Besides undergoing the baptism, Zhu Yan also planned to get An Xuyin a cell phone.
His impostor friends had plenty of phones, but he had no idea whether Feining could quickly format and refurbish a human phone.
Communicating by phone was, after all, much more convenient than using cards. With a phone, An Xuyin could even browse the news on his own.
As he thought about this, Zhu Yan stopped at the end of the long, cramped passageway and lowered his head to inspect himself.
Just as the mission card had instructed, he had sprayed aerosol over every inch of his skin, arming himself from head to toe.
Half the can remained, so Zhu Yan nervously sprayed another layer over all the exposed skin.
Then he pushed open the door, squeezed through the throng of horrifying creatures in the Witch Department Store, and crossed two streets.
After confirming that there were no other Hunters inside the Recitation Stage, Zhu Yan walked in openly and nodded at the Vine Cage Girl.
“Hiya, nice to see you again.”
“Here for the baptism?” The Vine Cage Girl sounded rather pleased. “Come with me!”
It led Zhu Yan around the counter and pushed open a hidden door.
Beyond it lay a long corridor. Candlelight flickered behind the lantern paper on either side, now bright and now dim.
“Keep going,” the Vine Cage Girl said.
Damp gongbi paintings hung along both walls.
Their fine brushstrokes depicted grotesque scenes of amusement. The style was ancient, yet the clothing and facilities in the paintings were remarkably advanced.
Zhu Yan saw slot machines, arcade cabinets, and even places where people could soak their feet.
“Is this where the people who turn to the second page of the catalog go?”
“Maybe,” the Vine Cage Girl replied vaguely. “In any case, it isn’t where we’re going this time.”
“Slot machines seem pretty common.”
“They can be modified,” the Vine Cage Girl said.
It turned to look at Zhu Yan, then stopped and pointed toward a door.
The door was covered in deep, scorched marks, with a brass plaque nailed to it.
Zhu Yan read the words aloud.
“Hot Spring Bathhouse?”
“That’s right.”
The Vine Cage Girl placed its palm over the brass plaque, counted to five, and then pushed the door open.
Scalding steam carrying the sweet, milky scent of buttered popcorn swept over Zhu Yan, making his head swim.
Only after the dense vapor dispersed somewhat could Zhu Yan see what lay inside.
White rectangular tiles covered the walls all the way to the ceiling. Beneath them was a pool of steaming water.
The ledge around the pool was barely two fingers wide, pressed tightly against the edge of the doorway.
The moment Zhu Yan took a step inside, he would fall into the water.
“You can leave your shoes outside,” the Vine Cage Girl said. “Put your clothes into your ring yourself. We don’t provide a change of clothes.”
“I’m supposed to soak in there?”
“For an hour.” The Vine Cage Girl nodded. “Count yourself lucky, Hunter. You have the whole room to yourself this time. Once there are more people, that may not be the case.”
Zhu Yan felt that something was off.
The Vine Cage Girl stretched its mouth into a grin, then turned its back on him.
“You can go in now. Enjoy it while you can. From now on, it’ll be communal bathing.”
Two minutes later.
Zhu Yan was submerged in the hot water, watching the door slowly close in front of him.
The water around him began to bubble and surge toward him as if it were alive.
But Zhu Yan felt nothing.
His skin had drawn tight, like a layer of rubber, firmly keeping the liquid out.
That layer of “outer skin” quickly turned red, as though it wanted Zhu Yan to know what it was resisting.
After observing it for a while and confirming that nothing seemed wrong, Zhu Yan simply leaned against the corner and fell sound asleep.
…
“Now you look the part.”
The Vine Cage Girl smiled until its eyes narrowed as it looked Zhu Yan up and down. He had already put his clothes back on.
Zhu Yan couldn’t really say what had changed about him.
He had slept soundly and felt refreshed. The popcorn-scented steam had also left him feeling invigorated.
Other than that, he felt neither any craving for human flesh nor the discomfort he had experienced the first time he was infused with Trembling Pleasure.
To keep the Vine Cage Girl from noticing that something was wrong, Zhu Yan decided to remain silent.
“Do you feel the blood boiling throughout your body?” The Vine Cage Girl was even more excited than the person who had undergone the treatment. “Paradise, you smell more like one of us now.”
“Complete your missions properly, and you’ll become a powerful being one day!”
Zhu Yan nodded without offering an immediate opinion.
The broadcast, absent for quite some time, had suddenly descended into his mind, brimming with undeniable delight.
“Congratulations on undergoing the Baptism and fully converting the nutrients!”
“The Baptism is a path that brings you closer to us. It will make the Trembling Pleasure within your body more stable, more powerful, and more active, while allowing it to expand and transform further.”
Zhu Yan thought of the law of conservation of energy.
If Trembling Pleasure could expand and “transform,” then it must have “consumed” something else.
Interesting.
After undergoing the Baptism, would a person’s mind gradually be devoured by Mad Paradise?
“Please proceed to the front desk of the Recitation Stage to collect your temporary Boss identity card and Boss mission. Then promptly fuse the identity card into the palm of your right hand.”
“Please note that after fusing with the identity card, you will gain access to a small number of benefits. Terrifying creatures will also be able to identify you.”
“Sometimes, they are not friendly toward their own kind—especially when that kind is weak.”
“For details, please refer to the back of the card.”
Zhu Yan knew this all too well.
If they had been friendly toward their own kind, he would never have been able to use the tree spirit to kill Mr. Toad.
Moreover, his impostor friend had once revealed that things were not easy even within the ranks of the terrifying creatures. Otherwise, it would never have thought of buying human skin.
“Finally, Mad Paradise is preparing with all its strength for a large-scale open-beta instance. For the sake of fun, we have suspended all minor instances and closed-beta newbie instances.”
“This is to inform Hunter No. 1. We wish you a triumphant first battle.”
“We look forward to meeting you again!”
The female voice fell silent.
Zhu Yan mulled over that strange phrase, “for the sake of fun,” as he followed the Vine Cage Girl absentmindedly back to the counter.
For the sake of fun… By normal logic, shouldn’t they increase the number of minor instances and closed-beta newbie instances instead?
After all, instances were not only a food source for the terrifying creatures. Watching humans die in despair was also one of Mad Paradise’s pleasures.
So why suspend all the instances instead?
“Here.”
The Vine Cage Girl handed Zhu Yan a beautiful salted-cheese latte and a familiar-looking black envelope.
A month ago, Zhu Yan had drawn his Ability Card from one of these small envelopes.
He said, “Thank you,” then pulled out the contents and skimmed the words at a glance.
He had undergone the Baptism, but the aerosol had kept the Baptism from reaching him. In effect, he had merely taken a hot bath.
With the Trembling Pleasure inside his body unchanged in the slightest, could this identity card really fuse smoothly into his body?
s the Eldest Princess, renowned for her cold and aloof detachment, became the most docile of lambs, obeying his every command without question. But when the final move was played on the chessboard, as Gu Chenghan seized everything and ascended on the verge of apotheosis, that very Princess suddenly embraced him from behind, her tone carrying a dependence never heard before: "Wait... you haven't yet... commanded me to love you forever." Gu Chenghan froze abruptly. She... hadn't been hypnotized?! ... [The Eldest Princess's Diary] [When my soul was extracted, becoming the sole spectator outside my own shell] [At first, there was overwhelming fury, until I saw] [How he used my sword to effortlessly shatter my inescapable doom] [How he wielded my authority to eradicate fatal conspiracies I had never even detected] [Like a deity, he rescued me from the deep mire I was trapped in] [If not for those annoying vixens, he and I would be a match made in heaven] [I think I am ill, gravely ill] [My deity should belong to me alone] ... "Hypnosis? Oh, it succeeded, my dear Master." "Only this time, it's my turn to hypnotize you."
e vast world of cultivation, where he becomes the master of the Heavenly Ruins Sacred Hall, a dying old man with barely a tenth of his former cultivation remaining. He is immediately confronted with a deadly crisis: his subordinates have rebelled, and his protectors are forcing him to abdicate. At the critical moment, the system descends from the heavens: [Ding! The host has been detected facing a life-or-death crisis. The system is now officially activated!] [As a gift, you have received the Supreme Beginner’s Pack and awakened the ultimate cheat: ten thousand years of pure cultivation essence every second!] Yin Tianjue: “Wait… ten thousand years of cultivation every second? That’s six hundred thousand years a minute, and in one day… I can’t even calculate it. Either way, I’m already invincible!” You’re a peerless prodigy rarely seen in ten thousand years? Sorry, I gain ten thousand years of cultivation every second. You’re an undying ancestor who has guarded a sacred land for countless ages? Sorry, I gain ten thousand years of cultivation every second. You’re the strongest chosen one, blessed with heaven-defying destiny? Sorry, I gain ten thousand years of cultivation every second. From this day forth, I have only one thing to say: “I gain ten thousand years of cultivation every second. Now, how exactly are you supposed to deal with that?”
y came from. The chests contained supplies, currency, class-change scrolls, skills, talents… and even godhood! The laws of the world were completely rewritten. This became a world where everyone gambled with their fate! Some people, despite having nothing, opened a divine artifact and rose to the top, eventually ruling the world. Others went bankrupt, opened nothing but worthless junk, and leaped from skyscrapers in despair. Lin Ye arrived in this world from another reality, utterly bewildered. “What is going on? Why is everyone a gambling addict?!” “Opening chests? No way. I refuse to gamble. I’ll start with myself!” Until— On his first chest, he obtained a Mythic Talent: Void Incarnation! He could become completely intangible, pass through all things, and reduce everything to nothingness! … On his fiftieth chest, he obtained a Mythic Weapon: Blade of Karma! With a single slash, karma shattered, twisting the universe and overturning the myriad phenomena of creation! … On his ninety-ninth chest, he obtained a Mythic Divine Treasure: Primordial Purple Energy! It could split open the heavens and earth, create all things, and evolve countless worlds with a single thought! Lin Ye: “Now that I think about it… shouldn’t someone have told me that every chest is guaranteed to contain something Mythic?!”
orn and Humiliation】【Forced Love】 In his past life, Lin Ran was betrayed and murdered by his girlfriend and family, while the yandere female aristocrat, who had treated him as a mere plaything, avenged him by doing in his enemies. Upon seeing the yandere female aristocrat lying in the same coffin, ready to die with him, Lin Ran realized how profoundly mistaken he had been. Reborn, he abandoned the fickle campus beauty and wholeheartedly embraced the yandere female aristocrat's arms. "Ran! If I dig out your eyes and turn them into a specimen, you'll only be able to look at me!" Lin Ran: "Darling, kiss me!" "Ran! If I break your legs, you won't run away anymore, right?" Lin Ran: "Love, hold me tight!" "Ran! If..." Lin Ran: "Hush now! Love me more!" Luo Yao: ... Seeing his scumbag dad: "Take him out!" Seeing his stepmother: "Get rid of her!" Seeing his brother: "Eliminate him!" Seeing his white moonlight: "Send that to Southeast Asia!"
