Chapter 18: Another Glitch? The Family Is Included in the Settlement Too!

He doubted whether he had heard wrong.
His sister had also settled her account?
Could it be that absurd?
In the photo, his sister shared her settlement page with Bai Wan.
[Congratulations to player Bai Xi for successfully clearing the Ghost Cruise instance. Settlement details as follows:
Player achievements:
The Sister Who Relies on Her Brother: Since player Bai Xi contributed nothing to this instance and hid in one spot throughout, clearing it solely through her brother’s efforts, she only received the basic reward of 100 eerie coins.
Player unlocked new skill: Life Is a Play
Life Is a Play
Description: With exquisite acting skills, you gain the ability to play as an NPC. At the start, players may choose freely between two NPC roles within the instance, inheriting all memories, experience, equipment, social relations, and more. The higher the skill level, the greater the chance to play a key role and the more characters become available.
Player innate skill: Paper Doll
Description: Because the player is a paper doll, they can return to the painting at any time, with no distance limitation.]
Bai Wan was stunned after reading this.
Is that even possible?
They actually settled it.
And she even gained the skill Life Is a Play, which allowed her to act as an NPC—a seemingly powerful ability.
Bai Wan’s eyes lit up. With his sister involved, he could learn many secrets about the instance.
Even if she began by playing a minor NPC, the amount of information Bai Wan could access would far exceed that of an ordinary player.
That was a tremendous advantage.
Moreover, Bai Xi’s Paper Doll skill was a formidable survival tool.
After all, she could retreat into the painting at will.
“Wait, if my sister has settled, what about Dad and Mom…” Bai Wan glanced toward the painting.
Their faces also displayed joy.
“We’re starting to settle too!”
Just as Bai Wan prepared to check, the family members’ settlements in the photo suddenly vanished, and the system voice sounded simultaneously.
[Bug detected. The game is undergoing self-repair. Repair completed.]
“Brother, the settlement disappeared again,” Bai Xi said with some disappointment.
“System, that’s too unfair! Isn’t a paper doll a person? Can’t paper dolls participate in the game? No matter what, my family all cleared the instance! And my cat—don’t you dare say it didn’t enter the eerie instance!” Bai Wan protested loudly.
The system fell silent, likely because there was no precedent for paper dolls or cats clearing the eerie game yet.
This brought up a philosophical question.
Is a paper doll a person?
If not, then what is it?
Or rather, what defines a person?
Is it the body or the soul?
After prolonged philosophical contemplation, the system finally relented.
[Player Bai Xi successfully cleared the instance; rewards granted accordingly. Other paper doll players receive no rewards...]
Perhaps remembering something missed, the system added a few seconds later:
[Cat players also receive no rewards.]
Only his sister received a reward?
Bai Wan wasn’t disappointed; it was all free anyway—one person counted as one.
He believed that one day, he would ensure all his family members received settlements.
Then, a black six-pointed star appeared simultaneously on the backs of Bai Wan’s and Bai Xi’s hands.
Bai Wan looked at the star in his palm with curiosity. He could freely make the star appear or vanish, though he didn’t know what it was.
Suddenly, he heard his sister’s excited voice: “I... I think I can come out now!”
Then, he saw her step out from the painting.
She wore a blue skirt and a pure white blouse, outlining a slender waist. Her long hair fell straight to her waist, swaying gently with her steps, the tips flowing like an ink-black waterfall.
A soft fringe framed her face, beneath which her large, blinking eyes glistened faintly with tears.
It had been a long time since he’d seen his sister; the sight was a pleasant surprise.
Was she able to come out because she had cleared the game? Then surely the rest of his family could too.
One of his key reasons for entering the eerie game was to find a way to restore his family to normal. Now, there seemed to be a glimmer of hope.
This was good news!
Bai Xi returned home after a long absence, her face radiant with joy. She rolled about on the sofa like a lazy cat.
After a while, she stood up and slowly walked toward Bai Wan, her gaze flickering with affection: “Brother, long time no see. I missed you.”
She lightly leapt, and Bai Wan caught a delicate fragrance as she rushed into his arms. At the corner of her eye, tiny tears seemed to trickle down.
She was merely a high school girl, still a child, without independence.
Yet she had been turned into a paper doll—no doubt this was deeply unsettling for her. He felt sympathy for her.
Bai Wan sighed and gently wiped his sister’s face. “Don’t be afraid, little sister. From now on, I’ll protect you. No matter what you encounter, as long as it doesn’t involve eerie artifacts or eerie coins, I’ll help you.”
Bai Xi tensed at first, then suddenly changed expression. From a pitiful young girl, she instantly transformed into a disdainful delinquent, the change shockingly swift.
“How stingy! Who cares about your artifacts!”
Seeing her brother had seen through her intention, Bai Xi dropped the act and pouted in dissatisfaction.
“I just think the eerie game is scary. After all, I’m just a girl—it makes me feel unsafe.”
Bai Wan smiled, pulling Bai Xi close. “Don’t worry, your Paper Doll skill lets you return to the painting anytime. You’re even safer than me.”
Bai Xi was a bit indignant. “Bai Wan! Can you stop being so stingy? Don’t forget, I was the one who gave you your pocket money when we were kids!”
“Well... cough, that was a long time ago.”
His sister Bai Xi was a true thespian. Since school began, she played the role of the beloved white moonlight figure, capturing the hearts of the class’s devoted boys, all while acting smug at home!
This earned her plenty of pocket money.
When they were kids, strict family rules meant their pocket money was largely thanks to Bai Xi’s classmates’ generosity.
Bai Xi even once thought she could make a career out of playing the white moonlight role full-time.
“I’ll give you these two eerie artifacts—the desk lamp and the blood wine.” Bai Wan relented, admitting defeat.
“That’s more like it.” Bai Xi smiled, visibly pleased.
Her smile was pure, clean, and beautiful, leaving Bai Wan momentarily dazed.
No wonder she was a full-time white moonlight; no matter what, her looks were a powerful asset.
Suddenly, Bai Wan had a strange premonition that after entering the game, his sister’s side would attract quite a few devoted fans. After all, she was participating as an NPC...
At that moment, Bai Wan couldn’t help but mourn for the players who had yet to meet her.
He hoped those players would be smart—otherwise, they’d probably suffer terribly at the hands of this full-time white moonlight.
After a brief chat with his sister, Bai Wan began tallying his gains.
This trip had been fruitful.
He had five items in his pocket:
A desk lamp, a bottle of red wine, a bloodstained bandage, a ghost ship, and a blood Bodhisattva statue.
Bai Wan handed the desk lamp and blood wine to Bai Xi.
She accepted them happily, gazing at the two artifacts as if they were treasures.
“Here, take the eerie coins too. I don’t need them right now, so I won’t take too much advantage of you.”
Though stingy with others, Bai Xi was generous toward her brother—otherwise, she wouldn’t have shared her pocket money in childhood.
Bai Wan smiled as he accepted 100 eerie coins.
That gave him over 400 eerie coins, enough to use eerie artifacts a few more seconds.
Meanwhile, as the siblings divided the spoils, the eerie game forum was undergoing an unprecedented upheaval.
The rough details of Bai Wan’s settlement had been posted there just seconds earlier.
Everyone was shocked by the absurd settlement figures.