Chapter 51: The Vengeance of the Death Curse (1)

"You're the ones who wanted to look."

Zhan Xinyu innocently put away his phone, "I just got it forwarded by someone else—probably AI-generated, some kind of teaser for an upcoming horror movie."

No, it's not generated.

The other students dispersed; Li Cheng silently retracted his gaze, lost in thought.

After becoming a player and reviewing so much data, he knew exactly what the world was like now.

Over the past few years, governments and civilian guilds across nations had been trying to suppress news of anomalies.

But as the player population expanded and supernatural powers grew rampant, the boundary between reality and the Killing Grounds kept blurring, making information suppression increasingly difficult.

No one knew when the tipping point would come—when it could no longer be hidden.

To better handle anomalies, guild organizations—including the Special Affairs Bureau—each possessed detectors capable of measuring abnormal fluctuation indices in objects and living beings at close range.

Index 0–20: Green Alert Level.

For example, unexplained laughter in abandoned hospitals, or fleeting ghostly figures passing by highways at night.

These anomalies, which existed even before Killing Grounds games, had virtually no impact on human society and never caused deaths.

Index 20–50: Blue Alert Level.

For example, water ghosts that dragged people underwater, or replacement ghosts that urged people to jump from buildings.

These anomalies could cause deaths, but were still within the resolution capacity of ordinary professionals.

For instance, deploying excavators and water pumps to drain a pond and reduce the water ghost's corpse to dust and ash.

Index 50–200: Yellow Alert Level.

For example, the Bi Xian game that induced deep comas and soul out-of-body experiences.

Such anomalies typically required professionals to deploy specialized equipment, including heavy weapons, to resolve. Ordinary people encountering them faced grave danger.

Index 200–1000: Orange Alert Level. If not handled promptly, it could trigger major casualties exceeding a hundred people.

Index 1000–3000: Red Alert Level. If not handled promptly, it could endanger an entire urban district.

Index 3000–5000: Deep Red Alert Level. If not handled promptly, it could endanger an entire city.

Although abnormal fluctuation indices were tied to alert levels, they were not always perfectly aligned.

For example, the Ink-Colored Spider Li Cheng had previously eliminated—its physical strength was unremarkable; its true danger lay in its information pollution ability.

If left unmonitored, allowing it to expand its population and hunt freely, the death toll could be incalculable—easily warranting an Orange or Red Alert.

The video on Zhan Xinyu's phone was likely an anomaly recently erupted somewhere overseas. Ordinary people who encountered it would have no chance to escape.

It's truly rather hopeless.

Li Cheng stopped spinning his pen. He had become a player and gained some self-preservation ability, but his family and friends remained ignorant and defenseless.

"One of the Special Affairs Bureau's employee benefits is relocating employees' families to the same city, housing them near the bureau's base to reduce the likelihood of family members being attacked. Even so, it's not one hundred percent safe."

Li Cheng thought silently, "Perhaps only a Level 40 Superhuman at the peak of the Pyramid could achieve a night of undisturbed sleep."

Just as he was pondering, a system voice suddenly echoed in his mind.

【Task Type: Script Task (Team)】

Here it comes.

He took a deep breath; as the class bell rang, he stood with the other students to greet the teacher, all while listening to the system voice in his mind.

【Task Name: The Vengeance of the Death Curse】

【Task Objective: At 12:00 AM tonight, fully immerse yourself in clean water and wait for teleportation】

【Reward: Revealed upon receiving the next task prompt】

【Failure Penalty: Erasure】

The Vengeance of the Death Curse. Li Cheng's gaze subtly hardened—the task name was practically a label slapped onto his forehead: supernatural horror.

According to patterns compiled by players, Killing Grounds tasks sometimes revealed crucial information through their names.

For example, a task named 【Bloody New York】 or 【Fight to Dawn】 was likely a pure combat task—just bring weapons and ammunition.

A task named 【Demon Possession】 or 【Seven-Day Return】 likely involved spirits, requiring spirit-specific equipment.

Similarly, unique teleportation methods also offered clues. For instance, if a task required teleportation while watching a specific movie, the content likely related to that film. If it required teleportation while diving into the deep sea, the mission probably occurred underwater.

After a full day of classes, when school ended, Li Cheng did not ride home directly. Instead, he messaged his family via WeChat, saying he would stay overnight at a friend's house.

He then found a public restroom to change clothes, assumed the face of an adult, and used forged identification documents to check into a budget hotel.

Because the Special Affairs Bureau had the Tianwang System, if its AI detected abnormal behavior from someone on camera, it would allocate resources to trace that person's related footage—making Li Cheng's disguise vulnerable.

Thus, he had asked Changsun Yao to help forge a set of documents capable of passing inspections at hotels, airports, and high-speed rail stations.

As for why he didn't stay home but chose a budget hotel—

On one hand, he wasn't sure if someone at home might wake up at night and interfere with his teleportation.

On the other hand, if he died in the script task—or brought back something ominous—it was better to be far from home.

After completing all preparations, Li Cheng rested briefly in the hotel room, then at midnight filled the bathtub with water, lay down in it, and waited silently for teleportation.

Ding ding ding ding—

As the alarm clock on the hotel nightstand blared, Li Cheng's surroundings abruptly shifted—he now sat inside a Toyota minivan slowly sinking into a river.

The minivan resembled a TV station camera van; the rear seats were piled with filming equipment. A Japanese-language radio program played from the speakers.

There were three other people in the vehicle; a single glance confirmed they were all players.

【Stage One Task Objective: Proceed to Shuijing City Television Station】

(End of Chapter)