Huh? Isn't This A Galgame?-Chapter 39 - 38 Hidden Props

Under the gaze of the chubby guy, Wen Nan turned around and left the teacher’s office.

Since there was some time before settlement, he decided to wander around the campus to see if he could find any hidden items.

The campus wasn’t large, and being the weekend, it was empty and devoid of people.

Wen Nan strolled leisurely over to the flowerbed in front of the teaching building, bowing his head to search inside.

The flowerbed was filled with the musty scent of soil, the sour stench of trash, and the rancid smell of decaying animal bodies. When the stuffy summer breeze blew, it flooded into his nostrils.

Thankfully, a little stench couldn’t bother Wen Nan; he had been in a hospital before, experiencing smells a hundred times worse, savoring them as if they were nothing.

But after all that searching, he unexpectedly found not a single item.

This was not logical.

Even in a trial map, Wen Nan thought, with his experience, in these little nooks and crannies, there should be surprises.

Could it be that this game is entirely focused on romance strategies with no hidden items in the map?

That didn’t make sense either.

When he first entered the refresh point, the system said that exploring the map could earn additional upgrades and attribute bonus points, meaning the game should have sections meant for free exploration.

Could it be that his exploration method was wrong?

After pondering for a moment, Wen Nan walked to the trash bin and leaned in to take a look.

The stench from the trash bin was a hundred times stronger than the flowerbed, and this time, even Wen Nan had to pinch his nose to endure it.

Looking inside, it was nothing but empty drink bottles, blood-stained tissues, withered leaves and branches, decomposing animal flesh and fur, and brown-yellow excrement...

Without much hesitation, Wen Nan directly reached in and started digging through the trash bin.

...

...

[?]

[???]

[Who am I, where am I?]

[Why am I watching a streamer dig through trash in a horror escape game]

[I can smell it through the screen...]

[What’s going on, stop it already]

[Didn’t you guys explore maps before when you went into instances? It seems the streamer is clearly looking for hidden items.]

[This is a trial map, all the newbies enter, and just surviving the female ghost is considered lucky, who has the mood to explore the map?]

[Exactly]

[Has anyone really found hidden items in this map?]

[Hard to say]

...

...

"Got it."

Wen Nan was delighted to finally find a uniquely textured object from within the trash bin.

Upon taking it out, it was a crushed empty soda can.

9527: [Congratulations player! You have found a hidden item in this map, the empty soda can.]

Wen Nan: ...

This item’s name is really straightforward and unadorned.

Wen Nan: [What does this item do?]

9527: [Empty soda can: Can be disposed of in the system’s trash transfer station to earn 1 Gold Coin reward.]

Wen Nan: ?

This action... why does it feel so familiar?

While he was thinking, he looked up and saw an old man standing in front of him.

The old man’s form was stooped, his hands covered in grime, holding a woven sack, and looking at the empty soda can in Wen Nan’s hand with a complex expression.

Wen Nan: ...

Bumped into a fellow trash collector?

Glancing down at the crushed empty soda can in his hand, Wen Nan eventually raised his hand and handed it over to the elderly man collecting trash. freeweɓnovēl.coɱ

The old man hesitated for a moment, "You don’t need it?"

Wen Nan shrugged, "It’s alright, I have enough to spare."

The old man silently exchanged a look with Wen Nan.

He had actually been observing this young man for a while; it seemed he had been rummaging around this area for some time, and appeared to be in dire need of money.

By saying this, he just didn’t want him to feel any psychological burden, right?

Thinking this, the old man stuffed the empty soda can into the sack and said with emotion, "It’s rare to see young people who respect their elders like you nowadays. Good child, if you still want to collect, check that area over there; I usually don’t go there."

As he spoke, the old man raised his hand and pointed towards the teaching building.

Wen Nan followed the direction the old man pointed in and saw it was the public restroom beside the stairway.

Is this an NPC giving information?

Wen Nan nodded, thanked the elderly man, and turned to walk up to the teaching building.

...

...

The public restroom wasn’t much different from most, with a row of sinks on the outside, a row of urinals, and a row of toilet stalls beside that.

However, like the flowerbed and trash bin, the restroom had an even stronger smell.

The ground was covered in dark red stains, making one feel like they’d stumbled onto a crime scene upon entering.

Wen Nan braved the reeking stench, checking each stall without finding any hint of hidden items.

Finally, at the corner near the sink, he saw an arrow drawn in red blood stains.

The arrow made a 180-degree turn at its tail, ending with the words—Other side.

The other side... isn’t that the women’s restroom?

Okay, it seems the useful items and storylines favor women’s restrooms, never appearing in men’s bathrooms.

Fortunately, there weren’t many people around; besides the faint sounds of whipping and the fat man’s wails from the nearby office, everything was silent.

After ensuring there was no one else nearby, Wen Nan stepped into the women’s restroom.

The style of the women’s restroom wasn’t much different from the men’s, except there were no urinals, and... there were some strange noises.

Standing at the entrance, Wen Nan listened carefully, hearing a faint drip-drip-drip sound, along with the soft sobbing of a girl.

Could there be a crying Myrtle here?

As this thought emerged, Wen Nan quickly dismissed it—certainly not. Not to mention that such a character would seem too out of place in a romance game, even if some players had this particular fetish, it would likely be unlicensed.

Wen Nan went to the very back, checking each stall one by one, yet found nothing amiss.

Feeling somewhat dejected, he walked to the sink.

In the broken mirror, Wen Nan saw—

Behind him, a long-haired female ghost suddenly appeared.

The female ghost had no pupils, her eyes wide with just the whites showing, black blood oozing from her seven orifices, and looming over Wen Nan’s shoulder with a menacing grin.

...

...

[Holy crap]

[Green protects us]

[No wonder the chubby guy was scared after going to the bathroom]

[If it were me, I’d hide in the office and never come out]

[The streamer’s way too calm, not even flinching?]

...

...

Staring directly at the female ghost behind him through the mirror, Wen Nan then smiled.

It’s been a long time since he’d encountered this type of "sister" in his mind.

Thinking about it, it even made him feel a bit nostalgic.

Bam!

Wen Nan raised his arm and punched the mirror.

The mirror shattered into pieces on the floor.

On the wall behind the mirror, a pitch-black treasure chest emerged.

Got it! A hidden item!

The last time he opened a pitch-black treasure chest, Wen Nan managed to get a Divine Staff Fragment from the Great Demon Master. What treasure would he obtain this time?