Bug Abuse? I Swear I'm Just Playing Normally!
Ch. 9 - Blood-Tier Paranormal Artifact

“Uh... what?”

Bai Wan’s eyes lit up the moment he saw the price.

Holy crap. Another bug! 

The bloodwine was originally 100 Paranormal Coins — and now it was priced at just 1.

This is a massive win.

Without hesitation, Bai Wan snatched up the bloodwine and handed a single coin to the black skeleton in front of him.

The skeleton took the coin, glanced at the price tag, and froze. It turned its head to double-check the number again, then back at the lone coin in its hand. Back and forth, back and forth. Then it let out a completely unintelligible cry.

“Uuuuuhhhh...”

“Hey, Skelly Bro, so... I can take this bloodwine now, right?” Bai Wan cleared his throat and asked politely.

“Uhhh...” The skeleton grumbled and reluctantly nodded.

Grinning, Bai Wan tucked the bloodwine into his coat.

Next, he picked up the discounted disposable anti-paranormal desk lamp — 40 coins. No bug this time.

Just as he was thinking of checking out other items, his eyes drifted across the skeleton itself — and froze.

There, on the skeleton’s bandaged torso, glowing letters had appeared.

[Bloody Skeleton Bandage]

Category: Paranormal Artifact

Quality: Blood-Tier

Effect: ??? (Details locked until purchased)

Price: 1 Paranormal Coin

Bai Wan stood there, stunned.

Holy shit. A legendary paranormal artifact? This is the kind of thing you would have to risk your life for!

And this one isn’t just any artifact — it was Blood-Tier!

He didn’t yet know how the quality levels of cursed gear were classified, but just from the name alone, it had to be rare.

And the price? Just 1 Paranormal Coin?!

Thump-thump...

Bai Wan’s heartbeat picked up.

It had to be another bug. This item — clearly not meant for sale — had been turned into a product by his glitch body.

Opportunity.

This was, without a doubt, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Eyes blazing, Bai Wan strolled over to the skeleton. With a bright smile, he pulled out a single coin.

“Skelly Bro, your outfit’s really stylish. Mind letting me try it on?”

The black skeleton’s glowing eyes narrowed with a look of utter contempt. It shook its head stiffly.

“Uhhh uhhh uhhhhhh...”

Bai Wan didn’t understand skeleton-speak, but the meaning was pretty clear: You moron. Not a chance in hell.

But he wasn’t giving up that easily. Smiling, he pointed to the text next to the bandage. “Come on, look, it’s labeled with a price. That means we players have the right to buy it, right? Game rules.”

The skeleton instinctively followed his finger... and froze again.

This time, it stood still even longer. It stared blankly at the tag.

“Uhhh... uhhh... ??” Its voice now carried confusion.

It looked at Bai Wan, then at the price again, then back to him, and finally, after a long pause, shook its head furiously.

“Uhhh uhhh uhhh uhhh!!!”

It sounded furious — like a kid being told to give away their favorite toy.

Bai Wan’s smile grew even gentler. “Dear Skelly Sir, I’d think twice if I were you. You really wouldn’t want the Paranormal Game system to know you’re breaking store policy, would you?”

“Uhhhh...” This time, the skeleton’s groan carried a whimper of grievance.

Finally, it peeled the white bandage from its body.

“Thanks, Bro. Wishing you booming business,” Bai Wan said warmly, tucking the bandage into his pocket and tossing over the coin.

Behind him, the now half-naked skeleton let out a soul-crushing wail.

“UHHHHHHHH!!”

The sorrow of skeletons and the joy of men rarely overlap.

As Skelly Bro grieved, Bai Wan happily checked his prize.

[Bloody Skeleton Bandage]

Category: Paranormal Artifact

Quality: Blood-Tier

Description: A cursed, blood-stained bandage infused with a powerful paranormal force. Gifted to the black skeleton by his first love as a token of affection. The skeleton has worn it faithfully for over a century and never changed it.

Abilities:

[Resurgence] — When activated, the bandage will undergo a gradual resurgence and can temporarily resist a paranormal entity. Consumes 40 Paranormal Coins per second.

[Wrap] — Can be wrapped around any part of the body to reduce the effects of paranormal curses, equivalent to a Black Goat Blood Bandage. Usable three times per dungeon.

[Blood Bind] — Spend 200 coins to activate a blood-infused wrap. When used on a person, it greatly reduces the effects of a paranormal curse. When used on a paranormal entity, it can temporarily immobilize them.

Reading the artifact’s abilities, Bai Wan’s eyes sparkled.

It was incredible. Not only did it come with a built-in three-use healing function, but it could even suppress a paranormal entity — if he had the coins.

The only downside? The cost. At his current balance of 138 coins... he couldn’t even activate Resurgence for a full second.

Too damn poor. 

Then a thought struck him — his bugged skill... dancing. Would Skelly Bro reward him for a little performance?

But after robbing the poor guy of his beloved bandage, it might be better not to push his luck for now.

Grinning to himself, Bai Wan left the shop. He had spent exactly two minutes.

Back in the kitchen, the others had also finished their shopping.

Compared to Bai Wan’s glowing expression, the others looked visibly disappointed.

Their coin totals were too low and they couldn’t afford anything decent.

“Alright, now that we’ve finished shopping, let’s get back to exploring. We’re running out of daylight,” Liu Tong said.

Daytime was the safest window for exploration. Once night fell, things would get dicey again.

“Liu Tong, I found this earlier.” Lin Xi suddenly spoke up, pulling a strange object from her pocket — a compass.

Liu Tong took a look, eyes narrowing with interest.

[Locator Compass]

Effect: Input a specific item or coordinate, and it will point to that object’s location. To locate a room, a valid room number must be provided.

Uses remaining: 3

“I found it in another cupboard earlier,” Lin Xi explained. She’d originally wanted to keep it for herself, but after a long while of trying to figure out what to do with it — and realizing she had no idea what to search for — she gave up on hoarding it.

“A locator, huh?” Liu Tong’s thoughts jumped to the mysterious wooden door upstairs.

That room was likely the core of this dungeon. If they could track it down, they’d be one step closer to clearing the game. It was probably no coincidence this locator had been placed in the kitchen, it was a mission-critical tool. 

The only problem: it needed specific coordinates or information to work. And right now, they knew nothing about the room. If they had a room number, they could use the compass to pinpoint it.

After thinking it over, Liu Tong led the group out of the kitchen and over to the old woman tidying up the library.

“Ma’am, we checked the second floor earlier and noticed an old wooden room. Do you know anything about it?” Liu Tong asked politely.

The old woman paused her sweeping, glanced upstairs, then smiled and replied, “You must’ve been dreaming, dear. There’s no wooden room on the second floor.”

No room?

Of course Liu Tong didn’t believe that. He and Bai Wan had seen it with their own eyes.

“Also... since when do cruise ships have libraries?” he muttered.

He’d been on ships before, and he certainly didn’t recall seeing any book-filled rooms like this.

“The library’s just got some old books. The shipbuilder used to love reading. I heard he even left behind some design blueprints,” the old woman said offhandedly.

Blueprints?

Liu Tong and Bai Wan exchanged a look. Their eyes lit up. If they could find the ship’s blueprints, they might uncover details about that door, and with that, locate the missing room.

Liu Tong shared the discovery of the wooden door with everyone, though he carefully left out any mention of Zhang Wen. That part... he still didn’t dare reveal.

Now the path was clear — search the library for the ship’s blueprint, use it to find the hidden room, and unlock the secrets of this ghost ship.

The group tried using the locator compass to find the blueprint first…but it failed.

One attempt wasted.

“We don’t know the blueprint’s exact name, so the search isn’t accurate,” Liu Tong concluded.

No one knew what it was officially called, maybe it didn’t even have a name. With limited uses left, they decided not to risk guessing again. Instead, they spread out to search the library manually. Unfortunately, it was a large room, and they found nothing by nightfall.

That evening, after dinner, they gathered again at the table. The moon was hidden behind thick clouds. It would be another sleepless night.

“It’s already ten. According to the old lady’s rules, we should head to bed,” Liu Tong said, checking the time.

“I’m scared... Big Bro Liu, can I sleep in your room?” Lin Xi asked, biting her lip, her body trembling slightly. Last night’s footsteps had left her badly shaken.

“Forget it. I’m not used to sleeping with anyone,” Liu Tong declined without hesitation. He wasn’t about to babysit anyone.

But then, Zhang Wen offered her a warm smile.

“If you’re scared... why not sleep in my room tonight?”