Opening message

Qin Manjiang thought nothing of it, but for everyone else, the sight was a tremendous shock.

It was not just exploration mode. There was also Yang.

Only veteran players knew what it meant to enter a completely unknown exploration mode alone.

All three games had been announced, and the text had vanished, but Qin Manjiang was still staring at his phone screen.

The interface flickered, then returned to his profile.

At the same time, a striking message popped up in blood-red text.

[Ghost story: Sick Sheep]

[Opening Lines: Insert the two horns. Shave away the bones.]

[They are peeling off my skin.]

["Make the face thinner."]

["Push up the corners of the mouth. Smile."]

["All right, go have a drink!"]

[I was placed in a dark, narrow hole. My eyes could no longer hold any light.]

[I am a god.]

[I... do not want to become a god.]

The red text appeared on the phones of the players assigned the Sick Sheep ghost story. No one else could see it.

For some reason, those few short lines gave Qin Manjiang goosebumps.

Then the final lines appeared-

[In seven days, proceed to Xianyang Village, Maishan County, Taian District, Fu City. Game duration: one week.]

[Penalty for game failure: erasure.]

[Late arrivals will be deemed to have failed the game.]

[Those who flee early will be deemed to have failed the game.]

[Those who die will be deemed to have failed the game.]

[Good luck, ghost story player.]

The display vanished completely, and the interface returned to the eerie smiling face.

Honestly, the third condition for game failure was entirely unnecessary.

Rumble-

Outside, rain still poured down amid flashes of lightning and peals of thunder.

Xianyang Village in seven days?

In this information age, the first thing Qin Manjiang did was look up Xianyang Village online.

Unlike his hometown, Lower River Village, however, Xianyang Village was utterly obscure. There was very little information about it online.

But Qin Manjiang knew that even if nothing was wrong there, this game would create problems in Xianyang Village.

Besides, judging by the game's Opening Lines, it did not sound like a place where nothing had happened.

"Insert the two horns. Shave away the bones. They are peeling off my skin. Make the face thinner. Push up the corners of the mouth. Smile. All right, go have a drink! I was placed in a dark, narrow hole. My eyes could no longer hold any light. I am a god. I... do not want to become a god," Qin Manjiang murmured.

He had memorized every word that had just appeared.

Then there were the players who would be accompanying him this time-

Green Vine, Pond Fish, Knife-and-Brush Clerk, Boss Shi, and So Annoying.

Among them, the player whose code name was So Annoying naturally drew Qin Manjiang's attention the most.

That player held the last spot among the Ghost Story Game's Ten Seats.

Although Qin Manjiang had no idea how many players the game currently had, anyone who appeared on the leaderboard had to possess something exceptional, even if it was merely exceptional luck.

Come to think of it, this game's location was in Fu City again, just like his first Beginner Level. Did the Ghost Story Game's map cover only Fu City? Or was it just a coincidence?

What were the differences between multiplayer mode, challenge mode, and exploration mode?

Qin Manjiang knew almost nothing about any of this.

But he believed he would find out soon enough.

Because he was about to meet-the other players of this game.

After a night of heavy rain, the weather cleared, leaving Fu City's sky spotless.

Following the instructions he had received the previous night, Qin Manjiang went to Giantwood Hospital to see his younger sister, Qin Manyi, one last time.

Qin Manyi was still all smiles. She was friendly to everyone around her except Qin Manjiang.

"Who are you?"

She asked the same question again.

"Your older brother," he replied.

"Liar." Qin Manyi did not believe him at all. "You look nothing like me."

"We aren't related by blood," Qin Manjiang explained.

"Then why are you my older brother?"

"..."

The conversation came to a forced halt. There was nowhere left to take it.

"You and your sister didn't get along very well before, did you?" a police officer came over and asked.

"We got along fine. We said hello when we saw each other." Qin Manjiang did not quite agree with the officer. His relationship with Qin Manyi might not have been close, but it was hardly bad, was it?

At least after she was diagnosed with a mental illness, he had rented a place and looked after her for a while.

His answer left the officer speechless. This went beyond not getting along. They barely knew each other...

After signing the family confirmation paperwork, Qin Manjiang was directed to board the vehicle bound for Sleep Mountain Psychiatric Hospital.

"Uh, can I not go?"

He asked.

The officer looked at him awkwardly. "In principle, yes. But right now, you're the only family she has. Wouldn't it be too sad for her if you didn't look after her?"

Qin Manjiang glanced at Qin Manyi, who was smiling as she held Doctor Xi's arm. Sad?

Nothing about her current state suggested anything of the sort. If anything, she seemed rather excited about going to the psychiatric hospital.

Doctor Xi noticed Qin Manjiang looking over and asked, "Mr. Qin, is there something you'd like to say to Manyi?"

After just one day, she was already calling her Manyi. Qin Manjiang felt even less that his sister needed him to do anything.

Just then, Qin Manyi suddenly spoke up instead. "I don't want him to see me off!"

Everyone present looked at the two of them in surprise. Since Qin Manyi had regained consciousness this time, her former aggression had almost completely vanished. She was cheerful and talkative, yet she remained cold toward Qin Manjiang alone. It was hard not to wonder whether he had done something to her in the past.

Qin Manjiang, however, had been hoping to hear exactly that. He promptly climbed out of the vehicle.

"Okay. Goodbye."

He turned to leave.

Qin Manyi apparently had not expected him to seize the opportunity quite so quickly. She hurriedly called out, "Come here! I have something to tell you!"

Qin Manjiang glanced at the officer beside him, who nodded.

So he reluctantly walked over to Qin Manyi.

Qin Manyi took him by the sleeve and dragged him aside.

That surprised Qin Manjiang.

This did not seem like something Qin Manyi would do in her current amnesiac state...

She led him farther and farther away. Only when they were so far off that the officer grew uneasy and was about to follow, afraid she might run away, did she finally stop.

Once she was certain no one could overhear their conversation, Qin Manyi fixed her eyes on him, leaned close to his ear, and whispered:

"Don't trust the other players."

Qin Manjiang's eyelid twitched. Before he could ask anything, however, Qin Manyi quickly spoke again:

"On September third, the anniversary of Father's death, come to the psychiatric hospital to find me."

"Remember..."

As soon as she finished speaking, Qin Manyi's expression turned deeply disdainful again. She glanced at Qin Manjiang, then walked away without looking back.

Doctor Xi came over, studied Qin Manjiang's conflicted expression, and asked, "What did she say?"

"Some crazy talk." Qin Manjiang shook his head.

Doctor Xi smiled and reassured him, "Don't take it to heart. She'll get better with time. Perhaps it's precisely because you're so important to her deep down that, after losing her memory, she's friendly toward everyone else, while you alone leave her feeling at a loss. She'll get better with time."

Qin Manjiang smiled back. "Yes. Thank you, Doctor Xi."

(End of chapter)