I, the screenwriter, have experienced a resurgence of inspiration.

The alleys in the old town always seem to wake up earlier than other places.

As dawn broke, steam began to rise from the steamers outside the breakfast shop.

Song Mo found a seat near the door. The plastic stool was a bit wobbly, so she casually placed a tissue under it.

"Auntie, two bowls of pea and minced meat noodles, one extra spicy, one without cilantro, and add a fried egg to the one without cilantro. Also, two bowls of tofu pudding, one sweet and one spicy."

"Okay! Just a moment!"

The breakfast shop owner recognized her immediately – it was the same girl who always ordered two breakfasts but left one uneaten. She smiled and struck up a conversation:

"Little sister, you're up early today. You usually haven't even left the house by this time."

"Yeah, I have something to do today, I need to go out."

Song Mo smiled.

I got up early today, firstly because Ayan was clamoring for the tofu pudding at the alley entrance, and secondly because the countdown for the limited-time dungeon on the system panel was still ticking.

She needs to plan her time in advance.

Where no one could see, Ah Yan lay on the table, staring longingly at the direction of the stove.

The noodles without cilantro and with a fried egg, and the sweet tofu pudding, were hers.

Song Mo smiled and glanced at her.

Despite being a vengeful and terrifying ghost from the Ming Dynasty, he was actually quite childish in private.

She is not only always curious about new things in the world, but even a bowl of noodles or a plate of tofu pudding can make her happy for half a day.

……

Soon, the pea and minced meat noodles were served.

Steam rose from the rough porcelain bowl, and on the evenly distributed alkaline surface, two large spoonfuls of generously portioned minced meat sauce were spread, glistening with red oil, and garnished with vibrant green scallions and cilantro.

Even if it doesn't taste like much when you put it in your mouth, Song Mo can still pretend that he is enjoying a delicious meal.

She took a sip of her noodles, stared at the acupoint chart floating in the air, and casually repaired three acupoints: [Naohu], [Fengchi], and [Tianzhu].

The total cost was 900 script points.

But—nothing changed after the repair.

There were no sudden appearances of special talents or abilities, nor did they suddenly evolve into Super Saiyans.

Just like turning a googler gear, no matter how much you put in, you can't see the end gear turn even a fraction of a second.

……

"Without positive feedback, it's hard for me to ignite your fighting spirit."

Song Mo held the bowl of tofu pudding and shook his head.

Across from her, Ah Yan had already finished inhaling the aroma of the noodles and tofu pudding, and sighed contentedly.

The two bowls of food that had been eaten by the ghost were placed there, seemingly unchanged, but in reality, they had become as bland and tasteless as food toys made of glue.

The vengeful ghost floated in mid-air, its pupils, devoid of whites, gleaming brightly, and pointed at the tofu pudding, gesturing twice.

It means: This smells so good, I want more next time.

Song Mo nodded slightly and whispered in a voice only the two of them could hear:

"Okay, I'll order you two bowls next time, and neither of them will have cilantro in them."

Ah Yan smiled, her eyes crinkling, and floated back to her side, completely satisfied.

Two young people were sitting at the next table. When they saw the two bowls of noodles that Song Mo had placed in front of him, they subconsciously took a second look.

The two looked like they worked for a nearby rental company; they were eating breakfast and scrolling through their phones.

The video volume was just right; Song Mo could hear it.

"Have you seen the news? It's a huge uproar in Tokyo."

"What happened? Another earthquake?"

"What earthquake? It was that Night Parade of One Hundred Demons before. They said the Self-Defense Forces had to be deployed and use heavy weapons to force some of the demons into a few blocks nearby and cordon them off."

"Really? Oh yeah, ghosts seem to be afraid of gunpowder."

"Look, the Japanese Prime Minister gave a speech saying that they plan to build a high wall to surround all the haunted places in Tokyo, like a quarantine zone—it is expected to be completed the year after next."

"...Seriously? You mean you're just going to ignore the living people in Tokyo? By the time the wall is built, everyone's dead."

"Building walls, resisting powerful enemies... Is this Attack on Titan or Pacific Rim?"

"Did they build it upside down? Who ever built a wall that completely encloses themselves outside of it?"

……

……

Song Mo had just taken a sip of tofu pudding when he heard this and couldn't hold back anymore.

She coughed twice and quickly wiped her mouth with a tissue.

A perfectly normal paranormal event, described in this way, suddenly feels absurdly realistic.

As Song Mo slowly ate his noodles, he was pondering matters in Tokyo.

Rules need anchor points and a foundation of public understanding to be effectively implemented.

The more people believe in the existence of ghosts, spirits, and the underworld, the easier it is for rules to materialize, and the stronger their power becomes.

The Tokyo Night Parade of One Hundred Demons, with the Ku family being claimed by underworld messengers, objectively deepened ordinary people's understanding of the supernatural.

This isn't necessarily a bad thing for her new script to be released.

……

……

at the same time.

On a bench in the rest area downstairs at the player rehabilitation center affiliated with the Special Investigation Bureau.

Zhao Weilai scrolled through the Lingjing app, his expression conflicted.

"Still struggling to choose a new team member? So many people have signed up, isn't there a single one with a useful profession?"

Deng Ziwen sat next to her, munching on an apple. Seeing his girlfriend's expression, he immediately spoke up to comfort her:

"It's okay, take your time, you'll definitely find the right teammates."

When the team's current situation was brought up, both of them fell silent.

Jiangcheng Team was among the first batch of players to enter the dungeon.

There were seven of them in total. While they weren't exactly deeply connected, they were friends who had risked their lives for each other.

However, in the previous instance, Fu Qinqin, who had just awakened her profession, unfortunately died, and her body was retrieved by everyone through their desperate efforts.

Ding Feifan is one-eyed, Liu Guilan has injured her leg, Deng Ziwen's stomach wound has not yet healed, and Tan Moli has severe diabetes.

Now the team is truly comprised of the "old, weak, sick, and disabled".

"Let's see. I'm looking for a support class. We're still at a disadvantage against supernatural enemies."

Zhao Weilai scrolled through the players' applications, his voice low and somber:

"I also spoke with Weng Yang and asked her to look into whether there are any professional players suitable for our team."

Currently, the team's roles are as follows: Weng Yang is the brains, Zhao Weilai is the combatant, Liu Guilan is in charge of props, Ding Feifan and Deng Ziwen are in charge of logistics, and Tan Moli is in charge of information gathering.

So we're still missing a support player.

Zhao Weilai certainly wanted the most sought-after healing-type player, but healers are a rare profession everywhere, and wild healers are as rare as Tyrannosaurus Rex.

What?

You're saying there are no Tyrannosaurus Rex in modern times?

That's right, there are absolutely no wild healing professions!

……

……

"How about the [Cowherd] class? Although this player is a bit older, he can share the cow's vision and can briefly see spirits."

Deng Ziwen took Zhao Weilai's phone and casually flipped through it, suddenly noticing a newly added occupational information entry:

"【Spiritualist】...The passive skill is the ability to see ghosts? This class is perfect for our team! It's just that we can't view specific player information."

"Let me inquire privately first."

Zhao Weilai breathed a sigh of relief: "Having a psychic with us will greatly increase the safety of dungeons. Once Brother Ding and the others have recovered from their injuries, we can slowly expand the team."

As the two were talking, they saw Chen Xi hurrying past the entrance of the building.

He was still in his police uniform, standing tall and moving with a brisk pace, but his brows were furrowed and his complexion was not good.

"Chen Ke is practically a superhero; she'll be entering the next level soon, right?"

Deng Ziwen sighed, "It feels like she hasn't had a break at all."

Zhao Weilai nodded in agreement—players like them could at least catch their breath when they returned to reality.

But Chen Xi is practically a superhuman.

He could immediately start dealing with real-life paranormal cases right after finishing a dungeon run, working non-stop like a machine.

This has led many people to speculate privately that Chen Xi has awakened some superpower that allows him to not need to sleep.

……

……

……

Jiangcheng Special Investigation Bureau, third-floor conference room.

The long conference table was only half full, creating a somewhat oppressive atmosphere.

Photos were displayed on the projection screen, including those of the crime scene, those of the parties involved, and hospital diagnostic reports.

Chen Xi stood beside the projector, his police uniform impeccably pressed, his voice booming:

"...That's the basic information about the case. The person involved, Kang Xiaojia, is a 16-year-old female high school student who recently awakened her profession [Physician] in the 'Grandma Huang's Birthday' instance."

"The incident occurred around 8 p.m. last night at Kang Xiaojia's home."

"Cause: Kang Xiaojia's parents demanded that she return to school immediately after the dungeon ended, and prevented Kang Xiaojia from participating in the officially organized training."

The other party even contacted a special education school, intending to send Kang Xiaojia there for "behavioral correction".

...Kang Xiaojia had an emotional breakdown and stabbed her parents with a household fruit knife. She then used props to treat them, repeatedly injuring and treating them...the process lasted approximately forty minutes.

"...Currently, Kang Xiaojia's parents have been treated and are out of danger. Their physical injuries have basically healed, but they have suffered severe mental trauma."

Kang Xiaojia is emotionally unstable and is currently under special care in the Special Investigation Bureau's temporary intensive care unit...

After Chen Xi finished speaking, the conference room was silent for a few seconds.

Director Sun Zhao sat in the main seat, feeling an extreme headache.

The case of the massacre of the Lu family has not yet been resolved, and at this critical juncture, another case of player assault has emerged.

If this case is not handled properly, it could easily escalate into a conflict between ordinary people and gamers.