I really don't want to work in the world of weird rules!

The bustling department store was filled with noise and chatter.

A trendy toy store that recently became a hit sold out of all its entry number tickets the moment it opened at 10 a.m.

Gu Changyuan was clutching one of the cards tightly in his hand.

Staff members used megaphones to shout loudly, signaling that customers who had received numbered tickets could enter.

Several smiling teenagers cheered and ran excitedly toward the entrance.

Gu Changyuan looked down and checked the ticket stub in his hand. After confirming that it was correct, he pulled the brim of his baseball cap down low and silently joined the queue.

A hushed discussion could be faintly heard from the back of the group.

Several young people looked at his back with suspicion, whispering among themselves, wondering if he was a scalper who specialized in reselling merchandise.

This is no one else's fault but his; looking around, he was the only one in the entire line who looked like an adult male.

He stared at the impressive entrance of the pop-up store, his Adam's apple bobbing. A visually striking sign hung at the entrance.

Welcome to the Ghost Story Explorers!

Gu Changyuan felt his cheeks getting hot.

The signboard features a striking black and red background interwoven with various monster silhouettes, mystical symbols, and abstract logos representing businesses, government agencies, and religions.

The main title at the very center is particularly eye-catching: [Doomsday Prophecy: A Record of Strange Tales and Mysteries]

"Tales of the Strange and Mysterious" is a recently popular supernatural world view on the forum, where anyone can participate in setting up and continuing the story.

The core concept of this series is to document the exploration of various unusual phenomena known as "ghost stories".

Hundreds of ghost stories were compiled into an independent encyclopedia website, which eventually came into Gu Changyuan's view.

Text-based encyclopedia entries are perfect for casual reading while idling at your desk. After all, at the company, anything outside of work seems interesting.

Gu Changyuan became completely engrossed in this world of ghost stories, even to the point of obsession, personally writing and publishing a ghost story.

Today, "Tales of the Strange and Mysterious" has grown into a super IP that dominates video platforms, and its commercialization has been rapid. This trendy toy store in front of us is one of its products.

In fact, he had come here once last week, only to watch helplessly as the merchandise he wanted was sold out right in front of him.

To make up for the disappointment, Gu Changyuan even used his precious annual leave today.

Fortunately, he was lucky this time and managed to get most of the popular items he wanted to buy last week.

After paying the bill, Gu Changyuan, carrying a bag full of spoils, stopped in his tracks.

His gaze drifted to the activity area next to the cashier, where a long line was forming.

[Roulette Lottery Event]

Customize your own unique character for exploring the mysteries of the supernatural.

Gu Changyuan's gaze was fixed on the signboard.

The cashier who had just changed shifts seemed to see through his curiosity, waved to him warmly, reminded him that today was the deadline for the roulette draw, and then asked him if he wanted to participate.

With the staff's expert guidance, Gu Changyuan naturally blended into the end of the line in front of the huge black turntable.

The lottery queue moved much faster than he expected. Before long, he was standing at the front of the line, and a button resembling a walkie-talkie was shoved into his hand.

The staff member in charge of the roulette wheel cleared his throat and loudly announced that the lucky wheel had started, reminding him that he could press the button to stop it at any time.

Accompanied by an exaggerated electronic sound effect, the giant turntable began to spin rapidly.

As the pointer moved across the various areas, the prize pool contained regular merchandise for sale, limited-edition standees that weren't for sale, and even some inexplicable Bluetooth headphones.

The largest area on the spinning wheel, the seventh prize zone, contained only a cheap sticky notepad as its prize. Gu Changyuan had already mentally prepared himself, feeling that he would most likely land in that zone.

He was already satisfied with just participating once, so he pressed the button in his hand and silently told himself not to have any expectations.

The turntable gradually slowed down, emitting a dull clicking sound.

The pointer spun slower and slower, slowly passing over the huge seventh prize area, and finally came to a steady stop on an extremely narrow golden gap.

[First Prize: Strange Tales Exploration and Mystery Records Deluxe Gift Box]

Gu Changyuan's eyes widened suddenly, and his breath caught in his throat.

The staff members standing nearby covered their mouths in excitement and congratulated him repeatedly; it all seemed too unreal.

The rear of the group erupted in cheers and exclamations, mixed with undisguised jealousy, echoing in the confined space.

The staff member was so excited that his face turned red. He ran all the way to the back of the turntable and struggled to carry out a huge, laminated packaging box.

The black gift box is embossed with a huge silver logo, giving it an excellent feel; the packaging alone exudes an air of extravagance.

Gu Changyuan suppressed the trembling in his fingertips and steadily took the heavy box with both hands.

He thanked them in a hoarse voice, and at that moment he just wanted to rush out of the mall and slap himself twice to make sure he wasn't dreaming.

He had barely taken half a step when a staff member hurriedly stopped him, reminding him that he could also have a personalized ID card made on the spot, all he needed to do was provide his name.

Gu Changyuan gave his name without hesitation. His most important task at the moment was to escort the first prize winner home as quickly as possible.

The staff quickly entered the name on the control panel.

Next to the turntable was a black machine that looked like a 3D printer, with a prominent sign on top.

【Strange Tales Exploration Chronicles: Character Generator】

Gu Changyuan suddenly realized that this was the "Customized Exclusive Character" event segment. He couldn't help but admire how shrewd businesses were these days.

He held the luxury gift box tightly with one hand and entered his name on the machine panel as prompted.

A strange and eerie music box melody emanated from inside the black machine, accompanied by the incessant clicking of gears. After a dazzling set of sound and light effects, a small object was ejected from the outlet with a clang.

Gu Changyuan bent down and picked up the extremely familiar little thing.

That was an employee ID card.

Daydream Weaver Co., Ltd.

Name: Gu Changyuan

[Department: On-site Investigation Team]

The staff member leaned over and enthusiastically explained to him the prominent position of Daydream Company as one of the three giants.

Gu Changyuan rolled his eyes inwardly. He knew this setup better than anyone else. To put it bluntly, it was a typical evil corporation that profited from abnormal phenomena.

As for this "on-site investigation team," it was nothing more than a cannon fodder suicide squad.

Just like the red-clad extras in classic sci-fi dramas who always die tragically, whenever dangerous anomalies are involved, this team is always the first to charge into battle, only to be wiped out in droves. This has led to many popular characters in the story coming from this high-risk department.

Listening to the staff's enthusiastic and bureaucratic tone, expressing their expectation that he would make great strides in the world of ghost stories, Gu Changyuan could only awkwardly thank them repeatedly.

He suppressed the urge to dig his toes into the ground, then thought that compared to obtaining some kind of cult credential or official agent certificate, a regular company employee ID was at least normal.

Before leaving, the staff member, still full of enthusiasm, asked with a smile, "Mr. Gu, are you satisfied with the identity we arranged for you this time?"

Gu Changyuan didn't even look up, casually replying, "I'm quite satisfied."

"lie!"

Two cold words suddenly slammed into my ears.

Gu Changyuan was stunned for a moment, thinking he was hallucinating, and subconsciously looked up.

The staff member who had been all smiles just moments before was now staring intently at him.

The corner of the man's mouth twisted upwards in a bizarre way, forming an extremely unnatural arc that stretched all the way to the edge of his ear.

An extremely intense wave of dizziness struck Gu Changyuan on the back of the head without warning.

The noisy crowd in the toy store was instantly silenced, and the view was as if a thick layer of black ink had been splashed on it, accompanied by eerie red and blue flashes that distorted wildly.

When the intense dizziness finally subsided and his vision refocused, the scene before him completely overturned his perception.

Welcome to Daydream Weavers Ltd.!