Could this be an issue with the school?
Sending students an exquisite hard card printed with baffling text?
Zhu Yan instinctively doubted it.
If it were true, the implications would be far too serious.
If the problem didn't lie with the school, then who stuffed this thing into the courier bag?
He took the coin-like object out of the small envelope and examined it under the dim white light of the bathroom.
It really was a metal badge, though it lacked a pin or any design to attach it to clothing.
Its front was inlaid with a caged bird carved from obsidian. The bird's struggling posture was incredibly lifelike, down to the finest details of the feathers on its wingtips.
Zhu Yan's heart skipped a beat, his ominous feeling growing stronger.
The craftsmanship of this object was exquisite; it looked very much like pure gold.
Could a mere prank really go to such lengths?
He flipped the badge over and found fine, dense lettering engraved on the back as well.
The bathroom light was too dim, so Zhu Yan had to turn on his phone's flashlight, bringing it close to his eyes to read line by line.
"Please note, after signing for the package, you have 2 hours to consider whether to become a player and make your decision—"
"Regardless of whether you actually opened the envelope."
Zhu Yan understood.
This was likely a rogue clause, meaning that as long as he retrieved the package, whether he saw the badge and the text on the back or not, the countdown would start the moment the package left the station.
"If you fail to make a decision in time, I will assume you agree to become a player."
"The novice instance will open at your current location within 3 hours of confirmation."
"If you agree to become a player, please place your left index finger on the badge's pattern and press and hold for three seconds."
"The badge will automatically merge into your body and become a brand."
Zhu Yan continued reading.
"If you refuse to become a player, please place your left pinky finger on the text side of the badge and press and hold for three seconds."
"The badge will automatically merge into your body..."
"...and you will die in a completely natural manner."
A sense of absurdity rose from the bottom of Zhu Yan's heart, and intense unease made his heart race.
When he first read about players and instances, he momentarily suspected it was a criminal syndicate.
But, merging into the body and dying in a completely natural manner...
This immediately reminded him of the people in the news who had died suddenly.
Perhaps he wasn't the only one to receive such a strange badge. After all, over 200 sudden deaths in just ten days was truly bizarre.
Zhu Yan subconsciously unlocked his phone to check, finding opinions divided online, while the police department still hadn't released any further investigation results.
Zhu Yan raised his hand and pressed it against his wildly beating heart.
Under the escalating public pressure, if the police could announce anything, they would have done so already.
It had been a few days since they started investigating. The fact that the results were still unclear meant either it was inconvenient to disclose them, or they simply couldn't find anything.
Either way, it was enough to show how thorny the problem was.
If those people really died because of the badge, then...
Zhu Yan turned his gaze back to the badge. The black bird struggling inside the cage looked incredibly eerie.
...did that mean there really was some kind of supernatural power behind the badge?
The bathroom was dark, hot, and humid. Zhu Yan felt sweat seeping from his forehead.
He continued reading the text by the light of his phone's flashlight, wanting to find other clues.
"Of course, you may also press and hold your left middle finger on the front of the badge for three seconds to access the player forum as a guest."
"Guests can only browse and cannot post threads or comments."
"Please pay attention to the forum prompts; this is a sign of our care for you."
A forum that directly provides a guest account!
This was exactly what he needed. There were players in the forum, and he could more or less gather some useful information.
Zhu Yan continued looking down and finished reading the last line of text on the badge.
"This badge was crafted by [Lazy Man's Craft Shop]."
Lazy Man's Craft Shop.
This was another clue... If he could find this shop, perhaps he could find out more.
Zhu Yan carefully put the card away and pressed his left middle finger against the front of the badge.
Three seconds later, a crisp and loud "beep" suddenly rang out.
Zhu Yan was startled and couldn't help but curse.
"Holy shit!"
His aunt's shrill voice immediately pierced through the wooden door.
"What the hell are you swearing at? If you dare break anything in my house, you'll come out and kneel as punishment!"
Zhu Yan didn't reply right away, because a clear and pleasant electronic female voice overlapped with his aunt's voice.
"Hello, guest. Welcome to the [Player Forum]."
"Your guest account will be retained for 1 hour and 30 minutes."
Instantly, the scenery within Zhu Yan's field of vision began to change—
Striking red text abruptly appeared right in the center of his vision, overlaying the cramped glass door of the shower cubicle covered in grayish-white water stains.
"Forum Prompt: Please protect your personal privacy. Do not let others know anything about [Carnival Paradise] or your identity."
Zhu Yan was stunned.
He reached out his hand, trying to touch the words, but failed.
They were neither projections nor physical objects; instead, they seemed like images grown directly onto his retinas.
"Zhu Yan, did you hear me?" His aunt's voice grew even higher.
Zhu Yan slipped the badge into his pocket, opened the door, and looked at his aunt.
"Aunt, did you hear a strange sound just now?"
His aunt frowned.
"Are you mocking me? Oh, so you think you're justified in swearing out of nowhere?"
Zhu Yan was certain.
Judging by her reaction, his aunt truly hadn't heard a thing.
He mumbled a hasty apology, then hurriedly turned and went into his room, using the excuse of packing his things to make space for his younger brother.
Once the door was locked, Zhu Yan leaned against it and slowly crouched down, panting heavily.
This was too thrilling.
The forum prompt before his eyes had vanished, replaced by a page with clearly visible images and text.
The layout of the page was very similar to a popular social media app. On the cover of the topmost post, a sentence was written in black text on a white background.
"Newcomers, please note, this is not your imagination! You are not hallucinating from eating toxic mushrooms!"
The black text was specially bolded, making it look very eye-catching.
Zhu Yan didn't click into it immediately; he slowly looked further down.
As his gaze fell to the very bottom, the page began to scroll upward in an extremely user-friendly manner.
"Are there any veteran players? What exactly is [Carnival Paradise]?"
"My sister unfortunately passed away in the novice instance. I thought she just died of a sudden illness..."
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
ng to die together with you." Lin Xuan is dead, his body thrown into the river by his scumbag lover and her accomplice. She, the president of the Su Group, is decisive, ruthless, and ice-cold. For three days and three nights, she had his body fished out of the river, and without hesitation, she kissed the bloated corpse of Lin Xuan. She laid down beside him in a cold coffin, their fingers intertwined, a smile lingering on her lips as she closed her eyes. The noble and cold-hearted woman, only bending for one man—Lin Xuan. Lin Xuan, with his golden finger, is reborn and returns to the day of his wedding to the treacherous woman. Su Qiang comes to steal the bride. Lin Xuan's eyes light up, eager to pledge his loyalty on the spot, but instead, her kiss transfers a glass of drugged wine into his mouth, causing him to pass out... 【Male Protagonist with Single Female Lead】【Yandere Tycoon】【Action-Packed】【True vs. Fake Heir】
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
lity and could only live as an ordinary mortal. He only wished to live a peaceful life. Yet he didn't know— The dog he adopted, because it ate his food, became a legendary demon king. The kitchen knife he casually forged became a peerless divine weapon, causing numerous experts to fight desperately for it. The young disciple he took in became an immortal lord that led an era, due to cultivating the techniques Ye Feng taught him. Even the skeletons he looked down on the most were ominous demon kings that suppressed countless worlds. Many years later, looking at the void shattered with a punch, Ye Feng murmured to himself: It turns out the peerless kings were myself all along...
