Welcome to the Bizarre Games

Chapter 1 Black Book
Today is the seventh day after Old Zhou's death.

Not many relatives and friends came; there were only a few dozen people in total.

After all, this old man was stubborn and obstinate when he was alive, and even if he had some relatives and friends in the past, most of them have become estranged over the years.

Even though only these people came, Zhou You thanked them one by one with utmost seriousness. Although there was an undisguised sadness in his expression, he maintained a calm demeanor and showed no sign of impoliteness in his every move.

After quietly thanking a relative who had come from afar, he suddenly started coughing for some reason.

At first, it was just a few coughs, but it quickly turned into violent panting. In the end, it seemed that he could not bear it anymore, his waist was bent like a shrimp, and his chest began to pound violently like a bellows.

At the same time, whispers could be heard from those around them.

There wasn't much sadness about the funeral in those voices; instead, there was a lot of regret and pity.

"The Zhou family lad just graduated from university not long ago, right?"

"Yes, he's only in his early twenties and a top student at X University."

“This child is also pitiful. He lost both his parents when he was young, and his grandfather, who raised him single-handedly, also passed away.”

"Not only that, I heard that he himself is suffering from an incurable disease at such a young age, alas."

"A rope always breaks at its thinnest point, and misfortune always finds those who are unfortunate."

Zhou You ignored the whispers around him. After a while, he wiped the blood from his mouth. When he looked up again, there was no sign of discomfort on his face.

His expression remained calm, and his words remained polite.

Everything was the same as before.

More than an hour later, the final farewell ceremony finally came to an end. After seeing off all the aunts and uncles, Zhou You was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief and then plopped down in front of Old Zhou's grave.

Unlike the previous bustling scene, the cemetery was now deserted, with no one in sight. Zhou You leaned against the tombstone and took out a pack of cigarettes from his jacket pocket.

But when he took out the lighter, he suddenly paused.

The doctor told him not to smoke.

But soon he smiled and shook his head, then took out a cigarette and lit it.

Amidst the swirling mist, Zhou You's previous polite and courteous expression vanished; he spoke slowly in a calm and even indifferent voice.

"Old man, to be honest, it was a really good time for you to die."

"Don't blame me for being harsh, but if you drag this out any longer, we might end up in the opposite situation, with you outliving your child."

"The doctors still haven't found the cause of my illness. They only know that there's a lump in my head, which has damaged my nervous system and my internal organs. Although it's not cancer, the doctors estimate that I probably only have two months left to live."

"I don't want to die, but I have no choice. My family is out of money, and the doctor has said there's no cure. So don't blame me for being unfilial. Don't count on your great-grandson. At worst, I'll bring you a few bottles of good wine when I die, as an apology."

"."

The cigarette burned out quickly. Zhou You dusted himself off and stood up, but just as he was about to leave, he seemed to suddenly remember something and took out a few old books from his backpack.

Old Zhou, his grandfather, used to enjoy collecting odds and ends of old objects, but they weren't very valuable. He had sold most of them to pay for his grandfather's medical treatment, and now only these few tattered books were left that nobody wanted.

Zhou You originally wanted to keep it as a memento, but remembering the doctor's diagnosis, he ultimately decided to burn it all together.

The orange light slowly ignited, and the paper gradually turned black in the brazier, then carbonized into ash, and finally drifted into the air with the north wind, disappearing without a trace in the blink of an eye.

Looking at the scenery, Zhou You sighed almost imperceptibly, but just as he was about to turn around, he suddenly sensed something was wrong.

Most of the things in the brazier had been burned to ashes, but for some reason, something remained at the very bottom, completely undamaged.

Oh, it's a fireproof material?

Curious, Zhou You picked it up with fire tongs, brushed off the ashes, and realized it was one of the books from earlier.

It was black, but the cover had no design or title.

He casually flipped it open and saw several large, blood-red characters written in standard printed font on the title page.

"Do you want to live?"

What is this? The old man's last prank for himself?
But recalling his grandfather's stern and rigid face, Zhou You immediately dismissed the possibility.

"This printed text, this fireproof material, could it be another counterfeit product that the old man received? Oh well, it's none of my business. Besides, look at what he's saying, if they could live, who would want to die?"

However, just as Zhou You finished speaking, whether by coincidence or not, the book was suddenly blown open by the wind, turning another page.

The words above were still several deep red, blood-like characters.

"If you want to live, then please leave your fingerprint on this page."

Is this really not a prank?
Zhou You raised his head and looked around again, only to find that there was no one else there except himself. In this empty cemetery, only the mournful sound of the wind howled and echoed.

Half a day later, curiosity overcame his vigilance, and Zhou You dipped some incense ash in the stove next to him and pressed it on the page of the book.

Nothing happened.

"What? It's just a gimmick."

The faint hope quietly faded away. Zhou You smiled bitterly, picked up the book, and wanted to throw it into the stove.

But at this moment.

Right now.

Before Zhou You's eyes, the book suddenly opened on its own.

The pages rolled by with a rustling sound, so fast that they were beyond the reach of the naked eye, until they suddenly stopped on one of the pages.

"—Well then, welcome to the bizarre game!"

In that instant, a pitch-black darkness suddenly spread around Zhou You.

When he regained consciousness, he was no longer in the cemetery, but in a strange space. Bright incense and candles were burning around him, making it look like a temple, but it had no doors or windows. The pillars around the temple were covered with dark talismans, and at the innermost part there was a pedestal, but there were no statues of gods or bodhisattvas on it, only a piece of withered yellow paper floating in mid-air.

It appears to be a page from that black book, still in standard printed form, but unlike before, there are no questions on it, but rather several lines of text written like an introduction.

"Beginner's Scenario: Escape from Building 4"

Type: Ghost Story

"Erosion level: Very low".

"This is a beginner simulation scenario, and the number of resurrections is unlimited."

Background: You are an ordinary working person who recently found a job and is now urgently looking for a place to stay. Unfortunately, you are short of money and haven't found anything suitable for a long time. But one day, you suddenly saw a rental ad on a website. The rent was low and the location was excellent. The only requirement was a long-term lease. So, you were extremely excited and immediately packed six months' rent and rushed over. So, you didn't expect...
"You are about to embark on the most terrifying nightmare of your life."

"This reward is: 100 Soul Stones and one random white common item."

"The second reward is an extension of one month of life."

"Do you want to enter? If you select no, you will be logged out and will not be able to enter the game again."

What is this stuff?
This was Zhou You's first idea.

Have I encountered aliens?
This was Zhou You's second idea.

But soon, all his thoughts faded away, and all his attention was drawn to the last paragraph.

A lifespan of one month.

This body, already sentenced to death, can have its life extended by another month?

Zhou You slowly raised his head and examined the page.

To be honest, this thing is eerily strange no matter how you look at it. If it were before, Zhou You probably wouldn't have even considered it and would have simply chosen "no" and handed it over to a research institute or something similar to see if he could get some money for it. But now...
He recalled the doctor's death sentence, and then his increasingly frail body.

Then, he suddenly gave a peculiar smile, and without hesitation, he directly chose "yes".

—No matter what you are, I only have two more months to live. So what if I play a 'game' with you for this tiny bit of hope?

The next moment, the page suddenly burned, and then a mechanical female voice rang in his ear.

"When players enter the game for the first time, they will be randomly selected to receive a new player reward active skill."

"Skill drawing in progress, skill drawing successful."

"Active Skill: Selflessness and Meditation"

"Effect: When using this skill, you will be forced into a 'numbness' state. In this state, you will ignore all effects of fear and sanity impairment, and you will not die from normal damage."

"Skill duration: 10 seconds."

"Please note that this skill can only be used once per scenario (death resets the number of uses, and the newbie bonus skill will expire after three scenarios)."

When Zhou You opened his eyes again, he found himself in another world.

The first thing you see is a dilapidated stairwell.

The stairwell looked very old, the steps were slightly collapsed, and most of the wall paint was peeling off. Many small advertisements were randomly pasted everywhere. It looked like an ordinary, unremarkable old-fashioned residential building.

Old buildings like these are probably rare in big cities, but Zhou You grew up in this environment with his grandfather, so he didn't find it too strange.

He carefully observed his surroundings and realized that he should be on the first floor. To his left was a notice board, which was also covered with densely packed small advertisements, and at the top was the building's unit number.

"Unit 4, Building 4, Garden Community"

"1nd Floor."

Below is a tattered notice paper, yellowed and looking like it has been posted here for a long time. It is covered with bizarre mold spots and some dark brown stains. The text is no longer legible, except for a line of dark red title that can be barely made out.

Notice to Residents of Unit 4

...There were no clues.

Zhou You turned around again and glanced outside.

The sun was shining brightly, and the flowers and plants were swaying. Although there were few people around, children could be seen laughing and running in the distance. It looked like an ordinary neighborhood, with nothing unusual about it.

"Is this what I'm going to do, escape from here?"

He scratched his head.

—But it seems like there's no problem at all?
After thinking for a while, Zhou You decided that he should give it a try first.

How do you say that?

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

Zhou You took a step towards the building entrance. The warm sunlight was right in front of him, and he could almost hear the laughter of the children.

Then, right in his ear.

Suddenly, a rough cutting sound rang out.

A sudden, intense pain, so intense it could distort one's thoughts, struck Zhou You, and then his vision abruptly reversed.

The last thing projected into his pupils was a headless corpse, spitting blood, slowly falling down.

A few seconds later, he realized the truth.

—Ah, this is my corpse.

Then, he was plunged into complete darkness.

"you are dead."

(End of this chapter)