Chapter 1: F-Level Talent, Death Roll Call

Chapter 1: F-Level Talent, Death Roll Call

[Welcome to the Eerie World, a cursed realm where you will integrate as a Player.]

[Remember, humans are at the bottom of the food chain here—the most delicious prey for the supernatural. To survive, strive to complete Missions and earn their favor.]

[Warning: There is no true death in this world. Elimination only plunges you into more terrifying dungeons, facing even more despairing trials.]

[You have been assigned the initial dungeon—Crimson Apartment.]

The room was like a drop of ink dispersing in clear water—dark, suffocating, swallowing all light.

Ji Yan opened his eyes.

His brain short-circuited for a moment.

Having bought countless scratch-off tickets before, he’d never won more than 20 bucks. Yet here he was, hitting the jackpot on odds of one in millions.

Guess this is what they call being "chosen by fate"...

His smile carried a trace of bitterness.

At that moment, a virtual game panel popped into view.

[At dawn, the supernatural entities will awaken. Use this time to familiarize yourself with the surroundings and gather intel—it might just boost your survival odds.]

[Room 404 holds 3 Players and 3 supernatural entities. Interacting with each entity triggers unique Missions. Failure to complete them will result in varying degrees of Punishment.]

Hesitation meant defeat.

Rather than wallow in despair, it was better to pull himself together and focus on survival.

Ji Yan patted his cheeks, scanned the shabby room, and stepped outside.

Soon, he spotted two others in the living room—clearly the remaining Players.

They were hunched over the dining table, shoveling down a sludgy, unappetizing meal. Despite its revolting appearance, they ate with alarming speed, barely chewing before swallowing.

This wasn’t eating. This was fueling.

The female Player noticed Ji Yan and blinked in surprise.

The male Player didn’t even glance up, still mechanically devouring his food.

"Well, this is new," the girl mused, her twin ponytails swaying as she studied Ji Yan with unexpected curiosity. "How long has it been since our little hovel got a fresh Player?"

The boy tore off a chunk of blackened meat and shot her a sidelong glare. "Why bother caring? Newbies come and go."

"Use this time to stuff your face instead. Once those freaks wake up, even a sip of water’ll be hard to come by!"

The girl immediately ducked her head and resumed scarfing down her meal.

Ji Yan approached, eyeing the pot of dubious sustenance.

The boy yanked the dish closer, his gaze icy with possessiveness. "This is ours. No share for you."

"Want food? Go earn it by completing Missions!"

The male Player had zero goodwill toward newcomers.

These greenhorns never understood the rules.

Help them once, and they’d cling like parasites—pestering you at every minor hurdle, dragging you down with them.

Useless deadweight.

"I just wanted to learn the basics of this dungeon’s rules," Ji Yan said, fully aware of his newbie status. These two were clearly veterans who’d survived here for a while.

In this unfamiliar environment, with zero intel at hand, his only option was to fish for clues from the old-timers...

The boy scoffed but stayed silent.

The girl, however, believed in lending a hand when possible. More allies meant greater strength—who knew when she might need help in return?

She summarized briefly: "In this house, we all play the roles of children, while the other three supernatural entities take on the roles of father, mother, and grandmother. If you want to live here and get food, you must unconditionally complete the tasks assigned by those three entities every day."

"Oh, let me introduce myself. I’m Liu Yitong, and he’s Dong Chu."

The moment his name was mentioned, Dong Chu visibly bristled.

He shot a glance over, sneering, "Liu, you beauty, have you forgotten what happened the last time you helped a new player?"

"After that, he clung to you like a leech. Even when he stepped on a landmine, he tried to drag you down with him. Still haven’t learned your lesson?"

He cursed inwardly—this woman never learned.

At the mention of the last newcomer, Liu Yitong’s pretty face darkened.

She glanced at Ji Yan but said nothing more, quietly finishing the last of her food.

Dong Chu suddenly seemed to remember something and, surprisingly, took the initiative to speak to Ji Yan: "Every player has a [Talent Trait]. Open your personal info panel and see what grade yours is."

The Talent Trait was a feature all players possessed.

It was a kind of welfare mechanism for players, mainly divided into four grades: A, B, C, and D. The higher the grade, the better the trait, granting players greater privileges in dungeons.

Though Dong Chu disliked newcomers, if a new player awakened a useful talent, they could be a major asset—sometimes even more valuable than veteran players.

So, he decided to ask.

Might as well see if this rookie had any exploitable worth.

Liu Yitong chimed in, "Right. For example, my talent is C-grade, called [Natural Charm]. It’s a passive trait."

"In any dungeon, my face is more appealing to supernatural entities than other players'. In other words, my favorability is 5% higher than average."

"Don’t underestimate that 5%. Once, during a mission, another player and I both triggered a trap. The entity had to choose one of us for punishment."

"In the end, because I was more likable, the other guy got unlucky!"

As she spoke, a smug look crossed her delicate features.

Dong Chu scoffed, "How ironic. Even in the Eerie World, looks matter."

Ji Yan opened his info panel.

Ignoring the basic stat bars at the top, his gaze landed on the final column—[Talent Trait]. The glaring [F] stood out like a sore thumb.

"F??"

Ji Yan froze.

"What the hell? I thought the lowest was D-grade. How did you get an F?"

Even the two veteran players were stunned by an F-grade talent.

D-grade talents were already so weak they were practically useless.

For example, one person’s D-grade talent—[Swift as Wind]—granted the privilege of "teleporting" in dungeons.

At first glance, it sounded overpowered, but in reality, it only allowed a 2-centimeter teleport. Useless.

Another ridiculous D-grade talent—[Vanish Without Trace]—let players "turn invisible" in dungeons, but the effect broke the moment they got close to another player or supernatural entity.

On the surface, these talents sounded impressive, but once slapped with a D-grade label, they were nerfed into oblivion!

"D-grade is already abstract enough for the gutter. I can’t even imagine how much worse an F-grade must be!"

Dong Chu immediately frowned, the last shred of goodwill vanishing from his expression. He wanted nothing to do with such an unlucky wretch.

"An F-grade talent might even bring misfortune to players who get too close. Let him fend for himself."

Liu Yitong’s eyes also held pity, but she wasn’t as calculating. Instinctively, she offered comfort.

"Don’t lose heart. It’s still better than nothing. What really matters is the player’s own ability."

Ji Yan wondered inwardly—was he cursed by the god of misfortune?

Unwilling to give up, he tapped open the detailed description of his talent.

[Talent: Passive, F-grade.]

[Name: Know the Root and Bottom.]

[Details: Through eye contact, you can glimpse the underwear of all Supernatural Entities and players.]

Ji Yan’s vision darkened.

Well.

This talent was truly shocking!

But then, a notification chimed in his mind.

"Ding! Player has successfully awakened a talent—F-grade. Due to a BUG, this is a discarded talent."

"Because the BUG took effect, your talent has been modified—"

[Talent Name: Omniscient Understanding.]

[Talent Details: Triggered by touching a Supernatural Entity’s personal item, allowing you to obtain all hidden information about the entity.]

A few simple lines of text left Ji Yan stunned.

So this was what F-grade really meant!

But why had he awakened a discarded, bugged talent?

He had no idea.

Right now, though, Ji Yan didn’t have the luxury to dwell on it. Just a single line of description made it clear how valuable this talent was.

He could uncover all hidden information about Supernatural Entities!

That meant he didn’t have to risk his life like other players, painstakingly gathering scraps of intel to strategize.

All he had to do was touch something, and he could expose every secret of every Supernatural Entity!

Ji Yan decided not to reveal the BUG in his talent.

A trump card like this—best kept hidden for as long as possible.

Showing off might satisfy his ego, but it had no real benefit.

A brightly blooming flower attracts attention, but it’s also the first to be plucked and wither.

Just then, the mottled pendulum clock struck again—six times in total.

Six in the morning. Dawn had arrived.

The Supernatural Entity was awake!

Dong Chu and the other player, who had been eating just moments ago, now moved like soldiers at the sound of a whistle. They swiftly cleared the table and bolted toward the dormitory hallway.

As Ji Yan followed, he heard eerie scratching noises from the doors.

Eerie because they sounded like something sharp dragging across the wood—piercing and unsettling.

Then, as the stench of rot filled the air, a hoarse, ragged voice, as if torn from shredded vocal cords, drifted out from the dark corridor...

"Has a new child arrived today? Come to Father’s room. Let me see how strong your body is."

Ji Yan’s lips twitched.

Seriously?

The first words after waking up—and he was specifically summoned?