Chapter Thirty: Choice

"Yes, choosing to remain in this world means you acknowledge your identity as the Hidden King, and you can no longer return to your previous world."

To be honest, Su Man felt little attachment to the real world. All that awaited her there were piles of debt and an endless stream of creditors. In comparison, she preferred this broken world. Still, she couldn’t agree so easily before she understood everything.

As she considered her options for a few seconds, the light screen tried to sway her with both carrot and stick, providing information.

"All your current privileges are based on your status as the Hidden King, such as your talent: Resurrection."

"If I choose not to stay, can I still come back? Would I lose my talent?"

"You can return, but you will no longer possess any talents."

It seemed the privileges tied to the Hidden King were indeed substantial.

"If you choose to stay as the Hidden King, you may seize territories here and claim them as your own."

With this, the light screen dropped another bombshell. Before Su Man appeared a small flag, bearing the character for 'Hidden'.

"Because you’ve won over the horror creatures within the territory and met the requirements for possession, you are eligible to designate it as your domain—provided you retain your Hidden King status."

Su Man didn’t agree right away, but she took the flag in hand. The light screen, sensing the moment, handed her a sheepskin map.

Su Man glanced at it. Though it was a map, all but one area was shrouded in thick fog; the lone clear spot was labeled 'Zhongshan Vacation Villa'.

"As long as you plant the flag there, the land is yours," the light screen coaxed.

Su Man pretended to place the flag, but in the next second, she took it back. The light screen, though expressionless, somehow seemed to experience a dramatic swing of emotion.

"What’s Xiao Liang’s role?" she suddenly asked, bringing up a seemingly unrelated topic.

"That..." the screen hesitated.

"Classified?" Su Man finished for it, adding, "If you can’t answer, I can’t make my decision."

By now, she realized this game was trying to persuade her to stay. While it appeared to give her a choice, she actually held the real power.

"Since you’ll have to know eventually as the Hidden King, I’ll tell you now—it’s not cheating."

As expected, the light screen abandoned its principles and gave itself an excuse to reveal, "Every king’s birth is accompanied by a guardian. He is your one-time guardian."

With the screen’s detailed explanation, Su Man understood: in this game, kings are rare, and after each new king is born, their first game is safeguarded, lest the king, knowing nothing, perish too soon.

"But he’s not that strong," Su Man said, puzzled. Even with Xiao Liang’s background, she doubted his strength.

"Once you become the Hidden King, I’ll tell you why," the light screen countered.

Su Man was indeed curious, but most of her questions had been answered, and there seemed no major traps remaining.

So she accepted the identity, chose to stay in the horror world, and placed the flag on the sheepskin map.

A flash of light—suddenly, the flag vanished, and the character for 'Hidden' appeared over the Zhongshan Villa. She could sense something connecting to her, confirming her possession of the territory.

"Welcome back, Your Majesty, Hidden King."

The light screen flattered her obsequiously.

Without waiting for her to ask, it began explaining Xiao Liang’s situation.

"Guardians must be paid; the stronger the guardian, the higher the fee. Power and payment are proportional. In the early days of a new king, you are not wealthy."

Thus, without money, the hired guardian would naturally be weak.

As Su Man listened, a sense of foreboding crept in. "Do I have to pay Xiao Liang?"

"Yes."

"…"

"How much?" No wonder one of the rewards offered was horror coins. She was glad she’d chosen that.

"Five horror coins, Your Majesty."

"I’ll pay at most two," Su Man replied, unmoved. "That’s for the information he provided me—more than enough."

Her money didn’t grow on trees. If it hadn’t been for Xiao Liang’s tips, she wouldn’t even have offered that much.

"Fine, I’ll negotiate on your behalf."

Su Man thought the topic of money was settled, but the light screen immediately asked for more.

"The villa no longer has any NPCs. Hiring NPCs costs money—this is an ordinary instance, five horror coins."

"..." Su Man felt swindled.

Fortunately, the light screen quickly placated her with good news. "Excluding first-time players, anyone else entering your territory must pay—five horror coins per person."

In short, occupied areas require payment to enter; unclaimed ones are free. The game explained that real treasures existed in this world, and whatever players could find belonged to them—thus, maps with an owner required a fee.

Su Man thought of her dagger and asked, "Can I claim all the treasures in my territory for myself?"

"Everyone defines treasure differently. What is a treasure to someone else might be mere scrap to you."

In other words, no.

Su Man didn’t dwell on it. Seven horror coins was a small price to pay—she still came out ahead.

She acted only to avoid appearing greedy before the light screen.

At last, the topic of money ended, and the light screen offered her a sweetener—a skill reward granted to every first-time victor. It was not the spiritual communication skill Xiao Liang had mentioned, but a set of knife techniques, which suited her and would pair well with her dagger.

With all matters settled, the light screen prepared to send her to the next game location.

She had expected a clear destination but was surprised when the selection was a haphazard randomization, with countless place names flickering across the screen. Su Man called out "stop," and it landed on a place called Celestial Master Village.

Before transporting her there, the light screen reminded her once more not to reveal her royal identity recklessly.

**

"We’ve arrived at Celestial Master Village. This village has a hundred-year history..."

Beside the village stele, a busload of tourists disembarked. The guide’s chatter filled the air. Su Man followed the group off the bus, but her attention was caught by a gathering of people on a distant bridge.

Others in the group noticed the commotion as well. "Is there a wedding over there? I think I see a red bridal sedan chair," someone remarked curiously.