Tulip Security Company.
In the corridor, players were swarming around Ghost to check in.
One hundred bad deeds was neither too many nor too few. Some had already racked up thirty or forty, while others were still lingering in the single digits.
“This is way too tricky. As a high-quality player, I really can’t accept this kind of wicked mission,” one player with a supposedly high moral standard complained. So far, he had only managed to perform a handful of bad deeds.
“Yeah, yeah, if you don’t want to do bad things, then don’t. Don’t force yourself. After all, it’s just a game; we’re all here for fun,” a nearby player replied dismissively.
Another player was more direct, sneering with disdain, “You’ve already done the deeds, so why are you acting like a saintly white lotus now? If you’re so righteous, don’t do a single one. You’re just looking for moral superiority because you’re incompetent and can’t finish the mission.”
The high-moral player’s face turned beet red. “What nonsense are you talking about? This mission’s values are completely warped, requiring us to commit evil just to exchange for techniques. How can you all do this with such a clear conscience?!”
“Yes, yes, we’re all bastards, and you’re the only one with a moral compass. This game is truly corrupting. A pure and noble person like you shouldn’t be contaminated. I suggest you delete your account immediately. Since you’re such an upright person, you shouldn’t be able to tolerate playing a game like this…” another player added sarcastically.
“You… you people… you’re simply beyond saving!” The high-moral player was so furious that he logged off immediately, deciding to go online once he was back in reality to write a long post, accusing everyone of bullying him in the game and claiming his colleagues were all morally bankrupt pseudo-humans.
The other players erupted in laughter, and the air was filled with a jovial atmosphere.
Most players had quantified their bad deeds into data: stealing a wallet counted as one, cursing out an entire street counted as one, and splashing filth on a neighbor’s doorstep counted as one.
Ghost stood behind the desk, accepting their reports with a blank expression.
No one noticed that Jian Lai was no longer at the company.
He had taken half a day off, claiming he wasn’t feeling well.
Ghost had glanced at him but didn’t ask questions, simply approving the leave slip.
Jian Lai had gone to an abandoned residence in the West District. He had discovered this place by accident while exploring the city. it was far from the main road, surrounded by an old residential area that had been mostly demolished, leaving only a few standing houses and piles of broken bricks and tiles.
The door was slightly ajar. He pushed it open and stepped into the empty interior.
It was quiet here, perfect for studying the technique scroll.
The cultivation of the Record of Summoning and Binding Demons and Ghosts was simpler than Jian Lai had anticipated.
The scroll stated clearly that it required no complex rituals, no expensive materials, and no years of bitter cultivation.
The core of this sect’s technique lay in visualization—constructing a mental image known as the Sky Ghost Diagram.
The form of the Sky Ghost was depicted in detail on the scroll—a non-human, eldritch monster. Staring at the pattern for too long made one feel uneasy, as if something were watching from the shadows, yet there would be nothing there when one turned to look.
Jian Lai spread the scroll out, sat cross-legged on the dusty floor, closed his eyes, and began to visualize.
The lines and shadows of the Sky Ghost slowly emerged in his mind, writhing and entangling.
His temples began to throb, and a sharp pain hit the space between his brows. That uncomfortable sensation spread from the top of his head to the back of his neck, leaving a chilly feeling down his spine.
‘Holy crap, why is this so uncomfortable?’
‘Whatever, it’s not like this is some orthodox spell anyway. It’s probably normal for a demonic technique to have some side effects.’
Jian Lai gritted his teeth and persevered. He had finally managed to gain an advantage over the other players; he couldn’t afford to quit halfway.
The cultivation techniques in the game shouldn’t be too difficult, or players would just drop the game.
‘All this discomfort is just a setting. The negative feedback during visualization is just the program simulating the difficulty of cultivation. I just need to endure it,’ he comforted himself.
Soon, he did indeed endure it.
The Sky Ghost Diagram stabilized in his mind, no longer writhing or twisting. It became like an abstract painting pinned in a frame—quiet and eerie.
Jian Lai opened his eyes, rubbed his brow, and turned the scroll to the next page.
The introductory chapter of the Record of Summoning and Binding Demons and Ghosts was titled “Nascent Sound.”
This was a beginner-level summoning art. It required no summoning materials or talismans; one only needed to recite the incantation while visualizing the Sky Ghost Diagram in their mind.
The syllables of the incantation were very strange, unlike any human language. The scroll used pinyin to mark the pronunciation, but Jian Lai still stumbled over the words at first.
The game developers were truly dedicated, even coming up with a custom set of incantations.
He recited it dozens of times until his voice shifted from awkward to fluent, the syllables connecting seamlessly.
The moment he finally managed to recite the entire incantation fluently, his ears caught a sound that didn’t belong to the environment.
The sound didn’t come from outside; it seemed to ring directly inside his head.
“Whispers in the wind,” the scroll described it as such.
When a beginner recites the incantation and establishes a preliminary connection with the Sky Ghost, they can hear such sounds. Like the wind, the content is indistinguishable, yet one can feel its presence.
Jian Lai’s consciousness felt as if it were being pulled by an invisible thread. He didn’t know what was on the other end, but he could feel the thread vibrating slightly.
Jian Lai closed the scroll and tucked it into his robes. His heart was racing, and the corners of his mouth curled up involuntarily.
He hadn’t expected himself to be a cultivation genius, reaching the introductory stage in such a short time!
Now he was miles ahead. While other players were still pulling their hair out over those hundred bad deeds, he had already learned his first spell!
Even though it was just the entry level and he hadn't officially summoned a Sky Ghost yet, he was in the lead. One step ahead meant being ahead at every step.
Jian Lai originally intended to continue his cultivation, but he suddenly felt a wave of exhaustion—a mental fatigue.
Perhaps it was because he was too excited today or because he had been in the game for too long.
He prepared to log off and return to reality for some rest.
Clicking the exit button, his consciousness was pulled from the Deep Red Continent and returned to his body lying in the gaming pod on Blue Star.
The pod cover opened, and the lights shone on Jian Lai’s face. He blinked a few times to adjust to the light of the real world.
The room was quiet. The curtains were drawn, blocking the light from outside.
He climbed out of the gaming pod, stepped barefoot onto the floor, and went to the kitchen to pour a glass of water.
The cold water poured down his throat and slid down his esophagus, the chill spreading from his chest to his limbs.
Jian Lai didn’t care at all about the chaos caused by the Nightmare Sickness; after all, he wasn’t the one who was sick.
Carrying the water glass, he returned to the bedroom and sat on the edge of the bed, his mind still occupied by that technique.
The Sky Ghost Diagram surfaced involuntarily. He couldn't help but visualize it over and over in his mind, and his mouth subconsciously began to recite the Nascent Sound incantation.
His voice was low, but the syllables were complete and fluent, exactly as they had been in the game.
Clang!
The water glass slipped from his hand and smashed onto the floor, water splashing everywhere.
Jian Lai didn’t care about the glass. He froze in place, his pupils trembling with shock.
He heard it again—the whispers in the wind.
Rate on N.U.
