As long as you have the courage, fierce ghosts go on maternity leave.

With a screech, the sound of bus tires grinding against asphalt filled the air as the No. 45 bus pulled to a stop in front of the 9th Dining Hall.

One by one, the first wave of ghosts seeking to dine—or perhaps more accurately, to satiate their hunger—stepped off the bus.

"Something seems off," mumbled one of the disembarking ghosts.

Then, the assembled Ghost Kings and Ghost Imperials , their eyes widening as they stood frozen in front of the 9th Dining Hall. Placed at the entrance was an enormous sign, emblazoned with vivid red letters:

"Shock Alert! The owner of the 9th Dining Hall has eloped with a lover, leaving the chefs unpaid. Forced to liquidate massive amounts of ingredients, we are now offering discounted dishes. Our promotional rules are as follows:

The ’Mr. Potato’ Set Meal: This includes a plate of shredded potatoes, a piece of bread, and a bowl of egg-drop soup with scallions. It satisfies a day’s hunger requirements and was originally priced at 1.5 million Ghost Points—now only 1 million!

The ’Ghostly KFD Family Bucket’: A serving of fries, a hamburger, three Orleans-style grilled chicken wings, and a cold cup of cola. This meal meets a three-day hunger requirement and offers a minor boost to your Ghost Limit. Originally priced at 10 million Ghost Points, it’s now just 5 million!

The ’Nobility Deluxe Meal’: French beef stew, Italian sweet and sour pork chops, Spanish chili stir-fried beef, and wild mushroom sautéed chicken, accompanied by a bowl of French onion soup. This feast will satiate a week’s worth of hunger and marginally raise your Ghost Limit. Originally priced at 50 million Ghost Points, now slashed to just 20 million!

The ’Royal Feast’: Comprising of olive-oil roasted sea cucumber, French-style bird’s nest and shark fin porridge, cheesy tofu, and rosemary lamb chops. This meal can meet your ten-day hunger requirement and significantly boost your Ghost Limit. Originally priced at 10 billion, it’s now a steal at just 2 billion!

The ’Mythical Banquet’: Features ocean-view French caviar stew, flame-grilled dragon ribs, assorted fruit salad, top-grade foie gras, and milk-poached fish fillets. This meal will meet a 15-day hunger requirement and enormously increase your Ghost Limit. Originally priced at 151 billion, now slashed to an unbelievable 50 billion!

Special Deal: Introducing the ’Mini Sandwich’, meeting half-a-day’s hunger needs at a budget-friendly price of just 110,000 Ghost Points!"

Our Dining Hall is launching a discount mode. Spend over 1 million Ghost Points to become a VIP and enjoy special discounts on all dishes.

Spend over 2 million to upgrade to SVIP and enjoy a 10% discount.

Spend over 10 million to become an SSVIP and enjoy a 20% discount.

Spend 100 million to reach Diamond VIP status and enjoy a 30% discount.

At spending milestones of 10 billion, 100 billion, and 1 trillion, you’ll upgrade to Gold Diamond, Black Diamond, and Supreme VIP, respectively, enjoying 40%, 50%, and 70% discounts!

We’re introducing a prepayment mode. VIPs can deposit Ghost Points into their Dining Hall accounts, counted at a 10:1 ratio for VIP requirements. For example, deposit 10 billion and immediately attain Diamond VIP status, regardless of spending.

We’re launching an invite-for-VIP program. For each person you invite who spends in the restaurant, you’ll earn the equivalent of 100,000 Ghost Points!

We’re also introducing a gift mode. To thank our new and existing customers, spend over 10 million Ghost Points to receive a free Soldier-Level Red Potion, useful for restoring Ghost energy, healing injuries, or slightly enhancing your abilities.

The announcements had the patrons’ heads spinning. "What is going on? The Dining Hall has increased its prices?" exclaimed one disgruntled diner.

A nearby Imperial-Level patron immediately retorted, "Nonsense! Can’t you see the variety in the menu? A price hike is justifiable!"

"But the prices have increased! A dish that used to satiate a day’s worth of hunger for 800,000 Ghost Energy now costs a full million!" interjected a calculative Ghost King.

A Imperial-Level participant beside him shook his head, "You’re not getting it. If you want a deal, become a VIP! Just spend 10 million, and you’ll be an SSVIP. Then you can enjoy an even more lavish menu at the same original price! Plus, there’s a free gift.

At 20% off, if you buy that special mini-sandwich, it will be cheaper than the regular dish that cost 100,000 Ghost Points for the same hunger satiation!"

.....

The chatter among the participants reached a fevered pitch. Opinions were divided: some found the offers incredibly cost-effective, while others believed it was a rip-off.

Nonetheless, finding themselves at the doorstep of the Dining Hall, the crowd collectively decided to give it a try.

"Worst comes to worst, we’ll just get a sandwich. It’s only 10,000 Ghost Points more expensive than the usual fare," many thought.

"Hold on! Wait for me!" A voice echoed from the distance. A ghost king sprinted toward the group, announcing, "Gentlemen and ladies, I hail from the Endless Abyss; I am the Elegant Ghost King Leopold!"

Leopold, dressed in a fine suit and immaculate white gloves, had a white rose pinned to his lapel. He bent slightly in a courteous bow.

Most of the crowd hardly paid attention; some nodded politely, but most continued toward the Dining Hall. A mere ghost king, even from the formidable Endless Abyss, was not enough to impress this congregation.

Inside the Dining Hall, Alexander had transformed into Alistair, his face instantly lighting up at the sight of incoming customers.

"Chef, you promised affordability! Why are these dishes so expensive?" one customer couldn’t help but ask, maintaining a polite tone.

"Expensive?" Alistair shrugged. "If you think it’s expensive, why not upgrade to SSVIP? You’ll get a 20% discount, making the special dishes even cheaper than before."

"But that’s 20 million Ghost Points! And deposits only count as one-tenth toward spending, so you’d need to deposit 200 million to enjoy the discount!" erupted the crowd in unison. To most ghost kings, these figures were unacceptable.

"If you can afford it, eat. If not, get lost!" Alistair’s impatience surfaced as he tapped his long spoon against a tray in front of him.

The chef’s insufferable attitude was the last straw. "You think we can’t dine elsewhere? Follow me, everyone, to Dining Hall No. 8!" one of the participants roared.

Surprisingly, a significant portion of the crowd resonated with this call to action and followed suit.

"Wait a moment!" A voice rang out just as the crowd seemed ready to desert the Dining Hall. It was Leopold, the ghost king from the Endless Abyss.

"According to your sign, one becomes an SSVIP by inviting enough participants, correct? Now, there’s nothing stating that a person can’t be invited by multiple people.

For instance, all of these people invited me, so why shouldn’t each count as one toward their quota? We’ve got a group of over twenty people here. Make us all SVIPs!"

"Group discounts? We’ve never done that before!" Alistair, played by Alexander, seemed flustered. "Fine, I’ll add a clause to the sign stating that a participant who’s already been invited can’t be counted again."

"However you choose to change the rules later, shouldn’t you honor our SVIP status first? There’s nothing on the sign right now forbidding it," Leopold insisted confidently.

Cornered and seemingly chagrined, Alistair finally nodded. The crowd, which had been ready to migrate to another Dining Hall, paused.

A ten percent discount on an already premium dish, albeit more expensive by 100,000 Ghost Points, didn’t sound too bad, especially given the sumptuous spread that was on offer. And the discounted sandwiches did look delectable.

Moreover, the chef seemed, for the lack of a better word, a bit dim-witted. Perhaps there were more discounts to be squeezed out of him?

"Fine...fine! You’ll all be made SVIPs. But no one else is getting this deal," Alexander grumbled.

He produced a stack of membership cards from what seemed like a pile of miscellaneous gadgets and tools he’d scavenged on Undead Street. Offering one to each guest, he feigned regret while his heart raced with excitement. "You’re all SVIPs now. Would you like to place your orders?"

For many of the financially strapped ghost kings, this was a tempting proposition. A discounted sandwich would cost 1,000 Ghost Points less than the same-tiered item from before.

And to a ghost king, 1,000 Ghost Points was peanuts. But thrift is the mother of all riches, and in the mystic mire of their existence, where the laws of the Mist Instance their Ghost Point regeneration to a snail’s pace, every saved point was a point earned.

"No deal! You think we’re fools?" Before anyone else could speak, Leopold wore an expression as if he had just uncovered a grand scheme.

"We’ve just become SVIPs and are eligible for a mere 10% discount. Buying now would be a giveaway to you, you cunning merchant! Listen, Cangshan City is sprawling with more than just us few. Just this 9th Dining Hall alone serves tens of thousands.

One invitation costs 100,000 Ghost Points. If we each invite 99 more people, we’d reach the SSVIP tier! If I were to invite someone from a whole Dining Hall, I’d be nothing short of a Diamond VIP!"

Diamond VIP—that echelon required either an expenditure of a trillion Ghost Points or the invitation of 10,000 individuals.

While 10,000 seemed like a colossal number, consider that participants in the Cangshan City instance spanned six entire ghost realms. This 9th Dining Hall was but a speck in the vast constellation of dining establishments, many more than one could count.

If they fanned out and recruited diligently, ascending to Diamond VIP was not as Herculean a task as it sounded.

Diamond VIPs enjoyed a staggering 60% discount. The Mist Instance was rife with spots where one could easily squander their Ghost Points.

From shops comparable to Dining Halls to services like public transportation, the currency was indispensable. Among these, Dining Halls, being hubs of essential sustenance, were the most frequent and significant drains on resources.

Most participants remained committed to one instance for safety reasons, dining at the same Dining Hall for decades or even centuries. A 60% discount was not just attractive; it was virtually irresistible.

"Excuse me, everyone, I just remembered I have something to attend to. I’ll be taking my leave now!" One participant announced, quickly turning to sprint out of the hall.

Leopold’s advice had ignited a spark within the crowd, and the excitement was palpable. Neglecting their own hunger levels, many followed suit and bolted for the exit.

After all, the system was forgiving; brief neglect of one’s hunger wouldn’t result in death but would merely affect combat effectiveness.

Now, their objective was clear: reach other Dining Halls and lure in more participants for those coveted discounts.

Time was of the essence; once word got out, there would be a rush for recruits, each one equating to a hefty 100,000 ’ghost energy’ value spent. Who could resist such temptation, especially when it promised discounts as steep as 30% or even 40% off?

All the ghost kings and even Imperials couldn’t help but dash out in a frenzy.

Curiously, Leopold, who had instigated this entire commotion, was the last to leave.

"So, how was my acting?" he asked, beaming, once everyone else had cleared the Dining Hall.

The voice belonged to Edward, clearly an actor placed among the participants by Alexander for the purpose of stirring the pot. Without Edward’s pivotal performance, it would have been far less likely for the crowd to fall for the ruse so easily.

Alexander, however, shook his head slightly. "You claimed to be an actor in your past life, but this is your acting skill? You failed to convey any sense of indignation against a crooked merchant. Your fervor was overdone, relying purely on shouting and glaring to portray emotion."

"I thought I did pretty well! I’m quite satisfied with my performance. Back when I was alive, this was how I acted, and many of my fans even praised my skills," Edward retorted confidently.

"What did you act in during your previous life?" Alexander curiously asked.

"Gigli, The Last Airbender, Batman & Robin..." Edward rattled off a string of titles, and Alexander instantly understood—these films weren’t particularly well-received.

A screeching sound from the brakes of a bus echoed in the background. "Someone’s arriving; I have to go," Edward hastily said. With that, the space distorted and he vanished before Alexander’s eyes.

"Commitment!" Alexander gave a thumbs-up, visibly impressed by Edward’s dedication, even to the point of utilizing his spatial talents.

Soon, buses started arriving one after another—second batch, third batch, and so on. In a repeat of the same script, hundreds of new participants frenetically disembarked and started recruiting others.

By the time the sixteenth bus rolled to a stop, Kassadin Imperial, stepped off and found himself utterly perplexed by the information on the bulletin board.

Had the Dining Hall in this Mist instance also adopted a new trend? This felt oddly familiar, reminiscent of something he had heard about on Happiness Street.

"Hold on! Wait for me!" From a distance, Edward was heard shouting, hurrying toward him.

Although Edward had used some methods to alter his appearance, it wasn’t a Perfect Identity Card; his own aura hadn’t changed.

In an instant, Kassadin Imperial understood it all.

Those two were at it again, performing their little act!