Chapter 32: Abyssal Disturbance, The Arrival of the Notice

Late at night, in the conference room of the Bureau of Paranormal Affairs.

At an hour when everyone should have been lost in sweet dreams, the conference room was filled with all the high-ranking officials of the Bureau who could make it. Most of them wore expressions of confusion.

The Bureau was founded with the original intention of seeking ways for humanity to survive and thrive under the shadow of the "Spirit Disaster Game." This naturally included managing and addressing the challenges posed to social order by supernatural beings like Spirit Disaster players, as well as overseeing and handling all threats the game posed to humanity. Everyone had their own specific projects. Generally, the department responsible for maintaining social order would have no contact with those responsible for monitoring the game itself, unless there was an internal personnel transfer.

But tonight, members of almost every department had been summoned. Clearly, the situation was extraordinary.

"Please remain calm, everyone. The Director is on his way; he has important information to share with you."

A man with a square face, thick eyebrows, and a massive, imposing build stood at the front. The microphone, which a normal person would grasp with their whole palm, was held between just two of his fingers, as if he were afraid of crushing it. This was the Deputy Director of the Bureau, the man who usually served as the public face of the organization.

As soon as these words were spoken, the murmurs in the room grew louder.

"The Director? My god! Am I actually lucky enough to see this legend in my lifetime?"

"I heard the Director doesn't even need to run instances anymore, because any dungeon in the Spirit Disaster Game is just a trivial flick of the finger to him."

"Hmph, you all think the Director has it easy? He’s actually working, too."

"Huh? The Director does field work himself?"

The person who asked this was a frontline officer in social order control who rarely dealt with other sectors, so he looked blankly at his colleague. The other person, a technician responsible for monitoring and analyzing the nature of the game, adjusted his thick glasses and said coldly:

"The Director is personally responsible for monitoring the entity at the very bottom of the game's code, to prevent it from waking up early."

"…!?"

Those nearby gasped. Even those from other departments had heard of the entity the technician was referring to. That existence… Indescribable, unspeakable, unviewable. Was this really something humanity could face and monitor? It was hard to imagine what kind of monster the Director must be!

*Hum—*

Before the discussion could escalate, the large screen in the conference room suddenly lit up.

The image showed a man who looked to be in his early thirties. His chiseled face appeared incredibly resolute, and his clean, short hair and white casual short-sleeved shirt made him look like the sunny, cheerful older brother next door.

However, beneath his feet, he was stepping on a monster ten stories tall. Compared to the massive frame—which would make a sufferer of megalophobia tremble—the man looked as small as an ant. Yet, at this moment, the giant monster lay paralyzed on the ground, motionless. A plain, unadorned sword was thrust into its head; the appearance of this sword was identical to the emblem on the Bureau’s badge.

The man pulled the sword out effortlessly, gave it a casual flourish, sheathed it at his waist, and spoke plainly to the camera: "Greetings, comrades. I am the Director of the Bureau of Paranormal Affairs—Azure Dragon."

"…!?"

At that single sentence, most of the people in the conference room stood up in excitement. Even after serving as high-ranking officials for so many years, rarely had any of them seen the Director. The man truly lived up to the saying, "The divine dragon shows its head but never its tail." Seeing him today was truly extraordinary.

They could tell that he was not in the real world at that moment, and the monster beneath his feet was no minor character. Based on its size and the destruction of the surrounding environment, this creature would be an absolute final boss even in a difficult-level dungeon—the kind of boss that gives players headaches, is impossible to defeat head-on, and requires intellect to find a flaw to clear. Now, it was being slaughtered by the Director like a dead dog.

And the white shirt worn by Azure Dragon did not even have a speck of dirt on it. This was a crushing victory without a shred of suspense.

"Let me explain the current situation first," Azure Dragon said, gently stepping on the monster under his feet. "As you can see, this thing has been subjected to some kind of powerful corruption, resulting in an unpredictable mutation."

Hearing this, everyone finally noticed. The monster did indeed look wrong. From a distance, it looked humanoid, but its skin was covered in various scales, feathers, and even horns formed from keratin similar to a rhinoceros. The tips of its limbs were eerie, tentacle-like, and there were two tumors on its neck, each only slightly smaller than its head, where facial features were vaguely beginning to sprout. No living creature should look like this. Even the vengeful spirits within the dungeons shouldn't manifest such bizarre, sanity-draining forms.

"The source of this mutation comes from the entity sleeping at the bottom of the 'Spirit Disaster Game.' It has been silent for so many years, but ten minutes ago, it suddenly emitted some unknown emotional fluctuation," Azure Dragon explained. He continued in a serious tone, "That single ripple of emotion caused hundreds of dungeons to be affected simultaneously, and it is estimated that nearly a hundred dungeons have collapsed or been damaged on the spot."

"I hope everyone will prioritize the improvement of 'Mental Power.' It is the only possibility for you to survive after encountering such corruption. Report any intelligence regarding corrupted dungeons promptly and in detail."

"Identifying the way that entity spreads its corruption is simple: if you see this drawn symbol anywhere, you have encountered it."

Having said that, Azure Dragon zoomed in the camera. Only then did the crowd notice: the eyes of the mutated monster were not physiological structures. They were like eyes that had been painted on. A pair of red, vertical pupils. The art style was exquisite and elegant; even the world's most brilliant painter could not have captured such vibrant, spirited eyes. Every detail was depicted to the extreme. Even through the screen, everyone felt their scalps tingle, breaking into a cold sweat as if something unclean were staring at them from behind.

***

"Huh? God Abyss, did you secretly use a beauty filter on yourself? Why do I feel like you've become prettier?"

Wu Wang lay on his bed, flipping his wrist and looking at the red vertical pupils with confusion. At first, this thing looked like a simple sketch with only a few strokes. But after the recent dungeon and the evolution mentioned by the settlement space, its strokes seemed to have increased, and it even had three eyelashes on both the top and bottom.

"Whatever, it’s not important. I’d rather look at the loot."

Wu Wang shrugged, indicating he didn't care. After killing Tu Xingsun earlier, he had naturally inherited the man's equipment and items. Baili Dao had explained the Bureau’s management regulations for Spirit Disaster players to him. In a sense, they were very lax. As long as a private feud between Spirit Disaster players didn't affect the safety of ordinary people's lives or property, or cause large-scale, malicious disturbances, it didn't matter if you two found an octagonal cage to fight to the death. Of course, you had to handle the corpse yourself. Otherwise, if an ordinary person found it and it affected public order, the Bureau would have to step in.

Regarding the fact that Tu Xingsun had tried to kill him for money and been counter-killed, Baili Dao had even offered to call his colleagues to help dispose of the body. Since such a benefit was available, Wu Wang naturally wouldn't let it go and had let Baili Dao help handle the body. After all, friends who kill often know: killing is simple, but disposing of the body is the most troublesome part. Imagine you're carrying a body bag to dump a corpse, and you run into an acquaintance halfway. As someone with social anxiety, you’re busy thinking about how to interact while worrying they’ll notice your abnormality. In the end, you’re forced to choose a shortcut. Well, now you have two bodies to dispose of.

Just as Wu Wang was happily rummaging through the loot, the prompt tone of the Spirit Disaster Game suddenly echoed in his ears—

【Attention, players.】

【The closed beta of the Spirit Disaster Game has ended. The official open beta will launch in 50 days.】

【After the open beta, dungeons where players fail to clear three times consecutively will descend into reality. Please prepare to welcome the supernatural disaster.】

【Detailed content will be announced ten days before the open beta.】

【May you all find your own death.】

Open beta?

Wu Wang froze for a moment. Before he could figure out what this meant, the prompt sounded again, and an information panel appeared before his eyes:

【You will enter the single-player story dungeon—"Wild Village Chronicles"—in three days.】

【Please prepare in advance and find a bamboo hat to wear on the day the dungeon opens.】

【May you find your own death.】