"Come on~ look on the bright side, once you hit Tier 1, you'll be able to get a haunted sponsorship deal! Oooh~ Imagine a brand deal with Corpse Coffee or SoulShell Lip Balm~Tehee~"
"I don't want cursed coffee! Ugh~ I just want a normal job with like, benefits and—"
"Death benefits?~ Tehee~" Xiao Hei interrupted sweetly.
Jin threw his head back in exasperation. "I'm going to lose my mind."
"Oh, no no no~ You shouldn't do that~" Xiao Hei said, wagging his finger. "We gotta conserve that mental juice or else you'll be an easier prey~ and you already are~ So be careful and keep it together! Hehe~ Speaking of which… We should check what your current sanity is now!"
[📺Channel: GhostQiang l Host: Jin Qiang]
📊 System Status: Tier 0 - Newborn Screamer (Streamer)
🧟♂️ Host Rank: F I EXP: 0/500 I
💸 Skills: Fainting, Ghostly Potential, Ghost-Friendly Aura
📊 Followers: 1,680 (Alive: 543 | Dead: 1,137)
🔪 Survival Rate: 1%
🪙 Soul Coins: 0
✦ Sanity: 90%
📜Contracts: 2 Active
[🎥Next Haunting Event: Playground of the Forgotten - 16:26:18 - ]
"Woah~ It went down by 8%, pretty sure it was at 98% when we first checked your profile… Not bad~ Most newbies usually go down to 60% or below during the onboarding… You must be the mentally strong type… That's great! You won't die easily then~ I knew you were gonna be fun! Wohooo!~HAHAHA~" Xiao Hei laughed heartily, as if he had won a lottery.
(That means… I lost 8% of my sanity in just 40 minutes…)
"That's not encouraging at all!"
Xiao Hei, who was just grinning, clapped his hands and changed the words on the digital chalkboard.
🧠 Sanity Index:
100–91%: Chill Vibes90–81%: Still got it80–71%: Slightly shaken70–61%: Functionally Frightened60-51%: Disturbed, but keeping it together 50-41%: The last brain cell40–30%: Paranoia Mode30–21%: Delirium Danger Zone20–11%: Oh no10-1%: Certified Psycho0%: Possessed
📉 Sanity decreases accordingly to the host's mental strength or has a sanity drain curse.
🧼 Sanity recovers through rest, therapy tapes, sanity snacks, ghost fan gifts, viewer encouragement, and select skill usage.
"Here~ Does this give you a little bit of hope? Tehee~ I'm telling youuu ~ You really do have potential to be a ghostfluencer star~"
"Last brain cell?" Jin Qiang questioned as his eyebrows furrowed.
"Yup~ Once your sanity drops below 50%, it means your last brain cell of rationality is withering, and things just get… more fun~hehehe~" Xiao Hei giggled.
"I can get possessed, and it's considered a feature?!"
"Don't worry~ You just have to make sure you don't reach that point~ Right?!~ Oh Oh! Fun fact! The dead viewers love it when you living hosts lose it hahaha ~ It's dramatic, chaotic, and just fun!~ Xiao Hei winked.
"Uhuh, of course they do…. Suffering is entertainment here." Jin softly said as he rubbed his temples.
"It sure is ~ haha~ Okay, so sanity drains when you enter certain high-intensity haunting locations, have sanity curses, or just freak out too hard…" Xiao Hei explained cheerfully. "But don't worry, cause you can recover it too by resting, fan gifts, therapy tapes, snackies, and more…"
Jin raised a brow. "Snackies?"
"Yup~ Sanity Snacks but I like to call it snackies~" Xiao Hei said seriously. "Mint ghost gum, curse-cleansing jellybeans, even haunted boba and there's…"
Jin held up his hand. "Stop... Now, you're just making stuff up."
"Hahaha~ Oohhh I wish I was but sanity snacks are real~ I know cause the haunted boba tried to eat me once and that's not one of my favorite memories…"
Silence passed for a minute or two between them, as they both stared at each other. Jin Qiang was speechless as he didn't know if Xiao Hei was kidding or not. But he did make a mental note to never buy that haunted boba. After all, it was better to be careful now than to be sorry later.
"And the therapy tapes? Are those cursed?"
"Only slightly!" Xiao Hei beamed. "But hey, at least you don't have a Sanity Drain Curse... yet. Some hosts get those early on. Be thankful you're just emotionally fragile, not emotionally hexed! HAHAHAHA~"
".... Lucky me..... " Jin said as his left eye twitched.
"Oho~ you sure are! You survived the Line 13 Tunnel, have 3 passive skills, and then you have me as your companion and moderator! You must have used around 10 years' worth of luck for that hahaha~ Go on and check your contracts."
Jin tapped on the [📜Contracts: 2 Active] text, and a new tab unfurled with a faint creaking noise, like opening a rusty coffin. The new menu displayed two parchment-like entries that looked handwritten in dripping black ink.
📜Contracts (2 /3)
Contract 1: GH.ST Network
Role: System
Contract Type: You streamed. You screamed. You signed (unknowingly).
Status: Hungry, ???, ???
Terms:[Contract Rules]. Non-negotiable.
Perks: UnderNet Access, Protection, Upgradable
Risks: Death
Termination: ????
Penalties for breach: Death
Entity: Xiao Hei
Role: Guide, Moderator, Partner, Fan
Contract Type: Companion Spirit (Bound)
Status: Happy, Excited
Terms: You summoned it, you're stuck with it. Non-negotiable.
Perks: Chaotic commentary, Mischievous but Helpful
Risks: Emotional instability, possible spiritual infestation
Termination: Requires Xiao Hei's consent.
Skills: Clingy Aura, Tech Whisperer, Locked, Locked, Locked, Locked.
"What the hell? When did I summon you? I don't remember doing that…"
"Ooohh but you did~ You screamed 'HELP!!! SOMEONE HELP ME!!' pretty clearly on your stream last night. That counts as a summons for some of us ghosts~ Hehe~"
"….. and? How did we get a contract? I don't remember signing or agreeing to anything with you…"
"Oh that~ Well, that's of course…..it's a secret!~ Tehee~ Don't worry about it… I won't harm you~ I'm your no. 1 fan afterall…" Xiao Hei said in a teasing tone as he smiled, trying to look as harmless as he could.
"....." A cold shiver ran down Jin's spine, and then stared at the "Risks" section again.
"…..I think I need holy water."
"Pfft~ That doesn't have any effect hehe~"
"Sigh~… Oh God help me…"
"No no no…. Wrong department. Around here, it's Ghosts help you."
Jin stared, pale as ever. "….. I'm going to die."
"Aww~" Xiao Hei cooed mockingly. "Don't be so dramatic. That's for the ghosts~ hehe~ Right then~ Shall we move on, or do you need a break to process everything?"
"I don't know anymore…sigh…"
"Hmm… alright then, I'll keep going!~ Hehe~ Don't worry! I'll keep it simple… You can learn the rest as you go. Hehehe~ It's more fun that way." Xiao Hei said as he snapped his fingers, and each rule carved itself into the chalkboard like scratches on a tombstone.
📺 GH.ST Contract Rules
🧷 Rule no. 1 – Stream or Die
You must livestream from locations given by GH.ST.
These locations will have a high Haunt Index.
Remember you're technically alive, but also partially haunted.
Your soul's under surveillance. No pressure.
"Yup! You're in a binding contract now… So, if you miss the scheduled events? The GH.ST system sends a guest star… They're like a replacement host~…. except they're trying to wear your skin like a hoodie."
"So… they want to possess me?"
"Exactly!~ Some spirits offer a deal with the system for the chance of taking a living body, and when the GH.ST network likes the offer, then the spirit gets hired."
"And the Haunt Index?"
"The level of difficulty. Basically, the higher the haunt index number is, the more terrifying it is, and the lower the chance of survivability.Hehe~"
Jin Qiang just sighed internally as he moved on to read the next rule.
🧷 Rule no. 2 – Stay Entertaining
The dead are easily bored, and boredom turns fatal. Don't forget to interact with your fans, especially the dead ones.
Some ghosts just want attention. Others want your skin.
It's your job to figure out which is which.
"You gotta deliver quality scares. Explore cursed places, uncover haunted secrets, make the dead feel seen. It's reality TV... but for the afterlife!" He winked and then continued to say, "Don't worry! I'll guide you. I've modded for 5 different streamers… Well, they all died, but that's beside the point."
"What?!"
"Rule three!"
🧷 Rule no. 3 – No Faking It
No cheesy sound effects or ketchup blood. The content has to be real.
Just raw, wriggling, cursed content.
You cheat? You die. Or worse… You disconnect.
Xiao Hei's smile widened a little too far as he asked Jin Qiang, "Have you ever seen what happens to a Host who loses connection mid-stream?"
Jin stayed silent as he nodded his head no.
"I did…. Once…. It was terrifyingly beautiful." Xiao Hei sighed dreamily, then quickly changed tune the next moment, leaving no room for Jin Qiang to react. "Rule four!" He said with jazz hands.
🧷 Rule no. 4 – Upgrade or Perish
Feed the system soul coins.
Use your soul coins, or else the system will take your soul potential as tax.
No upgrades = no survival.
"As I said before, the system is always hungry, it wants soul coins, and you need it to upgrade and buy stuff to survive anyway, so just earn and use it ~ Hehe~ Next up is Rule 5!"
🧷 Rule no. 5 – Never Use Hashtags that indicate the end
Examples: #FinalEpisode #LastStream #TheEND #GoodbyeGH.ST #TheEnding etc.
"If the algorithm flags it, you get scheduled for deletion…That means real deletion… Body, soul, channel… Poof~ Gone, and not the like-the-wind kind of way but more like human-firework-display kind of thing~ Haha~ Boom!!!" Xiao Hei said as he gestured an explosion with his hands.
Jin Qiang imagined it and it showed on his face that he wasn't looking forward to a scene like that.
🧷 Rule no. 6 – No Backing Out
Can't delete. Can't undo. Can't break. Can't change.
Just don't do anything against the system.
Ps. GH.ST streams live in the UnderNet forever.
"Deleting your channel, breaking your gear, or trying to leave the network results in automatic… dismemberment! Haha! Kidding… Kind of… hehehe.... Fuuu~ Alright, that's it for now… You'll figure out most of the stuff on your own anyway, through trial, error, and blood loss~ We ghosts love a good reaction video.~"
Jin just closed his eyes for a moment and muttered, "Rules? Seems more like death traps…"
"Aww~ Don't be like that!" Xiao Hei added cheerfully, "You'll also get a badge!"
"...A badge?" Jin echoed, voice cracking.
Xiao Hei twirled on the screen, and a shiny silver tombstone-shaped digital emblem appeared with the words "Haunted Rookie" carved at the center, and below it, the current date "Oct. 6, 2XXX" in bold, dark red, and fancy fine print.
"...I hate this so much…" Jin whispered as he looked at the badge.
"You'll hate it even more soon. You've got your first assignment tonight~" Xiao Hei said sweetly.
"Tonight?!" Jin yelped. "I haven't even emotionally processed yesterday, today, and right now!"
"And yet here you are…" Xiao Hei winked. "Still alive-ish~ Congrats! Mr. Content Creator… Now get some rest. You'll need it."
The chalkboard exploded into confetti, and Xiao Hei floated back, reappearing in his black oversized hoodie, stretching like it was just another day.