Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Late at night, on a niche gaming forum in China, the popularity of a post was quietly soaring.

This was Druid's post about exploring an instance, which had always lacked popularity. After all, the game was niche, especially being a new release from an obscure company, with very few pre-orders.

But ever since Druid uploaded a picture, the situation had changed.

After his death, Druid habitually opened his exploration thread to continue sharing his experiences live. However, he noticed something unusual as soon as he opened it.

What's going on? Why does the post have so many views? Did his little game blow up??

Druid focused and saw that his post was stuck on the level where he had obtained the key. To show off, he had taken a photo of the key and uploaded it.

Right, where's the key?

Druid quickly opened his system inventory, only to sadly find that the key hadn't been brought out. Well, the beta test was over, and he figured the developers wouldn't let him exploit this loophole.

Forgetting about the key, Druid also discovered why his post had gone viral.

It was all because of the last photo he left. The key wasn't the focus; the focus was on the picture of the young man in the patient gown beneath the key.

Druid scrolled through the comments and, as expected, found that everyone was there for the person in the photo.

77l: Front row! OP, hand over the info of the guy in the photo, he's my new husband now!

78l: OP, are you there? Is this NPC a character in the game? If so, I'm downloading it right now!

79l: Wow, Druid, you're famous now. Where are you?

80l: Still in the game, aren't you? What's the deal with this NPC?

81l: Guess he hasn't come out yet, probably gone cold. Let's spit on him and leave (joking)

82l: Is the source of the photo here? OP, you're trending! This photo is all over the internet! The game has gone viral!

Druid quickly switched to his computer browser, and sure enough, a simple search for the game and patient keywords brought up the photo he uploaded. People had even photoshopped the key out and enhanced the photo's clarity.

What was left was a 360-degree beauty appreciation.

Honestly, Druid hadn't paid much attention to the photo at the time; he was too busy trying to survive. Later, seeing the person in real life, he had even less thought about the photo. Now, looking closely, he suddenly understood why the front desk nurse became so fierce after he stole the photo.

After a moment of thought, Druid's lips curled into a mischievous smile, and without hesitation, he started a new thread and uploaded the system's recording.

"Just died, sharing my new wife with everyone, I've become the unrequited love of my wife!"

……

After crushing the white orb, Lain discovered he could access a familiar yet strange gaming forum in his mind. Seeing the game's name struck him like lightning.

Damn! He had played this game before!

He hadn't realized he wasn't reborn but had actually transmigrated into the game.

"Destiny's Spiral" is a holographic online game focusing on Cthulhu mythos and tabletop RPG elements, set in the fictional city of Arkham. Players can enter with any identity card for free exploration. Compared to the usual level-up games, this one emphasizes more on exploration and decryption, as well as the madness and terror players experience in the process.

According to the official website, it revolutionized the traditional tabletop RPG mode, combining online gaming with tabletop gaming in a new experiment.

Lain had joined the game relatively late when it had already become popular, persuaded by the strong recommendations of those around him. By then, the original Arkham city instance had already closed, and the later stages of the game were dominated by witches, zealots, kin, and miscreants.

Who would have thought he'd transmigrate back to the game's early days? If he'd known, he would have memorized all the major events in the game's history.

Lain scratched his head and decided to first check the forum to see the current progress of the game.

Upon entering the player forum, Lain immediately noticed a prominent title, impossible to overlook as it had the most replies on the forum, clearly standing out from the other game strategy threads.

"Just died, sharing my new wife with everyone, I've become the unrequited love of my wife!"

A sense of foreboding crept into the corners of his eyes.

The video began to play.

The first person to appear was very familiar to Lain. On closer inspection, wasn't this the young man he had saved earlier?

Indeed, it was him. In the video, the brown-haired youth, initially resigned to his fate, is suddenly pulled into a hospital room, his mouth covered by a pair of arms.

"Shh—don't make a sound."

The camera slowly pans upwards.

The barrage of comments exploded.

"[I'll cover my wife's face!]"

"[No peeking, wuwuwu qwq You can't see my wife!]"

"[The guy above, your wife is amazing (sarcastic emoji)]"

"[Incredible, damn, is this a face that humans can imagine?!]"

"[The model artists strut around the planners, and the planners have to bow down and call them 'boss'.]"

"[Just for this NPC, I'm all in, brothers!]"

"[A counterfeit beauty: He has emerald green eyes, his appearance as handsome as an angel in a mural.]

Me: …"

"The real beauty: His app (appearance) score is 99."

Me: "How can I not be tempted!?]"

Lan En: …"

"Although I know this body I have is quite exaggerated, it's not necessary to react like this."

"The video continues, showing the druid originally planning to leave, but then bending down to see the red high heels outside the door."

"[High energy warning ahead!]"

"[Thanks for the heads-up!]"

"[You thanked too soon, my friend above, because what's coming next is all high energy qwq]"

"As the comments predicted, the video continued with the Druid and Lan En trapped in a hospital room. First, they were harassed by a red-haired nurse outside the door, and later, the sound of nails scratching came from the walls."

"[That was a close call! Is this a high-level dungeon? It's way too hard.]"

"[The Druid is so brave. If it were me, my sanity would have hit its limit and I'd be kicked out of the game qwq]"

"[Am I the only one bothered by the Druid sitting next to my wife?]"

"[Something's off with this Druid guy. Didn’t he used to like only female characters?]"

"A second wave of comments exploded when the Druid drew back the curtains. Outside the window, the red-haired nurse’s body was twisted in impossible angles, her head cocked and mouth wide open in a grotesque grin."

"[Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!]"

"[Save me, save me, where are the comments to protect me!]"

"[Wow, they even play a waiting game, this boss is interesting.]"

"The screen was flooded with 'Ahhhhhh' and 'Help me' comments. Lan En couldn't help but scratch his head. Was it really that scary? Maybe because he had given up at that moment, he didn't feel anything special, even finding the red-haired nurse's design quite unique."

"At this point, the video reached its climax and the most critical moment. The wall was breached, and a monster burst in from the next hospital room. Surprisingly, the first to stand up was the previously trembling Druid. The comments followed suit:"

"[The anthem of humanity is the anthem of courage!]"

"[Damn, I actually felt a bit of adrenaline at this moment.]"

"[Well done, Dezi, you didn’t let us old players down.]"

"[Charge!]"

"Of course, such comments were fleeting and lasted only a few seconds before the tide of the conversation turned."

"[...Pfft, the Tortoise Punch.]"

"[But still, is the system's dice roll that realistic?]"

"[The defense wasn't even broken, and I'm already starting to laugh. What's happening?]"

"[I'm betting everything on this dice roll! — Eh-heh, epic fail! (sarcastic emoji)]"

"As had happened before, the Druid in the video couldn't inflict any damage on the monster in the hospital gown. Amidst the mocking and meme-playing comments, there were also those expressing understanding and admiration. In his final moments, the Druid struggled fiercely to slow down the monster."

"Facing Lan En, his face covered in blood, his radiant smile in the face of death had a contagious, hearty quality."

"Survive."

"[...Tch, I hate to admit it, but this guy's got something.]"

"[Shameless thief! Don't you dare use your life to win over my wife's affection, wuwuwu. Then I'll have no chance at all!]"

"[To the guy above, you never had a chance to begin with.]"

"[I'm shipping this so hard hhhhh]"

"Comments from those whose defenses were broken and those rooting for the chaotic pairing were a mix of wailing and howling, while a few high-level comments calmly floated by."

"[But still, I don't think it makes much sense. Didn't you notice from the beginning of the video that this NPC was always calm?]"

"[True, both monsters blocking the door seemed to be there for the NPC. Combined with his ridiculously high attractiveness, I've got a bad feeling about this.]"

"[Thanks, now I've got Nyarlathotep PTSD.]"

"[It can't be what I'm thinking, can it?]"

"As the video continued, Lan En felt something was amiss. Why was the recording still going on after death? Wait, he remembered this game had a feature called 'death lingering.' Did that mean what followed was also..."

"His ominous premonition came true."

"When he saw his own figure appear on the windowsill, calmly opening the window, a barrage of comments exploded, and Lan En silently covered his face."

"In the video, a youth of inhuman beauty stood indifferently to the side, his expression neither sad nor happy, watching the two monsters fight to the death in the hospital room."

"He seemed like a noble in an arena, high above, or a deity enjoying the war offered by his followers."

"Finally, the monsters' struggle ended in death. He stepped over their bodies as if they were insignificant ants. Since the video was shot from the Druid's perspective, it appeared as if the youth was walking towards the audience outside the screen, squatting down, his usually indifferent eyes showing a flicker of emotion, like a corner of an ancient iceberg melting."

"The comments fell silent for a moment, and for the first time, a large blank space appeared in this viral video."

"Lan En's face had already reached the human limit of 'beauty,' any more would venture into the realm of unknown madness. Without expression, it resembled a flawless statue in a temple, gazing down upon the world."

"Now, the cold, perfect statue showed a trace of compassion in his eyes."

"Everyone who saw this video felt as if they had been struck by a heavy hammer. If it weren't for the lack of a system sanity check in reality, some might have gone mad on the spot."

"He raised his hand as if to close the Druid's eyes."

"The video ended there, probably because the Druid's 'death lingering' time expired. But the comments finally caught up."

"[...Hisss, this is the first time I've seen indescribable beauty. Druid, you're not wronged for falling for him, being this beautiful transcends orientation (stunned)]"

"[I could never comprehend how someone with an appearance score of 99 could look, but this is probably the best explanation. Truly, any more would be beyond human understanding.]"

"[Wife is heaven! Wife is heaven!]"

"[Such high class, tsk, I wouldn't believe he's not some kind of evil deity.]"

"[Someone's being sour, but I won't say who.]"

"[[Lemon][Lemon][Lemon][Lemon][Lemon][Lemon]]"

"The video ended there, but the shock it left with the players had no outlet, especially with the Druid's cheeky title, which completely caught the newly emerged Lan En's wife fans off guard."

Druid: "Hehe, see this NPC? Guess whether your wife will remember me or you?"

Comment 22L: "Ahhh, don't say that, don't say that, wuwuwuwu"

Comment 23L: "Heh, why would she remember you? Would a god remember an ant? Lan En's identity is obviously not simple. According to the new rules, the human limit for appearance is 90, and anyone with an appearance over 90 is basically not human. Seeing Lan En's charm in the video, it's off the charts. Although there's no official number, I'd estimate it's over 95."

"Did you notice that the Druid made at least two secret rolls after seeing Lan En, probably failing them, which is why his behavior was so erratic. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s some kind of demon."

Comment 24L: "But in the video, Lan En initially had no intention of intervening. He simply didn't care about the monsters outside. So... did he decide to act only after seeing the Druid's death?"

Comment 25L: "I don't believe it, I can't believe it, ahhh!"

Comment 26L: "A demon god obviously wouldn't be moved by humans. If what was said above is true, it's still hard to say if Lan En’s identity is that of a demon god."

Comment 27L: "Heh, have you ever seen a god? How would you know what a god thinks?"

Comment 28L: "Enough arguing, I just want to know when this game starts its closed beta. When can I meet my wife?"