Chapter Eighteen: One Thousand Five Hundred Weirdness Points
Chapter 18: One Thousand Five Hundred Eerie Points
“Achoo!”
“Achoo!”
Just after waking up early in the morning, Chen Ye suddenly felt an itch in his nose and sneezed twice in quick succession.
“Who’s cursing me?”
Rubbing his nose in puzzlement, Chen Ye thought it strange since he never caught colds. These two big sneezes… could it be that someone was cursing him from behind?
At that moment, the old Erhu player lazily sat up, still groggy with sleep, blindly feeling around beside him.
“Where’s my bucket?”
Suddenly, the old man shot up as if waking from a dying dream, instantly fully alert. His eyes widened as he scanned the surroundings.
Where had the bucket he always kept by the bed gone?
Chen Ye’s lips twitched; it seemed he had already slipped the bucket away…
However, according to the rules of The Eerie Era, this wasn’t called a trade but outright robbery.
Robbery is not equal exchange, thus it doesn’t count as a fair transaction.
The old Erhu player ran his hands through his hair, as if doubting whether his senility had worsened. Such a large bucket—how could it just disappear?
His gaze then landed on Chen Ye, asking, “Disciple, do you know where the bucket I always keep by the bed has gone?”
Uh… if nothing unexpected happened, it was probably already inside someone else’s stomach, maybe even turned into holy water flowing out…
Chen Ye stared up at the sky, his voice weak, “I don’t know. Last night, I vaguely heard dogs barking in the distant alleys. I half-opened my eyes in a daze while asleep, but I was too tired to see clearly. I only heard the sound of something heavy being dragged, scraping the ground nearby. Maybe… your bucket was taken by a dog?”
The old man pondered for a moment and sighed, “These days, even dogs have become bandits!”
Chen Ye was momentarily speechless and quickly found an excuse to slip away.
“I’ll go take a walk elsewhere.”
…
The morning in Xining’s alleys was peaceful.
Activating the Eye of Fortune, a faint azure halo swirled around, covering the white clouds.
The morning air was fresh.
With each breath, Chen Ye felt invigorated.
“The aura of fortune here is relatively calm. Probably nothing unusual is happening.”
Muttering to himself, he took a few steps and suddenly froze.
The three “Irascible Eeries” just turned the corner ahead, coming face to face.
They were no more than two meters apart.
They looked at each other.
It seemed they both recognized the other.
The peaceful morning in Xining’s alleys was shattered!
The frantic buzz of chainsaws mixed with the piercing sounds of suona horns echoed through the alley once more.
[Eerie Points +50!]
[Eerie Points +50!]
After farming eerie points for an hour, Chen Ye felt a slight sweat on his back.
Turning his head, he saw the chainsaw guy exhausted, nearly collapsing, giving up the chase completely.
Seemingly unable to endure the suona’s mental assault any longer, he simply turned and left.
Not even attempting to rally once more.
“Not chasing anymore?”
Chen Ye felt a bit dissatisfied.
One must admit, the chainsaw guy was a good fellow, efficiently helping him farm eerie points early in the morning.
Unfortunately, today was far less enduring than yesterday—perhaps from overexertion last time.
Opening his blood-red phone again, Chen Ye saw his eerie points had climbed to 1,500, ranking him 52nd on the leaderboard.
But here, the gaps in player rankings grew wider, making it harder to catch up.
The 50th place had reached 2,000 eerie points.
Checking the top ranks, Bai Chen’s eerie points had surged to 6,600.
The second-place Hua Shao followed closely but only had 5,900 points—a significant gap.
“Not bad…”
“The difference in eerie points isn’t too large.”
“Although catching up will get tougher, my current pace isn’t slow.”
While scrolling through his phone, Chen Ye strolled through Xining’s alleys.
He noticed he had already walked 49,000 steps.
He was nearly halfway through his weekly task!
Less than a day had passed since the bloody countdown began.
Yet…
He had completed half the weekly task.
And his eerie points were surging close to the top fifty on the “Eerie Growth Chart.”
His efficiency was commendable!
Opening the chat screen of Destiny Rivers and Lakes, Chen Ye saw players sharing daily life, survival tips, and strategy guides.
Clearly, after last night’s trial, some players had grasped the game’s mechanics.
As for those who hadn’t… most likely had already perished.
Today’s chat activity was far less lively than yesterday’s.
Mainly, the number of wails and cries had diminished.
Some players still shared their grim situations.
For example, feeling something following them on the way home at midnight, seeing a stranger in the mirror, or suddenly spotting an eye emerging from their water cup…
These terrifying signs were, in fact, routine in The Eerie Era.
At first, it was unsettling, but gradually everyone realized that as long as they didn’t cross forbidden rules, they could remain safe—for the time being.
Currently, the safest advice shared was to stick strictly to one’s profession and identity, and avoid everything else.
After the bloody countdown began, everyone’s identity shifted dramatically.
Based on the profession drawn at the start, players had exclusive identities and social circles.
As long as they focused on their roles and occupations…
They should avoid interacting with unknown, uncertain, or non-equivalent exchanges!
This minimized the risk of falling into danger.
Of course, some players mentioned that names on the leaderboard suddenly disappeared!
Even top 100 elites who recklessly courted death met horrible ends.
Chen Ye wandered the alleys several times, reaching 53,000 steps.
Still no sign of the old lady selling chestnuts.
“Maybe she’s not around.”
Chen Ye felt a twinge of disappointment. Having gained the ability of “Chef’s Apprentice,” he was eager to learn cooking quickly.
This would help him avoid eating strange and dangerous foods.
But after searching for a long time, not even a shadow of the old lady appeared…
Perhaps she wasn’t there at this hour?
Chen Ye left the alleys of Xining, planning to head to the West River to fetch a bucket of water.
The West River was the largest reservoir source for Linjiang City, about three kilometers from Xining’s alleys.
Some players had posted on the forum that the upstream waters of the West River were safe and pure, requiring the payment of a coin to the administrator for a week’s access.
Downstream, the water was polluted, and drinking it could turn one into a monster.
The old Erhu player’s bucket of water, which Chen Ye had taken last night, was traded for a spatula with the “Nine-Tailed Fox’s Brush.”
Yet he felt uneasy about it.
He decided to personally go to the West River and fetch a bucket of water.
At this stage, few players could spare a coin, so the water source might become a valuable resource and bargaining chip in the black market.