A familiar ceiling.
Lin Chuan opened his eyes. Judging by the sunlight streaming through the window, it wasn't noon yet. Faced with the choice of getting up to wash or rolling over for another nap, he unhesitatingly rolled over to grab the phone by his bed.
-A phone was just a phone, after all.
Lin Chuan navigated to his author dashboard with practiced ease, scheduled yesterday's stockpiled chapter for release, and added a line at the end:
"I have something on today-a friend's birthday celebration-so there'll only be one chapter."
Then he waited until dozens of rows of question marks flooded the reader chat, interspersed with taunts like "short and limp" and warm expressions of concern such as "Is the author sick? Is that why the update's so short? Do you need help? Where do you live?" Only then did he put his phone away, satisfied.
He got out of bed and went to the bathroom. Standing before the mirror, he turned on the tap, splashed cold water on his face, swept his ear-length hair back, and picked up his cup to brush his teeth.
As he brushed, he thought again of that long, visually striking barrage of question marks and felt an inexplicable pleasure.
Thank goodness it's 2018. A few years earlier, pulling something like this would probably have gotten me doxxed and challenged to an offline beatdown already, wouldn't it?
Lin Chuan set down his cup and looked at himself in the mirror: black hair, black eyes, handsome features and a pleasing face shape. His unstyled hair gave him a languid air.
But he must have looked more ordinary before. Back then, he...
What did I look like again?
Lin Chuan had almost forgotten his former appearance, along with those figures that seemed right before his eyes yet remained blurred in his memories, impossible to make out.
After all, it had been five years since he'd transmigrated into this world.
He only remembered them now and then.
"Hah..."
Lin Chuan closed his eyes and let out a long breath.
He decided not to dwell on it. Today was the birthday of the only friend he'd made in all these years, after all. He ought to cheer up.
"Ding-dong."
A bright notification sounded at just the right moment. Lin Chuan picked up his phone, and it was exactly the message he'd been hoping to see. A faint smile appeared on his face as he read it.
[Unofficial Celestial Master of Mount Longhu]: You there, great author Lin?
[What Shall the Yearner Answer]: In this life, I ask nothing of the past and seek no life to come. I shall live with blazing passion, settle debts of gratitude and vengeance as I please, vanquish the champions of every race, and laugh proudly at the gods and demons of the six paths!
[Unofficial Celestial Master of Mount Longhu]: ?
[What Shall the Yearner Answer]: Ten thousand years hence, the great calamity begins anew. Between Tathagata's golden body and Primordial Beginning's Dao body, which is stronger? Between the Tathagata Divine Palm and the Seven Heaven-Severing Forms, which reigns supreme?
[Unofficial Celestial Master of Mount Longhu]: Your new book? You haven't finished your last one, Throne of Magical Arcana, yet, have you?
[What Shall the Yearner Answer]: Amid reincarnation, Zhou Mingrui set out from Shaolin Temple on his journey of "a lifetime unchallenged-who can stand against me?"
[Unofficial Celestial Master of Mount Longhu]: ???
[What Shall the Yearner Answer]: I'm planning to write both at once. You'll be the protagonist of the new one. How's that for brotherhood?
[Unofficial Celestial Master of Mount Longhu]: My turn this time? Having fun messing with me?
[Unofficial Celestial Master of Mount Longhu]: Whatever, as long as you saw the message. It's my birthday today. Remember to show up on time.
[What Shall the Yearner Answer]: OK, definitely won't forget. With how close we are, how could I forget your birthday? I'll come over tonight.
[Unofficial Celestial Master of Mount Longhu]: I'm worried you'll sleep through it again. Wait, what do you mean, Shaolin Temple?
[What Shall the Yearner Answer]: The person you are calling is offline. Please try again later.
Seeing "The other person is typing..." flash on the screen, Lin Chuan switched his phone off and slipped it into his pocket. His spirits lifted once more.
Ah, looks like Little Zhou's been weighed down by work. Typing this slowly-he's lost the glory we four dormmates once shared as "keyboard kings." The time has come. I shall take his place!
At that thought, Lin Chuan's mind began to wander.
He remembered the shock and bewilderment he'd felt five years ago, when he first arrived at his university dorm and heard his upper-bunk roommate shyly introduce himself to everyone: "Hi, I'm Zhou Mingrui..."
At the time, he'd thought he hadn't transmigrated to a parallel Earth to become a protagonist who plagiarized novels from his old world. Instead, he'd arrived in the world of Lord of the Mysteries-possibly even its ancient Earth, which could be destroyed at any moment by the Original Creator's awakening!
After hearing that bombshell of a name, Lin Chuan had drawn up a complete set of survival plans and arrangements for his death:
Either piggyback on a Luck Enhancement Ritual or find a relevant item to enter Sefirah Castle, hang himself from a southeastern branch, and smuggle himself into a later era to wait for Klein to release the Light Cocoons; or simply switch his major to Russian and head straight to Chernobyl after graduation to see if he could gamble on a chance of survival.
If everyone's "ticket" to Sefirah Castle was single-use, and he truly couldn't find a way to survive, he planned to look after Zhou Mingrui's parents once Zhou Mingrui was strung up like cured meat, then leave a letter on his phone spoiling the future and explaining how his parents were doing.
The original never mentioned it, but Klein would probably try summoning a Historical Projection of his phone, wouldn't he?
As long as he sees what I left behind, surely the ending could turn out a little better.
Either way, I can't have transmigrated here for nothing. I have to leave something behind before I go.
Yeah, look on the bright side. Maybe dying will send me back?
Right, I can't put words like "Lord of the Mysteries" directly in the document. A Scholar of Yore is only Sequence 3. If I get Klein killed, human civilization really will be doomed...
Lin Chuan's wild train of thought had come to an abrupt halt as he realized something:
"Why am I not dead yet?"
Logically, with all the Honorific Names of Great Old Ones he knew, he should have been corrupted by now-no, the moment he'd arrived, surely?
Once corrupted, he would either explode on the spot or endure it and become a favored follower of a Great Old One. There was no other possibility.
Yet nothing had happened to him. Did that mean there was still hope?
Having calmed down, Lin Chuan covered his twitching mouth and politely brushed off Zhou Mingrui's concerned "Are you all right? You look a little pale." He intended to search carefully for information before deciding what to do, but then fate abruptly slammed on the brakes.
Because he heard the names of his other roommates:
One had the surname Lu, but wasn't called Lu Mingfei-he was Lucien. The other had a two-character name: Meng Qi.
That night, with trembling hands, Lin Chuan opened a search engine and clicked his way into an online mishmash that could only be described as a carnival of monsters:
Glorious Radiant Recreated Foot Country
, the sun never sets on China, which has defended its World Cup title for seventeen consecutive victories.
Devoted fans commented that if they kept winning like this, did the foreign teams have any shame left?
Da Vinci was a woman with an oval face, nicknamed Lisa, who left behind a self-portrait that has endured through the ages.
Cao Xueqin devoted his entire life to his work, withstood the pressure, and finally completed the 108-chapter Dream of the Red Chamber, dying with a smile.
At the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics in February 2018, the unknown young athlete Jotaro Kujo burst onto the scene and seized the gold medal.
Mr. Satoru Takizawa officially announced his retirement from voice acting last year, having voiced characters in numerous renowned anime and games.
What the fuck is all this? A comedy Lostbelt?
Lin Chuan all but died of relief. He felt he finally understood everything.
Before you continue