The moment Qi Yuan was about to join the Knock Knock Ghost faction, he heard someone cry out loudly.
The murals that Xue Shiyun had just introduced rapidly faded in color, replaced by rows of golden words.
These golden words were different from the incomprehensible words. They looked like the ancient texts of some dynasty in Dragon Country.
Although the people in the hall could not really understand ancient texts, they could guess the general meaning by piecing similar characters together.
The golden words seemed to be specially prepared for those who had stumbled into Ghost Market. Skipping over the meaningless initial praises of the visitor's piety and so on,
the remaining content meant that if one wished to leave, one had to piously worship the God of the city. One had to summon the spirits with the Yin-Yang Five Elements Incense. The God of the city would then judge whether this person could return to the world of the living.
If the judgement was passed, the God of the city would give the visitor a pass. Holding the pass, going in and out of the entrance plaque of Ghost Market seven times would allow one to return to the human world.
One thing to note was that no matter what one heard when passing through the entrance, one must not look back.
After reading the golden words, the people in the hall looked towards the offering table. Five incense sticks rose with curling smoke in the incense burner. Beside the table stood that extraordinarily handsome youth.
It seemed...
Just now it was also him who had suggested coming to the temple of the God of the city to take a look...
This man must not be... unbefriended!
A moment later, Cheng Yizhou reacted and laughed loudly, "Qi Yuan, you rascal. You obviously had ideas but were hiding them, preparing a surprise for us, right?"
The others had also lit incense sticks earlier, but only three each.
He had lit five sticks straight away. Cheng Yizhou did not believe for a second that Qi Yuan had done so by chance.
Qi Yuan was also somewhat stunned. This works too?!
Seeing everyone look at him expectantly, waiting for his next step, if anyone still believed that Qi Yuan knew nothing at this point, they must be a fool.
But since the God of the city had not appeared, how to follow the instructions?!
Weren't they stuck right at the judgement stage?
Suddenly, Xue Shiyun's eyes widened, "I understand!"
Cheng Yizhou also had an knowing smile, fully comprehending.
The others also came to a realization one after another. Some exchanged looks with those around them, showing they understood without needing to say it aloud. Some slapped their foreheads, shocked that such a simple thing had required a reminder before they reacted.
"Let's go try it out."
"The young have nimble minds. I have to admit my inferiority."
"You're only forty. Don't act like an old man."
Lv Cheng once again followed the majority in confusion. Suddenly everyone understood, yet he still seemed like an idiot.
As he pondered deeply, he went with the flow to stand under the entrance plaque.
"Let me try."
Cheng Yizhou said as he touched the plaque, speaking to everyone.
"I should go instead. Captain Cheng."
Xue Shiyun was somewhat worried. If something happened to a B-rank esper, it would be a considerable loss for every city.
Especially since Cheng Yizhou was part of the patrol squad. Compared to espers from the Esper Association dawdling around, it was more reassuring to have one of their own people handle things.
"My abilities are stronger than yours, so it's better for me to deal with any incidents."
After speaking, he noticed Qi Yuan and added,
"Of course, Qi Yuan's abilities are on par with mine. I'm just more experienced. Let me test the waters for everyone first."
Standing under the plaque, Lv Cheng finally understood.
Right now, there were neither gods nor ghosts.
Judgement and passes alike, these were all rules imposed on humans by gods and ghosts.
Ordinary people feared ghosts, so they needed passes for their own protection. But they did not require such things.
Cheng Yizhou went in and out of the entrance seven times. On the last time out, he disappeared from everyone's view.
Not long later, he returned.
Cheng Yizhou was relaxed. He explained to everyone, "As expected, just as I thought, since it's an exit, it can also be an entrance."
There were cheers among the crowd. Someone shouted,
"That's great. Now we can leave."
Lv Cheng went to Qi Yuan's side and gave him a thumbs up.
"Brother Yuan, I have to admit defeat."
Lv Cheng acknowledged he had been too rash, failing to grasp the implications. Earlier, he had actually thought Brother Yuan was spouting nonsense just like him.
This reminded him of that day when Qi Yuan had so casually toyed with him.
When the two returned to the indoor stadium in Ghost Market, they realized Qiao Bai had been abandoned at the temple of the God of the city.
Qiao Bai looked at them reproachfully, trying to awaken their conscience.
But sadly, they had no conscience.
Qi Yuan and Lv Cheng pretended not to see him and went to leave Ghost Market with the three children.
Xue Shiyun led the patrol squad to orderly evacuate the students and teachers trapped in Ghost Market.
Voices clamored excitedly. Some sixth grade students had reached puberty. They couldn't help sneaking peeks at Qi Yuan.
A few girls gathered together, whispering about something and occasionally bursting into laughter, slapping their girlfriends' shoulders.
Qi Yuan only glanced briefly before losing interest and averting his gaze.
After awakening his psychic powers, the first lesson he learned was not to wonder what others were thinking.
Sometimes, girls could be just as murky as boys...
Don't ask how he knew that...
Back at school, they waited a while before the domains completely merged and ended.
When parting, Xiao Qian suddenly stopped them.
Just as Qi Yao thought his performance in Ghost Market had captured Xiao Qian's maiden heart,
in that instant, he smiled foolishly, fantasizing about how many children they would have in the future and what to name them.
Then he heard Xiao Qian say in her tender voice, "Brother Yuan, when I grow up, can you marry me? I want to be your bride."
Crack!
The hearts of the two little boys shattered.
...
In a certain shopping mall,
Lv Cheng immediately spotted Qi Yuan and waved at him.
Qi Yuan naturally exuded an aura in the crowd. People all around made way, retreating three paces, but beyond three paces was definitely a circle of onlookers.
As Qi Yuan approached, Lv Cheng spoke first, "I didn't expect you to actually agree to help out?"
Previously, they had helped a long-haired beauty. Following his philosophy of adding any pretty girl's WeChat, Lv Cheng added her.
On a certain day after leaving Ghost Market, the woman had asked if he could help pass on a message, asking if Qi Yuan was free to help her out. She would pay the standard rate to hire espers.
Lv Cheng had of course...refused.
Joking aside, he was also an esper. Why should only Qi Yuan get to help?
But the woman politely declined him, saying only Qi Yuan could help her, and indicated she had already contacted Qi Yuan through the Esper Association. He had agreed.
Seeing this, Lv Cheng couldn't sit still. He immediately said he would tag along to see just what had moved Qi Yuan.
ions, keeping it grounded and realistic】 After quitting his job, office worker Su Yang accidentally binds with the "Enjoy Life System." As the name suggests, simply by indulging in life's pleasures, he can earn random rewards from the system—no need to spend money on beautiful women or grovel before anyone. Just enjoy, and the money follows, making it all about effortless fun. The system comes with a scanning feature, allowing him to establish a favorability bond with women rated 85 points or above. Every 20-point increase in favorability unlocks additional rewards. After suffering through over twenty years of hardship, Su Yang trembles with excitement, his dull eyes suddenly gleaming with newfound hope. "Enjoy life? How hard could that be?"
he colors of other people’s emotions. Light red meant anxiety. Gray meant exhaustion. Orange meant excitement. Yellow... meant repression. At the same time, he could gain unlimited control over one of those colors. Pale cyan: relaxation. Using this ability, he started offering “two-yuan hugs,” spending an afternoon exchanging emotional-color experiences with others. Then came his final female customer of the day— a girl whose emotional color was pure black... —— A week later, Xu Chuan had become skilled at using pale cyan—Relaxation—treating it like a bottle of menthol balm whenever he needed it. That was when he discovered he had unlocked another unlimited emotional color: Purple, the color of fear. So these emotional colors refresh every week? Fine, I take it back—I’ll never call you useless again... —— Much later, after Xu Chuan had accumulated countless emotional abilities, one night, he suddenly found himself inside someone else’s dream. There, he could use the emotional colors he possessed to paint. And in her dream, he painted her a shower of pink shooting stars, spreading across the depths of the night sky...
lity and could only live as an ordinary mortal. He only wished to live a peaceful life. Yet he didn't know— The dog he adopted, because it ate his food, became a legendary demon king. The kitchen knife he casually forged became a peerless divine weapon, causing numerous experts to fight desperately for it. The young disciple he took in became an immortal lord that led an era, due to cultivating the techniques Ye Feng taught him. Even the skeletons he looked down on the most were ominous demon kings that suppressed countless worlds. Many years later, looking at the void shattered with a punch, Ye Feng murmured to himself: It turns out the peerless kings were myself all along...
] [Lone Wolf, No Male Gaze] [Protagonist is pursued early on; extreme protagonist-stans, stay away!] The "Carnival Paradise" descends and slowly devours the real world in the form of a game. By chance, Zhu Yan awakens the talent [Roleplay], becoming one of the first beta players. He thought he could develop safely, but after clearing the first instance, he is branded by humanity as the chief culprit behind the game's spread—a traitorous villain. A villain? Who would ever... become one! He'll be the villain! From then on, Zhu Yan is not only a player but also a lackey for the Carnival Paradise. Between the straight path and the crooked path, he chooses the con. With his left hand, he dons the villain's mantle, staging scenes within instances, infuriating players who decry him as a despicable traitor, all while the game happily promotes him. With his right hand, he joins the non-human organization "Fangcun Mountain," which opposes the Carnival Paradise, transforming into a mysterious player who slaughters game bosses, earning cheers of "Long live the expert!" from fellow players. Gradually, Zhu Yan rises to become an S-rank human player in Fangcun Mountain's archives, while also being the Carnival Paradise's certified top game Boss. But when the final war erupts and both major factions place their hopes in him— Players tag his various aliases: "Experts, this offensive depends on you." The Carnival Paradise's supreme Boss throws an arm around his neck: "Bro, you're the iron, I'm the steel; you can't let me down again!"
