The True Meaning of Social Phobia Is Making Society Phobic

Mingyang City, High-Speed Rail North Station.

A train attendant stood at the entrance of a carriage, watching the small crowd of people puffing away on the platform. She sighed and raised her voice in a helpless reminder.

"Attention, all passengers. Train D2233 is only making a temporary stop. Will passengers who have disembarked to smoke please board the train immediately to avoid missing your departure."

This was a common occurrence, one she was already used to.

Every time the train stopped, a few passengers would inevitably dash out for a smoke, acting as if a few hours without nicotine would kill them. They always scrambled back on at the last second.

Sure enough, upon hearing her announcement, the group took two last, fierce drags before stamping out their cigarettes and hurrying back to the carriage.

Seeing them return, the attendant stepped back inside.

She failed to notice an old man in his fifties or sixties who had completely ignored her.

He continued to smoke, a sour, mean-spirited expression etched on his face.

"Hmph! Trying to boss me around? I paid for my ticket. You think you can leave without me?"

The old man, having lived a life of petty selfishness, was filled with a baffling sense of entitlement.

Beep, beep, beep…

The moment the words left his mouth, the warning alarm for the closing doors blared. As the doors slid shut, the old man panicked.

He hastily threw his cigarette to the ground, stomped it out, and began clawing at the doors.

"I'm not on board yet!" he shrieked, slapping the carriage door.

Inside, a refined-looking young man with black-rimmed glasses stood near the door. He leaned in and spoke through the glass.

"Sir, be careful not to get your hand caught. It's dangerous!"

"Why did this door close? Hurry up and open it for me!" the old man roared.

The young man seemed just as anxious as the old man.

After a moment's thought, he said quickly, "Don't worry, sir. I'll go find an attendant. What's your seat number?"

"10F, by the window! Hurry up!" the old man demanded, growing impatient.

Seeing the young man run off into the carriage, he felt a wave of relief. He couldn't help but sigh with emotion.

"There are still good people in this world…"

Little did he know, the young man had no intention of finding an attendant.

He simply located seat 10F.

It was by the window, just as the man had said. The seat was empty, save for a small pile of fruit peels and nutshells left over from the old man's snack.

The young man swept the debris into a trash bag.

Then, he sat down as if it were the most natural thing in the world. It was as if the seat had been his all along.

A small smile played on his lips as he, too, sighed with emotion.

"There are still good people in this world. Knowing I was in a hurry and couldn't get a seat, he specially got off the train to give me his."

Whoosh!

The high-speed train lurched forward.

Through the window, Wu Wang smiled and waved at the old man on the platform, whose face was now turning purple with rage.

"Thanks! May you be immortalized."

Earlier that day, Wu Wang had asked his Second Sister about her trip from all those years ago.

Interestingly, whether due to the Instance or the Gentleman Penguin's cleanup, her memory of searching for her origins had been altered. It was now just a solo trip to the mountains for a picnic.

According to her, her luck had been terrible. She'd run into a rainstorm and had to spend one night in a county town at the foot of the mountains before heading home. She just treated it as a short, relaxing getaway.

Hearing this, Wu Wang had immediately booked the next available train.

He was heading to that very same county town. If things went as expected, he should be able to find information on Yin Fate Village there.

Wu Wang wondered if other Spirit Calamity Players knew that Instances could affect the timeline. And what was the Abnormal Affairs Bureau's stance on it?

He had already confirmed that the Instance he'd experienced had taken place five years ago.

The reason was simple. His Second Sister could really see ghosts.

In the Instance, Wu Xiaoyou had mentioned she could see ghosts since childhood and was tricked into seeking her origins by a ghost-catching fortune-teller. Ever since returning, Wu Wang had been trying to figure out how to verify this in reality.

Asking her directly was out of the question. He couldn't explain how he knew, and he had already decided to hide the existence of the Spirit Calamity Game from her. It might put her in danger.

For some things, ignorance was bliss. If you weren't involved, it was best not to know. Otherwise, you were bound to get burned.

Coincidentally, one of his rewards from the Instance was an item that might just have a ghost attached to it, giving him the perfect opportunity to test his theory.

The 【Skill Evolution Guidance Item】.

The description for the black fountain pen specifically stated that one must bid farewell to the Pen Immortal after use. This matched the legends Wu Wang knew. If you failed to say goodbye, the Pen Immortal would latch onto the summoner, eventually leading to a violent end.

So, Wu Wang had deliberately not bid it farewell. He was hoping it would try to curse him.

Just before he left the house, his Second Sister had stopped him, her words inexplicably grave.

"Little Brother, you have to be extra careful these next few days, you understand? Be careful not to choke when you drink water, and put anything dangerous away in a safe place."

Wu Wang also noticed something strange.

Her gaze wasn't on his face. Instead, she kept staring at his shoulder, as if something was perched there.

In that moment, he understood.

The Pen Immortal had indeed come to curse him, and his Second Sister could see it.

It was a strange feeling. His sister was keeping a secret from him, but he was hiding the Spirit Calamity Game from her. He supposed that made them even.

"The Abnormal Affairs Bureau, real-world effects of Instances, the authenticity of history…"

Having finally secured a seat, Wu Wang scrolled through his phone. A series of keywords populated his search bar, but to anyone else, it looked like he was just mindlessly watching short videos.

He was using the 【Spirit Calamity Game APP】.

When Baili Dao had walked him through the beginner's guide, he had explained that this app automatically appeared on any electronic device a player held.

The app's privacy was ironclad.

Only the owner could see its icon and content. Even another Spirit Calamity Player sitting right next to him wouldn't see a thing unless he made his screen public in the settings. Ordinary people saw even less.

It was essentially an exclusive forum for Spirit Calamity Players, with sections for everything from Instance guides and quest commissions to local hookups. He had even found a few S&M posts, which only confirmed that the circles players moved in were… complex.

He had learned most of what he needed to know from the app, but there was one glaring omission. He couldn't find a single post about the ultimate purpose of the 【Spirit Calamity Game】 itself.

Naturally, that meant there was also no information about Instances affecting the real-world timeline.

But Wu Wang was no fool.

He believed an organization like the Abnormal Affairs Bureau, with its official government backing, couldn't possibly be unaware of something so obvious. He was just curious how much they actually knew.

He might have to get the information from Baili Dao after all…

Pfft!

Just as his thoughts reached a critical point, a sharp pain shot through his butt.

He reached down, and his hand came back stained crimson. Fumbling under the seat cushion, he pulled out a strange black fountain pen.

The man in the seat next to him looked over, his expression turning strange as his gaze fixed on Wu Wang's reddened palm.

Wu Wang offered a polite, strained smile.

"Sorry, my great-uncle is visiting."

He leaned in conspiratorially.

"In a civilized society, could you please accommodate a socially phobic person like me and not stare? It's pretty cringe, man."

Then he added, in a high-pitched voice, "Otherwise, I'll have to post you on Little Red Book. Sisters~ who gets it~"

Hearing this unhinged rant, the man next to him quickly snapped his head forward, refusing to look over again.

You call that social phobia? he thought frantically. I guess making society phobic of you counts, too!

There were still seven hours until his stop.

Wu Wang was completely unaware that problems were already brewing at his destination.

The Abnormal Affairs Bureau was currently sealing off the entire mountain range where Yin Fate Village was located.

They had discovered something. The wave of malicious energy was far too powerful.

They were waiting for backup.

Backup from Mingyang City.