"Chen Jun, wake up! Wake up!"
The morning sun streamed through the classroom window, casting a warm glow on the row of desks.
"Hmm…" Chen Jun groaned, blinking his eyes opened. "Is it time to go?"
"No, man, check your phone! It's urgent," his friend insisted, shaking his shoulder more urgently.
"Never mind," Chen Jun muttered, then leaned on his table to return to sleep. "Why bother checking my phone? It's just full of useless notifications." His casual dismissal left his friend speechless as he closed his eyes again.
Chen Jun was a student by day and a part-timer by night, working as a clerk at a convenience store and bouncer at a night bar. Despite his unassuming appearance, his strength kept others at bay, making them hesitant to disturb him. Only his closest friends felt comfortable enough to do so.
"Just take a look at it, the whole world's going crazy over it!" His friend nagged persistently, his tone serious as if it were the end of the world.
"Fine, fine." Chen Jun couldn't sleep with all the nagging, so he had no choice. As he raised his head, he noticed the classroom was eerily quiet and strange, everyone glued to their screens. He glanced to his side and saw the fat man with a tattoo on his neck, the number one bully in the classroom also fixated on his phone.
"I don't know what kind of people did this, but the world's going crazy right now. Many people have suddenly gone missing," his friend whispered. Despite the countless emotions he felt, his eyes remained glued to his phone. He was like an addict, unable to look away.
Furrowing his brows, he retrieved his phone from his pocket. The cold screen contrasted sharply with his warm hand. Before he could even unlock it, countless notifications flooded the screen. Everyone turned to look at him, but upon recognizing him, they quickly returned to their own affairs.
Some of the notifications were from friends and other sources, but he ignored them as he clicked on the message that had caught his eye.
Hello, Player# 260304 Chen Jun, it seems you are awake,
"Huh?" He scanned the room before turning to his friend. "Is this you?"
"No, ignore that. Read the rest!"
The message continued:
Are you feeling unfulfilled? Fed up with the monotony of everyday life? Do you yearn for an escape from the endless routine of school, work, marriage, and the inevitability of death? Enter Global Monsters, an exhilarating game crafted by Freedom Inc. that guarantees thrills and happiness. Ready to embark on this adventure? Choose your path below.
Yes | No
He smirked. "Hackers are getting creative these days, huh? They even timed this to when I woke up."
When Ye Ming saw Chen Jun about to click "Yes," he quickly slapped his hand, his expression grim. "Don't choose. Look at the news and you'll understand why!"
Chen Jun was speechless. He had never seen his friend like this before, but he followed his friend's instructions and looked at the news.
FaceLibrary and PingPong were filled with news, gossip, and rumors about the strange email. It seemed like everyone in the world had received this message. He continued to scroll, growing more interested with each passing minute.
In the email, the message claimed that the game was created by Freedom Inc. However, upon thorough investigation, even with police assistance, it was concluded that no such company existed.
This caused widespread panic and confusion, and because of this incident, clashes of opinions were inevitable. Some believed it was the work of a godlike hacker, while others suggested it was from aliens.
Meanwhile, a group of fanatics insisted it was the work of gods, a sign of divine dissatisfaction with humanity, and a precursor to punishment.
However, the government remained silent, leaving only a message for everyone to stay calm. Yet, suspicion began to grow, and the lack of official action did little to quell the panic.
As Ye Ming had said, people were disappearing. The consensus was that those who chose "Yes" vanished, and the number of missing persons was rising rapidly, despite the phenomenon only starting today.
Chen Jun fell into deep thought, his expression growing more serious by the second. Suddenly, he remembered something significant.
"Is this…"
"Hey, go ahead and pick 'Yes'. I wanna see what all these clueless folks are yammering about!" a voice thundered across the room, cutting into Chen Jun's thoughts as the class bully delivered another slap to a student.
"But... but..." the bullied student stammered, a red imprint marking his face.
"What, you reckon aliens are gonna swoop in if you hit 'Yes', huh? You gotta be outta your mind!"
Chen Jun watched in silence. Like everyone else, he was confused and conflicted. In this age where information could be easily gathered and technology advanced by the second, it wasn't impossible for someone to be behind this. Perhaps someone had released an AI en masse through the internet.
The idea that the people spreading news were actually AI or something similar wasn't entirely implausible, considering similar incidents that had occurred decades ago and swept the internet.
People nowadays always believe in what they see, causing their critical thinking to decline over time.
"But what if..." the boy hesitated, holding his phone.
The number one bully, a fat young man with a quick temper, raised his hand threateningly to slap the boy who dared question him. But he immediately stopped as Chen Jun stood up from his seat, casting a stern look in his direction.
The bully became flustered. "What... what do you want?"
Chen Jun ignored the bully and looked at the boy.
Thin and small in build, with unkempt hair and pale skin, he wore glasses and trembled visibly. He was exactly the type who would be targeted by bullies.
He found a chair to sit in and said, "If you choose 'Yes' and it doesn't work, I promise this guy will never bully you again." He patted the bully on the shoulder, smiling. "Right?"
The bully nodded furiously. Chen Jun left a deep fear in his mind, so every time he saw him, he always remembered that incident.
The bullied student looked at him with wide eyes, his mouth opening but no words coming out. He couldn't believe someone would say that to him. Chen Jun's proposal tempted him, but remembering the news regarding missing people, he hesitated.
Everyone bullied him because of his nerdy appearance, yet despite this, he remained one of the top students in the class. He knew that Chen Jun's proposal might sound good, but it didn't benefit him in any way—the countless pieces of evidence against it were clear.
If he accepted and it turned out to be true, not only would he fall into Chen Jun's trap, but he would also disappear from this world. What was the use of bullying if there was no one to bully?
But what if it wasn't true? That doubt lingered, making the bullied student still hesitate.
Seeing the boy still hesitating, Chen Jun smiled and sighed, "Alright." He placed his hand on the back of the chair, ready to return to his seat.
The bullied student was conflicted, he wanted to say something but couldn't find the words. However, after some hesitation, he finally agreed. "I'll do what you want! But I have a condition. Can... can you also protect me from other bullies?"
"What?! You dare to negotiate with my... big bro?" The bully was enraged. How could this weak young man dare to negotiate with his big brother? He raised his hand to slap him, but a single glance from Chen Jun made him stop.
"It's a promise," Chen Jun nodded.
The boy held his phone, unable to hide his trembling hand from the eyes of others. The warm rays of the sun streaming through the window felt cold instead.
No one tried to stop them, not even the bullied student's friends. They only watched him, like animals in a zoo. As he looked around, everyone seemed dark, devoid of pity and sadness, showing only curiosity and joy. Had the world always been like this?
The bullied student felt the sting of a cruel world.
The young man clicked the screen and closed his eyes. Everyone held their breath, anticipation thick in the air. Some of the students opened their phones to record, while others started live streams so everyone outside the school could witness what was about to unfold.
Minutes passed in tense silence as everyone watched, anticipation hanging heavy in the air. The only sound was the faint hum of electronic devices recording the momentous event.
The classroom fell eerily quiet, like a ghost town, until the bully slapped his thigh, cursing, "Shit, it's not fucking true, is it?"
His words seemed to be a wake-up call for everyone. Ten minutes had passed, and according to the script, the young man would vanish into thin air after selecting the 'Yes' option. Now they realized they had been fooled by the internet.
A collective sigh of relief swept through the classroom, though some, including the bully and a few others, were dissatisfied. They had hoped to witness something amazing.
A drop of moisture touched the cold screen of the phone as the boy wiped his eyes. His mouth couldn't help but raise into a smile; he finally could escape from bullying and live like a true student.
The students dispersed, returning to their own affairs. Now that the evidence had proven the news true, they were no longer concerned about it.
The young man was left alone at the back, the sun continuing to shine on him. The bully, dissatisfied and angry, stormed outside, likely in search of another victim. Chen Jun also returned to his seat, the events of the day leaving a lasting impression on him.
-Ding!-
A loud sound rang out in the room, so piercing that everyone heard it. Notifications filled the air, causing everyone to suddenly become quiet and turn their heads. It was a terrifying sight for the young man, but he had no choice. Since the sound came from his phone, he quickly opened it.
With each passing second, his face grew paler, and the shaking of his phone intensified.
Congratulations, Player #1235235 Ming Wei, for diving into the world of Global Monsters. Rest assured, this game offers a fresh and exciting experience. Global Monsters, backed by Freedom Inc., guarantees to fulfill your desires in life.
True to its name, Global Monsters immerses players in a world where everyone undergoes a monstrous transformation. However, this transformation isn't voluntary; you'll be randomly metamorphosed into various kinds of monsters, ranging from weak to formidable, all determined by chance!
Good luck, player Ming Wei.
The message ended, and then instantly his phone turned black as a countdown appeared in the middle of the screen.
10... 9... 8...
"No! No!" The young man was shocked. Even though he had prepared himself, he still couldn't bear it when it happened. He threw the phone away as he ran outside, tears streaming from his eyes as he kept shouting.
The timer on the phone reached 1, visible to everyone.
Then something unexpected happened, something unexplainable that had never been seen on Earth.
The young man that everyone knew suddenly disappeared, vanishing into thin air...