Moments later, Chu Zaizhou was squatting on the sofa, hugging his knees.
He supported his head with both hands, contemplating life.
Beside him, Ka Xiu took the initiative to hand him a glass of water from the table.
Chu Zaizhou, without looking up, caught the glass precisely and took a sip then continued to zone out.
Ka Xiu picked up the mop and began to clean up the aftermath.
His movements revealed clumsiness, and the force he applied was slight and cautious, as if he was afraid of breaking the mop handle.
…In fact, a broomstick had already broken.
After the initial shock, Chu Zaizhou struggled to control his two bodies.
He realized belatedly that he had almost stabbed himself while controlling his alternative character.
Had the scalpel been a bit sharper, he would have become the first player to die at the start due to cheating!
As Ka Xiu got the hang of sweeping, Chu Zaizhou, rubbing his temples, submitted the task.
“Congratulations on completing the task.”
A plain mechanical voice sounded in his mind, but the gaming pod in front of him was still sparking.
Chu Zaizhou couldn’t help but twitch his lips, wondering if the game was even trying to be convincing.
In his mind, he muttered, “Is the System there?” “10086!” “How many floors can a bag of rice be carried to?”
After shouting for a while, the system interface popped up, and Chu Zaizhou stared blankly at the image on the settlement screen.
He unzipped the bag that had died mysteriously, now entangled around a Statue of Guanyin.
That Statue of Guanyin looked oddly familiar, as if (strikeout) he had just seen it.
Chu Zaizhou: choked.jpg
#The fool is myself!#
The system’s steady mechanical voice rang out: [Hello, Player. Congratulations on completing the daily task and resolving the strange attachment on the Statue of Guanyin.]
Realizing he had actually summoned the system, Chu Zaizhou’s heart skipped a beat.
He sipped his water tactically and cautiously said, “Aren’t you going to explain something to me?”
System: [As you can see, you have killed the strange entity.]
Chu Zaizhou was speechless. Was that the point?
“The point is the game!” He pointed at the gaming pod.
“Reality!” He pointed at himself.
System: [Correct, this is reality. I know what you’re thinking. You can treat the game as your cheat code.]
[This world is not as peaceful as you think.]
[The strange entities hidden in reality will devour life and threaten order, needing resolution—just like you just saved Li Hehua’s life.]
So Aunt Li’s name was that, pretty nice.
Chu Zaizhou, belatedly realizing, shuddered.
—By a hair’s breadth, the enthusiastic neighbor auntie who cared for him and made soup for him would have been killed by the strange entity.
The system continued:
[Awakened individuals who resolve these entities are called Espers.]
[Currently, the number of Espers in the world is scarce because the necessary condition to become an Esper is to encounter these strange entities and not be corrupted by them.]
[Those deeply corrupted will slowly turn into strange entities themselves, possessing the ability to corrupt others during the transformation—commonly known as ‘if you can’t beat them, join them.’]
[Of course, this is not your case.]
[Remember the name of this game? Player, I look forward to working with you.]
…
Savior.
Chu Zaizhou thought of the game’s name.
He found it unbelievable.
How long have Espers been appearing in reality? When did this game he was playing mutate?
Chu Zaizhou forced himself to calm down and reopened his computer to search for information about this game.
As expected, there was nothing; the strategies he had searched for online seemed like a dream.
The system said: [The game is special. You can consider everything before as a tutorial to protect your mental and physical health.]
Chu Zaizhou asked, “So the recent news that has been appearing, is it not necessarily all fake? Does the country know about this?”
The system dodged the question: [You still have one task unfinished, would you like to proceed?]
System: [Trust this information, you will find the answers yourself.]
Chu Zaizhou heard another game notification by his ear.
He still had a task to do.
It wouldn’t be Jianren District—where he passes on his way to work, would it?
What had been troubling him today was just the Statue of Guanyin and Jianren District.
Chu Zaizhou took a deep breath, temporarily setting aside his jumbled thoughts, and focused on the issue at hand.
“I haven’t felt any change myself.”
He whispered, “That is… I am still using the methods of the game?”
Using different accounts to kill strange entities.
He and the alternative character sitting beside him made eye contact.
Just like in the game, the alternative character was controlled by Chu Zaizhou, but would adjust its behavior based on the personality set at random.
For instance, Chu Zaizhou didn’t drink alcohol, but if an alternative character had a tag of being addicted to alcohol, then using that character, he would become addicted to alcohol; away from the character, he would return to normal.
He wondered if there was something like a talent theory, controlling an alternative character was as easy for Chu Zaizhou as eating and drinking.
But this time, fighting monsters in reality, maybe it was safer to bring out the strongest alternative character.
Chu Zaizhou looked at Ka Xiu, saying seriously, “This definitely isn’t me disliking you, how could I dislike myself?”
Ka Xiu: “…”
Player coughed lightly, his face unchanging as he opened his fully-loaded account library, choosing the strongest card—
Didn’t move.
Chu Zaizhou: “!!!”
System: [Account unlock conditions pending.]
The world was about to end, why still reincarnate to level up!
Ka Xiu sat beside him, the corners of his mouth curling up in an extremely subtle arc, “Looks like you still need me.”
Chu Zaizhou steadied his heart, focusing his consciousness on Ka Xiu.
A sensation of full power gradually spread, he muttered to himself, “Nervous?”
Of course not.
[Combat instinct] was triggered, and he felt—very excited!
The young man put on his coat hung over the chair back, donned his gloves, and the scalpel flickered silver between his fingers.
“I’ll be right back.” Ka Xiu chuckled, “If I haven’t forgotten the address that is.”
[Detecting traces of the strange entity, preliminary rating D (C), Player please prepare… Scene transition in progress.]
[Baisha City, Jianren District, coordinates locked!]
Baisha City is an ordinary coastal city in Qiantang Province, governing five districts.
Chu Zaizhou has a two-hour commute every morning, taking the subway to the company in Yayuan District, with a transit at Jianren District along the way.
If not for the game’s teleportation feature, he would now be braving the rain to catch a bus.
Just thinking about it was utterly miserable.
The coordinates were near a landfill in Jianren District.
The area was full of dilapidated houses and warehouses, the stacked debris enough to bury any scavengers hiding among it.
The police had already coordinated with the administrators, using the name of hazardous materials as a pretext, to evacuate the nearby people.
At this moment, it was raining, and at a glance, the abandoned warehouses looked like giant beasts with gaping mouths, dangerous and cold.
“The detection point is here, Yu Team, how about letting me take the lead this time?” The rookie investigator looked at the report in his hands, lifting the police line as he spoke.
The man beside him didn’t answer but stared sharply at the pile of trash, “Who’s there!”
Yu Tianhe strode toward it, pulling a shivering homeless old man from behind the trash.
The homeless old man immediately raised his hands, nervously saying, “Police uncle, I’m familiar with this place! I can help you guys!”
The two “uncles” whose combined ages were under fifty couldn’t help but laugh and cry.
After sending him out, Yu Tianhe took a photo of the homeless old man with his phone and sent it to the team handling the aftermath.
The rookie investigator patted his chest, relieved, “Good thing this old man didn’t recklessly walk into the warehouse, otherwise there would be more casualties.”
He unfolded the report, which listed the estimated rating of the strange event—Level D.
The captain’s profoundly steady face showed no excess emotion as he took the report:
“Event number D231, currently estimated three deaths. Victims entered the warehouse and disappeared, their bodies appearing at the warehouse entrance the next day.”
“There’s no expansion of the area, the current energy peak hasn’t exceeded detection values, consistent with the characteristics of a Level D strange entity.”
He reassured the team member, “Level D strange entities just need their source killed, don’t worry too much. Follow me, Fu Chuan.”
The rookie investigator responded eagerly, his face full of anticipation, “Captain, what does a Level C strange entity look like?”
He looked like he had just graduated, fresh and naive like a newly hatched chick.
Yu Tianhe stretched out his hand, a wisp of flame twirling around them, giving off a faint warmth.
“Level C strange entities,” he explained casually, “we need to report to the headquarters, and they’ll arrange for personnel to handle it.”
“Level C attacks are area-based, expanding with increased casualties. If not handled properly, it can easily cause massive damage.”
“As for Level B, it’s said to be able to destroy a city; and beyond that, the danger level is unimaginable; if not handled properly, it could even destroy a country.”
Fu Chuan gasped, “That’s terrifying!”
Yu Tianhe comforted him, “Just like how it’s hard to enhance special abilities, the level of strange entities is also vastly different. Level D is still quite manageable.”
“Let’s go, Fu Chuan.”
“You can sense dangerous locations, if you spot a strange entity, immediately use the pulse gun to shatter it.”
Fu Chuan, Level D- in sensing danger.
Yu Tianhe led the way, stepping into the warehouse.
Not long after the two entered, a black-haired young man appeared at their original position.
He didn’t use an umbrella, the natural light reflecting off his calm profile.
His gaze landed on the fresh shoe prints leading to the warehouse, his brow barely perceptibly furrowing.
…
When Chu Zaizhou, wearing Ka Xiu’s alternative character, entered the warehouse, the inside had already turned into a vast ocean.
Unknown black water had occupied most of the space, wooden tables bobbing in the waves like small boats struggling to survive a tsunami.
The rookie investigator knelt on a wooden table with one knee, one hand gripping the edge desperately, trying his best to maintain balance.
He held the gun with one hand, aiming at a swiftly moving dark shadow in the water, but his trembling hand caused him to waste two bullets in succession.
“Yu Team!” he hoarsely shouted, “Come over quick!”
On the other side of the warehouse, the captain was soaked in water, the water level already reaching his chest.
The flames he ignited upon contact with the cold water steamed up, sending up plumes of white vapor.
“Run towards the entrance! There’s a problem with the rating!”
Yu Tianhe shouted loudly, then gave up on using his restrained special ability, instead pulling out a short knife to attack the dark shadow.
It looked like he was planning to cover for his teammate, facing the strange entity alone.
It seemed the alliance had indeed been prepared for this, only ordinary people were unaware!
Chu Zaizhou thought for a moment, quickly calming himself to assess the current situation.
The strange entity, just like the game rating, was at a level he could easily handle.
The two extra people… didn’t affect him.
Chu Zaibzhou no longer hesitated; the attribute of [High Focus] allowed him to instantly lock onto the strange entity’s position.
Next was—hunting time!
…
Snap!
The iron door, held up by the water pressure, forcefully burst open a large hole, a figure suddenly appearing.
Ka Xiu’s movements were smooth and natural; he first pulled the man soaked in the water, quickly throwing him onto the wooden table.
Then, with a push of his legs, he sprang up into the air, grabbing onto an overhead beam in the warehouse with one hand.
The sticky black water brushed past his shoe soles, reluctantly splashing out ripples.
Ka Xiu’s gaze never left the strange entity’s core; his left hand, clad in black gloves, somehow held several scalpels between his fingers.
With a flick of his fingers, a brief flash of silver light, and in almost an instant, they were embedded in the strange entity.
Puff—The scalpels hit their mark!
“Squeak—!” The strange entity let out an extremely sharp and unpleasant noise.
Fu Chuan, struggling to drag the captain toward the table from behind, nearly slipped his hands at the sound, almost throwing the man back into the water.
The drenched man grunted, stirred by the pain, and propped himself onto the wooden table.
Flames swirled around the two, steaming up the water vapor and acting as a barrier to lessen the sound’s lethality.
“Yu Team, what’s going on!”
Fu Chuan sat next to the captain, dizzy and breathless, he pressed his voice low:
“Where did this guy come from… no, how does he seem completely unaffected by the strange entity!”
The young man’s movements were light and agile, the shrieks unable to disturb him in the slightest, instead serving as a rhythm for his attacks.
The two watched helplessly as the strange entity, which had almost buried them, rolled back and forth on the cutting board like dough, its sticky fluid gradually decreasing, and it slowly gasping for air.
The water level in the room gradually decreased, revealing the mottled and yellowed walls.
Yu Tianhe shielded Fu Chuan behind him, whispering low, “You first contact the team for support, have them bring spirit bullets!”
This water-controlling strange entity had exceeded the standards of Level D, reaching Level C!
Level C strange entities had the intention to expand outward actively, and the difficulty of dealing with them at their stronghold multiplied.
Unfortunately, the weather was uncooperative, it was raining today, and the water-controlling strange entity was in its element.
It was not something the two of them could easily handle.
Yu Tianhe was even ready to risk his life to hold off the strange entity, buying time for his teammate to escape.
But this man who suddenly appeared, looked at the Level C strange entity with an utterly untroubled gaze, as if he was looking at an ordinary dish!
His actions were fierce and decisive, even making Yu Tianhe think of those notorious serial killers.
No, even ordinary killers weren’t so, so—
Twisted.
It was as if they were watching the process of slicing noodles, observing slice after slice of black unknown substance separate from the strange entity’s body, falling to the damp ground.
The strange entity thrashed and screamed, but could not escape the range of the scalpel attacks, gradually weakening to its last breath.
Looking at it, the strange entity even seemed a bit pitiful.
“No, can’t be, right?” Fu Chuan’s lips trembled, “It could have been killed directly, but he’s playing like this?”
Yu Team closed his eyes briefly, asking lowly, “Has the higher-ups sent any Espers to support recently?”
Fu Chuan: “Ah?”
It seems not.
“Squeak!”
The final scream, the strange entity completely dissolved into a pool of black water, motionless.
The young man pulled out a handkerchief, leisurely wiping the blade, as relaxed as if he had just casually crushed an ant.
Half of his body merged into the shadows, his green eyes reflecting the two men’s figures, profound and indifferent.
Powerful, dangerous, and undisturbed.
