October 1
Seven days ago, the novel world was shaken by the sudden rise of a new author, RealityKing, with his release titled 'Heavenly Path Awakened: Growing Through Every Storm.' This novel seemed to come out of nowhere, yet within days, it had amassed a staggering 5.7 million views and nearly 50,000 collections, even with barely twenty chapters published. Now, it was splashed across every promotional banner and recommendation list on the platform.
The rapid rise of 'Heavenly Path Awakened' left readers and authors baffled. Some called it luck; others suspected the author had some secret advantage—perhaps even hacking the platform. Platform officials, however, dismissed any technical issues of sort, deepening the mystery.
...
Meanwhile, in a large, stylishly furnished room illuminated by soft, colorful lights, a nineteen-year-old boy sat at a desk filled with high-end computers. Gentle instrumental music played through his headset, calming his brain.
"Dammit! This MC is an idiot!" Zhang Feng muttered, scowling as he clenched his fists.
His expression shifted from anger to disappointment and then back to anger as he kept reading.
After a few minutes, he let out a frustrated groan and slammed his fist on the desk. "Who the hell wrote this crap?" he shouted to the empty room.
His voice echoed, breaking the silence.
"A waste of my precious time!"
With a loud thud, Zhang Feng yanked off his headset and hurled it across the room, his mind overtaken by anger and regret.
After days and sleepless nights in front of his computer, he was drained, his body craving rest. But just before heading to bed, he decided to check the web novel rankings, something he hadn't done in a while.
To his surprise, he found 'Heavenly Path Awakened' in the top 10 trending list.
As a popular streamer, Zhang Feng was no stranger to the buzz around new releases. Over the past few days, he'd seen countless streamers discussing 'Heavenly Path Awakened,' but he had been too deeply occupied with his own project to read or broadcast about the novel himself.
"Is there something groundbreaking about this book that sets it apart?" Filled with curiosity, he clicked on it, expecting to find some unique charm that explained its fast growth—only to be met with utter disappointment.
Zhang Feng let out an irritated sigh, running his hand through his hair as he stared at the screen in disbelief.
"Unbelievable…"
"These days, people jump into writing without even understanding the basics," he scoffed, voice dripping with disdain. "They think they can just slap words together and call it a story."
For a few moments, he sat there, trying to calm himself. But his mind wouldn't let it go. How could such a poorly written story gain so much popularity?
His anger only grew as he imagined readers blindly following the plot, hyping it up as though it were a masterpiece.
He laughed bitterly when he saw the novel's reviews filled with praises. "What a joke! Ridiculous. Are these people ignorant or what?"
Click! Click!...
Without hesitation, Zhang Feng's fingers flew over the keyboard as he set up his livestream, his tired face illuminated by the glow of his monitor. He took a few deep breaths, regaining his composure before hitting the 'Go Live' button.
"Yo, what's up, guys? It's been a while since my last stream—work's been crazy, you know..."
"…I usually don't waste my time on trash novels, but this one, 'Heavenly Path Awakened,' is everywhere, and I just can't stay quiet."
Immediately, comments started popping in as his loyal fans joined the stream after notification of his broadcast.
-InfinityKing: Oh? Feng-ge is mad! Spill it, bro!
-Meetmeking001: Dude, you remember us! ◉‿◉
-A_boy_called_john: Feng-ge, drop an update on the project you're working on.
-Annoymus_user: Go ahead!!
More comments poured in as his viewers joined the stream.
-Badguy: Finally, someone's gonna roast this overrated mess.
Zhang Feng chuckled, adjusting his mic. "I spent an hour reading through this so-called 'masterpiece' everyone's hyping up. Let me tell you of my observation.. my point of view though."
He pulled up the novel on his screen, scrolling through a few chapters with a deep scowl. "There's no character development, the pacing is painfully slow, and the structure is a mess. The MC is so idiotic. This novel doesn't deserve the flow...." Pointing out tons of errors.
He shook his head, rubbing his temples. "And the title? It doesn't match the story at all. How is the MC supposed to survive in that world without a unique talent? The author clearly didn't plot anything..."
-NotAvailable: Needs hours of editing before it even counts as a 'novel'.
-WeebLord: Dropped it after a few chapters. Not promising.
-DarkMan: All hype, nothing else. Should be called 'Heavenly Path Wasted' insteadಠ,_｣ಠ.
Zhang Feng shook his head, sighing. "I'd rather read random forum posts; at least those have more emotion. This? It's just empty words."
Leaning closer to the camera, he lowered his voice. "You guys know something is off, right? This thing has millions of views, but why? It's like someone is pulling strings from behind."
-NextDoor: Haha, it's being shoved in our faces, but there is no soul in it!
-NightTiger: Zhang Feng-ge going full detective mode!
-MadDude: Expose it, bro!
-User262: Bunch of cliches thrown in to grab attention.
-ChosenOne: Trash goes trending, and the gems stay hidden.
-User234074: *sighs* Real talent buried under stuff like this.
Typing.....
More comments flooded in.
"There are so many talented authors out there who deserve the spotlight. But no, this garbage gets all the attention. The whole thing is just messed up."
He paused, his voice softening. "It's sad. Real stories are buried under stuff like this. But people keep chasing the hype."
Nodding at the camera, he continued, "So yeah, 'Heavenly Path'? Not worth your time. Let's support the real gems."
"Oh, one more thing!" He broke into a smile. "Tomorrow, my team and I will release the project for beta testing!"
He decided to end the stream there after dropping the announcement.
As Zhang Feng clicked to end the livestream, strangely, the interface froze.
At first, he thought it was a standard glitch, but the screen flickered unnaturally before going black and then lighting up again on its own.
"W-What the hell?" he shouted, jumping up from his chair.
A message appeared on the screen.
⟨Oh, Zhang Feng, why don't you put yourself in my MC's shoes? Are you sure you'd do any better?—RealityKing⟩
"REALITYKING! HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE?" he exclaimed in shock.
Zhang Feng's eyes widened. "F*ck! What did this bastard do to my system?" he muttered, trying to dismiss the unsettling feeling.
He felt a wave of relief and sat back down.
He quickly typed a string of curses but cleared it all and sent a middle-finger emoji instead.
Seconds later, another message popped up.
⟨Let's say you get sent into that world, are you sure you would survive?⟩
Click! Click!
His hands speedily ran through the keyboard.
Zhang Feng replied... ⟨Dude, even if you've read the coolest web novels, don't think that stuff works in real life. But about your question—yeah, I'm 100% sure I'd survive in that world⟩
He hit 'send' and waited, keeping his gaze locked on the screen.
RealityKing's replies came almost instantly, like he had them pre-written and ready to go.
⟨Alright then, hehe. So be it. Good luck xD⟩
That was the last reply he received.
"How was it possible!" Zhang shouted in annoyance, typing away to strengthen his system's security without thinking much of what happened.
Zhang Feng's skin prickled. The air felt colder—strangely. A faint hum filled the room, vibrating through everywhere.
His pulse quickened as the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. He glanced around, but nothing seemed out of place. But the eerie sensation wouldn't leave which confused him.
Then, it hit. A burning pain, sharp and sudden, shot through his chest, like someone had driven a knife into him. He gasped for air, eyes wide, the room beginning to tilt and spin. He fell off the chair.
"What's… happening to me?" Seeking for air.
The pain in his chest spread like wildfire while his vision darkened. For a fleeting moment, it felt as though the room itself had disappeared, replaced by a void of swirling lights and shadows.
Then, another message appeared on his screen.
⟨You're no longer just a reader, Zhang Feng. You're part of the story now.⟩