Lost in the Otherworld

Before you stands not a human, nor your friend Wang Zikai.

In truth, "Wang Zikai" never existed. It was merely a beast in disguise, a mutated wanderer.

Dead is dead. There’s no need for sorrow.

This is what Gaoyang told himself, but it was futile. His chest felt tight, the air nearly strangling him.

In an instant, memories surged—almost getting hit by Wang Zikai's car on the first day of school; collapsing from heatstroke on the third day of military training and being carried to the infirmary by Wang Zikai; being dragged to the internet cafe by Wang Zikai for an all-night gaming session, only to lose every match; the time they got drunk together and Wang Zikai, in tears, confessed how much he resented his parents' divorce...

Gaoyang slumped before Wang Zikai's lifeless body, his spirit lost.

Qingling, clutching her bleeding arm, stepped inside, holding a knife.

Fat Jun hesitated for a second before rising from Wang Zikai's side. He walked to Qingling and placed his hands over her wound, "Heal!"

Qingling glanced at Wang Zikai, frowning, "Is he dead?"

Officer Huang nodded, "No heartbeat." As he spoke, he surveyed the scattered corpses around them. "We really wiped out the village in the end. If it weren't for Wang Zikai, the four of us would be dead."

"Are there any survivors?" Fat Jun asked nervously.

"I just counted. Thirty-one outside, twenty-two inside. Fifty-three in total."

"No survivors! So, can we finally leave this cursed place?" Fat Jun was eager, “They’re all dead! No more enemies!”

As soon as Fat Jun finished speaking, Gaoyang’s chest tightened violently.

He clutched at his chest, “Something’s wrong...”

"What’s wrong?" Officer Huang tensed.

“I don’t know, it just feels... off...” Gaoyang couldn’t explain it. Perhaps it was his heightened sense, but he could feel the presence of something hidden.

“It’s not over,” Gaoyang’s voice trembled with despair. “Something’s still with us. It’s strong, excited... and dangerous.”

"Brother Yang, you... you're not joking, are you? That's not funny at all!" Fat Jun, barely surviving, couldn't take it anymore. He looked around frantically, "What else could be here? Where is it? I don’t see anything!"

Gaoyang closed his eyes and entered the system.

【Warning! You are facing an extremely dangerous situation.】

【Luck point gains increased by 1,000 times.】

—1,000 times?

Gaoyang didn't know what that meant. All he knew was that, in their current state, death was inevitable!

He opened his eyes and shouted, “Run! Run, now!”

Without hesitation, the four of them bolted from the house, leaving Wang Zikai’s body behind.

Just as they rushed out of the courtyard, Qingling, who was leading the charge, abruptly stopped. Without turning, she raised her hand toward the three behind her, “Stay back! Don’t come near me!”

The three stopped in confusion, holding their breath.

Gaoyang was the first to notice something wrong. His eyes widened as he realized... it wasn’t Qingling who was off, but her long black hair. A few strands, defying gravity, began to rise slowly.

Gaoyang suddenly understood—those strands weren’t Qingling’s!

“Hissss—”

The few strands of black hair tightened around Qingling’s slender neck, attempting to strangle her. With a flick of her fingers, blades hidden in her chest pocket shot out.

“Swish, swish, swish—” The blades sliced through the strands of hair. Qingling swiftly ducked and rolled back to the group.

The severed strands did not pursue her. Instead, they hovered for a few seconds before dispersing, like slender floating creatures drifting upwards.

All four of them looked up, feeling a deep chill.

From the sky, a human-shaped skull descended, its long black hair thick and dense.

“Look at the ground!” Fat Jun shouted.

Gaoyang looked down. The hair of every corpse around them had detached and gathered in strands, writhing like tiny black serpents across the ground. Ignoring gravity, the hair slithered toward the monster in the sky, like thousands of lost tadpoles returning to their mother’s embrace.

In no time, the creature had reformed into its full, terrifying shape.

Gaoyang had no words to describe it. A grotesque human skull, attached to billions of black strands of hair. Under the moonlight, it resembled a colossal mass of floating seaweed, drifting in the depths of the ocean.