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

The authorities acted swiftly.

On June 12th, the tense atmosphere of the college entrance examination had not yet dissipated, and the No. 1 conference room of the Jiangcheng Public Security Bureau was already on high alert.

The curtains were drawn tightly shut, and four armed police officers stood at the door.

A red sign with the word "Top Secret" was posted on the wall, and the conference table was full of people.

—From provincial leaders and key members of the special investigation team, to the military's dispatched operations staff, the special investigation commissioner from the central government, and several gray-haired experts in folklore and psychology.

The participants covered a very wide range of backgrounds.

The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Joint Staff Department of the CPC Central Committee, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, and the National Health Commission.

In addition, there are leaders in charge from seven key provinces and cities across the country, as well as specially appointed top experts in the fields of physics, folklore, medicine, and sociology.

In front of each person was a confidential document sealed with kraft paper, and the seal was stamped with a bright red official seal.

The meeting was chaired by Lin Zhenghong, a special envoy from the Central Government. He was in his fifties, wearing a dark jacket, and had a calm expression.

He flew here late last night and went straight to Jiangcheng University as soon as he landed.

……

The first item on the agenda was the internal awarding of medals.

There were no flowers, no applause, and no media coverage.

The deputy secretary of the Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission stood up, holding a tray covered with red silk, on which medals and commendation orders were displayed.

"With the approval of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, the units and individuals who made meritorious contributions in handling the three paranormal incidents are hereby commended."

Her voice was steady and clear, each word distinct.

"Jiangcheng City Public Security Bureau received a collective second-class merit; Comrade Chen Xi received an individual second-class merit."

The special task force handling the Taiping Cemetery incident and the aftermath team for the No. 404 bus incident were each awarded a collective third-class merit.

Chen Xi stepped forward, stood at attention, and saluted.

The awarding ceremony lasted only five minutes.

Everyone knew this was not a post-war celebration, but a pre-war mobilization.

According to their predictions, the rate at which copies appear will only increase.

They don't have much time left to prepare.

……

"Everyone's here, let's start the meeting."

Lin Zhenghong's voice was not loud. "First, please let Comrade Chen Xi, the leader of the special task force, report on the details of the 'June 9th paranormal incident' at Jiangcheng University."

Chen Xi stood up and saluted.

She was wearing a training uniform, and although she had dark circles under her eyes, she still maintained an upright posture.

The projection screen in the lobby lit up, and the first image was a satellite map of Jiangcheng University, with three check-in points marked in red.

"Distinguished leaders and experts, I am Chen Xi from the Criminal Investigation Brigade of the Municipal Public Security Bureau."

She spoke at a steady pace and with clear logic.

"As of 4:50 a.m. today, of the ten missing persons involved in this incident, seven have survived, and three are tentatively presumed dead, pending confirmation."

The individuals awaiting confirmation are: Fang Wei, a student from the School of Physical Education at Jiangcheng University; Luo Yiming, a student from the School of Economics at Jiangcheng University; and Zhou Shengsheng, a student from the School of Computer Science at Jiangcheng University.

"All seven survivors have been sent to designated hospitals for treatment and psychological intervention. Apart from stress-related injuries, they have no major physical abnormalities."

Four of them were among the first group to return and completed the task of checking in at the artificial lake.

Three people returned as part of the second batch, completing the "Toilet Ghost Stories Check-in" task.

"According to the survivors' testimonies, this incident is a standalone supernatural instance, named 'High School Ghost Stories,' a rule-based instance."

The mission has a time limit of 72 hours, and there are three checkpoints within the instance. Violating the rules will result in a death penalty.

The instance contains physical ghosts that can cause real damage to humans.

A career awakening mechanism exists, with 3.5 confirmed cases so far: architect, butcher, clay sculptor, and constable.

She paused, then switched to the next slide, which showed the forensic report on the brought-back props:

"The survivors brought back a total of 11 paranormal items, which our technical staff sampled and identified after obtaining authorization and consent."

These include water ghost embroidered shoes, corpse oil candles, riverbed silt, and red and green toilet paper.

Testing revealed that all items contained unknown energy radiation, and some items possessed clear supernatural effects.

For example, after the "corpse oil candle" is lit, biological outlines that are invisible to the naked eye and instruments can be observed in the laboratory.

【Rouge Mud】Applying it externally can accelerate wound healing.

[Never-ending toilet paper] After use, it can be used continuously for eight hours without running out.

Currently, harmless evidence (such as gold ingots) has been returned, and all prop evidence has been sealed and is temporarily kept by the forensic department.

This is the first time that supernatural props have appeared in China.

Therefore, before the nature of the dungeon can be confirmed, the official team absolutely does not want any supernatural items to be leaked.

These props may seem harmless, but no one can guarantee their safety.

Are they aggressive?

Could someone use supernatural props to harm society?

Leaving aside ordinary people, let's just take Zhao Weilai and others who were among the first to obtain the items and skills as an example.

Possessing supernatural items is like a child carrying gold and parading it around in the bustling city.

……

……

Chen Xi's report lasted for a full half hour.

From dungeon rules, monster characteristics, and player status, to the on-site energy residue data provided by the item testing and appraisal department.

Everything, big or small, is handled with clarity and order.

After Chen Xi sat down, the room fell silent.

Lin Zhenghong looked around the room and said, "Everyone, please share your thoughts. This is the third confirmed paranormal event in Jiangcheng within a month."

The Hongguang Residential Area zombie incident, the No. 404 bus incident, the Taiping Cemetery incident... this time it's Jiangcheng University, each incident causing a bigger uproar and resulting in more deaths than the last.

If we can't figure out a solution next time, things will get really messy.

The meeting room was quiet.

"Commissioner Lin."

The captain of the Provincial Public Security Department's Criminal Investigation Division spoke first:

"We have reviewed the background information of the players in the two incident locations and found no commonalities."

Their ages, occupations, personalities, and family backgrounds are all different.

"The same goes for us."

The military operations staff nodded. "We compared the time, location, and weather of the three special events, but found no clear pattern."

The only similarity is that both Taiping Cemetery and Jiangcheng University have ghost stories circulating online.

"First, let me clarify two core definitions: We have detected a new energy unit called 'Linzi'."

Director Li of the forensic department picked up a laser pointer and switched the slides: "The West City Living Corpse Case is the earliest traceable physical paranormal event to date."

There were no signs of dungeon activity at the scene; it was simply a case of a zombie turning into a monster and injuring people.

The expert team believes this could be a 'threshold precursor' to the outbreak of a dungeon – that is, when the energy concentration in a region accumulates to around 10 lingzi, it will trigger scattered paranormal phenomena.

Only after reaching 40 Spirit Belts will a fully structured instance be formed.

"Second, 'alienation'."

He switched to the next page, where two medical photos with classified watermarks appeared on the screen, accompanied by a table full of test data:

"This refers to a state where the body undergoes irreversible, inhuman physiological changes due to the erosion of the copy's energy, even though the direct death rule was not triggered. There are currently two such cases."

The first case is Lin Hao, a survivor of the Taiping Cemetery replica.

The photos are divided into two columns, with the left column showing the appearance of the neck:

The skin on the front of the neck is raised in a purplish-black color, and within an area about 12 centimeters in diameter, intestinal tissue grows through the subcutaneous tissue.

On the right is the pathological biopsy report: it shows that the ectopic tissue is a human intestinal epithelial structure with absorption and secretion functions, but it cannot be surgically removed—after removal, the umbilical cord will regrow in its original location.

"Lin Hao, male, 25 years old, background check: involved in school bullying that caused someone to become depressed and drop out of school;

In 202*, after impregnating his girlfriend, he violently coerced her into an abortion. The woman subsequently suffered from depression and attempted suicide. He has a total of 3 administrative penalties and 7 civil disputes.

The second case is Wang Lei, a survivor of the Taiping Cemetery replica.

The photo shows that the left half of his body, from his cheek to his waist, has been completely sculpted into paper.

The skin is no longer a soft tissue structure, but rather layers of paper-like material.

"Wang Lei, male, 26 years old, unemployed. Background check: He has a long history of street pickpocketing and electric bicycle theft. In 201*, he was sentenced to 6 months in prison for theft. After his release, he was summoned by the police 11 times and 3 thefts were confirmed."

Director Li put down the laser pointer and supplemented the control group data:

"Correspondingly, there are two instances of class awakening in the dungeons."

Suya, 22 years old, a college student with no disciplinary record, completed the Taiping Cemetery instance without any violations and awakened the 'Architect' profession.

Zhang Dong, 58 years old, is a construction tower crane operator with 32 years of experience and a perfect record of zero accidents.

In the Jiangcheng University instance, Zhao Weilai, who awakens the butcher profession, participated in many volunteer activities during his time at the university and once rescued a child who had fallen into the water.

Ding Feifan, a survivor, is an outstanding counselor at the municipal level and has repeatedly provided financial assistance to impoverished students.

Weng Yang was commended for his bravery in fighting a thief; Tan Moli and Fu Qinqin have no criminal records; and none of the seven survivors have any major criminal records.

After the data was presented, the meeting room fell silent for a few seconds.

At that moment, an intellectual-looking elderly professor sitting at the table adjusted his glasses.

She is Professor Zhang from the Department of Folklore at Peking University. Her hair is gray, but she remains elegant. She is an expert specially invited by the central government.

Let me say a few words.

Professor Zhang spoke slowly but with great flair, “Our team compiled all the survivor testimonies, and in addition to the rules of the two instances, we discovered something very interesting.”

All eyes were on her.

"The difficulty of the dungeons seems to be 'tailored to the player.'"

Professor Zhang flipped through his notebook. "Taking Taiping Cemetery as an example, we investigated the background of the only deceased, Zhang Chao."

Zhang Chao, born in September 199*, was investigated by the public security authorities for suspected intentional homicide when he was a minor.

However, because he was under 14 years old at the time, he could not be transferred to the procuratorate for prosecution or sentenced.

Therefore, after a specialized assessment, the public security authorities proposed a recommendation for custody and education, which was submitted to the provincial public security authorities for approval before the individual was sent to a juvenile detention center or a specialized correctional institution.

Chen Xi had some recollection of this case.

She frowned as she flipped through the documents and found that it was indeed a case her teacher had discussed when she was in police academy.

—The case of Zhang, who was under the age of fourteen, pushing a five-year-old child on the roof of a building in the residential area, causing the child to fall to his death.

Suddenly, a thought struck her.

Zhang Chao died in the dungeon by falling and being smashed to pieces.

Could it be a coincidence?

……

……