"No! No way!" Alexander's remaining sanity was on the verge of collapse. He leaped up suddenly and dashed out as if he was trying to escape.
Behind him, Isabella and Sofia exchanged glances, their faces revealing a slightly meaningful smile.
It wasn't until he rushed into his own house and let the icy cold tap water pour onto his head that Alexander regained some clarity.
After all, he had lived two lives; otherwise, he might not have been able to withstand it.
It wasn't that he was such an upright gentleman, but rather that the people he faced had different identities.
Isabella had watched him grow up since he was a child. After his parents passed away, she took care of Alexander with meticulous attention.
There was even a time when Alexander had a high fever that wouldn't subside, and no one noticed. If it weren't for Isabella calling him over for dinner and seeing his condition, he might have lost his life.
Sofia, on the other hand, had grown up playing with him since they were young, like a close sister. Otherwise, she wouldn't have hesitated to enter the thrilling world on her behalf.
Moreover, they were neighbors. If anything were to happen, Alexander couldn't forgive himself.
Drying his hair, Alexander returned to his bedroom and lay on the bed, but he couldn't fall asleep no matter what.
The enchanting scenes in his mind seemed like a curse constantly attacking his heart and spirit.
Knock, knock!
Just then, a knock on the door sounded.
Looking through the peephole, Alexander saw only Sofia standing outside, and he breathed a sigh of relief.
Compared to Isabella, although Sofia's youthful beauty was attractive, it didn't have the kind of irresistible temptation.
"Sofia, is there anything else?"
Opening the door, Alexander cautiously stood at the entrance.
He was afraid that Sofia would also learn from Isabella and pounce on him without any regrets.
Once was already challenging enough for Alexander's willpower; if it happened again, he was afraid he would truly lose control.
"Pfft!"
Seeing Alexander's cautious appearance, Sofia couldn't help but laugh. Her face turned red as she handed him something and said, "This appeared alongside the recruitment notice. It might be of some help to you, big brother Alexander. You...you must come back alive! Otherwise... Sofia will never have a boyfriend in this lifetime!"
Looking at Sofia's serious expression, Alexander nodded earnestly, "Don't worry, I'll definitely come back alive!"
Sofia's big, watery eyes stared at Alexander. Seeing that he had no intention of letting her in, she suddenly took a step forward, stood on her tiptoes, and gently kissed Alexander's face before turning around and running away.
"Well, now I'll have even more trouble sleeping!"
Alexander closed the door with a bitter smile, touched his cheek, and sighed helplessly as he looked at the object in his hand.
Immediately after, he was stunned.
Across from him, just as Alexander closed his door, the door of the opposite room opened.
Isabella and Sofia stood in the room, their beautiful eyes fixed on Alexander's door.
"Did you give it to him?"
"I did!"
"The only chance, I hope it helps a bit!"
"He will definitely succeed!"
"Yes! He definitely will!"
...
Inside the room, Alexander stared at the object in his hand with a dumbfounded expression, unable to believe what he was seeing.
A piece of information suddenly appeared in his mind.
Ghost Coin
What he was holding turned out to be Ghost Coins - a total of three thousand!
Ghost Coins were the universal currency in the thrilling world, not only used by the chosen ones but also by the evil spirits within the instances.
There are three known uses for Ghost Coins today.
First, they serve as currency in the thrilling world where they can be used to purchase items.
For example, as mentioned before, there are supermarkets, cafeterias, and even vending machines in some scenes of the school instances. Even if one enters a store instance as an employee, they can still use Ghost Coins to buy things from the store.
In some more formidable instances, one can even directly purchase ghost items from vending machines and the like within the instance.
The second use is to replenish one's ghost energy. The energy contained within Ghost Coins can be directly absorbed. Although it will not increase the upper limit, the consumed ghost energy can be replenished through Ghost Coins.
For instance, Alexander had previously used a bloodstained baseball bat, injecting all his ghost energy into it, making it stronger but also depleting all his energy at once.
If one has enough Ghost Coins, they can quickly replenish the consumed energy.
The last use is to choose an instance. All chosen ones must go through an instance every month. Most of the time, it's random, but one can also use Ghost Coins to enter most public instances.
These instances have been experienced by veterans, and some of them have very low difficulty levels, with very few casualties in individual instances.
For example, in a public instance called Silent Hill, most of the evil spirits are terrifyingly hideous, but they have no attack power and seem to only scare people. There is only one evil spirit that will hunt down the chosen ones. If one hides well or runs fast, their survival rate will significantly increase.
Although the rewards are not high, many people are eager to try these so-called "transition instances."
Thrilling instances cannot be entered consecutively, but one can still enter them once every other month. Therefore, most people choose to enter Silent Hill every other month since it poses little danger.
However, the entry fee is a whopping 200 Ghost Coins, which many people simply cannot afford.
Don't think that 200 is a small amount, as even Alexander's S-level rookie assessment only rewards that much.
The three S-level evaluators who had been exposed once had the best rewards of only one ghost item and 150 Ghost Coins. This was the highest known evaluation in the thrilling world since its inception, apart from Alexander's!
Ordinary chosen ones' main quests only reward 30 to 50 Ghost Coins. Even after several experiences, highly evaluated veterans who have completed one or two main quests will not earn much more than Alexander's S-level reward in a single instance.
The value of Ghost Coins is therefore self-evident.
"Something's not right!" As he watched the Ghost Coins in his hand turn into a stream of light and enter his tattoo, Alexander furrowed his brow.
Three thousand Ghost Coins were undoubtedly a huge sum in the thrilling world.
He had never heard of such invitation items also giving away Ghost Coins.
And a full 3,000 at that! That's equivalent to six S-level rookie assessments!
This was simply too unreasonable!
Many restaurant and hotel instances had appeared in the past, and there were no shortage of people pulled in by such invitation items. If such a situation existed, it would be impossible to keep it a secret!
Alexander pondered, fearing that this time's fierce ghost restaurant instance might not be so simple.
Suddenly, an unprecedented sense of urgency overwhelmed him.
He must increase his strength as soon as possible!
However, having just entered an instance, he would have to wait until the beginning of next month to enter again, by which time it would be too late.
Now, there were only two ways: either find a similar item from a "Worked to Death" recruitment list before the end of the month, or use the invitation from the beautiful teacher.
Searching for a similar item was out of the question, as they were quite rare. Although those who obtained them wished someone else would take over, time was limited, and Alexander needed one before the end of the month.
Moreover, actively seeking out others posed the risk of exposing his identity.
"It seems like I have no choice but to use the invitation!"
Since he couldn't stop thinking about the seductive images every time he closed his eyes, he might as well take this opportunity to enter the instance.
With that thought, Alexander brought out the invitation to the Ghost Apartment and used it through his tattoo.
The next moment, a flash of light and a wave of dizziness washed over him.
Immediately after, a piece of information appeared in Alexander's mind.