chapter 2

“I’m just a clueless newcomer.”

Lu Li looked innocent.

He easily twisted the blade and stabbed it into the Office Worker’s arm.

Half an arm, bone and all, was neatly sliced off by the Dagger, falling to the ground and splattering blood everywhere.

“Aaaah-!”

The Office Worker clutched his bare shoulder and wailed.

The surrounding Players, who had been eyeing Lu Li with ill intent, all took a few steps back at the sight, growing wary and turning to look for other newcomer Players to target.

The Office Worker curled up on the ground in pain, glaring viciously at Lu Li. “Playing dumb to trick me? You lied! You must’ve used an Item from the hidden Wristband, pretending to be a newcomer to harvest Points!”

“I didn’t fake it,” Lu Li felt wronged. “I really am a newcomer Player.”

The neatly cut wound on the Office Worker began to rot rapidly, his groans fading, and his head thudded heavily to the ground.

Dead.

Lu Li turned his head. The huge, bizarre Eyeball was drifting among the Players, watching the spectacle with amusement.

Now it seemed that this Necromancer Game was quite interesting.

Far more interesting than his original world.

In the crowded hall, Players used every trick to steal, rob, and deceive in order to snatch Dice with high Points.

Every corner was illuminated by intense lights.

Exposing all the dark and filthy scenes completely.

The countdown hit zero.

“First round is over. Has everyone found their own Dice?” The Eyeball squinted with a smile, stretching its voice. “Time to clean up the numbers.”

A cold white beam swept up and down the hall like a blade.

Players with low Points were instantly sliced into chunks of meat.

The Office Worker’s Corpse also turned into a puddle of blood, a few still-warm drops splashing onto Lu Li’s face.

“Cleanup complete. Exactly ten Players remain, so no need for a second round.” The Eyeball was excited. “Quite a few newcomers this time! Human Players are so fragile. The first thing to do upon entering the game, of course, is to seek the protection of an Evil Spirit!”

A crimson long tongue stretched out from beneath the lower eyelid, splitting into three branches in midair.

Three newcomers had survived, and one branch of the tongue extended toward Lu Li.

On it rested a black box.

The deep hole on the top of the box faced him directly.

The Eyeball’s voice was seductive. “Draw an Evil Spirit Card that belongs to you, and receive an Evil Spirit Bracelet. Once you officially enter the game, during Game Night you must trade abilities with Evil Spirits to gain their protection and increase your survival chances during Game Day.”

“Don’t doze off during the night trades just because you’re tired. If a cunning Evil Spirit swaps away your soul, you’ll never escape the Necromancer Game!”

–

As Lu Li reached into the box, his personal Live Stream Room also appeared on the Audience’s selection screen.

Some Audience members accidentally clicked in, becoming entranced by Lu Li’s face and lingering for a long time:

[The first draw is always a regular Evil Spirit, nothing worth watching.]

[There are veteran Players among the ten this time. The most famous is Qi Mingda, who specializes in killing newcomers in low-level horror Instances. No suspense about the winner of this Instance, I’m out.]

[Just arrived. Ghost friends, do you think this pretty little Streamer is worth following? Only have two thousand Spirit Money left in my Wallet, considering which newcomer Streamer to support.]

[He’s drawing a card now, I see a flash! Ghost friends with sharp eyes, help me out-is it a red glow or blue? Could he really be so lucky and draw a high-level Evil Spirit!?]

Lu Li found the box surprisingly deep, unable to reach the bottom for a long time.

After fishing around, he finally grabbed a card.

It was just a bit hard to pull out.

He had to break the box’s opening to yank it free.

The moment Lu Li drew the card, a blinding pale gold light burst forth.

Thick Black Mist swirled around the card, condensing into liquid and dripping onto the ground.

Slowly, it accumulated into a tall humanoid figure.

Lu Li was puzzled.

The Black Mist-formed figure was taller than him, looking like a man.

The Eyeball trembled with excitement, pressing close to Lu Li’s card to read the text.

“Gold Card!! I’ve hosted tens of thousands of newcomer Players, and you’re the first to draw a Gold Card, ah-!”

Lu Li hesitated. “Uh, my honor?”

The edge of the Black Mist brushed the Eyeball, causing a sizzling, burning sound. Rapid corrosion turned half of its eyelid into murky black water.

It screamed and retreated, licking its wound with its tongue. “My lord! I didn’t mean to offend you!”

Lu Li had no idea why the Eyeball had suddenly dropped its arrogant attitude and was now bowing and groveling before the card he drew.

Just what had he drawn?

The front of the card was black. He flipped it over and saw two words at the bottom.

-Underworld King

Before he could figure out what was happening, the Black Mist-formed figure reached out and enveloped his head.
The icy mist spread along the skin it touched, and Lu Li heard his own body making crackling sounds.

A slight stinging pain followed.

He realized what was happening.

It wanted to dissolve his skin, to make him part of the Black Mist.

It wanted to “eat” him.

The number of viewers in the Live Stream Room doubled, sending Lu Li’s stream’s popularity skyrocketing like a rocket.

[Damn, did this newcomer just pull a gold?]

[Impossible! Absolutely impossible!]

[Are you all new Ghosts? Didn’t any Ghost from other Live Stream Rooms see this newcomer catch a blade bare-handed? What kind of terrifying physical stats is this!]

[What he pulled out isn’t an Evil Spirit! Gold means Evil God! There are only ten Evil Gods in the entire Underworld, which one did he pull?! The name on the card is blocked in the Live Stream Room! I can’t see it ahhh!]

[No matter which one it is, their temper is terrifying! Being summoned by a newcomer is a huge humiliation. I bet eight heads he’s about to die.]

Lu Li, who was being eagerly awaited to drop dead by the Audience, was now extremely irritated, his right eyelid twitching violently.

His body did indeed possess rapid regeneration abilities.

But using this ability too frequently would make him extremely weak.

Lu Li suppressed the blood rising in his throat.

Careful not to let the Black Mist notice his resurrection ability was slowing down.

He grabbed the “arm” of the Black Mist, but no matter how hard he pulled, he couldn’t break free. So he simply bit down on that “hand.”

His tongue began to melt as well.

Through the Black Mist, Lu Li bit into a cold wrist.

The opponent’s violent and domineering movements suddenly stopped, and Lu Li was viciously shoved away.

He was thrown three meters, his head slamming hard against the ground.

“Cough, cough…”

Lu Li pushed himself up from the ground, wiped the damp mist from his mouth, and found the Black Mist had vanished, leaving only a card suspended in midair.

The card was now pure black on both sides, and the words that had been visible before had disappeared.

He reached out and grabbed the card.

If he hadn’t seen wrong just now, the Evil Spirit he drew…

Was the Underworld King?

Does this mean he’s tamed this card now?

The card slid softly through Lu Li’s fingers, circling his wrist.

It changed from thin to thick, from wide to narrow, revealing its outline and transforming into a black snake-shaped Wristband clasped around his wrist.

Lu Li raised his hand, and a small light screen popped up, displaying the basic data of his personal Live Stream Room:

[Audience: 1467 (Wraiths)]
[Instance Live Stream Room Total Ranking: 3]
[Points: 100]
[Bullet Comments: Low level, not yet available]
[Evil Spirit Status: 1 bound]
[Evil Spirit Level: Unknown]
[Evil Spirit Skill: Unknown]

Lu Li saw the numbers on the panel changing in real time, and his Points increased to 200.

The Audience count was labeled as Wraiths, reminding him he was participating in the Necromancer Game.

So the Audience were Ghosts.

His Points were rising in real time.

It seemed some Ghosts in the Live Stream Room were tipping him.

A gaze fell upon him, and Lu Li closed the panel, facing a tall, burly man.

The man’s fleshy face squeezed his eyes, and when he met Lu Li’s gaze, his eyes were filled with intense interest and jealousy.

Caught by Lu Li, he gave a grin, his sharp features making him look especially menacing.

The burly man had just taken a step toward Lu Li when the ground began to shake.

Only ten living Players remained, and the rusty iron door behind them slowly opened.

The Eyeball floating in midair was no longer as arrogant as before. It used its tongue to cradle the black liquid at its wound, speaking in a sinister tone,

“The game gate is open. Good luck to you all.”

Inside the door was pitch black.

No one stepped forward, but the door began to move toward them.

Like a wide-open mouth, it swallowed the ten people with a roar.

–

Lu Li walked a few steps in the darkness and bumped into a wall.

Feeling along the wall, he found a corner and squatted down.

All ten people were squeezed into a cramped space, unable to see their own hands in the darkness.

Some Players complained, “You stepped on me! The door outside was so big, why is it so small inside?”

“I’m a newcomer. What’s going on now, is it over?”

A mocking laugh sounded, “Over? The game has only just begun.”

A red light lit up above, and everyone finally saw where they were.

They were inside a narrow Elevator.

The sounds outside the walls grew intense, ropes rapidly pulling the Elevator upward.

The Elevator shot up at high speed.

The sudden change sent Players who hadn’t found a foothold tumbling to the ground.

Someone knelt on the floor, clutching their ears and screaming.

On the display screen at the top of the Elevator, blood-red words scrolled back and forth, shocking to behold.

[Welcome to Eternal Paradise.]