The military-uniformed man was Zhao Kun, a reborn individual. He utilized his previous life’s data and seemingly prophetic memories to mastermind the plan for the game “Tales of the Unusual” with the intention of easing the pressure on Dragon Federation’s government and accelerating the sealing of the Ghost Realm.
Despite their efforts to mitigate its impact, the Ghost Realm’s mental contamination on humanity overwhelmed many with fragile psyches, causing severe mental breakdowns within the game. Zhao Kun, now past his forties, was tormented by this, spending sleepless nights agonizing over his decisions: whether to let people perish for the Federation’s sake, preserving necessary strength for the impending apocalypse, or to gamble everything by disclosing the truth and deploying the Federation’s military might to seal the Ghost Realm.
Faced with this dilemma, the Federation’s upper echelons chose the former, prioritizing the majority’s welfare over risking the nation’s fate. Zhao Kun sighed in sorrow, wondering if his miraculous rebirth could avert humanity’s impending doomsday and stop the advent of the catastrophic epoch of great ruin that threatened all life on Earth.
If only the deities could awaken…
As usual, Zhao Kun prayed to Earth’s spirit, the embodiment of Earth’s consciousness, though it probably could not hear him. In the Epoch of Great Ruin, this belief in Earth’s consciousness was the spiritual faith that sustained humanity’s survival, with the deity symbolizing their sole hope.
Zhao Kun was no exception.
He recalled the despair and madness that had gripped the survivors in his previous life, often leading to mass suicide. A wave of pain struck his temples again.
Everything would change… it had to.
Analyzing the game data from “Tales of the Unusual”, he strategized the next steps for sealing and containment. As the frequency of Ghost Realm occurrences accelerated, the urgent need to seal the Slaughterhouse Ghost Realm, with its intense magnetic fluctuations, became apparent to prevent a chain reaction across Dragon Country.
This was also why the game “Tales of the Unusual” continued. Time was running short.
Beep!
Just then, his terminal beeped. A holographic screen popped up with a soldier excitedly reporting good news: the advanced instance, the Slaughterhouse Ghost Realm, had stabilized, just like the haunted manor and the Ghost Realm in Lihe city, and the Ghost Realm in Keli City that had popped up a few years ago. It no longer expanded, and even forbade human entry.
In other words, the Ghost Realm had been fully and absolutely sealed! It would no longer pose any danger!
Only then did Zhao Kun smile for the first time in a while. This must’ve been a divine blessing! His strategy was a step in the right direction!
The exact sealing mechanism remained unknown, but it was clear their relentless efforts had paid off. Now, they had to race against time.
Tales of the Unusual, Article 5: Blank’s Curse
In Yuxun City, a strange tale of a web ghost named “Blank” emerged.
It was said that a young man, known online only as “Blank,” fell in love on the internet. He was so engrossed in this romance, so obsessed with his unseen girlfriend, that his days were spent in eager anticipation of her messages, as if they were the very essence of his existence.
Alas, the love story did not end well. Blank was abandoned by his girlfriend after she drained his finances and then vanished without a trace.
Unable to face reality, Blank left numerous messages in their private chatroom.
April 1st
——[Please, come back.]
…
April 5th
——[I can’t live without you.]
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
…
Cqgli 10at
——[If I killed myself, would you come back?]
Zjs 20at
——[…I’ve found you.]
Ojafg, atf qbilmf vlrmbnfgfv Dijcx’r ybvs lc tlr tbwf.
Lf tjv vlfv lc atf fjgis tbegr bo Cqgli 11at, yea atf mtjagbbw’r wfrrjufr mbcalcefv ecali Zjs 20at.
Ktf qbilmf, lcnfralujalcu oegatfg, obecv atja Dijcx’r jmmbeca kjr ogfdefcais jmmfrrfv joafg tlr vfjat, jii ogbw atf rjwf PU jvvgfrr – tlr tbwf.
This chilling case garnered immense attention online, even giving rise to a legend about Blank’s curse.
Legend had it that Blank’s ghost wandered the internet. If someone, at midnight, created a single-user chatroom and typed, [Blank, Blank, does my loved one love me?], Blank would appear in the chatroom, granting their wish for an unattainable love.
But Blank would not tolerate separation.
Should anyone try to end this love, the betrayer would die a bizarre death, their body covered in fine cuts, as if bound by a broken red string of fate cutting into their flesh.
This tale ignited a frenzy among lovelorn youths desperate for perfect love.
Soon after, several high school students in Yuxun City died under similar circumstances.
Fear of death finally silenced the tale, as people dared not venture any closer.
——[Blank, Blank, I want to end this relationship. Could you please release us from this fate?]
——[Die die die die die die die die die]
Blood stained the chatroom’s interface.
Click——
——[Ai Ai from S-country is so beautiful, and her husband is so handsome. They’re a perfect match!]
Yao Ye sneered maliciously as he read a post on an anonymous forum.
What beauty? She was nothing but a gold-digger. Why else would she marry a rich scion?
She was just a filthy mistress who climbed up the ranks!
He clicked on the post and began typing, his pale and delicate face filled with smug satisfaction.
——[Yeah, a bitch paired with a dog, together forever. That whore and that tiny-dicked man are a match made in heaven!]
The post, in bold red letters, sparked outrage among the forum members.
——[What are you talking about? Are you crazy?]
——[Keyboard warrior! Disgusting pervert, get the hell out!]
——[It’s you again! An anonymous forum isn’t lawless. Stop it or I’ll report you!]
——[Here he comes again, the foul-mouthed jerk!]
——[Can’t the moderator ban this person? Always spewing filth, polluting our eyes!]
——[What did Ai Ai do to you? Speaking of which, you must have a miserable life. That’s why you’re ranting online, right? Haha.]
Reading the last reply, Yao Ye’s cheeks flushed with anger.
Personal attack! This was a personal attack!
Unhappy? Like hell he was! These naive elementary kids with no brains were always repeating the same thing! He was living great!
Biting his finger in frustration, Yao Ye left a bite mark on his slender, pale knuckle.
Damn it, were these people all brainwashed? Why were they still supporting that fake bitch?
Heh. Since they had the time and energy, why not spare some attention to national affairs instead? They were just a bunch of bored gossipers with nothing better to do in their lives!
Thinking this, Yao Ye, unable to contain his anger, resumed his furious typing, turning a small post into a heated forum debate.
After a long battle of words with countless netizens, Yao Ye triumphantly left the post amid curses.
Hmph. They thought they could outwit me with such limited vocabulary?!
Returning to reality, Yao Ye straightened up, his spine and neck cracking. His back ached, and his stomach burned.
Blinking his dry eyes, Yao Ye realized he hadn’t eaten all day. It was time for a meal.
“Phew!” Yao Ye stretched languidly.
In the dim room, the only light came from his computer screen, barely illuminating the messy floor littered with chip bags, takeaway containers, and snack wrappers.
Creatures fond of the dark, like rats and roaches, scurried among the trash.
As a shut-in, Yao Ye disliked sunlight, so his windows were always shut, curtains drawn.
He dressed in a loose white tank top and black shorts, moving confidently in the dark to switch on the wall light.
Click——
The light flickered on, and Yao Ye squinted his pretty, cat-like eyes, momentarily disoriented by the brightness. His eyes, accustomed to the dim glow of the computer screen, struggled to adjust to the sudden illumination.
Rubbing his eyes to alleviate the discomfort, Yao Ye checked his wallet, only to find it nearly empty. With a frown, he resigned himself to preparing instant noodles. He was already familiar with the routine of feasting on takeout when flush with cash and resorting to instant noodles when funds were low.
Cooking the noodles was a simple affair, though the taste was just passable.
“Slurp—”
Soon enough, the noodles were ready. Yao Ye sipped the broth, a sigh of contentment escaping his lips. The simple pleasure of a full stomach seemed like the height of luxury.
But joy quickly turned to misfortune. His numb fingers, worn out from relentless typing, failed to grip the bowl properly, spilling it and scalding his skin.
“Owww—”
Pain shot through Yao Ye, reddening his eyes as he cursed loudly.
“It hurts! It hurts, damn it! Ow, ow… Fucking hell! Stupid guy up above, why do you always make me deal with these awful things?! Damn it all!”
His youthful face, incongruously angelic, made his foul-mouthed tirade seem all the more jarring. Tears and snot smeared his face as he cursed and cried, childishly stomping around, prompting the downstairs neighbor to angrily bang on the ceiling with a broom and yell in fury.
Hearing the complaints from below, Yao Ye, not one to back down, flung open the balcony window and unleashed a torrent of insults downward. His voice, loud and piercing in the dead of night, disturbed the peace of the entire apartment complex.
Eventually, the neighbor, unable to bear the whispered complaints and disdain of others, retreated indoors in shame.
Peering from their balconies, the other residents thought to themselves, “He seemed like a normal young man. Who could’ve expected that he would be so unhinged?”
Triumphant, Yao Ye snorted and closed the window, his hand’s burn forgotten in the thrill of verbal victory.
Returning to his room, he carelessly applied ointment to the burn. He was about to retire early for the night when a message alert pinged on his computer.
A message from an online friend named “Blank.”
——[Ye’er, are you there?]
Yao Ye rolled his eyes in annoyance and disdain.
Again with this nuisance, constantly messaging at all hours.
——[Nope]
He typed back perfunctorily with his uninjured right hand.
——[…]
——[Please don’t be mad, Ye’er. You’re the cutest.]
Yao Ye: “…”
He felt his skin crawl at the message.
This guy was unbearably clingy and annoying. He was a straight fool who thought that saying pretty words was romantic.
Yao Ye genuinely loathed him.
Initially, Yao Ye had stumbled upon this self-proclaimed suicidal netizen on an anonymous forum. Mistaking his gender for female and thinking that he could possibly be a wealthy and beautiful woman, Yao Ye had eagerly messaged him, dissuading him from suicide.
After successfully preventing the suicide, Yao Ye realized he’d been duped. The gender field was left default by Blank, who turned out to be a fat otaku.
Yao Ye’s dream of hooking a rich beauty shattered.
Enraged, he devised a plan to disguise himself as a woman, determined to swindle this damned otaku out of every last penny, much like he had done many times before. He wouldn’t rest until he had made these repulsive otakus weep.
A new arc has started!! 🥳🥳