Bug Abuse? I Swear I'm Just Playing Normally!
Ch. 8 - I Broke The Skeleton Shop?

[Black Goat Blood Bandage]

Effect: A bandage soaked in the blood of a hundred-year-old mountain goat. When wrapped around the body, it can reduce the effects of curses and physical injuries inflicted by paranormal entities. This item cannot be used to resist or harm paranormal entities.

Note: Only premium black goats were used. Every drop of blood is pure, natural, and pollution-free. When buying goat bandages, always go for the Black Goat Brand™.

Price: 40 Paranormal Coins

[Low-Grade Underworld Bloodwine]

Effect: A spirit brewed from water taken from the River of the Dead. Drinking it conceals your presence, preventing detection by paranormal entities. The longer it’s consumed, the weaker the effect. Theoretically effective for one minute.

Note: Please be aware this is low-grade, not fake. Not fake! Not! Fake!

Price: 100 Paranormal Coins

[Leave of Absence Slip]

Effect: Once used, prevents the player from being selected for the Paranormal Game for one month. (Usable once per year.)

Note: Some players have reported increasing intensity in the game. This may negatively impact the mental well-being of young participants. In consideration of the nation's youth, we’ve rolled out a mental health support policy. Take some time to relax, then return to the Paranormal Game with renewed passion to break new records!

Price: 100 Paranormal Coins

[Auto-Toilet Card]

Effect: Summons a portable toilet. Reusable after use.

Note: Every horror movie has that one background character who dies while going to the bathroom. Our game proudly provides portable toilets to prevent that tired old cliché.

Price: 30 Paranormal Coins

[Disposable Desk Lamp]

Effect: Once lit, the lamp provides five seconds of protection against paranormal entities.

Note: A good starter item designed to help newbies stay alive.

Price: 40 Paranormal Coins (Newbie Discount)

After glancing over the items, Bai Wan couldn’t help but frown.

Some of the items were actually pretty useful, like the Underworld Bloodwine. But the prices were outrageous.

100 Paranormal Coins — that’s what you would get for clearing a whole dungeon.

And as for the rest of the items? They were... downright ridiculous.

A portable toilet? A leave slip? What kind of clown show was this supposed to be?

The only remotely practical one was the disposable desk lamp — reasonably priced at 40 coins thanks to the newbie discount.

From the looks on everyone’s faces, Bai Wan wasn’t the only one disappointed.

“This is way too expensive... I can’t afford anything,” Lin Xi murmured, her earlier spark of hope replaced with despair.

She had only the starting 40 coins. Enough to buy either the toilet, the goat bandage, or the discounted lamp. But even the lamp only lasted five seconds. Way too short.

“Don’t they have anything stronger?” Chen Weiyu asked, visibly frustrated.

Liu Tong shook his head. “This is a survival game. Death rates are inevitably high. You’re expecting too much from the shop. Every life-saving tool is ridiculously overpriced. But take a closer look…”

He pointed to the skull. “We’re dealing with a blue skull, that’s the lowest-grade shop. Above that, you’ve got the Blood Shop, and then the legendary Black Shop. Blue Shops are the most common. They’re usually placed in visible locations and offer basic items. Blood Shops, on the other hand, only appear in extremely dangerous areas.”

“My team leader once stumbled upon a Blood Shop,” Liu Tong continued. “It happened during a dungeon called Wraith River. He risked his life diving hundreds of meters into a ghost-infested river just to find one. But the payoff was worth it — he came back with a paranormal artifact.”

“Paranormal artifact?” Bai Wan’s interest was piqued.

Liu Tong nodded, his tone tinged with envy. “Yeah. Artifacts infused with the curse of the dead. Owning one is the real guarantee of survival in the Paranormal Game. But they’re rare — even low-grade artifacts are nearly impossible to obtain without risking your life.”

Everyone's eyes gleamed with a spark of desire.

“Don’t get ahead of yourselves,” Liu Tong cut them off. “Even if you found one, you couldn’t afford to use it. Low-grade artifacts cost 20 coins per second just to activate. Blood-grade ones? Double that. You newbies can’t afford it.”

“Twenty coins per second...” Bai Wan thought he was doing pretty well, until now.

With 180 coins, he could only use an artifact for... 9 seconds?

Survival tools were insanely expensive.

“Alright, your first visit to the shop comes with a brief safety period. It won’t last long, though. Time to make your purchases. Just think 'enter shop' and you’ll go in. You won’t be able to afford much, but I recommend the Black Goat Bandage. It won’t help against paranormal entities, but if you get injured, it could save your life,” Liu Tong advised.

Following his instructions, everyone silently muttered the phrase.

In the blink of an eye, they were no longer in the ship’s kitchen but standing in a pitch-black void. Ahead of them, a shop bathed in blue light hung beneath a flickering skull lantern.

Flicker... flicker...

In this endless darkness, the lantern was the only source of light.

“Each of you has two minutes. Don’t exceed your time. We’ll enter in order. I’m number one — I’ll go first,” Liu Tong said as he stepped inside.

Bai Wan glanced at his arm. His number showed 3 — he would be the third to enter.

Two minutes passed. Liu Tong returned, looking pleased. Judging by the subtle smile on his face, he’d bought quite a haul. Strangely, nothing was visible on him. He must have had some sort of storage space.

Next up was Chen Weiyu. She took a deep breath and walked inside.

After her two minutes were up, it was Bai Wan’s turn. Feeling a bit excited, he stepped into the shop.

The flickering blue lanterns made his eyes ache as he entered, but once inside, the lighting steadied. Overhead, a blue chandelier glowed softly, casting a calm, consistent light. The interior was old and shabby, like a rundown 90s convenience store. Still, it felt oddly solid.

Bai Wan noticed that the full balance of his 180 Paranormal Coins had materialized in his pocket — physical and weighty.

Spinning one between his fingers, he turned to examine the shelves.

Lined up on dark wooden racks were all kinds of strange objects. And sitting right in front of them... was a skeleton, completely wrapped in bandages.

“The shopkeeper, huh?”

Liu Tong had warned them earlier — the skeleton merchant inside these shops was extremely dangerous.

No matter what happened, you never, ever walked out without paying.

Bai Wan approached the shelves. He already knew what he wanted.

One bottle of Underworld Bloodwine to save his life in an emergency and one Black Goat Bandage just in case he got injured.

He stepped up to the bandages first… and froze.

“... The hell?!”

[Black Goat Blood Bandage]

Effect: A bandage soaked in the blood of a hundred-year-old mountain goat. When wrapped around the body, it can reduce the effects of curses and physical injuries inflicted by paranormal entities. This item cannot be used to resist or harm paranormal entities.

Price: 9999 Paranormal Coins

Everything looked the same — the description, the notes, the branding — but the price…

9999 Paranormal Coins?!

Bai Wan blinked rapidly and rubbed his eyes. 

This has to be a joke.

Then, instinct kicked in, the trained reaction of someone who lived with bugs in his life.

Wait a second... is this... a bug?

Everything had been going so smoothly in the Paranormal Game that he’d nearly forgotten he was, in fact, a walking bug radiator.

His “bug body” must’ve triggered again.

Great.

He’d really wanted that bandage — it was useful. But at a price like this? Absolutely unaffordable.

Just as he was trying to decide what to do, his gaze fell on the Underworld Bloodwine — and froze again.

[Low-Grade Underworld Bloodwine]

Effect: A spirit brewed from water taken from the River of the Dead. Drinking it conceals your presence, preventing detection by paranormal entities. The longer it’s consumed, the weaker the effect. Theoretically effective for one minute.

Price: 1 Paranormal Coin