The King of Curses

Chapter 2 The Reborn's Plan to Cling to His Thighs

After the arrival of a huge wave that swept the world and changed the fate of all mankind, ghosts that were originally only seen in horror stories are now rampant in the world. They naturally occupy haunted houses and dangerous places, and places full of supernatural threats emerge like mushrooms after rain.

They are like invaders from another world, possessing all kinds of vicious and incredible supernatural powers. They can easily manipulate minds and subvert physical phenomena. Existing human technology is simply unable to cope with them.

However, just like the yin-yang balance hidden in the laws of the universe, a large number of people with supernatural powers have also emerged in the human group, capable of fighting, exorcising, and even conquering ghosts. In this country, they are called "forbidden masters" or "curse forbidden masters" -

Using Qi to control and manipulate people or things, those with profound magical powers can expand this object to the entire supernatural world. This is the "art of incantation." Although it has existed since ancient times, it has never been as powerful as it is today.

The social order began to revolve around the long confrontation between the "forbidden masters and the demons"; in this process, the forbidden masters naturally became the privileged class of the new society, ruling the world, and the inequality between people was once again laid bare on the table;
In addition, although in the world eight years later, a relatively stable order has been established under the powerful rule of powerful forbidden masters, especially in large cities and communities; the existence of ghosts still threatens the lives of ordinary people in the shadows...

This is a chaotic era where ambitious people and lunatics rise; and for ordinary people, it is an even crueler world.

In that era, although Cen Dongsheng was lucky enough to escape from the ordinary person class, he could only be considered mediocre among the group of forbidden masters. Even if he fought desperately, he could only barely be rated as "Grade B".

To put it in a positive way, they are the "core class"; to put it in a negative way, they are the "mediocrities".

Since the level of spells a person can use is closely related to his or her innate "character", this matter involves a fate that is more illusory than blood talent, so the future world seems so unequal.

However, he was able to be reborn into this era because of his own "curse"...

Cen Dongsheng subconsciously touched his chest.

He had no clear impression of how he was "reborn". Unlike the online novels he had read before, which had vivid memories of experiences such as "being betrayed or killed", Cen Dongsheng only felt that he had come to this era in a trance, and after he came to his senses, there was only a slight burning feeling left in his chest.

But he soon found the answer from his confusion: this might be the awakening of his life ban.

"Life ban" - a special ban that is sublimated from a person's fate. Only one person in the same era can have a certain fate. Compared with ordinary bans, the rating of life bans is above "A". Those who can awaken life bans are undoubtedly the darlings of the times.

But Cen Dongsheng's fate was just like his life. Although he was predicted to have the possibility of awakening his fate, he could vaguely sense that there was a very special power hidden in his body, but he was never able to touch its entity.

In fact, the majority of forbidden masters are those who "have potential but fail to complete sublimation". He has already accepted that his strength can only remain at the middle and lower levels in this life.

"But I didn't expect that the nameless life-forbidden barrier in my body would be the most special type... In my previous life, I simply used all my potential and luck on this."

He had indeed heard that very few special celestial spells would involve the power of time and space, but one that could span several years was unheard of. According to the evaluation criteria, it was undoubtedly the highest level of "special grade".

However, after his rebirth, Cen Dongsheng clearly felt that the hidden power in his body had dissipated. In other words, this was a curse that could only be used once in a lifetime...

"Dongsheng? What's wrong?"

An Zhizhen's voice came from the side, and she seemed to notice his absent-mindedness.

"Nothing, I just thought you might get tired of the movie you've already seen? How about a different disc?"

Cen Dongsheng raised his head quickly and answered with a smile. There was no sign of perfunctoriness in his expression.

"It's okay. Watching a movie with someone else is a different experience. Haha, this is the first time I watch a horror movie with someone else."

Cen Dongsheng looked at the gentle face with a faint smile, feeling mixed emotions.

Perhaps it is because he personally experienced that cruel era that even with the memory of the future, he still does not have much confidence in his own abilities.

If Cen Dongsheng wants to survive well in this wave, he needs strength and needs to climb up. It is a rare opportunity to live his life again. Anyone with a little ambition will not be content with mediocrity.

But he was just a mediocre spell master in the past. If he touched upon a field where his past self had no experience, there would undoubtedly be dangers everywhere...

That's why he came here to meet An Zhizhen.

……

The movie "The Thing" begins with a helicopter chasing a dog into the US Antarctic research station. The people at the research station took the dog in, but they didn't expect that the dog had been parasitized by a terrifying alien creature.

Human bullets are useless against this monster that can wantonly fuse with other organic life and split its body at will, so they can only use the high temperature of the flamethrower.

The most terrifying thing is that this monster can not only transform into an ordinary animal, but can even replace the appearance of a human. Moreover, neither its intelligence nor its personality is affected, and it cannot be seen under normal circumstances.

In the cold and closed environment of the scientific research station, a group of people not only have to face monsters, but also fall into suspicion of their companions——

"……interesting."

Cen Dongsheng gradually became engrossed in watching.

However, the reason why he was fascinated by this film may be different from that of ordinary audiences.

Others read it as an exciting fictional story, but he read it because of his real experiences in the "past" and felt a sense of resonance.

Using hallucinations to manipulate humans' minds, and even being able to directly sneak into the human body to "possess"... Similar abilities are not uncommon among ghosts. In fact, in the battle to exorcise the haunted house, "being separated from teammates due to the disordered environment, and when you meet again, the teammates are no longer the same teammates", this classic horror movie unfolds, and Cen Dongsheng has encountered this more than once.

He always had to be on guard, even towards his companions whom he spent every day with - if he hadn't been so vigilant, he would have died long ago.

Moreover, if you think about it carefully, it is really a luxury for him to have time to calm down and watch movies and relax...

In the future, Cen Dongsheng is a member of the Tiannan District Governing Bureau. He is specifically responsible for the exorcism operations of haunted houses and other supernatural areas in the district. Under the orders of his superiors, he puts out fires everywhere. He is a screw in maintaining the peace and stability of the city. He lives a hard life every day, with almost no free time, and it is inevitable that he will encounter life threats at work.

Even so, his life is still better than that of ordinary people who cannot even master basic spells, because the latter can only shiver and hide in the shelter, praying that they will not be killed by ghosts or some unscrupulous and evil masters, completely losing the freedom and right to decide their own destiny.

And... movies like this one that try to copy fantasy are almost extinct in the future world, because compared to the alien creatures imagined by humans, more real monsters live in this world.

Even if you make a documentary about the combat experience in a haunted house, you can record footage that is more terrifying than a horror movie; and the battles between high-level forbidden masters are even more superheroic than superhero movies, making people wonder whether they are really human beings.

"I've finished watching it. Phew~ It's really good. It's exciting no matter how many times I watch it."

The subtitles of the movie on the screen began to play. An Zhizhen stretched, turned around and said to him with a smile.

"Well, yeah...it's quite real."

Cen Dongsheng answered.

"what?"

"I think the monsters in the movies are probably made of props."

"That's right! Although they are all physical special effects, they are cooler than the popular computer CG nowadays... Dongsheng, you have good taste. Do you want to hold movie viewing parties regularly in the future?"

"Ah ha ha……"

Cen Dongsheng smiled bitterly.

"I may not have the time. I have to work."

"Really? By the way, how are you doing academically? Did you fail any courses in your freshman year?"

"Hmm? It seems I'm dead. But there's no need to worry about it, summer vacation has just begun." Cen Dongsheng tried to recall what he was doing at this time. He is still a student in an ivory tower, and now thinking about it, it does seem like a lifetime ago.

“My former high school teachers all said that you can relax when you go to college.”

"That's a lie. College entrance exam scores are just a stepping stone. For personal growth, what you learn after you get in is the most important thing. This is my experience as a person who has been through it."

Sister Zhizhen raised her index finger and advised seriously.

“Whether you will be more interested in learning knowledge or finding a job and making money in the future, the earlier you make this decision during your college life, the better.”

"……this……"

"I heard you applied for psychology? Do you want to switch to cognitive science and neuroscience in the future? You know, I'm a psychiatrist and I'll have my own laboratory in the future, so maybe we'll have a chance to work together in the future."

She even started promoting her major, as if she really wanted someone to enter the academic field with her.

Sorry, I don't understand what you are saying. I studied psychology purely because I reached the score line...

Cen Dongsheng began to look up and admire the ceiling in Sister Zhizhen's house, and wanted to pretend that he didn't hear it.

After all, in the future world, these things will no longer matter.

But An Zhizhen probably doesn't understand this yet...

But soon, he remembered why he came and quickly took the bag he was carrying.

"By the way, I brought the book you asked for last time!"

"um. Thank you."

The books were borrowed from the Jinjiang City Library, not far from where they lived. For Cen Dongsheng, who loved reading but lacked other entertainment, this was the best place to go during holidays.

Of course, that was in the past.

An Zhizhen was also a frequent visitor to the library, but each person's library card had a limit on the number of books that could be borrowed at one time, so Sister Zhizhen had asked Cen Dongsheng to borrow her place from him.

Cen Dongsheng took out the books one by one and handed them to Sister Zhizhen. After she took them, she started flipping through them.

He watched her flipping through the books with great interest. After borrowing them, Cen Dongsheng had naturally flipped through these books, but unfortunately, they were either very advanced professional theory books that he couldn't understand at all, or they were all in English and full of proper nouns, which made his scalp numb.

"What is this about?"

"Ah, this is mainly about human anatomy and neuroscience."

"Hey, hasn't Sister Zhizhen already..."

"That's why I'm interested." Sister Zhizhen answered without even looking up. "Besides, do you think modern medicine's exploration of the human body has come to an end? It's better to say that everything has just begun. In addition to the complex problems discovered in the past that have not been solved, more puzzles are constantly emerging..."

Yes.

Cen Dongsheng is not an expert in this field, but he knows that there are still too many unsolved mysteries in this world.

For example, what are ghosts? How did the ban masters come into being? Where did the mysterious energy called "qi" come from, and how did those powerful bans work?

He suddenly remembered that the ruling bureau he belonged to was probably the force that attached the most importance to theoretical research in this area at that time, and he couldn't help laughing.

"'Jizhen'...'Jizhen'...Is it because of this name? It seems to suit you very well."

He even accidentally used a honorific.

"It's not nice to joke about people's names, right?"

Sister Zhizhen finally raised her head from the book and glared at him with some reproach, but she didn't seem angry.

"I'm not kidding. Sister Zhizhen, you really have this kind of temperament."

"What kind of temperament?"

"Well... I can't really explain it, but I always feel..."

Cen Dongsheng answered in a joking tone.

"——He has the qualities to become a great...big shot."

"You're really good at saying nice things. So you can do divination and prophecy?"

"I learned it from you."

Cen Dongsheng returned the initial joke in all seriousness, and Sister Zhizhen seemed very happy about it.

……

The atmosphere between them is always so harmonious and pleasant. Although there is an age gap, their personalities are very compatible, just like a pair of real siblings.

However, Cen Dongsheng couldn't help but think back to the past, or rather, he couldn't help but think about the meaning behind it.

The fate ban sent him back to the past, which in a sense was "destined".

The timing was perfect. In the next eight years, this wave of change in the world was divided into three periods. He was currently at the time before the "first wave" was about to arrive...

At that time, he was just a college student who was very ignorant of the world. In the following years, he experienced a horrific disaster caused by ghosts that was enough to destroy the city. As an ordinary person, he could only flee or hide like most other people.

By the time he officially came into contact with the forbidden spells and became a member of the forbidden spell master group, several major regions in the country had gradually stabilized under the rule of the "ancestor". Therefore, he completely missed the most turbulent and intense "first wave" and the "second wave" that had the greatest hope of standing out.

This time, he won't be so embarrassed.

Whether it is the invasion of ghosts and monsters or the rise of the forbidden masters in human society, there is a process.

At least within this year, the domestic situation should be able to be barely maintained. "Rumors are flying around the Internet, and all kinds of incredible rumors have appeared in various cities, but most people who have not experienced it are still living in peace and are skeptical about everything"... This is his impression of this year.

But the false daily routine will be broken sooner or later. Once change comes, it will be unstoppable and sweep away everything. By then, if you want to work hard, it will be too late.

Therefore, after his rebirth, Cen Dongsheng thought about it and made a plan, trying to find that key person, that thigh that he might really be able to hold on to -

The founder and director of the ruling bureau, who was also his future boss, the ruler of the Tiannan region, and a top curse master who was listed as one of the "ancestors"...

An Zhizhen.

(End of this chapter)