Ch. 2 - What Do You Do When the Paranormal Game Crashes?

In the pitch-black void, Bai Wan stood frozen in place, on the verge of tears.

“Hello? Is anyone from the system around?” he called out hopefully.

“Any system will do, really!”

He shouted for quite a while, but there was no response from any system at all.

Left with no choice, Bai Wan pulled out his phone and expertly dialed a string of numbers.

Doo... Doo...

A few seconds later, the call connected, and Bai Wan immediately burst into desperate sobs.

“Cousin! Big Bro, I’m screwed! Help me—please save your poor little cousin!”

“What the hell is it this time? Did you break your computer again?” On the other end, his cousin, a programmer, sounded deeply annoyed and completely done with life.

“No, bro, it’s not my computer this time!”

“Then what is it?”

“You know that cursed game from Lan City? The one in the urban legends? I got picked to play it a few days ago, and now... I just entered the game, and this thing is already busted...”

“????”

“Wait, wait — what did you just say? What the hell did you just break???”

“That cursed game—the one that forces you to play once you’re selected... You know the one...” Bai Wan’s voice grew smaller and guiltier.

“???”

“Holy shit!! You... holy... holy shit, holy shit— %&(%￥#%@!”

After a string of curses, the call abruptly cut off.

Bai Wan: “...”

“Cousin? ...Hello?”

When he tried calling back, all he got was a busy signal. Clearly, this little incident had given his cousin quite the shock.

Helpless, Bai Wan shrugged. It seemed like he couldn’t count on Cousin to bail him out this time.

Sigh...

Still feeling responsible, Bai Wan decided to wander around the pitch-black space and see if he could somehow salvage the Paranormal Game himself.

After walking around for about ten minutes — perhaps touched by his sense of responsibility — the Paranormal Game actually started functioning again.

Bai Wan was overjoyed.

That’s right, the game seemed to be the real deal. Looks like this Paranormal Game wasn’t entirely like the cheaply made junk TVs back at home.

Buzz buzz!

The dark space lit up once more, and the glowing white screen reappeared.

[Player Name: Bai Wan]

[Age: 23]

[Gender: Male]

[Generating talent based on real-world conditions… Please wait…]

[Talent Generated:

World Glitch

Description: A mysterious anomaly resulting in passive bug emissions. The user passively radiates bugs at all times.

Additional Talent: Bug Exploiter

Effect: Any bug triggered during a dungeon may be converted into a temporary active skill. The skill disappears when the dungeon ends. (Can be permanently unlocked using Paranormal Coins.)]

[Quality: Unable to Evaluate]

[Rating: Unable to Evaluate]

[Generating active skills based on talent…]

Bug Skill 1: Mario’s Coin Room

Description: Enter any sewer in the dungeon to access Mario’s Coin Room. Usable once per dungeon.

Current Level 1: Grants ten minutes of safety upon entering. Coins not yet available (can be unlocked through skill upgrades).

Upgrades: Unlock Mario Coins within the room. The function of these coins is left for players to discover after upgrading.

Bug Skill 2: Care to Watch My Dance?

Description: By dancing in front of a game NPC, there is a chance to receive a tip (guaranteed success on first use).

(More skills can be unlocked through upgrades.)

Mario’s Coin Room...

Seeing his newly acquired skills, Bai Wan’s mouth twitched uncontrollably. Once again, he was reminded of a rather shameful childhood memory. 

Back in elementary school, after class one day, he’d accidentally fallen into a well. His mother had called the police, and the rescue team had rushed over.

But when they finally reached the bottom of the well, all the officers wore the same baffled, weirded-out expression — like discovering your wife had cheated on you... with your ex-girlfriend.

Because instead of finding Bai Wan, what awaited them at the bottom of the well... were pile upon pile of Mario coins.

One of the police officers even gaped in shock as he watched a red mushroom slowly slide off a plank and land on his colleague. Then, accompanied by that familiar boing boing boing sound effect, that colleague’s entire body turned red — and grew several sizes bigger.

Everyone’s jaws practically hit the ground.

After the incident, the news was completely suppressed at a national level. Some of the officers even developed psychological problems and were sent to psychiatric hospitals for treatment.

It was said that those officers would often mutter nonsense like, “One mushroom makes you bigger... two mushrooms let you shoot fireballs...”

“So the skills I’m getting... are all based on things that actually happened to me in real life?” Bai Wan felt a little awkward at first, but then grew increasingly excited.

This Paranormal Game... has potential! It can actually turn his personal bugs into skills. 

That means... the Paranormal Game might have the ability to influence his glitchy physique.

If that’s the case, then maybe... just maybe, he could use the Paranormal Game to solve his own problems.

Looks like entering this game wasn’t all bad after all.

Suddenly, Bai Wan’s vision blurred.

In the blink of an eye, he found himself in a blank white space. The distant surroundings were shrouded in mist, while right in front of him sat a wooden table — and he was sitting right there at the table.

Aside from himself, there were four other people present — two men and two women.

Leaving aside a calm-looking middle-aged man, the other three all looked visibly panicked.

“Alright, now that the last player’s arrived, time is tight, so I’ll get straight to the point.” The calm middle-aged man was the first to speak after seeing Bai Wan appear.

“My name is Liu Tong. I’m a member of the Special Affairs Investigation Bureau — you can think of me as a government official. You’re all pretty lucky. The first dungeon in the Paranormal Game always assigns a veteran to lead the newcomers. This time, the five of us will be clearing the dungeon instance together.”

Hearing Liu Tong’s words, the others all visibly perked up. Having an official around meant their chances of survival were a lot higher.

Liu Tong gave them all a friendly smile and spoke in a gentle tone.

“We have ten minutes of free time before the game officially begins. Let’s start with introductions. Just share some basic information and your abilities. We’re a team now, and only by understanding each other can we hope to survive the dungeon ahead.”

“I’ll go first to set an example. My name is Liu Tong. I’m a police officer. My talent skill is Combat Prodigy. When activated, my strength doubles for ten minutes, and my agility increases as well. Usable once per dungeon. This will be my third dungeon.”

After finishing, Liu Tong turned his gaze to the girl beside him.

The girl was dressed provocatively — a miniskirt paired with black stockings, exuding a seductive vibe.

“My name is... Lin Xi. I’m a livestreamer. My ability is Simp Magnet. When activated, any creature with feelings for me won’t be able to attack me.” Lin Xi’s eyes were red and swollen — clearly from crying. Even now, her voice trembled slightly.

“Why did this have to happen to us? Can’t we just not play the game...?” Her voice cracked, on the verge of tears again.

“Miss, I understand how you feel. If we could leave the game, who wouldn’t want to? But there’s no choice — reality is cruel.” Liu Tong shook his head and turned to the next person.

The man had an excellent build and looked sturdy.

“My name is Zhang Wen. I’m a PE teacher. My ability is Running Expert. When activated, I can run for three minutes without consuming any stamina. Usable twice per dungeon. Please take care of me.”

“That’s a great skill. Whether for escaping or scouting, it’s very useful. Player skills are usually closely related to their real-life abilities. Looks like Mr. Zhang is pretty skilled at running in real life too,” Liu Tong remarked with an even bigger smile.

“I’ve done some casual sprint training over the years,” Zhang Wen replied with a chuckle.

After he finished, it was the last girl’s turn. The girl was wearing denim shorts, her pale legs exposed, giving her a youthful vibe.

“My name is Chen Weiyu. I’m a university student. My talent skill is Midnight King. It... uh… lets me binge-watch dramas at night without getting sleepy...”

Chen Weiyu looked embarrassed — her skill was clearly a little... useless.

Liu Tong froze for a few seconds before finally responding.

“Ah... it’s fine. Every skill has its value. Besides, in the first few dungeons, everyone will awaken new abilities. Later dungeons have a chance of triggering more. Don’t worry, maybe your next skill will be powerful.”

“Thank you...” Chen Weiyu lowered her head shyly.

Once she finished, everyone’s eyes turned to Bai Wan — their gazes all a little strange.

After all, they’d already been sneaking glances at Bai Wan since earlier… Mainly because the giant photo frame strapped to his back was way too eye-catching.

Who the heck brings a photo that big into a dungeon?!

Ever since he arrived, this guy had been muttering nonstop to the photo.

“Mom!! I didn’t do it on purpose!!”

“Didn’t the Paranormal Game… recover just fine in the end?”

“Dad, say something too! I didn’t know it was gonna crash like that!”

“What?! Sis, how could you take their side?!”

Ehem... Liu Tong cleared his throat, forcing a polite smile as he addressed the self-talking Bai Wan. 

“Uh... friend, it’s your turn to introduce yourself.”

This kid... is he mentally ill...?

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