Clicking the ad triggered another pop-up window. Inside sat a Penguin Platform account and a note:
“The game hasn’t launched yet. Add the game admin to download it.”
What a hassle. Lu Feng added the contact.
“Bro, is this game actually scary?” he messaged the self-proclaimed admin.
“Guaranteed to scare you to death.”
“Seriously free?”
“Mm-hmm.”
“Gotta spend on gacha?”
Lu Feng still worried about that sneaky monetization trap.
*Back in the day, buy once and play forever. Now? Free sure—but broke means screwed. No gacha pulls? How’s free gonna make you OP? What, refuse to pull? Then where’s your waifu? A game without a waifu—fun? Nope! Just slap down 698. First recharge doubles!*
Lu Feng hated disguised pay-to-win schemes most.
“No spending needed,” came the reply.
“Then what *is* needed?”
“Hmm… If I had to say—one life.”
*Don’t get scared to death? Interesting.*
Curiosity sparked.
“Send the game.”
“Done.”
A compressed file arrived. Lu Feng downloaded, extracted, and launched it eagerly. The UI bled gray and black. Dismembered limbs filled the screen; blood-red text glared. Chilling.
*Dreamless*—the game’s name.
Thrilling. Lu Feng feared no horror game. In this world, what’s scarier than being broke?
Streaming meant income. This game? Not scary at all.
The scarier the game, the hotter the stream, the more fans, the more cash.
Gear prepped, ready to go live—then two tiny lines flashed:
“Ten Thousand Players, One Game”
“Server Launch Countdown: 3 Days”
Multiplayer? Trouble.
Given Lu Feng’s track record—kicked every ten minutes—random disconnects would wreck viewer experience.
Still… the game oozed dread, launch imminent. Even a noob like him wanted to jump in first.
Online searches showed horror streamers hyping it too. Instant hit guaranteed.
Lu Feng messaged the admin: “Any guides?”
*Be prepared—good streamers always are.*
“Guides? Buy a comfy bed. Lie down.”
Cryptic. Admin wouldn’t spill details.
Lu Feng frowned slightly and searched online himself.
...
Inside a derelict factory—silent, shadowed—a monitor glowed. A dark-skinned, hunched, emaciated humanoid pressed Enter.
The screen showed his chat with “Dr. Lu Feng.”
*Why microtransactions? It’s a real horror game. The cost? Your life.*
*Actual terror scenarios—the year’s most authentic horror. Learn survival skills. That ad wasn’t wrong.*
A low, mocking chuckle escaped the creature.
Another fish on the hook.
...
In Nanzhou’s joint conference hall of the Azure Feather Society and Hero Association, a box sat on the table. Thin paper wrapped writhing biological skin samples, faintly pulsing.
“Retrieved from *there*?” Lu Tianlei, vice president of the Azure Feather Society, lifted a piece, astonished.
Hero Association delegates nodded.
Shen Zhan attended too—retired, yet the first to encounter that strange clinic.
“He is an omnipotent being,” Shen Zhan stated.
Lu Tianlei offered no rebuttal.
Per reports, Wang Sha, reconnaissance captain and key cadre, died in that clinic without resistance. Proof enough: the clinic’s owner was beyond the Society’s reach.
“Fine. I admit someone like him may reside in Nanzhou,” Lu Tianlei conceded.
This meeting addressed that—and another urgent matter.
“Per Situ Qingxue’s report, the Pantheon Cult demands immediate attention,” Shen Zhan said, pulling out his anime-wallpapered phone.
*Beep beep! Onii-chan, projector activated!*
A cute loli voice chimed as Shen Zhan projected an announcement: Situ Qingxue sought nationwide Hero Association support to purge Pantheon Cult remnants.
*She’s got too much free time,* Lu Tianlei thought coldly. His focus remained the local Hero Association.
*Shen Zhan… plotting a comeback?*
*That clinic—untouchable. Annoying. But I won’t stop until the Hero Association falls.*
*If I can’t do it… others might.*
*We’ll see.*
...
Flames devoured a mountaintop stronghold in the forest.
A silver blade flashed—cleaving a purple-robed cultist. Golden-haired, ponytailed, clad in mithril armor, Situ Qingxue advanced toward the hall.
“You… How did you find us?” The wounded Pantheon Cult branch leader slumped on the floor, glaring venomously.
“Thank that sly fox’s tip.”
Situ Qingxue drove her sword through his throat, then wiped the blade clean.
Su Zhaoyu had given fragmented intel. Skeptical, Situ Qingxue investigated—and uncovered multiple hideouts.
*What scheme is Su Zhaoyu weaving? Doesn’t matter. Removing a nuisance? Always a win.*
