What's going on?
Why did it suddenly get dark?!
A plume of black smoke shot straight into the sky, and such an obvious anomaly naturally attracted the attention of ordinary people.
Those who had just witnessed the "mage" manipulating the Hanging Ropes on the street were especially filled with wild imaginings.
It was a little past nine o'clock on a weekend morning, and the small county town of Shanque City was still immersed in a slow-paced and peaceful life.
Sunlight filtered through the thin clouds, illuminating every corner of the city. Pedestrians on the street either hurried along, carrying the smell of weekend overtime work and their resentment, or strolled leisurely, their faces beaming with smiles and a sense of relaxation.
Ambulances occasionally whiz by in front of the municipal hospital, breaking the tranquility but quickly blending back into the flow.
The aroma wafting from the street food stalls seemed to be unique to this city; everything felt so ordinary, so familiar.
However, at that very moment, the ordinary tranquility was ruthlessly shattered.
A strange plume of black smoke shot into the sky from somewhere in the city and spread rapidly. The smoke churned and expanded, soon turning into a dark cloud that shrouded the sky above Shanque City.
The morning sun was blocked, and the entire city was plunged into darkness.
At first, most people didn't feel affected; they were just watching the spectacle. Some even observed the dark clouds in the sky with great interest.
The dark cloud seemed to have its own will, constantly churning and spreading outwards, tightly enveloping the entire city.
Passersby took out their phones to capture this peculiar sight, but when they tried to upload it to short video platforms or post it on social media, they discovered that their phones and network signals had disappeared, making it impossible to contact the outside world.
"When I opened my eyes again, I was back to the day before the apocalypse broke out..." In a steamed bun shop, a young couple was listening to a post-apocalyptic rebirth novel when suddenly they saw the sky outside become unusually terrifying.
The girl grabbed her boyfriend's hand. "What's going on? Is the apocalypse breaking out?"
Her voice was somewhat shrill, with a hint of teasing and joking, while her boyfriend looked speechless. "I think you're addicted to novels."
A multi-vehicle collision occurred on the highway leading out of the city, with several vehicles rear-ending each other. The driver was seriously injured and his condition is unknown.
Some concerned passersby dialed emergency services, while others tried to call the traffic accident police, but the calls couldn't be made.
The city seemed to be shrouded and sealed off by an invisible force, preventing both cars and people from leaving, which was a major cause of the traffic accident.
The armed police forces at the scene have confirmed that communications have been disrupted, but they are unaware that the city has been locked down.
They had never experienced such a bizarre supernatural disaster before, and now they could only immediately seek help from the local government and take it one step at a time.
Of everyone present, only Zhang Suyuan could truly feel the pervasive and terrifying crisis.
Lacking knowledge of the Supernatural, he didn't understand things like Ghost Domain; he only knew that every corner of the city gave him a strong sense of crisis.
However, the Supernatural is something that makes the living uncomfortable. Besides Zhang Suyuan, some citizens also vaguely sensed that kind of panic and unease.
To alleviate this anxiety and unease, some people instinctively gather in crowded places, where a large crowd provides a relative sense of security.
At this moment, a large crowd had gathered in the central square of Shanque City. They looked up at the Black Clouds overhead and discussed the matter animatedly.
Some suspected this was a harbinger of a major storm, but the weather forecast showed sunny skies for the next few days.
Many people found they had no signal while using their phones. Some rushed home and locked their doors and windows; others, however, didn't take the anomaly seriously, thinking that a major disaster was inevitable and a minor one wouldn't have any impact.
In the crowd, a young mother tightly held her child. The baby seemed to have a stronger sense of danger, crying loudly in fright. The mother comforted the child as she walked home. Her husband worked nearby, but his phone was unusable. She had no cash and couldn't use mobile payment. Fortunately, her home wasn't far away, so she quickened her pace, her heart filled with worry.
In stark contrast to the increasingly chaotic situation outside, those who stayed home peacefully over the weekend felt almost nothing; some were even still half asleep.
An elderly couple Granny Li and Old Zhao, who got up early, were busy in the kitchen, steaming buns.
"Old man, what do you think is going on outside?" Granny Li asked while kneading the dough. Her voice was calm, and she didn't seem to care much about this strange phenomenon.
Old Zhao raised his chin, glanced at the Black Clouds outside the window, and said calmly, "Never mind, let's steam the buns first, and then we'll talk about it after we eat."
He scooped a spoonful of red bean paste and carefully wrapped it inside the dough, as if the chaos outside had nothing to do with them.
The elderly couple seemed to have long been accustomed to the ups and downs of life.
"Old man, do you think this might be the end of the world due to torrential rain? Will the city be flooded by a month of heavy rain?" Granny Li suddenly raised her voice.
Old Zhao glanced at her and muttered, "Stop watching those mindless dramas."
After saying that, he added, "Even if it really comes to an apocalypse, the food we've stockpiled will last us a long time."
Granny Li nodded. People of their age inevitably have a habit of hoarding food. If there really is an apocalypse... the first thing to guard against is neighbors stealing supplies!
Thinking of this, her gaze suddenly sharpened!
In a secluded tenement building in Shanque City, a large group of people gathered.
Wang Qiang sat obediently in the crowd, listening to the person standing in front of him talk endlessly about how to get rich and make money.
Most of the people here were fanatical, clearly brainwashed. Wang Qiang's face also showed fanaticism and longing, but his heart was filled with desolation, because he knew clearly that this was... the lair of a pyramid scheme.
He had been tricked into coming here by his friend, and he dared not resist, so he could only pretend to be obedient. Thinking of the fate of those who had tried to resist and escape before, he swallowed hard, and unpleasant memories surfaced in his mind. He immediately lowered his head to avoid being seen through.
Suddenly, a cold wind blew by, and Wang Qiang instinctively shivered, a strange sense of horror welling up inside him.
The room has no windows open, so where is the wind coming from?
He suddenly felt a gaze fixed on him.
"Creak..." A strange sound rang in my ears at the same time.
Wang Qiang reached out and touched his chest, took a deep breath, and kept telling himself that he had just misheard, perhaps the pressure was too much and he was having auditory and visual hallucinations.
Everyone in the room listened intently to the pyramid scheme leader's tale of how to get rich, urging them to deceive their friends and family into joining the group.
Wang Qiang was still somewhat flustered, his eyes darting around as he scanned the surroundings, worried that something bad might happen.
There's a saying that goes, "If you worry about something bad happening, it's more likely to happen."
In Wang Qiang's view, a skeletal hand covered in rotten flesh suddenly landed on the doorway, instantly leaving five deep finger marks on it.
"Ah--"
Wang Qiang screamed in terror and fell to the ground with a thud. He looked at the skeletal hand with fear in his eyes, his whole body trembling and cold sweat pouring down his forehead.
Upon hearing Wang Qiang's piercing scream, the pyramid scheme leader's face darkened with displeasure, and he immediately shouted, "What are you doing? Why aren't you paying attention in class!"
Wang Qiang, trembling, pointed towards the door. "A ghost! A ghost!"
However, the others seemed oblivious to the skeletal hand, and the pyramid scheme leader's face immediately darkened. "I think you're asking for it, you need a beating..."
He only got halfway through his sentence when a skeletal hand landed on his shoulder. A chilling sensation spread from his shoulder into his body, and in that instant, the pyramid scheme leader was lifeless. His face turned a deathly bluish-gray and began to decompose rapidly. Foul-smelling flesh and internal organs fell from his body, quickly revealing his stark white bones.
"Ah--"
A series of screams rang out, and finally everyone saw it.
"What is that?!"
"There's a ghost! There really is a ghost!"
"Don't block my way, run!"
Those who came to their senses and saw the gruesome corpse of the pyramid scheme leader panicked and rushed towards the door.
Wang Qiang was the first to notice the anomaly and naturally the first to run away. The others crowded at the door, all wanting to leave first and refusing to give way to each other, which actually slowed down the escape.
Wang Qiang scrambled out of the tenement building that had imprisoned him for so long, feeling both fear and excitement. Although he didn't know what had happened or which ghost had come to seek revenge, he could use this opportunity to regain his freedom and escape the pyramid scheme organization, which was great news!
"If you have a clear conscience, you have nothing to fear." Wang Qiang considered himself a good person. Although he was deeply involved in a pyramid scheme, he did not deceive any of his relatives or friends into falling into the fire.
So he was full of confidence, thinking that even if it was haunted, it wouldn't harm him for no reason. He even thought that when he got back, he would burn more paper money for the guy who came to take revenge.
"Crunch..."
The sound of bones grinding came from behind him. Without thinking, Wang Qiang rushed out.
Outside the tenement building, there was no sunlight, no sense of relief, only a more terrifying, bone-deep horror.
Wang Qiang saw that more than one skeleton was wandering the street, and when it saw him, a living person, it immediately came from all directions.
The horror of the scene was indescribable. Wang Qiang's legs went weak, and he collapsed to the ground, repeatedly muttering, "Don't come any closer..."
"Crunch, crunch..."
Accompanied by the sound of bones grinding together, the stark white skeletons approached and quickly engulfed Wang Qiang completely.
The others who escaped ran to the door and happened to see Wang Qiang, who had died a gruesome death, rapidly transforming into a skeleton. His skin and flesh rotted and fell away, leaving only his blood-stained clothes clinging to the white skeleton.
Behind them, the Skeleton Ghost that the pyramid scheme leader had transformed into also caught up, attacking from both sides.
Everyone in this pyramid scheme was slaughtered and transformed into new Skeleton Ghosts, who continue to attack the living.
Inside the city government building, the emergency response team was holding an urgent meeting. The mayor of Shanque City sat at the conference table, his face grim and his eyes revealing a hint of anxiety.
"Ladies and gentlemen, the situation is very serious. We don't know what happened in this city, but we must take action as soon as possible to calm the public." The mayor's voice was deep and powerful. Although he was also panicked, he absolutely could not show it. If he panicked, the people below would only become more chaotic.
"Mayor, we've tried everything, but we're still unable to contact the outside world. Cell phone signal, internet, radio—everything is down," a staff member reported helplessly.
"For now, we can only rely on ourselves." The mayor stood up. "We need to organize rescue teams to check the situation in various areas and see if there are any injured citizens. Since cell phone signals, internet, and radio are all unavailable, we'll use the most primitive method: driving around with loudspeakers to broadcast messages. Our priority is to calm the public down and prevent them from making mistakes in a panic, which could further cause chaos."
Soon, rescue teams were assembled, and they quickly set off, crossing the streets and arriving at various communities.
Thanks to the good public security environment in China, even though such an abnormal situation occurred, order did not immediately collapse, and phenomena such as "free purchases" did not happen.
With the notification from the rescue team, most people obediently stayed at home, and the situation seemed to be developing in a positive direction.
It wasn't until the number of Skeleton Ghost gradually increased, spreading from the edges of the Shanque City towards the city center, that the rescue team truly realized the gravity of the situation when they saw the stark white bones.
Because communication equipment was rendered unusable due to Supernatural influence, the transmission of information and intelligence became a major problem, forcing the use of only the most primitive method: manpower.
Inside the city hall, after organizing the emergency rescue operation, the mayor immediately attended another meeting.
"Comrade Zhang, the situation is urgent. Can you elaborate on what exactly happened? Is the current situation related to your mission in Shanque City? Is the current state of affairs a result of your mission failure?" the mayor questioned.
The practice of holding people accountable within the system has become increasingly serious in recent years. Leaving a record of one's actions is a must. Even though the mayor is eager to solve the problem, he does not forget to hold people accountable and shift the blame to others.
When asked, Zhang Junyi looked troubled. If he knew what was going on, he would have already taken steps to resolve it.
The crux of the matter is that this is a supernatural phenomenon that they cannot understand, and even Zhang Suyuan, the only extraordinary person present, cannot explain it.
Meanwhile, the unusual phenomena in Shanque City gradually spread online, but the government has increased its control efforts, and related information is deleted as soon as it appears.
The government is also organizing rescue efforts abroad, but as time goes on, the Black Clouds hanging over Shanque City are growing thicker and thicker.
Trapped in the city, the residents were horrified to discover that their familiar homes were being swallowed by darkness, and they were powerless to stop it.
More and more skeletons are roaming the streets, attacking the living unpredictably. The dead are transformed into new skeletons, and even sturdy security doors seem to have become useless.
This city is slowly heading towards death.