Free Web NovelChapter 17: Hair Apartment Dungeon [II]
The ghost realm had rules.
At least, it was supposed to.
Humans feared ghosts.
Ghosts hunted humans.
Dungeons consumed players.
Everything stayed balanced that way.
Then Shen Yu appeared and ruined the entire ecosystem.
Lily sat on the rooftop railing of Coffin Calamity’s shattered chapel, kicking her legs lazily while ghost comments floated around her livestream projection.
A glowing title hovered above her head.
[LIVE — "WHY SHEN YU IS A MENACE TO GHOST SOCIETY"]
Thousands of ghost spectators spammed reactions.
"Finally someone exposing him."
"That human is a system virus."
"He keeps farming deaths."
"Ban him from horror realm."
Lily folded her arms irritably.
"I’m serious. He stole my wedding shoes."
The chat exploded.
"THAT’S WORSE."
"Who steals from a ghost bride?"
"Disrespectful."
"He deserves ten hauntings minimum."
Lily nodded firmly.
"Exactly."
But beneath her annoyance lingered something else.
Unease.
Her friend’s warning replayed inside her head.
"You know, killing him repeatedly has tied you to him. You must now find him immediately. Kill him before he fully grows."
At the time, Lily laughed it off.
Shen Yu was insane, yes.
Annoying beyond reason.
But dangerous?
He was still human.
Wasn’t he?
Lily frowned.
"...why did she sound scared?"
Then—
Space ripped open.
A black portal swallowed half the rooftop.
Lily nearly fell backward.
"What goes by? Oh, what?!"
A violent force yanked her into the darkness.
"FORCED SUMMON?!"
The livestream chat exploded.
"LMAOOO"
"She got kidnapped midstream!"
"Dungeon transfer?"
"WAIT KEEP THE STREAM RUNNING—"
Lily tumbled through distorted space violently.
"Didn’t I just finish a punch?! Where is my break time?!"
Her body slammed onto cold apartment flooring.
Silence.
Then a system message echoed around her.
[SPECIAL DUNGEON INSTANCE — HAIR APARTMENT]
Threat Level: Silver
Assigned Entity: Tangly Hair Ghost
Additional Entity Summoned: Lily, The Ghost Bride
Lily slowly looked around.
Dim apartment hallways.
Peeling wallpaper.
Wet stains crawling along the ceiling.
Hair.
Hair everywhere.
Long black strands spilled from faucets and air vents like living parasites.
Lily grimaced.
"This isn’t my soul territory."
Her eyes narrowed.
"Why force teleport me into another ghost dungeon?"
The livestream chat flooded instantly.
"Cross-instance summon!"
"She got drafted!"
"Rare event!"
Lily cracked her neck.
"Forget it. Since I’m here, let’s finish fast."
Her smile turned dangerous.
"Tear this unlucky player apart."
Then she stepped into the bathroom.
And froze.
Because standing there—
Getting strangled by black hair—
Was Shen Yu.
The hair wrapped around his throat like constricting snakes.
His arms dangled limply.
His skin had already turned pale blue.
Yet somehow—
He still looked calm.
Lily’s expression immediately soured.
"...why is it YOU again?"
The livestream detonated.
"NO WAY."
"BUG HUMAN RETURNED."
"HAHAHAHA"
"LILY YOUR BOYFRIEND IS BACK."
Her face darkened murderously.
"He is NOT my anything."
Shen Yu noticed her.
"...oh. Wedding ghost."
Lily twitched.
"Stop calling me that."
The hair tightened suddenly.
CRACK.
Shen Yu’s neck snapped.
His body collapsed lifelessly.
Silence.
The hair ghost hissed proudly from the bathtub drain.
Lily stared at Shen Yu’s corpse.
Then slowly—
Very slowly—
A hopeful expression appeared on her face.
"...finally?"
Maybe his revival only worked under special conditions.
Maybe it only activated when she killed him.
Or when he caused his own death.
Maybe—
Finally—
This nightmare was over.
Lily clasped her hands together quietly.
"...please stay dead."
For the first time in weeks, genuine peace touched her soul.
Then—
[REVIVAL COMPLETE]
Shen Yu sat upright instantly.
"...interesting pressure force."
Lily’s hope shattered into dust.
"No."
Shen Yu flexed his fingers thoughtfully.
"The strangulation trigger starts at twelve seconds."
He looked at the hair wrapping around his arm.
"Fast activation speed."
Lily stared at him in disbelief.
"You’re analyzing it?!"
"Of course."
The livestream comments flooded wildly.
"HE’S ALIVE AGAIN."
"REPORT THIS."
"THIS HAS TO BE ILLEGAL."
"Lily this is your script partner right?"
Another ghost typed:
"Fake stream. No human revives infinitely."
Lily pointed furiously at the comments.
"I KEEP TELLING YOU PEOPLE THIS ISN’T SCRIPTED."
Then another comment appeared.
"Lily, look. Huh? Your script partner’s getting drained. Save him."
"Quack."
"[laughter]"
Lily nearly exploded.
"I AM NOT WORKING WITH HIM!"
Shen Yu casually stepped toward the living hair again.
The black strands instantly pierced toward him.
The audience screamed.
"DON’T TOUCH IT."
"THAT’S A HAIR DEMON."
"YOUR SOUL GETS DRAINED."
But Shen Yu poked the hair calmly.
"Hm."
The hair tightened around his wrist.
Drain effect activated.
His skin rapidly shriveled.
Shen Yu tilted his head.
"That’s it?"
The hair ghost trembled angrily.
"No strength at all."
The audience gasped.
"HE INSULTED THE DUNGEON ENTITY."
Shen Yu nodded thoughtfully.
"Giving me a massage."
The hair ghost snapped.
The entire apartment exploded with black strands.
Thousands of razor-sharp hairs erupted outward like blades.
Lily’s eyes widened.
"...oh."
SCHRRRRKKK.
Shen Yu was shredded instantly.
Ten thousand pieces.
Blood painted the apartment walls.
Silence.
Complete silence.
Even the livestream stopped scrolling.
Every ghost.
Every anomaly.
Every spectator.
Stared blankly at the remains.
No one revived from that.
No one. ƒreewebηoveℓ.com
Lily slowly exhaled.
"...thank heavens."
Even she felt slightly bad now.
Then—
A hand tapped her shoulder.
"Now THAT was proper force."
Lily screamed.
Shen Yu stood behind her completely restored.
Laughing.
"Painless death. Full service."
The livestream exploded harder than before.
"WHAT."
"WHAT."
"WHAT."
"THIS HUMAN IS CURSED."
Shen Yu opened his system menu excitedly.
"Death rating triggered big crit."
His eyes scanned rewards rapidly.
"Let’s see what good stuff I got."
[DEATH CRIT ACTIVATED]
Reward Multiplier: ×13.4
New Item Acquired:
Ghost Contract Fragment
Shen Yu paused.
"...oh?"
His eyes widened slightly.
A new system explanation unfolded.
[SPECIAL CONDITION MET]
User may contract entities from connected realms after repeated linked dungeon participation.
Current Candidate:
Lily — Ghost Bride
Requirement Remaining:
3 Shared Dungeons
Shen Yu slowly turned toward Lily.
She immediately felt danger.
"...why are you looking at me like that?"
"Hm."
He smiled.
"So the grand prize of this dungeon is you, Lily."
The livestream froze.
Lily blinked once.
"...what?"
"Just three more dungeons together and I can contract you as my subordinate."
The apartment went silent.
Then the ghost livestream ERUPTED.
"ABSOLUTELY NOT."
"HUMAN DETECTED CROSSING THE LINE."
"NO ONE CONTRACTS LILY."
"PROTECT THE GHOST GODDESS."
Lily’s face turned scarlet with fury.
"WHO ARE YOU CALLING A SUBORDINATE?!"
Shen Yu ignored the outrage completely.
"This trip was worth it."
Lily pointed violently at him.
"YOU STOLE MY WEDDING SHOES."
"Yes."
"WHO STEALS FROM A DEAD PERSON?!"
"You weren’t using them."
The livestream comments nearly crashed from laughter.
"HE ADMITTED IT."
"CRIMINAL."
"ARREST THIS MAN."
Lily trembled with rage.
"I’m going to kill you permanently."
Shen Yu nodded politely.
"You’ve tried."
Before Lily could explode further—
A new system notification appeared.
[HIDDEN INVESTIGATION ROUTE TRIGGERED]
Clue Acquired:
"The dead woman in Room 101 is still waiting upstairs."
The apartment lights flickered.
A wet sound echoed from above.
Drip.
Drip.
Drip.
Shen Yu’s eyes lit up immediately.
"Oh?"
He clapped excitedly like a child receiving candy.
"Okay."
"Let’s go upstairs."
His grin widened dangerously.
"Room 101."
"A guest is waiting for me."
Lily stared at him.
Then at the dark staircase above.
Then back at him.
"...why are you happy about this?"
Shen Yu started walking upward calmly.
"Because hidden routes usually contain better loot."
The hallway lights died one by one ahead of him.
The hair inside the walls began whispering.
And somewhere above—
Something wet laughed softly.
The livestream audience collectively shivered.
One ghost typed slowly:
"...why do I feel bad for the dungeon boss?"
