Ten minutes ago.
「In the Ghost World, Wansheng District.」
A crimson mist swept over all the buildings.
3rd Floor, Room 3007.
Gu Yuan sat on the sofa, listening to the mechanical voice of the Ghost Marriage system.
[Ding! The Ghost Marriage System has sent you a sincere invitation.]
[If you accept, you will need to give your marriage partner gifts after their Favorability has increased.]
[Furthermore, after your partner's Favorability reaches the maximum value of 100, your personal dungeon will be unlocked.]
[As compensation, the Marriage System will significantly increase your dungeon's level after it is unlocked.]
[Do you accept the marriage invitation?]
Seeing this, Gu Yuan chuckled, a playful look in his eyes.
He was a transmigrator. An orphan in his past life, he had died unexpectedly and woken up in this Ghost World.
Fortunately, he possessed a special ability.
He could absorb the power and abilities of the ghosts he killed.
After countless slaughters, he had gradually grown from a small, clueless ghost into the Ghost Emperor he was today!
After obtaining invincible power, Gu Yuan slowly grew tired of the senseless slaughter.
So, he hid his identity and moved into a random residential district.
The very same Wansheng District he was in now.
Wansheng District had two buildings, both six stories high at most.
As far as Gu Yuan knew, many powerful ghosts existed within this district.
Such as the Kappa and the Butcher on the fourth floor.
And the Blood Race Count on the fifth floor.
According to the district's unspoken rule, the more powerful a ghost was, the higher the floor they lived on.
Gu Yuan hadn't thought much about it when he moved in.
He chose to live on the third floor mainly for convenience and the better view.
Although the ghosts on the same floor were relatively weak, whether they were Fierce Ghosts or Crimson-robed Ghosts, it was all the same to him.
Over the years, the Crimson-robed Ghosts who had died at his hands were as numerous as stars in the sky. If their bones were piled together, they would be enough to fill the entire district.
His fearsome reputation was known to all.
His power was feared by all.
But after living here for so long, he had grown a little lonely.
With a mere thought, Gu Yuan locked onto the Ghost Marriage System with a strand of his powerful aura and plucked it right out of the void.
The thing looked like a small, deep-blue sphere of light.
"Huh?"
Gu Yuan kneaded the small sphere and found that it had no emotions; it was just a pre-set program. He traced it back to its source and, in less than a few seconds, figured out its origin.
'So that's how it is...'
Gu Yuan's eyes flickered.
This Marriage System was created by the world's consciousness.
Its purpose was indeed just as It had stated: to reduce human deaths.
The reason he was chosen was completely random.
Gu Yuan was confident that no being could see through his concealment.
'Marriage, huh?'
Gu Yuan hesitated for a moment but didn't refuse.
'I've worked hard for half my life. Can't I enjoy myself a little?'
'They're practically handing me a wife. Why say no?'
He just didn't want to expose himself and have a bunch of ghosts showing up at his door.
'Besides, my wife should at least be good-looking, right?'
Gu Yuan glanced at his own information in the Marriage System.
[Marriage Ghost No. 10]
[Blood Slaughter Asura Gu Yuan]
When he saw the title, Gu Yuan frowned.
'Titles are probably related to personality and power.'
'This "Blood Slaughter Asura" title... even a dog would shake its head in disapproval.'
And in the photo, he stood atop a throne of endless bones, draped in a cassock of blood, with thousands of ghosts forged into a banquet before him. His back was to the world, the picture of unbridled tyranny.
'If I try to find a match with this profile, won't I just scare her away?'
Gu Yuan immediately used his power to "kindly" help the Marriage System by modifying his information.
He deleted the title.
Gu Yuan thought for a moment, but couldn't come up with a good one, so he left it blank.
As for the photo?
Gu Yuan held up the small sphere as if it were a camera and took a half-body selfie.
'Best to maintain a bit of mystery for now.'
'Right, let me see who the potential marriage candidates are... A Dragon Country native would be best.'
Gu Yuan began to fiddle with the small sphere again.
Ghosts couldn't view player information, but the Marriage System was completely outmatched by Gu Yuan. It felt as humiliated and powerless as a husband pretending to sleep while his superior has his way with his wife in his own home.
If It had emotions, It would have been trembling in fear long ago.
Gu Yuan browsed through the female players from ten different countries.
His eyes immediately locked onto one figure.
'It's her?'
Gu Yuan's gaze froze, a trace of shocked disbelief in his eyes.
Yun Zhenyue?
...
「Meanwhile.」
「Dragon Country Ghost Marriage Research Headquarters.」
The director, Wang Xiuwen, his face ashen, raged in his office, "What's the use of any of you? You're only just now finding out about the Dragon Country's marriage player?"
"It's too late! It's already too late!!"
The Ghost Marriages happened once every three months.
The fate of the nation was at stake; it was no small matter.
A single successful "conquest" would allow the country to use the unlocked dungeon as an anchor to establish itself, grow stronger, and acquire resources that could drastically reduce the player death rate.
This was a competition between nations, no less significant than a new industrial revolution.
For this reason, the Dragon Country had established a Ghost Marriage Research Department in every city. The moment a new marriage player was discovered, they were to be reported immediately.
But now, they had only just received the news.
The marriage player, a woman named Yun Zhenyue, had already entered the Ghost World.
The resources they had prepared were completely useless!
She didn't even have the most basic understanding of the Ghost Marriages!
"How have you all been handling public awareness?"
"Players from other countries brought plenty of Ghost Coins and all sorts of gifts. What did she bring?"
"A bunch of home appliances and... milk?"
"With gifts like those, she'll definitely be torn to shreds by the ghost!"
"And that ghost named Gu Yuan, does no one know who he is?"
A group of department members lowered their heads, their faces pale.
"Director, we've been publicizing this every day, requiring players to notify their local research department immediately upon being selected."
"If she doesn't report it voluntarily, it's very difficult for us to confirm her identity within ten minutes."
One of the members said, his face filled with shame.
Despair filled their hearts.
Dereliction of duty was a small matter; the nation's fate was a great one.
Players from other nations were well-prepared, bringing all sorts of gifts.
These gifts shouldn't be underestimated. They were often key to pleasing the ghost and leaving a good first impression.
At that moment, Wang Xiuwen stared at the massive composite screen at the front of the research department.
The live broadcast had already begun.
Viewers from all over the world were flooding in.
Someone must have leaked the information.
Viewers from other countries were full of confidence, while those from the Dragon Country were sighing in despair.
[Hahaha, the Dragon Country's player actually brought a pile of useless home appliances. Does she plan on playing video games with the ghost?]
[Tsk tsk~ The Dragon Country is in for some serious bad luck this time. She'll probably die the moment she goes in.]
[Our Great Cold Country has been ready for a while. We have a 90% chance of successfully conquering the ghost this time!]
[Baka! The Sun Country is the strongest! Our marriage player is a once-in-a-millennium Yamato Nadeshiko! No ghost can resist her charm!]
[Sigh~ What the hell is our research department even doing? This is a total dereliction of duty.]
[Yeah, she didn't even bring a single Ghost Coin! How is she supposed to complete any tasks?!]
The Dragon Country's marriage player was at a disadvantage before she even began.
They didn't even have any information on her marriage partner!
Even now, they hadn't managed to dig up any information about this "Gu Yuan"!
Wang Xiuwen collapsed weakly into his chair, muttering to himself.
"It's over... It's all over..."