Night, deep in moonlight.

Drifting clouds covered the moonlight, but Baijiang City inside was still brightly lit. The neon lights of the towering buildings flashed like a dazzling ribbon. The pedestrians in the undulating small alleys had just begun with the night market, presenting a scene of bustling activity.

The bright light wasn't able to cover the entire city, nor its vivacity.

At one corner of the city's edge, the street light was flickering inconsistently. Its dim yellow light, leaking through a half-closed window painted a long hazy shadow on one of the second-floor bedrooms, casting a clear reflection of the unevenly cracked ceiling.

Under the dim yellow light, in front of the flickering computer screen, Mu Yuan sat with a serious posture. His agile fingers tapped the keyboard, producing a crispy sound.

He was staring at the computer, the intermittent light shimmering on his sharp side profile, painting a picture of solemnity on his face.

"This world, something's a bit off."

Mu Yuan, a denizen of Baijiang City in Xuan Country, was a cross-world traveller who carried the typical baggage of a cross-world traveller.

His name, his looks, and his history didn't differ much from his old world. The cultural climate and the scientific advancement in Xuan Country also bore similarity to his last world, making his transition relatively effortless.

... Mu Yuan thought so anyway.

However,

"Shocking, man mysteriously dies late in the night, body found with scores of bite marks. Who could have been behind this ?"

"Elderly woman of eighty brutally murdered in her home. Turns out she, in reality, was a young maiden."

"A man in North-Jiang's skin and muscles fall off causing death. Experts claim it to be a new disease and suggest naming it after the man's name."

"Two meter tall giant wolf sighted in Jialan Country. Proof attached!"

Images, bold and uncensored, that weren't for the faint hearted were cropping up in front of Mu Yuan. He pensively wrinkled his brows.

"The online information can be true or false as making forged pictures like these isn't a big ask. But….I am convinced these just sensations aren't a fabrication, not completely at least."

"Because…."

A couple of days ago, on the first day post his crossing over, he had witnessed a 'supernatural death' incident.

A bulkily built man unexpectedly opened his eyes wide, a gush of blood gushed from his waist, and the man was sliced in two at the waist.

Overwhelmingly abrupt!

Right from that instance, Mu Yuan started hunting for more such inexplicable information, and true to his expectations, he came upon more and more bizarre death cases. It wasn't isolated to one gender, but a common occurrence among the young people mostly.

From a particular forum, he came across a rumour.

—"Those people who died were playing a game. They were lucky enough to qualify for the game, but unfortunately they couldn't survive the dangers in the game. When you die in the game, you die in real life."

The replies below were all ridiculing.

If you're so good at telling stories, why not write a novel.

Not many people believed these rumours about the game or how those people died. Very few got out and real and fake news mixed together. Even if Mu Yuan hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he'd probably have just shrugged it off as another urban legend after coming across it in online video.

Who believes this stuff nowadays anyway?

"This explanation matches with the cases of numerous mysterious deaths. At a glance, it does seem far-fetched, but I've travelled between worlds, the existence of a mysterious game in this world also sounds plausible."

With this shred of information, Mu Yuan began his search anew.

The moonlight in the night sky was even more dim now, and the sporadic lights in the residential buildings had gradually gone dark. Only in Mu Yuan's room was there still light shining.

Until late in the night, Mu Yuan made himself a cup of instant noodles, adding in a couple of sausages.

He took the noodles to his computer, contemplating as he slurped the noodles and looked at the interface of this secretive forum.

"This mysterious game might be real."

"Rumours say, this mysterious game is connected to a vast world. Within that world, players can control their characters, command thousands of troops. What truly drives people mad is that the rare treasures players acquire while exploring within the game, could manifest in the real world!"

"The game world, it's completely real!"

"What's more, through this game, players could control supernatural power, able to move mountains and overturn seas!"

This mysterious game was the key to the supernatural world.

Aspiring? Certainly aspiring!

The secret forum that Mu Yuan found was filled with information about the supernatural game. Some players told their stories, but many more were ordinary people frustrated at their inability to play.

Some tycoons offered astronomical sums in hopes of securing a spot in the game.

But still to no avail.

It seemed that the chance to play the game was entirely random, only a handful of people got it by chance. They were the chosen ones of the world, the destined lords, the born 'Ou Huang'.

"But is being chosen by the game really a good fortune?"

"If you look beyond the lure of supernatural powers, what lies beneath is a dire world where death could strike at any moment."

"The game world granted treasures and supernatural powers, while the corresponding price was... the death of one's character in the game was mirrored by death in real life."

Surviving in the game was extremely, extremely, extremely hard.

When players first entered the game, they would appear in an abandoned village, which became their own territory. Players would also have a small number of initial soldiers, like long spear soldiers, crossbow archers, bandits, goblins, or other ordinary soldiers.

Players needed to defend their territory, all the while ensuring their own survival.

However, their territorial surroundings were fraught with danger, with frequent disturbances and attacks by monsters. Some players failed at the beginning, some initially could fend off the invaders, but with the passage of time, player's soldiers got injured, their combat power was continuously reduced, and eventually they couldn't hold out.

The game world was too dangerous!

Being chosen by the game, it was hard to say whether it was good fortune or misfortune.

Mu Yuan was naturally longing for the supernatural power, and initially, he too had hoped that he could get selected to play the game.

But when he thought about the players who had died tragically, their bloodied bodies, the undeniable fear in their eyes, he got hesitant again.

If after getting selected to play the game, one lives in constant fear, it'd better not to get selected at all.

At least in Xuan Country of this world, it was peaceful and ordinary folks could also live comfortably if they had money.

"Rather than pursuing something as unreliable and rare as a game spot, it's better to find ways to make money. Making money is the most important thing."

"Ding!"

The sound exploded in his ears like a heavenly melody.

A gust of wind blew away the drifting fog, revealing the vast landscape. There were ancient trees standing tall, huge birds flying past, settling on the trees; towering cities where solemn soldiers guarded the city walls, their swords pointing at the faraway tides; there were also withered trees, parched lands, and ominous red fog drifting around.

The vast world suddenly unfolded before his eyes.

Words as hot as fire appeared one by one, mysterious yet ancient,

"Shrouded in white mist, filth overflows, the epic legions tread across the sky, the immortal heroic spirits resonate eternally."

"The chosen young man, you have entered the Eternal Continent, now, please fight to save the world."

The ancient characters slowly faded, and the view in front of him zoomed swiftly from far to near, finally focusing on a small village of only a few wooden houses.

Mu Yuan woke up abruptly.

The vast world shattered like the moon's reflection in the water, he seemed to wake from a dream, drenched in sweat. But looking at the game that was running somehow, and the ruined village on the game screen, all Mu Yuan could do was to ask aloud:

"What?"

——

PS: Launching a new book, the greenhand seeks support, collection, and follow-up reading QAQ~