[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-black-online":3,"chapter-black-online-black-online-chapter-1":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","Black Online",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":18,"prevChapterSlug":19,"totalChapters":20,"novelImage":21},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":12,"translator":16,"content_hash":17},1462594,1913,"Chapter 1: Fang Raon","black-online-chapter-1",1,"\u003Cp>Earth, Megaworld Apartment, Floor 22.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...Black Online, after three years of its release, is still growing every day with more and more people pouring in...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...It started the Age of the Video Games, and it couldn’t be truer as streamers and gamers are now the celebrities, leaving actors and singers in the dust...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The neon light sign dangled above the store entrance, and the television screens inside flickered with the news.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Staring through the store window and at the television screen, a handsome black-haired young man stood under the neon lights, his face reflecting the glow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, his eyes looked unfocused, and the light didn’t seem to affect his eyes as if he were blind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fang Raon only listened to the news, holding crutches that kept him standing upright, and he was holding a plastic grocery bag in his hand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...Oh.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He hopped with the help of the crutches, making his way towards the elevators, and the people he passed in the hallway gave him sympathetic looks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They made way, as they didn’t want to stand in the way of the disabled young man.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Megaworld’s hallways were wide, the floors were spacious and large, and the floor sizes were of small towns.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Megaworld Apartment was the largest structure with its 320 floors, each the size of a small town, and it was basically a massive vertical city.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was everything here—convenience stores, restaurants, gyms, schools, offices, and even its own police station.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There were some floors that had sports stadiums, aquariums, and even amusement parks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The higher floors were reserved for the wealthiest residents, offering luxurious penthouse apartments, while those at the bottom had to live in cramped apartments.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fang Raon belonged to the poor bracket.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He lived on the 18th floor, and while living conditions were terrible already, there was also a higher rate of crime.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fang Raon took an elevator down to the 18th floor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The corridors of the 18th floor were dirty. People had left behind cigarette butts, empty bottles, and used needles.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The people living there looked tired and defeated. There were also tattooed gang members sitting on the stairs, acting like they owned the place.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fang Raon made his way to his apartment with the help of the crutches, opened the door, and entered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The dim room greeted him back, but since he couldn’t see, it didn’t matter whether the lights were on or off.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The apartment was small.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It had a living room that was also his bedroom with a bed under the window.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A computer with a desk and chair in the corner, and a small kitchen tucked into the back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fang Raon aimlessly waved his hand until he touched the refrigerator and filled it with the purchased groceries.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After he was done with that, he stuffed the grocery bag inside one of the cabinets, and went to the computer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He just turned the computer on, pulled out some random stream, and sat down on the bed by the window.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...Yo, chat. I think we’re ready to attempt the 17th-floor boss. What do you think? I think I have gathered a party strong enough!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The streamer said excitedly while the chat went crazy, and he controlled the camera in a way that it was hovering behind him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fang Raon, of course, couldn’t see it, but he was happy enough to listen, as it was the only way.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>’...17th floor? I think the strongest guild of Black Online has reached the 55th floor. It means I am listening to a streamer who is not all that strong.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He thought.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It had been his dream to try Black Online, but after his condition deteriorated about five years ago, it had become impossible.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Despite it being another world altogether—a virtual world—his disability was still a hindrance in fully experiencing it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was blind even there, which really bummed him out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fang Raon wasn’t born blind or disabled. He was a very active child about ten years ago, but then he caught an illness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Optineurodegenerative Syndrome.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It all started with him turning blind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One day, ten years ago, he went to sleep, and when he woke up, he couldn’t see anymore, and it truly frightened his younger self.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It didn’t stop there as his body deteriorated, and he started to slowly lose more of his motor functions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>According to doctors, he was just a few years away from becoming completely paralyzed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Buzz! Buzz!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In that moment, at the foot of the bed, his phone, which was currently charging, vibrated with an incoming call.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He picked it up, answered the call, and pressed it against his ear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...Anna?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fang Raon said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...Hello, young man. I am calling from over at the Daily Video Game Facts Magazine. Do you want to subscribe to our monthly newsletter?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fang Raon lowered the phone, ended the call, and put the phone back down on the bed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In that moment, it started buzzing again, and he answered it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I am not interested in your newsletter.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fang Raon said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...Brother?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that moment, a voice that didn’t belong to the phone salesman came from the other side, and Fang Raon’s expression softened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Anna.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He whispered his little sister’s name.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...How are you doing, brother? Better, I hope?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...Same old. Did you have a conversation with Father? Can I come back home?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He asked with a tinge of hope in his voice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...I am sorry, brother. I really tried. Please believe me. He does not want you to come back...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His little sister’s voice trailed away at the end, but it sounded like she was hurting, as if she didn’t want to say these words.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...What were his exact words?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fang Raon asked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...He said... I don’t want that useless creature to come back... A disgrace to the Fang family.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Anna’s voice trembled in pain and anger.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...I see.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fang Raon ended the call, tossed the phone aside, and silently looked ahead, but all he saw was the same darkness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His little sister kept calling back, but he ignored it and just kept listening to the same old sounds of Megaworld Apartment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The jeering of gang members outside his apartment door, sounding like they were picking a fight with someone, and the banging of someone’s fist on the wall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ding! Ding!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In that moment, someone pressed the doorbell.\u003C\u002Fp>",1055,"2026-06-06T02:35:08.437Z","novelbin.me","6c25bb57289407872fcdfea527aebf2b9f7de8cade39397281e1b7e7596bd3dd","black-online-chapter-2","black-online-chapter-100",270,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fblack-online-cover.jpg"]