The July heat in Capital City was unbearable. All the pedestrians on the streets were complaining—why didn't Hou Yi shoot down the tenth sun as well?
In a small rental apartment, Yang Qizhou lounged lazily on the sofa, legs dangling, basking in the air conditioning while gaming. Having just fired his boss, he was dangerously close to sheer boredom.
Suddenly, his phone screen flashed and entered a download interface.
[Deceit World] Loading...
Loading complete.
Brave explorer, will you venture into this mysterious and bizarre unknown world?
Yes/No.
"My phone's been hacked? What kind of trash app is this?" Yang Qizhou muttered and immediately tried to uninstall it.
The app cannot be uninstalled.
???
Well, that's just plain rogue behavior, huh? Yang Qizhou tried several other methods, but all failed. With nothing left to lose, he tapped "Confirm" to see what this nonsense was about.
The background interface displayed strange, grotesque, and indescribably twisted imagery. There was no grand CG opening scene—just line after line of text appearing before his eyes.
"You are a reckless and daring explorer."
"You are currently exploring an ancient relic. Legend has it that this site once worshipped a deity that controlled destiny. Inside the relic, you discover a divine statue. Believing the statue might be invaluable, you ignore your companions' warnings and attempt to take it. Suddenly, everything goes dark, and you lose consciousness."
"When you awaken, you find yourself in the wilderness, a bizarre enlightenment surfacing in your mind."
"You realize you've left your original world and arrived at a land known as Old Earth's domain. Here, eldritch forces lurk, deceit reigns, anomalies emerge, horror spreads, the unknown and mystery coexist, and distortion and evil thrive."
"You are being eroded by the Old Earth's aura. In your stupor, you glimpse countless dead souls wailing in a gray river, filthy and unclean sludge flowing across the ground, and unspeakable shadows stirring behind the endless veil of the sky."
"The statue's destiny-bound power is with you. It has sensed your plight and is blessing you."
"A blessing is being generated..."
"You may choose one of the following blessings."
"Giant God Bloodline: Ancient dominators flow through your veins, wielding the authority of decay. Blessing Effect: You will awaken mild decay powers and have a high probability of being accepted by the Giant God race."
"Dark Crow of Profane Fortune: The dark crow that profanes destiny. Before destiny, neither gods nor ancient dominators can regret their choice once made—but you can. Blessing Effect: You can redo the previous decision. The original destiny remains, and each decision allows only one use of the 'Dark Crow of Profane Fortune' blessing. Daily limit: 5 uses."
"Ancient God Affinity: Your traits will earn the favor of the Ancient Gods, making it easier to receive divine blessings and traverse Old Earth's domain of deceit and fear for longer. Blessing Effect: You will be more likely to gain the favor of the Ancient Gods."
"Special Reminder: Each blessing is unique and will not regenerate until the original holder dies. Explorers, choose wisely."
This is a text-based adventure game.
Yang Qizhou discerned the eerie terror of Old Earth's domain and the vast backdrop of [Deceit World] but felt an instinctive disgust. "What era is this? And they're still pulling Renaissance-era moves? Do they not know even major gaming studios' AAA blockbusters are falling out of favor?"
He figured he'd play anyway.
Might as well take it a bit seriously.
Yang Qizhou analyzed seriously, "This must be the character creation phase. Destiny's Blessing is the initial talent, determining character progression and story direction."
"Giant God Bloodline seems like a solid pick—not only would it ensure acceptance by the Giant God race, but it also grants decay powers. Very tangible benefits."
"Ancient God Affinity carries some risks. First, it's unclear what the Ancient Gods' standing is in the game world. If they're strong, great. But if they're weaklings playing god, the gameplay would definitely turn sour."
"Now, Dark Crow of Profane Fortune—this is interesting..."
A blessing from destiny yet imbued with a power that profanes destiny itself—it must be extraordinary if the text isn't bugged, he figured.
"Five chances a day to redo choices—it's basically save-scumming. The only difference is... Other players' save files reset completely, but I get to keep benefits earned in the progression."
"So when faced with story branches, while others can only follow one path, I'm different."
"I get to pick them all."
Given Yang Qizhou's nonchalant attitude toward the game, making choices wasn't psychologically taxing. Intrigued by 'Dark Crow of Profane Fortune,' he made his pick.
Still, no epic CG; simply pale text scrolling across the screen.
"Destiny's Blessing infuses your body. Arrogant as ever, you believe you can conquer this deceitful and terrifying Old Earth's domain with Dark Crow of Profane Fortune, forgetting the horrors you just witnessed."
"Ahead, gray-white fog spreads, faintly illuminated by candlelight. You assume it's a village. Recklessly, you scan around and notice a statue in the forest to your left."
"Do you ignore the statue and head toward the village behind the gray fog?"
"Or do you check out the statue first?"
"Arrogant explorer, make your choice."
As a keyboard warrior who knew a thing or two about Lovecraftian lore, Yang Qizhou understood the basic survival strategy in such a worldview: avoid excessive curiosity, steer clear of suspicious structures, and don't become entangled with weird individuals.
Heading to the village first and interacting with NPCs to trigger subsequent stories seemed the logical priority.
"You decide to move toward the village in the gray fog. As you recklessly glance at the sky's sun—"
"You find the sun peculiar, entirely different from the one in your original world: twisted, purplish-black, indescribable, and unnamed. You are completely captivated by it."
"You dissolve into a pool of blood."
"You die."
???
Yang Qizhou was dumbfounded. Being killed by monsters or hacked to death made sense. Even dying by tripping over your own feet was acceptable. But meeting your end because you looked at the sun—what's up with this nonsense plot?
Also,
What's with the narrator's blatant derision woven into the text? The scornful tone was obvious—what's the deal?
"Trash game. Damn it."
The text kept scrolling:
"Your soul separates from your body."
"You see a turbulent gray-black river, its depths harboring countless slumbering souls. This is the River of Death—the final destination of all beings."
"Your soul is sinking, your consciousness descending into chaos. Mysterious ravings reach your ears."
"You realize the power of destiny has not vanished with the blessing; it continues to watch over you. Your death ending is being rewritten, allowing you to return to the living. However, the guiding flame of protection is limited—each rewrite dims it by a third. Only at midnight does it rekindle."
"Will you rely on destiny's power to rewrite your death ending and continue to eke out survival?"
"Or will you choose the coward's way, letting your soul sink into the River of Death and escape this deceitful, bizarre Old Earth's domain through the peace of death itself?"
Essentially, the game grants three resurrection chances per day, refreshed at midnight. Exceeding this limit results in permanent character death.
Yang Qizhou quickly deciphered the game mechanics and opted for resurrection.
"'Dark Crow of Profane Fortune' now comes into play."
"Lucky Otherworldly Explorer, you gain another option. Using the ability of 'Dark Crow of Profane Fortune,' you can preserve this destiny while returning to the moment before your previous choice."
"Will you go back?"
Well, duh—of course he'd go back. Yang Qizhou chose to activate 'Dark Crow of Profane Fortune.'
"You return to the moment before your prior choice, facing the crossroads: proceed to the fog-covered village or investigate the peculiar statue in the woods?"
"Hopefully, you won't make a stupid decision this time."
This time, Yang Qizhou chose to inspect the peculiar statue in the woods.
"You retain the destiny of your prior choice, aware that looking at the sun spells death. Resolute, you avoid looking up at the sky."
"You approach the peculiar statue."
"You..."
Yang Qizhou felt a chill. Judging from the text, it seemed no matter whether he headed to the village first or checked out the statue first, he was destined to glance at the sun—a fate as inevitable as an old man eating arsenic. Dead-end guaranteed.
Suddenly, knocks sounded at the door—'Bang bang bang,' loud and deliberate.
"Who's there?"
"It's—it's me, Brother Qizhou. Open up quick, I brought loads of snacks to share with you."
"Little Bean's got heart. Brother Qizhou didn't spoil you for nothing. Wait up, coming now."
Just as Yang Qizhou set his phone down to open the door, he froze, his gaze filled with intense horror... because on the back of his right hand, an ink-black crow tattoo had mysteriously appeared.