The Disciples

In a luxurious apartment, a young man was typing on his phone, chatting in a WeChat group. There were 9 members in the group. The group owner was called "Disciple No. 1", and the other 8 members were called "Disciple No. 2", "Disciple No. 3", and so on.

The young man was Disciple No. 9, and had just recently joined the group. At this time, he sent a message: "How do I process human skin to make sure it doesn't rot?"

A few seconds later, Disciple No. 3 said: "No. 9, are you skinning someone? Haha, I have experience with that. First tan it, then place it in a dry environment to air dry. Pay attention to the temperature and humidity, otherwise it can easily become damp."

No. 2 also reminded: "No. 9, you're still a novice. Skinning takes a lot of time, and you may not achieve your desired outcome. So I suggest you only do a partial skinning, that's what No. 3 did before."

"Okay, I know what to do now, thanks No. 2 and 3," the young man said.

At this time, Disciple No. 6 sent a message: "No. 9, a formidable Dark Night Judger has emerged in Xikang recently, be careful!"

"Otherwise, we'll have to find another member again, how troublesome."

Upon hearing this, the young man frowned, then typed: "I really want to compete with this Judger. It's perfect, I'll choose this Dark Night Judger for my graduation ceremony trial."

"Group owner, what do you think?"

"You can, but I have to warn you - you're no match for this Dark Night Judger. Personally I suggest you leave Xikang. But of course, you can stick with it if you insist," replied Disciple No. 1.

Anger flashed across the young man's face. He typed: "No. 1, I insist."

After that, the others didn't say anything more. The young man gritted his teeth, then turned off his phone. A surge of wrath swelled up in his chest - it was time for action.

He put on expensive clothes, grabbed his car keys, and left his apartment.

On the other side, No. 6 sent a private message to No. 1: "We may need to find another disciple again."

No. 1 quickly replied: "Go take a look at Xikang and see what's going on. If you get the chance, see if you can find this Dark Night Judger."

"Sure, I'm quite interested in this guy too," No. 6 said at the end, adding a licking lips emoji.

Wang Jian was 24 years old this year, 168cm tall, and weighed 168 jin. He had a fat head and big ears, and a kindly, honest face. His personality was also gentle and obedient.

He had graduated over a year ago but still hadn't found work. Instead he made a decent living as a professional gamer.

The pay wasn't great, but it was enough to get by. His parents worked away from home, so he lived alone in an apartment he owned.

That's right - he was a standard nerd. He rarely interacted with people in real life and had no friends.

But he didn't feel lonely at all, because online, he was famous.

His online name was "Keycome", and in the last two years, thanks to extremely high online participation and seasoned trolling skills, he had quickly become one of the leaders of the keyboard warrior tribe.

He even created his own group. Whenever a group member encountered someone they couldn't defeat in an argument, he would lead the group to gang up on and bombard the opponent until they fled in defeat.

Over time, Keycome's name spread across the internet, and unknowingly, he had become the ringleader of an internet water army, which was another source of income.

His notoriety was earned not just through trolling. He was also very skilled at online games - below Grandmaster rank he killed whoever he liked, above Grandmaster rank he won whenever he liked. 30 years of professional experience in Defense of the Ancients, king of the grassroots gamers - his reputation was no exaggeration.

Of course, he had his own worries too - that occasionally he had to go outside, about once a week.

In his view, that was just wasting his time. His mission and battlefield were online, he had no time to bother with the various trivial affairs of the real world.

On December 29th, he had to go out to buy groceries and other daily necessities again, oh and take out the more than 15 jin of garbage that had piled up at home.

Opening the door and seeing the glaring sunlight outside, he squinted. Then his mouth opened slightly, getting wider and wider.

"Ah-chew!" "Ah-chew!"

After two loud sneezes he felt much more comfortable. His fat head looked left and right as he walked downstairs.

But when he reached the corner apartment on the landing, he realized the door was open. Strange smells were coming from inside, and it vaguely smelled like blood.

He stopped and craned his neck to peer inside - well, his neck was too fat to actually crane.

After staring for a few seconds without seeing anything, the bloody smell grew stronger.

Now he sensed something was wrong. As an overweight nerd, reading novels was a basic skill. He had seen this scenario far too many times in stories.

Decisively, he took out his phone and opened the camera app. Then carefully, he moved towards the doorway.

"Don't panic when trouble comes, post on Moments first. Don't panic when trouble comes...," he kept psyching himself up in his mind.

Then he entered the living room, and looked towards the bedroom. He knew that was where the bloody smell originated from.

Steeling himself, as the online world ruler he certainly shouldn't fear anything. Without hesitation he strode right in.

"Ah...ah...."

The next second, Wang Keycome let out a wretched cry as his body collapsed limply to the floor, even wetting his pants in fright.

The phone had also flown out of his hand to parts unknown, though in his panicked state he had accidentally managed to snap a photo, not that he cared right now.

His body kept scooting back, retreating several more steps before his eyes rolled back and he fainted.

When he awoke, he found himself surrounded by a group of policemen, while the apartment had been sealed off. Many residents from the estate had gathered in the corridor and were murmuring amongst themselves.

At this time, a policeman approached him and asked, "Who are you? Why are you here?"

After spacing out for a good while, he finally reacted and recalled the scene from before. His whole body shuddered again. Stuttering, he replied:

"I...I'm Wang Jian. Just now, I originally wanted to go out to buy some daily supplies. As I passed by...."

After listening to Wang Jian's account, Wei Dongqing nodded slightly: "Yangzi, take his statement, then let him leave. Remember to tell him to keep it confidential."

Soon, Li Yang brought Wang Jian to the living room and recorded his statement. Then Wang Jian was allowed to leave.

He raced downstairs, hastily bought a large pile of groceries and supplies, then rushed back home.

Back in his little sanctuary, after locking the door, he sat numbly in front of his computer, still shaken by the lingering trauma. That scene had been far too horrifying.

He soon remembered his phone. After rummaging through his down jacket he found it.

Seeing the photos, he almost fainted again. Fortunately he held it in this time, though the phone slipped from his hand onto his body once more.