He had no idea how long he had slept.
He had been working overtime at the office and fallen asleep from sheer exhaustion, yet when he opened his eyes again, he had become someone else.
A middle school student named Shen Ye.
As far as he could tell, this middle school student had died of a high fever.
He had taken the boy's place.
He should have told the student's parents about this.
But-
He had already arrived in this world and become this middle school student named Shen Ye.
If he made a fuss now and ended up being sent to a psychiatric hospital, his entire life would be ruined.
Besides.
Through the days and nights, he had experienced their meticulous care.
Their exhausted, heartbreaking expressions, their eyes red from crying, and their constant companionship, day and night, had all stirred an indescribable feeling within him.
After all, he had been an orphan in his previous life and had never experienced this kind of parental care.
So-
He should just let it go.
-Since he was here, he might as well settle in.
"You look much better. The doctor said your condition is improving."
His mother, Zhao Xiaoshang, held a bowl of soup, scooped up a spoonful, and brought it to his lips.
He soon finished the soup.
Zhao Xiaoshang got up to wash the bowl.
Shen Ye was left alone in the room.
He lay quietly in the hospital bed, reached out, and hauled the schoolbag from the chair beside him onto the bed.
He opened the schoolbag.
Four books came into view:
"Strength Training,"
"Body Form,"
"Psychic Power Primer,"
"Language and Science Knowledge."
-Along with a pile of exercise books.
This world was completely different from Blue Star, and the subjects students were tested on were vastly different as well.
"Ye."
His mother's voice suddenly rang out.
Shen Ye turned to look and saw deep worry on her face.
"We missed the first exam. If you really can't get past that, stay home. You don't have to take the rest."
"Later, we'll ask your grandfather to help arrange a job for you."
She spoke cautiously.
Give up on the high school entrance exams...
Shen Ye closed his eyes and thought for a moment.
The first subject in the entrance exams was "Strength Training," which specifically tested students' physical fitness.
Students often injured their muscles, tendons, and bones during this exam.
That was why, after finishing it, students had seven days to study and recuperate before the second exam-
"Body Form."
In essence, it was movement techniques and footwork.
He had missed the "Strength Training" exam, and only three days remained before the second exam, "Movement Techniques and Footwork."
While the original Shen Ye had been alive, his grades had always been good, ranking first or second in his school.
He had been full of hopes for high school.
But now he had suddenly fallen ill and missed one of the entrance exams. Even if he scored highly in every remaining exam, he would not get into a good school.
For a fifteen-year-old boy, that was no small blow.
That was why his mother had made this suggestion.
But...
He was not as fragile as she imagined.
"Mom, are you afraid I'll do something drastic?" Shen Ye smiled.
Zhao Xiaoshang gently clasped his hand, hesitating to speak.
"Don't worry. Even if I can't get into a top high school, I'm still taking the exams-I want to keep studying, no matter how bad the school is," Shen Ye said.
Zhao Xiaoshang let out a long sigh of relief, hugged him, and said softly:
"I'll go find your dad right away. We'll find a way to get you a Marrow-Replenishing Pill. We'll make sure you're in the best possible condition for the exams."
With that, she hurried out of the room.
Shen Ye was left alone.
He lowered his head and silently looked at the books in his hands.
A Marrow-Replenishing Pill was a very expensive medicinal pill.
His parents really had poured all their effort into helping him recover.
A warm feeling stirred in his heart.
It seemed to be something left over from the original owner of this body, yet it also seemed to have just arisen in his own heart.
Enough thinking. Time to study properly.
Shen Ye opened "Body Form" and began reading carefully.
These middle school subjects all laid the foundations while also testing students' knowledge of the world.
For instance, the fourth book was "Language and Science Knowledge."
If he passed the entrance exams, he would have a chance to study more profound and superior training methods in high school.
After finally making it to this world, am I really going to find some random job and live an ordinary life?
What a joke.
I have to get into high school!
Shen Ye silently made up his mind.
Suddenly.
A voice sounded beside his ear:
"Found you."
The voice came abruptly, as though someone were standing behind him, speaking right into his ear.
Every hair on Shen Ye's body stood on end.
"Who's there!"
He abruptly rose from the bed and looked around.
Everything was as quiet as ever.
No one was there.
Nothing moved.
There was nothing at all.
Damn it, I nearly bolted out the door.
Where on earth did that voice-
Shen Ye suddenly froze.
At some point, a door had appeared at the foot of his bed.
The door looked very old and was identical to the doors of the hospital wards.
Through its window, he could see nothing but darkness.
Shen Ye stood frozen in place, his initial surprise turning to fear, but soon settling into calm.
"That's right. This is the hospital room door the original Shen Ye encountered."
"...You killed him, and now you want to come after me?"
Shen Ye suddenly grew angry.
In that other world, although he had been an orphan, he had at least been an atheist born under the red flag and raised in the spring breeze.
Back then, he had not even been afraid to cross a graveyard hill alone.
Yet in this world, ghosts actually dared to appear and attack the living?
Killing a boy about to take his high school entrance exams had not been enough; now they had put a door here to scare people.
What's that supposed to mean?
I've already died once. You think I'm afraid of you?
-If you want a fight, if you want to kill me, come on!
He glanced around, snatched the lamp off the bedside table, and rushed to the foot of the bed. Raising the lamp high in both hands, he roared:
"Enough of your spooky tricks!"
He kicked the door open, revealing the scene within.
-Beyond the door was a long, dark corridor.
At the end of the corridor lay an enormous humanoid skeleton, over four meters long, eating a mangled, bloody corpse.
Hearing the noise, the skeleton slowly raised its massive skull. Eerie ghostly flames flared in its eye sockets as it looked toward Shen Ye.
The disdain on Shen Ye's face instantly froze.
-I really didn't expect something this terrifying.
Hmph, this sort of thing...
"So sorry to intrude. Please enjoy your meal!"
He flashed a brilliant smile and nodded in greeting, casually hiding the lamp behind his back.
The skeleton suddenly let out a piercing shriek and charged toward him with tremendous speed.
Shen Ye slammed the door shut.
Snap!
With a soft sound, the door vanished.
It had vanished!
Shen Ye went limp and collapsed onto the bed.
Damn it.
This world is too dangerous.
Suddenly, Shen Ye noticed faint glimmers appearing around him. They gathered in midair, forming lines of small text:
"Evaluation trait obtained from opening the door this time:" "Polite Person." "Gray trait (damaged)." "Equip this evaluation trait to receive the following benefit:" "When you act politely, others will have a slightly better impression of you." "You may keep this evaluation trait and upgrade it in the future, or consume it to gain basic Attribute Points."
Shen Ye quickly finished reading and sank into thought.
Why does this door seem to have become some kind of ability, and even give me an evaluation?
Wait!
Could this be my ability?
Suddenly, that voice sounded beside Shen Ye's ear again:
"I finally found you."
"Who are you?" Shen Ye immediately asked.
"Someone who has awakened an ability of the 'World Link' type-you are so rare, but I have finally found you."
The voice continued, "Listen. I slumber in the depths of the Nightmare World. If you can come rescue me, I will reward you handsomely."
Shen Ye could not help shaking his head slightly.
Rescue you?
I don't even dare go inside, let alone rescue you.
As though it knew what he was thinking, the voice spoke again:
"Don't be so quick to refuse. As a show of sincerity, I can tell you something."
"Now, open your schoolbag and find the metal sculpture in your pencil case."
A little curious, Shen Ye pulled his schoolbag over and opened the pencil case. Sure enough, inside was a metal sculpture of a one-horned monster.
Something was wrong.
According to the original Shen Ye's memories, he had never owned a metal sculpture like this.
Who had put this sculpture in his pencil case?
The voice rang out:
"This is the 'Cursed Sculpture of the King of Myriad-Fallen Evil Ghosts.'"
"Over the long ages, humans have believed that it can open another dimension and take other people's lives and souls to strengthen itself."
"This has happened millions of times, without a single exception."
Shen Ye listened carefully, then asked:
"Are you saying someone put this statue in my pencil case to kill me?"
"That's right, but somehow you didn't die."
The voice continued, "What humans don't know is that, although it is immensely powerful, if it fails to kill its target even once, all the power it has accumulated will pour into that target."
"That power will create an unprecedented new ability for that person."
"-That's why you obtained an extremely rare 'World-Link Type' ability."
Shen Ye fell silent.
Actually...
That boy died too.
I just slipped in seamlessly and took over his body at once.
So does that count as a bug?
The voice grew full of longing:
"Come, human. As you keep growing stronger, you will surely reach the depths of the Nightmare World and set me free."
"I will repay you well. You have my word."
"What kind of being are you?" Shen Ye asked.
"Communicating across worlds has exhausted my power... but at least I've committed you to memory... I'll come find you again."
The voice grew fainter and fainter, gradually fading away.
The room fell quiet again.
Shen Ye crouched motionless on the bed, his expression somewhat grave.
Me?
I awakened an ability?
He looked again at the metal statue in his hand.
The statue had already lost its luster. When he rubbed it with his hand, fine cracks immediately appeared across its surface.
Crash!
The statue crumbled into fragments.
A gust of wind appeared out of nowhere, blowing the fragments into drifting ash.
-It was completely gone.
Who exactly wanted to kill Shen Ye?
No.
I have to hurry and get stronger, at least enough to protect myself!
He looked back at the small glowing words in midair.
"Polite Person."
What the hell kind of trait is this? I'd be better off using it to increase my strength.
"Devour."
Shen Ye said it silently in his mind.
The trait immediately disappeared, replaced by a glowing point.
The point of light hovered in midair, circled briefly, then flew into Shen Ye's body.
-An Attribute Point.
Devouring an evaluation trait produced Attribute Points, which could be used to improve his base attributes.
But which attribute should I improve first?
Shen Ye began carefully recalling some of this world's knowledge.
Generally speaking, humans possessed five main attributes: strength, agility, mental power, comprehension, and resonance.
What would adding one point to strength do?
At a thought, that point of "light" immediately became strength and bolstered his body.
In an instant.
Shen Ye's body sank slightly, as though his whole frame had become a little more solid.
He picked up the plate on the table and squeezed it gently with both hands.
The iron plate bent slightly.
Two lines of small text appeared in the air:
"Current strength level: Ordinary Adult Man." "Your physique has barely reached the standard of an adult man. Please keep working hard."
An adult man?
This boy was only fifteen, and his body was still weak, yet his strength had already received such a boost.
Shen Ye shifted his thoughts.
That point of "light" immediately stopped bolstering his strength. Instead, he drew it out and put it into agility.
His body seemed to grow lighter.
Small glowing words appeared in the air again:
"Congratulations, you have reached the standard of a Beginner Traceur."
Shen Ye took a short running start and leaped onto the wall, running two steps along it before landing back on the floor.
-Putting it into agility is pretty powerful too!
Shen Ye took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and tried to calm himself.
Through these two brief attempts, he had already understood one thing.
-Attribute Points could be withdrawn at any time and then assigned anywhere else.
That was what was truly terrifying.
I can instantly turn from a strength-based warrior into an agility-based assassin!
Things seemed to be getting interesting.