Lighthouse

"Awake?"

"You've got great kidneys. No wonder—you're a young man fresh out of college!"

A warm, pleasant female voice came from beside him. Wu Heng slowly opened his eyes. He was lying on a bed, his hands strapped down at either side.

The cramped bedroom had a dim ceiling and no windows. Faded old posters covered the walls.

A slender woman in a pink nurse's uniform and a face mask stood beside Wu Heng's bed.

Handcuffs, a nurse's uniform—what was going on?

Memories surged into Wu Heng's mind. It turned out he had transmigrated to Deep Blue Star twenty years ago.

His soul had been incomplete, and two souls had shared this body, recuperating for twenty years. Only after the previous owner of the body had died just now had Wu Heng broken free of the prenatal haze and fused with the memories of the other soul, which had only just dissipated.

"Seriously, look!"

The woman picked up a tray covered by a transparent dome.

"Just look at that smooth sheen, that firmness, that lovely pale pink color. These are two top-grade kidneys!"

The nurse woman showed them off to herself, clearly delighted.

Wu Heng's heart sank. What the hell was going on? Damn it, he'd thought this was some exciting role-play, but he hadn't expected it to be this exciting.

He looked down. He was lying on an operating table stained with blood, with two crude stitches across his waist and an ice pack resting on each wound.

Cold, weakness, nausea, pain—all the sensations flooded into Wu Heng's brain.

Anyone who'd had a kidney stolen knew what this felt like.

According to his memories, the previous owner had stayed home for a year after graduating, then found a high-paying job online. The employer had demanded secrecy, and he'd wanted to surprise his mother, so he'd secretly gone to the interview.

"Qianqian, hurry up and take out the heart. The client's paid extra and is demanding the goods. Don't waste time."

A bespectacled, refined-looking man came to the doorway and urged her on. The woman nodded, then injected Wu Heng with a syringe.

I've only just woken up! In my previous life, I was alone at thirty and barely had any savings. In this life, I could make a fortune as a plagiarist and be financially free. I haven't even had a chance to enjoy life yet!

A fierce wave of grievance, anger, and resentment surged through Wu Heng.

This time, he really was going to die.

Wu Heng's eyelids grew heavy. His vision darkened, and the intense pain urged his brain to shut down.

Suddenly, an emotionless, mechanical voice rang out deep in his mind:

[You have been selected by the Lighthouse. Accept the mark?]

"Yes!"

Wu Heng seized it like a lifeline.

After he confirmed, blood-red words appeared in his vision, as if they had been carved into his eyeballs with a needle.

[Identity information locked. Lighthouse number: SL914]

[Anchored world: Hellraiser 1]

[Teleportation countdown: 5 seconds.]

[4 seconds!]

[3 seconds!]

A flash of light, and Wu Heng felt himself pass through a barrier. He was now high above the clouds.

A transparent protective barrier surrounded him. Layer upon layer of white clouds lay beneath his feet, and the city below looked like a collection of ant-sized buildings.

I'm alive!

What was this? An infinite world, the Main God Space, or a nightmare realm?

Wu Heng quickly felt his waist, then froze.

The stitched wounds were still there, but they no longer bled or hurt, and they didn't impede his movements. It was as if he weren't injured, but the sunken, misshapen wounds were undeniably real.

Wasn't entering the Main God Space supposed to heal your injuries? Why were the wounds still there?

The moment he saw his surroundings, Wu Heng quickly covered his face with his hand.

There were two other people inside the protective barrier, both keeping a safe distance and watching him warily.

More importantly, they had both concealed their faces.

"Looks like there are only three of us this time!"

A woman with a ponytail, a baseball cap, and a black mask studied Wu Heng closely.

The other person was a burly, fat man wearing a Wild Boar Mask. His tiny eyes glinted with a leering look.

"Didn't think anyone else would pick this world to slack off in."

The fat man kept chewing something like betel nut as he spoke, making his words a little muffled.

"Hey, buddy, what happened to you? You're covered in blood and wearing nothing but shorts. Did somebody's husband catch you?"

Wu Heng considered his situation. At the fat man's question, he spoke up:

"Could you two tell me where this is?"

"A newbie? That's rough. I'll explain."

The woman in the baseball cap made no attempt to hide the way she looked at Wu Heng as if he were already dead.

"You've been chosen by the Lighthouse and become a Tower Guardian!"

"Every month, you'll be forced to travel through all kinds of unknown worlds filled with terrifying monsters and the supernatural."

"These horror worlds will have one or more main storylines."

"You can try to explore the plot and complete the missions, but the areas around the protagonists are hotspots for supernatural creatures. The opportunities are far fewer than the dangers, so it's up to you whether you dare to take the risk!"

The woman in the baseball cap was about to continue, but the fat man cut her off.

"Hold on. Newbie briefings are supposed to be shared equally. Give me a cut."

When the woman fell silent, the fat man picked up where she'd left off:

"As long as you complete the survival mission, you can return to the Lighthouse or to reality."

"No matter how long you spend in a horror world, only an instant passes outside. But time in Lighthouse Plaza and in reality passes at a one-to-one ratio."

"Your injuries have only been temporarily suppressed by the newbie protection mechanism. They'll flare up again once you return after the plot ends, so you have to find a way to treat them in this world. Otherwise, you'll die when it's over."

"Also, don't listen to this woman and go exploring the main storyline. You could die without even knowing how. Newbies don't have any special abilities, after all."

"Explore the main storyline, and there's a 99% chance you'll run into something supernatural!"

"Ah, this time, you're really in for it!"

The fat man sighed with feigned sympathy, his acting a little too exaggerated.

"If you don't take a chance, you're dead for sure. And don't forget, Lights-Out Day is only four months away."

After arguing with him, the woman in the baseball cap said:

"I got the newbie briefing reward: 100 survival points."

"I got 100 too. We split it right down the middle. Earning survival points this way—man, that feels great!" the fat man said cheerfully.

What did she mean, he was dead for sure when Lights-Out Day came?

Wu Heng was a little confused.

But the most urgent thing was to deal with his injuries and figure out how to gain strength—enough to surpass an ordinary person and escape his predicament when he returned.

"The mission's here!" the woman suddenly said.

Wu Heng felt a block of text appear deep in his mind.

World: Hellraiser 1

[Survival Mission: Survive for one month] (Reward: 500 survival points)

[Story Mission 1: Open the Lemarchand Configuration] (Reward: 5,000 survival points)

[Story Mission 2: Enter Hell] (Reward: 5,000 survival points)

[Story Mission 3: Kill the Cenobite] (Reward: 10,000 survival points)

[Number of Participants: 3]

(Hint 1: Completing story missions can increase exploration progress and story rating.)

(Hint 2: For a newbie's first mission, their initial identity in the story will be upgraded.)

[Arrival countdown: 10 minutes (enter now)]

Wu Heng's consciousness had been hazy earlier, so he'd still had his doubts.

Now that he'd seen the missions issued by the Lighthouse, he was sure.

This was the world of a horror movie he'd watched in his previous life!

He'd loved the whole series. But loving it didn't mean he wanted to experience Nailhead's hooks for himself!

Would you trade your collection and your upvotes for two plastic bags?