Li Muyang felt that something was off about Luoyang City before him.
The city was filled with strange, shadowy figures that seemed to glide across the ground as if their feet weren't even touching it.
From a third-person perspective earlier, the movements of the city's residents were indeed stiff and their motions mechanical.
But Li Muyang had thought it was just due to the game's lack of detail.
It wasn't until he entered "real mode" that he realized this was actually how the people in the city moved.
Each one floated down the streets like ghosts, all with vacant stares and pale faces, as if they were on the set of a horror movie.
Li Muyang tried to talk with them, but these eerie figures just aimlessly wandered around, with absolutely no interaction—consistent with the regular mode.
Following the path to find the nearest weak NPC, Li Muyang discovered that, in real mode, this warrior with a health bar above his head was a terrifying ghostly figure enveloped in an aura of resentment.
Although it was the weakest NPC in the city, the ghostly figure was wreathed in a sinister, red-and-black aura, mounted upon a bizarre horse with blood-red eyes, standing motionless at a street corner in the city, looking incredibly creepy.
Just by appearances, it seemed capable of being a mid-sized boss in a soul-themed game.
When Li Muyang approached it, it immediately attacked him.
Yet apart from the health bar above its head labeled "General Pan Feng," this creature bore no resemblance to the Pan Feng seen from the third-person perspective.
"This so-called 'real mode' is basically 'ghost story mode,' isn't it?"
As someone who was afraid of ghosts, Li Muyang felt his scalp tingle as he traversed through the city shrouded with ghostly shadows.
If even the game's weakest NPC looked so terrifying, how much creepier must the major bosses be...
Or perhaps the game system knew he was afraid of ghosts and intentionally made real mode this way to increase the difficulty for him?
If that was the case, then Li Muyang had to admit—the system was very accurate in its judgment.
Walking by himself in this misty, spine-chilling, eerie city, watching the aimlessly wandering ghostly figures and stationary "warrior" NPCs,
Li Muyang felt like he was not playing a Three Kingdoms game but a horror-thriller game.
The overly terrifying environment and NPCs caused Li Muyang to underperform, resulting in several early deaths.
By the time he reached level 51 for the first time, half the time had already passed.
Fortunately, upon leveling up to 51 and obtaining the first Treasure Bead, the anticipated mysterious fairy arrived as usual, ethereal and stunningly beautiful.
She did not turn into a malevolent ghost like the other NPCs in the city.
Indeed, because the city was filled with malevolent ghosts, this misty, mysterious fairy appeared even more breathtakingly beautiful.
Looking at the incredibly beautiful mysterious fairy, Li Muyang clicked his tongue and sighed.
"Such a beautiful fairy..."
From then on, wherever Li Muyang went, the Dragon Goddess would follow him.
And when Li Muyang challenged those NPCs with health bars, the Dragon Goddess lent a hand.
The process was almost the same as in normal mode, the only difference being that each NPC general had turned into a horrifying ghost, looking very sinister.
Yet, Li Muyang easily pushed through to the final chapter and, with the silent help of the Dragon Goddess, purified all the vengeful ghosts.
Finally, amidst the astonished questioning of the three ghost kings, Li Muyang ended the game.
[Game — "Three Kingdoms: Skies Suppressing the Demons Chronicles" has been cleared.]
[Dragon Goddess: Survived]
[Spirits of Resentment: Purified]
[Clearance Rating: A (Slightly Flawed)]
...
Stunned by the identical clearance rating and game rewards, Li Muyang was shocked.
He couldn't comprehend,
"Why did I still get an A rating even after clearing in real mode?"
"Could it be that clearing in real mode isn't part of the hidden content?"
"Uh..."
Sitting at the doorstep and frowning, Li Muyang sank into deep self-doubt.
"...It can't possibly be that romancing the Dragon Goddess is necessary for a flawless victory, right?"
But flirting isn't my strong suit!
Moreover, this game isn't a romance game; it lacks any romantic elements, so the hidden content shouldn't be about romancing the goddess.
— Aside from X-rated novels, which love game would be filled with evil ghosts?
After pondering with a frown, Li Muyang reloaded the save, this time returning to the timeline immediately after meeting the Dragon Goddess.
In the previous save, he had been silent the whole way, leveling up by slaying monsters alongside the Dragon Goddess, and had perfectly replicated the normal mode process.
However, it was clear there was a hidden storyline involving the Dragon Goddess.
And being silent the whole way without any dialogue obviously wouldn't trigger any hidden storyline...
So, after knocking down a monster, Li Muyang looked up at the Dragon Goddess beside him and said, "Goddess, how old might you be this year?"
The straightforward Li Muyang's attempt at flirting thus began.