In Double Happiness Town's past timeline, Li Yao lay in a coffin, listening as the voices gradually faded away.
The suona played a mournful tune, its shrill, grating melody gradually warping out of key until it sounded like ghosts wailing and wolves howling.
Li Yao felt as though her consciousness were a loose needle, swaying unsteadily between clarity and haze. A jumble of information washed over her memories, leaving her unable to grasp hold of her own existence.
All she could do was recall her past over and over again. "I'm a paranormal novelist. I don't have much talent for plotting, so I can only write ambiguous ghost stories. Every week, I submit work to the Paranormal World magazine. In the first few years, I mailed them handwritten manuscripts, but later I switched to email. I'm still not quite used to it..."
"A month ago, I entered the game. At first, I wasn't too scared. I thought I could gather material and find inspiration for my writing. It wasn't until the third Instance that I began to feel afraid... Heh, that day was November ninth. It also happened to be my birthday..."
Heavy, disordered footsteps sounded, accompanied by labored gasps.
Someone was coming.
Liu Bingding dragged his feet onward, panting heavily.
After using up an item, he had finally shaken off the pursuit of two paper figures and blended into a funeral procession.
Ever since he had been chosen by the Eerie Game, his goal had been clear. Survival came first; fulfilling wishes and the like were merely extras.
He had been ordinary since birth, but he was steady, cautious, and kind to others. That was why he had successfully survived until the official Instance. As for the points he had saved up, he had spent every last one