The rain poured down in torrents and impinged through the night.
This was a self-built house in the countryside and it had been weathered through the years; the walls were stained with every kind of filth and there was a pile of rusty farming tools abandoned in a corner and it was emitting an unfathomable stench.
A hanging lamp hung down from the ceiling in a constant sway and the light was flickering. In front of an old-fashioned television, people were seated in a circle on a shabby sofa.
Perhaps due to the lack of a signal, the television screen was flashing with black and white particles, and the noise of static it produced was harsh to the ears.
On the sofa sat a doughty and robust man wearing a gold chain necklace, a female high school student in her JK uniform and a gentle-looking office workerโฆ who were obviously unrelated to each other but they were seated together.
No one spoke.
Lightning was thundering outside the window, and the television black screened momentarily before it turned on again, but the static brought forth another high and hysterical female voice:
ใ Welcome to Infinite Nightmare Game ใ
ใ You have entered the Novice level ใ
ใ Please attend Mr. Aโs Funeral and find the murderer ใ
After her words ended, only her neurotic laughter remained and it caused a shiver to run down peopleโs spines.
Finally, someone could no longer bear it as they stood up: โWhat the hell is happening? Can anyone please tell me?โ
The person who spoke was a businessman in a suit and leather shoes, and he would look down at his wristwatch from time to time as if he was worried about losing his award for full attendance. However, his watch seemed to be broken because it was perpetually stuck at seven and it did not move any further.
His question was like a switch that sparked the emotions that the others had.
The female student lowered her head and wept: โI want to go homeโฆโ
The office worker strode towards the door and tried to pull it open but the door remained tightly shut and it did not budge the slightest.
Gold Chain stood up to observe the entire room.
The windows were sealed shut with boards of wood nailed on top of it. Gold Chain picked up an axe from the pile of farming tools and chopped down hard, with every intention to smash open the window.
PengโThe axe fell and the wood splintered and cracks akin to a spiderweb appeared on the glass window.
Joy sprang in Gold Chainโs heart, โThereโs hope.โ
Saying that, he raised the axe, trying to shatter the glass directly. However, before the axe could fall, a bloody handprint impacted the window with a smacking noise.
Startled, the axe slipped out of his grip and fell to the ground with a dull thud.
Pa Pa Paโ
Numerous bloody handprints smeared themselves on the window and it seemed to want to break the thin glass to enter. And the window trembled, as if it was going to give way any second.
Gold Chain took a step back and he swallowed: โWhatโs going on? Is there really a ghost?โ
โWhat ghost? Theyโre just trying to deceive us!โ The office worker was more irritable by comparison and picked up the axe that had fallen to the ground. โMove out of my way.โ
With one hand, he shoved Gold Chain away and raised the axe before he swung down heavily.
Just before it could land, the glass shattered with a sharp note.
The office workerโs movement ceased, and he watched as a pale hand emerged from the darkness outside the window and grabbed hold of his arm.
โWhat the hell is this thing!โ Bewildered, the office worker tried to throw off its grip.
But the strange bony hand had immense strength in spite of being as thin as firewood, and it dragged the office worker outside.
Finally understanding that this was not something a human could accomplish, the office worker yelled out in fear as he was about to be pulled out of the room: โSave meโโ
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.
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There was dead silence in the hall.
Save the noise of someone gnawing and gorging themselves on something.
โYou should be glad that you are an idiot less.โ The person seated in the middle of the sofa crossed his legs with one poised in the air. โIโll give you the first tip, donโt act on a whim. Over here, even a blade of grass or a flower might take your life.โ
After going through the scenario just now, everyone was well-behaved, and hearing that personโs words was like finding a pillar and they all looked over.
The man was pleased by their response. โMy surname is Chen, you can just call me Old Chen.โ
Gold Chain was extremely direct; he walked over that instant and gave him a cigarette: โOld Chen, have you played this before?โ
Old Chen gave him an admiring glance as he took the cigarette. โIโve played it twice. Novices tasks are relatively simpler; as long as you follow me obediently, there will be no problems.โ
Once he said those words, the gazes that everyone looked at him with grew hotter.
โHoweverโฆโ Old Chen flicked away some of the soot as he went on another tangent, โThereโs no such thing as a free pie falling from the sky.โ
A thin and weak man with shaggy yellow hair asked: โHow much do you want?โ
Old Chen hooked up his lips in a fit of irony, โWhile you are here, money is essentially wastepaper. I want the points you receive after passing through clearance.โ
The female high school student asked weakly: โWhat can the points be used for?โ
โGood question,โ said Old Chen. โPoints can be exchanged for some life-saving items but the mall only opens after you have completed the novice task. Therefore, unless you survive the novice task, you have no use for the points.โ
Yellow Hair, who had read many web novels, thought: โItโs like the horror games written in the novels.โ
โHmmโฆโ Old Chen exhaled a puff of smoke, โItโs similar but donโt think youโre the protagonist. Everyone here are unfortunate people who have to struggle at deathโs door because of this game, who can only leave this bad luck game after clearing ten games.โ
Gold Chain thought further and asked, โCan you guarantee our safety?โ
Old Chen did not answer him directly but said, โAs long as you donโt go courting death.โ
The man with shaggy yellow hair and the female high school student were simpler by virtue of their age, and they immediately agreed to Old Chenโs conditions because they wanted to preserve their lives. After seeing them agree, Gold Chain could only go with the flow.
Old Chen calculated how many points he would be credited and his face lit up with a smile. โDo you still have any questions? Iโll tell you what I know.โ
โExcuse meโฆโ
Just then, someone seated at the corner of the sofa raised their hand.
Everyone looked over.
There was a young man sitting in a corner, and probably because he had yet to utter a word, he was without a sense of existence. He had a pair of distinctive, almond-shaped eyes that glimmered for knowledge, and it made him appear very obedient and cute. And when he smiled, he even revealed a small tiger tooth.
Unconcerned, Old Chen said, โYou may ask.โ
The young man raised his phone and asked with visible distress: โWhy canโt we play Fight the Landlord here?โ
Other people: โฆโฆ
The female high school student whispered: โThereโs no signal here.โ
Prior to this, she had tried to call the police but it seemed like all the electronic facilities had failed and there were virtually no contact with the outside world.
โOh.โ
The young man kept his phone in frustration.
Old Chen: Is this person a fool? Why was he still thinking about Fighting the Landlord in a dangerous place like this?
Despite his suspicions that the young man might be abnormal, it did not prevent him from trying to earn some points. Hence, he put on a kind appearance: โWhatโs your name?โ
The young man was unprepared: โShen Dongqing.โ
Old Chen smiled, โIf you promise to give me your points, Iโll take your through clearance.โ
Shen Dongqing raised his eyelids to give him a glance. โNo need.โ
Old Chenโs smile stiffened and it became a few degrees colder. With a tone deep with meaning, he said, โThis world is very dangerous. Didnโt you see what happened to the office worker just now? If you are not careful, even you canโt keep your life. And compared to life, are points that important?โ
His words was teeming with veiled threats.
Shen Dongqing: โOh.โ
His smile disappeared completely. With a gloomy expression, Old Chen said, โYoung people have always loved flaunting their superiority. But what they donโt know is that sometimes flaunting comes with a terrible price.โ
Old Chen wanted to scare him.
The people here were all novices. While novice tasks were not difficult, the points being rewarded were very high. And for Old Chen, every fleece had to be sheared.
But he did not expect that after he finished speaking, the boy was still unmoved.
Shen Dongqing had been fiddling with his phone, and he only reacted after he raised his head to realise that Old Chen was glaring at him with dead eyes. โYou were talking to me?โ
He thought about his words before he politely replied, โThank you for your reminder, but Iโm not a young man anymore.โ
Shen Dongqing was actually a millennial-old ghost who consistently failed at reincarnating, and he had been living on earth in a muddled and ignorant state until he suddenly came into possession of a body one day.
However, before he had the time to enjoy high-tech products like mobile phones and computers, he had been dragged into this world. And while he had felt the presence of several ghosts in the house, he was more concerned about the games he could not play on his phone.
Old Chen almost crushed the cigarette in his hands: Who the hell was trying to remind you? I was threatening you!
He was about to give this boy a lesson when footsteps sounded near the door.
Everyone present looked towards the door nervously, save Shen Dongqing who chose to lower his head to study his phone carefully. He was trying to find a game he could play that did not require a signal.
Creakโ
A gap opened at the door and a woman in a black long-sleeved dress with a black fabric hanging on her arm peeked through the gap. Her face was bloodless and she was wearing a mourning expression.
Standing at the door, she said softly, โIt must have been really hard for all of you to come such a long way, and we would like to invite you to stay here for a while. In accordance to our customs, we have to keep the coffin in temporary shelter for three days before we hold the funeral procession and see my husband for the last time.โ
No one dared to speak.
But Old Chen said, โIt wasnโt hard.โ
Mr. Aโs widow glanced at Old Chen and whispered: โYour rooms are on the second floor. Please rest for the night first; you can casually stroll around tomorrow, but you are forbidden from going to the last room on the third floor. Additionally, the people in the village are considerably older, and they do not like being disturbed at night.โ
Once she finished speaking, the widow left and closed the door on her way out.
At that moment, the people in the hall saw two rows of wreaths arranged outside, along with all sorts of paper dolls which made the scene look chilling.
Yellow Hair was slightly moved: โWas she a NPC?โ
Old Chen gave him a glance before he looked away, โOr she could be a ferocious ghost that wants your life. You should listen to her, in the game, the best words to follow are the NPCโs.โ
Thirsting for more knowledge, Yellow Hair asked: โWhat if you donโt listen?โ
Old Chenโs answer was demoralising, โThe ones who didnโt listen are all dead.โ
The self-constructed house in the countryside was very spacious. There was a long corridor on the second floor, and when it was cold and without light, it seemed like there was no end to it. It was only after the lights were turned on that a row of closed doors from start to end could be seen.
The female high school student raised a very important question: โWhat if an accident occurs when we split up at night?โ
She was the only girl here.
Old Chen: โIn any case, this task will have a duration of three days. The four of us squeezing in the same room is nothing. Weโll stay in this room, if anything happens, itโll be easier to escape.โ
He pointed at the room that was closest to the corridor.
The female student calmed down. But as she was walking into the room, she suddenly thought of a question: โFour?โ
She, Old Chen, Yellow Hair and Gold Chain were four people, but they had another person, no?
Old Chen sneered when he heard her question: โIf someone wants to seek death, is that our fault? Since heโs alone, he can attract the ghostโs attention too, isnโt that great?โ
Gold Chain was an adult. Naturally, he had no opinions. And upon further consideration, if the youth did not die, then the person who would end up dying might be them.
The female high school student was a little embarrassed but she did not have any other choice. Thus, she chose to keep quiet.
Shen Dongqing did not mind being squeezed out. He fell behind the group and slowly trudged up the stairs, expressing worry in the scrunch of his delicate and pretty eyebrows.
Old Chen crossed his arms and looked at him. โAre you afraid? Itโs not too late to regret it now.โ
Shen Dongqing did not understand why this person was showing constant concern for him. When he was a ghost, it had been cold and lonely, and he did not expect that after becoming a human, he could even feel the warmth that interpersonal relations brought.
But Shen Dongqing was used to being indifferent and he did not know how to reply, and he could only say stiffly, โIโm not afraid.โ
Old Chen laughed coldly, โDead ducks have hard mouths; I advise you to get off your high horse and obediently admit to your faults and give your points to me and I might help you keep your life.โ
Shen Dongqing said seriously, โThank you for your concern, but Iโm really not afraid. I was just wondering why I couldnโt play a single game on my phone.โ
Old Chen: ? Iโm concerned about your points and youโre being concerned about the games on your phone?
After Shen Dongqing said his piece, he was afraid that Old Chen would try to continue the conversation and he immediately opened the door that was next to him and walked in before Old Chen could speak.
Pengโ
The door closed.
Old Chen looked at the door of the room, and only felt that he had been looked down upon by an audacious novice. He sneered: โThere will come a time where you regret it.โ
*
Shen Dongqing walked into the room.
There was a bed and a cabinet in the room and it was furnished with its own personal bathroom. All in all, it looked very simple. However, the only exception to the simplicity was the black and white portrait of the deceased hanging on the wall.
The man in the portrait was a male in his thirties, and he looked like a gentleman. He stared at the person who had walked in with vicious eyes, and he was more like a living creature rather than a photograph.
Shen Dongqing stood rooted the ground as if he had been scared silly.
The black and white portrait was extremely satisfied with his response as his eyes rolled back and he started to bleed two stream of blood tears. His arms raised as if he wanted to break free from the constraints of the frame and grab the person in front of him.
Cry, scream in fearโฆ
As long as you break the rules, I can openly kill youโฆ
The black and white portrait held onto the photo frame with one hand while the other was like a noodle as it elongated and reached towards the person in the room. It was about to touch Shen Dongqing whenโ
Shen Dongqing recalled the interpersonal communication between human beings and he raised his hand to hold that ice cold appendage.
โHello.โ He even shook his hand sincerely, โIโll be staying here for three days, Iโll be troubling you.โ
๐๐๐
I think Shen Dongqing would be appropriate to be Xiao Li’s (from IWBL) best friend…
IWBL?
Yes, IWBL (I wasn’t born lucky). You can also find it here in CG. Under modern category and was translated by rainbowturtle.
I can’t find it :((
It was removed from this website– you can find it on rainbow turtles website ;>
+100000
+++100000000000+++
I can’t find it ๐
+1
+6666666666666666
+100000000000000000000000000000000
One hundred % agreed.
+10000000 ๐บ was thinking the same thing. just imagine if they were together. Everyone’s mind would break ๐
Chef kiss at the suggestion ๐๐
+1 exactly! Such friendly people
Also Gu Wuji from ACESLCM
Right,those trio like to interact with non-human beings
What is ACESLCM?
A Crowd of Evil Spirit Lines up to Confess to Me
Thank you!
well…you need to greet the house owner. ๐๐๐๐คฃ๐คฃ at first I thought this somehow a lil bit similar to Card Room but then, lmao!!
I think this will be a funny ride lololol
Thx for picking up a new novel :3
I too would die without my phone.
+1 I wouldn’t even survive as a ghost
I dont know what to say.. he remind me of Xiao Li (IWBL) who like to think nothing but do his own thing ๐ค๐ค oh!! And let see if he also torture ghost ๐๐
Who’s that? Which novel? Can you please tell me?? I wanna know~
“I Wasn’t Born Lucky” another translation of Chrysanthemum Garden
Thanks for the chapter.
For me the main character remind me of Gu Wuji from A Crowd of Evil Spirits Lines up to Confess to Me
Same! I was just going to write a comment saying that! ๐
Heโs worse than Xiao Li. ๐
Thank you
He definitely can give Xiao Li a run for his money, except SDQ unintentionally does it xD
reads the last paragraph
Pffffhahahahaha ๐๐๐
man: Hello, does anyone here knows what happened?
Everyone there shook their head. Not knowing what happened.
Man: why don’t we introduce ourselves first and try to piece together how each of us arrived here. My name is ‘insert name’
-after all have introduced themselves except for the calm youth and Sheng Dongqing-
The man looked towards the youth and asked him his name
The youth: my name is Sherlock
Others: ??
Sheng Dongqing: are we playing a game? Since I can’t play fight the landlord here then I’ll play along. My name is Watson ^_^
Others: ??!!
From then on, Sherlock and his assistant Watson became famous for torturing ghost and able to complete instance perfectly.
-end-
Lol I could totally imagine Sheng Dongqing and Xiao Li getting along well. They can be the best duo lol
๐
๐
Oh my that would be a fantastic scenario
I can totally see that happening ๐
One likes to make friends with ghosts and the other is a ghost who likes to play, a perfect dou indeed, they’ll be the ghosts worst nightmares (except for Sheng Dongqing)
God you are really great scenarist
lol imagine the ghost reaction
Jajajaja me enamorรฉ de este escrito, asรญ que por aquรญ me tendrรกs buscando cactus.
Actus, actualizaciones*
3 days straight of updates? Great!
Thank you for the translations, I’m enjoying reading it
Woops, wrong chapter, I thought this was on the latest, ch12
I love these novels! screech Especially the MC who is cool as ice and hilarious when meeting ghosts.
Thanks for picking up this novel! And for the great translation.
My gawdddd…im laughing like mad๐๐๐
Wow! Its just the first chapter and its already funny ๐๐๐
This is so cool thanks for the translation omegesh
I love Shen Dongqing already, his social ineptness is adorable and growing on me.
Hello, Yuuki-san!
I’m Reo from Indonesia, can I translate this novel into Indonesian and post it on my wattpad account?
Of course I will give you credit in it ๐
This novel is very interesting, and I want to share it with Indonesian readers hehe
๐๐
๐๐๐
Woah!!!! Im on this ship…. Set sail comrades…
clap clap clap
Thank you for the chapter
I love him already
Oh my God he’s too innocent. This cinnamon bun must be protected!!
Starting this novel now and Iโm already hooked!
Thanks for your hard work! ๐
the others are scared to death but
Shen Donqing: Hello shakes the hand
laugh my ass out
๐
Ufff… what a nice profile picture, I see you are a person of culture~
of course been a fan of old xian’s 19 days ..you just can’t resist beautiful and handsome babes๐ฑ being a fujoshi that is๐๐๐คฃ
LOVING IT!!!! looking forward to the interactions of MC towards the ghost and his yet to appear ML!!!!
Thank you for the translation!!!~
Starting the novel~
Thanks for the chapter ~๐ธ
Lmao MC is kind of adorkable lol.
Thank you for the chapter!
Oh my! This is only the beginning of the story yet itโs so interesting! Iโm quite excited to read this!
LOL, I did not think this was going to be that funny.
Mc is so cute and funny! ๐๐
Hahahah (o^โฝ^o)
Thanks for the chapter โค
Wonder what will happen if Shen Dongqing, Gu Wuji and Xiao Li are together. They’ll be making friends with ghosts everywhere. XD ๐คฃ
Pfffft
I saw someone else say it but this interaction kind of reminds me of Gu Wuji
This b!tch just shook hands with a ghost trying to kill him ๐ญ But he’s probably older than the portrait ghost so whatever I guess lol
he’ the polite and considerate elder๐๐ซถ
I am going to camp here๐๐๐
…? I’m getting deja vu on another work from the same genre.
What’s with the gibberish
I suddenly rememer that one protagonist at IWBL hahahaha
I decided to read this next. Laughing at the end
Looking forward to this one.
Thanks for translating
..he. is. so. fucking. cute? wtf brooooo i want youuuu