Just outside the mission hall, someone called her name—it was Stephanie.
"Eric!" Stephanie hurried over. "Come on, let me treat you to a meal!"
She was insistent, feeling it necessary to offer a proper token of gratitude.
"That's really not necessary. We just helped each other out. Our society has a gathering tonight, so I really can't join you."
"It's not even dinner time yet. Then let me at least buy you a milk tea!"
Eric no longer refused and followed Stephanie to a nearby tea shop.
There was a milk tea shop in the transit hub, furnished much like one might find in the real world. The two of them found a small table by the window. Stephanie took a long sip and squinted her eyes in delight. "So good."
"It really is," Eric agreed after a taste. The milk tea was expertly blended—rich in flavor, complex in texture. The taro pearls inside were chewy and fragrant. One cup of this cost a whole point—enough to buy two bowls of rice or a serving of fried rice. Clearly, Stephanie's gratitude was genuine.
"And you even told me and Deborah about the existence of that item..." Speaking of Deborah, Stephanie's expression turned somber. She shook off the gloom with a smile. "No wonder, during one of my supernatural instances, a player who should've died without question survived. I guess joining a society really does make a difference."
Stephanie assumed Eric had learned the information through her society. Eric didn't bother to explain.
"By the way, are your eyes all right?" Stephanie leaned in, examining Eric's eyes. "They're still a little red."
Eric touched her eyes and shook her head. "It doesn't hurt anymore. The first night was rough, but now it's just a mild sting—nothing I can't handle."
After finishing their drinks, they parted ways at the entrance.
Eric returned to the inn and headed to the gym.
She had only just begun working out when Sarah walked in, just back from her afternoon task.
"Got lucky today—entered two ordinary instances back-to-back. It was like a break!" Sarah said cheerfully.
Eric smiled. "Even ordinary instances are physically demanding. You still have energy left to work out?"
"I'll just jog a bit. Honestly, when I was alive, I was never this disciplined. The treadmill at home mostly held laundry."
They worked out together for a while. Half an hour later, Sarah left to take a bath. Eric continued until five, then wiped off sweat and headed for a shower.
Just as she finished, Justin knocked on her door, asking what she wanted for dinner so he could place the grocery order.
Eric opened the door. "I'd like some rice and braised pork. Let's go down to the kitchen together."
Sarah and Kevin were already there. The four of them each picked ingredients for their dishes and began cooking.
"It's been a while since we had this many people—feels lively," Justin said with a grin. "Once I recruit one more member, this presidential suite will be at full capacity."
As they cooked and chatted, Kevin, who had only recently joined—just a few days behind the others—gave a brief self-introduction.
Dinner was ready. They gathered around the table to eat.
The atmosphere was warm and convivial. Amidst the casual chatter, Sarah suddenly remembered something.
"How are your eyes now, Eric?"
"They're okay. Just a little sting now and then."
Justin looked concerned. "What happened to your eyes?"
After Eric explained, Justin reassured her. "It's nothing serious. Residual effects from an instance always fade after a few days—good or bad. Your ghost eye ability will be really useful in supernatural instances. Try to enter as many as you can while the effect lasts."
"Justin's right," Sarah added. "It'd be ideal if you kept drawing supernatural instances these next few days. Don't waste that ghost eye."
Eric agreed. Supernatural missions were perilous, but as long as she had the ghost eye, her chances of survival were better.
"Well, it all depends on luck," she said with a wry smile. Since the portals had been merged, no one could choose which type of instance they entered.
Dinner was boisterous and full of talk. Eric took the chance to ask Justin a few questions and learned a lot from his answers.
Although she and Sarah still harbored some doubt about Justin's reasons for inviting them into the Mingyang Mutual Aid Society, so far, Justin had been nothing but thoughtful—a dependable and capable leader.
After dinner, Justin said, "You can all take turns reading that notebook. Once you're done, I've got another one for you."
"I'm almost finished," Eric replied.
"My head's a mess from reading it," Sarah said, nodding. "Let Kevin have it next."
Kevin took the notebook with a word of thanks.
After washing the dishes, Eric went to the screening room to watch a movie.
It was her first time there. The shelves were packed with DVDs—some new, some old—most likely collected by society members since its founding. Eric recalled seeing an audiovisual shop across from the tea shop. She made a mental note to visit it sometime.
The DVDs were mostly horror or supernatural genres—clearly intended as preparation for relevant instances.
Eric resolved to watch more horror films to steel her nerves. But after two movies, she realized it wasn't a reliable strategy for clearing instances. Gaining hands-on experience was still more effective.
With her head full of terrifying images, Eric stepped out of the screening room.
As she opened the door, she found herself face to face with Justin.
"Movie night?" he asked with a smile. "All done?"
"All done. Heading to bed now," Eric replied, glancing curiously at the box in Justin's hands.
"This?" He shifted it slightly for her to see. "DVDs. I've got a mini projector in my room, so I borrow a few discs from here."
"Ah, I'll help you sort them."
"Sure, thanks."
Eric helped organize the discs on the shelves while chatting idly.
"There's so many of these. Did you buy them all?"
"Hardly. Have you been inside the audiovisual store?"
"Seen it, haven't been in."
"A single DVD costs around ten points. Not cheap."
Eric whistled in mock surprise. "That *is* expensive. I counted earlier—there must be four or five hundred here. That's four or five thousand points—enough to exchange for a resurrection."
"Exactly. These were collected starting with the first president. Each generation of members added a few. Over time, it became quite the archive. When I've saved enough points for resurrection, I plan to leave some resources behind for future members too."
Eric looked at him with newfound respect. "How many more points do you need? How long have you been here?"
Justin thought for a moment. "Over a hundred days now. Still missing a chunk, but I'm close." He smiled. "You'd better grow quickly. When I'm gone, one of you four will take over as president. Speaking of which, we still need one more member. I'll keep looking."
"Four is already a lot. We don't even have room for another."
Justin placed the last DVD on the shelf, smiling. "This suite's big enough. My room's the largest—I can share if needed. We'll figure it out once we know if the fifth member is male or female."
Eric stood and brushed off her hands. "All sorted."
They walked out together. Eric kept the conversation going.
"By the way, Justin—do you know anything about the founder of our society? I'm really curious about them."
"Hold on, I've got letters from the former presidents meant to inspire future members. I'll give them to you. Pass them to Sarah and Kevin after."
Following him back to his room, Eric received a box. She hugged it to her chest, grinning as she bid Justin goodnight. But once she closed her door, her smile faded.
She climbed onto her bed and, after a deep breath, opened the box.
Inside was a stack of letters. She pulled out the one at the very bottom. The signature on the envelope made her heart pound: "Jeffrey" and "Deborah."
"…Dad? Mom?" she called out softly, the words feeling strange on her tongue. She had no memory of ever saying them aloud, yet they didn't feel as foreign as she expected.
Somewhere, in a forgotten past, she felt she had once said them countless times.
She opened the letter. There were just two parting messages:
**"Keep the faith, and never give up."** — Debra, with elegant penmanship.
**"We're gone, but may you return home, alive and whole."** — Jeffrey, the writing rough and scrawled.
Eric's eyes filled with tears.
She desperately wanted to keep the letter, but in the end, carefully folded it back into its envelope.
After several deep breaths, she opened the other letters. There were nine in total—each written by a former president with their blessings for future members.
She returned them to the box and closed the lid.
Lying on her back, she stared at the ceiling, sleep elusive. Eventually, she rose, reopened the box, and pressed that last letter to her chest.
Only then did she fall asleep.
It was a restless night. Eric awoke with a dull ache in her head. She had to eat breakfast before going back to bed for a nap. It was past ten when she finally headed out to the mission hall.
At the entrance, she ran into Kevin coming out. They exchanged brief greetings and walked in opposite directions.
She chose a pillar at random and stepped into the glowing circle.