“Chapter 5”

"Chapter 5"

"'Bang!'"

"The barrel of the old musket was slightly warm. The chest of the brown-haired youth heaved rapidly, his finger on the trigger still trembling slightly. Lying in front of him was the body of a monster, with a huge mouth and no other facial features, resembling a cross between an earthworm and a centipede, with a moist exterior and multiple limbs."

"The gunshot alarmed the people near the SUV. Two men and a woman quickly approached the brown-haired youth. The leader, with a stern expression, asked, 'What happened?'"

"'I-I was just attacked by that thing,' the brown-haired youth's face was pale with fright, as he turned to point where the monster's body lay, only to find, to his horror, that it was gone."

"'I'm telling the truth, I'm not hallucinating!' his voice uncontrollably rose in pitch."

"In the Bureau of Investigation, sudden hallucinations or auditory delusions among investigators were a dangerous sign, indicating that their mental state was precarious. If it occurred during a mission, they needed to pause or withdraw immediately. But in this wilderness, there was no chance of finding someone to provide psychological treatment, leaving withdrawal as the only option."

"Yet, the brown-haired youth was just an intern. If he withdrew from this mission before it even began, his chances of being hired permanently were surely gone."

"'Ok, calm down,' the team leader patted the brown-haired youth on the shoulder, 'It might not be your hallucination. We are getting closer to Arkham City.'"

"'It seems that the rumor is true. The closer we are to the city, the higher the likelihood of seeing creatures from that world,' another investigator mused thoughtfully, glancing at the pale-faced brown-haired youth, 'Those with high sensitivity are likely to be more affected.'"

"However, the short-haired woman didn't share this view. Strong-willed and disliking the easily frightened brown-haired youth, she said coldly, 'Maybe it's just a hallucination caused by someone being too scared.'"

"'I didn't!' the brown-haired youth protested immediately."

"'Who knows? We didn’t see anything. There's no monster's body, only your bullet marks. We didn't hear any suspicious sounds before this either.'"

"So the brown-haired youth lowered his head and fell silent again."

"Eventually, the team leader who had first spoken intervened to smooth things over: 'Edmund's sensitivity is higher. Intelligence also mentioned residents seeing creatures clearly not from this world. Aren't we here to investigate this very thing?'"

"Under the team leader's disapproving gaze, the short-haired woman snorted but refrained from further questioning the brown-haired youth. The atmosphere within the team had become tense even before officially entering the mission area, which was a headache for the team leader."

"As the group got back into the vehicle to continue their journey, Edmund, the brown-haired youth, quietly asked, 'I really didn't lie.'"

"'Don't worry, I know you had no reason to do that,' the team leader comforted him softly, noticing Edmund's continued pallor and assuming it was concern for the mission, 'Don’t worry, we're just here to investigate the cause of the phenomenon. We’ll withdraw immediately if there's any danger. We're just the vanguard team.'"

"'Captain… what you mentioned about not belonging to this world… Are these oddities not originating from our world?'"

"'Oh, that’s right, you’re an intern and don’t have access to those documents yet,' the team leader hesitated, then decided, 'But it's too dangerous to proceed without knowing anything. Alright, I'll give you a brief explanation.'"

"'You joined the Bureau of Investigation because you have a talent in this area, capable of seeing things ordinary people cannot. But aren’t you curious where these anomalies come from?'"

"The other world you mentioned before?"

The team leader nodded: "It's an A-level secret within the Inspection Bureau. Apart from our surface world, there's a dimension temporarily known as the Dream World. All those anomalies you've seen are residents of the Dream World, visible and interactable to ordinary people only when summoned to our world."

"The Dream World, said to be the domain of gods and an ancient battlefield of deities, is filled with countless indescribable entities. If they descend, they could easily destroy all life on the surface."

As the team leader explained, Edmund's face grew paler: "Then our world is in great danger."

"Haha, don't worry. The Dream World is the abode of gods and also a natural protective barrier. The stronger the creature from the Dream World, the harder it is to come to our world. To summon an entity capable of destroying the world, one would need to conduct extremely stringent rituals. If such an event were to happen, the Inspection Bureau would definitely intervene.

So, in our world, there are no so-called 'gods'."

Edmund let out a slight sigh of relief and sincerely said, "This world is too dangerous for ordinary people."

However, the team leader shook his head: "You're mistaken, Edmund. On the contrary, the higher one's sensitivity, the more terrifying this world is for them. Like you, if you couldn't see that anomaly, it wouldn't have been able to harm you.

Creatures from the Dream World, unless summoned into reality through rituals, cannot be seen or interact with our world. If you lack sensitivity, bluntly put, even if you're unwittingly involved in an incident, you can die peacefully."

"Sometimes, being able to see is not necessarily a good thing. The more you see, the more that can harm you. Based on your description, what appeared before you might only be a D-class or even unclassified entity. But what if it's a C-class or above? By the time we arrived, we might only be able to recover your body."

Edmund swallowed hard, his heart beginning to pound.

Seeing the new recruit frightened out of his wits, Edmund's serious expression changed, and he laughed heartily: "Don't worry, it's not that simple to see those beings. The stronger the anomaly, the less likely it is to be seen, and the further their existence is from ordinary people."

"Rest assured, this world is not as terrifying as you imagine."

……

"This world is too terrifying!"

"I must move out, I have to leave this awful place as soon as possible!"

"Throughout his journey, Lan En was petrified, fearing his charm would be as 'effective' as it was in the hospital, attracting dozens of anomalies."

"Fortunately, those anomalies didn't approach. They remained motionless, so Lan En pretended not to see them. He nonchalantly walked past a crow with a human face, recognizing it as a B-level anomaly [Funeral Crow], only appearing in late-game special dungeons. He then feigned a stumble to avoid stepping on a writhing plant on the ground."

"A C-level anomaly [Bone-Eating Grass]."

"Typically, in the game, apart from the common anomalies found in various dungeons, there were 'special anomalies' exclusive to specific dungeons. Like the two he just encountered, which only appeared in the late-game group dungeons 'Who’s the Dead One?' and 'Please Protect the Environment.'"

"But here... they were everywhere."

"Is this the newbie-friendly, harmonious Arkham the forums talked about?"

"Lan En was overwhelmed."

"Lost in thought, Ogrer soon brought Lan En back to the neighborhood they rented in. The area was sparsely populated with single-family homes. The house was two-storied, spacious inside, with cozy furniture arrangements. Warm lighting and colorful decorations adorned various corners."

"It was cozy and warm."

"Lan En was surprised; he had expected the apartment of two bachelors to be messy, but it was quite tidy. Thinking about it, it made sense - Ogrer might look rugged, but his careful care of Lan En showed his meticulous nature."

"But the potential dangers lurking in Arkham City dampened Lan En’s spirits."

"'Lan En, what's wrong?' Seeing Lan En hesitating to enter, Ogrer asked in confusion."

"After a moment of silence, Lan En spoke solemnly, 'Ogrer, let’s move out, leave this city.'"

Ogrer: "Why, isn't this place good?"

"It's not that it's bad," Lan En found it hard to explain, feeling that meeting such a clean and attentive roommate was like saving the galaxy in his past life, especially after Ogrer had taken care of him for an entire week in the hospital.

He wanted to repay him, but this place was just too dangerous.

Continuing to live here was risky; they could lose their lives any day.

"But..." Ogrer slowly stated a sad fact, "Moving is expensive."

That’s when Lan En learned about his financial situation.

His original self was a poor student, attending university on loans. Education loans abroad were extremely expensive, and having just graduated, he had amassed a substantial debt without doing anything. Not to mention moving out of the city, even surviving until next month seemed problematic.

"Don't worry, Lan En," his good roommate consoled, "I have a little money saved. It’s not enough for moving, but it’s enough to get by for a couple of days."

Oh right, Lan En remembered, his hospital expenses were also paid by his roommate.

Meaning, Lan En now owed not only a student loan but also a debt to his roommate.

Lan En didn't take Ogrer's words to heart, forcing a somewhat strained smile: "Sorry, Ogrer, I’ll pay you back as soon as I can."

"It’s okay, I’m not in a hurry."

But Lan En was very anxious.

He now knew this was a game and according to the game forum's timeline, the next round of beta testing was about to start. He remembered from his previous life that the beta test lasted a month, and right before its conclusion, the game introduced its first dungeon campaign. The brutality of this campaign was one of the reasons the game became popular.

After the campaign, Arkham City disappeared.

Yes, literally vanished. It was gone from the game map, the entire city and its 500,000 inhabitants disappeared without a trace, neither alive nor dead.

"Originally, Lan En wouldn’t have cared about a game's plot, but the thought that this could be his and his friends' fate in a month sent shivers down his spine."

"He needed to earn enough money to move out before the next month, or at least enough for plane tickets to leave the city with Ogrer."

"So now, he needed a way to make money."

"In his previous life, Lan En was a psychology student with decent grades, but he had only recently entered the field."

"His current self was also a fresh graduate, a novice with no connections or established clients. In this profession that relied heavily on client referrals and valued privacy, he knew starting out would be incredibly difficult."

"...But there was no other option."

"Given his educational background, both in his past life and in this one, Lan En’s career options were limited. He hadn’t ventured into other fields. Maybe he should consider acting?"

"Hmm, considering his current appearance, it seemed feasible and could potentially bring in a lot of money. However, considering the dangers of this world, it seemed like a risky choice."

"In the end, Lan En decided to stick to his original profession. He asked his roommate and found out that his current self had rented a space for a psychological therapy clinic not far from their apartment. He decided to check it out."

"The clinic was located just around the corner from their apartment, across the street. It used to be a coffee shop that the owner had given up on and rented out to Lan En’s original self at a very low price, full of ambition as a fresh graduate."

"Lan En was stunned but impressed."

"Typically, don't psychologists start by working under a senior in a private clinic or a large hospital, slowly building their client base and network, and only then branch out to open their own clinic when they have a stable income? To start like this was incredibly bold."

"Now Lan En had to deal with the consequences."

"When he learned from the landlord that last month's rent was unpaid and with this month’s due, totaling a whopping 7,500 dollars, Lan En almost shed tears of despair."

"What should he do now?"

"After sitting in his clinic all afternoon with no clients walking in, Lan En let out a deep sigh and touched his face."

"Was he really going to rely on his looks to make a career and earn money?"

"As he struggled with his dilemma, someone finally walked in."

"'Welcome!' Lan En quickly straightened up."

"The visitor hesitated, then stepped forward into the light, revealing his tall stature and handsome features - smooth lines, deep-set eyes, blond hair and blue eyes, the epitome of a foreign heartthrob. His smile evoked images of holidays, sunshine, and beaches."

"'You've been discharged, Lan En.'"

"Blinking, Lan En nodded awkwardly, 'Yes, long time no see, Aiken.'"

"Indeed, the man before him was a senior from university known to his original self, seemingly named Albert Aiken. He had visited Lan En in the hospital, but at that time, the consciousness inhabiting this body had already changed, and Lan En had used amnesia as an excuse."

"Albert Aiken's expression suddenly turned serious, 'Lan En, are you feeling unwell?'"

"Lan En became alert, 'No, why do you ask?'"

"'You used to call me by my first name,' Albert said with a hint of disappointment, 'but now you call me Aiken.'"

"'Is that so? Sorry, I don't remember well,' Lan En forced a smile, and under Albert's expectant gaze, reluctantly used his first name, 'Albert.'"

"'It's okay, I know you've just been discharged,' Albert seemed to automatically find an excuse for Lan En, 'How are you feeling today?'"

"'I’m okay... Did you come here specifically to catch up?'"

"If possible, Lan En preferred to keep his distance from people who knew his original self, to avoid any slip-ups. Especially this senior, who was quite well-known in Arkham and now a rising star in the police force, involved in solving major cases and featured in newspapers. He had already experienced Albert’s keen insights in the hospital and preferred not to maintain contact with him."

"After all, he wasn't the original person, and the secret of coming back from the dead was one to take to the grave."

"'Actually, I came to ask for a little help,' Albert said apologetically, 'You know I work at the police station, right?'"

"'Um... I think you mentioned it.'"

"'We're handling a tricky case. The suspect won't talk, and our interrogation experts are at a loss. I remember you’re an expert in psychology, so I was hoping you could find an angle to approach this.'"

"Lan En wanted to object, wondering how he could be of use when even interrogation experts were stumped. The difference in professional fields was huge, and to him, this seemed like a desperate move."

"Just as he was about to refuse, Lan En heard Albert add the latter half of his sentence."

"'Of course, you won't be doing this for free. The daily pay is 600 dollars.'"

"Lan En's eyes sharpened, and he stepped forward to shake Albert's hand, 'I'd be happy to help.'"

"He didn't notice Albert stiffen at the contact. After a brief handshake, Albert quickly released his grip, turned his head, and hastily packed a small bag, his expression serious, 'Let's go now!'"

"Albert's response was a tad delayed. When he curled his fingers, his palm was already empty. Staring at his hand, he seemed a bit regretful, 'Right.'"