“Wanna join our campaign, Xiao Zhizi?”
The moment Ye Yuzhi stepped into the dorm room, a head popped out from the bed curtain on the opposite bunk.
He placed the bag in his hands onto his desk, pulled out his laptop and replied calmly, “No thanks. I still have a paper I haven’t finished.”
“Come on, just try it once!” His roommate, Ke Hu, grinned from ear to ear. “It’s an online campaign anyway. You don’t even need to talk, just type! Maybe it’ll help cure that little problem of yours, how you freeze up and can’t say a word around strangers. We’ve got a few girls in this session too and with your face… once you get used to them, ”
“I’m not playing,” Ye Yuzhi interrupted, his tone firm but polite. “Professor Zhou’s paper is due next week and I need to finish the outline tonight.”
He hesitated for a moment, then added, “Maybe next time.”
Ke Hu sighed dramatically. “That’s the downside of catching Professor Zhou’s attention, no free time at all, not even to relax a bit.”
“Then I’ll call you next time,” he said, retreating back into his bunk. The curtain fell and soon the rapid clatter of his keyboard filled the room, a lively rhythm that hinted he was already chatting with his group.
Ye Yuzhi stood silently beside his chair for a moment before sitting down. He knew Ke Hu meant well.
As his roommate had said, Ye Yuzhi was painfully shy. He was fine with people he knew but when faced with strangers, he froze entirely, hands stiff, tongue tied, mind blank. Even speaking a simple sentence could become an ordeal.
Yet, ironically, he was blessed with good looks. From childhood until now, people had approached him constantly, striking up conversations for all kinds of reasons. The constant attention hadn’t made him better at talking, it had only trained him to look cold and unapproachable, a skill he had mastered to perfection.
With a small sigh, Ye Yuzhi opened his laptop, staring blankly at the pure white document that filled the screen. He tried to recall the research he had read earlier that day, to piece the scattered fragments into a coherent outline but his thoughts refused to align.
Maybe he should go play for a bit after all? The paper outline could wait one more night… right?
He glanced toward the opposite bunk. The furious tapping of keys hadn’t stopped; it almost rivaled the rhythm of his next-door roommate gaming late into the night, cursing at the screen between rounds. Judging by the sound alone, Ke Hu was completely immersed in the game by now.
Ye Yuzhi pressed his fingertips together, frowning slightly as he debated with himself. In the end, he didn’t muster the courage to tell Ke Hu that he actually wanted to join.
Instead, he sat for a while longer, then dragged open the file his roommate had sent him earlier, the “rulebook document.” If he couldn’t play this time, he could at least study the rules, so that next time Ke Hu invited him, he’d be prepared to say yes and jump right in.
The campaign Ke Hu often played was called a “CoC campaign”, short for Call of Cthulhu. It was a kind of tabletop role-playing game. Typically, each game consisted of three to five people: one person served as the Game Master, called the Keeper or “KP” for short, while the others played as the investigators.
As Ke Hu had explained, the entire game was essentially a collaborative story woven between the Keeper and the players. Both sides tested each other’s wits, creativity and courage. The Keeper guided the overarching plot but what actually happened in the story depended on the players’ actions, their character choices and the clues they discovered.
Compared to other role-playing campaigns, CoC added unique elements from the Cthulhu Mythos, mystery, madness and ancient horrors. Players often found themselves dealing with cults, monsters and forces beyond human comprehension, struggling to stop terrifying conspiracies before losing their minds in the process.
Ye Yuzhi didn’t understand most of it. The rulebook was filled with terms and concepts he had never encountered before. So he opened a notebook beside him, copying down notes as he read through the dense pages.
Time passed quietly. By the time he began yawning repeatedly, struggling to keep his eyes open, he had barely finished a third of the rulebook.
He rubbed his eyes wearily, then stood up, stretched and decided to take a quick shower before bed.
When he returned, he climbed into his bunk. Through the small gap in his curtain, he could still see the faint glow of light coming from Ke Hu’s side, along with the faint, muffled sound of keys being pressed.
He couldn’t deny it, he felt a little envious.
Ke Hu was cheerful, confident and social, always surrounded by friends whether online or offline. Meanwhile, Ye Yuzhi could count the number of people he actually talked to on one hand.
He pulled his blanket up to his chin, closed his eyes and thought to himself that he’d try to be braver next time.
Perhaps he had exhausted his mental energy that day, because as soon as his head touched the pillow, his consciousness began to sink rapidly into sleep.
In the distance, faint sounds seemed to whisper in his ears.
“…Selecting…”
“…Excellent contact… module… loading…”
“…Signal adjustment…”
“…New player module loading…”
Even in his sleep, Ye Yuzhi frowned. Wrapped in his blanket, he turned over restlessly as the mosquito-like whispers grew louder and clearer.
【Player importing…】
【Beep】
A sharp sound pierced straight through his mind like a needle. His head throbbed violently and Ye Yuzhi snapped awake with a start.
What… what was that?
He pressed a trembling hand against the mattress, eyes still half-shut. A stabbing pain shot through his skull and nausea twisted in his stomach.
A terrible thought flashed across his mind, those horror stories about college students collapsing from overwork and staying up all night. His heart sank. Surely he wasn’t that unlucky, was he?
He forced his eyes open.
But instead of the cramped dorm bunk he expected, he found himself staring at elegant wallpaper patterned with tiny blue flowers.
Ye Yuzhi froze. His gaze lowered to the bed beneath him, an ornate wooden frame carved in a distinctly European style, far too old-fashioned and refined to belong in any student dormitory.
Even if something had happened to him in his sleep, shouldn’t he have woken up in a hospital? Why was he here?!
Before he could even get out of bed to figure out what was happening, that same mysterious voice echoed in his ears again.
【You are a devout follower of an evil god. Your sole purpose is to bring your deity into this world.】
【For that, you are willing to pay any price.】
Ye Yuzhi’s mind went blank for a moment. Then, in silence, he got up from the bed and walked barefoot to the window.
Outside, the sight that met his eyes made his breath hitch, a quaint little town straight out of a nineteenth-century European film. His window overlooked the main street, where a fountain gleamed in the center of the square.
Men, women and children passed by in elegant, old-fashioned clothing, their laughter and chatter blending into a peaceful scene.
Yet Ye Yuzhi felt no comfort from the tranquil view. The moment he reached the window, the voice spoke again, smooth and mechanical:
【Welcome to Guerrero Town, a small and peaceful community. Though modest in size, it is renowned across the country for the fine wines produced at the Anthony Manor.】
Ye Yuzhi couldn’t help but think of the rulebook he had been reading the night before. After a moment’s hesitation, he called out softly, “KP?”
No one answered.
He bit his lip, tried again, a little louder, “Keeper?”
Still no response.
Maybe he was overthinking it. Maybe this wasn’t some strange game but a… transmigration of some sort? Whatever it was, the situation he was in demanded his immediate attention.
He wasn’t sure whether that opening message about being “a cultist of an evil god” had really happened or if he had imagined it but either way, he needed to figure out his current identity before anyone else appeared. Even if this was some kind of transmigration, he needed to know who he was supposed to be.
Turning around, he walked toward the clothes hanging behind the door, hoping to find something, anything, that could give him a clue about who he was.
Then came the sound of dice rolling.
【Spot Hidden 24 out of 25. Regular success. Your sharp eyes notice the corner of a leather bag you hid under your pillow last night, just in case.】
The voice faded and Ye Yuzhi suddenly found his body moving on its own. His legs carried him back to the bed, his hands reached under the pillow and he pulled out a small leather satchel.
Ye Yuzhi: …
At that moment, he was absolutely certain, without a single shred of doubt, he was inside some kind of CoC campaign!
The dice rolls, the skill checks, the narration, everything matched the notes he had written earlier that night!
Which meant… he might really be playing the role of a cultist devoted to an evil god.
The ever-rational, science-believing Ye Yuzhi fell into stunned silence.
How does one convincingly pretend to be a fanatical believer of an eldritch deity?
He was desperate to know.
Preferably right now.
✦ ✧ ✦
Nycreth
[Translator]
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ChaptersChapter 1 · Guerrero’s Lair (1)Chapter 2 · Guerrero’s Lair (2)Chapter 3 · Guerrero’s Lair (3)Chapter 4 · Guerrero’s Lair (4)Chapter 5 · Guerrero’s Lair (5)Chapter 6 · Guerrero’s Lair (6)Chapter 7 · Guerrero’s Lair (7)Chapter 8 · Guerrero’s Lair (8)Chapter 9 · Guerrero’s Lair (9)Chapter 10 · Guerrero’s Lair (10)Chapter 11 · Guerrero’s Lair (11)Chapter 12 · Guerrero’s Lair (12)Chapter 13 · Guerrero’s Lair (13)Chapter 14 · Guerrero’s Lair (14)Chapter 15 · Guerrero’s Lair (15)Chapter 16 · Guerrero’s Lair (16)Chapter 17 · Guerrero’s Lair (17)Chapter 18 · Guerrero’s Lair (18)Chapter 19 · Guerrero’s Lair (19)Chapter 20 · Guerrero’s Lair (20)Chapter 21 · Guerrero’s Lair (21)Chapter 22 · Guerrero’s Lair (22)Chapter 23 · Interlude (1)Chapter 24 · The interlude (2)Chapter 25 · The interlude (3)Chapter 26 Part 1 · Calling in the Wind (1)Chapter 26 Part 2 · Calling in the Wind (1)Chapter 27 · Calling in the Wind (2)Chapter 28 · Calling in the Wind (3)Chapter 29 · Calling in the Wind (4)Chapter 30 · Calling in the Wind (5)Chapter 31 · Calling in the Wind (6)Chapter 32 · Calling in the Wind (7)Chapter 33 · Calling in the Wind (8)Chapter 34 · Calling in the Wind (9)Chapter 35 · Calling in the Wind (10)Chapter 36 · Interlude (4)Chapter 37 · Interlude (5)Chapter 38 · Interlude (6)Chapter 39 · Interlude (7)Chapter 40 · Interlude (8)Chapter 41 · Interlude (9)Chapter 42 · Welcome to Doville (1)Chapter 43 · Welcome to Doville (2)Chapter 44 · Welcome to Doville (3)Chapter 45 · Welcome to Doville (4)Chapter 46 · Welcome to Doville (5)Chapter 47 · Welcome to Doville (6)Chapter 48 · Welcome to Doville (7)Chapter 49 · Welcome to Doville (8)Chapter 50 · Welcome to Doville (9)Chapter 51 · Welcome to Doville (10)Chapter 52 · Welcome to Doville (11)Chapter 53 · Welcome to Doville (12)Chapter 54 · Interlude (10)Chapter 55 · Interlude (11)Chapter 56 · Interlude (12)Chapter 57 · Interlude (13)Chapter 58 · Interlude (14)Chapter 59 · The Tunnel in the Dark Night (1)Chapter 60 · The Tunnel in the Dark Night (2)Chapter 61 · The Tunnel in the Dark Night (3)Chapter 62 · The Tunnel in the Dark Night (4)Chapter 63 · The Tunnel in the Dark Night (5)Chapter 64 · The Tunnel in the Dark Night (6)Chapter 65 · The Tunnel in the Dark Night (7)Chapter 66 · The Tunnel in the Dark Night (8)Chapter 67 · The Tunnel in the Dark Night (9)Chapter 68 · The Tunnel in the Dark Night (10)Chapter 69 · The Tunnel in the Dark Night (11)Chapter 70 · The Tunnel in the Dark Night (12)Chapter 71 · The Tunnel in the Dark Night (13)Chapter 72 · The Tunnel in the Dark Night (14)Chapter 73 · The Tunnel in the Dark Night (15)Chapter 74 · The Tunnel in the Dark Night (16)Chapter 75 · The Tunnel in the Dark Night (17)Chapter 76 · The Tunnel in the Dark Night (18)Chapter 77 · The Tunnel in the Dark Night (19)Chapter 78 · The Tunnel in the Dark Night (20)Chapter 79 · The Tunnel in the Dark Night (21)Chapter 80 · The Tunnel in the Dark Night (22)Chapter 81 · The Tunnel in the Dark Night (23)Chapter 82 · The Tunnel in the Dark Night (24)Chapter 83 · The Tunnel in the Dark Night (25)Chapter 84 · The Tunnel in the Dark Night (26)Chapter 85 · The Tunnel in the Dark Night (27)Chapter 86 · The Tunnel in the Dark Night (28)Chapter 87 · The Tunnel in the Dark Night (29)Chapter 88 · Tunnel in the Dark Night (30)Chapter 89 · Interlude (15)Chapter 90 · Interlude (16)Chapter 91 · Interlude (17)Chapter 92 · The Promise of Hamelin (1)Chapter 93 · The Promise of Hamelin (2)Chapter 94 · The Promise of Hamelin (3)Chapter 95 · The Promise of Hamelin (4)Chapter 96 · The Promise of Hamelin (5)Chapter 97 · The Promise of Hamelin (6)Chapter 98 · The Promise of Hamelin (7)Chapter 99 · The Promise of Hamelin (8)Chapter 100 · The Promise of Hamelin (9)Chapter 101 · The Promise of Hamelin (10)Chapter 102 · The Promise of Hamelin (11)Chapter 103 · The Promise of Hamelin (12)Chapter 104 · The Promise of Hamelin (13)Chapter 105 · The Promise of Hamelin (14)Chapter 106 · The Promise of Hamelin (15)Chapter 107 · The Promise of Hamelin (16)Chapter 109 · The Promise of Hamelin (18)Chapter 110 · The Promise of Hamelin (19)