Dragon Nation, Broad City, Azure Isle Academy
[Eerie World has been fully loaded. Global sync initiated.]
"Hey, you guys heard that too, right?"
"I thought I was hallucinating."
"Someone in the broadcast room must’ve left their mic on while gaming."
The classroom erupted in noise as everyone discussed the strange voice they just heard.
“Eerie world?”
Li Ran lifted his head from behind a towering wall of books, his sleepy eyes filled with a hint of confusion.
Just as everyone was still puzzled, that cold, mechanical voice echoed again in Li Ran’s ears.
[Now selecting 25 individuals from this region to enter the Eerie World. Duration: 15 days. The instance will feature random spawn locations, random missions, and random rewards.]
[The instance includes exploration and survival, horror and monsters, apocalyptic viruses, eerie resurgences, lovecraft myths, and player-versus-player content.]
[After 15 days, survivors will be transported back to the real world. Players may bring back any special powers, items, or NPCs obtained within the instance. Death in the instance equals death in reality.]
[Now beginning random instance selection.]
Before everyone’s eyes, film-like images flashed rapidly, frame by frame.
As the scenes slowed down, the final image froze in front of them.
[Selected instance for this region — Happy Homeland]
A housing community shrouded in night appeared before Li Ran’s eyes.
But to Li Ran, this so-called homeland radiated nothing but creepiness — the word “happy” didn’t seem to fit at all.
Dark clouds loomed, the night sky starless.
Desolate streets. A lonely park. Dozens of buildings, but only a handful of lit windows.
“Ugh!!”
A strange sound accompanied the scene, and Li Ran frowned slightly.
There, clinging to the outer wall of a tall building, was a giant cocoon covered in countless tentacles, pulsating like a living heart.
“What the hell…”
Li Ran stared at the creature on the screen, his scalp tingling. “What is that thing?”
Had the Zerg set up a nest on the wall?
The cocoon looked ready to burst open at any moment.
The footage continued, shifting to an aerial view of the community park below.
“Whoa!!!”
The classroom exploded in noise, panic spreading.
Within the park, surrounded by buildings, were hundreds of grotesque, terrifying monsters of all shapes and sizes. The park was crammed to the brim, a chorus of hair-raising screeches echoing from below. A horde of monsters even swarmed out of each building.
“Grrrghhh!!!”
“Urrrrghhh!!!”
“Kyahahaha!!!”
The sheer density of the creatures turned every student’s face pale with fear.
Packed tightly together. Mutated. Deformed. Twisted. Rotting. Bloody. It was as if every horror element imaginable had been compacted into that one neighborhood park.
How was this a Happy Homeland? It was clearly Monster Paradise!
The images vanished. The icy voice returned.
[This instance features a “Desire Virus” that infects the mind. Infected individuals will become monsters driven by their own desires. But don’t worry — they act normal during the daytime.]
“Don’t worry, my ass! Sending us in there is a death sentence!” Li Ran’s desk-mate Wang Xiaoxian cursed.
[Initiating selection process for entry into the Eerie World. Scanning individual data within the target area.]
[Selection range: Azure Isle Academy]
[Data analysis complete. Selecting the 25 individuals with the highest comprehensive abilities to enter the Eerie World.]
“Comprehensive ability… highest?” Li Ran smacked his lips and laid his head back down. “No worries then, won’t be me. I’m the class bottom-feeder.”
The cold, emotionless voice continued.
[You have been selected!]
“What the f—?!” Li Ran snapped fully awake.
Then, a list of 25 headshots appeared before everyone. Li Ran’s face was unmistakably among them.
“No way! Li Ran is only one from our class?”
“He’s supposed to have the highest comprehensive ability?”
“That can’t be right. He’s always dead last in every exam.”
All eyes turned toward the back row, where Li Ran sat.
Even he was dumbfounded. For the first time in his life, this self-proclaimed slacker was in the spotlight, and it made him a bit uncomfortable.
He didn’t think he was smart or capable. He had no extraordinary talents.
If there was anything that set him apart…
…it’d probably be the hefty inheritance his parents left behind.
Just how hefty?
Enough to last him three lifetimes, assuming he didn’t squander it all.
Oh, and of course, there was the little fact that he was a transmigrator.
No one else knew that.
And, well, he also had a cheat.
But… Did any of that really count as “comprehensive ability”?
[Eerie World transmission commencing. Selected players, prepare yourselves.]
“Oh crap…” Li Ran shot up. “They’re really doing this?!”
A beam of light descended from above and enveloped his head. Wang Xiaoxian stumbled backward in shock, staring at him in disbelief.
The beam contracted, and Li Ran vanished from the classroom.
One by one, 25 players across the academy were teleported away.
Wang Xiaoxian stared at the empty seat with a bitter face. “We were supposed to slack off together, bro. You totally sold me out.”
[Important Reminder: If all 25 players die in the Eerie World, the horrors within the instance will descend upon the real-world city.]
“Holy sh*t!!!”
Panic spread like wildfire through Azure Isle Academy.
---
[You have entered the Eerie World]
[Current Instance: Happy Homeland]
[Initial Mission: Pick up Li Ziyang after school and bring him home]
[Your Identity: Li Ziyang’s Father]
[Reward: +10 Eerie Power, 100 Points]
[The higher your Eerie Power, the stronger you become. Points can be used in the instance shop. Lastly — good luck.]
The cold mechanical voice echoed in Li Ran’s ear, then went silent.
Before him stood a building like something out of a candyland, a castle of rainbows.
“‘Happy Kindergarten’?” he read aloud from the sign above the gate.
The street was eerily quiet. Not a soul in sight.
“Looks like I’ve really entered the Eerie World.”
He stood alone in the middle of the road, his “teammates” nowhere to be seen.
Off in the distance was a cluster of towering residential buildings.
The very same “Monster Paradise” from the video!
Li Ran’s pupils contracted slightly. He has been single since birth. He had never touched a woman. He hadn’t seeded the Earth. He hadn’t even enjoyed life yet. There was no way he wanted to die in this damned instance.
He had hoped to just coast through life as a lazy transmigrator, carefree and idle.
But the arrival of the Eerie World had completely upended his plans.
“Ding-ling-ling~!”
The end-of-day bell from the kindergarten snapped Li Ran out of his thoughts.
“School’s out?” He looked around the lifeless street. “There’s not a single parent here to pick up their kid?”
Just as he was puzzled, the gate to the kindergarten creaked open, and a small, frail child walked out.
The kid looked about five or six, with bangs just brushing his eyebrows. His face was ghostly pale, and his pitch-black eyes had an uncanny depth — eerily similar to a boy named Toshio Saeki from a certain horror film.
Li Ran blinked. Wait… is he the only student here?
If he had to guess, that boy must be the one he’s meant to pick up — his son.
At that moment, several lines of text appeared above the child’s head, visible only to Li Ran.
(End of Chapter)