Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong
Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/
Chapter 48: Chip Exchange
Bai Shuangying protectively wrapped an arm around Fang Xiu, holding the Peach Bone Evil across Fang Xiu’s chest. The pose looked less like protection and more like a bandit holding a hostage.
The hostage surnamed Fang looked up, eyes sparkling. “Bai Shuangying, look, there are so many living souls here.”
“Mm.” Bai Shuangying remained vigilant, scanning the surroundings in case his human got trampled.
Thankfully, no one got physical. People just kept begging like broken recorders, their postures both pathetic and ridiculous.
“This isn’t our first ritual. We’re not idiots!”
As more people gathered, Jia Xu stepped to the front, raising his voice. “We’re not lending anything! Not until we know what’s going on!”
Blondie shoved people back. “All I’ve got is one chip, now fuck off!”
Driven off, the crowd dispersed like zombies, though a few, especially the good-looking ones, kept trying to sell themselves.
They were scantily dressed, practically pressing themselves forward: “The menu says one night is 100 chips. I only ask for 1! Please think it over…”
Cheng Songyun looked extremely unwell, and being older, no one approached her. Guan He shouted, “I’m not even of age!” and awkwardly hid behind her.
Seeing a man and woman rushing his way, Fang Xiu moved his hair-ring from his middle finger to his ring finger. “Married. Deeply in love. Don’t make me punch you.”
He said it so convincingly even Cheng Songyun wavered for two seconds.
Blondie gasped, “Bro, you’re really into male beauty ghosts?”
Fang Xiu: “The Underworld doesn’t ban office romances.”
Bai Shuangying: “?”
Blondie: “???”
Fang Xiu chuckled: “Just kidding. We’re not dating.”
Blondie looked at him half-doubtful and mumbled a few things.
Bai Shuangying, however, stared at Fang Xiu for a while, until the conman started blushing. “Hey, if it bothers you, I won’t use that excuse again.”
Bai Shuangying replied without hesitation, “I don’t mind. Use it as you like.”
It was just a label. He’d been called worse. And besides, this was one of the nicer ones. Then, realizing “as you like” might be too broad, Bai Shuangying added quietly, “But you and I can only be in a proper, formally recognized relationship. Don’t assign me any indecent roles.”
Fang Xiu: “…”
His mouth opened and closed before stammering, “…Okay.”
Then he quickly looked away, scanning the surroundings as if to purge the phrase “formally recognized” from his mind.
While they were being pestered, the rest of the lobby had moved on to legitimate transactions.
Well…“legitimate” as in chip trades.
Some traded their bodies, others bartered their magic weapons or room cards. A few sold off previous gains like jewelry and liquor. Fang Xiu listened carefully, but didn’t hear anything about “human meat”.
Some people rented chips on the spot. The nicer ones asked for a 9-for-13 return; the nastier ones demanded double repayment.
Each time a deal was struck, a beam of golden light flashed around the pair, flashier than a pay-to-win game level-up screen.
The liveliest “stall” was in the center of the hall, manned by a fat guy.
He had a round nose and plump earlobe looking quite jolly.
His pockets were stuffed with chips, and people lined up around him to rent. Golden light flashed constantly, chips circulating like a mini bank.
Fang Xiu watched and realized the “1” chip he held was the lowest denomination.
The fat man’s minimum was “10”. He had a good number of “50” and “100” chips, and even a few rare “200” and “1000” ones. The “1000” chip sparkled like it was made of real gold.
They lay in plain sight. People stared hungrily, but no one dared snatch them.
Everything seemed peaceful, too peaceful.
Earlier, the crowd surged at them. After being rejected, they retreated obediently without a single scuffle.
Trading chips was life or death, yet the atmosphere was tamer than a senior citizens’ farmers market. With this many scumbags around, that was suspicious.
No way… is violence banned here?
Fang Xiu felt a bit glum at the thought. No business for his ghost meant no food. For the first time, he felt united with the Underworld in wanting to wreck this ritual ASAP.
“The taboo centers on chips…” Fang Xiu leaned into his ghost’s chest, muttering while staring at the fat guy.
“To get chips, you have to trade legitimately, either with Huanxi World or others. With ‘theft is forbidden’ as a taboo, stealing or robbing would trigger punishment.”
A man’s voice came from behind. Fang Xiu turned to see a tramp-like figure.
The man looked about thirty, with a dignified face…ruined by fatigue and bloodshot eyes. His faint authority was paper-thin.
“I’m Song Zheng. I represent my team and want to trade with you,” the man introduced.
Fang Xiu raised an eyebrow: “I’m not buying or selling chips.”
Song Zheng looked around, then lowered his voice: “I’d like to trade information for food.”
“…How do you know I have food?” Fang Xiu narrowed his eyes.
Song Zheng sighed. “To be honest, I was the one spying on you guys earlier.
“I heard someone say, ‘we’ve got food and shelter’, and saw them going to your room for supplies. You must have a way to obtain food.”
“You’re new here, so intel could be useful… Of course, it’s up to you.”
Fang Xiu studied his face. This guy wasn’t on his “bad people” list.
“Alright,” Fang Xiu said.
He’d been thinking of trading food for intel anyway. The approach saved him the trouble.
Song Zheng was sharp and decisive. Fang Xiu didn’t mind dealing with people like that.
Fang Xiu reached into his qiankun pouch for a drink can as a down payment…only to touch the chip.
Song Zheng gave a wry smile. “Only chips and Underworld magic weapons work here. Regular stuff doesn’t make it in.”
Fang Xiu was surprised. “Then how are those people making deals?”
He’d clearly heard of people trading room cards and physical goods. But with endless floors, how would they find each other again?
Song Zheng: “Oh, the ritual guarantees delivery. As long as a deal is made here, the room menu will gain a new option.
“The buyer clicks it, and the seller automatically gets the chips. No need for either party to meet, unless it’s a physical service.”
Fang Xiu fell silent.
So Song Zheng could only make this non-chip deal because they happened to be on the same floor. Otherwise, even knowing Fang Xiu had food, he wouldn’t be able to find him.
Previous rituals pushed people toward internal conflict. This one seemed terrified of disputes and even acted as a third-party escrow platform.
…What kind of obsession could have birthed this thing?
“You give a quick intro later. Once we’re back, I’ll give you food,” Fang Xiu said, feeling a bit drained.
……
At 6:30 PM sharp, the doors of Huanxi World slowly opened.
The inside was even more lavish, like a six-floor grand theater. The air carried invigorating incense, and the lights were brighter than day.
Slot machines blinked, roulette tables were everywhere. Each gambling station had scantily clad beauties or handsome hosts, their sweet smiles unnervingly fixed.
At the center of the first floor was a futuristic circular service desk. Above it hung a massive screen displaying glowing words: “Chip Exchange Counter”.
Below that, instructions read:
[Huanxi Xin Karma-to-Chip Exchange Chart]
- Loved ones and friends: 1 chip per person
- Current job: 10 chips per position
- Current savings: 10 chips per 10,000 yuan
- Beloved partner: 100 chips
- Blood relatives: 100 chips per person
- Property: 100 chips per property
- Blood debts: 1000 chips per incident
~Special Offer~
Bonus 10 chips for every 100 chips exchanged!
Win 100 chips to unlock intermediate [Service Menu]!
Win 1000 chips to unlock advanced [Service Menu]!
※ Notes ※
① All trades are regulated by Huanxi World.
② A 10% service fee applies to trades ≥10 chips.
③ Fraud, coercion, or harm to gain chips/items = theft. Huanxi World will confiscate all chips.
Song Zheng, now acting like a tour guide, explained, “If you run out of chips, you can come to the service desk to exchange. But remember, doing so means sacrificing your karma.”
“For example, trading in ‘loved ones and friends’ makes them forget you completely. ‘Current job’ means you’ll lose it in the living world.”
Jia Xu was curious. “What about ‘blood debts’? If they’re erased, wouldn’t that be a win-win?”
Song Zheng: “…That one’s different. If you trade your blood debts, your crimes will be made public, both here and in the living world.”
Jia Xu dropped the subject. Blondie, on the other hand, was intrigued. “So the Service Menu has upgrade levels?”
Song Zheng: “Your rooms don’t have utilities, right?”
Jia Xu casually replied: “My fridge has solar storage, so it works. But yeah, the rest doesn’t.”
Song Zheng smiled politely and continued, “I heard the intermediate menu unlocks full room functionality. Advanced ones even provide internet. Aside from not contacting the living or traveling, it’s just like the real world.”
“Holy crap…” Blondie was visibly tempted.
His thoughts were practically written on his face… The ritual only required daily wins and holding a chip. As long as you played nice, the taboos were easy.
With enough chips, they could upgrade rooms, enjoy gourmet food and companions, even surf the internet.
Song Zheng looked down. “A lot of people genuinely want to live here long-term. If you’re planning to break the E, best keep it quiet.”
Fang Xiu rubbed his lips, eyes locked on the screen.
Second taboo: All stakes must be exchanged with life. Steal and be punished.
…So this was what “paying with life” meant. Huanxi World earned and spent its own chips, with exchange and service tables forming a full economic loop.
Song Zheng turned to Fang Xiu. “That’s all I can explain for now. Any other questions?”
“I have two.”
Fang Xiu pointed to the lobby. “First, what’s that little door?”
At 6:30, more than one door opened.
Aside from the gaudy main entrance, a narrow side door opened quietly. It was dark, dim, and almost invisible. Fang Xiu barely noticed it.
A faded “Emergency Exit” sign hung above it, but it wasn’t lit.
Song Zheng licked his lips nervously. “I’ll tell you once I get the food. For now, I can only say, it’s a ‘pick one of two’ door.
“If you enter Huanxi World tonight, you can’t go through that door. And vice versa, once you step through it, you can’t come here tonight.”
Cheng Songyun: “We can split up and explore. I’ll go there.”
The casino was fancy and comfortable, but she looked like she didn’t want to stay a second.
Song Zheng hesitated, then warned. “That’s not a casino. Choosing that path guarantees breaking a taboo.”
First taboo: You must win a game daily. Fail, and suffer harm.
Fang Xiu nodded. “That leads to my second question, if we don’t win, what kind of ‘harm’ is it?”
Song Zheng hesitated, then finally said, “13 pounds of flesh.”
“…What?”
“If you don’t win anything by midnight, you must offer 13 pounds of human meat. Otherwise, Huanxi World will deduct 1000 chips from you… and if you don’t have enough, you’ll trigger the death taboo.”
Third taboo: You must always hold a chip. Lose it, and die.
Cheng Songyun’s hands shook on her prayer beads. “If I don’t gamble, I lose 13 pounds of flesh daily?”
She was barely 105 pounds total. She wouldn’t last long.
And they couldn’t kill someone to harvest meat, either. That would count as stealing a 1000-chip “chip item”, triggering full confiscation and risking death.
“Don’t overthink it for now. We’ve got daylight left to figure it out.”
Jia Xu wasn’t concerned. “Since we’re already here, let’s just get today’s win out of the way.”
He rolled his human-bone die and walked to the nearest roulette table.
“Single bet, red 16.” He placed the chip down. The pretty dealer smiled sweetly and nodded.
After placing his bet, Jia Xu turned to the others. “Anyone want in?”
With a 1/36 chance, no one spoke. Even Blondie laughed nervously. “After you, boss.”
Jia Xu rubbed his die and said nothing.
The roulette spun. The ball bounced between black and red, slowing… and landed on 16.
At 35:1 odds, Jia Xu’s 1 chip became 36.
He cleared his throat dramatically and looked at the others. “Gonna play again. You joining this time?”
Blondie jumped forward with a yell. Mei Lan silently followed. Guan He hesitated, but a death grip on his wrist stopped him. Cheng Songyun looked frayed and the blood vessels around her eyes looked ready to burst.
“Don’t touch that, child,” she said nearly hysterical.
Guan He looked at Fang Xiu, who hadn’t moved and just stood arms crossed, watching. So he obediently stayed put.
Jia Xu glanced at them, half-smirking, then placed another single bet on red 36.
The ball spun again, and landed squarely on 36.
Jia Xu’s chips skyrocketed to 1296. Blondie and Mei Lan now had 36 each. The smiling dealer handed Jia Xu a gleaming 1000-chip token.
“Sir, you’re amazing,” she cooed. “You can now upgrade your service menu, and any staff here is available for a night’s pleasure~”
She winked at Jia Xu, completely ignoring the onlookers.
Two perfect bets from a newcomer drew every gaze, including that of the fat chip mogul in the lobby.
Jia Xu puffed up, basking in the attention.
It didn’t matter. He had the “Luck Borrowing Dice”. No one could steal it. Violence was banned. This was paradise!
Blondie hooked an arm around Jia Xu, face glowing. “Yahoo! Taboo cleared for today. You’re a beast, Jia Ge!”
Jia Xu stayed humble. “It’s nothing.”
Then he turned to Fang Xiu and coughed. “From here, you guys are on your own. It’s not that I won’t help, but the dice has limits. You remember, right…”
Fang Xiu nodded: “I remember.”
The “Luck Borrowing Dice” borrowed future luck for present gain, making the user wildly lucky.
But the balance had to be paid. The luck borrowed would be repaid back in the future with misfortune. As the price for violating the way of Heaven, the total amount of bad luck returned will be more than the good luck borrowed, equivalent to a kind of interest.
When Fang Xiu first read the description, he felt it really should’ve been called a “Luck Loan”.
But unlike loans in the living world, the “repayment” of bad luck was calculated backwards from the user’s death date, as recorded in the Book of Life and Death.
If Jia Xu only borrowed luck for one day, he’d pay for it with bad luck on the day he was meant to die. If he borrowed again tomorrow, he’d also suffer on the day before that… and so on.
To be fair, this artifact was quite practical, and Jia Xu’s choice wasn’t wrong. The same amount of luck meant far more in a life-or-death ritual than in everyday life.
But he shouldn’t have used it in this setting, Fang Xiu thought.
Jia Xu, riding high on his win, turned to Fang Xiu. “I’m heading over to upgrade the advanced Service Menu. Wanna come take a look? There might be some new clues.”
Fang Xiu waved a hand. “No need. I can check it when we’re back.”
“Alright, let’s split up for now and regroup later.” Jia Xu was brisk and decisive.
Blondie slung an arm around Jia Xu again. Mei Lan clutched her chips and, after some hesitation, followed them.
Guan He nervously rolled his own chip between his fingers. “Fang Ge… what should we do? If we don’t win, we’ll have to give up 13 pounds of meat…”
Cheng Songyun cut in, firm and cold. “I’d rather die than gamble.”
Bai Shuangying looked down at Fang Xiu.
He knew. If Fang Xiu so wished, he could trade in an untold number of blood debts for chips. Just in the last two rituals, he had ended six lives.
Even if those debts were exposed to the human world, the human world couldn’t touch him. At 1000 chips per blood debt, those 6000 chips were practically free for Fang Xiu.
Fang Xiu lacked nothing in terms of food or comfort. From now on, he could just bet on red or black each night and “win once” without trouble. It didn’t seem like gifting chips was forbidden either, he could easily help his teammates.
But Bai Shuangying had never seen Fang Xiu this serious.
“Guan He,” Fang Xiu asked, after a long silence, his tone unusually grave, “how much do you trust me?”
Guan He swallowed hard. “Um… pretty much, I guess?”
“Then don’t gamble. Don’t trade your chip either. Tonight, we break a taboo together.”
The author has something to say:
Everyone, please believe me. When Xiao Fang says he’s going to fix the branches, he *really* means fixing the branches. Someone *will* be going offline lol.
Also, a small clarification for the comment section—
Aside from what’s listed on the service menu, everything else is free of charge. Their housing is completely free lol.
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