Secret Cultivator

Fire-Stealing Village was under the protection of the Ancient Fire-Stealing God. Without the guidance of the "Fire Kindling," no one could find the right path into the village amid the vast Wilderness. Last time, he had ignored Aliceina's cries for help and headed straight for Fire-Stealing Village because his character lacked this crucial item. He hadn't made it into the village by nightfall and had ultimately been devoured by the offspring of the Lord of the Dark Night.

But this time was different.

The Doom-Bringing Raven's ability had not only rewound the timeline; the "Fire Kindling" had been retained, too.

With the key to the village in hand, the character's story would inevitably unfold differently when he faced Aliceina's cries for help again. It was worth a gamble.

Pale text continued to scroll.

"You have returned to the moment when you made your last choice."

"The beautiful young Aliceina was moved by your kindness. She is once again telling you about her background and asking you to take her to Fire-Stealing Village."

"You feel somewhat dazed, because this scene has already happened once before."

"You know full well that the pretty girl before you is a terrifying being, possibly connected to the unknown evil god, the 'Lord of the Dark Night.' Her request conceals deep malice, and she intends to use you to bring disaster upon Fire-Stealing Village."

"Once again, a fork in the road of fate appears before you."

"Will you turn around and run right away?"

"Or will you pretend to go along with her, feign agreement to Aliceina's request, and flee toward Fire-Stealing Village after obtaining the 'Remains of the Night Watcher'?"

"Hypocritical and cowardly Otherworldly Explorer, make your choice."

Do you think I'm stupid? If he chose to turn around and run, Aliceina would probably realize his identity had been exposed and ruthlessly slap him to death. Yang Qizhou didn't even consider it and chose the second option.

"You are exceptionally calm. You choose to agree to Aliceina's request. To avoid giving yourself away, you once again point out the threats you might encounter in the Wilderness while gathering materials, and ask about the horrors lurking in the night."

"Your acting is undeniably superb, far better than your pathetic strength. Perhaps you should become an actor."

"Taken in by your superb performance, Aliceina hands you the 'Remains of the Night Watcher,' just as she did last time."

"You obtain the Night Watcher Remains."

"You head toward Fire-Stealing Mountain."

What the hell, it was already eleven?

Yang Qizhou was startled by the time in the top-right corner of his phone. Only then did he realize it was dark outside. But he'd always been a night owl, and World of Weirdness was such a bizarre game, with a story that was compelling enough to keep him playing until he was completely engrossed.

Yang Qizhou turned his attention back to the game.

"You have traveled a long way."

"You seem to be heading toward Fire-Stealing Mountain, but in reality, you are gradually veering toward Fire-Stealing Village."

"You suddenly put on 'Kanrui's Wizard Ring.' Moonlight spills over you, granting you night vision and strengthening your body."

"You raise the 'Fire Kindling' high and sprint desperately toward Fire-Stealing Village."

"The twisted creatures wandering the Wilderness fear the 'Night Watcher Remains' in your hand and do not attack."

"Aliceina discovers your despicable actions and is furious. The shockwaves of her power kill every twisted creature wandering within a hundred meters, and she comes after you."

"You vaguely sense a terrifying shadow looming behind you."

"You feel yourself about to be swallowed."

"The 'Fire Kindling' takes effect. You set foot on the correct path into Fire-Stealing Village and receive the protection of the 'Ancient Fire-Stealing God.'"

"Aliceina cannot approach the divine realm of the 'Ancient Fire-Stealing God.' She has no choice but to stop pursuing you. Her furious roar echoes through the night as she swears to drown you in darkness and feed you to the offspring of the Lord of the Dark Night."

Heh, I did it.

A smile spread across Yang Qizhou's face. Rewinding time with the Doom-Bringing Raven's ability had definitely been the right choice. Not only had he avoided the story route where Fire-Stealing Village was destroyed, he'd also gotten the Night Watcher Remains for free.

Unfortunately, they were still quest items and couldn't be brought back to reality. He wondered if they could trigger a hidden storyline with the Night Watcher.

"You encounter the Night Watcher, who has come after noticing something amiss."

"You are thrilled. You run up to greet him and start to tell him about Aliceina."

"The Night Watcher is wary of the 'Wizard' aura about you and attacks. He cleaves you in half, spilling your entrails across the ground. The Night Watcher is surprised you are so pathetic."

"You are dead."

???

The punk had a lot of questions.

It was World of Weirdness, after all. Dying in some bizarre way was normal. He could accept dying after looking at the sun, getting slapped to death by some passing follower of an Old God, or being devoured by a monster in the night.

But come on, wasn't the Night Watcher supposed to be on the side of good and order? Why had he personally killed him?

"What the hell is a wizard? Followers of the Old Gods hate them, the Night Watcher is hostile to them. They're hated by both gods and ghosts. I swear, even if I starve to death or die out there, I'm never becoming a wizard."

Yang Qizhou made a silent vow.

His character's soul returned to the River of Death. He still had chances to revive, but he had used up all his Doom-Bringing Raven attempts. Yang Qizhou considered it. If he couldn't reload and came across a chance to exploit for free loot, wouldn't he miss out? He decided to put the game aside and wait until after midnight.

The moonlight was exceptionally bright tonight, but knowing that the nights on Ancient Earth held unspeakable horrors made Yang Qizhou feel oddly uneasy about the beautiful view before him.

Bored, Yang Qizhou decided to look up World of Weirdness online and see if he could find anything useful.

He turned on his computer and started searching.

More than ten minutes passed, but Yang Qizhou found no information about World of Weirdness. Several possibilities occurred to him. One: he was currently the only player. Two: the authorities were keeping key information under wraps. Three: all the players of World of Weirdness had chosen to keep it a secret.

If the first possibility was true, then he'd be incredibly badass—the Chosen One, the star destined to save the world. He could give himself any lofty title he wanted.

He put his hands on his hips.

If it was the second... Yang Qizhou frowned. The authorities' involvement could mean all sorts of things.

As for the third...

It was impossible. Even if only a hundred people had become players of World of Weirdness, and ninety-nine of them were deeply hidden, cunning villains, surely at least one would think they were the Chosen One, the star destined to save the world, and brag about it online or in their social circles.

As he pondered this, a post on a forum caught his attention.

Its title read: "This Post Can Only Be Seen by Those Who Have Set Foot on Ancient Earth"

Posted by: Secret Cultivator.

"So I really wasn't the Chosen One. I wonder if this Secret Cultivator is a man or a woman, and whether he or she would be up for a little fun." His attention seemed to have wandered to something irrelevant. Yang Qizhou quickly collected himself and clicked the left mouse button.

The post opened almost immediately.

"If you've clicked on this post and can read it instead of seeing gibberish, then you're a player of World of Weirdness."

"Congratulations on encountering an extraordinary game. It might cost you your life, but you're still lucky to have chosen the extraordinary at the fork in fate."

"I won't offer a walkthrough. I only started playing recently, and much of the information is still uncertain. Sharing it might lead you into a trap. I'll just list a few things to keep in mind."

"1: Never keep playing after you've used up all your chances to revive. Sinking into the River of Death won't just make your character disappear; you'll die, too."

"2: Never use items from World of Weirdness recklessly in the real world. You might release something terrifying."

"3: You can learn about the indescribable beings on Ancient Earth, but never say their full true names. Even their shortened names are best left unspoken."

"4: If you want to talk to me, join this group. Group number: XXXXXXX."

"5: Never casually search the keywords 'World of Weirdness' or 'Ancient Earth' online. Otherwise, someone will be knocking on your door within half an hour."

"Good luck, friend."

Someone would knock on his door within half an hour? What did that mean, a neighborhood welfare check?

Yang Qizhou had been feeling pretty relaxed, but when he saw the fifth point, a cold sweat broke out across his forehead and back. He checked his phone. It was 11:59, and he'd searched for "World of Weirdness" at around 11:27.

Exactly half an hour.

"Knock, knock, knock."

A sudden knock at the door made Yang Qizhou jump. Then he heard a voice.

"Hello, sir. We're from the neighborhood committee, conducting a census. Could you please open the door?"