【Do you confirm your participation in the Guiyi Game?】
On the phone screen, the excessively red characters against the black background looked like the color of fresh blood—viscous, nauseating, and sending a chill to the core.
The owner of the phone was a young girl with a fair and clear face. Her lips were pale, and the corners of her eyes were flushed red; she had clearly just been crying, looking somewhat pitiful.
At this moment, her eyes were fixed unblinkingly on the red words on the screen.
In the year 2034, Guiyi descended upon Lanxing. The areas inhabited by humans were gradually contaminated, and survival space shrank again and again. Many people were forced to enter the Guiyi Game to survive.
The instances within the Guiyi Game were terrifying and horrific; once players entered, it was almost always a narrow escape from death.
However, the game was not without its benefits. By completing a game, one could obtain what they desired.
Many entered the Guiyi Game voluntarily—some for their families, some for health, some for fame…
Jiang Liyue’s reason for choosing to enter the game was very simple: she was currently far too hungry!
Or rather, the original owner of this body had been far too hungry!
That’s right, Jiang Liyue was not the original owner. Just a moment ago, she had transmigrated into a book.
In her previous life, Jiang Liyue was an orphan who happened to step into the entertainment industry during university.
Jiang Liyue was a natural at acting. Growing up in an orphanage had taught her the skill of being a social chameleon—speaking human to humans and ghost to ghosts. After entering the entertainment industry, she was like a fish in water.
In just two years, relying on her beauty and acting skills, she won the Best Actress award and successfully achieved financial freedom.
With money, looks, and many fans praising her every day, Jiang Liyue truly didn’t know what her life was missing.
Now she knew. She was probably short on karma.
If she hadn’t been short on karma, how could she have inexplicably transmigrated into a novel titled Supernatural Descent and become a cannon-fodder supporting female character of the same name?
The supporting character, Jiang Liyue, was the foil to the female lead. The female lead was the true daughter of the Jiang family who had been lost; she was strong, brave, and kind, eventually becoming a powerhouse in the Guiyi Game through her own efforts.
The supporting character was the spoiled fake daughter—cowardly and weak, never daring to enter the Guiyi Game from beginning to end.
After being kicked out by the Jiang family when the biological daughter was found, she lived in destitute poverty, eventually preferring to starve to death rather than enter the Guiyi Game.
“Wooo… but I’m really, really scared of ghosts…”
Jiang Liyue still remembered that when she transmigrated into this body a few minutes ago, she vaguely heard the original owner’s soul sobbing as it departed.
The original owner had been too hungry, crying while starving, until she finally cried herself to death, allowing Jiang Liyue to take over.
Jiang Liyue: …Can a cannon-fodder character really die so sloppily just because she’s a side character?
Jiang Liyue herself wasn’t afraid of ghosts. Back when she first entered the industry and had no resources, the only offer she got was from an obscure director for a horror film.
To study the atmosphere of horror, Jiang Liyue had locked herself in a room for half a month and watched hundreds of ghost movies.
Later, she successfully rose to fame relying on her role in that very horror film.
Compared to ghosts, Jiang Liyue was more afraid of hunger. As an orphan, she had been left on the streets and starved for a long time before being sent to the welfare home.
From then on, Jiang Liyue feared hunger deeply. Even after entering the entertainment industry, she never fasted for weight loss.
She loathed hunger; that burning sensation in the stomach was a memory she couldn’t forget.
But now, the original owner had already been kicked out of the Jiang family, living in a cramped and dilapidated rental room. Her phone balance was only 2.5, she hadn’t eaten for two days, and she was not far from starving to death.
The sensation of her stomach cramping and burning from hunger stimulated Jiang Liyue’s nerves. Without hesitation, she pulled out her phone and chose to sign up for the Guiyi Game.
Her stomach growled again. Looking at the blood-red words on the screen, Jiang Liyue didn’t find them terrifying; she only thought of ketchup and strawberry jam.
The original owner really could endure—she’d rather starve to death than enter the game because she was afraid of ghosts.
Jiang Liyue feared that if she hesitated any longer, she would starve to death just like the original owner, so she quickly selected 【Yes】 on the screen.
The blood-red words on the screen changed.
【Congratulations to new player Jiang Liyue for joining the Guiyi Game】
【You cannot refuse the game, you cannot quit the game. Death in the game means death in reality】
【Drawing your initial item, please wait…】
【Initial item successfully drawn: Golden hidden item “Supernatural Love Buff.” Initial items are non-transferable and cannot be canceled】
Before Jiang Liyue could figure out what this so-called Supernatural Love Buff actually did, the words on the screen changed again.
【Player Jiang Liyue is about to enter the game. Instance loading…】
【Instance Name: Xingfu Yizhong
Instance Difficulty: A
Tasks: Survive for 7 days in the instance / Find Ren Yuanxing】
【Welcome to Xingfu Yizhong. As a student of Xingfu Middle School, please abide by the school rules, respect your teachers, and be kind to your classmates.
Please remember, you are just a student!】
Just as she opened her eyes, Jiang Liyue found herself in a pitch-black classroom. There were six rows and six columns, thirty-six people in total.
Jiang Liyue sat in the last row. This position allowed her to see most of the situation in the classroom without having to make large movements.
It should be nighttime now. The lights in the classroom were not on; the light source came from the candles on every desk.
Under the dim, yellow candlelight, everyone’s face in the classroom looked somewhat distorted.
Jiang Liyue noticed that most people were looking around—some curious, some terrified, and some whispering to each other. She guessed that everyone in the classroom was likely a player like her.
Especially the boy sitting in front of her; he was looking around shiftily, looking extremely suspicious.
Jiang Liyue inconspicuously withdrew her gaze and did not rashly speak out.
Meanwhile, in an unknown space, a live stream room quietly went live.
【It’s here, it’s here! My favorite Xingfu Yizhong instance has started.】
【Wow, wow, wow, a whole room of humans right at the start. This smells too good. When will I ever qualify to apply for a job in an instance?】
【I don’t want to go. If I run into a powerful human player, I’ll lose my life.】
【Who cares about dying? I don’t want to eat this tasteless ghost fast food anymore. Let me have one taste of a human, and it’ll be worth dying for.】
【Camera, quick, go to the last row! I found a really cute little human. She looks so fragrant, I really want a taste.】
【It’s true, what a beautiful little human. She just looks a bit fragile. I hope she doesn’t get eaten right at the start; that would be such a waste for the trash in this instance.】
【Argh! If I had known, I would have gone to work this time. I just ate my fill in an instance two days ago and applied for two days off TAT.】
Jiang Liyue had no idea that she had already been targeted by the Guiyi in the live stream room as soon as the instance began. She just sat in the back row, quietly observing everyone.
This was a habit from her time as an actor; even when she wasn’t filming, she liked to sit in a car and guess the professions and personalities of passersby based on their expressions and clothing.
Suddenly, a stern voice rang out from the very front of the classroom: “The entrance exam is about to begin. Students, stop looking around.”
Jiang Liyue looked toward the voice and found that at some point, a middle-aged woman holding a white candle had appeared on the podium. Her face was pale and greenish, and as the candlelight flickered, her features appeared distorted and eerie.
Her greedy gaze swept across the class, finally curling into a satisfied smile. Jiang Liyue sensed the malice within that smile.
The woman tapped on the podium: “The exam duration is thirty minutes. Stay quiet during the exam. No cheating, no leaving your seat, no disrupting the exam. Watch your candles. Alright, everyone, pass the papers back.”
Jiang Liyue watched as the papers really started being passed back from the first row, thinking this exam setup felt quite authentic.
【Brothers, this teacher is too real. Thinking of my former homeroom teacher, I feel a bit uncomfortable. I’m out.】
【No way, I can hold on a bit longer for the beautiful little human.】
Since Jiang Liyue sat in the last row, she had to wait for the papers to be passed down slowly. She decided to check her desk first.
Likely for the sake of the exam, her desktop was clean, except for a single white candle burning on the far upper-right edge, its flame flickering slightly.
The teacher just said to “watch the candles.” She didn’t know what counted as watching them, but it sounded like the white candle was an important item.
Jiang Liyue thought about it and simply moved the candle to the center of the desk, as close to herself as possible.
Although having the flame right under her chin was a bit inconvenient, she could immediately protect the candle if anything sudden happened.
At this time, the papers from the front were passed down. The shifty-eyed student in front of her, probably trying to scout the situation, turned his head while passing the papers.
Then, he saw a scene that dealt a critical blow to his sanity—
The yellow candlelight, rising from below, hit Jiang Liyue’s face, making her originally beautiful features look distorted and bizarre. Her dark eye sockets were particularly prominent, looking exceptionally horrific in the pitch-black classroom.
Holy crap, there’s a ghost behind him!
If he hadn’t remembered he was still in a game, he would have let out a scream right then and there.
Meanwhile, Jiang Liyue had no idea why her front neighbor had a look of pure terror, as if he had seen something horrifying.
She tried to take the papers from his hand, gave a tug, but they wouldn’t budge.
Since he was a fellow player, Jiang Liyue didn’t get angry; she just gave him a friendly smile.
From the perspective of the front neighbor, the female ghost’s pitch-black eyes were staring straight at him as she split her mouth into a malicious grin.
Front neighbor: Help!!
Oh my god, had he been targeted by a female ghost as soon as he entered the game? Was he going to die…
Then Jiang Liyue saw her front neighbor let go, turning his head back with a look of utter resignation, as if life had lost all meaning. She could even vaguely see the despair in his eyes.
What was going on?
Jiang Liyue blinked innocently, completely bewildered.
In the live stream room, the viewers were already dying of laughter.
【Hahahahahahaha, this is killing me! This beautiful little human really has a talent for scaring people.】
【I like her so much! She’s so cute like this! I hope the friends in this instance don’t eat her. How great would it be to turn her into a Guiyi? I want to marry her.】
【Get lost, the person above! Stop dreaming. This human is already my wife.】
【That expression—I’ve learned something. Next time I participate in an instance exam, I’ll scare people like that. I’ll definitely pass.】