Please Call Out My Name!

"It's fine, no major issues."

After reviewing the doctor's diagnosis, Lu Ban felt much better.

He knew perfectly well that terms like "delusional disorder," "schizophrenia," and "paranoid delusion" were merely the doctor's diagnoses after hearing his descriptions of The Silent Land.

Any normal person would think Lu Ban had a problem with his head after hearing such things, let alone a psychologist.

However, setting those aside, Lu Ban showed no other psychological issues.

"Although the doctor said I might have mental problems, that's precisely why I don't have any problems."

Lu Ban felt significantly more at ease.

It seemed the system's judgment of sanity had a different standard; even if one's sanity dropped to zero, they could still live a normal life.

Furthermore, if Lu Ban had truly gone mad, how could his current logical and polite demeanor be explained?

He retrieved his backpack and crowbar, then returned to his warm home.

Lu Ban first took off his clothes, grabbed a change of clothes, and walked into the bathroom.

Last night's experience had inflicted immense trauma on his body and mind. Lu Ban had no intention of rushing to complete the next stage of his mission; he just wanted a hot shower and to go back to sleep.

He turned on the showerhead, and warm water cascaded over him. Lu Ban squeezed out some shampoo and vigorously rubbed his head.

"Towel."

Covered in a head full of foam, Lu Ban reached out to the nearby rack to feel for a towel.

However, his hands were trembling. Before he could even touch the towel, a soft piece of fabric was placed in his hand.

"Thanks."

Lu Ban responded, then rinsed off the shampoo with hot water and wiped his face with the towel.

After wiping his face, he hung the towel back.

It was then that Lu Ban belatedly realized something.

"Who just handed me the towel?"

Lu Ban glanced at the closed bathroom door.

There was a small gap beneath the wooden door.

The light from the living room filtered through the gap, causing the wet bathroom floor to reflect a faint glow.

Suddenly, the light coming through the gap seemed to be blocked by something.

It was as if... someone was standing there.

Lu Ban stared at the frosted glass, feeling as though he was meeting the gaze of some entity separated by the door.

Swish swish—

The showerhead continued to dispense warm water, but perhaps it was his imagination, the water felt a bit cooler.

Lu Ban remained still, bathed in the slightly cool water.

After a moment, the light returned, and the gap seemed to exhale as it welcomed the living room's light once more.

Lu Ban turned his head, preparing to continue his shower.

Just as he turned, the towel rack suddenly collapsed. The end of the stainless steel pipe pressed against Lu Ban's neck. If he hadn't been slightly cautious, the pipe might have pierced his neck.

Lu Ban lifted his foot; there was a lot of foam on the floor, making it slippery.

He placed the collapsed rack on a side table, finished rinsing his body, dried himself, changed his clothes, and walked out of the bathroom.

The living room was bright with sunlight, nearing noon.

He looked into his room, then the kitchen. There were no signs of anyone else.

Lu Ban also checked under the bed.

It was empty.

He returned to the bathroom and picked up the broken towel rack, planning to buy a plastic one from the supermarket after his nap that afternoon.

Lu Ban glanced at the washing machine.

He saw the dirty clothes he had taken off and casually tossed into the washing machine before showering were now neatly folded and stacked inside the drum.

"...So the two of them disagree, after all."

Lu Ban believed he had at least two unusual housemates. One seemed to harbor ill will towards him, while the other was relatively friendly.

However, compared to what he had encountered last night, both of them seemed rather weak.

Lu Ban had no intention of finding these housemates to expel them. He was just an ordinary law-abiding citizen and didn't possess the skills to communicate with spirits. If they turned hostile and tried to harm him, Lu Ban wouldn't know how to handle it.

Besides, as long as he played some festive and auspicious music, the two housemates would become obedient. For Lu Ban, it wasn't much of a bother.

In fact, if his home were to be burglarized, they might even help guard the door.

It was like discovering a large huntsman spider curled up in the corner of his bed. While it looked terrifying, and seemed ferocious, it was actually a beneficial insect that helped catch mosquitoes. As long as he didn't provoke it, it would quietly occupy its corner and do its own thing.

"I'll have to play music during my next shower too."

He set his phone alarm for 6 PM, put on a playlist of Chinese New Year songs on his computer, dove onto the bed, and fell into a deep sleep.

6 PM.

Night had not yet fallen. With the arrival of summer, the days would grow longer and longer. The Summer Triangle would soon be clearly visible. The chirping of cicadas was incessant, and then suddenly, they would fall silent all at once, creating a strange atmosphere.

Lu Ban woke up, rubbing his eyes.

In the dim room, the melody of "Let the World Be Filled with Love" echoed.

Lu Ban slept soundly, without dreams.

He sat up, ordered takeout, and opened his computer to import the videos he had obtained the previous night.

The raw footage, which hadn't seemed very large on his phone, suddenly appeared much bigger after being imported into the computer. Perhaps this was also one of the system's marvels.

Lu Ban didn't dwell on it.

He dragged the progress bar of the video. Footage from several camera angles was repeated, totaling over thirty hours in length. The detail and quality were far superior to the first video he had obtained earlier. This was likely the benefit of increased exploration.

If the exploration reached one hundred percent, would he be able to unlock those bizarre perspectives?

"This is a big project."

Lu Ban pulled open the curtains. A creature that had seemed to be standing by the window moments before fled rapidly. He glanced at the security bars on the balcony. Along the edge of the rusted iron window, there were dark red marks, like congealed blood.

He paid it no mind.

Returning to his computer, Lu Ban opened the video editing software. First, he cut the video into several segments, renamed them, and categorized them.

One part was from a third-person perspective, shot at a forty-five-degree angle downwards, used to showcase both Lu Ban and his surroundings.

Another part was from Lu Ban's first-person perspective. Accompanied by the beam of a flashlight, it possessed a sense of mystery and horror even without editing.

There was also a portion consisting of long shots and wide shots, used for supplementary purposes.

Lu Ban noticed that the scenes of stars, which he believed might harbor great deities, were not included in these videos. He didn't know if they were hallucinations or if the system's capabilities were insufficient to capture them clearly.

But it didn't matter.

Lu Ban felt that if people hadn't experienced it firsthand, they would likely be confused and bewildered upon seeing those strange, yellowish stars.

Horror stemmed from the disruption of familiar things and environments, the unease that arose when the familiar was broken. The more grounded and common the changes, the greater the horror. Even if Lu Ban told the audience that Betelgeuse had exploded and a radiation storm was about to descend upon Earth, killing all life, most people would just laugh it off and not pay it much attention.

Understanding has a cost.

But conversely, simple, easily understood horror scenes—like a dark shadow appearing behind you in the mirror, something scratching the bed frame while you're lying in it, or a spider crawling into your mouth while you're sleeping—were more terrifying.

After preparing these materials, the text on the computer screen in front of Lu Ban changed, becoming a cold and indifferent system description.

He clicked on the dark green [Director] profession tab. Soon, the profession quest popped up from "My Computer."

[Profession Development Quest]

[Maintain high creative passion; continuous creation is the foundation of a creator! Let the world remember your name through constant creation!]

[Quest Requirements: Achieve sufficient fan numbers online to complete the quest.]

[Fan Numbers Acquired: 4396/100000]

["Shout my name!"]

*

Updated early on Monday. Please vote!

Thanks to "Eriyi is the Cutest" and "Lospet" for the 400 coin reward, thanks to "xiaotang246" for the 200 coin reward, and thanks to "Book Friend 20210516003359151," "It's Really Hard to Come Up With a Nickname," "Zhang He Is Here," "Book Friend 20191231210843044," and "Go to the Hardware Store to Buy a Hammer" for the 100 coin rewards!