001.
“At 5:23 PM on the 3rd, a multi-vehicle collision occurred on the Binjiang Bridge, resulting in 48 deaths and 12 critical injuries. The specific cause of the accident is currently under investigation “
Entering November, Jiang City grew chilly with abundant rainfall.
Holding a large black umbrella, Qiao Luan stood at the end of the street. Rainwater trickled down the top of the umbrella and slid off its edge onto the ground. In the hazy world constructed by the curtain of rain, streetlights flickered on and off with dim glows, making the figures of people passing by look immensely grotesque. On the upper right, a huge electronic screen broadcasted yesterday evening’s news; the female anchor’s voice blended into the falling rain, strangely magnifying and shrinking in Qiao Luan’s ears before finally turning into an even more bizarrely toned laughter.
The young man lowered his head, his fingertips swiping across his phone screen as he walked toward the old residential complex, expertly tapping open the Bizarre Tales and Strange Occurrences Forum to post a new thread: [My mental illness seems to be getting worse and worse]
Gods Never Lie: On the third day of suspecting I might have schizophrenia, I started experiencing frequent auditory hallucinations. The broadcast on the street’s electronic screen turned from a gentle female voice into a creepy, eerie laugh. Returning to my empty, uninhabited bedroom felt as if someone was affectionately calling my name. This world is starting to feel unreal.
Attached [Audio.mp3]
Did you guys hear it?
As a professional street-shaman charlatan, posting on the Bizarre Tales Forum to bluff people was a hobby Qiao Luan had recently picked up.
The Bizarre Tales Forum had been established for twelve years, but over the past three months, every single thread with over a thousand replies originated from him. Qiao Luan bluffed people to his heart’s content, and the forum’s other like-minded fellows were more than happy to join in. However, today seemed a little different.
6L: Fuck, I’ve been having auditory hallucinations all day too. I suspect I might be getting schizophrenia as well.
52L: There are so many diagnosed with schizophrenia these days? My cousin just texted me saying he saw a ghost shadow while walking on the street oh, and he said a group of ten of them all saw it. I suspect something’s wrong with his brain, too.
246L: What do you guys even count as? I was hanging out by the sea today and kept hearing someone singing. If my brother hadn’t noticed something was wrong and grabbed me in time, the me right now would be a corpse.
333L: Speaking of which, my friend went to the amusement park today to ride the roller coaster… Halfway through, the roller coaster system seemed to malfunction. While they were suspended up there, a guy in the front row was muttering to himself all weirdly, then unbuckled his safety belt and jumped off… Heard he was smashed into a pulp of meat.
Qiao Luan closed his umbrella and stood inside the empty elevator. The elevator lights were very dim, and the deliberately brightened screen projected his facial features onto the wall. Beside him, water droplets from the tip of the umbrella dripped steadily into the gaps, falling with a drip sound outside the elevator shaft, plummeting from the sixth floor into the pitch-black ground below.
Staring at the hundreds of replies to the thread for a long while, his gaze landed on the latest reply. After reading its contents, he slightly raised his eyebrows.
602L: Did you guys see the news about the multi-vehicle pileup on the Binjiang Bridge in Jiang City this afternoon? My master and I went to interview a few survivors regarding the accident and a series of related questions, and as a result, every single one of them acted all unhinged and told us they heard a very creepy laugh right before the crash.
Qiao Luan refreshed the thread.
603L: Is the floor above being serious?
604L: What the person above said is true. The latest news obtained from people working in relevant departments is that the brake pads of every single vehicle involved in the crash were completely destroyed—the traffic case has been converted into a supernatural incident, and the people in our department have completely lost their minds.
605L: Brother at 604, you better be telling the truth.
606L: You’re wrong, you should be praying that I’m lying.
788L: Very well, this thread has successfully chilled my heart. I’m too scared to sleep alone tonight; does anyone want to sleep with me?
Ding-dong
A sound resembling striking bells suddenly rang in Qiao Luan’s mind. Calmly, he walked toward the open-concept kitchen and bent down to pour a glass of water. Although he was a fraud who liked to fish for attention on the Bizarre Tales Forum, he hadn’t entirely lied in today’s post either.
For the past three days, whether awake or asleep, he had been hearing all sorts of messy noises, as if countless unknown presences were whispering one unintelligible past event after another in obscure, hard-to-understand languages right by his ears.
Yet this chime of a bell was a first.
【Congratulations to the host for successfully deceiving ten ordinary people. You can now unlock the Grade-D Lucky Wheel and draw a prize.】
【Congratulations to the host for successfully deceiving ten ordinary people. You can now unlock the Grade-D Lucky Wheel and draw a prize.】
【Congratulations to the host for successfully deceiving ten ordinary people. You can now unlock the Grade-D Lucky Wheel and draw a prize.】
【…】
A bizarre mechanical voice, sounding like a seven or eight-year-old girl’s pitch, repeated a single sentence dozens of times continuously until a huge circular wheel suddenly appeared out of thin air in front of Qiao Luan’s eyes. The wheel had an ornate English letter “D” as its background color, evenly divided into eight grids, each inscribed with: Olfactory Expansion, Visual Expansion, Auditory Expansion, Stamina Development, Physical Strength Enhancement, Defense Enhancement, Speed Enhancement, and Reaction Augmentation.
At the very bottom was a prompt: You have obtained 23 draw chances.
Silently, he stared at the wheel before him. The auditory hallucinations had lasted for three days, but hallucinations appearing visually was a first. Feeling a sense of wonder, he rubbed his eyelids, turned around to wash his face, and turned back around the so-called Lucky Wheel was still there.
Qiao Luan: “…”
Few people dislike winning prizes.
At the very least, Qiao Luan quite liked them.
Since the hallucination hadn’t disappeared, he raised his hand and tapped the red circular button in the center of the wheel.
A long golden pointer began to spin clockwise, stirring up a thin gust of wind, and gradually came to a stop under Qiao Luan’s gaze.
With a click, the pointer quivered slightly and landed inside the [Olfactory Expansion] grid.
Nothing particularly fresh.
Thus, he pressed the red button of the big wheel over and over again, the pointer stopping at different positions each time. When Qiao Luan pressed it once more, a line of text materialized above the Lucky Wheel: [Sorry, you have no draw chances remaining.]
Immediately afterward, both sides of the Lucky Wheel began to shatter, just like glass being struck. The fragments spread toward the center, gradually transforming into nothingness within Qiao Luan’s pupils.
Everything in the living room returned to Qiao Luan’s view.
The hallucinations are gone, he thought.
However, just as he turned around and walked toward his bedroom, the prompt sounded in his ear once more: 【The host may view the personal dashboard.】
Qiao Luan ignored it.
【The host may view the personal dashboard.】
Qiao Luan still ignored it.
【The host may view the personal dashboard!】
With a calm expression, Qiao Luan stood by the bed, leisurely unbuttoning his shirt one by one. The shirt parted bit by bit, revealing his fair, well-defined chest and waist.
He didn’t make a big deal of it.
【Host, can you fucking look at me?!!】
Qiao Luan paused his stride toward the bathroom: “?”
Ten minutes later, Qiao Luan sat at his desk, his hands crossed and propped beneath his chin, his gaze fixed on the panel directly in front of him. It somewhat resembled the earlier massive Lucky Wheel, looking like a holographic projection, yet it was tangible to the touch. In the center of the rectangular panel were three horizontal boxes labeled: Instructions for Use, Personal Information, and Deity Progression.
Qiao Luan opened the Instructions for Use:
Dear host, welcome to the [Disguise as a Deity System] page.
Stars nurture deities, alien species escape the abyss, mist blankets the Five Continents, and the hypocritical peace is torn apart. Where will you go from here? Make rational use of the [Disguise as a Deity System], step onto the stairway to divinity, ascend to the pinnacle, and this world shall submit beneath your feet!
Qiao Luan: “…”
So edgy.
He continued reading downward.
Code of Conduct for the [Disguise as a Deity System]:
Successfully deceiving (duping) ten ordinary people grants one Grade-D Lucky Wheel draw chance.
Successfully deceiving (duping) ten esper-users grants one Grade-C Lucky Wheel draw chance.
Successfully deceiving (duping) ten cultists grants one Grade-B Lucky Wheel draw chance.
Successfully deceiving (duping) a monster grants one Grade-A Lucky Wheel draw chance.
Successfully deceiving (duping) a deity grants one Grade-S Lucky Wheel draw chance.
All rights of interpretation for the above rules belong exclusively to this system ^.^
Recalling the earlier Lucky Wheel marked with a “D” and carefully re-reading the first rule of the system’s operational code, Qiao Luan suddenly realized that this genuinely wasn’t a hallucination after all. Based on the first rule and the 23 draws he had just performed, he could deduce in reverse that he had successfully duped 230 ordinary people.
…Were those the netizens using the Bizarre Tales Forum?
Having figured out the math in his mind, Qiao Luan exited the [Instructions for Use] and clicked into [Personal Information].
Name: Qiao Luan
Gender: Male
Age: □
Acquired Abilities:
Olfactory Sensitivity +2
Auditory Sensitivity +2
Stamina +6
Defense +8
Speed +2
Reaction +4
These were indeed the abilities he had rolled during his 23 draws.
Staring at [Defense +8] for a moment, Qiao Luan decisively left the bedroom and headed back to the kitchen. Picking up a fruit knife and pressing it against his palm, he thought: My brain might genuinely not be working right either.
Pressing the sharp blade hard into his palm with force, the expected laceration failed to appear. Instead, the blade made an unpleasant friction sound, as if touching something hard. Qiao Luan exerted a bit more force with his right hand, and this time, pain finally registered in his palm.
The so-called [Defense +8] didn’t seem to be a joke.
So, this [Disguise as a Deity System] genuinely existed? If so, what about the mention of: 【Stars nurture deities, alien species escape the abyss, mist blankets the Five Continents, the hypocritical peace is torn apart】?
Unable to figure it all out at once, Qiao Luan tossed the knife aside, returned to the bathroom, and washed up again.
Draping a dry towel loosely over his head to absorb the moisture from his dark hair, he leaned against the headboard of his bed, crossing his legs and lowering his gaze to swipe across his phone. He attempted to search the internet for related content, but what popped up was a game titled “Old Gods”.
Qiao Luan had no interest in gaming and had never heard of the existence of “Old Gods”.
Until he opened the Bizarre Tales Forum once more and spotted a thread that had shot to “hot” status in a very short time:
[Does everyone really not realize that everything we are currently experiencing is precisely the beginning of the game “Old Gods”?]
Gaming Guru: Though it sounds absurd, as a loyal fan of “Old Gods”, I still want to share my perspective. As a Lovecraftian-style game, “Old Gods” focuses on surviving in a comprehensively collapsing world.
[Stars nurture deities, alien species escape the abyss, mist blankets the Five Continents, the hypocritical peace is torn apart, where will you go from here?] → This is the game’s promotional slogan and the initial lore background.
A peaceful, healthy world begins to turn abnormal starting from humans hearing strange gibberish.
According to the game’s lore, at 5:23 PM on November 3rd, all vehicles located on the Binjiang Bridge experienced brake pad failures simultaneously, causing a devastating multi-vehicle collision.
At precisely 3:00 AM on November 4th, thirteen people agreed to jump off Changtang Mountain together.
On November 5th, various precision equipment across countries in the Five Continents successively captured strange creatures.
On November 6th, the eerie mist appearing at the ends of the world will spread across the entire Five Continents.
Now, both the gibberish and the car crash have completely aligned with reality. I’m waiting for tomorrow morning’s news about Changtang Mountain.
3L: Holy shit? ? ? ?
6L: After reading the OP’s post, I specifically went to search for this game called “Old Gods”, and it actually shows as unavailable for download.
12L: Are there any other brothers who have played “Old Gods” here to share their thoughts?
22L: “Old Gods” player here. Gaming Guru is spot on.
63L: Fellow player. I didn’t think much of it initially, but seeing Guru’s analysis like this, I’m already numb. The novel plot of a game descending into reality is already bouncing back and forth in my head. Furthermore, if subsequent events really match up… I suggest everyone die sooner rather than later if you can: D
78L: Follow me, I’m going to explore Changtang Mountain overnight tonight, streaming the whole thing on Douyin.
86L: Counting on you, brother at 78, waiting for the stream.
1003L: Waiting for the stream.
…
Unlike most people on the forum, having experienced the [Disguise as a Deity System] firsthand, Qiao Luan was already 90% convinced by Gaming Guru’s post.
However, having nothing better to do that evening, he specifically downloaded the software and located floor 78’s account. The avatar indicated that the account was currently live-streaming. Tapping into it, he was greeted by a man in his thirties with slightly curly hair and an overgrown beard tied into a small bun, whose appearance carried a strong artistic flair.
At the moment, he was facing the camera under dim lighting: “It’s currently 11:52 PM. There are still three hours left until the scheduled collective cliff-jumping time mentioned by Gaming Guru. I’ve climbed Changtang Mountain before; two hours is plenty. Right, let me introduce my friends, Zhang Chen and Xu Mao. They’re rank one and rank two spenders in my streaming room; everyone can go give them a follow.”
With that, the three of them shouldered their streaming equipment and headed toward the peak of Changtang Mountain.
Night mountaineering is no simple task, especially since parts of Changtang Mountain’s paths are extremely primitive and rugged. Coupled with the emergence of nocturnal creatures, one could constantly hear restrained gasps from the poorly lit stream.
Qiao Luan attentively observed the facial expressions of floor 78’s guy, named Xu Zhengye. Though not entirely clear, all of his facial expressions appeared entirely genuine.
The three of them hiked for an hour and a half, and the viewer count in the stream dropped from a thousand to just over two hundred. Many lacked the patience, feeling that watching people climb a mountain was boring and dull, so they left first, planning to return to the stream around 3:00 AM.
Qiao Luan watched for a long time and yawned sleepily. However, the moment he opened his mouth, his eyes suddenly narrowed. Bringing his phone closer to his face, his gaze locked onto Xu Zhengye’s face; Xu Zhengye’s lips were parting and closing as if speaking silently.
…Or perhaps talking to himself for encouragement.
The mountain trail was difficult, and the promised two hours ultimately turned into two and a half. Reaching the peak of Changtang Mountain with great difficulty, Xu Zhengye and the other two collapsed onto the ground in exhaustion. Zhang Chen set up the rig, turned on the light, walked around the area with the illumination, and frowned: “Don’t see anyone else here, huh?”
As soon as he finished speaking, he heard someone greeting them from afar: “Hey, bros!”
Zhang Chen and the other two looked over and discovered that the four people who had arrived also carried equipment.
Xu Zhengye asked in shock, “You guys aren’t also here to stream cliff-jumping, are you?”
The leading man raised an eyebrow: “You guys are too?”
Xu Zhengye shrugged, somewhat amused: “Clearly.”
[Lmao, spent all this time only to find so many people streaming to watch the fun?]
[Don’t rush, there’ll be a few more streams later.]
[Right, right, right, I just saw two Changtang Mountain streaming rooms scrolling through videos on Kuaishou earlier.]
Time drew close to 2:58 AM.
The wind at the mountaintop howled, rustling all the trees fiercely like the whispers of ghosts and deities. Xu Zhengye distinctly felt the temperature at the summit begin to drop. The skin exposed on his outer face felt as though it had been pressed against ice cubes; the chill not only stung his skin but seeped bit by bit into his blood vessels, trying to freeze his flowing blood.
He parted his lips, exhaling a puff of white vapor, and turned back to look at his companions, who were curled up together dozing off. Withdrawing his gaze, he asked the other people lingering nearby: “Aren’t you guys cold?”
The sound of the wind blew away the response from not far away.
Xu Zhengye didn’t think much of it, rubbing his hands together for warmth as he shifted his gaze to his phone screen to read the chat.
[It’s 2:59, and I don’t see anyone jumping off any cliffs. Looks like that “Old Gods” post was a scam after all.]
[Damn, stayed up all night for nothing!]
[Why did I believe this messy stuff… Something is seriously wrong with my brain]
[Let’s scatter, scatter. Going to sleep.]
[Anchor, don’t leave yet. The sunrise at Changtang Mountain is actually quite nice; recommend watching the sunrise before leaving, at least it won’t be a wasted trip.]
Xu Zhengye smiled and was about to respond when his gaze suddenly locked firmly onto a comment right at the top:
[Is there any possibility that the ones scheduled to jump off a cliff together… are you group of anchors?]