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

Chapter 302: Damn it! Another boss!

"Listen up, everyone, I’ve been through this Instance before; we’re all familiar faces here!"

In the Undead Bar, a Chosen One proclaimed proudly, "With me here, rest assured, I’ll lead you all to complete this Instance with high ratings!"

"Absolutely! Who doesn’t know? Trust Cain for high ratings! Brother Cain, we’ll all follow your lead!" A few newcomers chimed in excitedly.

Ever since the Fierce Ghost Association took full control as the administrators of Dark Hell, the safety of the Horror World soared dramatically. The once 80% death rate plummeted to just 10%.

Even this remaining 10% is mainly due to system constraints, coupled with some particularly stubborn Chosen Ones. If a Chosen One is hell-bent on meeting their end, not even the gods can save them!

Ordinary ghost citizens don’t possess such strong willpower. The most the Ghost Lords can do is to slightly relax the rules; as long as you’re careful, you’ll survive.

But if you’re foolish enough to provoke dangerous evil spirits, well, then there’s nothing to be done.

What excites everyone isn’t just that Cain can help them survive, but that having a seasoned figure like Cain—who has an established status within the Fierce Ghost Association—can also earn them decent ratings.

As the death rate has decreased, the Ghost Lords have to rack their brains to accumulate "fear points."

The current Horror Instances are like super haunted houses, cycling through various gory and terrifying scenarios to squeeze out the last ounce of fear from the Chosen Ones. Some, with weaker mental fortitude, could even die of fright.

Now, the Horror Instances are genuinely terrifying. In the past, they felt more like escape rooms, where fear largely stemmed from death itself.

For someone like Cain, an official member of the Fierce Ghost Association, the Ghost Lords have to show some respect.

"Cain, you again!" The bar’s Ghost Lord, a towering grey bear-like apparition, walked out, his fluffy face filled with resignation:

"You’re truly worthy of rolling with Alexander—always looking to fleece someone, huh? How many times have you been here now? Do you even want me to stay in business?"

"Don’t be mad, Boss! Same as always—one drink per person with a B-level rating!"

Cain said with a beaming smile, "Hold on, don’t rush. Listen to me, I’ve made some new friends recently. They have extremely strong mental fortitude! Next time, I’ll bring them all here, and then you can scare them however you like!"

"Really?" The bar’s Ghost Lord perked up.

This Cain had visited three times in two months, and he’d only run four Instances in total! At this rate, he might as well quit being a Ghost Lord and focus on running the bar to earn some ghost coins.

"You doubt what I say? Don’t forget who I’m associated with—44011, the big boss, President Alexander! No, scratch that, now he’s Lord of Alexander City. Would I lie to you?"

Cain pretended to be offended. In truth, he wasn’t really in cahoots with Alexander; he’d just crossed paths a few times and was lucky enough to get a Fierce Ghost Association membership.

But the bar’s Ghost Lord clearly didn’t know that. He nodded repeatedly: "Of course! Of course! Brother Cain, you’re with the Fierce Ghost Association, you wouldn’t deceive us innocent underlings!"

The newcomers at the side were astonished by the exchange. Some of them weren’t entirely new to Instances; they had experienced it a few times. Even the true rookies had heard quite a bit about the Horror World.

Who had ever seen such a scene?

This was a Ghost Lord, the ultimate boss of an Instance, and he was calling himself a small underling while being so amicable toward a Chosen One.

If Cain was this impressive, what kind of a legendary figure must his ’big boss,’ among the Chosen Ones, be?

"Brother Cain, please tell us about this legendary figure, 44011!" A newcomer couldn’t help but ask.

"Alright, let me tell you! My big boss is no ordinary person; he’s been through this bar Instance before!" Cain started to show off, boasting: "You guys have no idea! When my big boss first came here, he scared the bar’s Ghost Lord so much that..."

"Cough, cough!"

Hearing Cain bring up his own embarrassing story, the bar’s Ghost Lord hastily interrupted:

"Stop making things up! Scared? Me? A dignified Horror Instance Ghost Lord? That’s just respect—respect for the Fierce Ghost Association, for Alexander! Even if Alexander himself stood here today, I... I would just be respectful; scared is out of the question!"

The Ghost Lord initially wanted to talk tough, but recalling Cain’s supposed association with Alexander, he toned down his remarks, not wanting the word to get back to Alexander’s ears.

"Bad news! Boss, Blackbeard... Lord Alexander of Dark Hell is back in our Instance!"

Just then, a voice rang out. A puppet-like figure came tumbling and scampering in.

The Ghost Lord’s face changed immediately. He hurriedly checked his Ghost Lord attributes and, sure enough, at the bottom of the Instance Chosen One list, a new entry for 44011 had appeared.

Damn it!

Did the man have to visit as soon as his name was mentioned?

The Ghost Lord’s legs went weak, and he shuddered, exclaiming:"Quick, quick! We still have those things from last time, right? Bring them all out!"

"Boss..." The puppet-ghost began with a mournful expression:"Don’t you remember? All the welcome items from last time were taken by Alexander. He said they might be worth something and shouldn’t be wasted."

Truly worthy of the name Blackbeard!

The Ghost Lord was awkwardly stuck between a rock and a hard place, bellowing in frustration:"Why the hell didn’t you prepare another set? Didn’t you think Alexander might come back one day?"

Actually, not just the puppet-ghost, even he hadn’t thought that a robber could make a comeback!

"Boss, no need to trouble yourselves this time."

Just as the crowd of malevolent spirits were trembling with fear, Alexander’s voice rang out. A duplicate of Alexander, marked with a number one digital band, strode into the room.

"My God! Boss, it really is you!" Cain rose from his seat, ecstatic.

Although he didn’t recognize who the other person was, the number one duplicate Alexander still gave Cain a nod as a greeting, and waved to the bar’s Ghost Lord:

"Don’t worry, boss. I’m not here for a zero-dollar shopping spree today! Prepare a drink; I plan to finish this Instance as quickly as possible."

Not here for a zero-dollar shopping spree?

The Ghost Lord was overjoyed and hastily said, "No problem, please wait a moment."

He then turned around and shouted at the people beside him, "What are you standing there for? Bring me a drink with an SSS-rating, go buy one next door if we don’t have it!"

"No need for such a hassle!" Number one duplicate Alexander frowned.

After all, ghost coins and regular Instance ratings were meaningless to him at this point.More importantly, according to the behavior pattern of duplicates, he wouldn’t be the only one coming.

"Needed! Absolutely needed! I’ll get angry with anyone who says otherwise!" Seeing Alexander’s amicable demeanor, the Ghost Lord got even more excited, grandiosely waving his hand:

"The Lord of Dark Hell graces my bar; he must be treated with the highest courtesy. That’s my final say, no arguing!"

"You’re too kind, boss; it’s making us uncomfortable!"

Another voice with Alexander’s timbre rang out. Just as the Ghost Lord was about to offer some courteous remarks, he realized something was off.

The one speaking wasn’t the Alexander sitting in front of him!

He turned his head and saw another Alexander walking through the bar’s entrance, also with a number tag on his headband.

"Damn it! Another boss!"

Cain exclaimed, and the Ghost Lord’s mouth dropped open in astonishment.