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..."
young master of the Shen family—a figure of immense power and wealth beyond measure—and awakened the "Destined Ultimate Villain System"! His starting scenario? Running into his icy fiancée who shows up with a mountain-descending divine doctor to break off their engagement. The divine doctor arrogantly taunts: "What does your Shen family have besides a bit of stinking money? You're not even worthy of tying Qingxue's shoelaces!" Shen Fei just smiled. He completely defied the usual script: "Fine, I agree to break off the engagement. Also, notify the finance department to withdraw all investments from the Su family." Minutes later, with its capital chain severed, the Su Group teetered on the brink of bankruptcy! The once aloof and proud ice queen CEO was thrown into utter panic. That very night, she went to Shen Fei's villa, casting aside all dignity to beg and plead desperately... From then on, in this world teeming with Sons of Destiny, Shen Fei embarked on a path of extreme dimensional suppression! A mountain-descending divine doctor? Peerless medical skills? Shen Fei: "Reporting you for practicing medicine without a license! I'll gladly take your ancient medicinal cauldron and twin sister assassins." The Crooked-Smiling Dragon King? Commanding a hundred thousand soldiers with a single order? Shen Fei: "Illegal assembly and suspected treason! Let a fleet of attack helicopters sanitize the area and teach you what the state apparatus really means!" A reborn tycoon? Knows all the golden opportunities of the next decade? Shen Fei: "A trillion in capital to reverse and pump the stock market, making you blow your margin and jump on the very first day of your rebirth!" What Chosen Ones? What bearers of Heavenly Fortune? In Shen Fei's eyes, they're all just chives (i.e., suckers/marks) waiting to be harvested! Shen Fei: "Sorry, but as the Destined Ultimate Villain, I don't play by the rules of honor. I only play the game of dimensional suppression."
with countless casualties. As a top-tier gamer, Liu Xuan volunteered to join the fight, intending to dominate with his skills, but instead he obtained the hidden class: [Pacifist]. Unable to attack. Unable to use active skills. Fortunately, with each level gained, he acquired a new passive skill. And so, armed with a body full of passives, Liu Xuan slaughtered his way through the battlefield of ten thousand races! [You attacked Liu Xuan] [You gained the debuffs: 'Poison', 'Fear', 'Burning', 'Bleeding', 'Freeze', 'Silence', etc.] [Your attack speed has been reduced by 99%] [Your armor and magic resistance have been reduced by 99%] Warriors of the Ten Thousand Races: How the hell am I supposed to fight this?!
ap a wealthy young lady? Or else I'll be eliminated by the system? Ye Feng, who awakened the Kidnapper System, originally wanted to live a peaceful life but never imagined he would become a kidnapper of young women. However, after some time, he discovered that all the girls the system ordered him to kidnap were far from ordinary. "Big brother Ye Feng~ You've kidnapped my heart, and now you're not allowed to leave me ever again~" "Ye Feng~ You kidnapped me back then, now it's my turn to capture you♡" "Little Feng, you're mine! You can only be mine!" "Ye Feng, none of them deserve you. Only I love you the most♡" ... This is madness, they've all gone mad! Wait, what? Why are all the girls I kidnapped yanderes?!
] This is a dark fantasy-themed dating simulation game. The main gameplay involves containing various monster girls and investigating the truth of a world shrouded in mist alongside your companions. However, due to his love for the dark and bizarre atmosphere, Luo Wei ended up turning a dating game into a detective mystery game. Women? Women only slow down his quickdraw! To Luo Wei, the female leads in the game are more like tools to perfectly clear levels and squeeze out rewards. For Luo Wei, flirting with every girl he meets and then discarding them is standard procedure. Worried about characters losing affection points? No need. With his maxed-out charm stat, Luo Wei is practically a "human incubus." A little psychological manipulation and those points come right back. It's a bit scummy, but the paper cutout heroines in the game won't actually come at him with real cleavers. However... Luo Wei has transmigrated. He's accidentally entered the second playthrough of this game. His past actions have caused all the girls to transform into terrifying yanderes. Due to the game's setting, most of the heroines he once contained are "troubled girls." Obsessive, twisted, mentally unstable, all aggressive yanderes... The type who will kill you if they can't have you... Luo Wei wants to cry but has no tears left. "I really just want to survive..." In short, this is a story of battling wits and engaging in a love-hate relationship with yanderes.
