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..."
transmigrates into the world as the sect master of the Heavenly Yan Sect, which is on the verge of being wiped out. He binds a system that grants him cultivation power based on the number of disciples he has: for each disciple, he automatically gains a year's worth of cultivation every single day! Take one disciple: every day he gains 1 year of cultivation power. While others struggle through a year of bitter training, he gets the same just by sleeping through a single night. Take ten disciples: every day he gains 10 years of cultivation power. Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, Nascent Soul—he breezes through all bottlenecks without lifting a finger. Take one hundred disciples: every day he gains 100 years of cultivation power. Even a Soul Transformation Venerable before him can’t survive a single blow. Take ten thousand disciples: every day he gains 10,000 years of cultivation power! With a wave of his hand, he topples empires. With a single step, he crushes the sacred grounds of the universe. ... While others fight tooth and nail for secret techniques, Lin Yan casually hands out Nascent Soul-level cultivation manuals as beginner textbooks. While others strain to find talented recruits, Lin Yan opens his doors to anyone—so long as they’re human. In just three short years, the Heavenly Yan Sect went from a backwater sect made up of three crumbling huts to a sacred land that every cultivator under heaven would kill to enter. ... One day, otherworldly demon gods invade, with a million demon soldiers pressing down upon the realm. Lin Yan, yawning, rises from his lounge chair and glances at the system panel: [Current Disciples: 1.28 million] [Daily Cultivation Increase: 1.28 million years] He waves his hand casually, and the countless demon soldiers are reduced to ashes in an instant. “So noisy… interrupting my fishing.”
e, Immortal Body, Transmigration, System, Progression Fantasy, Academy Setting, Third-Person Perspective. Alternate Title: Transmigrating into a High Martial World and Reading Live Comments. Bad news: I transmigrated. This is a terrifying high-martial world, and my original, pathetically weak body fell into a coma and never woke up. Good news: I got a Popularity Points system upon arrival. I can see live comments and even create an unkillable alternate identity. Starting out, the alternate identity has all stats at 1. The system tells me that to grow stronger, I must participate in the plot, gain popularity points to allocate stats and grow stronger, and ultimately awaken my original body. And so, carrying my original body on my back, I officially entered Huaqing Academy, where the story's protagonist resides. From that moment on, Chen Guan kicked the original plot to pieces. Live Comments: [Doesn't anyone find this mysterious coffin guy creepy? He can summon indescribable grey misty hands.] [Is this guy a hero or a villain? What kind of onion became a spirit?] [By the way, does anyone know who's in the coffin? Shouldn't the debt for saving his life be repaid by now?] [According to unofficial histories, the person in the coffin was Chen Guan's first love. Their love was once passionate and earth-shattering, but they were separated by life and death due to worldly circumstances. What a star-crossed pair.] ... Years later, the world knew of a demon god born from a coffin, shrouded in grey mist, impossible to gaze upon directly. His foremost divine emissary often wielded a scythe, reaping lives like the god of death. As war approached, facing former friends and a boundless sea of enemies, Chen Guan merely raised his scythe. "Would you like to dance as well?"
agon king storylines. At the start, I obtained the "Ultimate Lackey System" - the more I act as a lackey, the stronger I become. What else could I do? I chose to become the personal henchman of the ultimate villain, Su Muwan. I provoke all sorts of chosen ones, snatch away their opportunities, and commit every evil deed imaginable. You ask who's behind me? Hmph! You're not worthy of knowing my lady's name! ...... ....... I am Su Muwan, the eldest daughter of the Su family. Since childhood, I've possessed extraordinary talent in martial arts, which led to my arrogant and domineering personality in my past life. I was even foolish enough to repeatedly challenge those favored by heaven, ultimately resulting in a tragic death. In this life, I must behave and absolutely cannot walk the same path again!! However... SLAP!! "So you're the Dragon King, huh?!" When I saw my little lackey swagger over and viciously slap the Dragon King who was hiding his identity, I felt my heart sink. Su Muwan's suspended heart finally died as she watched Qin Luo, her utterly loyal lackey, standing before her. She fainted on the spot from shock. Heaven is determined to destroy me!! (Pure love 1v1, light-hearted, no angst, single female lead, villain, reincarnation, lackey)
【Prologue: The Beginning of It All – Use holy water to heal the saintess tainted by demonic energy, then converse with her.】 Shen Nian stared at his older sister sipping yogurt, lost in thought. So you’re telling me my sister is the saintess, and yogurt is the holy water? 【Main Quest 1: Brave Youth, Become an Adventurer! Reward: Rookie Adventurer Title.】 【Side Quest 1: Find the Adorable Kitty! Reward: 1000 Gold Coins.】 Shen Nian: "Wait, I’m a high school senior here—did some guy who got isekai’d accidentally bind his system to me?" Hold on, completing quests gives gold rewards? Titles even boost stats? Is this for real? (A lighthearted, absurd campus comedy—not a revenge power fantasy.)
