A Crooked Body Fears No Proper Shadow!

At that very moment, on the homepage of an app called the "Spirit Calamity Game," a certain livestream was being featured.

【Final Livestream Activated!】

【Final Closed Beta Slots Being Distributed!】

【Unprecedented! Pre-registration Instance with Nightmare-level Difficulty! A Guaranteed Death Trap!】

The gimmicky titles drew a continuous stream of the app's users into the livestream.

They were all Spirit Calamity Players.

These were individuals chosen by the Spirit Calamity Game, people who could enter so-called Instances to obtain supernatural powers. But they were also desperados, constantly struggling on the line between life and death.

After all, if you died in an Instance, all that returned to reality was a corpse.

"For real? A Pre-registration Instance at Nightmare level? Aren't they just sending those poor souls to their deaths?"

"I'll bet a hundred Calamity Coins the rookies are all wiped out within two hours. Any takers?"

"Who are you looking down on? I'll bet on one hour!"

In the livestream's chat, many expressed their surprise at this utterly unbalanced Pre-registration Instance. Normally, an instance for acquiring player status would have obvious hints for survival. They were in the category of "definitely clearable as long as you go all out."

Everyone jokingly called it the new player tutorial.

Instance difficulty was divided into Easy, Medium, Hard, and Nightmare. The new player tutorial was merely at the Easy level.

A Nightmare-level Instance, on the other hand, was something with a clear rate of less than one percent in the entire Spirit Calamity Game.

To make newcomers experience a Nightmare-level Instance…

Just as the chat said, this was sending them to their deaths.

When the livestream viewers saw one newcomer die right after waking up, they were already offering virtual incense and placing bets.

But a small number of people sensed that something was off.

"In a sense, the Spirit Calamity Game is a very fair existence. It would never create a truly inescapable Instance."

"In other words, if this is just to entertain us with fifty human lives, it means the Spirit Calamity Game's balance is broken!"

"If this is the last time Closed Beta slots are being given out, does that mean the game will have an Open Beta?"

"We must uncover the essence of the Spirit Calamity Game before the Open Beta! This livestream might be our chance!"

The livestream was not short on powerful players. But even these top-tier players didn't believe newcomers could clear a Nightmare-level Instance through normal means. They wanted to use this final livestream to identify potential problems with the game itself.

As for the newcomers, no one cared about the life or death of a sacrificial pawn.

However, among these top players, there was one oddball. Her focus, contrary to the rest, was on the newcomers.

To be precise, she hoped all the newcomers would die in the Instance.

This strange woman lay in a hammock at a seaside villa, sipping expensive red wine. She watched the livestream and sent a message on an encrypted chat app.

"The ritual is a success. A special Spirit Tablet is being carried by a criminal police captain from Mingyang City named Li Guoqiang."

"Rest assured. After paying such a huge price to deceive the administrator and modify the Instance difficulty, it's impossible for anyone to get out alive. This Instance has no true clear condition."

"After all the newcomers are sacrificed, I will control Li Guoqiang's corpse through the special Spirit Tablet to bring the 【Advent Item】 back to reality."

"May calamity be eternal."

Inside the Pre-registration Instance, no one knew they were part of a death ritual. Their focus was still on the deceased.

"Someone go check… how did he die?"

This group of mutually wary people couldn't help but speak up, trying to band together for safety. In reality, they were all criminals who regarded human life as worthless. In the eyes of a normal person, each was a dangerous individual to be avoided at all costs.

But here, facing a supernatural, paranormal situation, and knowing that a true Fierce Ghost was lurking nearby, they had all become the weakest prey.

The weapons at their waists and the dangerous substances in their pockets no longer gave them any sense of security. Those clutching daggers even felt the blades in their hands grow as cold as their own moods.

It was a bone-chilling cold.

"What kind of stupid idea is that? Why don't you go look? Trying to get us killed?" someone cursed, retorting the suggestion.

Most people held the same attitude. That was right. Who knew if checking the body would make that ghost target them next?

Except for the woman who had collapsed with weak legs, everyone else involuntarily took a few steps back. The situation was once again at a stalemate.

Amidst the crowd, only Wu Wang's attention was not on the corpse, but on the woman who had collapsed on the floor.

To be precise, it was on her shadow.

He didn't know if his eyes were playing tricks on him. Wu Wang thought he saw the woman's shadow… trembling?

Could it be that her purple mood was leaking electricity?

Thud!

Another loud noise. This time, it wasn't someone falling. It was the sound of almost all the lights in the lecture hall going out.

Only a single large spotlight remained, illuminating the lectern. The standing microphone instantly became the focus of the entire room.

Strangely, the light seemed to defy the laws of physics, not diffusing at all. Besides the lectern where the microphone stood, the surrounding areas, no matter how close, remained pitch-black. So dark you couldn't see your hand in front of your face.

Rustle, rustle, rustle…

The sound of rustling clothes and movement began to echo in the darkness. At first, it was just a few occasional sounds. Gradually, most of the people in the lecture hall began to move.

Being drawn to light is not a quality exclusive to moths. Humans are the same.

In an unknown environment, no one wanted to stay in a place so dark they couldn't see their own hand. In such a situation, they probably wouldn't even notice danger approaching.

The lectern's stage was large enough for about ten people. Even if something rushed out of the darkness, there would be enough time to react.

It was undoubtedly a safe zone.

"Bastard! Get the hell out of my way!" the first angry shout echoed from the darkness.

Puchi—

Accompanied by the faint sound of a sharp weapon piercing flesh, those nearby immediately felt a warm liquid splash onto their faces.

Everyone present knew what that was. Or rather, they understood what it meant.

Someone had made a move to fight for a spot in the light.

As bottom-feeding murderers, the smell of blood spreading through the air coated their eyes with a hint of madness.

That's right. Positions weren't first-come, first-served.

Only the living were qualified to stand in the safe zone.

"Trying to trip me? You can say goodbye to this leg!"

"You son of a bitch, you're in my way!"

"Ah! My hand! Who chopped it off!?"

In the darkness, the sounds of fighting and screams rose and fell one after another. The various sounds were amplified by the microphone and echoed throughout the room, making one's scalp tingle.

The lecture hall instantly transformed into a bloody purgatory, with everyone's mind focused on killing a path for themselves.

Thud—Thud—Thud—

However, before anyone could reach the light source, the thudding sounds appeared again. They sounded just like when the first person had died and fallen to the ground.

The key was, there were too many thuds. Far more than the number of people killed in the fighting.

One after another, people fell, unable to get up, with no sign of struggle or cries of pain. It was obvious they hadn't died from fatal wounds sustained in the brawl.

Even those who had been screaming after having their hands or feet chopped off went silent. The entire classroom instantly fell into a dead silence, as if someone had hit the mute button.

"Gulp…"

Everyone swallowed nervously. Almost at the same time, they all stopped moving.

Now, even the most hot-headed person realized something was wrong.

Another Death Rule had been triggered. And at least twenty people had died.

About ten seconds passed. No one dared to make another move, terrified that they too would die an inexplicable death.

The classroom seemed to return to the initial silence from when everyone had been unconscious. Only the occasional, extremely tense sound of breathing let one know that others still existed in the darkness.

"Singin' a mountain song, hey nonny-no," a voice sang out.

"Singin' over here, with a hey and a ho!"

Just as everyone's hearts were pounding so hard they felt they would leap out of their throats, the abrupt singing made their heads throb in disbelief.

The worst part was, the singing was completely off-key, a demonic auditory assault.

Even though they couldn't see a thing, everyone simultaneously turned their gazes toward the source of the sound.

Tap tap—tap tap—

The rhythmic sound of tap-dancing footsteps came from where the singing was, moving forward at a rather steady tempo.

He was singing and dancing!? What the hell was this?

Everyone's brain stalled, a single thought echoing in their minds. Is this guy not afraid of death?

"And with a song in my heart, I take the stage!"

As soon as he finished speaking, they noticed he had already reached the lectern.

When that handsome face with its dead-fish eyes appeared under the room's only light source, many of those Wu Wang had spoken to earlier felt a familiar throbbing in their temples.

Why is it him again?

"Bzzzz—"

Wu Wang tapped the microphone with his hand. The harsh electronic feedback made everyone cover their ears and frown.

After confirming the microphone was working, Wu Wang put on a standard, fake, hotel-attendant-like smile.

"Thank you all for your love and support, allowing me to take the mic," he said shyly. "I'm a bit embarrassed, so I'll just briefly make three points."

Who the hell gave you their love and support to let you speak? Didn't you just prance up there yourself?

And what the hell are you embarrassed about?

Their fists clenched.

"First, I am not an expert at dealing with ghosts," Wu Wang continued. "Second, I believe everyone wants to know how to break the three Death Rules, so the third point is very important."

"Third, as I said in my first point, I am not an expert at dealing with ghosts, so I don't know either."

They watched the youth spout literature-grade nonsense with a straight face, continuing to tap-dance on the spot while making animal shadow puppets with his hands in the light. His hands, feet, and mouth were coordinated without the slightest conflict.

For a moment, they didn't know whether to call him multi-talented or if they wanted to rush up and stab him a couple of times.

But given that a Death Rule had just been triggered, causing more than a dozen lives to vanish, they hesitated.

Do less, make fewer mistakes. Do nothing, make no mistakes.

At this critical juncture, the murderers still felt it was better to be cautious. They didn't dare to act rashly. They could only let Wu Wang act insane at the microphone, wanting to observe if a Death Rule would trigger for this attention hog.

"Namo Amitabha, may the immeasurable Heavenly Lord grant blessings, Amen, Allahu Akbar!"

"Light! A phoenix flying against the wind! Light!"

Wu Wang was still spouting nonsense and singing.

Thud!

Just as he happened to sing the word "light," the spotlight above him suddenly brightened, illuminating the classroom as if it were daytime.

All the filth that had occurred in the darkness was exposed for all to see.

Large amounts of blood stained the white floor like an abstract artist's wild creation. The thick liquid flowing down the tiered steps was like crimson dripping from a white cloth. The scattered corpses were jarring embellishments on a canvas, exceptionally piercing to the eye.

Some had obvious fatal wounds, clearly having died in the brawl. Others, like the first corpse, had expressions of terror frozen on their faces as they lay on the ground, with no visible injuries.

The darkness had lasted for ten minutes. Of the fifty people originally in the classroom, only about twenty remained. The death rate was unnervingly high.

But everyone's gaze lingered on the corpses for only a moment. Most of their attention was now a murderous glare directed at Wu Wang.

"You," a burly man closest to the lectern said as he walked up, his tone aggressive. "What did you discover?"

At his feet lay two people whose necks had been twisted and who had been strangled to death, the handiwork of the burly man in the darkness. He voiced the question on most people's minds.

Why didn't this youth's insane, bizarre behavior trigger any Death Rules? He must have discovered something that allowed him to avoid them.

Seeing the burly man, who was a head taller and whose bulging muscles gave him the oppressive presence of a small mountain, approach his side, Wu Wang remained unmoved.

He simply smiled and said, "I don't much care for your tone. Some dogs in my neighborhood used to bark wildly, so I had them all neutered on New Year's Eve. I suggest you watch your manners."

"Hmph, trash! You'll be obedient in a minute!"

The burly man contemptuously reached out, attempting to grab Wu Wang by the neck and force him to submit. His thick palm almost covered the youth's entire face. So much so that no one could see Wu Wang's expression, which was gradually turning cold beneath the shadow.

Bang!

The dull thud of a body hitting the floor echoed in the classroom.

Everyone outside the lectern area wore expressions of disbelief. Something unexpected had happened.

They saw the burly man lying on the ground, eyes rolled back, twitching uncontrollably. A section of his temple was caved in, clearly having been struck by something heavy.

"Wh-what happened?"

"One punch! He knocked out such a strong man with just one punch!"

Before anyone could recover, they saw Wu Wang pull the microphone from its stand. He viciously smashed it into the depression on the burly man's temple, repeating the motion of raising and smashing it down with a blank expression, as if pounding mochi.

Splish, splish—

Blood and white matter splattered.

This time, everyone's attention was finally torn away from Wu Wang's previous bizarre behavior. They began to notice his own strangeness.

His bare upper body revealed muscles that had tensed in an instant when he threw the punch, as chiseled as a sculpture. Without thousands of hours of tempering, his muscle definition wouldn't be so refined.

The textbook-perfect power generation technique he used when punching maximized his strength, making one's heart tremble just by watching. Coupled with his cold indifference when taking a life…

There was no doubt. This youth was one of them.

No! He was more dangerous than the vast majority of them. Because Wu Wang's appearance and behavior were simply too deceptive.

"A crooked body fears no proper shadow."

A voice other than the sound of a head being bashed in finally came from the lectern.

"I never claimed to be a good person, you know."

With that, Wu Wang inserted the microphone back into its stand. He then sat right down on the lectern, squinting his eyes and continuing to observe the crowd with a smile.

These people weren't actually wrong in their guesses. He had indeed figured out some of the Death Rules. He had even personally tested one.

He just needed to test a few more times to confirm the rest.

As for the test subjects…

We're all bros here, he thought. I'm sure none of my friends present will refuse…