"This Work Suspected of Using AI..."

The past few days had been rather unpleasant for Ning Yu.

She wasn't sure if it was just her imagination, but her best friend Fang Yishu seemed to have suddenly become a little "ill."

In the past, as repayment for "mooching food and drinks," it had usually been Fang Yishu who signed Ning Yu in for classes, handled her assignments, and so on whenever they had lessons.

That was also why the two of them had deliberately chosen as many overlapping courses as possible whenever a new semester began.

But over the past few days, for some unknown reason, the formerly lively "Fang Tangsu" seemed to have withered away completely.

How strange. Ning Yu clearly remembered that those inconvenient days of hers shouldn't have arrived yet, right?

She didn't want to attend class anymore, had stopped doing her part-time jobs, and whenever Ning Yu asked if something was bothering her, she would only perfunctorily say, "You're overthinking it. I'm fine." If Ning Yu pressed further, she would reply with jokes like, "Oh no, I've forgotten to grind today's mobile game! Abyssal Beast! Activate!"—obviously just brushing her off...

Her roommate had actually climbed into bed, grunting like a little pig, "Don't bother me, I'm going to sleep! Remember to sign me in too, A-Yu..."

...And then she proceeded to pull out her phone right in front of her.

It left Ning Yu both exasperated and amused.

But considering that the other girl had just been exceptionally "loyal" and given her the contact information she wanted a couple of days ago, Ning Yu decided to be magnanimous and forgive her this time.

—Tuesday. Goosusu kept brushing me off over and over instead of appreciating my kindness. I'll remember this grudge...

She silently added another mark to the little ledger in her heart.

But whenever she thought of the contact information the other girl had given her, a thin layer of gloom seemed to settle over Ning Yu's heart as well, leaving her unable to feel at ease.

She didn't know what was going on. She had clearly found the WeChat account through that phone number, yet the several friend requests she had sent before and after had all vanished into the sea, with no reply for days.

That WeChat account lay quietly in her "Waiting for Verification" list, looking as though it were saying, "Ah, I'm dead. Please do not disturb me," radiating an unspoken awkwardness.

Even so, during that time, she had tried several times to muster her courage, thinking of "apologizing for what happened last time" as an excuse, and wanting to call directly to test the waters.

But all that came from her phone was a long, monotonous series of beeps. The call rang on and on until it disconnected automatically, with no one answering on the other end.

Over the past two days, whenever Ning Yu thought of this, a frustrated flush would spread across her originally elegant and tranquil face, puffing out her cheeks in annoyance.

—Of course, that didn't stop her from intentionally sending another verification message every day.

Sigh...

Those eyes were truly beautiful.

What the girl lost in her memories did not know was that her "best friend" was currently in a far more complicated state of mind.

Logging into the Main God Platform punctually and for the full duration whenever it was time to sleep went without saying.

During occasional breaks, she would browse the latest news on her phone and, while she was at it, fill in the gaps in all sorts of bizarre settings.

Although the country still appeared peaceful, Fang Yishu unexpectedly discovered traces of something "strange" in places such as YouTube and Twitter.

Recently, some extremely eye-catching content had quietly appeared online, yet somehow failed to cause much of a stir.

There were strange uploaded videos, people claiming that bizarre illnesses had appeared in their bodies, and even claims of suddenly possessing supernatural abilities—

In one video, a dark-skinned American immigrant kept changing his posture as he walked through the wilderness, demonstrating that he had no hidden "mechanism" on his body.

At the same time, he suddenly opened his mouth toward the disordered bushes in the wild and spat out a stream of blazing flames that lasted for more than ten seconds!

It was difficult to imagine.

The flames had clearly been sprayed from a human mouth, and evidently possessed a certain amount of high-pressure force behind them.

...The flames had shot out at least one or two meters!

Under the camera, the scorching heat even visibly distorted the surrounding air!

The trees were almost instantly burned black. The snapping sections rapidly beginning to carbonize crackled loudly, while thick gray-black smoke carried great clouds of ash through the air!

And the man remained standing amid the smoke and fire, seemingly unaffected, his movements so fluid that they almost possessed a strange ritualistic quality.

There was also a burly man from Russia whose body was covered in extraordinarily abundant, mane-like hair. His excessively hulking frame looked just like a brown bear standing upright.

Most eye-catching were his broad, fan-like palms. His nails had also become noticeably thicker and more curved, with signs of pigment deposition.

In the video, accompanied by an ear-piercing sound of metal deforming!

The "big guy" slapped the side of the heater in his home, bending the sturdy row of metal rods inward. He had even left several blurry palm-shaped dents in the solid, non-hollow metal surface.

A family member nearby was holding a large photograph supposedly taken of the man in the courtyard a few days earlier. Comparing the two carefully, one could indeed faintly make out a few similar contours between their features.

However, the teacher explained that the enormous difference between their overall appearances before and after—whether the drastic growth of hair or the rapid expansion of his physique and bones—made them look almost like two different people.

A white girl who could accelerate plant growth placed her palm beside the soil. The seeds that had just been buried immediately sprouted and broke through the earth at a speed visible to the naked eye, putting out branches and leaves...

A one-armed disabled man had deliberately drawn a Holy Mark-like pattern on his palm, yet a vast expanse of bright light like a powerful lamp truly emerged "out of thin air" from beneath his flesh, illuminating a small section of the street...

Whenever this happened, Fang Yishu would notice that beneath the relevant photos and videos of these seemingly unreasonable people or objects, there were often labels such as, "This work is suspected of using AI-generated technology. Please identify carefully," or "AI participated in the creation."

How wonderful. With the changes and development of the times, there had appeared a nearly all-purpose "reason" that could rationally explain all sorts of monsters and demons, hadn't there?

But this clearly could not truly dispel the worry in Fang Yishu's heart.

Especially when she lay in bed and, with a movement of her thoughts, some nearly invisible "mass" appeared in her hands—

[Name: Phantom Cloak]

[Type: Magical Curio/Protective Gear]

[Quality: Third Tier]

[Description: Originating from a certain "pan-Western-fantasy" derivative world, this is one of the standard pieces of equipment for elite elven rangers. During its creation, it was permanently enchanted with "Nature's Protection" and "Phantom Form," making it an excellent aid for jungle combat and concealing one's figure.]

[Exchange Requirements: 1,500 Universal Points and one Common Exchange Card.]

[Additional Tip: Due to the properties of this item's material, it receives a certain additional enhancement under moonlight.]

[Note: "Shh... The trees here can talk..."]

She stared blankly at the treasure that had recently been drawn from the "Newcomer Blind Box," its appearance carrying a somewhat transparent quality.

It felt cold and icy to the touch, yet faintly seemed to carry an exceptionally refreshing "scent." Fang Yishu simply rubbed it against her cheek like a cat.

It was quite comfortable.

Just as the information described, this thin object, whose full length had clearly not yet unfolded, was indeed a cloak of a fantastical nature.

The texture beneath her fingers was distinctly somewhere between cool, smooth silk and liquid mercury, yet its extraordinarily subtle weight was so light that the girl hiding beneath the mosquito net felt as though she were holding nothing more than a ball of mist.

How wonderful.

But... what a nuisance.

When she thought of the boundless tide of people she had seen a few days earlier between those unknown cyan platforms, surging like mountains and seas roaring together.

It was clearly a rare treasure, yet at this moment it only made its owner sigh.

On the modern internet, where information was so advanced, countless things seemed to be shedding their former layer of "illusion" when one deliberately observed them now.

...It was enough to leave anyone uneasy.

She sat up irritably and noticed that, amid the nearly transparent "gauze" that appeared when it was still, faint points of light like flowing water were shimmering.

The only solid feature was at what should have been the cloak's collar, where there was an obvious silver clasp, finely carved by a craftsman into a shape resembling a long, narrow fern leaf.

It felt exceptionally cold when she touched it.

Fang Yishu pressed it repeatedly in great frustration. Seeing that there was no reaction, she simply lifted the entire piece of "fabric" and draped it over her head...