Foreign social media platforms were also in absolute chaos.
At first, many people thought Hong Kong would become the next Tokyo and were adopting a wait-and-see attitude.
It wasn't until more and more leaked videos surfaced and foreign journalists stationed in Hong Kong sent back live reports that many finally realized—
The Underworld was actually real.
An entrance to the afterlife had truly appeared in Hong Kong, Huaxia!
【My God! This is unbelievable! The afterlife really exists!】
【I'm going to Hong Kong! I want to see my wife! She passed away in a car crash last year, and I didn't even get to see her one last time!】
【So is that place heaven or hell? I don't understand.】
【Flying items? Superpowers? This is literally a real-life Metaverse!】
【The Huaxia government must make all Instance information public! This is the wealth of all humanity!】
On Reddit and Twitter, related topics were trending repeatedly.
Countless people booked flights and rushed to Hong Kong.
Adventure bloggers, supernatural enthusiasts, wealthy tycoons, mercenaries, missionaries, agents from the American Supernatural Investigation Bureau, onmyoji from Japan's Onmyoryo, researchers from Russia's Special Phenomena Committee...
Everyone knew what game items represented.
Whoever mastered the secrets first would likely seize the initiative in the coming era.
Living people with various motives flocked to this modern metropolis from all corners of the world.
They had only one goal: the Underworld's ghost market.
...
...
...
On the day the 《Interim Regulations on the Import and Export Control of Supernatural Items》 was officially announced, the number of arrivals at Hong Kong International Airport reached its highest peak in nearly twenty years.
The regulations clearly stated:
【1. All supernatural items obtained within the Instances are privately owned but classified as specially controlled items. Upon acquisition, they must be registered and filed with the special investigation department;
2. Item transactions must go through the official platform (Spirit Realm). Private trading or smuggling of supernatural items is strictly prohibited. Violators will have their items confiscated and face criminal prosecution, with a maximum penalty of life imprisonment;
3. Any foreign individuals or organizations are strictly forbidden from privately organizing personnel to enter the Instances. Violators will be severely punished according to the law;
4. Customs and ports will strengthen inspections. Private exportation of supernatural items is strictly prohibited.】
As soon as the regulations were released, another wave of heated discussion erupted online.
【It should have been regulated long ago! What if all the items were sold off if they didn't control it?】
【Why should we register? We risked our lives for them, so why register? Are they preparing to let the powerful pick and choose?】
【To the person above, it's registration, not confiscation! The stuff is still yours, you just can't sell it abroad! And you have to trade through official channels! You have to pay taxes!】
【I'm dying of laughter. Even for game items, the state still wants taxes, hahaha. I feel a strong sense of security despite how absurd it is.】
【Then wouldn't it be fine to just trade inside the Instances?】
【Are you stupid? If you get murdered and robbed in an Instance, nobody would even know. Official channels at least guarantee your life.】
【Exactly. If we don't pay taxes, where would the money for infrastructure come from? How do you think those Instance shelters came to be?】
【I support this. If foreigners really buy up all the rare items, we'll be the ones losing out in the future!】
While the majority supported it, quite a few people felt the regulations were too strict and chose to trade privately.
But many underestimated the power of the "law" and the state apparatus.
On the afternoon the regulations were implemented, customs detected three cases of item smuggling, seizing over a dozen game items including amulets, 【Yin Pills】, 【Blood-Replenishing Pills】, and 【Water-Python Grass】, and arresting seven smugglers.
...
...
...
The arrivals hall was packed with people of all skin tones speaking various languages, carrying large and small bags, their eyes filled with curiosity and excitement.
Two Japanese men stood in the queue, their brows knit tightly as they conversed in hushed Japanese:
“To think the Instances here have actually been brought so openly into the light... Back in Tokyo, reports of Slit-Mouthed Woman sightings are piling up, yet the government still stubbornly insists they're just rumors. Does Huaxia really have the protection of the gods?”
Beside them, two young British men carrying hiking backpacks held up their phones to film the security presence in the hall. One of them turned and replied:
“...My friend, the banshee in the Scottish Highlands has been wailing for a whole month, and the officials are still labeling the witnesses as victims of 'mass hysteria.'
But look here—they've already started auctioning off Instance items. My god, it's absolutely insane.”
“Have you heard the news about the Jersey Devil?
Last week, the American government claimed they caught one in the Pine Barrens and shipped it straight to Area 51 for dissection.
And the Weeping Woman in White is killing lone children by the Rio Grande every single day.
So, does this Hong Kong Instance count as the first publicly open large-scale Instance? Hey, we're practically adventurers in a game!”
“Honestly, I thought Hong Kong would become the next Tokyo. In any case, it's just too unbelievable. How on earth did Huaxia pull this off?”
“Does some kind of 【God】 really exist?”
“...I don't know about that, but supernatural events have already appeared on the outskirts of Moscow. Yet here, people are actually walking out of an Instance with items. We have to find out exactly how the Huaxia people did it.”
...
...
Airport hotel shuttle buses ran one after another, yet demand still far outstripped supply.
Hotel prices in Mong Kok, Yau Ma Tei, and Tsim Sha Tsui surged fivefold, yet finding a vacant room remained nearly impossible.
Many private residences were converted into temporary guesthouses specifically to host out-of-towners who came to "chase their dreams."
In streets and alleys everywhere, foreigners carrying hiking backpacks and holding maps could be seen, asking around for the location of the Shing King Building.
The entrance to the Instance had long ceased to be a secret.
With so many returnees, the location of the unfinished Shing King Building had been thoroughly exposed.
Yet no one dared to enter carelessly.
Of those who went in, it was a miracle if one or two out of ten returned; most became wandering souls and wild ghosts in the Underworld.
The majority were still waiting and watching.
Forming teams, buying equipment, gathering intelligence—they were waiting for the most opportune moment.
In the Cha Chaan Tengs, "adventurers" from different countries shared tables.
There was a fully equipped player squad from the mainland studying their route on a map:
“...The Shing King Building is the Instance entrance. Once you go in, first try to blend in by getting a security guard identity.”
“You only obtain player status once you enter the Shing King Building. Otherwise, you'll be sent back by Black and White Impermanence.”
“When Black and White Impermanence patrol the streets, you must hide inside a building. Don't look up, and don't make eye contact.”
“If you meet a ghost in the corridors and they make a request, you must agree to it.”
“If you run into the granny doing villain hitting, you must quickly kick over the memorial tablet by her feet before you can leave—”
This intelligence, a mix of truth and falsehood, had all been bought from returnees at exorbitant prices.
...
...
At the neighboring table, two Southeast Asian sorcerers dressed in bizarre outfits, with amulets hanging around their necks, chattered away in an unintelligible tongue.
Small jars sat on their table, containing unknown substances.
Another table was occupied by American mercenaries wearing tactical vests, with guns tucked into their waists, their eyes vigilant.
The unfinished Shing King Building had suddenly become a world-famous tourist attraction.
—If Lu Bingkun were still alive, the Lu Group would likely have developed this unfinished building directly, making a fortune off the Instance.
Unfortunately, the Lu Group's leaders were almost entirely wiped out, and the conglomerate's internal ranks were currently in a chaotic power struggle.
Thus, the development of the unfinished building was completely shelved.
Every night, there were people waiting in the unfinished building holding paper money. Some had even spent large sums of money to move right in.
Faced with this, even the Special Investigation Bureau was helpless.
Some sought wealth, some wanted to see their loved ones, some wanted to become players, and some were looking for thrills.
The Shing King Building was like a giant beast with its maw wide open—swallowing countless people carrying deep obsessions.
Everyone crazily believed that they were the special one.
...
...
...
Inside the Shing King Building in the inverted Underworld.
Chen Xi opened her eyes and found herself hanging from a clothes rack made of human bones.
The faceless Sister Fang stood with her back to her, her scissors gently cutting through human skin with a crisp "snip-snap" sound.
Was it the Skin-Peeling Ghost, Sister Fang, who had saved her?
Chen Xi's eyes filled with suspicion when a pale, icy hand suddenly landed on her shoulder.
“Don't be afraid, pretty girl.”
Chen Shulan stood before Chen Xi. Even through a sheet of white cloth, her smile could be felt:
“You are Miss Chen, and I am also Miss Chen.”
“You are a player, and I am also a player.”
A ghost... could be a player?
Chen Xi even ignored her current predicament, sinking into deep doubt.
Rate on N.U.
