang Wen added, “You’ve never heard of the Midnight Hawk? It went viral online a few years ago because it was so creepy. They say that when the ship finally docked, the tea on board was still warm, and all the food looked freshly prepared — but there wasn’t a single soul left on the entire ship. Like everyone had been enjoying a grand banquet one second, then vanished into thin air the next.”

Liu Tong took a deep breath, his gaze locking onto the vast, mysterious sea beyond the window.

“This dungeon might be harder than expected. Dungeons based on real-life incidents are the most terrifying — and the most bizarre... Right now, we’ve taken the roles of the passengers aboard the Midnight Hawk in 1999. And soon enough, we’ll experience exactly what they went through...”

Boom!

Suddenly, lightning tore through the sky, illuminating the dark night and the endless sea beyond. But once the darkness retreated, what emerged was simply more endless blackness on the horizon.

On this creaking, swaying ship, everyone felt an involuntary chill seep into their hearts.

“Time’s short. Everyone, let’s gather as much information on the Midnight Hawk as possible. Phones in the dungeon can’t contact the outside world, but you can search for related information online — that’s been confirmed in previous games,” Liu Tong explained. Clearly, he was well-experienced after surviving two dungeons.

“Brother Liu is right. We have to understand the origin and events of this case in detail. It’s the only way we stand a chance at survival,” Zhang Wen agreed.

At that moment, Chen Weiyu suddenly spoke up.

Chen Weiyu’s voice cut through the tension. “The diary. If I remember correctly, the police once found one on board the ship.”

“Right! I remember reading about that. It was downright disturbing — I couldn’t even sleep that night.” Zhang Wen immediately pulled out his phone to search.

“Wait... the Paranormal World has internet?” Bai Wan curiously leaned over.

“You can only search for content relevant to the dungeon, the system filters what you’re allowed to see. Nothing else will show up. But since this diary is part of the dungeon’s background, it should be searchable,” Liu Tong explained.

“As for posting messages or trying to send info out... forget about it. Any attempt to leak dungeon content will deduct Paranormal Coins based on the importance of the information. Even a few words about clearing the game would cost an insane amount — we can’t afford it.”

“Also, revealing our appearances as players will consume a huge amount of Paranormal Coins. It’s probably some kind of protection mechanism for us.”

Hearing this, Bai Wan nodded thoughtfully.

Soon after, Zhang Wen spoke up excitedly.

“Got it! Look at this.”

Everyone crowded around, Bai Wan included, peering at Zhang Wen’s phone.

Displayed on the screen was an image of an old, worn-out notebook. The handwriting started out neat but grew increasingly chaotic — eventually descending into illegible scrawls that no longer resembled human language. There was an unsettling quality to those marks, as though they came from some mysterious, unknowable world.

A rare holiday — I’m so happy I get to go on a trip with Annie! It’s my first time on a ship, I wonder if I’ll get seasick? But I’m really looking forward to Four Seasons Island. They say it’s spring-like all year round. I’ve always wanted to go there, and now I finally can. Even though I have to bring my vacation homework along, I don’t think I’ll do any of it — Annie agrees too, Hehe…

The diary’s author seemed to be a girl traveling with her best friend Annie.

At first, the diary was filled with typical vacation stories — nothing worth noting.

But from the third day onward, the content began to grow increasingly strange.

Annie seemed a little off today, so I asked her what was wrong. She said she kept hearing footsteps outside at night and couldn’t sleep well. I figured it was just other tourists taking a late-night stroll, so I didn’t think much of it. But then, the next night, Annie heard the footsteps again. She’s already a light sleeper, so this only made things worse.

Wanting to help her, I asked the other guests to walk more quietly at night so they wouldn’t disturb others. But strangely, all of them claimed they hadn’t gone out for a walk at all. What was going on? Maybe Annie was just half-asleep and imagined it...

I feel so sad... so worried... Annie suddenly disappeared from the ship. We were saying goodnight just last night — how did she vanish by morning? I searched the entire ship with some kind guests, but there was no trace of her anywhere. A perfectly fine person just... gone. I suddenly remembered the footsteps Annie mentioned before she disappeared…

Could there be a bad person on this ship? Nobody’s in the mood for vacation anymore. Fear is spreading among us.

Impossible. This is impossible! Who’s messing around on this ship?! I woke up in the middle of the night and heard footsteps outside my door too. But when I opened it... there was no one there. Who? Who is it?! WHO?!

From this point on, the girl’s mental state clearly began to collapse. The handwriting grew sloppier, more childlike — each word seemed to carry terror and desperation.

More disappearances! Another person is gone!! Everyone’s gone!!

It’ll be my turn soon! It’s coming for me!! Don’t make a sound... don’t make a sound... pretend there’s no one here... pretend there’s no one here...

Save me, someone please save me! Anyone at all!

No — it’s here!! There’s no escape!!! No escape!!!

Nobody can leave this place alive!

The later pages were filled with writing that no longer resembled human language — as if the words belonged to some otherworldly existence.

Only the final two lines remained legible.

Looking at the timestamp, they were written roughly an hour before they were supposed to reach shore.

These were the last words the girl left behind.

As they read, Liu Tong and the others couldn’t help but feel chills run down their spines. A creeping unease rose in their hearts.

With each page they turned, their heartbeat quickened, and the sense of dread deepened.

Somewhere in the darkness... something seemed to be slowly approaching.

At that moment, the temperature aboard the ship seemed to drop even further. The chandelier above their heads began to flicker on and off.

It’s real. It’s real! We saw it... we saw it... we saw it... we saw it we saw it we saw it…

Countless repetitions of “we saw it” were crammed across the diary’s pages, twisting and writhing as though they were trying to crawl out through the screen itself. The paper looked crumpled and faintly stained red — as though soaked in some unknown liquid.

The girl’s madness seemed to seep out through the very strokes of her writing — every character etched in fear and delirium.

And at the very end of the string of “we saw it”, there was one final sentence:

We saw it... saw it... saw it... saw it... saw... GOD!!